The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-03
Continued from yesterday


full year. It would take three or four
months to complete the auditing.
Q. How many vouchers and war
rants did you generally have to sign
monthly?
A. l think the average for 1902 was
about twenty-six hundred a month; of
course some months would be more
than this.
9. How long would it take you to do
that work?
A. Well. if it were simply signing the
warrants alone, without checking the
ellis, 1 could sign at the rate of three
hundred an hour. but 1 always check
the bills with the warrants.
Q. That is what / am asking you,
how long it took you to do the work?
A, How many days? 1t wouldn't
take ten days; 1 mean all the time of
ten days, but it would probably be
spread over that time
Q. Did the Deputy Auditor ever sign
any?
A. During my absence only; if was
away on the other Islands, he signed
them.
Q. The other time there was no war
rants to sign what did you do in the
office?
A. Answering correspondence, mail
ing salary warrants to the people out
side, and used the time for checking on
the outside departments.
A. Also managed the work in the
department; there is a great deal of
routine work, and a good deal requires
particular attention
@. You speak ef checking outside
departments; what departments do you
mean.
A. Well, some time OF each month
was spent in checking the departments;
for instance the tax office, that was a
matter of three or four months to check
that; at the expiration Of each year
we checked the books for that year.
Q. The Treasurer's Department was
audited every three months? A. Yes.
c. The Department of Public Works
was audited every three months as you
have stated? A. Yes.
Q. And these are the only ones audi
ted quarterly? A. Yes.
The Chairman: @. What action was
taken by you when the public account
ants failed in renting promptly:
A. We sent a notice that they failed
to make their returns. We had forms
there to fill out; they generally re-
sponded promptly to them.
Mr.. McCandless: Q. You stated just
now, Mr. Austin, that you checked up
the cash book, receipts of rent and such
things and took for granted their state
ment that the cash was all right on
nand.
A. They would turn in the full
amount of their cash to the Treasurer.
a sworn statement is then turned in of
the full amount of cash for the month
showing cash on hand as I find it on
the record books.
Q. No cash on hard then?
a. Unless you went into portion
of the previous montll-a portion of the
next month
Q. Don't you think that a depart
ment like the Land Department that
handles so many dollars should be aud
tied every three months?
A I don't think they would require
that amount of auditing.
WHAT DOES "FROM TIME TO
TIME MEAN.
Q. Doesn't the law say these books
should be audited from time to time?
a. Yes, and they were.
Mr.. McCandless: G.. What is your
Interpretation of from time to timer
A That the Departments can get it
out from. time to time might mean once
year, but it might be three or four
months spare time we had to do it.
Q. Then you think. the term time
to time" would near perhaps to cover
from one year to another year?
A / think that would be correct.
/ think a great deal was left to the
discretion of the Auditor in relation to
that.
The Chairman: @. Now, you take
department like that of the Public
Works Department, you audited that
every three months: why didn't you
audit the Land Department every three
months? Don't you think it is as inn
portant an office as the Public Works
Department?
A. 1t is in a certain sense; they have
not as many different branches of re-
ceipts, they have only stubs from land
sales, etc.
Mr. McCandless: O. But don't you
| ACCOUNTS as any other accounts?
a. I think it has been sufficiently
| audited.
The Chairman: c. Take the Public
Instruction Department; it has never
| been audited?
A No, it has never been completely
audited: it was my intention to audit
| the books Up.
Q. I think that is all, Mr.. Austin.
AUSTIN'S STATEMENT.
Mr.. McCandless: Much obliged TO you
| for your information, if you have any
| other statement which you would like
to make, we would like to have you
make it.
| Mr.. Austin: I win say this, that
| have been in the public service for thir-
| teen years, nine years as collector OF
taxes, on the Island of Hawaii, and four
years as auditor, and that / have Civ
en- faithful and conscientious service
IN both branches of the service, while
| 1 have been in them, as far as 1 coulc
see the necessity of it. I only had ont
vacation during the nine years L wa:
| assessor, and my time has been th'
Government time, even if ii required
TO work over time to do it; and that
| +HFpl- ir drawing the linz