CONDITIONS AT AERODROME.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 283, 27 October 1934, Page 3

CONDITIONS AT AERODROME.

DENIAL BY DEPARTMENT. COMMITTEE’S FINDING. Per Press Association. ' WELLINGTON, Oct. 25. On a previous occasion when the Defence Committee reported to the House of Representatives on the petition of L. Sayers, of lticcarton, the petition was referred back for further inquiry. This afternoon Mr H. G. Dickie, chairman of the committee, said that, when petitioner was originally before the committee he made certain statements and allegations, backed up by a certain amount of documentary evidence, regarding irregularities at Wigram aerodrome. The member in charge of the petition also made certain statements. The Defence Department put in no statement denying the charges, and the committee recommended the petition to the Government for inquiry. It was perhaps unfortunate, Mr Dickie continued, that certain statements were made on a matter that was practically sub judice when the petition was previously before the House. The inquiry'was continued before the committee, and all the officers concerned gave evidence; also a Government auditor. The committee went closely into the matter, and it discovered that most of the charges were of a trivial nature, although they looked to be quite serious at the time of the first inquiry. Consequently the committee was unanimous in finding tlia.t it had no recommendation to make. It considered Sayers was a good worker and had an excellent knowledge of aircraft, but that he was temperamentally unfitted for the job. Messrs Barnard, Lee and Jordan supported, the finding. The report was tabled.