§ Mr. HUTCHISONasked the Home Secretary what is the cost at the present time of hiring a policeman to maintain order at a public meeting; and whether the strength of the existing police force would permit of such hiring being carried out on any large scale?
§ Sir J. GILMOURChief officers of police have been advised that when they receive requests from responsible persons convening a meeting for police to be present inside the meeting, and are satisfied that there is reason to anticipate interference with the meeting of a nature calculated to lead to disorder or a breach of the peace, they should be ready to entertain such applications and make no charge to the promoters. This is the practice in the case of the Metropolitan Police, and I have no reason to doubt that it is also followed in other districts. In the case of a request to send police to a meeting in other circumstances, with which the chief officer is able and willing to comply, it would be open to him to972W make a charge for the services of any police sent. The minimum charges in the Metropolitan Police District would be for a constable 9s. and for a sergeant 10s. 6d., with proportionately higher rates for the higher ranks. The extent to which requests of this latter class are met must, of course, be at the discretion of the chief officer of police, and among other considerations depend upon the available strength and the other demands on the police.