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CORRESPONDENCE
well as the more immediate and apparent interests of the whole British empire. I trust, Sir, you will therefore pardon my earnestness regard- ing the island of Chusan, for on the retention or evacuation of that island depends, in my humble judgment, much weal or woe to England.
I have, &c.,
Sir,
R. M. MARTIN.
No. X.-To C. E. Trevelyan, Esq., Secretary to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury.
H. M. Treasury, Hong Kong, April 3, 1845.
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, my account current as Treasurer of this colony, from the 8th May (the period of my
arrival here) to 31st December, 1844; and also a copy of my quarterly account for the quarter terminating the year, as passed by the Auditor. I have as yet been unable to obtain the accounts of the Consulates for the past three quarters, but hope soon to obtain them. Scarcely any final vouchers have yet been rendered to me for 20,1867. 14s. 11d., the amount which I have transmitted to the different Consulates in China from the 8th May to the 31st December, 1844.
I have also the honour to transmit two statements which I prepared for his Excellency the Governor, showing the total revenue and total disbursements of the colony, from the 1st January to the 31st Decem- ber, 1844. The quarterly accounts current have been transmitted to the Auditor of the colony.
As there has been considerable and important deviations from the instructions of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, relative to the mode of making payments, and as the accounts of sums paid by Mr. Stewart, late treasurer, and by Mr. Commissary-General Coffin, have been in some measure confounded with my accounts, thereby causing considerable delay and some confusion, I have the honour to solicit that the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury will be pleased to call for copies of all correspondence which has passed between me and his Excellency Mr. Davis, the Colonial Secretary, and the Auditor, on the subjects above referred to. This correspondence is voluminous, and I have no clerks to make copies; I, however, transmit
WITH THE TREASURY.
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copies of several letters which will sufficiently indicate the necessity of the Government here complying with the required forms.
In my letter of the 6th January, 1845, to the Colonial Secretary, I urged a compliance with the instructions of the Lords of the Treasury, and begged that the Governor would reconsider his orders, in the fol- lowing words: "I venture to solicit his Excellency's reconsideration of the directions conveyed in your letter of this date before they be carried into effect. We are now at the commencement of a new year, and it is extremely desirable that the forms of accounts and the manner in which disbursements are to be made and vouched be in strict confor- mity with the instructions furnished by the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury. These instructions are simple, clear, and of easy execution; a deviation from them causes, as has been already experienced, a very large amount of unnecessary labour, a delay in preparing the periodical returns, a want of perfect clearness, and an increased pecuniary responsibility on my part, which I do not feel justi- fied in incurring.
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By the adoption of the instructions conveyed in your letter of this date, I shall be justly chargeable with violating the instructions of the Lords of the Treasury, and which in my opinion may, without difficulty or disadvantage to the public service, be, from the commencement the present year, carried into effect.
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By making payments three and four times during the quarter, instead of once to the heads of departments, double the present esta- blishment of clerks will be required in the treasury; a complication of accounts will necessarily ensue, unless my account current was rendered monthly instead of quarterly, and I should incur an increased responsi- bility and risk, by reason of the augmented number and preservation of vouchers, which I do not feel justified in subjecting my securities to, (particularly in this unhealthy and sickly climate,) unless the Governor be pleased to release me from the obligation which the securities entered into with the Queen impose."
I earnestly entreat the attention of their Lordships to this cor- respondence; I feel confident they will not subject me to blame, either for the delay which has occurred in transmitting the quarterly ac- counts, or for any deviation which may have taken place in the pre- scribed forms.
I submitted the case to Commissary-General Coffin, and to Deputy Commissary-General Miller, and both these gentlemen said it was
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