I
unfortunate that Mr. Guthrie who is I believe an Imperial Post Office Official Cd who was temporarily in charge of the agency did not thoroughly go
3. I regret to inform you that after making a complete check of
stook of stamps, postal mutter, paid money orders, oath and other
receipts which were prodused by the Postal agent! and the clerk in
charge I found a deficit of $4,142.56 for which no adequate expl.nation
could be givən.
4.
Before making any further comment on this unfortunate state of
affairs, I should like to place on record that the clerk in charge of the
Post Office, Mr. Sha Tu Chieh informed me that when I went to survey the
Postal Agency in 1919 he squared the sccounts by borrowing $3,000 and
paring it in. The Postal agent, Ir. Jallis, le aware that Mr. Shu Ta
Chish made this statesɛnt, It will bo sean from my report of 24.11.19
I objected to the large amount of cash.
1
5. The present state of affairs was discovered by the presant Postal
agent ir, šallis when he recently took over from Ir. Hilton who had been
rostalgent, I believe, for about nine month. r. Jillis reported a
deficit of $4,500 and on my first survey I made the defloit considerably
more, but later I found that credit for the remittance to Hankow had not
been allowed. If I should nave missed any further sum for which credit
should be given to the agency I shall be only too pleased to correct my
figure, us the accounts produced werd somewhat disc armeated and the clerk
in charge more inclined to talk than assist some receipt might not have
been produced, but I think it extremely mlikely.
6.
My opinion is that the losses or defalcations have been going
on for some considerable time, but I consider that it is extremely
unlikely whether any actual charge of defaleation could be made with any
hope of succ088.
7. I should like to be allowed to state that I consider it extremely
unfort mate
into the accounts and explain them when he handed them over to p.
Milton in 1921. The accounts are difficult to anyone who cannot
give his whole time to them, and it was Mr. Milton's first appointment
when he took over the agency in addition to his Consular duties.
8. I should like to place on record my thanks to Mesaru, Wallin
and wilton for the great assistance they gave 106.
I have, ato..
(Sd.) T. Dallin.
Assistant Arditor.
•
Assistant Auditor to juditor, Hongkong.
Awit Department, Hongkong.
24th November, 1919.
No. 59.
sir.
I have the honour to inform you that in accordance with your
instructions I left the Colony at 10 p.m. on the £ist instant on a
tour of inspection of the Postal Agency at Canton. I returned to the
Colony on the 23rd instant. I have to report that the account books
of the Postal agency have baan very budly kept, and had not been
written up since the 1st lovesber. after a great d al of trouble the
accounts were balanced and an emess of j43.00 was found which I requested
should be paid to the credit of the Government. The bank 400 cunt was
found to be overdram to the extent of $239.19, while the postal clerk
had a large sum of money in the safe, I requested that the larger part
of the money (1.0. $1000) should be paid inte the bank at once.
outstanding unpaid money orders amounted to $3137.46. I have to thank
The
*. Jagieson, the acting Postal agent, for the great assistance he gave
me with the accounts.
1 have, sto..
(ugd.}
T. Dallin.
Assistant apditor.
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