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3836. Gan you call any special instance to mind where that was done?—l cannot at present. 3837. Was Mr. De Castro often in Captain Thomas's private office ? —Oh ! yes ; Mr. De Castro bought in the usual way, the same as others, and he often bought books. 3838. How many articles do you think Mr. De Castro bought during all your seventeen years' term of service with Thomas and Co. ?—lt would be impossible to tell; but there was scarcely a sale there was anything of note in but what he bought—clothing and books, and everything, in the usual way, the same as any other bidder. 3839. You had a good many hundreds of sales in your time at Thomas and Co.'s ?—Yes, a good many in seventeen years. 3840. How many articles do you think he bought during that period'? Two or three hundred, do you think? —I do not think he bought so much. 3841. Were you surprised to see Mr. De Castro buying clothes?— Well, they would be such things as new underclothing. He would not buy them except they were new. 3842. Was he a good customer at these sales ? —He was a very fair customer. The public used not to like it very much. They used to object to it. They would say, "He knows what it is ; we will not bid for it." 3843. So that the fact of his buying stopped competition ?—I do not know that, but they would say, " Oh ! be knows the value of it." 3844. Did he stop other people from bidding on many occasions?— Well, they did not like it. They felt he had no right to bid, or something to that effect. 3845. In fact, the public sense of the community was against a man from the Public Trust Office buying at all ? —Yes, that was the public sense ; but, still, I never saw Mr. De Castro get anything but what he bid for, and paid for in the usual way. They had a right to overbid him if they wished. I have never seen Mr. De Castro get anything out of the usual form of bidding. 3846. What department had Mr. Martelli in Thomas and Co.'s? —There was no fixed system there, and there never was. Sometimes he used to take the sales, make out the account sales, and take the cash. Sometimes he would regulate the sales along with me. 3847. Do you remember the sale of Mrs. Dallon's furniture, clothes, and other things? It was possibly the largest intestate estate you had for many years ?—There was no sale of that name that I remember. The last sale of any note was that in an estate belonging to a man named Duggan. He used to be a warder in the gaol. 3848. Were you in Captain Thomas's employment on the 12th January, 1889 ?—I was. [Account sales in Mrs. Dallon's estate handed to witness.] I recollect this sale ;it was held in the old building. I recollect it by this lot of feathers. I gave 2s. for them. People were afraid there might be some disease amongst them. They were ordinary bed-feathers, and nobody would bid for them. 3849. Do you remember that sealskin-jacket there ?—No ; I cannot call that to mind. 3850. Do you remember what the bags had in them ?—The bags were sold as they stood. 3851. Did you open them at all?—I opened and saw through them. 3852. Do you remember what was in them ?—Pieces of lace and trimming. 3853. Do you know who bought them ?—I cannot say. 3854. We were told a Mr. Marks bought them, a dealer living near Burrett's old corner?—l do not think there was a Marks there at that time. 3855. Do you remember any particular item there ?—No; only these feathers. 3856. Who was the clerk who took the sale ?—I think it was Martelli. The account sales produced are in Mr. Nairn's writing. He is chief clerk at Thomas and Co.'s now. Martelli wrote a very small cramped hand. 3857. You cannot recollect any of the articles, or who were the buyers ?—I could not think of them or the buyers the day after the sale until my attention was called to a particular thing. 3858. Do you know anything about some books being sent from Thomas and Co.'s to the destructor by Martelli in mistake? —No. If they were sent to the destructor it was after Captain Thomas died and the winding-up of the estate and the arranging of the new partnership. There were no books burnt or destroyed when I was there, except a number of books when he failed. We took a lot of his and O'Shea's books away. I left Thomas and Co.'s employment on the 15th March, 1890. 3859. When did Martelli leave? —I think, in June following—two or three months after me. 3860. The Chairman.] Have you seen Mr. De Castro or any one from the Public Trust Office within the last few days?—l was at the railway-station a little while ago with a letter from the Buildings, and I met Mr. De Castro on the platform. 3861. Have you seen any one belonging to the Public Trust Office within the last mouth, or had any communication with any of the staff? —I have seen them here, but never opened my lips to any one. I was at the railway-station this morning about 11 o'clock. I went down with three letters from the Buildings, and I met Mr. De Castro first on the platform, and I went up and shook hands with him. I knew he was ill for so long a time, and I asked him how he was getting on. He said he was very weak. I asked him when he was going back to business. He said, "Oh ! the Commissioners have not done yet. They have been investigating through the auction-sales, saying I should not have bought things." 3862. Did he open the conversation with you ?—[No answer.] 3863. Did he volunteer the information to you that the Commissioners were still sitting, and were investigating about the auction-sales?—-Yes. 3864. And what else did he say ?—After that his wife passed on the platform. He said, "Oh ! there is my wife." He went away, and I saw him no more. When I returned to the Buildings I was told Mr. Grey wanted me at once down at the Public Trust Office. T could not help thinking it was something about the auction-sales.