The Coronation Contingent.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 264, 2 October 1902, Page 3

The Coronation Contingent.

o DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE Mr Fisher brought down the report of the Public Accounts Committee on correspondence as to a difference of • opinion between the Audit Department and the Treasury as to payment of a draft for £3OOO in respect of the Coronation Contingent.- The committee found " That the charging of the £3OOO

to the Imprest Account was in accordance with the practice followed by the Treasury for years, but in order to remove the contentions between the Controller and Auditor General and the Treasury an amendment of the Public Revenues Act is necessary." On the motion that the report of the committee lie on the table, Mr James Allen complained that the £3OOO had been paid out of the General Imprest Account in London instead of being defrayed out of Unauthorised Account. They had evidence before the Public Accounts Committee of payment of further sums of £ISOO and £IOOO for the expenses of the Coronation Contingent, and there was refer 1 ence to another sum of £3OOOO, so that the total cost of the Contingent would probably amount to £IO,OOO or more. He contended that the money should have been paid out of unauthorised expenditure, and objected that a slight had been put upon the House in not asking it last session to vote a sum of money for the despatch of the Contingent. Had the House known the probable cost to be incurred he believed that members, .would have" hesitated to sanction: such a large sum of money in view of the requirements of the colony in-,; the matter of public works. In his' opinion the stand taken by the Auditor-General was the correct one. Mr Allen further urged that more details should be laid bare in presenting the public accounts of the colony.

Sir J. G. Ward said that at the end of last session the Cabinet had decided not to send a Coronation Contingent to England, but after r the close of Parliament the invitation to send Contingents was extended to all the British dependencies, in the face of which New Zealand could not stand aloof. The Government then decided to accept the invitation so that there was no slight upon the Honse in not haying consulted members last session. Sir Joseph added that any allusion to any sum outside the £3OOO draft under review had nothing to do with the question, and was onlymade for the purpose of creating a wrong impression. The Contingent consisted of 150 men, and the grant of £2O to each man made up the f £3OOO, besides which there was the i cost of equipment, passages, etc. He said that unauthorised expenditure was occasionally charged to the Imprest Account in London, and he contended that no departure had been made from the usual course. In regard to the payment of the £3OOO under review, Sir J. G. Ward expressed the opinion that the colony ought to adopt the postaudit system, and so obviate these continual differences of opinion between the Auditand the Treasury Departments. Had there been time this- session he would have brought down an amendment of the Public Revenues Act, which would have provided for the post-audit System. Mr Fisher, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, in replying, said that the people were not aware that the Government were entering upon an expenditure of £ISOO in despatching the Contingent— (Sir J. G. Ward : " The cost is not £15,000 or anything like it.")—and lie contended that Parliament and the people had been misled in- the matter. The cost of the Contingent should have been charged to Unauthorised Account, so that the House might have had an opportunity of discussing the matter. The report was ordered to lie on the table, i