1.—6.

1183. And it was photo-lithographed at the Government Printing Office?— Yes. 1184. At whose cost was that done ?—At the cost of the Vigilance Committee, I fancy. 1185. You do not know at whose cost it was?—No ; I only know that I handed it to them. 1186. You are aware of the proposed railway routes? —Yes. 1187. Which line are you most acquainted with?— The Stratford line, and perhaps the coast line, too. 1188. And how much of the Marton line have you traversed yourself?—On the Marton line I have only been up the Eangitikei—not a very great distance, and at the upper end of the Marton line, on the Ongaruhe. 1189. How many miles up the Eangitikoi have you been ?—Some ten miles from Eangitikei, a few miles above the railway bridge. 1190. Have you been ten miles inland from Marton ?—Not so much; I have been five miles inland from Marton. 1191. What portion of the northern end of that line have you seen?—l have overlooked about ten miles of it. 1192. Whereabouts is that ?—Where the alternative route comes in. I came into the valley of the Ongaruhe, and got on to the hills to see the country generally. 1193. That is what you call a reconnaissance survey?— Yes ; I had a general view from the top of the hills. 1194. Then, the piece you have seen about the Ongaruho Valley would be between mile 170 and 180 on this map (No. 1) ?—Yes. 1195. Have you been on any portion of the line from Te Awamutu southwards?— Yes; from the Mokauiti. 1196. How far from Te Awamutu do the ten miles to which you have referred begin ? —lt is from mile 170 to 180 on the map. 1197. That appears to be the only piece of land that you have overlooked ?—Yes. 1198. What was the nature of the country there ?—lt was an open valley covered with pumice, with very short stunted ferns on it and moss —valueless country in the valley itself, with good land only on the tops of the hills, where the pumice has not stretched up. 1199. Is there any bush there ? —Some clumps on the top of the hills. 1200. Mr. Fulton.'] What sort of bush?—Eimu, tawa, and so forth. 1201. The Chairman.] Just tell us what you know of the Stratford line; what part of that line have you examined ?—The part I saw lies between mile 50 and 95 as marked on this map. 1202. What sort of land is that?— The first five or six_miles is broken. 1203. From which end is that ? —From the spot marked 50 miles. 1204. Well, between 50 and 55, you say it is broken ? —Yes; it is broken black-birch country. 1205. On both sides of the line ?—Yes. 1206. What kind is it from 55 to 60 miles ?—Before you get to 60—say, at the 57th milethere is an end of the black birch. 1207. And from 57 miles?—Up to 70 there would be the same description of country. 1208. What is the description of the country there ? —lt is very good, light, bush land. Ido not mean to say first-class land as compared with the first-class lands of the colony, but secondclass as compared to some of the best land you will find. 1209. Is it broken country ? —lt consists of broad valleys, with low hills between. 1210. What is the width of the valleys ?—The widest might be two and a half miles or even three miles. 1211. What is the average width of the valleys ?—Two miles, I should think. 1212. From 70 miles up to the 95, which you say you know, of what character is it?— Perhaps half of the country there is fern instead of bush, and it would be all good only the fern part has been frequently burned by the Maoris, and it has been deteriorated on that account. 1213. Is it much broken ? —No; it is much the same class of country as the tributaries of the Wanganui—open valleys, with low hills between. 1214. And what proportion of that land could you plough ?—Two-thirds, I suppose. 1215. What sort of bush is it: is it of any good for railway purposes ? —lt has one peculiarity, that there are no supplejacks through it. 1216. But what sort of bush is it ?• —Tawa, with a good deal of rimu. 1217. Did you come across any minerals there?— Only coal. There is a seam on the Tangarakau that I measured; it was about 5 feet thick, with a very slight dip to the south. 1218. Mr. W. White.] You say there are two-thirds of the land ploughable. Is that ploughable now, or after the trees are taken off ?—After the trees are taken off. 1219. You would require to remove the timber first ?—Except the part that is fern or manuka. 1220. How much fern is there ?—Very nearly half that land would be fern—between 70 and 95. 1221. Is there any ballast along the line ? —Yes, in the Mangaroa. There is a stream coming out of the hills that has small shingle running out in the Mangaroa, and then it is lost again ; the silt has covered it. 1222. The Chairman.] At what mile is that ? —At mile 70 on the map. 1223. Mr. W. White.] What quantity of it is there ?—A very large quantity if the stream were followed up. ~— ^ — 1224. Then, you would get sufficient for the line close to it ?—Yes. " 1225. Is there any timber there suitable for bridges ?—Yes ; there is scattered totara and matai, but I am told by Mr.'Holmes that the Public Works Department is giving matai up. 1226. Is there sufficient totara there that would be required for the line ? —Possibly enough. 1227. Is that all along the line or in any particular part? —All about. Ido not say it is very easy to get at, but it is there in clumps. You see four or five together. 1228. Would it be expensive to get ?—No; it lies in the valley mostly.

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