COUNTY COUNCIL'S BALANCE. SHEET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14161, 13 March 1908, Page 5

COUNTY COUNCIL'S BALANCE. SHEET.

AUDITOR-GENERAL'S TAGS. (From Our Own Coekesiosoent.) CHRISTOHURCH, Mftroh 11. The Selwyn County Coimoil, of which Mf George Witty, M.P., is a. membet, has had some little differences with tho Audit Office over the long list of "tags".which hacT > been attached to the council's balance sheet , , by the Auditor-general. _ Thematterwae mentioned in the council to-day,,whon the chairman proposed a resolution . making two amendments to the document,, whioh wefe., necessitated by obvious clerical nils- . takes. The council, he eaid, proposed .to take no action in regard to the other dozen or more" " tags" affixed by the Audit Office. * Two members of the council (Messrs Bed? s' ford and Wilson) then drew pointed l atten-

tion to the Auditor-general's comment ' la regard to ;ono particular item—viz., that .iC , was illegal for the council' to charge in- ■ tevest on tho,overdrawn accounts of special ■ districts. - . .

,Mr Witty replied, that the vatopayers con* corned would have had to pay interest ,if , they had gone anywhere else Tor the.money, / but .as they had got it from the council • they did not want to pay. He thoiiglit .it •. was better for the council to .get''the .in---.-" terest, As to its being illpgdl, if the Auditorgeneral couid have done anything he would ■ doing it. The duty of the Audit Office was was "tagging" . everything. There - was scarcely a single • thing it did not. ".tag,"': It might be a junior in the offioe whd was r doine it. The duty of tho Audit Office was to ascertain whether the money had; lieon spent according to the balance sheet,' and it had nothing to do with the law, though ... an error might be pointed out.. This "tag-..-ging" went on year after year. There _wai , a /lot of useless quibbling by the Auditor.' general, and in his opinion it was childish. ■ The chairman's motion was carried.