LAKE COUNTY FINANCES.
PROCEEDINGS. AGAINST PAST AND PRESENT COUNCILLORS. (FeOM OtJK Own'OoBRESPONDENT.) Abeow, August 18. Writs for the recovery of moneys illegally voted and expended have been served on all the county councillors of Lake County, both past and present. The total amount of the money thus expended is about £1400. Quite & sensational item is introduced into the proceed* ings by the fact that two of the councillors have died since the misappropriation of the moneyj, The steps taken by.the Government meet with very general approval. The claims against councillors were made separately and conjointly, This step is no doubt taken at the instance of Mr C. T. Batkin, the assistant controller and auditor, who made a special audit in December last. In his report to Parliament Mr Batkin gave the following as the items of illegal expenditure which would be surcharged against councillors : — Slaughter house fees refunded ... £27 10 0 License fees remitted ... ... 40 0 0 License fees refunded ... ... 12 0 0 Grant to Lake Acclimatisation Society 100 0 0 Grant to Oardrona Prospecting Association ... ... ... ... 100 0 0 Travelling allowances to members of council ... ... ... 120 8 0 Payments to clerks of licensing courts... S4 6 0 Payments re Kingston petition ... 43 4 4 County conferences ... ... 225 0 0 Expenditure on opening Kawarau bridge 98 13 6 Expenditure on extension Glenorchy jetty ... ... ... ' ... 163 17 2 Sums improperly paid as extras on contracts... ... ... ... 273 10 0 Total ... ... ...£1238 9 0 Mr Batkin, in his report laid before Parliament, stated that in petitioning his Excellency to order a special audit of the accounts "the ratepayers have in effect protested against all illegal payments and all irregularities connected with the accounts.' They demand that ever; transaction shall be tested as to its legality,' and admitted or rejected in conformity with that standard. The department whose decision has been invoked has no discretionary authority; it has only to consider whether, the transactions submitted to it are sanctioned by law, and to give its judgment accordingly." — Tommy : " Mamma, is baby well bred?' Mamma : " Dear me, yes, child • what an extraordinary question ! Tommy :, "As well bred as my terrier, Gyp?" Mamma; "Certainly." Tommy: "Then hold her up by the ears, ma, and let's see if she'll howl Gyp don't.!'
W
LAKE COUNTY FINANCES.
Otago Witness, Issue 1866, 26 August 1887, Page 14
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in