DEFENCE VOUCHERS..

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1538, 6 September 1912, Page 6

DEFENCE VOUCHERS..

GRAVE CHARGES. BY PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. OFFICIAL CONTRADICTIONS. The Minister for Defence (the Hon. Jas. Allen) read two letters in the House of Representatives yesterday in refeveuca to charges made in its report by the Public Service Commission, against an officer in the Defence Department. The Minister stated that he hart not asked for the lottore. They had been sent in by the officers from whom they emanated entirely upon their own initiative. The first letter read us follows ■.—!. This paper just published (report of the Public Service Commission) contains the following statements under • the paragraph ou Defence, pp. 38, 39: "Instead of working in harmony with the head of the Defence Department, an officer in the Department appears to have been sending misleading information as to the nature of certain expenditure to the Treasury and Audit Deportments, and inviting 'these Departments to object to the expenditure. . '"Phis has caused the Treasury and Audit to hold up vouchers whicii wo think they would not have held up had they beoai informed of the trua position, or hod they not been supplied with the misleading information to which we have referred. , "Wo think that clerical officers taking advantage of the absence of regulations to send misleading statements to the Treasury and Audit Departments . without tho knowledge of their chief is a. matter which should not be tolerated." These statements are entirely wrong. No misleading information was ever at any time given to the Treasury. Everything stated was correct in every detail, and, further, instead of inviting the Treasury to object to the expenditure, the communications appear to have been with the obiect of expediting the payments. Had the information of the irregularities in the expenditure not been supplied it would have meant returning tho vouchers for explanations and further delays.. It is due to the persons who have been so unjustly censured in this report that at the earliest possible moment you should be made acquainted with the true position. It is most surprising that suoh. statements should be made without

any endeavour on the part of the Con mission to ascertain their truth. .Inquiry at the Treasury would at once have shown that these grave charges were baseless.

' (Signed) .J. W. POYNTON, Secretary to the Treasury. The following is the text of the second letter:—

There is a statement in the Public Service Commission's report to the effect, that "an oQicer in the Defence Department appears to have been sending misleading information as to the nature of certain expenditure,'to the Treasury and Audit Departments, and' inviting these Departments to object to the expenditure." I.consider it lily duty to state that no information of a misleading character ill respect of expenditure has been given to the Audit Department by any officer of the Defence Department. -. .(Signed) ... E. J. COLLINS, Controller and,Auditor-General.

The Minister said that in justice to these officers who had been censured in a very grave way in the Public Service Commission's report, ho had read-Hie letters to the House. Ho moved that they be laid on the table, and be printed. The difficulty in the whole matter was that no evidence was obtainable. He had made inquiries and could not find that any .officers had given misleading information' at'"a'H.f'Thet'e 'was''fto>fcvidence to which one could go to find out whether the charges made by the commission were based upon sound grounds or not. There was no evidence available, and he thought that in justice to the officers concerned the position should be made clear. < Sir Joseph Ward (Awarua) said that it must be very gratifying to hear the letters read by the hon. gentleman. It seemed to him almost inconceivable that the commissioners should have made such a statement unless they believed that they had some grounds for it. He was not sure that the best course would not be to refer t'ho letters lo the commission.

Mr. Allen: The commission has'gone out of existence.

Sir Joseph Ward said that that was the difficult}'.

Mr. W. C. Buchanan (Wairarapa) asked whether tho. evidence taken had not been printed.

The Hon. Jos. Allen said that the evidence was,not in print, it had been taken confidentially, and was not available. The Hon. E. M'Kcnzie (Mo'tueka) said that without, the evidence tho report was of little' value. The two letters that had been read threw grave doubt on the report of the Commission. Ho would not feel inclined to pay much attention to the report unless he knew where the evidence caine from.

Mr. G. J. Anderson (MatauraJ asked whether tho House would be given an opportunity of discussing tho report. The Prime Minister said that the House would have an opportunity of discussing the report that day in the debate on the Publio Service Bill. If this did not suffice ho would bo glad to pet aside a day for tho discussion of the report. Mr. G. W. flussoll (Avon) said that memhers had not had time to consider the report, and could not discuss it that day.

The Prime Minister said that the House could very well debate tho second reading of tho Civil Service Reform Bill that afternoon. The report of the Commission would be of particular value when the Bill was going through committee.

Mr. J. A. Young (Waikato) asked whether tho Defence vouchers raid to have been held up related to travelling allowances. -

Mr. Allen, said that a number of vouchers hod been mentioned. Some of them related to travelling allowances. In replying, Mr. Allen said that. .lie wished to make it perfectly clear that the evidence had been obtained confidentially, and was not available.