THE AUDIT OFFICE AND THE GOVERNMENT.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 17 July 1901, Page 4

THE AUDIT OFFICE AND THE GOVERNMENT.

Disputes are of frequent occurrence between the Auditor-General and the Government, and one of these refers to the credit side of the colony's balancesheet. It will be remembered that the Bank of New Zealand redeemed the £500,000 worth of preferred shares taken up by the Government, and this amount was paid over to the Public Trustee. But a sum of £5657 10s 6d, interest due on such shares, was paid to the Public Account. The Auditor-General held that this amount should have been paid to the P-blic Trustee also, under sub-section 2 of section 8 of the Bank of New Zealand and Banking Act, 1895. While admitting the contention, the Treasury considered that while the Act made no express provision on the point, the money would be repaid by the Public Trustee to the Public Account—a formality that might be dispensed with. The Treasury then proposed to transfer the amount from the "Consolidated Fund Deposit Account" to "Consolidated Fund ordinary revenue." This the Audit Office refused to allow, on the ground that the whole of the purchase-money of the shares should be paid to the Public Trustee under section 8, which states that " all moneys received for the said re-purchase of such shares shall be paid to the Public Trustee." The Solicitor-General then gives the opinion that although the Act make 3 no provision for the Colonial Treasurer receiving from the Public Trustee the interest earned on the repurchase moneys lying in his name, still, by reading in the Act certain words the money could be utilised as requested by the Treasury. The Audit Office rejoined that "the judgment of the Audit Office is that the money in question must be paid to the Public Trustee, in accordance with the clear, unqualified, and indisputable direction expressed by the Act; and, whatever the Administration may be justified in thinking, the Audit Office would not be justified in assenting to the proposed evasion of such direction on the ground that the Act may mean what it does not express." The Governor was again resorted to, and made an order under last year's Act. The Auditor-General protests .against the Governor's action, on the ground that while the Act of last year allows the Governor to determine how moneys shall be credited, it does not authorise him to determine that moneys directed to be paid to the Public Trustee shall not be paid to him. He therefore intimates his intention of'making an exception to the Public Accounts on this ground. .