Forgery

Sensational £50,000 N.G. Timber Deal

Alleged

'Jock' Garden Before Federal Court On Charge of Forgery

rpHREE summonses were served upon A John Smith (“Jock”) Garden, of Double Bay, Sydney, on January 2, and on January 7 he appeared in the Special Federal Court, Sydney, on charges of having: • On or about November 20. 1945, at Sydney, forged a letter issuable by the Department of External Tenitories. • On or about November 20. 1945, forged a letter issuable by the Administrator of the Territory of New Guinea. • On or about November 20. 1945, at Sydney, being a Commonwealth officer, fraudulently and in breach of his duty falsified a letter together with a plan attached thereto.

The summonses were issued following inquiries by the Commonwealth Investi gation Service into alleged irregularities concerning the granting of a New Guinea timber lease. The incident has caused a sensation in Australian political circles and is of particular interest to New Guinea residents.

It is understood that investigations were commenced about mid-December, after the alleged irregularities came under the notice of the Minister for External Territories (Mr. E. J. Ward). Inquiries concerned a transaction which was alleged to have taken place about two years previously, in respect of the grant ing of timber leases and over which £50,000 was alleged to have changed hands.

A Queensland timber company is said to have received a letter, purporting to come from Mr. Ward, informing them that they had been granted timber leases in the Bulolo Valley, New Guinea. No at tempt was made to work these leases but it is understood that recent inquiries from the company precipitated the CIS inquiry, and led to the issue of summonses against Garden.

GARDEN was born in Scotland in 1882.

He became a minister of the Baptist Church, and of the Evangelist Church of Christ in Australia.

After he left the church, he was, for 20 years, secretary of the NSW Labour Coun cil, and a very prominent figure, as a Left wing Labourite, in Australian politics.

It was during this period that he at tended a Communist conference, in Russia, as a representative of Australia. In 1934, he secured the Labour nomination for the Cook seat, and entered the Federal House of Representatives as a Lang- Labour member. There were then four Lang Labourites in the House—Garden, Ward, Beasley (now High Commissioner in London) and Rosevear (now Speaker) —and they formed a compact and aggressive group within the Labour Party.

Garden failed to secure the Labour nom ination in 1937, and disappeared from Parliament.

In 1942, Garden was appointed Liaison Officer in the Department of Labour and National Service, when Mr, Ward held that portfolio.

In the Cabinet reshuffle in 1943, Mr.

Ward became Minister for Transport and for External Territories, and Mr. Hollo way was Minister for Labour and National Service. Garden remained an officer in the latter department, however, until a few weeks ago.

It had been alleged that Garden was at one time secretary of the Communist Party in Australia. This was denied by the Prime Minister in the House of Rep resentatives in 1946.

TIHE Special Federal Court was packed when Garden appeared for the hear ing of the summonses on January 7.

Many prominent Union officials, legal men and one Commonwealth Senator were present.

Mr. Simon Isaacs appeared for Garden and immediately asked for an adjourn ment until January 21. This was sub sequently granted, after bail on the three charges had been fixed at £3lO.

Mr. Shand, KC (for the Commonwealth) said that evidence would show that the letter, granting the timber leases to a certain Queensland company and pur porting to have been sent under the authority of the Minister, was sent by Garden; that the letter was in respect of a purported sale of a licence for the recovery of timber in the Bulolo Valley, New Guinea; that an amount of £50,000 had been paid by a Queensland company to certain persons, of whom Garden was one.

The three charges against Garden, Mr.

Shand said, all arose out of the one letter.

Mr. Isaacs said that the only document of which Garden had any knowledge, under the date of November 20, 1945, was a letter signed by him “E. J. Ward, per pro J. S. Garden.”

Mr. Shand said that that was the letter referred to.

Mr. Isaacs said that whatever the nature of the charge, Garden had a per fectly good defence.

Mr. Edmond Vienot, a member of a pioneer family of French Oceania, and a man prominent in the French commun ity died recently in Papeete at the age of 67. He is survived by his widow and several daughters.