A LAND SCANDAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 162, 2 April 1908, Page 7

A LAND SCANDAL.

,;f ■; .vA--, , APPLICANT AND JUDGE. ' THE STORY OF A SYNDICATE; . IST TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION^T-COPTRIGni. Melbourne, April 1. • Papers. relating to the suspension of Mr. Drummond, late acting Chief Government Surveyor, in ' Papua, havo been, tabled" in.tho'i Federal House. Suspension followed; on a charge made against Mr; Drummond of attempting to evado an order of tho Executive Council that it was not considered, desirable that officers' of: the Land Department should apply for laud. A statement of the caso • furnished .by Judge Murray,' acting-Administratqr,- shows that in 1907 a syndicate consisting of Messrs. Drummond,: Pinney, Watt, and M'Alpine was formed to take up land for plantation purposes. . Drummond and' Pinney belonged to the Lands Department, and Watt to tho Treasury, but M'Alpine was not in the Government service. Ardley, who came in later, was a district.surveyor. , ' Drummond and Pinney applied;for two adjoining blocks of. 250 acres. Tho applications came before tho Executive Council, -and were refused. The offices were then closed for the Christmas holidays; but immediately after they were re-opened an application was put in for tho same land by Watt arid M'Alpine, and it was a■ question whether this application was. not also on ' behalf' of the syndicate. The minutes 'of the Land Board showed that the applications of Drummond and Pinney'and Watt and M'Alpine, in which, to the knowledge of 'Mr. Stainforth Smith, the Commissioner for Lands, Drummond had an interest, wero recommended at meetings of tho Land Board at which no one was present but Drummond. Judge Murray added:,— "To have a;Government officer sitting on a Land Board for the consideration of his own application • is practically tho samo things as to allow a Magistrate to try a case in which, he was a party.." - . ' ■ Tho blame for this extraordinary, proceeding attaches, in his opinion, more to Drummond than Smith., It may bo urged in Smith's defence that his total want of ex- , perienco in regard to Departmental procedure compelled him to rely very largely on Drummond's advice. \ Mr. Deakin, Federal Prime Minister, in a minute, considered the proposed fino of £25 a wholly inadequate punishment for Pinney. On March 19 Judge Murray replied that tho Executive Council had decided to reduce Pinney's salary by £25 per annum, and if after a year I tho head of the department reported favourably, his full salary would bo' restored. ■ This ended the correspondence.