✨ Provincial Financial Audit
PROVINCE OF WESTLAND GAZETTE.
Although special orders were issued for £1331 11s 11d, the actual unauthorising expenditure amounted only to £1288 8s 11d, the difference being accounted for in the following manner—that on the final adjustment of the account at the end of the year, it was found that some recoveries had been made on certain votes which lessened the amount for which the special orders had been issued; in one instance, an order had been issued for an amount which had been voted in the Supplementary Estimate, and which had been overlooked at the time, so that the warrant was really not required—and in a few instances some of the Vouchers included in the warrants, have not been paid. The following is a statement of the unauthorised expenditure:—
| Class | Item | Police—Forage and Saddlery | £34 13 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| III | 9 | Incidentals | 21 0 1 |
| IV | 11 | Surveyor and Engineer, travelling expenses | 2 7 6 |
| III | 12 | Gaol—Bedding and Clothing | 12 6 0 |
| VIII | 1 | Lunatic Asylum—Salaries | 38 0 7 |
| IX | 5 | Repairs to Buildings | 307 8 0 |
| 6 | Contingencies | 31 19 3 | |
| 6 | Additions Provincial Government Offices | 150 0 0 | |
| XI | 5 | Furniture | 1 4 4 |
| 11 | Printing and Advertising | 461 19 8 | |
| 13 | Fuel and Light | 79 10 2 | |
| 22 | Refund of Licences | 191 2 8 |
Deduct Recoveries, &c., previously stated, placed to credit of votes... 43 3 0
Actual Expenditure unauthorised... £1288 8 11
From the above statement it will be observed that the principal items in excess of the votes of the Appropriation Ordinance are Public Buildings, Printing and advertising, and Refund of Licences. With regard to the first mentioned, the amount voted was quite insufficient for the Service of the twelve months, as no provision seems to have been made in the Estimates for the additions to the Provincial Government offices, on which the sum of £150 was paid, nor for portion of the repairs to the Court House, Greymouth, on which £146 10s had been paid. The vote for Printing and Advertising was altogether inadequate for the purpose, although perhaps it could not have been foreseen, that the cost of advertising necessitated on bringing the provisions of the new Licensing Act into operation, also advertising sales, &c., under the Westland Waste Lands Act, printing Gazettes, Ordinances, Proceedings of the Provincial Council and other documents, as well as tenders on account of Public Works, would have been so much greater than the amount estimated. With regard to Refund of Licences, it was absolutely impossible to estimate the actual amount required—the other items were actually necessary for the benefit of the Public Service, and call for no special remark. However, I would respectfully suggest that in the Estimates for the ensuing year, a larger margin be allowed on the votes than was allowed on those of the past year, as experience and the large amount of unpaid accounts in the Treasury prove that the votes for the year 1874 (other than those for salaries) were far too small. In conclusion, I beg to submit that it will be necessary for the Provincial Council to vote the amount of unauthorised expenditure in order that His Honor the Superintendent may be indemnified in accordance with Section 14 of the Provincial Audit Act, 1866.
I have the honor to be, sir,
Your most obedient servant,
EDWARD PATTEN
Provincial Auditor.
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Westland Provincial Gazette 1875, No 5
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💰 Provincial Auditor's Report on Unauthorized Expenditure
💰 Finance & RevenueAudit, Unauthorized Expenditure, Provincial Accounts, Westland
- Edward Patten, Provincial Auditor