The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1905. WAR WASTE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7813, 4 May 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1905. WAR WASTE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

From Homo files recently to hand it is evident that the report of the Auditor General on the waste, losses and other grave delinquencies connected with stores, pay, etc., in South Africa during the war, is creating a deep impression not only in the House of Commons, but also on the public mind. " It is," says the Daily Mail, "a long and unpleasant story of defective account-keeping, losses, deficient stores, and waste that the Auditor General relates, and it is only fair to tho officials who performed their duty honestly and to the firms which carried out their contracts fairly that Mie wrongdoers should be brought to book. There may be a perfectly good explanation as to why surplus stores in South Africa were sold by private treaty and not by auction. Wc notico that two Army contractors were tho principal purchasers. Certain dealings with forage contractors are likely to puzzle the plain man of business, and much remains to bo explained. The Auoji-tor-General was astonished to find that the Army had actually been selling forage to a contractor to enable him to carry out his contract. Whether or not this particular contract was for the Army is not clear. At any rate the Army was selling him oats at Us per 1001b and buying oats from him at 17s lOd —a lucrative and simple transaction for the contractor. On this point the Audi-tor-General is still asking for inforutation. Tho destruction of rations was on a scale astonishing in its magnitude. It was, in part at least, explained by the inadequate methods of storage ; but we may be sure tho manufacturers concerned will desire that thero should be full inquiry into tho facts l . The clothing department must have formed a very low estimate of the soldiers' requirements in dress. Each man was entitled to receive a new suit before leaving South Africa, or in place of it the sum of 13s (3d. They took the money and left the suits, 20,000 of which were sold at a loss of £7,000. Clothes which were not worth 151s 6d per suit in Capetown, at a time of abnormal prices, must have been unsatisfactory, in some respects." The amount set down in the Appropriation Account as having to be written off on uccount of losses consequent on. fraud •r otherwise during the war amounted to the sum of £201,815 odd, while the total number of rations destroyed as unlit for issue in South Afsica was :—Emergency rations 1,034,5513, meat and vegetable rations 4,557,090, valued at £295,000, i average tost price. It seems inevitable that every war should disclose more or less of the unsatisfactory features whih are referred to above, but it is none the less nacessary to endeavour to sheet home the blame on the right i»rsons. The accomplishment of that object is somewhat difficult, and in many cases impossible, owing to the status of some of those involved, and of those giving evidence. The War Oltice is making investigations, but whether the matter will end there is more than can i;e predicted. A stronger ease for inquiry cannot be imagined.