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863. Ton do not remember signing it ?—No. 864. You do not remember receiving it by post from Mr. Gittos P—No. 865. You do not remember drawing the money from the bank ?—No. BG6. And yet you recognize from this signature on the back that you had drawn the money ?— That would not necessarily imply that I received the money. 867. It is not payable to bearer; so that you must absolutely have received the money ? —I would have had to go to the bank if the cheque was made payable to order. Mr. G-ifctos, in sending the cheque, would probably make it payable to order, in which case it could not be used by any person but myself. 868. But you do not remember whether you received the money yourself or whether you merely indorsed the cheque ? —I cannot say. 869. You have no recollection whatever of it ?—No, not until 1877. It may be that Mr. G-ittos wrote to me about the matter. I have always been ready to meet him. If he had got a note from the bank to the effect that the cheque had been drawn in that way, I should have felt called upon to pay it. 870. What did you do with the money? —I did not even say that I got the money. 871. But here is your indorsement. Did you give it to anybody else ?—lt is impossible for me to say. I did not say I got it. It is impossible to remember. 872. Had you occasion to pay any other moneys on account of this trust? —I do not think so. I do not remember any. 873. I mean, were there any other moneys expended on account of the trust ?—I cannot say. 874. Might you not have paid that money away upon some other claims on the trust ?—I might have done so ; but I really cannot at this lapse of time remember that I did. 875. You did not keep any account of these trust funds at all?—No ; except so far as the bank was concerned. 876. You have got no receipts ?—No. I saw a settlement between the people which accounted for the money up to the £100 which would have been in the bank when that cheque was drawn. . 877. But afterwards there was £100 which absolutely belonged to the trust ? —Yes. 878. But you took no steps to keep a record as to how that money was dealt with ? —I did not. 879. About this £20 ?— -I cannot say about that. I may have received the money and paid it to some other account, or I may not. 880. I see that in your evidence before the Public Accounts Committee you say you have no recollection of this transaction at all, but you may have afKxed your signature to the cheque ?—Yes. 881. You say, " After the cheque was sent to me to be drawn the money went to Adam Clark." Do you think you paid this money to Adam Clark ?—lt may have been so. Ido not remember receiving the cheque. No doubt the cheque was dealt with by me, because there is my indorsement; but what became of the proceeds I cannot say. 882. Mr. Gittos said you promised him that, if he got a cheque for £20 from Adam Clark, you would pay the money into his (Mr. Gittos's) account at the bank?—-I cannot say. I cannot remember. 883. "What were you doing in 1874? Were you a member of the Provincial Government?—l resigned in April, I believe. 884. This was in May ?—I had ceased to do any business in Auckland, and only came back to attend the Provincial Council. 885. Were you in Napier in December, 1875 ?—I cannot say. I should probably come up in January, 1875. 886. The Chairman.'] I should like to ask you again about this £150. You say that in 1877 £150 out of the £200 was to be paid for the survey ; but at that time you said nothing about the maintenance of Wi Apo's children? —Yes. 887. Was it for the children or for the survey?— The statement made in 1877 was probably correct, speaking as I would from a much fresher recollection of what took place. 888. You heard Adam Clark say that the survey only cost £100 ?—That would be his share of the £300. 889. But you said in 1877 you had paid aw,ay £150 for the survey to Adam Clark; but Adam Clark says £100 was all he was entitled to? —I cannot say £100 was all. I think you will find it was £150. 890. But, if you paid £150, would you not take care it was due ?—I suppose the amount was to settle the account in part. 891. Why was the £100 deducted on the night before ?•—That I cannot tell. I have said there were certain deductions made from that sum. I cannot tax my memory even as to the amounts. Mr. Nelson would be able to explain. 892. You would not allow any of the money to be used except for the purposes of the trust? — That would be for me to consider. I take it that the survey would be for the purposes of the trust; and if Adam Clark came down to Auckland and incurred expenses, that would be for the purposes of the trust also. As I have said, I would have given Adam Clark the whole amount. 893. You deducted £100 from the £400 first of all. Can you give the Committee any account of what the money was paid for? —I cannot say; nor do I know that the, money was stopped that night. 894. You say £300 was put into the bank, and yet you say the amount due was £400 ? —I say £400 or £450. 895. It was certainly not less than £400 ? —Yes. 896. Then £100 was paid away, leaving £300 to be put into the bank ? —£2s was stopped for advance to Adam Clark, £25 for advance to Te llemara, and, as nearly as I can recollect, Adam Clark got another £50 at that time. 897. Then, having got £100, and £300 being put into the bank on the same day £200 are taken out of it for certain other purposes, do you mean to tell the Committee that you do not know what the

Mr. J, Sheehan, M.B.R. Aug. 9, 1880.