WIGRAM ’DROME

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19940, 26 October 1934, Page 8

WIGRAM ’DROME

ALLEGATIONS BY A MECHANIC

dismissed as trivial By Telegraph—press Association WELLINGTON. October 25. On the previous occasion when the Defence Committee reported to the House on the petition of L. Sayers, of Riccarton. the petition was referred back for further inquiry. 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 that certain statements were made in a matter that was practically sub judice when the petition was previously before the House.

The inquiry, said Mr Dickie, was continued before the committee, and all the officers concerned gave evidence. also the 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 that it had no recommendation to make. It considered that Sayers was a good worker who had an excellent knowledge of aircraft but was temperamentally unfitted for the job.

Messrs W. E. Barnard. J. A. Lee. and W. J. Jordan supported the finding. The report was tabled.