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3082. Did they last long?— Yes; some of them lasted a long time unless an accident occurred. 3083. The Chairman.] There are some of them on the beach there now?— Yes. 3084. Mr. Brown.] Perhaps there are none of the earlier ones there?—l thiuk one of the old boats is there now. 3085. The Chairman.] They lasted a long time ?—Yes. In regard to the discrepancy between Mr. Lucas's books and mine, Mr. Lucas asked me how the matter might be remedied, and I said, " If you will write me a letter giving me full authority to deal with the question, I know how to remedy the matter." He said, " I will do so ;" and he wrote me a letter and gave me full authority to deal with the question. I then got a boat cleaned out. The coal was always put in shoots that hung out over the river at the time, and the coal would run over the screen down into the shoot— into a staith. And I got scales and weights, and went in to one set of miners who were there, and told them to send me out 12 tons of coal. They did not know my object in doing this. After I got their 12 tons of coal into the boat I weighed it, and found, out of the 12 tons sent out there was 1\ tons. 3086. Mr. Brown.] That is, after it was screened ?—Yes. I wrote immediately to Mr. Lucas, showing him where the discrepancy would be. That boat would be supposed to take down 12 tons of coal, whereas really there was only 1\ tons brought to the town. This was in consequence, therefore, of bad mining, the coal being made into slack in the hewing. 3087. The Chairman.] Was it remedied then ?—Yes. 3088. You had paid wages for 90 tons more than was delivered ? —Yes ; and after adopting this method of discovering tho discrepancy I effected a reduction in the first fortnight of 30 tons, and in the next fortnight there was very little discrepancy shown. The manager discharged those men. 3089. They were not working pillars at that time ?—No. 3090. In the solid ?—Yes. 3091. How high were the workings ?—Fourteen feet were the highest at that time. 3092. That was in the low-water level ?—Yes. I noticed in that mine that the fireclay was continually rising, and sometimes a night shift had to be put in to cut the baulks down and fix the tram-level. 3093. And relay the road, in fact ?—Yes; and some of the miners I have spoken to told me this is still the case. I have myself been attending the men whilst they were cutting the baulks on a night. 3094. Mr. Brown.] Which is the mine that the Ballarat Company worked ?—lt would be the Brunner Mine. The Coal-pit Heath was not working at all then. 3095. Do you know anything of the recent history of the mine?— Not as regards the mining, but I do as regards the troubles and interruptions to the mine. 3096. Have you been connected with the men at all as an adviser?— No. I have had nothing to do with the coal-miners at all. 3097. The Chairman.] Are you a member of the Miners and Labourers' Association ?—No; the Greymouth Labour Union. 3098. Mr. Brown.] You have only to do with the wharf department ?—That is all. 3099. The wharf-labourers are in the same union as the Brunner miners ?—The only affiliation there should be, I think, is of the miners, lumpers, and seamen. 3100. For what reason ?—Because they are all so connected. The lumpers are of no use here unless the mine is working, as trimming the coal gives them their living. 3101. The miners now are paid by piecework, are they not, and have been all along?— Yes. 3102. A considerable number of day-wage men are employed at the mine?— Yes, and at the time when the company were making up their losses it was unaccountable how so many men were employed on the surface. 3103. The wharf-labourers are also day-w y age men ?—They are paid 2s. an hour. 3104. Have the wharf-labourers themselves been satisfied with the pay they have received?-— There have never been any complaints in Greymouth as to the wages; the 2s. an hour satisfied them perfectly. 3105. Do you know of any complaint in connection with the surface-men at the mines. I mean the wages-men ?—I think of late, since the establishment of the labour unions in the district, the pay has been. 10s. a day, and there has been no complaint. 3106. We have been informed that the wages-men are about one-half of the employes—that is to say, that the tonnage-rate men and the wages-men are, in round numbers, about equal? —I was under the impression that within the last three months of the first lock-out the surface-men had actually been more in number—they were more than a half. 3107. You say "the first lock-out." Were there two lock-outs?— Yes; there was a lock-out between six and seven weeks before the Brunner strike took place. 3108. When did that take place ?—lt was on account of the company making out their losses on the mine, and there was an endeavour to bring the miners to some terms so as to make up the loss. 3109. That was in July ?—Yes. 3110. Was there any further lock-out besides that one?— No. There was a lock-out just before this present New Zealand strike, of about six weeks, or between six and seven weeks. 3111. There was only one lock-out?— Yes; and then the miners and the company came to terms, and went to work again, and then this New Zealand strike took place. 3112. How were the wages-men affected by this strike?— They were all out. 3113. On account of any grievance of their own ?—No. 3114. The strike is on the part of the miners ?—Yes. 3115. Were those men satisfied to forego their employment and wages for the benefit of the miners ?—Yes, they were quite satisfied ; they were in the one union. 22— G. 3.