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Financial Instruction No. 80, having reference to the making use or advancing of public money was waived by a former Treasurer and the system of payment of shroffs' salaries out of the Crown rent collected was in force when I came to Taipo: the corresponding amount of pay was drawn in the Treasury and when the shroff came in Hongkong it was paid by him with other Crown rent into the Bank.
This was done throughout the last financial year, until the 28th of March, when Chan Fat Ha, one of the shroffs, drew out the shroff's pay for that month $282.90, and on April 8th, or Ath. Ng Yung Fu drew out $432.80 more, as the shroffs' and sergeants' pay for February, both of which sums had been drawn in the usual way from the Crown Rent, and should in fact have been held as public money unless some authority was brought from me for payment to the shroff instead of into the Bank, while in addition the February paysheets had already been signed and returned to the Treasury. The first shroff at the Treasury stated afterwards that the latter payment was made by the Second shroff in his absence, but I submit that both for the system and for this particular act the Treasurer alone is responsible.
The shroffs' collection books have always been regularly kept and carefully checked by me since their inception.
The Assistant Auditor complained on the occasion of his visit that the totals were not carried forward and added up each month, but this was only a matter of convenience and did not involve any irregularity in the sums of totals entered.
The sent rolls also were continually checked by...
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