D.—No. 1

PAPEES EELATIVE TO THE

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Loss —that if I would give him that sum, both it and the previous sum of £400 odds would be repaid tome next day, when to a certainty he would be in ample funds. I believed his statement and gave him the money ; and as it was to be repaid next day, and Mr. Jones was still with him, I got no voucher for it. He did not pay it next day, and stated to me some papers to pass between him and Mr. Jones had not been completed. This excuse he several times repeated. Some time afterwards, I cannot say how long, I got a cheque from him for that sum, dated 10th March, but that is not the date on which I received it. On that day (10th March) I observe a sum of £600 was received by me for Educational purposes on the Superintendent's warrant; but whether the £600 was actually given to him on that elate Ido not recollect, although I have repeatedly reflected on the matter since. I discovered that the Superintendent's cheque and the drawing from the Bank of the £600 for Education are of the same date. But the impression on my mind is, that he must have got the money on the date of this cheque, viz., 10th March. 30. Did you at the time of these transactions with Mr. Macandrew keep a private account at the Bank ? No, I kept my private cash in the office, and did so for the purpose of preventing confusion by having several accounts in the Bank in my name. 31. What amount of private funds had you generally in the office ? There was generally a sum of from £50 to £100 of private money in the chest. 32. Could it have been within the knowledge of the Superintendent that you had no private account at the Bank ? I think he knew I had no private account. 33. In your reply to query No. 21 on the deficient balances, you state that payments on account of Public Works have not been inserted in the cash-book at the time of survey, and you give two instances in proof. On comparing the cash-book with the Accountant's pass-book, it is found that you were allowed credit for the two sums alluded to, with the exception of the sum of £212, which, however, the Accountant has allowed you credit for in his statement. Have you any further explantion to offer on this point ? I referred to the two payments at the end of March, in consequence of an answer I had received from the Provincial Accountant, but I find he has misunderstood the question that I put to him to enable me to answer correctly the Commissioner's query. I answered the question not from my own inspection of the books, but from what I thought was the Accountant's answer, which he has now explained to me, arose from a mutual misunderstanding. 31. Produce the Education Board account and point out where the £600 to which you refer will be brought to charge ? Produced accordingly. 35. It appears from your statement that the loans to Mr. Macandrew outstanding on the 20th September last amounted to £830 13s. 4d. State when and how the repayments were made by Mr. Macandrew, and what is the sum now outstanding ? I retained in payment of the monthly salaries for September, October, and November £150 0 0 I got a cheque from him by Mr. Logan, the Superintendent's clerk, for 120 O 0 And I got cash from him on the day of the Auditors' final report in October 400 0 0 670 0 0 Leaving a balance of ... ... 166 13 4 £836 13 4 He now disputes that balance, and says he is only owing £16 13s. 4d., alleging that in the note made out by us, a copy of which I have given in, we had omitted to deduct the first of the salaries, viz., that for May, in which he is correct; and that, besides the above sum, he paid me £100 since the date of the cheque, which is not the case. 36. Will you refer to page 4 of the printed report of the Select Committee, where you will find that Mr. Kilgour states in his evidence that you informed him officially that part of the Eoad Board balance was in the hands of the Superintendent? Mr. Kilgour has misunderstood my statement. I did not reveal to Mr. Kilgour how matters stood till near the date of the Auditors' final report, at which time the Superintendent was endeavouring to get some bill discounted at the Oriental Bank, as I understood. I told the Superintendent that it would bo right then to tell Mr. Kilgour, and he consented to my doing so. I then mentioned to Mr. Kilgour that I had applied part of the Eoad money to make up the balance at 30th September. I may add that I requested the Superintendent also to see'Mr. Kilgour, which he did. Two days after the evidence in question, No. 35 to 37, was taken, Mr. McGrlashan made the following' statement: — " I told the Superintendent and also the Auditors that I had applied part of the Eoad money to make good the balance of the Provincial accounts. The Superintendent requested me not to disclose the matter to Mr. Street. Iso applied the Eoad money to afford the Superintendent further time to make good the sum in his hands. I was then suspicious, and am now morally certain from his conduct towards me since the appointment of the Select Committee, that had I replaced the balance in his hands out of my own money he would not have repaid me but left me to rank along with his ordinary creditors. It was on my application to the Executive that the Auditors of the Provincial Accounts were appointed to audit the Eoad Board account contrary to the usual practice (the Board being authorized to appoint Auditors), in order that all the accounts might be reported on by the same Auditors ; and it was arranged by their report on each of them should be delayed till the whole of them had been audited and the balance of each placed in the Bank. " J. McGrLASUAN." 37. Mr. Kilgour states that the Superintendent told him that he (the Superintendent) had only (£4OO of the Eoad Board balance, the remainder being in the Treasurer's hands. Have you any explanation to offer on this point ? Mr. Kilgour must have either have mistaken what the