DEFENCE COMMISSION.
LI EUTENAOT-COLOXEL MWX-ALD-S EVIDENCE. By Telcgrapli.—iPress Association. 'Wellington, May 9. Before the Defence Expenditure Commission to-day, H. E. Manning, builder and contractor, Wellington, said lie considered there was a combine in Wellington, a union for the whole fitting out of transports. The Minister was right to see the thing to the bottom. Mostly Government goods had been supplied to certain Wellington firms, which had been making a very good thing out of it. Witness alleged that there was some waste of timber ordered for troopship work. I/ieutenant-Cnlonfl T. V T AT< Don aid, fieneral Staff, Wellington Military r. trict. was also examined, and emphasised the fact that botli partly trained territorials and untrained civilians were put on the same level in training, and that a territorial with severai years' training was squadded with wholly untrained men and told he must forget all he had previously learned, etc. He gave details to show that with the exclusion of bombing and anti-gns practice, the training of New Zealand territorial men in camp need only be '44 days. The estimated loss whirfi resulted from the unnecessary time taken up by training in "New Zealand was:—Territorials £3*28,400, civilians j £l73,ooo—making a total of £500,000. The loss *o the community by reason of these men being taken from productive labor he estimated at £500,000 making a total loss per annum of £1,000,000, or the total since the war bapan of £3.000,000. He contended tlio,t the establishment of camps was excessive. Witness submitted a schedule showing a loss of over £2,000.000. which the country suffered through lack of organisation, co-ordination, and supervision. Tn New Zealand onlv there was n waste of ammunition used by cadets, who were supplied with cartridges costing £8 per thousand, instead of cartridges costing 255. When he made a suggestion once he wa» told to mind his own business, and his other suggestions were ignored-
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Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1918, Page 6
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315DEFENCE COMMISSION. Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1918, Page 6
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