CO129-294 - Governor Sir Blake - 1899 [10-12] — Page 534

The number of registered articles has increased.

Not annexed.

Attached is a piece of the Attendance Book for the last six weeks. There is nothing special about this particular period; it is merely bringing facts up to date.

In October, no contract mails from Europe arrived on Sundays.

The two extra clerks for the Registration Department are required specially to deal with Parcels.

At present, the correspondence is divided; the Money Order Branch doing the work with the Colonial Secretary's Office, and the Accountant handling the rest. As the name implies, the latter has the accounts to keep, and in this connection, the balance sheet for last year is attached. Table E, with the exception of the Money Order transactions, all other accounts pass through his office.

His (the Accountant's) "books and accounts", and the amount of work and the number and complexity of accounts were the subject of special comment by the Retrenchment Committee of 1894, page IX of the report, paragraph 29. Accounts are kept with thirty-six offices of all nationalities.

This officer has, in addition, mails to close and sorting to do by the principal contract mails. The custom has grown up, but it is a bad one, and courts confusion; he should certainly be relieved of all correspondence and, were it not that he is one of the oldest, most experienced, and trustworthy officers in the Department, should be relieved of closing mails also; at present, however, that cannot be done.

The correspondence clerk, therefore, should not be a mere copyist but a man capable of drafting ordinary letters, with some training enabling him to index books intelligently, and...