ALLEGED MISUSE OF LOANS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16602, 14 July 1914, Page 2

ALLEGED MISUSE OF LOANS.

WAIM AIRI COUNTY COUNCIL AND AUDIT OFFICE.

At the meeting of the Waimairi County Council yesterday it was stated, that a letter had beep received from the Audit Office, Wellington, m reference to the balance-sheet for March 01, 1914, alleging that -loan moneys amounting to £203 4s 5d had been unlawfully applied to purposes other than those for which they were received. The letter pointed out that, the Audit Office had been called upon repeatedly to draw the attention of - the Council to the misuse of loan moneys—in fact, this breach of the law had been an annually recurring one since 1911. The letter warned the Council that should the nest balance-sheet reveal a further misuse -of loan moneys, legal, proceedings would be immediately instituted against all the councillors concerned, under section 53 of the Local Bodies Loans Act, 1913. - The Council replied on June 19 to tha effect that the Auditor-General’s letter seemed to imply that councillors were guilty of appropriating the moneys to their own use. There were several loans overdrawn which made up the deficiency of £203 4s sd, and these would be paid into the trust account as requested; that the Council always paid interest on all loans at the due dates, and as often as not the interest was paid out of the general account; that the Council felt very strongly the statement that moneys had been misused when, as a matter of fact, the AuditorGeneral had certified the balance-sheet as correct. To this letter the Council received a reply wherein the Auditor-General stated that he failed to see how the original complaint from the Audit Office could be construed as implying that members of the Council had personally appropriated Council moneys, and noting with pleasure that the fact of the loan moneys in question being paid to their statutory account at the bank relieved him of the necessity for further action. It was not suggested that the Council should keep a separate trust account at the bank for special rates. Technical objection was taken in the certificate to the balance-sheet in that the interest account credits had no corresponding balance at the bank, but it was not intended by the Audit Office to press the matter any further. The Auditor-General further pointed out the wide difference that existed between a charge of “misuse” and of misappropriation. The letter was received.