MR. MORTON RETRACTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 668, 21 May 1929, Page 1

MR. MORTON RETRACTS

Transport Balance Sheet SUSPECTED A SECRET CONCLAVE AN insinuation that a secret conclave of six members of the Transport Board was held at five o’clock yesterday afternoon to inspect the annual balance-sheet received that day from the Government Audit Department, and that he had somehow been left out, was made at a meeting of the hoard this morning by Mr. F. S. Morton, of Onehunga. Complaining that he had not been given opportunity of an earlier perusal of the accounts, the member stated that advice of the “secret meeting” had been given him by another board member, Mr. J. Wood, of Newmarket, who was present. This member, however, denied that he had said members of the board were at the meeting, hut that six “persons” had attended.

When the chairman, Mr. J. A. C. Allum,, invited comment on the bal-ance-sheet, Mr. Morton rose with the complaint that he had had no time to look through the accounts. “I understand there was a meeting of six members in your room yesterday afternoon,” he challenged. Mr. Allum; There has been none. I am happy to tell you that there never has been one and never will be. Mr. Morton: Well, Mr. Wood informed me that he and five other members discussed this balance-sheet. At this stage Mr. Wood had not arrived at the meeting, and as Mr. Allum got up to speak again the missing member appeared in the doorway. “Ah, here is Mr. Wood; he can tell us what he said.” “Oh, no, no,” remarked the member for Newmarket when the position was put to him. “I only said there were five people and myself. One was Mr. Wyiie, the Government auditor.” Mr. G. G. Ashley: I think an apology is due to all of us. Mr. Morton: I am sorry if I have

been misinformed. I accept Mr. Woods’s statement. The position regarding the balance-sheet is that no member has had a chance to see it until this morning. He went on to criticise the hoard’s method of book-keeping. Mr. Wood, however, was loth to let the matter drop. “I made no reference to members being present yesterday afternoon. I merely said people were there, and that I had seen the balance-sheet, and it was most satisfactory.” "X am prepared to accept the decision of the experts that our accounts are correct,” remarked Mr. E. J. Phelan. “Mr. Morton makes a startling statement which simply insinuates that the six members he referred to were the representatives of the City Council. A statement like that uttered by Mr. Morton shows a person to be quite irresponsible, and it ought to be stopped.”

“These miserable charges do not get anywhere,” said Mr. A. J. Entrican. “When a mis-statement gets 24 hours’ start it is very difficult to eradicate.” “The fact that the two men, Mr. Morton, and previously Mr. Potter, had been challenging the accuracy of the accounts said very little for the Government auditor,” observed Mr. M. •T. Coyle. “These auditors want very little excuse for tagging a balancesheet, and what is the use of the audit if these men are going to get up and criticise. The critics simply make such statements to feed a section of the people,” the member said warmly. Mr. G. Baildon; Of course they do. Mr. Morton: Mr. Wood made the statement to me last night that Mr. Allum: Do you not accept Mr. Woods’s statement? Mr. Morton: Yes, but Mr. Allum; Well, don’t proceed with it. Mr. Allum said he wished to have it understood that no private meeting of any members had been held at any time. There had been no occasion. He had spent many hours in his office, and now and then members had dropped in and he had been pleased to chat unofficially with them. He had carefully refrained from calling memoers together for afiy purpose, as it might easily be misunderstood. Mr. Morton’s fears had been quite unfounded, and there was no meeting yesterday.

THE SUN Stop Press