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relating to any account forwarded to him, and to examine witnesses, if necessary, touching the same. Persons failing to attend the summons of the Provincial Auditor are liable to a penalty not exceeding £100.

18. The Provincial Auditor has authority to examine the accounts of all persons entrusted with the collection, receipt, and issue of public money and stores of the Provincial Government.

19. All sums of money advanced under imprest to any Officer must be by him deposited to the credit of "Imprest Account" in his name at the Bank of New Zealand, or, if there be no branch or agency of that Bank at the place where such Officer resides, then at some other Bank, if there be one; and in no case is any Officer in receipt of public moneys to permit such moneys to be mixed with private funds, whether deposited in a Bank or not.

20. All advances under imprest will be made to officers by warrants under proper authority, and, as a general rule, the amount of such advance is not (except under special circumstances) to exceed the amount of the estimated monthly expenditure for which such imprest is required. In order, however, that the Officer requiring an advance may be supplied with funds to meet expenditure extending over a longer period than one month, the sums paid out of such advance will, if necessary, be reimbursed the imprestee, and so on, from time to time until within one week of the expiration of the period for which the existing Appropriation Ordinance was passed, when a final Account must be sent in, the balance (if any) repaid to the Provincial Treasury, and all advances adjusted.

21. Accounts for the expenditure of sums advanced under imprest must be in Form B, and all vouchers for such expenditure must contain full particulars thereof, and be duly and properly receipted; and such accounts and vouchers must, as soon as completed, be forwarded to the respective Head of Department, and by him to the Provincial Auditor’s office for audit.

22. Special requisitions for articles to be supplied, or services to be performed under the responsibility of the Head of an Office, must be forwarded to the head of department for his approval in the usual form; and every requisition must set forth the vote from which the same is to be taken and the amount of such vote unexpended, together with the grounds on which such requisition is considered necessary or proper; and every voucher shall show the title and subdivision of the Vote and the number of the requisition under which the expenditure has been incurred, or, when under contract, the number and date of the contract.

23. Heads of Offices must be careful not to send in any requisition for any expenditure in excess of the amount appropriated, unless some good and valid cause can be shown for such expenditure, and in no case is expenditure to be incurred before the requisition is returned to the office, approved by the Head of the Department.

24. No tender shall be opened, or contract entered into, except by the authority of the Executive Council.

25. Copies of all contracts are to be forwarded by the Head of the Department to the Provincial Treasurer and the Provincial Auditor.

26. The Government Storekeepers will keep a correct account of all supplies made for the various offices.

27. No Officer in the employment of the Government will be allowed to deal on his own account with the men under his charge for stores, under pain of immediate dismissal.

28. All former Regulations are hereby repealed, and in all cases not specially provided for by these Regulations, special instructions will be issued by the Provincial Secretary.

F. E. STEWART,
Deputy-Superintendent.

Christchurch, August 27, 1867.