81

A.—4.

The Land Agent supports Ms payments into the Treasury by vouchers, showing the branch of revenue to be credited, and sends his attested account monthly to the Audit Office. He sends the duplicates of his receipts for money paid to him to the Audit Office,—whence, after examination, they are sent to the Land Office, — keeping the butt himself. These receipts arc checked against his payments into the Treasury and the ledgers. The receipts for different sorts of purchases are printed in different colours, so as to be readily distinguished. The Land Agent sends an account of receipts upon new selections to the Treasury as soon as the Land Court has sat and approved of them. For the annual payments, he sends a return to the Treasury monthly, or weekly, according to the importance of the office and the amount of collections in hand, with a duplicate, which the Treasury attaches to a daily return of moneys paid in, which it sends to the Land Office. The Land Agent also sends to the Land Office a return of the money remitted. The entries of receipts are not made in the Land Office books until the advice is received from the Treasury A separate register is kept, of sums received from auction sales, taken from the account sales of each auction which are sent to the Land Office by the auctioneer, or by the Land Agent when acting as auctioneer, as soon as the auction is over The auctioneer's charges are not deducted from the receipts, but are paid by the Treasury The Land Agent obtains receipts from the Treasury for all his lodgments. A revenue cash-book is kept by the Accountant, in which are entered all payments made to the Land Office, including moneys liable to be refunded, and which is discharged by such refunds and by payments into the Treasury A cash journal or day-book is also kept, in which all receipts of land revenue are entered from the Treasury advices. The staff of the Land Department, as of all others, is paid by the Undersecretary out of moneys issued to him by the Treasury The Under-Secretary has besides a cash credit allowed him of £100 for small incidental expenditure. On sending in his vouchers the Bank is recouped the amount. The expenditure cash-book is, on the debit side, a copy of the schedules sent in to the Treasury for payment it is discharged by the disbursements made. The ledger is not kept by double entry, it is detailed under the heads of the votes, is credited with the amount of each vote, and debited with the payments, the unexpended balance being carried out with each entry. The accounts in the Land Office used to be audited by an officer of the Audit, nominally every three months. This has been abandoned, owing to the Audit staff being insufficient. The accounts are now audited by an officer of the department, the Treasurer considering that an outside audit is unnecessary. In auditing the books the cash journal is called over with the selectors' ledgers, and the entries are again checked with the duplicates of the receipts given by the Land Agents to the selectors. The Treasury depends entirely on the Land Office for the correctness of the receipts of the land revenue, except as regards the pastoral rents, of which the account is kept in the Treasury alone. The Land Agents keep accounts against each selector, virtually the same as those kept in the Land Office. The accounts of the Land Agents are audited locally by the Audit Office Inspectors about four times a year It is considered that no complete audit of these accounts can be made by the information which is furnished to the head office, the Treasury, or the Audit. When the final payment is made on a selection, all the papers are submitted to the Auditor, who has to satisfy himself that all the payments have been made, and that the Crown grant may be issued, especially as the selection may, in 11—A. 4