RED TAPEISM.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3261, 14 December 1881, Page 4

RED TAPEISM.

A guardroom clock at Aklershofc had stopped, and a requisition for its repair was sent to the barrack-master, who passed it to the ordnance storekeeper, from whom it went, first to tue Quartermaster, who forwarded it to the Horse Guards, whence it was relegated to the War Office,, where, after a week or two, the required repairs were authorised. But before the decision was conveyed to tho camp, a question arose as to under what vote the expense — estimated at 7s Gγ 1 —was to be charged, each department positively declining to be responsible for the item. Finally, it was decided to refer the matter to the Treasury, as involving a constitutional principle, and after three months it was settled that the barrack department should bear the expense. The correspondence was thence transferred back to Aldershot, and after a few weeks a requisition for transport was addressed to the commanding officer of the military train, who sent a four-horse waggon, under the charge of a sergeant and eig;ht men, to fetclt the cloclc, which, however, ifc turned out had been removed soon after the original requisition had been sent in. The correspondence had lasted eight months, and what with postage, stationery, &c, it was calculated that enough had been expended to purchase three similar clocks quite new.