DUMPED ARMY BOOTS

Grey River Argus, 12 October 1944, Page 3

DUMPED ARMY BOOTS

• Opposition Complaints PROVED TO BE GROUNDLESS. P.A. WELLINGTON, October 11. In the House to-day, Hon. F. Jones, replied to the allegations made by Mr F. Findlay (Nat., Hamilton), in th e House on September 5 last concerning alleged destruction of boots from service camps. Mr Jones said that exhaustive inquiries had failed to .disclose any evidence whatever to substantiate Mr Findlay’s complaints, except an unsupported statement of one man. Mr Jones said that on August 21, a' Board of Survey was appointed, at Hamilton, to consider the disposal of 4099 articles of various kinds. S'acks containing condemned articles were loaded on a truck under the supervision of the Board of Survey, a member of which certified to their destruction by fire, under his supervision, at the Hamilton borough dump. Mr Jones said ‘that those investigating th e matter had found that Mr Findlay obtained the four boots which he had displayed in the House from the caretaker of the Hamilton Borough Council dump. The Minister sard that 508 pairs of boots, including 450 pairs which were condemned by the Army footwear repairers at Ngaruawahia, were in the load, of the dumped goods. The Board of Survey condemned another 58 pairs, including three pairs which, though apparently serviceable, had been condemned upon medical officers’ certificates. T'he Minister said that two Wellington bootmakers had told him that the pair of boots in question, which outwardly appeared serviceable, were definitely not fit to wear. Brisk exchanges, in which Opposition Members alleged that the Government had committed a breach of confidence followed the statement made by the Minister.