8.—9.

STAFF. 30. The staff employed by the Office on the 31st March, 1936, comprised 940 employees, of whom 722 were on the permanent staff and 218 (principally female officers) were employed on a temporary basis. During the past year there was an increase of 31 in the number of staff, due principally to necessary additions to the shorthand-typing staff and to the appointment of a number of additional cadets for training. As in previous years, both the replacement of senior officers who had left the employ of the Office and the filling of senior positions which have been created to meet the needs of the Office have been effected by the promotion of members of the existing personnel, and such measures as the appointment of cadets for training are necessary to provide for future requirements. 31. The Office continues to number among its staff a large proportion of officers with technical qualifications in law and accountancy. One hundred and thirty-four officers have passed the degree or other examinations entitling them to admission as barristers or solicitors, and one hundred and forty-six have passed the Accountants' Professional or a higher examination in accountancy. Practically without exception the junior officers are engaged upon the study of law or accountancy. In addition, officers experienced in matters relating to farm properties and town properties respectively are employed by the Department. These factors, together with the business qualifications of the members of the staff and the wide and varied experience which officers gain in the course of their duties, ensure that all phases of the work are adequately provided for. OFFICE ORGANIZATION AND REPRESENTATION. 32. District Representation. —On the 15th November, 1935, Mr. J. Laurenson, who had acted as agent of the Public Trustee at Carterton for over twenty-six years, tendered his resignation for health reasons, and at his request arrangements were made to relieve him of his duties early in December. It was decided to establish a District Manager office, and pending completion of the necessary arrangements a departmental officer was stationed there. The District Manager appointed took up duty on the 19th March, 1936. The only other changes in district representation during the year were the appointment of an agent at Te Puke on the 2nd March, 1936, and the establishment of a part-time office at Mataura on the 10th March, 1936. As at the 31st March, 1936, the Public Trustee was represented in eighty-six towns in the Dominion. This representation, comprising twenty-three District Public Trustee offices, twenty-one District Manager offices, six part-time offices, and thirty-six agencies, was found adequate for the requirements of the Office. 33. Organization of Work. —The organization of the work at the Head Office and the district offices as set forth in previous reports continues to prove satisfactory, and there was no occasion to make any important changes during the year. The reconsolidation of the standing instructions of the Department, which was stated in last year's report to be then under way, was completed, and the new instructions have been issued. As they are in loose-leaf form it is expected that there will be no need for many years to come to reprint them at the substantial expenditure of time and money that was necessary on the present occasion. 34. Inspections and Audit. — Internal checks in regard to the custody and handling of cash, securities, and other valuables are carried out by specially selected officers, and the monetary transactions are subjected to a supplementary audit by the Government Audit Department. This work is supervised by the inspection staff, which, in addition, reviews at yearly intervals the administration of estates and the staffing and organization of branch offices. OFFICE BUILDINGS. 35. During the year a new site was purchased at Nelson with the object of putting up a new building to replace the existing building, which had become unsuitable for the needs of the Office. The erection of the new building is at present

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