CO129-510-14 Report of committee of enquiry into discrepancies and losses in government departments in Hong Kong... 21-4-1928 - 24-10-1928 — Page 17

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might render the creation of some of the new

posts recommended by the Committee unnecessary.

As regards the necessity for these

new posts, it is difficult for us at this

end to form an opinion in the absence of

sufficient detailed knowledge of the work

of the Departments concerned. But so far

as the recommendations of the Committee

appear to involve a definite shifting of

responsibility for the supervision of the

accounting work of the various Departments

from the Head of the Department to a subord-

inate officer with special accounting know-

ledge, it seems to me that the underlying

idea is to upset the system of financial

control by Heads of Departments which is

laid down in Colonial Regulation 207 and

which is a primary feature of the Colonial

system. For instance, the new Deputy

Registrar of the Supreme Court is to be a

Chartered Accountant and is to "undertake

general supervision of the financial side

of Court Administration" in place of the

Registrar; the superintending of the financial

work of the Education Department is to be

entrusted to a Secretary with accounting

experience; the appointment of a European

officer is recommended to relieve the Medical

Officer in charge of the Government Civil

Hospital of the control of receipts and

expenditure.

In the case of some Departments

the Education Department is one

probably

there may

be good reasons for relieving the Head of the

Department