AGY-4786 | Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case of Mr Charles Herbert Battye, Inspector of Conditional Purchases, charged with having accepted a bribe

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The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case of Mr Charles Herbert Battye, Inspector of Conditional Purchases who was charged with having accepted a bribe, was appointed on 17 March 1896.(1) Charles Battye was accused of accepting a bribe in the course of reporting to the Minister for Lands on the bona-fides of certain selections taken up on Nanima Run.(2) A complaint was made to the Minister for Lands and the Local Land Board held an inquiry to ascertain if there was any ground for the inference that the conditional purchasers had made false declarations when they made application for the land. Charles Battye was suspended as Inspector of Conditional Purchases for the Orange District based on the evidence given in the inquiry. The case was then referred by the Minister for Lands to the Public Service Board but they were unable to deal with the case because the offence with which Battye was charged occurred before the Board’s appointment.(3) However, the following members of the Board were subsequently appointed as a Royal Commission under Act 44 Victoria No.1: George A. Wilson, J. Barling, and T.A. Coghlan.(4) The Commission opened in the Courthouse at Molong on 26 March 1896 and continued at Forbes on the following two days. Fourteen witnesses were examined and the evidence given by some of the witnesses was very conflicting.(5) The Commission found that:
i) on three separate occasions the manager of Nanima Holding, Mr A.H. Brown attempted to bribe Battye;
ii) Battye retained for some days the cheque for twenty-five pounds, instead of reporting the matter to his superior officers;
iii) Battye did not attempt to find from Osberg, the drawer of the cheque, the reason of its being sent to him, although, as he states, no slip was enclosed with it;
iv) after receiving the cheque (the second attempt to bribe him), Battye visited Brown and accepted his hospitality, staying with him over-night and driving off in his buggy in the morning;
v) Battye consulted with his friend Mr Brook as to the propriety of retaining money admittedly coming to him by way of a bribe;
vi) Battye made a false entry in his field-book and caused a false entry to be made in his progress report; and
vii) Battye reported favourable on the selections under circumstances of grave suspicion.(6) Therefore, the Commission concluded that the case against Charles Herbert Battye, namely the acceptance of a bribe while acting in his official capacity as Inspector of Conditional Purchases, was proved.(7) The Commission’s Report was submitted on 11 May 1896.(8) ENDNOTES
1. Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case of Mr Charles Herbert Battye, Inspector of Conditional Purchases, charged with having accepted a bribe, p1, Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 1896, vol.2, p21.
2. loc. cit.
3. ibid., p2.
4. ibid., p2 and p4.
5. ibid., pp2-3.
6. ibid., p4.
7. loc. cit.
8. loc. cit.