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Q. What was your time taken up by? You said you had not time to sign these receipts ?
A. I had the ordinary duties of the Office, writing up the book, seeing parties receiving money sign in my presence. Now there is a new system and a man before he gets his amount has to sign perhaps twenty times. He will have to sign the voucher in duplicate and the sub-voucher in duplicate.
Q.--Was Alves working in the same room as you were?
A.-No, he worked in a separate room.
Q.--When cheques came, did you not ever give them to Alves?
A.--I might sometimes when a letter comes. Sometimes people sent cheques in an envelope. I would have to send to Mr. Alves or Mr. Madar to ask whether it was for Crown Rent or Water Rate or Taxes or anything of that kind.
Q.--Do you know that Alves was in the habit of receiving money constantly? A.--No, I did not know, not in cash at least. He might have received it in cheques. Q.--Don't you think he received it in cash ?
A.-No.
Mr. Thurburn.--Payers always went direct to the shroff?
A.--Yes.
Q.--And the shroff brought the particulars to Alves ?
A.-Alves was to receive for Crown Rent and pass to the shroff and the shroff would receive the money.
The Chairman. You say that you don't think Mr. Alves received money. Mr. Alves must have received money in order to make away with the large sums missing?
A.-I doubt very much whether he could make such a large amount.
Mr. Thurburn.-You think that he did not? that these defalcations are not wholly his?
A.--Not to the extent they were stated in the paper--I think it was $59,000.
The Chairman.--That is as far we can ascertain the extent of the defalcations and for this reason. We know the amount of the Rent Roll. Take it for 1891.- According to Alves' own book he acknowledged receiving $191,000-that is what he says he has received. He has paid over a sum about $11,000 less than that amount.
A. This total of monies received should agree with the ledger.
Q.-Well, it does not agree by about $11,000?
A.--The amount ought to correspond with the ledger.
Q.-It does not. There is the defalcation, you cannot deny it. We want to find out the total and we have ascertained that in each year about the same amount was taken, and a total sum of about $59,000 is missing. We wish to find out, if we can, how this happened. You say it was no part of Alves' duty to receive money?
A.-No.
Q.-Then how was it that so much money passed through his hands?
A. He might have received cheques. The only people who used to pay in notes. were Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Co., but that went direct through their compradore.
Mr. Thurburn.-What was the method of receiving the assessed taxes? That was done through another clerk?
A. Yes, another clerk.
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