B.—l [Pt. lIJ.

A postal official misappropriated income-tax receipts to a total of £540, and therefore the taxpayers who had made the payments appeared in the records of the Income-tax Department as being in arrears with tax payments due from them. The defalcations were almost certain to be revealed when the Department followed up collection of such arrears. A collector of the Internal Marketing Division converted departmental moneys amounting to £466 to his own use, and substituted subsequent collections to conceal his wrongdoing. That he was able to do so exposed a weakness of internal check which has since been remedied. A Public Trust officer abused his position to convert £350, the property of a client of his Department, to his own use. The loss to the client was, in the circumstances of the case, not strictly a responsibility of the Department, but the Government decided to make it good as a charge against the Departmental Vote. No practicable system or systems of accounting for moneys can prevent all defalcations, and so long as any thefts are reasonably certain of detection the position can be regarded as satisfactory. Judged by this standard, nothing which occurred during the year under review caused the Audit Office serious disquietude.

STATEMENT.

iii—B. 1 [Pt. ll].

XVII

Nature of Irregularity. Amount AcHon Agriculture Department. IRREdULARITlES BY PERSONS NOT DEPARTMENTAL OFFICERS. £ S d Theft of strychnine 2 10 6 Police investigations unsuccessful. Theft of poultry 1 10 0 Police investigations unsuccessful. Air Department. IRREGULARITIES BY DEPARTMENTAL OFFICERS. Theft of stores N ot stated I Offender disciplined and reduced in rank. Theft of stores (i 19 4 i Offender convicted and fined. IRREGULARITIES BY PERSONS NOT DEPARTMENTAL OFFICERS. Theft of equipment 2 0 0 Police investigations unsuccessful. rneftofoash 44 10 0 Police investigations unsuccessful. Army Department IRREGULARITY BY DEPARTMENTAL OFFICER. Theft of ammunition I Not stated | Offender charged. Case adjourned. IRREGULARITIES BY PERSONS NOT DEPARTMENTAL OFFICERS. Theft of cash .. .. .. 243 2 1 Offender tried by field court-martial and found (sterling) guilty; sentenced to six months' imprisonment and reduced in rank. £219 9s. 9d. stcrlin" m, ... „ . recovered. Ineitofcash 102 n 9 Investigations proceeding. rp, ft f , (sterling) Iheitofcash 20 0 0 Police investigations unsuccessful Misappropriation of public moneys .. .. 38 0 7 Offender placed on probation for two years. ,p, ... ,. Restitution made. Theft of pay warrant ,; e 0 offender convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon and to make restitution. Internal Marketing Department. IRRF,GULARITIES BY DEPARTMENTAL OFFICERS. I £ s. d. Misappropriation of departmental moneys .. 460 3 7 Offender admitted to probation for two years Misappropriation oi departmental moneys .. 1114 6 Offender convicted and order,xl to come up for sentence if called upon within twelve months. i Restitution made.