AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 233, 25 June 1915, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

KIDMAN FOUND GUILTY. SENTENCE DEFERRED. SYDNEY, June 24. In the Kidman case, Edward Simss, a carcase butcher whose name was attached to me of the tenders, gave evidence that he had authorised Kidman to use his name on the tenders, bat the attached signature was not his. He never had anything to do with carrying out the tenders. One contract in his name was carried out by Kidman, the witness doing nothing beyond signing it. Alfred James, a printer whose name was attached to a tender, said that he did not know Kidman and had not authorised anyon e to sign a tender for him

Kidman, in a lengthy statement,said he had been for 27 years tendering for Government supplies, during winch he had had' no trouble. With regard to the* disputed tenders, he arrived' at the Tender-office at 11, and the tenders closed’ at noon. He put in tenders in his own name and then, after some conversation with a gentleman who had interests in other tenders, he thought his might be too high, and be :p)ut in in order to have a second chance. That practice, he under, stood, was common in Australia. In his hurry he used names at random. In every case the tenders were genuine, and would have been carried out if accepted 1 . He had no intention to ■injure or defraud the Commonwealth.

The Chief Justice,, in summing up, , said this case was important because it concerned contracts for use for the defence of the Empire. A person who took advantage of such a state of things to exploit the public for his own I profit, deserved public reprobation, if j nothing else. It was admitted by the accused that he made th® document and uttered it. The question to be considered was whether it was a false document. It was false ,if it purported to be made on behalf, of a person who had not given authority or was nonexistent. (The object calling for tenders was to get genuine offers, obtain fair competition, and avoid favour. Kidman was found guilty, and sentence was deferred.