H.—3,

station-agent here named Samuel Vermeil. There was a very massive gold chain attached to this watch, and he wished to secure the two articles, and he and I ran each other for the watch, and I secured it for £15, and he got the chain, a very good one, for £7 or £8. They belonged to a Napier hotelkeeper, who was at the Pier Hotel playing billiards, and, leaning over the table, he ruptured himself and died. That was the estate. 3288. Did you ever buy anything else, that you remember ?—I think I bought one or two little lines occasionally. 3289. Do you remember any one in your employment buying a packet or parcel of fine lace among some effects belonging to a Mrs. Dallou ?—No. If I remember right, that stuff was bought by a little fellow named Marks. He used to have a shop down there by Burrett's corner, about three doors further on from Burrett's. He bought it. 3290. In looking through the account sales from Messrs. Thomas and Co., no lace appears as having been sold. That is to say, if it was sold—and we were led to believe it was sold on that day—■ it must have been sold with the contents of one of two bags ?—Now, I can well remember it was not recognised at the auction as being of any very great value, but was sold as a lot. If I remember rightly, two or three bags were sold. 3291. As an experienced man of business, do you not think that it would likely draw more people to the sales, and hence more competition, if the auctioneer conducting the sale were allowed to name the estate to which the goods belonged ?—No, Ido not think so. Probably in some cases it would, but in others it would not. A great many of these sales we have consist of the personal effects of prostitutes ; and in others they are barmaids' effects. I think the majority of cases lately have been barmaids—the great majority of them. The last sale I had of any decent proportion was in the estate of a barmaid. I think if we advertised their names it would not tend to increase the number attending them. 3292. Prom your experience of the property of indifferent women, barmaids, &c, am I to infer that they are the only class that die intestate?—l could not say that. lam not prepared to give an answer; but all I can say is, that the great majority of boxes sent in belonged to people of this class. We seldom get any respectable estates. 3293. You never get an inventory from the Public Trust Office, with the articles they intend to send or send to you for sale, before the sale ?—They give us instructions to either send to the Hospital, or the Police Court, or some hotel, for the personal effects of Mr. or Mrs. So-and-so ; and we will send and get them at once. Then an officer comes across and removes what he considers should not be sold, such as letters, alburns, photographs, &c., and then he takes an inventory, with one of our clerks, of the balance. 3291. But the Trust Office has often occasion to send you parcels of jewellery for sale from the Head Office direct ? Do they then send an inventory ? —Yes. It is said, " Sell a watch and ring, and return the account sales to me." 3295. Then the Trust Office do not appear to have kept any copies of the inventories sent to you ?—They must have. I observe by the letters they are in copying-ink. I could produce a great many of them. 3296. As far as I can discover, there was no inventory in the last sale made on account of Mrs. Dallon's estate, conducted by you in March last year. There were a good many articles of jewellery sold on that occasion, were there not ?—lf jewellery, there should be an inventory. 3297. It can be neither satisfactory to you nor to the Trust Office not to have an inventory?— An inventory certainly should be sent, and my experience has been that inventories have been sent. 3298. Mr. Macdonald.] Do you remember that last sale in Mrs. Dallon's estate ?—I cannot say I call it to mind. 3299. There is a gold watch there, sold for £6 ss. 3300. The Chairman.} That gold watch, I may tell you, was knocked down to Mr. De Castro for Mr. Hamerton, and Mr. Hamerton's family have it in their possession to-day ?—I cannot say I can remember the sale. 3301. Notwithstanding that so many of these sales of effects belong to estates of indifferent women, a considerable eagerness appears to have existed on the part of officers in the Public Trust service to acquire some of those articles ?—I am not prepared to say anything about the eagerness. Probably if you look over the sales for the past twelve months you might find a buyer there. 3302. Well, judging by the cause and the effect ?—One thing seemed to strike me: If they made up their minds to have a line they did not scruple to bid up for it. They always seemed, as far as the auction-value is concerned, to go a little over the value of the article. Supposing I had a watch in my possession for three months, and knew it was a good timekeeper, it would be human nature to say, " Well, I know what this is, and I am prepared to give ss. or 10s. over anybody else." 3303. The Commissioners have evidence that that watch, sold for £6 55., was value for between £20 and £25 ?—I do not believe it, because if there had been a watch going for £6 ss. and worth between £20 and £25, there would be some more bidding. It is unsatisfactory evidence. 3304. Mr. Macdonald.] You mentioned that a man who had an opportunity of testing a watch for three months would give a little more. You mean, the facilities of the Trust Office for inspecting articles give them the advantage of knowing all about them ?—I should say it ought to ; but if there is a watch worth from £20 to £25 going for £6 55., it is ridiculous—as an auctioneer, it is ridiculous. Auctioneers are always on the war-path to make a little money. 3305. The Chairman.] Presuming that they are, it is hoped they only desire to make money in a regular way?— Would not that be a regular way—that auctioneers or auctioneers' agents would be very foolish to let a watch, value £20 to £25, go for £6 ss. ? 3306. Mr. Macdonald.] An auctioneer would not be justified, when selling in his own room, even if he saw a £25 article going for less, to buy jjb himself or through an agent ?—Oh !I do not know.

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