23 OCTOBER 1869, Page 3

The papers quote an account of an Association which is

to be formed to watch the Police of London, and prosecute every in- stance of delinquency. We suppose this is a joke, but it pre- cisely expresses the feeling of the public. It is becoming clear that a bad spirit has crept into the Police, and it is not, we regret to say, equally clear that the new Commissioner is the man to exorcise it. The force may require more pay, we think it does, but it certainly requires a discipline better calculated to instil a notion of honour. We seem to be rapidly coming to the situation in India where the testimony of a policeman, like that of an in- former or a gypsy, is held to "require corroboration."