CHARGES REFUTED

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 101, 26 October 1934, Page 13

CHARGES REFUTED

AERODROME STORES

WIGRAM INCIDENTS

OFFICERS CLEARED

j Wigram Aerodrome officers, who had ; been accused of serious charges in conI nection with Defence Department stores " at that depot, havo been exonerated by ' the Defence Committeo of the House ,of Representatives. Charges of mali administration were made in a petition j to the House from L. Sayers, an em- ■ ployee who received notice that his contract of service would not be renewed. When the committee reported to the House yesterday, Labour members joini ed with the chairman, Mr. H. G Dickie (Government, Patca) in clearing the names of officers who bad been criticised when the matter was previously discussed in the House. The report of the committee was that after hearing the evidence, including that of officers of the Defence Depart 1 ment, it had no recommendation to make. After discussion, the report was tabled. Mr. Dickie said that when the matter first came before the Committee, Say ors made certain allegations concerning irregularities at the aerodrome and he backed these up with documentary evidence. Certain statements were also made by the member in charge of the petition, and because of the fact that the charges had not, at that time, been refuted by the Department, an inquiry was recommended by the Committee. When this report was presented to the House, tho Minister of Defence (the Hon. j. G. Cobbe) asked that the matter should be referred back to the Committee. '' TRIVIAL COMPLAINTS. '' It was unfortunate that when the motion to refer the report back to tha committee was before the House, continued Mr. Dickie, statements were made about a matter that was practically sub judice, and wide publicity was given to complaints made in the House against certain officers. At a subsequent meeting of the committee all the officers concerned gave evidence, as did also representatives of the Audit Department, and it was found that most of tho complaints were of a trivial nature, although on tho face of them they'at first appeared to bo very serious. The Committee had been unanimous in recommending that thero was no recommendation to make. It was admitted that Sayers was a good work man, but he was temperamentally unsuited to tho job at Wigram. Tho chairman of tho Committee had put tho position very fairiy, said Mr. W. E. Barnard (Labour, Napier), who added that after hearing the officers concerned, the Committee was unanimous that no irregularities worth mentioning had been proved against them. There was no proof of culpability against any of the officers concerned. The petitioner had imagined that certain irregular things had been done, but what appeared to be irregularities did not, when investigated, appear to be wrong at all. While Sayers was an honest and industrious worker, he seemed to be under the impression that his powers were greater than they really were The commanding officer, in deciding not to recommend petitioner for a further term of duty, had acted reasonably and fairly.

Mr. J. A. Lee (Labour, Grey Lynn) described Sayors as carrying his sense of duty to unfortunate longths Sayers was a sort of "Nosey Parker" who thought that everyone at the aerodrome

was a thief, and that ho was tlie policeman to catch them red-handed. Mr. Barnard: There was a thief. Mr. Leo: Yes, and in duo course he served his sentence. Mr. Leo added that tlie action of Flight-Lieutenant Denton, in taking the thief into his house, had been criticised, but really the officer was entitled to commendatiou for it. COMMITTEE SATISFIED. "Wo foil satisfied that things were all right and satisfactory, and that the charges were not substantiated," said Mr. \V. J. Jordan (Labour, Muukau). Petitioner had suggested that aoods had been taken from store under circumstances that amounted to theft and the Committee had felt that it had a responsibility to the House and to the public to probe the matter. The Committee had become satisfied that the officer in charge of Wigram and those under him were officiont and watchful. The audi tor had told the Committee that, notwithstanding the charges which had been made, the control of stores at Wig ram compared very favourably wit.i stores control in other departments. The charges were not only not substantiated, but. they were entirely refuted "It is a serious thing to make these charges, and I want to take tho opportunity of saying that the Committee hus'everv confidence in the officer? who appeared before it, and believes that they are thoroughly trustworthy and efficient in their work," said Mr. Jordan