VISCOUNT DUNCANsaid, that in the City Article of the Times of the 3rd of June the following paragraph appeared:—
It is a curious fact, illustrative of the way in which the official business of the Government is sometimes performed, that a check drawn by the Poor Law Board, and signed by Sir John Trollope (President), and Lord Courtenay (Secretary), was dishonoured to-day at the Bank of England. Its amount was 149l., and the answer given to Messrs. Glyn and Co., by whom it was presented, was 'Not sufficient effects.'He thought that for the credit of the Poor Law Board some explanation should he given on this subject, and he begged to ask the right hon. President of the Board whether the statement in the Times was correct?
§ SIR JOHN TROLLOPEsaid, he should have no great difficulty in explaining the matter to which the noble Lord referred. The circumstance arose from mere inadvertence on the part of the accountant who transacted the monetary business of the Poor Law Board. The accounts of the auditors would be sent in very soon, and money had been voted by the House in the course of the Session; but the accountant had, by some oversight, omitted to make the usual application to the Treasury to transfer the amount to the account of the Poor Law Board. This was an error which he (Sir J. Trollope) would take good care should not happen again, for the check he had put upon the mode of paying the accounts rendered its recurrence impossible. He must say, however, that the officer who transacted the business of this department was a very old and valuable servant of the public, having been in the public service for about eighteen years without ever making a similar mistake; and he (Sir J. Trollope) really thought it was hardly worth while to trouble the House with such a subject. At all events he believed the House would agree with him that it was not a matter which called for the censure of that House upon Her Majesty's Government.