The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1933-11-09, Page 3THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER Oth, 1033
Gives Added Enjoyment to Meals
SALAM
GREEN TEA
m"Fresh from the Gardens"
Auditor’s Report
Tlie statement of Surplus or De- I ficit which is shown -as at August 16,
1933 on Ex, A begins with the defic
it at the end of 1932 of $45,472. 77.
The details of this deficit appear on
Ex. O. 1 which I think will be found
self-explanatory.»
It must be remembered that the
Surplus at August 16, 1933, contains
the whole of the Taxes levied in
193|3 but only those expenditures as
certainable to the time that the
Treasurer resigned. All the expend
itures of the remainder of the year
have yet to be charged against it and
for that reason I do not wish it td
be understood that there will be any
surplus at the end or tnls year.
The absence of a balance sheet in
propei’ form conceals from the War
den, Council and Officials the true
condition of the County particularly
as regards a current surplus or de
ficit. _
A general ledger is essential so' that
■continuity from year to year is es
tablished.
(Continued from previous page)
1932 County Rates overpaid by McKillop but not shown, by
County Auditor’s .............................................. ,
Old Age Pensions not shown by Auditors..............................
Refund from Hospitals not shown by Auditors .....................
Administration of Justice ................................. ........
Division Court Fees not deposited taken by Gordon
Young
Ex. F IV, Page 4 ............................................$. 14.:
79.75
Less: apparent error
Licenses not deposited taken by Gordon Yoqng.........
Interest, Children’s Shelter Bonds taken by G. Young
Land taxes not deposited, taken by Gordon Young ....
County Highways funds credited in error to General
Account, adjusted in bank reconciliation ...........251.18
913.26
Net Discrepancies in 'General Receipts
Their disbursements are less than
mine by $4,019.3 8 of which the
cheques drawn by Gordon Young
from the General Account and. depos
ited in his own account amount to
$ 7-72.85
$2,2'87.00. It is very evident from
the foregoing that no attempt was
made to balance the bank account.
With an incorrect balance at the be
ginning and the same at the end. dif
ferences in receipts and disburse-
---------------------Cjments are very easily concealed .
COUNTY HIGHWAYS ACCOUNT
31st, 191312 for later adjust-
Balance at Balance atbeginningReceiptsDisbursementsend
Per County
Auditors $6,377.81 O’D $25*3,25 81310 $246,73'8.815 $141.64Ex. E. II.5,293.24 O’D 25'3,509.48 247,954.34 261.90
Discrepancies $1,084.5-7 O’D $ 251.18 $ 1,215.49 $120.26
Th difference in receitps. is account
ed for by the amount deposited in
General Account in error which is
shown in my bank reconciliation at
. December
meats.
; An explanation of the differ-
; once in the disbursements shown is
Qhere given:
General Expenditures ..............................................................$
Gordon Young — Unauthorized cheque traced to his bank
account
Unexplained bank disbursements, cheque m'issing
100.00
356.08
Commission Pay sheets overstated
$1,21'5.99
,5 0
as
Net Discrepancies .....................
The difference in the closing bank
balance is again due to errors in the
outstanding cheques a,t December 31,
1932.
The County Home Account as. stat
ed by the Auditors of 19 33 show mis
cellaneous receipts of $1.93 which
amount I could not trace.
The general disbursements
shown by them amount to $18,500.-
'3 4 whereas my summary shows $18,-
526.41.
The bank balance as shown by
them is $1,018.72 whereas my bank,
reconciliations shows $999.72 the
difference being $19.0i0' of outstand
ing cheques not included by the aud
itors.
The Exchange Account as shows
by them does not take into account
the December 1932 exchange charged
through the bank in 1933 and form
ing part of my reconciliation.
The Coupon Account agrees with
my findings though I cannot agree
...............................................$1,215.49
with the auditors’ statement .that "all
coupons are properly cancelled."
They were cancelled by the bank but
not by the.'auditors and being for
the interest on $19,50'0.00 did not
agree with the Balance Sheet show
ing an $18,510’0.00 liability. In no
way could this account be consider
ed a Sinking Fund Account as it was
previously called.
The Provincial Highways banking
is performed through four separate
accounts. It was the practise of the
County Treasurer to open a separate
account each year to. take care of the
debentures and coupons due in that
year. The 1931 account shows a
balance of $125 .'05 of unpaid inter
est while the 1932 account shows a
balance of $'11,85 0.46. A third ac
count was called a Savings Account
and at December 31st, 1932 showed
$10|3',85 on hand.
The Ordinary Account is here com-
1932 Auditors’
Ex. E IX
Balance at
beginning
' $77,867.04
39,179.05
spared:
Receipts
$43,969.34
69,669.34
Disbursements
$129,242.67
116,254.68
$38,687.99Discrepancies
The difference in the opening bal
ance is due to the fact .that the
County Auditors included the bal
ances of the Savings Account $25,-
737.15 3 and of the Special Account
1931, $12,950.46 with"* that of the
Ordinary Account.
The receipts differ by reason of a
transfer from the Savings Account to
the Ordinary Account of $25,700.00.
The disbursements, differ by $12,-
987.99 which is made up of $12,-
915'0.46 which represents a third pay
ment on debentures although oniy
two annual instalments of debentures
and interest had fallen due. The en-
$'12,987.99
$37.53 shows
Balance at
end
$7,406.29O’D
7,406.29O’D -----.—t—
as a transfer oftry of ,
1932 was in the Savings Account at
the end of 1931.
Had 'the County Auditors contin
ued grouping the four accounts .to
gether they would have shown a. bal
ance of $4,6713.07 at the end of 1932
instead of an overdraft of $7,406.-
29 which represents the balance of
the Ordinary Account only. They
should either have hsown the ac
counts .separately as I have or con
tinued, to combine the tour accounts
Had they continued to combine the
accounts as they started >out to do
in the opening balance the following
^amendments would have been made:
Savings Account Interest Earned .................................................$ 66.32
Transfer from General Account ......... 12,9'50.46
Deleted disbursements for third instalment ................................ 12,9.5(0,46
Deleted entry marked transfer to savings ....................... 37J5i3
Less: Debentures and Coupons paid 1932 Acct.
Debentures and Coupons paid 1931 Acct.
$1,100.00
12,825.41
$26,00'4.77
$13,925.41
The Net Discrepancy is therefore $12,079.36
Was So Short of Breath
Could Not Lie Down to Sleep
■i
J Mrs. P. j. Chernoff, Shoreacres, B.C., writes:—
“I had been so troubled with shortness of breath I
could not lie down to sleep.
I could not do any hard work, or climb the stairs,
and had such nervous and smothering feelings I
became very weak.
I tried all kinds of medicine, but got no relief
until I had taken three boxes of Milburn’s H. N.
Pills, and since then I have felt better in every way.”
For sale nt nil drug and general stores; put up only by
The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont.
Shortages
In my introductory remarks I re
ferred to the shortage found to be
existent as far as it could„ be deter
mined from such information as was
available. This information will be
found in Section F and with the de
tails appearing in its. dependent
schedules. It will be noticed (Ex, F
1) that I have shown the receipts
purloined separate from the che
ques which were tracel to Gordon
Young’s account. They are receipts
unaccounted for $4,221.33 and Che
ques in Gordon Young’s account $7,-
623.96 a total of $11,845.29.
As before mentioned Ex. F. 1 is a
summary of the shortage discovered
to date. Ex. F 2 summarizes the
amounts traced to Gordon Young’s
bank account giving the various
dates. The first tour amounts in
1929 marked X however consist of
missing cheques presumed to be
duplicates of Gordon Young’s sal
ary but not actually traced to his
bank account.
Mr. Young’s salary being the only
regular monthly payment of $137,150
and the fact that these cheques have
been destroyed points very strongly
to their having been duplicates of
salary cheques.
I understand
that these were Mr. Holman’s sal
ary cheques but he must be incor
rect in this as Mr. Holman’s salary
amounted to approximately $141.00
per month, the entries for which
were seen. The four amounts so
marked amount to- $550.00' and are
explained on the second page of Ex.
F 3.
Exhibit F 3 with continuations
shows Gordon Young’s deposits with
the dates thereof for the period from
January 1st, 192 8 to August l(0th,
1933.
In 192 8 as before explained no
deposit slips for his account and no
debit slips for the County were
available and therefore no shortages
could be traced in that year. Com
mencing in 1929 however these slips
were available and the details of the
deposits are given. I have traced his
salary deposits and marked them as
■such. The cheques shown on the
deposit slips which, correspond on
■the bank debt slips against the
County are thos items which are un
derlined and these are the items
which are summarized' on Ex. F. 2. ;
Ex. F 4 contains details of receipts
unaccounted for together with the
source of information either receipt
book or cash book and whether or
not they appeared on a deposit slip.
It will be noted that some items
appear on a deposit slip but did not
reach the bank. I
Exhibit F (5i gives details of de
bentures issued in 19'30 and 1931
and shows two.amounts received but
not deposited
County. They
$4.5'0.4 6 and
$200.00. The
A 10
G 2.
In
tures
■sold to Mrs. A. Halliday had been
redeemed
a cheque
count in
the bond
the Bank
1932. A deposit of exactly the same
amount ($,450.46) appears in Gor
don Young’s bank account on the
date the bond was paid by the bank.
I would point out that the audi
tors’ statement for the year 1930
shows receipts from debenture issue
$100,000 whereas the actual amount
deposited from this source in 19'30
was only $9 6,549.5 4, a difference of
$'3',450.46. The remainder was traced
by me to the bank in 1931 with the
exception of the amounts of $4150.46
"') which are mentioned
Mr. Young states
Mrs.
first is
and the second
to the credit of the
are Mrs. A. Halliday,
M. J. Johnston,
bond number
bond number
these deben-connection with
it was found that the bond
by the County by means or
issued on t)he .general ac-
Niovember 1931 and that
had also been cashed at
of Commerce in January,
and $20(0.00
above.
In addition
are a large
cheques some
timate but of
obtain proper .. ................
stubs in the cheque books, non entry
in the cash book and with only the
bank debits with no details thereon
but the date and amount it is i.m-
posisble to trace them. Some of these
particularly in the County Roads ac
count are of such amounts that it
has been suggested they refer to-
some person having ben paid for ser
vices who was not an authorized
employee of the. County. These
cheques are not in Gordon Young’s
account and are not covered by any
voucher issued through the Engin
eer’s Deptartment,
The unvouched cheques in the
Highway bank account amounted in
1930 to $487.20 in 1931 to $519.86
and in 1932 to $456.08 and in 1932
there is a cheque of $100.00 traced
to Gordon Young’s account. There
■were a large number of missing
cheques in the general account which
in the absence of further Informa
tion I was unable to trace.
An item appearing in t>he short
age consists of Interest on two $100.
00 bearer bonds, the property of the
Children’s Shelter. Gordon'Young
to the foregoing there
number of missing
of which may be legi-
which I am unable to
■details. With blank]
I
• says that the previous auditors told
, him to keep this money as they had
■ charged it up to him but admitted
that he had never paid the amount
to the County, There was no charge
in the books which I could locate.
The bonds amounting to $1,200.'0'0 I
i found to be held in a safe deposit
box under Gordon Young's name at
the Bank of'Commerce on August 1'5,
1933, I arranged with the Manager
> to have this box changed to 'the Co.
Of Huron,
So bold did the recent Treasurer
become that a cheque issued for
$65.2.00 was deposited in his own
account as $652.(00 less cash $25.
a net deposit of $627.00. A perusal
of the supplementary schedules of
Exhibit F will show the large num
ber of items deposited with a. small
cash payment deducted but pointing
conclusively to a similiar debit on
■the same day by the bank- to the
County funds. It must ne remem
bered that Gordon Young has plead
ed guilty to the items in this list
with the exceptions of those of the
year 1929 which- were
after his sentence.
One thing however
pointed out and that is
recovered from the Bonding Com
pany of $7,750.00. This may be re
garded as found money less the ex
penses of the investigation because
the County did vol know it 'had been
robbed. It must also be regarded as
more or less -of an "ex gratis4’ pay
ment or payment, by grace since the
provisions contained in the j^mplioy-
era Statement -and forming part of
the bond, had not been lived up to.
The Employers Statement was signed
by G. W. Holman as Clerk and by J.
Hayes as Warden (though Mr. Hayes,
I am informed, disputes his signa
ture.)
The employer’s statement consists
of a questionarie
the employer.
One question is
would invariably
by another person
drawn and will the same precaution
be taken as to notes or other evi
dence of indebtedness issued?’’ What
means are taken by the countersign
ing officer to see that two cheques
or notes are not drawn for the pay
ment of the same obligation?
The answer to this was that the
Warden signed a.ll orders, for Treas
urer and he pays by cheque, bank
books, stubs of cheque books and re
turned paid cheques.
From what has already been men
tion in this report it is evident that
no attempt was made to comply with
the intent of the quesion. Orders
were signed in blank by various
Wardens, cheques were issued with
out orders, the audit was incomplete
and no vouchers were examined or
bank reconciliation made. Several
instances of overpayment have been
found and there was apparently no
proper check on the Treasurer.
Another question was "Will his
duties embrace the handling of cash”
and the answer given was "Yes, but
very little cash is handled, all pay
ments are made by cheque and re
ceipts the same.”
This reply is disproved by the
amount of receipts of cash which the
Treasurer is known to have purloin
ed. There is also the fact that he
did not issue receipts unless request
ed and the amounts thus received is
cash cannot be traced.
Another question asks "from what
source will the applicant receive
money?” and the answer given was.
Taxes received from local municip
alities, .school grants and all by che
que.
It will be noted from the examina
tion of -Schedule F. that such items
, as auctioneers, pedd-lars and poultry
licenses were largely regarded by
the Treasurer as requisites and their
omission from the employers’ state
ment is serious.
Again "How much approximately
is paid in cash?” and the answer giv
en "No payments made in cash, all
by cheque.” This is a. misrepresen
tation to the company of the form in
whch money was received by
Treasurer as the question appears
that part -of the question relatirig to
receipts.
An even more definite question
asked. ‘Are receipts given by the ap
plicant in every instance to those
who pay him money and is a dupli
cate of these receipts . retained or
bound in book form with stubs to be
used in comparison when his ac
counts are audited?” The answer in
part was. "If he receives for County
purposes, duplicates are kept.” I
think enough evidence has been pre
sented to show that this provision
was evaded to a considerable extent.
A very important question was
asked as follows: "When audited is
the cash balance claimed to be on de
posit in the bank at the time of eahh
audit verified by a statement of the
manager of the bank?” The answer
being, "Yes," etc. Failure to have
|, proper bank reconcilation contain- I ing the details of the outstanding
i cheques is a direct violation of the
I contract with the bonding company.
! "Will the applicant be required to
make hs deposits daily?” was also
asked and the answer given was,
"Yes" though this provision was not
carried out.
These are some of the important
questions asked and answered in the
employers’ statement but from these
it will be seen that had the County
pressed for full payment in the
courts the probabilities are that it
would have received nothmg at all.
I regard the settlement made as
quite generous under the circum
stances and I would suggest that for
any other bond a copy should be
kept of any undertaking made with
a bonding company so that it could
be referred to from time to time.
discovered
should be
the amount
with answers by
"whether-''cheques
be countersigned
after they are
1
the
in
is
Comments and Suggestions
The new system of accounting is
being installed and the new book
keeper whom the Warden and myself
were instructed by the Warden’s
Committee to engage, is rapidly un
derstanding it as it is installed in
sections. I
On the resignation of the Treasur
er the Clerk presented a By-law stat
ing that under such circumstances
he became automatically the Deputy
Treasurer. In the face of his ap
pearance before me for examination
with a solicitor who demanded pro
tection for him against his employers
the County of Huron, I consider this
perhaps the most outrageous proce
dure of the whole case. He has been
unwilling qt unable to produce
vouchers in such shape that they can
be audited. Under the authority giv
en to the Warden and myself and
approved by the Warden’s commit
tee, instructions have been
that the bookkeeper shall
from him, together with an
authorizing the issue of any cheque,
the invoices and other vouchers rel
ative thereto and that she shall file
these stapled together with a nota
tion of the number of the cheque is
sued therefor. We have further in
sisted that orders shall be issued for
all payments whether’ statutory, by
law or for ordinary incidentals. The
orders and cheques are all being
countersigned by the Warden so that
he shall know every item which is
paid out. These instructions also
contain a provision that all monies
received are to be 'handed to the
bookkeeper for deposit without any
deduction therefrom and that the
receipt shall be made out to her.
A large number of people are or
dering supplies and materials and no.
one therefore is able to state at any
time what the liabilities of he 'Coun
ty amount to. I feel that an order
book system should be installed and
that these order books should be is
sued to only a few people who will
send a duplicate to the bookkeeper
when the order is issued, keeping
the triplicate in their own book
which they will mark off when the
goods are received. An alternative
would be to appoint a purchasing
agent but this might not be possible.
The Clerk notwishstanding the in
structions of the Warden’s Commit
tee that I should install the new
system, has been ordering receipt
books, etc., of the old style and this
I take as a further instance of his
obstructive tactics.
I cannot suggest that any docu
ments be given to the present Clerk
as >his office is in such a confused
condition that even the By-laws can
not be produced when required. On
inquiry one is referred to the By-law
book containing a copy of the by
laws but this is of no value without
being properly and legally complet
ed.
Such pay sheets as I have seen for
the various committees contain
given
obtain
order
Safe, Sensible, Simple
Rules To End
PIMPLES,BLOTCHES,Etc.
Ugly, disfiguring blotches and pimples are
almost certain signs that your eliminative
organs are not functioning fully in their natural
task of keeping the blood stream pure. You
may think they are—-but don’t be misled by
apparent regularity in. your daily habits. Re
gularity deceives thousands, because regularity
is not always completeness.
To ensure oompleto elimination of body
wastes eat moderately, get all the sleep your
system demands, take exercise and fresh air—
and once or twice each week drink a bubbling,
bracing^pleasant-tasting glass of Andrews
What Andrews does for you is to stimulate
the system to normal, healthy action. Taken,
at regular intervals—say twice a week—An
drews will keep your whole system pure and
vigorous. Then skin imperfections will tend
to disappear and you will enjoy a clear skin
and a healthy, active body,
Follow these sane, sensible Andrews health
rules. Get Andrews Liver Salt from your drug
gist. In tins at 36c and 60c. New, huge bottle,
75c. Sole Agents; John A. Huston Co., Ltd.,
Tor''r ‘ 7
never .gave a receipt unless he was
asked, no figure can be placed on the
actual shortage.
There have been many rumors
prevalent as to people who are sup
posed to have paid money and hold
a receipt therefor. I can only re
gret that these people did not come
to me and produce their evidence.
In connection with the Criminal
Audit .some records should be made
by the auditors of the accounts pass
ed for payment so that the County
auditors would know what accounts
had been passed by the Board. It
has not been the habit of the Coun
cil or Warden to pass these accounts
and so there has been no way of
telling whether the accounts ’have
been regularly passed. Thy should
form a part of the County’s book
keeping.
Conclusion
In view of the state of affairs
shown to have been existent I cap
append no certificate.
The new books will need to be ad
justed as new facts come to light and
I would suggest that the office of
Clerk and Deputy-Treasurer be sep
arated. No system is successful
where collusion is possible and the
danger invovled of having one offic
ial acting in a dual capacity should
not be countenanced.
I would particularly express my
appreciation of the great assistance
rendered by the Warden, Mr. James
Ballantyne, the County Solicitor, Mr.
R. C. Hayes, and to the Bank of
Commerce officials in this investiga
tion which, because of the condition
, the ob
structive tactics employed by the
Treasurer and the Clerk, and partic
ularly to the destruction of valuable
regards has been rendered extremely
difficult.
among them some large payments. I the books and records,
This is apparently due to custom
referring back possibly to the old
days when the Council travelled by
horse and buggy. I feel there is no
need to discuss the details, of this
since it is in the hands of each mem
ber, of each Committee to see that
the proper fees only are authorized.
I think I have made it quite plain
that no audit has been made of the
invoices and vouchers because of the
condition in which they are kept and
and I doubt whether they have been
examined for years. Numerous
double payments seem to have been
made and in fact some of the sup
pliers have complained that when
they received a cheque they did not
now what items were included. The
new system should take care of this.
The custom prior to 193 3 of the
Warden signing orders in blank has
this year been stopped by the refus
al of Warden Ballantyne to sign any
thing for which he has not proper
information.
As I have pointed out before, the
condition had grown so lax that an
order was not considered necessary
in many cases and in 1932 Mr. Hol
man drew $'30.00 and Mr. Young
$50.00 for unauthorized expenses.
Mr. Young openly admitted that
he was no bookkeeper yet he was an
auditor before he was appointed
Treasurer. In the absence, of a gen
earl ledger and of books properly
kept he succeeded in taking the
amounts already stated and accord
ingly to his sworn statement that he
OU ' e
s'855.0 \ a
Yours very truly
REPORT OF S. S. NO. 1 USBORNE
For September and October.
Sr. IV—Edith Wurm 7 6.2; Fray-
ne Parsons, 68.6.
Jr. IV—Grace Beckler 7 6.1; Jack
Kestle, 71.8.
•Sr. Ill — Margaret Dougall 79.9;
Russell Ferguson 71.7; Billie Kes
tle 59.4; Gordon Squire 47.1
Jr. Ill—Billie Reynolds 71.3; H.
Dougall, 65.7; Andrew Boa, 64;
Bobbie Jeffrey )5|7.2; Lawrence Dunn
I5i7.2; Billie Parsons 5 4.7; Alex Boa,
52.5; Donald Buchanan 51.9; Harold
■Wurm, 45.3.
II—Howard Ferguson 67.5; Shir
ley Fairbairn 62.5.
I—Bobbie Parsons 75.1.
Sr. Pr.—Jerome Struyr 73.3.
Jr. Pr.—Harry Jeffery 73.3; Cal
vert Beckler, 6 4.7; Gordon Buchan
an 64.; Mabel Fairbairn, 5 6.
No. on roll 2!5>; average attendance
24.
Dorothy C. Manning, teacher.
REPORT OF S. S. NO. 4, USBORNE
The following is the report of S.
S. No. 4, Usborne for the months of
September.and October. Those mark
ed with an asterick missed tests.
Sr. IV— Harold Kerslake
Blhnc'lie Whiting >510*; Carroll
ton 45.
Jr. IV — Fred Lhxton 80;
Buswell, 57.
Sr. Ill—Oretta Webber 71;
Skinner 56; Melville Buswell,
Jr. Ill—Reg. Ford 43*; Stanley
Whiting 41;
Sr. II—Donald Whiting 68; Glenn
Hunter 64; Hazel Buswell 64; Helen
Essery 58; Elwyn Kerslake 5/3.
Jr. II—Donald Essery 25.
1— Hazel Kerslake 68; Junior
Prout 64; Melba Whiting 56; Bob
Prout 39.
Sr. Pr.—Jack Coates >5>S.
Jr. Pr.—Billie Ford.
Number on roll 22.
Lula Hunter, teacher
59;
Quin-
Marie
Alma
43.
The town of Goderich has purchas
ed 27 acres of farm land, 17 1-2
acres of good hardwood bush on the
the 6th concession of Colborne. The
purchase price was $1200, It is plan
ned to give the unemployed work in
cutting up the wood.
EdMc SsBURG
OWN I
«««•
wholesome,
and economical table
Syrup. Children love
its delicious flavor.
Ct ^thrcanada STARgjC0,lJma