In reply I am to state for the information of Lord Knutsford that the Comptroller and Auditor General is willing to agree to the arrangement proposed. He will also be prepared, at an early date, to select a person for the appointment of a local Auditor.
On the other hand, as some delay must inevitably take place before the Local Auditor can proceed to Hongkong, and as it seems undesirable to leave the Accounts of this important Colony without examination longer than is absolutely necessary, the Comptroller and Auditor General would suggest, should the Secretary of State be disposed to agree to this and should the Governor raise no objection, that the monthly Accounts and Vouchers should be made up by the Treasurer and forwarded direct to this Office if possible from the 1st January 1890.
He thinks that in this way any defects which might exist in the mode of rendering the Accounts would be most readily detected and most speedily remedied; and, moreover, the person who might be selected for the post of local Auditor would have the opportunity of conferring with, and ascertaining the views of the Examiners, before he left this Country.
In expressing this opinion, I am desired to say that the Comptroller and Auditor General fully concurs in the views entertained by the Secretary of State (as conveyed in his Despatch of 11th October last) as to the importance of a check upon the vouchers being instituted by the Colonial Treasurer before he renders his account.
The arrangements and Pay of the Staff which will be necessary for the conduct of the Audit under the control of the Comptroller...