67

A.—4,

receiving stamps is on a printed form, and states the number of stamps and value under each denomination. Notes for Is., 2s. 6d., 55., and 10s., are printed and sold by the Post Office for a circulating medium of small amounts. They cost respectively Id., 2d., 3d. On the Is. notes a telegraph form is printed on the back so as to be used for sending telegrams of ten words or under The commission is in the form of a stamp at the right-hand upper corner, and the telegraphist cuts out the stamp and transmits it to the Treasury as cash.

The Printing Office in South Australia does all the printing and book-binding for the Government, conjoined with it is a store, out of which is supplied all stationery used by the Government staff. The Government Printer manages the advertising in.the Government Gazette, and the sale of Acts and other Government papers. He also prints the railway tickets and the electoral rolls , but not the Hansard. The latter is made up by one of the newspapers from its own reports, under an arrangement with the Government, and is published in a volume. All orders for printing are issued by the several departments on printed forms, and as soon as received are entered in the " Order-book," showing the date when received .and the department requiring the work or stores. Every job is then entered on a printed docket, in which the cost of the material and labour bestowed on it is separately entered as the work passes through the several branches of the Printing Office. The material required, generally paper, is first entered on the docket, and is used as an order to the storeman to supply it to the Printer The storeman initials the docket as evidence of the issue. At the foot of all the charges a commission of 10 per cent, on the invoice price of the material used, and 25 per cent, on the wages of labour expended, are added to make up the cost of the job. Prom the dockets the charges are posted at once into the ledger, of which there are duplicates, one copy being in use whilst the other is being written up, in alternate months. The ledger contains two money columns, showing separately the value of the material consumed, and of the work done for each department, the credit side showing the payments, which, though effected by transfer in the Treasury-books without cash passing, are treated as receipts by the Printing Office. This Printing Office is the only one in which the principle is in force of charging each department with all the work done or goods supplied to it, and for this purpose a vote is taken in the Estimates, under the head of the contingencies for each department, to which the cost of its printing and stationery is charged. It is stated by the Government Printer that as much as 25 per cent, has, in his opinion, been saved to the Government, by thus throwing on the departments the responsibility of providing for their requirements, and disclosing to Parliament the amount they severally expend in printing All the moneys received are first posted into a rough cash-book of daily receipts, and lodgments in the Bank. Prom this the entries are abstracted into a cash-book in which the receipts are shown under several heads in separate columns, such as subscriptions to and advertisements in the Gazette, and the charges against the various departments. Although the payments for the latter are made by transfers in the Treasury, they are entered in this cash-book as cash received and paid into the Treasury. The stationery and printing materials in the store are purchased out of a suspense account, for which there seems to be no special authority, and which has no particular limit. This account is debited with purchases, and credited with issues from the store. The rule now is that all material shall be supplied from England. The indents are made up in pursuance of requisitions which are sent in by each department, stating their estimated requirements for the coming year The.

South Australia,