121

A.—4,

Agent-General on tenders sent in by a few leading firms who are asked to tender. Stock is taken annually by officers of the department. At the stock-taking in 1879 of all the stores in the Middle Island, and in 1880 of the Christchurch store, an Audit Inspector was present, and reported to the Audit. But the Inspector's current work was thrown so much into arrear as to render it inadvisable that this should be repeated. As the work is one which only occupies a few weeks towards the close of each financial year, it will probably be found desirable if the Audit is to take part in the survey of stores to employ special officers for the purpose.

The department of Public Works is still divided into two branches, one for the North, and one for the Middle Island , the management of the stores in the two islands is distinct, and different regulations are in force in each. There are four stores in the Northern Island, at Wellington, Auckland, Napier, and Eoxton : and four in the Middle Island, at Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, and Greymouth. The great bulk of these stores, including the material for the construction of the railways and other public works, is procured from England, and the correctness of the invoices and bills of lading are checked by the Engineers and Storekeepers. The issues are made on the orders of the District Engineers. The Storekeeper of each store keeps a Stock Ledger, in which the receipts and issues of each article are posted from the vouchers for payment and the Engineers' orders. The Stores Auditor attached to the head office in the Northern Island keeps a similar ledger against each store, the debits posted from the monthly returns rendered by the Storekeepers, checked by the vouchers sent up for payment, and the credits from the receipts given by the officers to whom the stores are issued, which are sent up to the head office. The Storekeepers make a return every six months to the Stores Audit of the balances of stock in hand, which are checked against the ledger kept in the latter office. The stores are inspected every six months by the Stores Auditor, who reports the discrepancies to the Engineer-in-Charge, upon whose authority the stores ledger is corrected, and the corrections are notified to the several Storekeepers to be entered in their local stock ledgers. The management of the Public Works Stores in the Middle Island is now substantially the same as that in the North; but, owing to the dismemberment of the department two or three years ago, no information is now to be obtained in the Public Works Department at the seat of Government as to the stores in the Middle Island ; and no audit or inspection of these stores outside the department has been made since that time. All the goods in the Public Works Stores are charged finally on the Public Works votes, and are paid for out of loans, but it is admitted that the store accounts have never been kept in such a manner as to give a correct account of the cost of the several works. Rails and other material have been imported in large quantities, and charged against the votes for the several lines and works in progress, but have been used for other lines, whilst corresponding transfers have not in all cases been made in the accounts. To what extent this has gone will probably never be accurately known, it is certainly not inconsiderable, and so far, the distribution of the whole cost of the railways amongst the several lines is not to be wholly relied on. Had there been a proper system of store accounts, and had the stores been charged to a Suspense Store Account, and only charged to the votes as expended on the lines, and, if required to be transferred to other lines, passed again through the store books, all such inaccuracies might have been prevented. As the colony will no doubt undertake large public works for many years to come, it is to be hoped that the system under which the Public Works stores are accounted for may be revised and altered. 16—A. 4

The Puhlic Works Stores,