A.—4.

68

system is hardly in full working as yet, and goods are bought to some extent from local storekeepers ; but the Government Printer states that he is procuring paper from the English wholesale dealers at 30 per cent, less than the price in the colony, the discount for cash payment about equalling the shipping charges, and that he finds no difficulty in getting orders executed to his satisfaction. The bills for colonial purchases are rendered monthly All stores, whether received from England or from local contractors, are entered, as soon as received, and checked with the accompanying invoices, in a rough store-book, and from this they are posted into the stock ledger, in which one article occupies each page, and the prices and values are carried out both for receipts and issues, those on the debit side being the invoice price with the charges in a separate column, those on the credit side being the invoice price with the 10 per cent, also in a separate column. The intention being that it will thus appear, from the totals of these columns for any period, whether the percentage is more or less than is required to cover the charges. The principle is observed in this store that goods should be issued at their actual cost price. Hence goods of the same kind, and bought at different prices, are kept separate in the store, and treated as different articles. The storeman keeps a book in which every separate article is entered under a running number, which is also attached to the articles on the shelves, and the price of each taken from the invoices. Acts of Parliament and Government papers which are for sale are kept in a strong-room, but are not there brought on charge. They are issued in limited quantities, as required, to the store, where they are brought on charge at their selling price, and are accounted for as sold over the counter. This Printing Office is at present in a transition state, the present system of management and account having been only recently instituted. The accounts of the department have not as yet been abstracted into a journal and general ledger, which will be necessary in order to show the exact position of the department at any time.

The Printing Office at Hobart is comparatively a small establishment, being confined to the printing and sale of Gazettes and other Government and parliamentary papers. It has previously printed the postage stamps and duty stamps, but the latter have recently been procured from England, and it is now a question whether all stamps should not be similarly sent from Home. There is no Hansard printed by the Government. The Government Printer has a standing imprest at the beginning of the year, out of which he pays the wages of the office, and which is recouped monthly by the amount of the vouchers sent in receipted. All the paper and other material used in the Printing Office is supplied from the Colonial Store upon a yearly requisition. In the case of paper for stamps, however, the Printer receives it from the Post Office, together with the order for printing the stamps, and only in sufficient quantity to satisfy the order Paper for debentures, which are also printed in this office, is received from the store. No charge is made against the other departments for printing, except in the case of the Launceston and Western Railway (the only Government line), which was originally a private line. Having been bought by the Government, the charges for printing formerly made against the company are still continued, and paid for in cash to the Government Printer The only receipts are for sales of Government papers and for advertisements in the Gazette. The price of the latter is fixed by Order in Council. The files of papers are kept in the binding-room, and these supplied to the public, the cash being paid at once to the Government Printer personally. All payments are made in advance and no credit allowed. The Printer pays his collections into a separate account at the Bank, and thence by cheque once a month to the Treasury

Tasmania,