SALE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

Wanganui Chronicle, 27 August 1946, Page 5

SALE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

PRIVATE FIRM’S REALISATIONS

217 SOLD FOR £76,810 TENDER ACCEPTED WAS 21,010 FOR 1234

(P.A.) Wellington, Aug. 26. G. T. Gillies and Sons, whose tender for 1234 G.M.C. trucks parked at Seaview Road at £21,010 was accepted by the War Assets Realisation Board, have sold 217 of them for £76,810, according to a statement which the head of the firm, George Thomas Gillies, placed before the Royal Comniisison which is investigating the Government’s acquisition and the sale of these and other used war vehicles.

Gillies produced the statement to-day in accordance with an instruction given by the Commissioner, Mr. P. Bartholomew, when he was giving evidence last week. In his earlier evidence Gillies said the disposal of the vehicles had cost him and his sons £33,000 to date. The statement showed also that seven trucks had been sold on terms for £2643, and 43 incomplete trucks dismantled, and, together with parts from scrap, realised £7704, a total of £87,157.

A request by Mr. D. R. Hoggard, counsel for G. T. Gillies and Sons that the figures be withheld from publication was rejected by the Commissioner.

Answering Mr. W. E. Leicester, who is appearing with Mr. R. E. Tripe for W. T. Goosman, R. G. Gerard, W. J. Broadfoot and W. A. Sheat, M.P’s, in their private capacity, witness said it was impossible to give an estimate of the return they would receive when their eight-year disposal project was completed, because nobody knew what importations of trucks would be made in the future. To Mr. P. B. Cooke K.C., for the Crown, witness said that tenders could have been called for five blocks of trucks in the park, but it would have been impossible for five purchasers to work in the park at the same time. Getting the trucks out was a tremendous job. His firm had to start by dragging them out and others had to be lifted out of positions because the brakes were seized and the tyres flat. His firm had been without competition, but had "-the trucks been sold in five lots five firms would have been competing on the market at once and the proposition would not have been so attractive.

Practically the whole of to-day was occupied with the evidence of W. P. Warner, one of the board's motor vehicles valuers. Before calling evidence to-day from William Percy Warner, a valuer of motor vehicles for the War Assets Realisation Board, Mr. R. E. Harding expressed the opinion that some who had spoken at the commission had gone outside the scope of the inquiry for the sole purpose of casting aspersions at his client, who had never been an officer of the board. In evidence, Warner said that in experience with motor vehicles over many years he and others had evolved a standard formula for valuation. The method was to take the chassis and cab selling price in the year of sale, the standard size or otherwise of tyres and add the value of the body. This established the gross price. Army mechanics and drivers were then required to put tiie vehicles through their paces. The valuers gave the trucks a total life of 100,000 miles and deducted one per cent, for every 1000 miles they had travelled and a further £5O in a case where vehicles had been to the Pacific Islands. That method had proved so satisfactory that buyers subsequently purchased ex-Army vehicles “sight unseen." For some junk at Camp Bann, Auckland, O. R. Vincent had offered £2OO. The U.S. J.P.B. would have dumped the stuff if it had not been sold. Witness informed the general manager of the board and the offer was accepted. Vincent had sold a tractor and other parts out of a pile for £365 and had paid witness £55 commission for introducing a buyer and his help in arranging the disposal. Vincent then had to clear heavy residual junk. ASKED TO MAKE SCHEDULE. Witness first saw the vehicles at Seaview Park last December. The following month Levick, motor vehicles officer of the board, asked him to help '

him make up a rough schedule. Levick told witness that tenders were to be called for the vehicles and scrap. in tiie previous October, Archibald had told witness that he and Raymond Eder were trying to purchase from the Americans direct. Archibald told him he would be prepared to put £20,000 into each syndicate. Witnesa had told Archibald that if a syndicate got the lot for £lOO,OOO it would be a good buy. That was a rough estimate only.

When Archibald successfully tendered for the Dodges and jeeps, witness told Levick he would be engaged in selling for Archibald for about three weeks and Levick did not object. He left his address to enable his recall if the board needed him for urgent work. He was under no obligation to the board preventing his undertaking such work for Archibald. His engagement with the board was by the day at three guineas.

Witness was then provided by Archibald with a petrol license to get about the country among dealers. In five days he contracted to sell 231 Dodges and jeeps. The prices for the jeeps were £BO for the best and £4O for poor ones. The Dodges were contracted for at an average of £lB5. DROPPED THE CONTRACT

After a few days Archibald said by telephone that he had reason to believe he had overbid. Witness told Archibald how well sales were going, but the latter had dropped the con-" tract.

Warner considered that Archibald had made a fool of him throughout the North Island. At two per cent, commission he had earned £lOOO and there was £3OOO to £4OOO in sight. Mr. Harding: So I take it you were pretty sore .with Archibald?

"I was sore both ways," said witness. “If you’ve driven 200 miles In a jeep you'll know what I mean.” He had thereupon informed the board that he was again available for valuing duties. His only activities on Archibald's behalf had been over a few days after March 20. Witness did not know' that after Archibald had repudiated his first tender he had tendered a second time. On April 23 Warner was recalled to assist with the valuation of Dodges and jeeps. He had expected to receive instructions to go ahead and value, but none was received.

Interviewed in May by the police, witness had denied that he had inside information about the disposal of vehicles or had given Archibald any such information. He had fold the police that in getting around among dealers he had discussed tenders. He had known of no instance of bribery or graft in board dealings.

On July 3, continued Warner, he had been notified that his engagement with the board as part-time valuer would cease forthwith. No reason had ever been given him for the cancellation. He had learned in the last few days, however, that the actlngMinister had required this move, owing to an allegation of witness having received a secret commission.

Replying to Mr. Harding, witness said he had never received a secret commission in dealings for the board, or elsewhere; he had not been charged with having received one, nor had it ever been indicated to him that such a charge might be made. VALUER CROSS-EXAMINED Cross-examined by Mr. Leicester, witness (Warner) said he inspected the vehicle's in December for his own satisfaction, and after Archibald’s tender had been accepted. He was in the park three days and a-half to make an inventory preparatory to selling the Dodges and jeeps, but not to assess the market value, though Archibald did that. He assumed the incident referred to in Mr. McLagan’s letter was his acceptance of money from C. R. Vincent for putting Vincent in touch with a buyer for tractor parts found in the scrap heap Vincent had purchased. Witness was cross-examined by Mr. Leicester about the report of the board of valuers, of which he was a member, which the board had obtained at the instruction of the Prime Minister. He maintained that it was within the board’s instructions for it to advise a bulk sale as it had advised. Witness denied that he had any interest in sale in bulk so that he could pursue his sales campaign, having by then no connection with Archibald. He assumed that the reference in Mr. McLagan’s letter to the general manager was to the Camp Bunn incident. In course of cross-examination by Mr. Cooke, witness denied that he ever received payment from anybody for giving confidential information about vehicles.

The commission is expected to finish hearing evidence to-morrow.