701
that I
am to blam.
to blame for
not having had the 1890
Rent Roll promptly balanced.
deeply regretting
While de
to appre
that 3.
Appreciate.
o
failure my taking up office the importance of having my predecessor's Rent Roll promptly balanced should have resulted in unduly delaying the discovery of the existence of defalcations I would beg to draw attention to the fact
a.
that 1891 was
there being
very busy
Constitutional
year,
meetings of
Executive
Legislative Council, that
my time
was much taken up
with the transfer of
Opium Farm and
framing of new
Opium Ordinances,
that every item of Treasury work was a complete novelty to
me, that when the Local Auditor
drew my attention to the
fact that the 1890 Rent Roll had not been balanced & endeavoured to get it made up but that as I did understand that he was not able to audit the accounts properly without it (as a matter of fact the correctness of accounts was certified to by Comptroller & Auditor General last year) I did not insist, in the face of Alves's plea of overwork on its being at once balanced; that, to the best of my belief, no further reference was made to the matter up to the time of my going on leave when the balancing was 3 months in arrear (which showed in the report of Commission was £300
15-
the extraordinary thing