COUNCIL PAPER.

New Zealander, Volume XIX, Issue 1845, 15 April 1863, Page 5

COUNCIL PAPER.

REPORT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE. The Select Committee, to whom was referred the enclosures accompanying His Honor the Superintendent's Message No. 11, containing a statement of the Receipts and Expenditure of the Provincial Government from the Ist day of January, 1862, to the 31st day of January, 1863, inclusive, have the honor to report as follows: That ydur Committee have examined the statement of public accounts transmitted, and have found the various items of receipts and expenditure to correspond with the entries in the Books of the Provincial Treasurer. That the amounts of expenditure are sustained by voucheis produced by the Provincial Accountant, and, with the exceptions hereinafter enumerated in the Appendix to this Report are covered by Appropriation Acts passed by the Provincial Council. Your Committee recommend that His Honor the Superintendent be requested to make provision, by Supplementary Estimate, for this expenditure. " That your Committee find that, in addition to the Revenue accounted for in the statement of accounts transmitted with His Honor the Superintendent's Message No. 11, the sum of £SOOO was received by the Provincial Treasurer from the General Government on the 10th January, 1863, this amount being a portion of the Customs surplus revenue accruing to the Province, and wholly unaccounted for iu the statement of accounts furnished. The omission of this sum of money from the accounts your Committee view with much regret, and consider, notwithstanding the explanation given by the Provincial Treasurer when examined before the Committee, that such amount should have been a ccounted for and included in the account of Revenue received up to the 31st January, 1863, and recommend that the statement of Revenue and Expenditure should be forwarded back to His Honor the Superintendent, with a view of having that amount accounted for and included in the statement before beingprinted. That your Committee recommend that the General Government's account current with the Province should be obtained, and made up to the latest possible date previous to the assembling of the Council, and transmitted with the Provincial statement of Receipts and Expenditure. Your Committee view with importance the desirability of this accouut being printed with the Provincial accounts. This course being adopted would enable with facility every Member of the Council becoming intimately acquainted with every charge made by the General Government against the Province, and would also afford an opportunity to any Member of the Council of taking exception to any item which might not be considered a Provincial charge.

That your Committee recommend that the expenditure should be strictly confined to the public works and departments for which the money is voted, and on no account should money voted for a specific purpose be devoted to any other. Amy balances remaining unexpended, and amounts out of which there has been no expenditure, should be carried forward to accouut for the ensuing year, and no money should be expended without appropriation, exceptiug in cases of extreme urgency. Edward King, Chairman. Committee Room, Provincial Council Chamber, March 31st, 1863.