185 (79) ·
EVIDENCE.
64/5
147/8
† 265.-DR. F. W. CLARK sworn:
Mr. Humphreys. I would like to know whether the money disbursed on personal emoluments and other charges passes through your hands?
A.—No, it does not pass through my hands.
Q. Do you check these accounts in any way?
A. I check the expenditure from month to month and watch the expenditure from month to month I do not check the public expenditure unless---
Q.-Would you like me to quote a case? For instance, now supposing the Secretary of the Sanitary Board, or whoever it is who handles the money, sends to the Hong- kong Dispensary for $300 worth of Chloride of Lime. Would you know that $3,000 or $300 had been spent?
A. I would not know how it was spent.
Q.-You would not know where or how it was spent. In other words you would only know that the money voted by the Legislative Council had been spent?
A.-No, I mean that where there are contracts sanctioned by the Government the Secretary hands out the money for these contracts an orders goods from such contractors without reference to me. But any expenditure not so sanctioned by Government inust be
submitted to me.
264.-G. A, WOODCOCK sworn:
Mr. Humphreys.-I want to get on with this first. In this case it is possible for the Inspector to do everything-to order the goods and sign the Bill as correct afterwards?
A. Supposing an Inspector wishes to order a thing, his requisition is first sent on to the Medical Officer of Health who sees that it is reasonable, and after the Medical Officer of Health has initialled it the requisition is handed on to Mr. Bowen Bowlands and each Inspector has an account of how many goods he orders-for instance Lime and Jeyes' Fluid-and the amount ordered by each Inspector is checked that way. Then when it is found out the order from the Inspector is a reasonable one, I order the goods, the order which I sign is attached to the Bill and the Inspector sees that the goods that have been received are in good order.
Q-Really, although you actually initial the thing or more or less endorse it the whole responsibility of the thing from the time the goods are ordered to the time they are paid for rests with the Inspector alone. The Inspectors make the suggestion that the goods shall be ordered. They suggest that so much shall be ordered and they say that those things that have been ordered have been supplied?
A. Yes.
*
These numbers are those of the original type-written pages.
†Those numbers are those of the paragraphs of the Report in which the Evidenco is referred to