AUDITOR-GENERAL'S CERTIFICATES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 244, 20 November 1909, Page 6

AUDITOR-GENERAL'S CERTIFICATES.

A COUNCILLOR'S ANIMADVERSIONS By Telegraph.—Press Association. DUNEDIN, Wednesday. -Night. At the City Council 10-uigh't, Council- ' lor Barr made some comment on the i Auditor-General's certificates on the Corporation balance-slieels. lie said an Auditor-General's eertilicate made some exceptions disallowing large sums or money, for the repayment of which the Council might naturally be held responsible. As a matter 'of fact, no one would be a penny the wiser if the city treasurer told him lie would make up the accounts this year from the point where he left last'year, anil the Audi-tor-General would simply go over theiii and, perhaps, draw up sonic more objections. If their accounts were so radically wrong as the Auditor-General would lead them to believe, it was Ills duty to go further and call on the council to rectify the wrong charges and place them to the II that were not done the eertilicate was absolutely worthless, which it was in any case, for the objections were not acted upon. The proper thing was to write the Auditor-General and ask Inn: for the reasons for the objections and for legal authority in saying that the charges made were without legal authority, lie. was told by the stnll that (bey were tired of writing for explanations, for they got no satisfaction, lie , Lhotiirlit the time was approaching wiicn the whole question of the corporation I account.-; should be gone into, particularly by the Dunedin Corporation, because it was the second largest trading centre m the Dominion, the Union Steam Ship Company being the first, and the accounts were necessarily voluminous and complicated, and it was disheartening that accounts already complicated should lie made even more so by the necessity of complying with the requirements of an antiquated law framed when the corporations went verv little into trading.