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regular direction of the business liable from a pecuniary point of view.
It was to relive the Treasurer of this liability that the offics of Collector at Tai Po was created, inasmuch as it was not possible for the former to exercise the necessary constant super- vision without rendering the staff in the New Territory (North Portion) useless for half the year and delaying collection thereby.
1 therefore submit that I do not in this case cone under any regulation involving pecuniary liability. (The Local Auditor if he meant sole responsibility, including pecuniary, does not seem to have comprehended the situation).
The Collector at Tai Po is not an officer in my Department and i would not have had such an arrangement under any circun- stances, and the payment of the Shroffs out of the treasury Esti- nates was simply a matter of convenience similar to the payment of the Assessor over whom I have no more control than if he were under any other Department, his functions being regulated by law.
Dismissing the consideration of pecuniary liability 1 may
be held to blame for not having made an inspection some time after
any arrival towards the end of October last.
As a reason for such apparent neglect I have to urge that I did not see the practicability of my leaving this office for the time necessary.
It is impossible for me to be absent a whole day from the office as there are daily duties which car only be performed by myself.
I admit however that J ar to blame for not having called the attention of the Government to the difficulty with a view to getting over such, but so long as I have no deputy I cannot see how it will be convenient to make an occasional thorough inspec- tion.
There is no need to go into the various sections of Financial Instruction 3 as they all follow on the above, had 1 made
the
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