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The Chairman : Why was not this evidence produced hefore ? Mr. Gore : lam not asking to bring forward any fresh evidence. lam simply putting it in the way I did in order to save time. The statement lam about to make to the Commissioners did not come to my knowledge till Saturday night. If Mr. Blair, after hearing the statement lam about to make, should think proper to produce evidence to controvert it, or should produce the witness, I shall certainly not object, nor do I think that Mr. Lawson will object. The Chairman : To what effect will your statement be ? Mr. Gore : That I shall probably state presently. The Chairman : It may lead to a reopening of the case. Mr. Gore : No. It is with respect to these letters of Mr. Brindley's, and I shall endeavour to prove that the letters he wrote were written with a bias. The Chairman : Why did you not prove that before ? Mr. Gore : Because I was not in a position to state this fact which, as I have already said, did not come to ray knowledge till Saturday night. Mr. Brindley, in the course of his evidence, stated that " nests " of stones were put in the trenches. Mr. Brindley : I did not say anything of the kind. I said I should not be surprised if " nests " of stones were found there. Mr. Gore i I thought it was an improper statement for Mr. Brindley to have made, and said so at the time it was made. Mr. Brindley saw all the work as it was put in there, yet he never informed me of anything of the kind having taken place. The Chairman : What Mr. Brindley stated, if I remember rightly, was that he would not be surprised if stones were found in nests. He did not say that they were actually in nests. Mr. Lawson : It is a curious thing, I think, that the Inspector of Works, after having certified to the works all through, should make such a statement as Mr. Brindley has done. Any statement that Mr. Gore now makes will not be evidence unless it is substantiated. Mr. Gore : I shall make the statement for what it is worth, though I really do not think it has anything to do with the case of the building slipping. But certain letters —very strong letters —of Mr. Brindley's have been read, and they contain statements which, you will admit, if true, I should bo put somewhere else. I want now to show that these letters were written with a bias, and I think that in fairness to myself it is only right that I should be allowed to make this statement, though Ido not think that it will make any difference to your decision. However, lam quite ready to go on. 3141 a. Mr. Skinner.] Before Mr. Gore goes on any further I should like to ask Mr. Brindley a question or two. With reference to the thickness of the walls in the central portion of the building, it has been given in evidence that these walls were built 2ft. 3in., while on the drawing here they are marked lft. lOJin. ?—That is the upper floor of the pier. 3142. On the original plan they were marked 2ft. Sin. ?—Yes. 3143. Was it carried 2ft. 3in. or lft. 10-|in. ? —lt was 2ft. 3in. here [indicating on plan] . 3144. That is the upper storey ? —The piers were lft. lOJin.; eighteen inches above that the walls were 2ft. Sin. 3145. I presume that this is the plan you worked to, and that the lower storey you mean over the dining-room?—ln the dining-room. 3146. From that it is lft. 10-lin.?—lt i 3 about 2ft. broad at these piers [indicating on plan]. It is the same there as figured on the drawing. Mr. Blair : There is a small matter that occurred on Saturday which, Mr. Chairman, you will perhaps allow me to refer to. Mr. Gore then asked Mr. Brindley a question as to a rumour about his having offered him (Mr. Brindley) a bribe. I asked Mr. Gore across this table if he blamed the Public Works Department for circulating that report, and he replied at once that he did nothing of the kind; I therefore did not ask any questions on the subject; but seeing that the matter has appeared in the public Press I think it would be as well if my question, and Mr. Gore's reply to it, were recorded. Mr. Gore : I never for a moment thought that such an insinuation could come from the Public Works Department. The Chairman: With regard to Mr. Gore wanting to call further evidence in order to prove that Mr. Brindley was biassed, I may state that the Commissioners are quite aware that Mr. Brindley is biassed. From the position he held he cannot help being biassed. He must of necessity be biassed, because he was put there in antagonism to you, Mr. Gore, and your whole staff—to watch over your work, in fact; and naturally he canuot hold the same opinions as you. Mr. Gore : But I will go further, and say that ho was biassed against me personally after the contract was finished, when he ought not to have had any bias. 3147. The Chairman.] There is another question which one of the Commissioners is desirous of asking Mr. Brindley, and it is this : under whose direction did you consider you were working while you were on the work ? —Under Mr. Lawson. 3148. Then did you consider that Mr. Lawson had given you power to conduct the work as you thought fit with regard to making necessary alterations ? —As a rule, if any alterations were to be made I submitted them to Mr. Lawson. With regard to the foundations I had to use my own discretion. 3149. With regard to the thickness of the walls, for instance ?—That was one of the questions that cropped up. 3150. Had you power to make alterations without reference to Mr. Lawson ?—No, I had not, except under very exceptional circumstances. In the majority of cases if anything arose I referred to him. 3151. Did you, in point of fact, when you found that there was any necessity for making alterations, refer the matter to Mr. Lawson together with your own recommendation ?—Yes ; anything I considered necessary I referred to him. For instance, there was the reference of the matter of the piers being built with cement.