NATIVE AFFAIRS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 195, 31 May 1934, Page 3

NATIVE AFFAIRS

GISBORNE DISTRICT EVIDENCE.

AUDIT INSPECTOR! EXAMINED. (Per Press Association). GISBORNE, May 30. The Royal Commission investigating the affairs of the Native Department began its Gisborne sittings to-day,. The first witness, John White Scott, an audit inspector, who in, May last , audited the accounts of the Gisborne office for the Mohaka development scheme, said, regarding stores issues and dockets, that no receipts were kept and often the records were incomplete. Witness said that even to-day the record was not up to date, but he thought that this would be put right in the near future. The books of accounts were based on correct accounting principles and, apart from the fact that the work was much in arrears, the position was satisfactory. " - The position of the vouchers was most unsatisfactory. Debit balances representing stock were in excess of the stocks actually held. He knew efforts were being made to find stores. Witness also considered that the system of handling dairy cheques was unsatisfactory. - No' satisfactory audit had yet been carried out for the Mohaka. scheme, but he understood that in about two months the scheme would be ready ' for another audit. Seed to the yalue of £474 had been supplied to a station outside the scheme, and witness could find no record of payment, but he had been informed that the seed was supplied under the instructions of the Native Minister. The liability not met till two years after the seed was supplied. Grass seed valued at £769 was supplied to the Ngatipora Dairy Company for issue to persons outside the scheme on the instructions of' the Native Minister. "No arrangements had been made for payment. dost of Seed. Witness wrote to the Native Minister regarding the cost. The Minister replied that the records were out of order and he could not supply the cost. The dairy company estimated requirements as for iOO acres, and seed for 700 acres arrived, bought out of the development money. Subsequently the Native Minister agreed to • find native farmers receiving a grant of 10s to 15s an acre toward the cost of ploughing out of the unemployment funds. The farmers signed wages sheets for £336, but the sumy never reached the payees. Tlie money had/been applied to liquidating the grass seed debt. Some of the farmers were well-to-do and not entitled to the subsidy. As far as he knew, no unemployed were "engaged at all. : Referring to Maori relief in. the Waiapu district, witness found in S 8 contracts that extensive frauds had taken place. Signatures would be obtained on blank wage sheets, and Goldsmith, manager of the Waiapu Farmers' Co-op., would later fill in the amounts in excess of the work done. In many cases the payees were indebted to the company, and Goldsmith would credit the amount received in the company's books. In other cases loans were being repaid to the Treasury from the unemployment funds. Some £10,690 of these' funds passed through the Tikitiki branch and £7478 was credited to the accounts of payees with the company. The total of unemployment moneys which passed through all branches of this company was £IB,OOO. Criminal proceedings had been taken against Goldsmith. The Native Minister had been chairman of directors of the Waiapu Farmers and Ngatiporu companies. Cutting Thistles. Two vouchers, totalling £7l, came under witness's notice. He discovered work had been carried out by boys on holiday from Te Aute College and the public school at Rotorua —17 of them. The work was cutting thistles on the main road from Ruatoria, as at the time a visit was expected from the Governor-General.

One bf the boys was a grandson, and the other a son of the Native Minister. . It was originally intended that the payments should be charged to the unemployment funds. In the end the voucher remained in suspense for 11 months and was then charged against the native purposes fund. For levelling the site of the Waiomatitini Church £313 had been charged against the Maori unemployment fund, whereas it was not chargeable. Many of those engaged were beys. The work was done under instructions from the Native Minister and none who worked was registered unemployed. The general idea was that so long as the Maori had paid his dole he was eligible for relief. * Posts to the value of £248 had been issued at Tikitiki to farmers outside the scheme. The stores issues had not been supported by receipts. At Wairoa £563 worth of posts had been issued to persons outside the scheme. To date £9O had been recovered, leaving £473 outstanding. His Honor: Any security for that?

"Witness: None whatever. In his evidence, when referring to the employment of schoolboys in cutting thistles, Scott stated he had been shown a letter from the Native Minister; an extract from which read as Follows: ' "The Unemployment Board turn eel down £7O odd 'for boys clearing weeds, etc., on the roads. This is my fault, as I understood juvenile unemployment was the responsibility of the Unemployment Board. Bal and ] *vrill fix this up in another way." His Honor: Is that under investigation?—There is some difficulty in deciding- on whose shoulders the blame should lie. It was discussed with the Crown Prosecutor, and it was decided that the matter should not be gone on with. Witness state dthat practically every business man complained of the sys-

tern of paying out unemployment moneys, by which the Waiapu Farmers' had a first call on all moneys. Fenn, besides, being the Maori unemployment officer, was manager of the company, and no complaint was made by the Maoris when amounts were deducted from their accounts.

Dealingi With,Company. To his Honor, witness stated that there was every inducement for the Maoris to deal with the Waiapu Farmers' Co., because the unemployment moneys wero disbursed from there. They felt that unless they got their goods from the company there would be no jobs for them. To Mr Quilliam the witness stated that he arrived at Ruatoria about the middle of December. Up to Christmas the Maoris were coming forward with complaints, and information was readily obtainable, but when witness returned after the New. Year they did not come forward and were reluctant to give information when approached. Witness said he made inquiries into the use of a Native Department car, which was used by Captain Pitt, native welfare officer, at Gisborne. Witness found that of 7300 miles covered, 2800 was for the Native Minister, 500 for conveying 'families to the Rotorua scheme, and 1400 for conveying Pitt from the office to his residence at Patutahi. Only seven gallons of benzine had been.supplied by Pitt for this purpose. Welfare of Dairy Factory. Cross examined by Mr Fin! ay, witness stated that it was obvious that the welfare of the Ngatiporou Dairy Factory was important to the welfare of the district. , The country served by the factory was depreciating before the development • scheme was commenced, and clearly something was necessary to revive the industry. VV ltness knew that Goldsmith, Poananga, and Fenn were executive officers of the development scheme from the beginning, and were highly honoured in the district. in particular, was held in the highest esteen. Witness looked on the trouble as due to the lack of co-ordination between the northern command and the Gisborne office, plus the employment of noncivil servants in the civil service otfices The development work in the field was very well done from what witness had seen of it. It was still necessary to reconcile the accounts for stores with the Treasury. Witness wanted to bo assured that the payments made were recorded in the Treasury. Taking the thing in the main, the data available hero were being reduced into proper form. There was every reason to believe that the accounts of the Gisborne office and the northern scheme would be all At'the Pohatu station, witness stated, an area of bush had been felled and burned, and there was an urgent need of grass-seed. The native trustee, who held the mortgage, had no funds available for grass-seed. The handling of seed and manure by the Ngatiporou factory had been imposed by the department, and the distribution of it had been undertaken with, reluctance. The department used the' factory for its purposes. Mr Finlay: Seed for 100 acres was asked for by requisition from Kemp and Fenn, and seed for 700 or 800 acres was sent? —Yes. ~ c Thev wero instructed to dispose ot< it ?—They had to do the best they could with it, because they had no accommodation to store it. The distribution of the large quantity arose out of somebody's mistake? —I would not like to say "mistake." Orders for Fertilisers. Witness stated that the super that was sent up was ordered from the head office, and the records of it would be there, so that from the initiation of the transaction it was one that the department wouia eventually have to account for. * Mr Finlay: Assuming that these farmers had 'employed registered unemployed, the thing would be in order ? Yes. , , . Witness said he understood that there were two separate forms, one for the development scheme and one for private schemes. * The chairman said he did not think the commission could get anywhere Until each form was traced right through. When the commission reached Wellington every, one of them should be produced and traced through. Mr Quilliam intimated that_the tracing of each form would take a considerable time.

Scott expressed doubt whether access to the forms could be gained, but the chairman remarked: ' "We will get them all right." He added that it might not be fair to the department or the Minister for the matter to be dealt with in the present form. The Minister might be being blamed for something for whicli he was not responsible. Inquiries should be put in hand at once in Wellington. The next witness called was Clement Roy Edwa»rds, stores audit inspector, who stated that he had made a report on an examination at Rotatoria. He made a wide check of personal accounts with the Waiapu Farmers' Company, to ascertain that unemployment moneys had been reasonably accounted for. Approximately £SOOO of unemployment money had been paid into the Ruatoria branch in the nature of a reimbursement in respect of accounts with the company. Witness came across several irregularities in the signing of wages vouchers. In making these investigations ho had obtained statements from natives in the presence of police officers. There was one in which Poananga was charged and pleaded guilty. In every instance the moneys were from tho unemployment fund. The witness went on to state that a football team was training, and in order to give them some pocket-money they were given work on one of the properties. As the Maoris were not registered unemployed they had to get two outsiders to sign for them. It was ascertained that these two had never worked on the job. They were actual presidents of the district.