A BOGUS "SCANDAL"

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2499, 28 June 1915, Page 2

A BOGUS "SCANDAL"

RIFLES FOR GUN-RUNNING. Some weeks ago the Defence Minister made a statement, in the course of which lie expressed some satisfaction that all the work connected with the dispatch of tho Expeditionary Forces had boon carricd out without one scandal. There have been more than one alleged scandal, however, but they have been based oil simple untruthful rumours. After lie made tho statement above referred to, an anonymous correspondent wrote liim a letter taking him to task for !t. The writer said tlio Minister must be blind to what was going on, and asked: ''What about the thousands of rifles supposed to bo bioken up as old iron at Buckle Street store ? There they wore cleaned and repaired at tbe Government's expense, and then sent to Auckland and sold to ni"Eers for in the, Persian Gulf." It was an absurd story, but one which credulous people might believe, especially if they wished to believe it, and Mr. Allen ' had a report prepared by the Department upon it. Following is an extract from the report: "Shortly after the establishment of the Council of Defence in 1907 it was decided to dispose of the obsolete Snider and Mar-tini-Henry rifles and carbines, with ammunition lying in store. Tenders were •accordingly invited for their pmcliasc, and a condition of sale was .that any arms purchased for the purpose of sending out of the Dominion should be for shipment to the United Kingdom only. The Wellington agent of a British firm purchased the bulk of the arms for shipment to England, the remainder being purchased by Nev Zealand firms for disposal to sportsmen. r>one of these arms were specially cleaned or repaired for the purchasers, but they were alwavs maintained in a fairly clean condition." The report details precautions taken to see that the conditions of sale as to shipment to Britain were observed, and states that the arms for export were all shinned here for England, and that they duly arrived there.