Resident Engineer under con- -tract sys- -tem.
Construct- -ion Staff.
Stores and Accounts.
Supervision
of work by Colonial Government.
12.
Then the contract system is adopted it may still be necessary to appoint a Resident Engineer to supervise the work done by the contractors; in that case his functions are of course more limited than under the departmental system but his relations with the Government and the Consulting Engineer are the same in general character.
13. As regards the staff necessary to assist the Resident Engineer, such men as cannot be procured locally are engaged in the same way as the Resident Engineer by the Crown Agents, on the recommendation of the Consulting Engineer. Provision for these appointments is of course included in the detailed estimates. All the business connected with the preparation of the agreements, engagement of passages etc., is conducted by the Crown Agents.
14.
It is of great importance that the stores and accounts of the Resident Engineer and his staff should be carefully kept, that every payment should be promptly brought to account under the appropriate item of the estimate, and that arrangements should be made for prompt and effective audit by an officer independent of the Resident Engineer. In Colonies where there is a Local Auditor, acting under the instructions of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in London, it will generally be desirable to make use of his services if they are available. The value of the audit will depend to a large extent on the careful preparation of the detailed estimate.
15. It may appear at first sight that, under the departmental system, the Government which is the most interested in the work and which finds has little or no means of direct control. But the manner in which the system is carried out amply secures to the Government the fullest measures of administrative supervision consistent with the technical responsibility of the Consulting Engineers. It is the duty of the Resident Engineer as stated previously to refer to the Government on any questions on which it is likely