27

Captain clark.j

I.—id.

have had the roll which you mentioned as showing those who were entitled to the clasps in the Seventh ? —Yes; it was on record in the office. They may not have found it, for it was amongst the Seventh Contingent's books. I couli have found it for them if they had asked me. 9. A clerk would have been able to do it ?—Yes, if he had had the necessary roll; but the roll was not marked in the necessary form. There was a tick opposite certain names, and unless it had been explained to him he would not have known what that tick was for. The tick meant that a man was on column. 10. Bt. Hon. B. J. Seddon.] Supposing you had been killed in action, no one would have known what that tick represented?— The tick would not have been known. Instead of, as the Minister said, making the work spin out, as soon as it was done by me, on the 28th February, I at once left the office. It had not then been finished as far as the typewriting was concerned. If I had been wanting to make the work spin out I could have stayed there for another month, because the typewriting was not finished till then. When the work was done I submitted a voucher as follows : "To duty making out discharge-certificates of Seventh Contingent, 26 days at £1 per day, £26 ; detention, 26 days at 12s. 6d., £16 2s. 6d.; to duty under orders of 05.0., preparing King's Medal rolls of First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Contingents, 144 days at £1 per day, £144; detention, 144 days at 12s. 6d., £90 : total, £276 2s. 6d. This is the amount I now claim in the petition before the House, not £634 Os. 3d., as has been stated by the Hon. the Minister. Coming to the detention-money not being allowable to me, certainly before I left for the war my home was in Wellington, but during the course of the war I remitted money — of this I can bring proof—through the bank to my brother, who has a store near Eltham. It was my intention to go into partnership with him when I came back to New Zealand, and that was why I remitted the money. Immediately my work was done at the Headquarters Office I went to Eltham. I could not go before because I was engaged on the work of which I have spoken. Certainly, though my home was in Wellington before the war commenced, the war had been going on for very nearly three years, and I have a perfect right to change my home, I presume. I will go back to the £634 Os. 3d. quoted by the Hon. the Minister. He said that at a certain date I wrote him a letter saying that that amount was due to me. That was quite right. At the date I wrote the letter I presumed that the amount was actually due to me. This is a copy of the letter I wrote: "From Captain J. J. Clark, N.Z.M., late Adjutant, Ninth New Zealand Contingent, to the Hon. the Minister of Defence. —Wellington, 11th March, 1903. —Pay, gratuities, &c.—Sir, —l have the honour to request that vouchers submitted by me on the dates as set forth be passed for payment. Auaust 18, 1902—Difference in pay, £50 2s. ; extra-duty pay, £5 2s. ; sundries, £9 ss. sd. : February 28, 1903—Pay, £277 17s. 6d. ; gratuity, £191 13s. 4d.; gratuity, £50; gratuity, £50 : total, £634 os. 3d. lam verbally informed by the Acting Under-Secretary for Defence that they must first be submitted for your approval. The total sum is a considerable one, and I should be glad if payment could be facilitated.—l have, &c, J. J. Clark, Captain, N.Z.M." 11. The Chairman.] You saw the Acting Under-Secretary when you presented that?—-I had seen him personally before then. 12. And he made no remark to you about any lesser payment ?—No ; but I may say that this was only eleven days after my submission of the original voucher. Certainly at the time I wrote the letter to the Minister that amount, according to my calculations, was actually due to me. The Committee must not run away with the idea that that total sum of £634 had accrued during my services in New Zealand at the Headquarters Office. Nothing like it. Let me first take the amounts stated in that memorandum to the Premier. The first item was a voucher for £50 2s. This was presented immediately on the arrival of the Hon. the Minister in New Zealand when he returned from the Coronation ceremonies, and this amount is really embodied in the joint petition, so that I do ■ not think I need necessarily go into it, because it is not so immediately concerned. The £50 2s. was the difference in rank between lieutenant and captain; but, as I say, it is in the joint petition. The next item is extra-duty pay, £5 2s. The original account for that I handed in the other day. There is extra-duty pay on each ship coining back as a transport where she was a regular transport, as in the case of the " Orient." There is a certain allowance due to various officers, and this allowance was due to me. The allowance is perfectly justified according to the King's Regulations, and has been claimed and obtained. The men of other contingents have claimed it. As I say, it is allowable according to the King's Regulations, and in my case it amounted to, I think, 3s. 6d. a day for the time I was on board the ship. The amount can be open to no question at all. That it is allowable by the King's Regulations could be easily found out from the officers in the Department, and the non-payment of it so far is simply negligence on the part of the Department. There is no question whatever about the validity of the claim. No doubt, if the matter is again brought under notice I presume a voucher will be passed for the payment of it, because, as has been seen, the voucher had been lying in the office for some time without being found. Fortunately Mr. Barber, in his search through the office, discovered the voucher, where it had been lying unpaid, and now I have no doubt it will be paid. 13. Bt. Hon. B. J. Seddon.] Is this the voucher that I have here ?—-That is the voucher for £9 ss. sd. for sundries. I have not remarked on that yet. 14. There is no date on which it is certified? —Would that stop payment of it? 15. Certainly?—ln the course of twelve months would it not have been possible to have returned it to the officer certifying to insert the date ? 16. The Chairman.] I think you gave evidence that you had only had the papers in your possession since ?—Since the 18th August of this year, and then they had been in the office since the previous 18th August—within a few days of twelve months, at any rate. The next item in this memorandum is £9 ss. sd. for sundries. That is the sum that I had paid during the time we were in the Seventn and Ninth Contingents. Colonel Porter was not always on column ; in fact, he was more often off column than on column. He had the imprest account, and so any