§ MR. W. H. JAMES (Gateshead)asked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether the auditors under the Local Government Board possess powers, and under what authority and Acts of Parliament, to issue orders 1065 to the officers of any Poor Law Union; if he will state the amount allowed per day to Inspectors and auditors of the Local Government Board, in addition to their travelling expenses; what is the amount allowed in their absence for home or official duties; what is their scale of travelling expenses; and, whether they are, in the matter of travelling expenses, allowed to charge cab hire where there is access by rail?
§ THE PRESIDENT (Mr. RITCHIE) (Tower Hamlets, St. George's)The district auditors have power under 7 & 8 Vict. c. 110 to require the attendance of persons at the audit, the production of accounts, and other matters connected with his audit. I infer from a newspaper report of the proceedings of the Gateshead Guardians that it was understood that the auditor had given directions to one of their relieving officers to attend at the schools to pay the school fees for pauper children. The auditor informs me that what he has done is this—he has objected to the production of receipts of pupil teachers for sums which were payable by the relieving officer to the head teachers for school fees; and he has stated that he would not be prepared in future to accept receipts which were not signed by the head teacher or by some one distinctly authorized by him to receive the amount. It devolves on the auditor to satisfy himself, for the purpose of his audit, as to the sufficiency of the receipts produced to him. The general Inspectors of the Board and auditors receive no allowance in respect of personal expenses except when absent from home at night on official business, and the allowance is then in the case of an Inspector 21s., and of an auditor 20s. There are some other Inspectors of the Board to whom a day allowance when not absent at night is made for personal expenses, and this allowance is 7s. when absent from home for not less than 10 hours. As regards travelling expenses, the actual expenses of locomotion are repaid. Charges are not made for cab hire when there is access by rail and the train service admits of the railway being used without inconvenience.