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019 C00AA00 DELAWARECX
022 A000001 ARBOR TRADING GROUP, INC.
022 B000001 36-3540782
022 C000001 27985
022 D000001 22284
022 A000002 STARBOARD CAPITAL MARKETS, INC.
022 B000002 23-2770786
022 C000002 22154
022 D000002 16348
022 A000003 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
022 B000003 13-5108880
022 C000003 1503
022 D000003 13828
022 A000004 PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES, INC.
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022 B000004 22-2347336
022 C000004 177
022 D000004 14117
022 A000005 MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC.
022 B000005 13-5674085
022 C000005 5238
022 D000005 8813
022 A000006 INTERSTATE SECURITIES
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SIGNATURE ROSEMARY E. MILNER
TITLE VICE PRESIDENT
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Report of Independent Auditors
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors
Delaware Group Government Fund, Inc.
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements
of Delaware Group Government Fund, Inc. (the Fund) for the year
ended July 31, 1997, we considered its internal control,
including control activities for safeguarding securities, in
order to determine our auditing procedures for the purpose of
expressing our opinion on the financial statements and to comply
with the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on
internal control.
The management of the Fund is responsible for establishing and
maintaining internal control. In fulfilling this responsibility,
estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the
expected benefits and related costs of controls. Generally,
controls that are relevant to an audit pertain to the entity s
objective of preparing financial statements for external purposes
that are fairly presented in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles. Those controls include the safeguarding
of assets against unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal control, errors or
irregularities may occur and not be detected. Also, projection
of any evaluation of internal control to future periods is
subject to the risk that it may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of the design and
operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not necessarily
disclose all matters in internal control that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants. A material weakness is a
condition in which the design or operation of one or more of the
internal control components does not reduce to a relatively low
level the risk that errors or irregularities in amounts that
would be material in relation to the financial statements being
audited may occur and not be detected within a timely period by
employees in the normal course of performing their assigned
functions. However, we noted no matters involving the internal
control and its operation, including controls for safeguarding
securities, that we consider to be material weaknesses as defined
above at July 31, 1997.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of the
board of directors and management of Delaware Group Government
Fund, Inc. and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
September 5, 1997
