NAVAL COURT MARTIAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 November 1933, Page 8

NAVAL COURT MARTIAL

FALSE PAY-SHEETS ALLEGEE. [FEB PRESS ASSOCIATION.] AUCKLAND, November 8. Four charges of knowingly signing false official documents, namely, weekly work and wages sheets, in respect of civilian employees at the dockyard', and one charge, of neglect of duty, .in that he failed to verify the weekly work and wages sheets in August last, were preferred against Temporarary - Engineer - Commander Charles Marchant, of H.M.S. Philomel, at a court-martial,' which opened at the Devonport Naval Base, to-day. The President of the Court is Captain W. L. Jackson, of H.M.S. Veronica, with whom are Captain Graham (H.M.S. Diomede), Commander Maxwell Hyslop (H.M.S. Laburnum), Commander Barrington Brooke (H.M.S. Philomel) and Commander Farquahar (H.M.S. Diomede). Commander Lyon Berthon acted as prosecutor. The prisoner, who was represented by Mr Julius Hogben, pleaded not guilty. The proceedings were conducted by Paymaster-Commander Durman, as Deputy-Judge Advocate. ' LATER. At the Naval court-martial, the greater part of the morning was occupied in hearing formal evidence concerning the wages sheets. The Court was cleared several times, while objections by prisoner’s counsel were heard. Paymaster-Commander Duke produced a sheet shoXving that a man named Ward had been paid for eight hours’ work each day from August 4 to 10. Arthur John Ward, in evidence, said that he was employed at the Naval Base in August, and received £3/18/4 each week. On one morning and one afternoon, he had not worked at the Naval Base, but had done a bit of polishing for Commander Marchant, at his home in Takapnha. Marchant ordered him to go there and drove him there in a car. Witness did not make out a pJiysheet for Saturday morning. He worked- atMarchant's home, and the writing on the time sheet (produced) was not his.

Evidence was given by Arthur Bradfield., a painter, that twice he had worked at Marchant’s home and had been paid by the Naval Department. He had also worked for Marchant in his own time. Marchant had told him that if he were approached by anyone to say nothing. Cross-examined, he said it Was hot unusual for work to be done in a dockyard for an officer, and the officers themselves to pay men out of their own pockets. (Proceeding).