§ 13. Mr. HAYESasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the heavy expenditure now involved in the carrying out of extensive capital works departmentally by direct labour in our Crown Colonies, he will consider the advisability of supplementing or extending the at present restricted duties of the local officers acting under the Director of Colonial Audit in London by the introduction of specially trained technical officers, and by so doing relieve heads of executive Departments, already fully occupied with their ordinary recurrent duties, of the great responsibility of checking the technical details of the accounts for such works?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI have no information which tends to indicate that the heads of the technical Departments concerned in the Colonies are handicapped in the performance of their ordinary duties by reason of their responsibilities in connection with the expenditure incurred on capital works carried out departmentally.