SYDNEY INQUIRY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 129, 2 June 1928, Page 9

SYDNEY INQUIRY

FURTHER EVIDENCE WHEN LABOUR RULED TRADES HALL SWAY United Press Association—By Electric TeleKraph—Coiiyrißlit. SYDNEY, Ist June. At the ltoyall Commission inquiring into civic affairs, Mrs. Green denied that her home liacl been thoroughly renovated in 102 G. She admitted that she had had sonic improvements made, Tjiit could not' remember the names of the linns who did the work. The witness also denied that she had a separate banking account in her maiden name. The witness, in reply to a question, said that she had asked Ivor husband whether ho had anything to do with the1 £10,000, and ho. had said.he had not ben mixed up with it. In i-c'ply to a further question, the witness said she might have thought there was graft in connection with the £10,600. William Holdsworth, formerly alderman of the City Council, gave evidence that ho was an alderman in the City Council from- 1918 until December of last year. He was a hotelkeeper, but owned no property and had accumulated no profits. He had only been able to make an incomo to meet his expenditure. In reply to v question, the witness said that his wife- had acquired money principally out of his salary when he was a member of Parliament, and she also owned property. The witness denied that Arnot had ever given him a penny. • In reply to a question by Mr. Shand, the witness said that he knew of the "graft" allegations, and declared that they had been v going on for tho past thirty years, much more so when the Civic Eeform Party was in power in the council than when Labour held the reins, but witness had always kept himself clean and clear of suspicion. The witness also denied" that he had ever telephoned Arnot, and that he had ever had a conversation with Arnot 'about money. It was "a deliberate ]ie" for Arnot to say that he asked for £.1000, and that Arnot asked him to tako £500. The only reason ho could give for Arnot fabricating such a story was that Arnot wanted the money for himself. In reply to Mr. Shand, who • asked whether Arnot had told the witness that Maling had advised him not to make a. payment to. witness, because witness would get his share with others, Holdsworth replied: "Never in his life did he utter those words to me, or anything like them." In reply to further questions, the witness said that his idea was that Arnot represented to -his firm that he had to x'ay out the money, and kept it himself. Tho witness added:. "At the time we (meaning- the Labour Party in tho City Council), gave the contract to Babcock-Wilcox, we could not have, given the contract to anybody else. Wo dared not do so. The Trades Hall would not have allowed it." The inquiry has adjourned till Tuesday next.