THE TORCH

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8339, 27 January 1913, Page 8

THE TORCH

STATEMENT BY MAJOR ARCHERP SHEE

(Received January 26, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, January 26

Major Archor-Shee denies that Commander Carver confined a man in tho refrigerator. He says that tho man was placed only in the deckhouse, where the machinery was situated, and that tho lighting and ventilation were superior to those in any officer’s cabin.

In the House of Commons, Major Archer-Shee (Unionist —Finsbury} moved tho adjournment in order to draw attention to the case of the Torch and Prometheus. Ho complained of Commander Carver’s supersession, and said that the Admiralty did not know of the Torch’s terrible state of disrepair at the time of its decision. He added that the service would suffer if officers were dismissed because of their independence to state facts. Major Archer-Shce asked for a reinvestigation in order to show tho captain’s splendid record, and that he might not be superseded merely upon a report in tho newspapers. Mr Churchill replied that the dockyard captain and officials had been censured. The Admiralty was not blameworthy, and there was no reason for a searching inquiry. Major Archer-Shee’s information was partisan. (Opposition cries of “No.”) Sir J. Portesoue Flannery, Unionist member for Essex, Maldon division, who is also a consulting engineer, produced portions of material taken from the Torch’s bottom while sho was undergoing overhaul at Sydney. Mr Churchill said that Ministers were not going to be bullied or intimidated. Commander Carver was superseded because ho had inflicted 123 punishments in three months. He was unfit to bo left in solo charge for the happiness of the crew. Mr Churchill added that on© of the Torch’s crew was illegally sentenced to a week in the cells in a refrigerating room.