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Cclosure 2.
352
England on the 5th January, and Mr. Hutchison states that when Mr. Messer handed over charge to him the stamps in the Stamp Office were not checked. Mr. d'Aquino, First Clerk in the Stamp Office, cannot recollect any occasion on which Mr. Messer checked the stamps in custody of the shroff.
5.
It is the custom, in accordance with Colonial Regulation No.331, to appoint a Board at the close of each year to check the stocks of stamps in charge of the Treasurer, an officer of the Audit Department attending for purposes of scrutiny. It appears that it has not been the practice of the Beard to check the stamps held by the Stamp Office shroff; and at any rate they did not do so on the occasion of the survey in December, 1919. I enclose a copy of a minute by the Auditor, who was asked whether on the occasion of that survey the shroff's stamps had been examined. The General Order quoted corresponds with Colonial Regulation No.331.
6.
It may, I think, be taken for granted that the
It absconding shroff did not take the missing stamps with him. is possible that he sold them piecemeal outside the office, but this is most improbable, for the reason given in paragraph 3 of this despatch. It must therefore be concluded that for some long time past the shroff had made it his practice to issue stamps in exchange for cash and to retain the requisition, the procedure regarding which is explained in paragraph 5 of the first enclosure in this despatch. This argument implies great carelese -ness on the part of Mr. d'Aquino; but I may mention that this officer, who is about to retire, is seventy-three years of age
and has been in the Government service since 1864.
7.
I am satisfied that the defalcation is directly
due to inadequate supervision. I do not consider that Mr. Hutchison is in any way to blame, as he had not acted previously at the Treasury, and he took early steps to check the stamps. The Board appointed at the end of 1919 ought to have examined
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