BETRAYALS OF TRUST.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17277, 15 October 1921, Page 8

BETRAYALS OF TRUST.

CIVIL SERVANT'S POSITION. (special TO "the fbess.") "WELLINGTON, October 14. Strong comment on the popular view" of defalcations by public contained in the annual report of tine* Controller and Auditor-General, presented to Parliament to-day. in® report says: — "The Controller and Auditor-Gene-ral -would regard it as being remiss on his part if ho failed to take advantage of this, his only available opportunity, of placing before the Dominion his protest against the impression of spwaa[iniquity on the part of public servants whiclh has been created by the mdustr - ous circulation, of particulars or all cases of defalcation or like irregularities which have been disclosed in relation to the Public Service. The fact is that offences of this nature appear to do alwavs more common, or more commonly disclosed, during periods of financial Btrees, the reasons for which arc not far to seek, but need nou be set forth ihere The real cause of the seemingly lart?e proportion of Government employees involved in these cases of prosecution arises from the ample fact that in every instance of such offence in tfto Service proceedings are instituted in accordance with what is ruled to be Audit Office duty, whereas in the case of private or proprietary employees, there is very often no action taken for such misdeeds, either as a matter of policy or some like equivalent. Even under these conditions prosecutions taken by the Audit. Department outside the Public Service—that regard to local body officials and the lika —bear at least an equal proportion to those instituted against Government servants when the respective numbers of each are taken into account, and I trust that hereafter a juste*; view will be entertained of the reliability and integrity of the vast majority of officers of the Public Service."