OFFICE WORK OF A GARRISON BATTERY. 
501 
monthly brigade and district returns, casualty return, pay list, and ration 
book. 
58. Gunner Nichol comes in to make a savings bank deposit. You 
receive it, and enter and sign for it in your cash book, savings bank ledger, 
and Savings Bank Form No. 2 (in duplicate), and his pocket ledger. It is 
also entered in his ledger sheet. If he makes a withdrawal, it is he that 
signs all these. 
59. Gunner Wilton comes in to get a pair of socks, accompanied, when¬ 
ever possible, by the N.C. officer in charge of his subdivision. The issue is 
entered in the necessaries ledger (par. 24), and in some batteries signed for. 
The issue is also noted in his ledger sheet. 
60. Gunner Young comes in to get an advance of pay. Signs for it in 
your cash book, after receiving it. The advance is at once noted in his 
ledger sheet. 
61. Corporal Jackson, who is to be attached to your battery for rations, 
not for pay, for some days, while waiting to give evidence, reports his arrival. 
His name is at once entered by the Pay-Serjeant in W.O. Form 102, so that 
his rations can be accounted for; otherwise you will appear to have over¬ 
drawn so many rations—that is, there will be an excess of number of rations 
drawn over number of days pay that you are entitled to draw. His name is 
also entered in the ration book and in a mess book. 
62. Corporal Williams, who has been attached in the same manner to 
you, reports himself before departure. He signs for any advances he has 
received, and is examined to see that he takes away his own carbine and 
sword. As soon as he has gone, W.O. Form 102, for his rations, is sent to 
his battery, and the date on which it ought to be received back is entered in 
the rough diary. His name is struck out of the ration and the mess books. 
63. Now observe that in all this you have not done a stroke of 
unneceessary work ; every entry must have been made sooner or later, while 
by making them at once, and in books, instead of pieces of paper, you have 
all the work fully and permanently recorded, and are not obliged to start 
afresh with every change of assistants. You are not working a private busi¬ 
ness, but a machine that must be ready to be placed in other hands at any 
moment. Bemember, however, that this system requires a real use of the 
books, otherwise you will soon find that your clerks have been trusting to 
notes on scraps of paper, the regular reason being, “1 wanted to keep the 
books clean,” which is not at all what is required; what you want is, to 
keep the books up to date. 
Monthly Work . 
64. We now come to the work at the end of the month. The punish¬ 
ment return has only the two or three last entries to be checked by you. 
Before signing it you compare it with the rough casualty book, and the 
returns of fines, of deprivation of pay, and of forfeiture of good conduct pay, 
and the court-martial return, to see that all agree; when all these can be 
signed. 
65. The monthly district and brigade returns are also up to date, and are 
