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7 per cent., £5,000; Sydenham, 5 per cent., £25,000; Blenheim, 6 per cent., £3,000: total £69,572. Mortgages on property — M ——, 6-_ per cent., £1,600; S , 7 per cent., £500; G ,6$ per cent., £6,000; L , 7 per cent., £450; G——, 6| per cent., £5,500; E -, 6-_ per cent., £1,300 ; C , 6 per cent., £3,000; C , 6 per cent., £2,500; Wellington College, 6 per cent., £5,000; C , 7 per cent., £400 ; C , 6_ per cent., £3,000; C , 6 per cent., £2,500; S- , 6 per cent., £25,000 ; S , 6 per cent., £4,500 ; B , 6 per cent., £10,000 ; M , 7 per cent., £350; E , 7 per cent., £5,000; E , 6. per cent., £1,000; C—— M , 6 per cent., £7,000; W , 6£ per cent., £2,000; E , 6| per cent., £10,000 ; G , 6* per cent., £700 ; W- , 7 per cent., £500 ; S ,6| per cent., £1,600; H , 7 per cent., £350; M , 7 per cent., £900; M S , 6 per cent., £20,000; E , 6 per cent., £4,250; M , 7 per cent., £650; S , 7-f- per cent., £2,000 ; S—, 7 per cent., £600 ;A- , 6_. per cent., £1,100; W , 7_- per cent., £500; M 's trustees, 6 per cent., £5,000; H , 6-. per cent., £780: total, £135,530. Grand total, £890,202. N. B.—l. The following assets are not included in the above return : (a.) Loans on policies, £128,748 lis. 6d., which bring in interest partly at 6 and partly at 7 per cent, (b.) Landed and house property, £86,057 15s. 3d., which is subject to mortgages, £15,000. (c.) Cash on current account, £46,808 2s. 4d., which earns 3 per cent. 2. The mortgages are shown in the above statement to the middle of June. 3. The non-interest-bearing assets, such as outstanding premiums, accrued interest, office-furniture, agents' balances, and outstanding rent, are not shown, as it is presumed that only the money actually invested is required to be known. I also produce the following return of rent received from the Auckland property to date, 21st June, 1886 : Messrs. Shera Brothers, from the Ist April to the 30th September, 1885, £250; Union Fire Insurance Company, from the Ist April to the 31st October, 1885, £161 10s.; Mr. James Hall, from the 10th February to the 24th March, 1886, £6; Mr. L. Solomon, from the 31st May to the 28th June, 1886, £6: total, £423 10s. 292. Mr. Holmes.] What is the amount of rent received in Auckland ?—£423 10s. 293. For what period of time from the date of purchase up till now ? —From Ist April, 1885, to this date. Ihe Chairman ; Mr. Luckie telegraphed yesterday to Messrs. Sievwright, Stout, and Co. for further information, as we had directed. This is the telegram : — Wellington, 21st June, 1886. I am directed by the Chairman of the Government Insurance Association Committee of the House of Representatives to request you to supply by telegram, without delay, particulars of payments of the purchase-money of Wise's corner to the vendors, and for commission, showing amounts paid, names of parties to whom moneys were paid, and dates of payment. The matter is urgent. Please reply promptly. Sievwright, Stout, and Co., Dunedin. D. M. Luckie. This is the answer received from them :— Re Wise's corner: The vendors were four in number, and at their request we agreed to divide the purchasemoney among them in proportion to their several interests, and to draw a separate cheque for the commission payable by them to their agent, Charles Reid, as follows : James Kilgour, £12,500 ; Mrs. Hepburn's trustees, £8,750 ; Mrs. Park's trustees, £4,375; Mr. Brindley Ross's assignee, £4,375 ; Mr. Charles Reid, commission, £500 : total, £30,500. —13th February, 1885. Captain Fraser's mortgage for £5,000 was subsequently paid by the Government. Association ; total, £35,500. We forward receipts by post. Sievwright, Stout, and Co. 294. Mr. Holmes (to witness).] When you went to Christchurch and first saw Mr. Harper, what did you say to him ?—Well, generally, I can only give you the purport of what I said from recollection. I said, " Sir Julius Vogel has told me to call and see you. I have been talking to Scott about various sites on my way down here. I would like to take your advice on some of the points." He said, " Well, you know my brother-in-law is connected with it, and I would rather you would go to Maude, my partner." 295. Did not Mr. Harper tell you that he would have nothing at all to do with advising in connection with the purchase of these buildings ? —Substantially he said that. 296. Did he not state specifically that he would not have anything to do with it ? —Practically that was the purport of what he said to me. That was at the time we were looking at the sites. I met him in the street. 297. After that did he have anything to do with advising you?—No; he referred me to Mr. Maude, his partner. 298. Were Harper and Co. employed directly by the association in connection with the conveyance, or were they acting simply as the agents of some solicitors here in Wellington ?—They were acting for the office. 299. Directly?— Yes. We have solicitors in Wellington, but it was not considered necessary to refer the deeds to them. 300. Did you employ Harper and Co. before in any business connected with the association? —No ; they were never employed on any business of the department before—not to my knowledge. I cannot recollect anything. 301. Did Maude advise you to buy Maling's buildings?— No. 302. When did you complete and pay the money for this building ?—We completed on the 31st January. I wrote a letter to Messrs. Harper and Co. enclosing a copy of a letter which I sent to Mr. Maling, by instructions from Mr. Fisher and Mr. Graham, who were the committee appointed to go and examine the property and complete the purchase. They did decide; and, by their directions, I instructed Harper and Co. to prepare the conveyance. 303. When was that done—when was the money paid?— The money was paid on the 10th February. Mr. Maude telegraphed me that the title was complete, and requested me to remit £5,500. On the 9th February the Board passed the cheque, and it was sent to Mr. Maude through the Bank of New Zealand. 304. Was not the mortgage from Maling to Harper and Douglas paid off before the 23rd March, the date on which the deed was signed ?—Yes ; it was paid off on the sth March, 1885.