THE VOUCHER CHARGES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7918, 6 September 1905, Page 2

THE VOUCHER CHARGES.

MR. FISHER'S QUALIFIED APOLOGY, i "FORGED DOCOHEHT." FURTHER INQUIRY ASKED FOR. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Aug. 5.

Late this afternoon Mr K. M. B. Fisher, M.H.R., forwarded the following letter to the Premier "Sir,—ln reference to the report o! the Auditor and Controller-General upon a charge made tty me of a payment to Captain R. J. S. Seddon, ati Uhristehurch, last year, I wish now 10 inform you that 1 have very caret fully weighed the evidence attached} .hereto, and, as a result, I am 'desirous of carrying out my expressed intention by taking that course which would seem reasonable and honourablq uivder the perplexing circumstances.. First, I desiire therefore to express to you and your son my deep and sincere regret at the unfortunate position in which you have been placed, and I wish to assure you that I freely and frankly accept the decision of the Auditor-General so far as the charge of a payment to Captain Seddon is concerned. Second, I wish to assure you that at no stage in the proceedings was I actuated by personal motives either against yourself or Captain Seddon. I had in my possession evidence such as no public man would disregard, and I believed then, and continue to believe, that 1 acted in accordance with the , trust reposed in me by my constituents, Third,, the evidence taken by the Auditor-General still, however, leaves ground for a public inquiry. Whilst it completely exonerates Captain Seddon, ■ it leaves us confronted with' the fact that the document handled by Messrs , Willis, Larcomlbe, West and Lundon was in existence, and, aocepting the denial of Captain Seddon, must have been signed 'R. J. Seddon 1 by someone, a person who, in the interests ol common justice should be discovered. Fourth, I mit, further, that we have a right to prosecute a most searching investigation in order to discover tihe origin of the document handled , by my witnesses, and if it still exists, to ascertain its present whereabouts. Filth, that accepting the certificates of the departmental heads as being accurate does not, the evidence of my witness' es prove conclusively that a dulvl certified voucher has been in existence, has been handled 't>y four compotent men, was signed by one I R. J. is. Seddon, and apparently paid, and all without the knowledge of those in authority ? Sixth, dses all this not point most conclusSvlcy to the fact that, an illegal document has been in existence, and that on the document there was a signature mull IZ. J£f faCe , 0f thc evidence must have 'been a forgery ?• Seventh' 1 havo unbounded evidence in the tesnmony of Messrs Willis, La«, f and Lundon, Snd it is now due ,° ll ' em . as you recently held it was due to Messrs Hey wood, Collins and Gray, that this matter'shouldbe ef-