per centum to erroneous allocations and the remainder to miscellaneous matters.
7. Delay.
316 Reference has been made above to the injurious operation of delay on the detection of fraud or overspending of votes. To this may be added the inconvenience which must often attach to the rectification of mistakes many months old. That delay does occur will appear from the following facts. The first batch of queries on the accounts for the year 1903 bear date 31st March, 1904, the last 31st March, 1905, and the dates for the four subsequent years are:-
for 1904, 31st March, 1905, 4th May, 1906;
for 1905, 29th November, 1905, 6th July, 1906;
for 1906, 7th December, 1906, 13th July, 1907; and for 1907, 10th January, 1908, 12th February, 1908.
104
8. Duplication of Labour.
The duplication of labour involved constitutes another very serious objection to a central audit. Authorities, accounts, vouchers, and receipts must be furnished in duplicate and this doubling of work affects not only all departments but every individual or firm with which the Government has financial dealings.
9. Your Lordship will observe that the Committee have submitted an estimate which would appear to