52 [CHAP. I., ?T. V.
trifling sum to cover, in the case of the working classes, the petty expenses incidental to a
temporary vacation of the house. Compensation for articles destroyed or damaged must be
paid by the officer on the spot, and may be calculated not only with regard to the value of the
article, but also with regard to the cost of replacing it.
The objections to the temporary removal to a camp are usually of a similar nature.
The removal involves interruption to work or the loss of wages, or exposure of children to cold,
or expenses of transit, and so forth. This is particularly the case with weavers. The officer
must make careful inquiry in each case and use his discretion how far to afford relief.
The class of expenditure which has been indicated in the foregoing paragraphs may
be described as Discretional Relief. The Plague Commissioner, subject to the sanction of
Government, will place distinct sums from time to time at the disposal of particular officers,
Civil or Military. The officer concerned will report weekly the amount spent and the place
where he has spent it, and the countersignature of the Plague Commissioner will be accepted
by the Accountant-General as a sufficient voucher for the expenditure. Subject to the sanction
of Government in each case, the Plague Commissioner may also subsidise any hospital which
he is satisfied is in need of such assistance.
In Bombay City the Plague Commissioner is authorised to place a sum at the disposal
of the Municipal Commissioner, and elsewhere at the disposal of the Collector of the District,
where such assistance appears to the Plague Commissioner to be necessary. The money must
be regarded as quite distinct from advances or grants made on account of ordinary plague
charges and no funds held on the one account should under any circumstances be used for
expenditure on the other. No officer to whom a grant has been made for plague expenditure
generally is on any account permitted to disburse from it sums properly debitable to Discretional
Relief, and no outlay on Discretional Relief is to be incurred from Government funds under
any circumstances without a prior grant having been sanctioned by the Plague Commissioner.
The names of the officers entrusted with advances for Discretional Relief and the amount of
each advance must be approved by the Plague Commissioner. The sums advanced will be
taken into consideration in determining the proportion of plague expenditure to be borne by
Government and the amount of aid to be given to Local bodies when the accounts are finally
adjusted.
For the due control of this expenditure the Circular and Forms appended to this
Resolution, which have been prepared by the Municipal Commissioner, Bombay, and which
have been modified to suit requirements elsewhere, are approved. The Forms have been made
as simple as possible with a view to minimise the labour involved to the officers concerned
while maintaining a record of all that it is necessary to know. The account of the Deputy
Commissioner for Plague Operations in Bombay with the Plague Commissioner, and the
District Officers' accounts with the Deputy Commissioner, will be kept up in the Chief
Accountant's Office in ordinary account form. Elsewhere those accounts will be kept by the
Huzr Deputy Collector. A receipt must be given by every officer for each sum advanced
to him. The Plague Commissioner will inform the Accountant-General of every advance
made by him and the names of those authorised to receive advances and the amount of the
advances allotted in each case. The Plague Commissioner will forward weekly to the Account-
ant-General one copy of Form C with his countersignature, which will be the voucher for the
expenditure.
It is not intended that the necessarily very limited allotment available for Discretional
Relief should replace or dry up private charity. On the contrary, it is hoped that these
instructions will stimulate many to come forward to supplement the sums placed at the disposal of
officers. It will prove convenient that any officer applying for an advance for Discretional
Relief should state the amount and the principal objects for which he requires it, and how long
he thinks it will last. Experience has shown that even small sums judiciously expended are
greatly appreciated. The Deputy Commissioner in Bombay, and elsewhere the Collector of the
District, will promptly caution any officer whose expenditure appears to be unduly heavy, and
will take early steps to satisfy himself whether the distress or the circumstances are so
exceptional as to justify the expenditure, and whether the discretion is being wisely exercised.
A copy of this Resolution should be furnished to the Government of India in com-
pliance with the request conveyed in paragraph 2 of their letter No. 4547-A., dated the 15th
October 1898, Finance and Commerce Department.
(Sd.) A. WINGATE,
Acting Chief Secretary to Government.