DRAFT.
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of duty on the part of the Treasurer and Acting Treasurer, which prevented him from duly discharging his duties as Auditor.
(vi) The Office of Audit duties from 6 from the year 1854 the arrival of Mr. Nicolle.
3. The officer to whom the heaviest amount of blame must be attributed is unquestionably Mr. Mitchell Innes; and I regret to observe that he has not improved his position by the tone and temper of his defence. He, no doubt, misapprehended the relative duties of a Treasurer and an Auditor; but in considering the weight to be attached to this excuse, it must be borne in mind that upon his appointment as Treasurer, he received special instructions as to the responsibilities and duties of his office, which were conveyed in my predecessor's despatch No.194 of the 14th of September 1890; and I fear also that in the same Financial Instructions for Hong Kong were drawn up, which, if they had been followed with even ordinary intelligence, would have prevented ...