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Gore would have had to pull down his kilns and rebuild them, and this plan was rearranged. Then there were no figures or anything on the plan. We had to start in all manner of places, and I calculated up the depths and falls. 2361. Was the plan set out according to the ground line?— No. The way it was set out it could not be kept to in its integrity. 2362. Did you make the plan that was carried out?—l made a record plan of what was carried out. You have it in the office. I returned it to the office when I left New Zealand. 2363. Did you set out the foundations? —I assisted in setting them out. 2364. Were these foundations set out with Gin. off-set on the outside ?—Yes. They were all set out with 6in. off-set in each case beyond the base-line outside. The wall was 18in. thick, the base projected 3in. and there would be 6in. off-set to the concrete outside that, and on the inside there would be the projection of the wall plate, which would be about 4Jin., and it would be Gin. beyond that again on the inside. That is the section that was intended. A question may perhaps arise about that. I see it has in some of the evidence, about why the concrete was not carried up to the top of the base as shown in some of the sections. I think it shows on the plan that the concrete should be carried up to the top of the base. Well, that was altered by arrangement with Mr. Gore. The concrete was left out, and, for a certain height, brick and cement was substituted, and for the rest brick and mortar. It was arranged. 2365. Had you any difficulty in getting good concrete in a position like that ?—I may say I was never satisfied from beginning to end with the concrete. 2366. The footings shown on the plan were done away with at the bottom, and a set-off put at the top instead?— The foundations, as shown on the plan, you will see were to be carried up straight plumb with the base with 12in. thick footings at the bottom. There arose a question at the time about what these footings scaled in width—whether they projected on each side Gin. or 9in., or what ? Anyhow, after a great deal of argument, it was arranged that they should represent only Gin. projection on each side. 2367. The footings ?—Yes. Well, I objected on account of the quality of the concrete to putting footings like that. Not being satisfied with this, I thought it best to bring up the off-set, to bring up the 6in. of the footing and to have a solid abutment against the soil so that they could ram as hard as they liked and could not press anything out, whereas they could not do that in boxes. The stone metal was supposed to be 2in., but the stone was crushed in a crusher that was worn out, and it was a broad imagination to suppose that it was 2in. in some cases. 2368. Were these alterations you made in the footings sanctioned or approved by Mr. Lawson or objected to by him ?—Well, they were never objected to by him. Of course there was an amount of discretion left to me. I was to use my own discretion that possibly any ordinary Inspector would never have had to do, and as to the distance they went in, as far as my experience goes, I was perfectly satisfied that the depth and width shown would carry the building that was on top of it. 2369. Could you get the concrete properly rammed in the boxes ?—That I have just explained. 2370. That you could not ?—That was the reason it was done the other way. I objected to it on account of not being able to ram it in the boxes. When the stone packing was put in, no matter what Mr. Gore says about instructing the men to put in 4in., sin., or 6in. apart, they never did it, and never would do it. 2371. The Chairman.'] What distance were they apart ?—I used to get so disgusted that it was heartbreaking to stop on the place. With regard to the stone-packing I always did object right through, as some of my letters show. I could not be on the place every minute as it were; the building was some 500 ft. long, and they were working at both ends at the same time; and if there are nests of stones found in some of the concrete, as I read in some of the evidence as being so, I should not be at all surprised. 2372. Mr. Blair.] How do you account for those portions of the building in which we find the brickwork to overhang the footings. I think that is so in some of them?— Yes, at the bays. I cannot account for that. The only way in which I can account for it is this, that at this point the tramway from the station came round with a curve, as you might see on one of the other block plans, and it came so close that they had to shift the tramway. When these trenches were cut it was very wet weather —in fact, it was always wet there I might say, and the horses in coming round actually got on the top of the concrete. Something of that sort might account for breaking down the edges of this bank, and also for breaking away the concrete. But they were set out in all cases with6in. of offset on both sides, the width shown on the record plan. 2373. Were the ambulatories set out 3ft. wide? —Yes, and 3ft. deep. The foundations were in most cases sft., 7ft., and 12ft. below the natural surface of the ground. According to my way of looking at it if we had gone down 20ft. more we should have got just the same clay to build upon; the only thing we might have got was transverse strength. 2374. The back wall of the ambulatory was not laid off with footings ?—No, it was not. 2375. Was it straight from the top to the bottom?—lt was built plumb. 2376. What was the reason of that wall being carried up straight?—l hardly understand that question. 2377. Was there any difficulty about supporting the bank at the back to get in the footings?— There was a question arose about the interpretation of these drawings at that time. From first to last I maintained that the wall at the back was to go right away through, but I was overruled in the matter. 2378. Mr. Lawson.] It has gone down?— Yes, but there were two concrete walls, the front and returns to back wall are built in brick and mortar. I kicked against it from beginning to end, insisting that it was not an extra. 2379. Mr. Skinner:] Was it paid for as an extra? —I think so. Mr. Gore can say for himself, he knows. At the settlement of accounts I felt myself insulted, and cleared out for a week.