§ MR. BARNARD (Kidderminster)To ask the President of the Local Government Board what, under the existing Orders of the Local Government Board, is the duty of a clerk to a board of guardians as to the examination of certain accounts of other officers of his board; what is the nature and extent of such examination; and whether the Orders confer any power or cast any responsibility upon a clerk to supervise or control the affairs of any other officer of a union, being the head of a department, who is a directly accounting officer to the guardians and to the district auditor.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) Article 25 of the General Order for the Accounts of Boards of Guardians provides as follows:—"On the day next before every ordinary meeting of the board of guardians, or on the day of such meeting, but previous to the meeting, the clerk shall examine the master's day book, 120 and shall compare the entries of invoices and bills with the invoices and bills themselves, and shall see that all the goods supplied and works done are carried by the master to the proper accounts, and shall certify the correctness of the same by his initials. He shall also compare the entries of payments in the master's receipt and payment account with the vouchers, and ascertain that the master has debited this account with all sums received by him, and produces proper vouchers for all payments made by him, and shall insert his initials at the foot of such account. And he shall inspect the other books required to be kept by the master by this Order, so as to ascertain that they are duly kept in proper form and with due regularity The clerk shall also, at the same time, examine the weekly account in each relieving officer's outdoor relief lists and receipt and expenditure book, so as to ascertain the accuracy of the entries therein and that the relief has been given in accordance with the orders of the guardians, by comparison with the relief order book, and shall certify the correctness of the same by his initials. The clerk shall report to the guardians at the said meeting the result of his examinations. And the master and the relieving officer shall respectively, subject to any direction of the board of guardians, present their books and accounts to the clerk for his examination on such day as aforesaid." As I indicated in reply to the previous Question of my hon. friend, it is the clerk's duty, as far as may be, to give to the other officers the instructions requisite for the prompt and correct execution of all orders and directions of the Local Government Board and of the guardians, and to report to the guardians any neglect or failure therein which may come to his knowledge. This duty devolves on him in respect of every officer, whether he conies within the category referred to in the last part of the Question or not.