8.—9

Administration Abroad. 56. As is to be expected with tlie rapid increase in the Office business, there is a larger amount of business to be transacted abroad. Persons whose affairs are entrusted to the control of the Public Trustee have frequently, besides their New Zealand assets, interests elsewhere requiring administration or management. In the United Kingdom the volume of work of administration carried on on behalf of this Office is now very large. A considerable proportion of the business is transacted through the High Commissioner for this Dominion in London, but there are numerous cases where for one reason or another it is necessary to employ the Public Trustee, London, or independent practitioners. There is close co-operation between the Public Trust Office, England, and this Department. In the Australian States the Public Trustee, Curator, or other official who is empowered to perform these services, is employed to complete the administration, unless there is some reason why some other person should be appointed, as, e.g., where a reputable practitioner acted during the deceased's lifetime, or where the beneficiaries for some reason desire the employment of some other person. In other countries the question of appointment of a representative is determined as occasion arises. In the United States of America there has been during the past year a large amount of administration work to be done on behalf of New Zealand estates. This large volume of Public Trust Office business abroad necessitates very careful handling to ensure promptitude and efficiency and to safeguard realization. Detailed instructions have to be issued and strict supervision exercised. Administration of Estates op Subjects of Foreign States. 57. The establishment of proofs of kin and other formalities required in connection with administration of estates' of persons who are subjects of foreign States is facilitated by utilizing the services of Consuls or accredited Agents of these States in New Zealand, or, where there are no such representatives, by inquiries of the High Commissioner through the proper authorities in London. Where money is payable by the Public Trustee to nationals of a foreign country resident there, by section 52 of the Public Trust Office Act, 1908, the Governor-General is empowered to authorize payment to be made to the chief Consular Agent for such foreign country in New Zealand on behalf of such nationals. Section 28 of the 1913 Amendment Act extends the provision to any specified official of a foreign country. If there be no chief consular officer in New Zealand, then section 54 of the 1921-22 Act empowers the Public Trustee to make payment to any Consul or Consular Agent of the foreign country in which the person who is entitled to receive it resides. Resealing. 58. By reason of its organization and its special statutory powers the Public Trust Office possesses facilities for acting on behalf of those having no agent in New Zealand and desiring to reseal here probate or letters of administration, to make inquiries, or to conduct business of a like nature in the Dominion. As the special facilities offered by the Public Trust Office become more widely known, the Public Trustee's services in respect to this work are freely availed of. During the year under review there has been a considerable increase in the number of cases in which the Public Trustee has been employed to reseal or to apply for an independent grant of administration in New Zealand on behalf of foreign executors or administrators. Agencies. 59. It is gratifying to note the number of persons, both resident in New Zealand and abroad, who are entrusting the Public Trustee with the management of their affairs when for various reasons they are unable to attend to them themselves, so that the agency work performed by the Office is now a large and important part of its business. Clients appreciate the Office methods and machinery, which enable information to be readily available for them wherever they may reside.

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