H.—ll

4

New ledgers, adapted in form to the more simple method which is now observed of keeping the accounts of the office—new ledgers which do not provide for the confusing and laborious practice of carrying out a balance on the entry of every transaction, and which have consequently saved the work of making upwards of 15,000 entries for last year, and the relative calculations —have been substituted for the old ledgers. The duty of proving the accuracy of the ledgers and auditing each ledger account has been rendered much lighter by ledger summaries, which, showing the quarterly totals of the ledger entries, afford a welcome relief during the period of the annual audit. Many necessary changes and modifications have been made in other books, though the old form of balancesheet, showing the total of the receipts and payments in each general account, still remains for removal as one of the few last vestiges of the past. The quarterly balance of the accounts of the office may now be ascertained without effort on the day after the close of the quarter; and the annual balance, which used to tax the office severely for several weeks, is now brought out more satisfactorily in as many days, and occasions no concern. In short, the accounts of the office are now as easy to keep as they are safe, and consequently require in their relatively subordinate importance no more than the attention which should be given to them. The officials can now, therefore, observe a course which has been so arranged of checking the accounts and the administration of the office as to afford internally the comprehensive audit which is necessary to the conduct of the business on its present basis. They can also afford to bestow on the administration, which is the principal business of the office, much of the attention which was wanting, and which has been saved by the abolition of unwieldy methods of book-keeping. The method which, by means of dockets, a perpetual diary, has been arranged to prevent any neglect in the administration of a property, or the conduct of any department of the office, alone deserves more than the reference to which I must here restrict myself. It is not too much to say that, but for this large economy of strength, the task imposed upon the office, and cheerfully undertaken, in connection with the preparation of " The West Coast Settlement Eeserves Act, 1892," and in the administration of that Act, with other business, could not have been satisfactorily performed; for it was a task on which only the ablest of the officials could be employed, whose services would have been unavailable under the old condition of things. And, besides that important measure, the office has found time to give attention to a larger measure still—a Natives Eeserves Administration Bill—and to afford assistance in the consideration and preparation of many other measures. It may, indeed, be confidently pronounced that, though the accounts have required less attention, the business of the office during the last two years has been, in respect both to the work which has been accomplished and the work which is in progress, larger, more arduous, and more important than the business attempted during any such preceding period. But in estimating the worth of enduring work —work of which the benefit will be lasting —it would be a great error to apply, without regard to indirect and prospective value, the narrow measure of the pecuniary transactions of the period. The period of transition was a very trying one, and especially as, during that period, the business of the office was increasing, and as many difficult questions had to be considered and decided to which the late investigation gave rise. The new arrangements, however, which, to be understood properly, would require a description in such detail as would render this report tiresome, are affording the expected relief, and render practicable a proper consideration of the steps necessary to a satisfactory administration of the business of the office at the agencies throughout the colony. The efficient administration of the office requires, indeed, that there should be regular inspection of the real estate which may belong to properties placed in the office or form the securities for advances. The change which the staff of the office has undergone in consequence of the increase of business and of the transfers and retirements has rendered necessary clerical assistance, for which permanent officers of the Civil Service, and of the required qualifications, were unavailable, on account of the exigencies of their departments, or because the salaries of such officers were higher than this office could afford. There has, therefore, been no recourse but to temporary or extra clerks, and in the selection of these preference has been given, all other things being equal, to men who, having previously been employed in other branches of the Service, had the necessary qualifications. The varied character of the duties of the office is such that the profitable employment of clerks on work of a routine and preparatory nature is practicable without giving them access to or exposing the business which, regarded as confidential, should be restricted to the officials who are permanently employed. In many Government departments it is a recognised rule of economy to obtain, in times of pressure or special exigencies, temporary clerical assistance; but from among those who have been employed in the Public Trust Office as extra clerks there have been found men of very high qualifications, whom it is intended to employ as permanently as a temporary appointment will allow. I may here, I trust, be permitted to bear testimony to the earnestness and singleness of purpose which have distinguished both the permanent officials and the temporary clerks in the performance of the services which they have rendered. For month after month their hours of work were long, and their duties were trying, but the interests of the office have been made their first consideration, and to their voluntary and cheerful personal sacrifices the office owes a very large measure of whatever may be the merit of its administration. Whenever it appears desirable to strengthen the staff, the permanent officers of other departments who are reputed to be qualified for the Public Trust Office are selected, subject, of course, to the concurrence of the heads of those departments. It, however, unfortunately happens that these selections have generally met with objections which could not but be recognised. The appointment has for some time been contemplated of permanent officers of the Public