DEFENCE EXPENDITURE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14591, 29 April 1918, Page 3

DEFENCE EXPENDITURE.

(Per Press! Asfsociation)

WELLINGTON, this day. At the Defence Expenditure Commission, George A. McLean, of Gray and McLean, builders, Wellington, stated that his account for 1 fitting up' ><work on a certain troopship was £4000,\ but on account of there being no check, kept ho could easily^ have put on another £2000. It was -Only, owing to his persist-, ence that the Transport "Board called for tenders. Those tenders wers nothing more or less than a farce. There were some underneath forces somewhere. He tried tpsee the tenders, but all he cotjld" get from Archibald Walker, chairman of the Transport Board, was that, it was. tu straight go.- Witness did hot think it right that another Wellington firm should be 'working on a, transport all day on Sunday at double rates, whilo his firm could- have; -done' the work m ordinary time. iiThefe was a suspicion m his mind that favoritism was being shown as between A the, firms supplying timber for troopship. work. ' He did not understand why a Wellington firm should have had contracts for erecting 1 hospitals at Trentham and Rotorua without competition. , He did not think members- of ' the Transport Board qualified/ ior the position. If the . authorities did not take drastic steps to prevent waste it would go on. ; . • . ]