779
of the Canton Postal agency.
The details in the statement of wooount dram up on the
30th of June which sccompanies the Assistant auditor's report of
the 17th of July are rather neagre and do not fully explain how
the deficit arose, The Postmaster General has accordingly
awaited the receipt of the accounts for the months of april, May
and ♬ me in the hope that these would throw some further light
on the matter, but they contain no ref›rence to the deficiency.
Some of the statements in your letter of the 29th of
July are rather difficult to reconcile with the information
available here. It is stated, for instance, that FT. Hilton
has been in charge of the Agency since December 1921.
It appears,
however, that Mr. Milton has been signing the agency socounts from
July 1921 to March 1922 and apparently has been drawing his salary
since the lat of July 1921.
The statom nt in paragraph 4 that dash for the payment of
Toney Orders is always forwarded from Hong Kong to Canton with the
advices is also not quite clear. During the period of Mr. Milton's
temre of the agency, 'oney Orders were advised amounting to more
than $19000 but remittances of $2000 only are shown. Moreover the
cash receipts at the agency from the sale of stumps, Postal Orders
eto., 180m generally to have been sufficient to pay all the outgoings
ingluding Money Orders. An examination of the agency accounts does
not seem to support the suggestion in paragraph 12 of your letter that
the deficiency may have been a legacy from Mr. Wilton's predecesa07+
The practice of retaining surplus Cash at the agency, which gave the
Chinese clerk an opportunity for embezzlement, apparently began with
Mr. Hilton's tenure of office. On the evidens at present before
him, therefore, the Postmaster General is unable to avoid the
conclusion
To. 8676/22.
conclusion that the most, if not the whole, of the responsibility
for the deficismy rests with Mr. Hilton; and, while he appreciatan
the extenuating circumstances which have been urged, he finds it
difficult to admit that they justify the neglect of so elementary
a precaution as the inspection of the balance in hand at the agency.
If you are still of opinion that the defalcations bagan before Mr.
Milton took over the agency the reasons which lead you to hold that
opinion can perhaps be stated.
To facilitate fuller consideration of the matter perhaps you
will be good nough to furnish a copy of the report of the 11th of
Hay referred to in the Assistant Amiitor's report of the 17th of July,
and to state the date of the last previous visit made to Canton
for purposes of audit before the visit to which this report referred,
Finally the Postauster General would be glad to learn in what
circumstances the Hong Kong auditor soquiesced in the practice,
introduced apparently by Mr. Wilton, of retaining Cash Balances ut
the agency largely in ewess of the liabilities.
sir,
I 37
sir,
Your obedient Servant,
(Sgd.)
F-G.G. Twinn
for the Secretary,
GENERAL POST OFFICE,
HONG KONG
27th December 1922.
With reference to your letter of 16th November 1922,
No. 140325/22, I beg to inform you that Mr. T. Dallin, „asistant
auditor, is proceeding on leave by the sea, "Kashgar".
As Mr. Dallin investigated the fanton accounts, he is
familiar with the question of the defalcations and it will I believa
:
:
help if you will ask Mr. Dallin to attend at your
office