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CHINA MAIL
FIRST NEWSPAPER IN THE FAR EAST ESTABLISHED 1845.
No. 32,093
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 1941
Price: 10 cts.
INSIST ON
Daisy Brand
Australia's Choicest
BUTTER
IMMIGRATION OFFICE INQUIRY
Treasury Expert Spends Morning Giving Evidence FALL OF Alleges "Appalling" RUSSO-
Inefficiency In
TEPELINI NEAR
[SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL"}
Pivotal Tepelini, key to the "Italian Hindenburg Line," is reported to be on the verge of capture by the Greeks.
GERMAN
Control ofAccounts TENSION?
"APPALLING INEFFICIENCY " IN THE CONTROL OF ACCOUNTS WAS AMONG THE CRITICISMS LEVELLED AT THE IMMIGRA- TION DEPARTMENT BY MR. E. W. PUDNEY, ACCOUNTANT - GENERAL, WHO WAS PRIN- CIPAL WITNESS TO-DAY AT THE OPENING OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE Several additional sur-IMMIGRATION OFFICE. rounding mountain posi-
Mr. Pudney said that the difficulties met tions were taken yester- day, the fourth day of the with in the management of the Department war's biggest battle. were the same that would be met with in the It is belloved the Greek High inauguration of any new department and effort to shatter the Italian den, with a little more foresight would have dis-
Command will make a supreme
fences before German troops can push to Salonika,
Capture of Tepelini would force
a general Italian
retreat north
Elbasan, arid release thousands
appeared.
They were aggravated, he said, by the failure of to a line between Durazzo and the Immigration Officer to take advantage of the financial staff at his disposal. The staff engaged for senior posts, also, seemed to him to be unsuitable.
of Greek troops for east Mace- Ser-
donia.-International News
vice.
SWIFT ACTION CERTAIN
[SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL"] ~
President Roosevelt yes terday summoned
When Mr. A. J. G. Taylor was transferred to organise a proper system of records, said Mr. Pudney, he was hampered by the need of keeping up with the ordinary day to day work and by the almost com- plete absence of collated record of earlier transac- tions of the Department.
The Immigration Officer was Such brief pérusal as
been able making payments out of cash re- have
to make in celved, contrary to Colonial Re- the past few day's
reveals gulations. In the register of per- that the question of the organ- to isatio of these fundamentally much In
hits, the names of persons whom these bad been
con- were not always entered.
issued essential records is not so
as mentioned in the report.
gressional, military, naval Sir Atholl MacGregor presided, fact the only reference which and financial leaders for the other members of the Com-
being mission
might in any way be construed as Mr. C. Bernard being directed towards accounts a conference in Washing- Brown, Mr. D. Drummond, Mr. H. is in pages 30 and 31, where it is K. Woo, with Mr. K. M. A. Bar- stated that "The Head Office will ton to-day, to fix the ne-nett as Secretary.
be responsible for.. (7) Fin- ancial arrangements of the De- cessary amount to launch Mr. R. A. D. Forrest, Immigra|partment." the aid for Britain pro- tion Officer was present, as well
gramme, as Congress put
the finishing touches on the Lease and Lend Bill.
as
Assistant Mr. J. P. Murphy, Crown Solicitor.
Mr. Pudney's Evidence
Final action will come when In the course of his evidence, the House of Representatives Mr. E. W. Pudney, the unanimously consents to an Accountant-General, stated: agreement vote on Serate amend- "The proper
ments after a two-hour debate.
Department Finances
Mr. Pudney added that Colon- ial Regulations, framed by the Secretary of State for the Colon-
ies, and incorporated in the Gen- eral Order of the Hong Kong Civil Service, lay down certain basic principles regarding colonial fin- control of immi- ances and accounts. These princi- gration into the Colony is depen-ples are sufficiently wide to allow Administration` members ten-
dent on the issue to approved of details being made to conform tatively estimate that the 'Pre- sident will request an initial persons, and approved persons to departmental organisation, pro- vided that adequate safeguards only, of the necessary permits. outlay of three billion dollars. It Is, therefore, essential to see against irregularities are provided. They say Britain has already that permits do not fall into un- Witness explained briefly these submitted an emergency, list of authorised hands. This can only principles, after which he con- articles wanted immediately, as be done by a proper system of
tinued: well as a programme of $1,400,-records, controlling the receipt of that is to say, more than two
"Towards the end. of October- #00:000. for new war materials,-
blank forms, their issue for com International News Servicè,
pletion, and their final handing months after the report of Mr. over to the approved applicant,in Middlebrook-the question of the return for, the prescribed fee, accounts for the proposed new de- This is quite simple accounting partment was raised verbally and of immigration control”?!
on October> $1, suggestions were ASSO
made, and a form of departmental Witness continued that when cash book devised. the organisation, of the Immigça: This cash book was not adopt- tion Office was under discussion, ed, I discovered later, nor was witness was never consulted. *
any other form of general, de- With Mr. Rendel's departure "It was not until the morning partmental cash book, instituted, from Sofia, it is believed in some of March, 8, 1941, that I so much
Imprest quarters that the long-awaited as saw a copy of the report (Re- RAF. attack on German troop port of Mr. Middlebrook, Singa- "It is significant too, that al concentrations in Bulgaria and pore, Immigration Expert), and its though it was admitted that de- Rumania may be expected short" proposals for the organisation of posits would have to be refund- ly—International News Service" | the Department.
(Continued on Page, 8),
BRITISH. ATTACK
IMMINENT ? MLS[SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL".
That drastle Briting action is
• possible la infticuted by the orde to. British subjects to leave Buda- pest and Belgrade.
BELGRADE ALLEGES NAZI
OFFER TO GREECE
ISPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL"}
The Belgrade corres- pondent of the London "Daily Mirror” in a report yesterday stated that the Russo/German relations were not happy.
fact This is suggested by the that Germany has 350,000 troops (SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL") concentrated on the Rumanian
The London "Daily Telegraph" reports Belgrade radio as say- ing that the German Minister in Athens has handed Dr. Korizis, the Greek Premier, "some pro- posals."
These are reported to be a suggestion for an armistice and . the Greek surrender of bases including Salonika. Interna- tional News Service.
border. of Bessarabia which con- trasts strongly with '150,000 in Bulgaria and 250,000 troops on the Yugoslavian border.
that The report further adds Russia's reply to this "threat" has been to concentrate 1,200,000 troops stretching from Chernautsi to Odessa,
In divided Poland, says the Bel- grade despatch, two other big armies are facing each other.-In- ternational News Service.
STRANGE ITALIAN
ALLEGATION
[SPECIAL TO "CH)NA MAIL"] The Italian Newspaper "Mes. sagero" stated that the Yugosla- vian authorities have denied tran- sit to the represetnatives of Bel- gium, Poland and Holland, who left Sofia on Sunday and were proceeding to Greece-Interða- itional News Service.
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