If a soldier were not chosen the profession to which
one would turn for the right type of head would be the Navy. Of course, the Chief Commissioner must be chosen with extraordinary care, particularly in these days when the functions of the police have become much more onerous, more complicated and more delicate than they used to be. In the past there was little cause to complain. Who could have conceived a better head than Sir Edward Bradford, scrupulous in his care to insist both on the fun- damentally civil functions of the police and on the interests and rights of the public ? And he too was a soldier. The first thing to require in a Chief Commis- sioner is a set of qualities which will appeal to the Force. He must be a man whom the police respect and are glad to follow. The police in the mass are simple ; they have their heroes and their standards of the heroic are the popular standards. To them Lord Byng is unquestionably a great character, a great gentleman and a fine soldier.
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