§ MR. FIELD (Dublin, St. Patrick)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether the local auditor at Gibraltar, who is the son of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's private secretary, passed any qualifying examination, general or technical, or was able to produce any academic credentials, before entering the service; and, if so, why was it necessary to prolong, at expense to Imperial funds, the visit for local test purposes of an experienced auditor from England so that the local auditor at Gibraltar might receive belated instruction in duties which could have been safely entrusted to any one of a number of really competent members of the Exchequer and Audit Department.
(Answered by Mr. Runciman.) I am informed that the present local auditor at Gibraltar was appointed to the Colonial Audit Branch in 1891, under the arrangements in force at that time, by the then Comptroller and Auditor-General, who satisfied himself as to the qualifications of the candidate. The selection has been fully justified, as he has discharged his duties to the complete satisfaction of the successive heads of the Department. The duties of the local auditor at Gibraltar are mainly connected with the audit of the accounts of the Colony and only a limited portion of his time is available for the audit of the dockyard accounts. Owing to the great increase in the work at the dockyard at Gibraltar, it was considered necessary to send out an additional auditor last summer for some weeks, and for the same reason it has now been found essential to provide as a permanency, additional clerical assistance in the audit of the naval accounts at that station.