CO129-304 - Governor Sir Blake - 1901 [1-4] — Page 658

ཡ་༤ད་

No.161

2 Apy

Government House, MD

Hongkong, -

274

April, 1901.

652

sir,

I have the honour to bring to your

notice certain details in the working of the present

system of accounting for Stores and Materials for the

service of the Public Works Department, with a view to

reopening the general question of the method to be used

in accounting for such Stores and Materials.

2.

Previous to the year 1898 these

Stores and Materials were dealt with by means of a sus-

pense account. In 1898, at the suggestion of the Local

Anditor, who had been in communication with the Comptrol-

ler and Auditor-General on this subject, this suspense

account was abolished, and, in accordance with a memoran-

đum from the Comptroller and Auditer-General a Stores

Account was opened on the following lines.

3.

All expenditure en Steres and

Materials for public works was estimated as part of the

cost of the works, but all such Stores and Materials

were drawn from a general stock, for the maintenance

of which separate provision was made in the Estimates.

The stock in hand, at the time of the change from the

suspense account was taken as a standard steck, and a

vote

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.,

&C.

80.1