15

8.—19

Now, therefore, I, William Lee, Baron Plunket, the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in exercise of the hereinbefore-recited powers, and having before me the opinion of the Attorney-General, do hereby determine the said question by deciding that the item in question is not specific in the seme referred to, but applies to all Customs duty paid on artificial limbs imported during the year ; and that consequently remission may be made, and the expenditure in respect thereof be lawfully charged to the said Vote 43, notwithstanding that the amount of the said item is thereby exceeded. Given under the hand of His Excellency the Governor at , thii twenty-fifth day of March, one thousand nine hundred and five. T. Y. Duncan. The Audit Office. To note His Excellency the Governor's determination. Jas. B. Heywood. 28 M'ch, '05.

No. 13. The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer. Audit Office, 29th March, 1905. The Governor having, under section 9 of " The Public Revenues Acts Amendment Act, 1900," determined that item 13 of Vote 43 in the appropriations for the year ending the 31st March, 1905, " Refund of duty under ' The Preferential and Reciprocal Trade Act, 1903' on artificial limbs imported, £11," is not specific, but applies to all Customs duty paid on artificial limbs imported during the year, and that consequently remission may be made, and the expenditure in respect thereof be lawfully charged to the said Vote 43, notwithstanding that the amount of the said item is thereby exceeded, the vouchers to make the refunds in respect of which it has been so determined will now be passed as soon as they are again sent to the Audit Office ; and the Controller and Auditor-General will, in ordinary course, lay before Parliament, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Revenues Act, a copy of the correspondence on the subject. He regrets, however, that the Minister before proceeding to advise the signing of the warrant did not inform the Audit Office of his intention to do so, so that the following brief expression of its objections might have preceded the warrant: By " The Preferential and Reciprocal Trade Act, 1903," duty is imposed on artificial limbs imported into the colony. To admit them free of that duty by refunding it requires statutory authority. An item which appears only on the estimates is not statutory authority, unless it is an item authorised by section 3 of the Public Revenues Act of 1900; and a.. item under such iection is not an authority to expend more than the amount of it. J. K. Warburton, C. & A.-General. Vouchers passed.—J. C. G., A. C. &A. Ist April, 1905.

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