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7. You have known the locality of the Grey Valley for some time? —Yes, since the end of 1868 or 1869. 8. Do you know anything about the Midland Eailway contract ?—Well, from reading, that is all I know about it. I know where the works are, and a little about the contract from reading. 9. Do you know anything about the mining reserves, or the land required under that contract? —Yes, I am thoroughly well acquainted with that. 10. How and by what means have you become aware of that ? —From actual operation and acquaintance with so many of the different mining centres throughout the whole of the Grey Valley and a great portion of Beefton, and also Westland. 11. Are you a member of the Miners' Association there?— Yes. I do not know whether we are a mining association such as you mean. Ido not know that we have been registered. The last properly recognised association was the Prospecting Association. lam secretary and treasurer, and have been so ever since the formation of the Prospecting Association at Nelson Creek. 12. How many years ago ? —Seven or eight years ago ; I cannot tell you exactly. 13. In that capacity was there any correspondence or interview as between yourself and Mr. Wilson or Mr. Scott in reference to mining reserves in any part of the Grey Valley ?—Yes, I had an interview with Mr. Scott in Greymouth, and I had one or two letters from Mr, Wilson as chief of the Eailway Company. 14. Will you relate to the Committee the purpose of your interview with the representative of the company ; and, secondly, the result of that interview ?—The purpose of my interview was the uncertainty which existed amongst the mining community as to the relations which existed between the mining community, the company, and the Government. There seemed to be no certainty as to whether we were living under the company as landlord, or the Government as landlord, and we wished that thing cleared up. What led immediately to my interview with Mr. Scott and my writing to Mr. Wilson, was a letter received by a party of miners in our district, ordering them to cease the operation of timber-cutting on a piece of land for which they actually held a certificate from the Warden, and at the same time were holders of miners' rights. They sent the letter to me at once, and I called a meeting. Mr. Algie, a sawmiller, also complained to me about certain conditions that the company desired that he should comply with, consequent upon his being permitted to carry on his operations as a sawmiller. That also was brought before that meeting. The letter to the miners was signed "Thomas Pavitt." It was laid before the meeting and considered, and I was then authorised to take any and every step that I deemed most advisable so as to have the vexed question settled, as to whether the miners were to apply to the company or to the Government. That is the reason why I took that very energetic step that time. Well, the result of the step was my interview with Mr. Scott in Greymouth. At that time I got a great deal of information concerning the company's operations and works, and what they would do, and what they might do, provided that they had to deal direct with the miners. Of course, Mr. Scott pointed out to me this : that we would be better served by the company than by the Government. We could not, however, see that. However, this eventuated in Mr. Scott asking me to map out the land we desired to have reserved by our association within the watershed at Nelson Creek. I did so, and Mr. Wilson seemed well inclined to let us have that and deal fairly with us. However, I found he had no authority or power to conclude an agreement with the Miners' Association; therefore the matter dropped off at that time. Mr. Fergus told us that the company could not conclude an arrangement with us, and that if we just held our tongue the Government would do better for us than the company were likely to do. Well, we were not inclined just to hold our tongue about it. The Hon. Mr. Fergus visited Nelson Creek and we had an interview with him, of course in reference to the mining reserves, and he told us what the Government intended to do for us, and impressed upon us the fact that the Government would deal better with us than the Midland Eailway Company would do. We wanted it settled at once what we were going to get. We asked our representative to put a question on the Order Paper, when convenient, asking that a Proclamation should be made declaring the whole of the riding of Nelson Creek exempt from the operations of the Midland Eailway Company. You will therefore see that we wanted the Government to reserve for the use of the mining population within the riding of Nelson Creek the whole of the riding. We did not go outside of that at-that time; that was our request. Mr. Eeeves asked the question in the House. There was a dispute as to the answer he got. Mr. Eeeves says he got one answer ; Mr. Fergus says he got another. Mr. Eeeves telegraphed the answer to us, and when we came to overhaul Mr. Fergus about it he denied it. At all events, it did not matter much who was right in the answer. We did not get the Nelson Creek Biding as being exempt from the operations of the Eailway Company. That I think, as briefly as possible, are the reasons. Perhaps it will be well to state that from the beginning the miners—in my district especially, and, I may say at once, the whole of the miners on the West Coast—were strenuously opposed to the granting of that land to the Midland Eailway Company under any condition or pretence whatever. Any lands on the goldfields, any lands on the West Coast (there is land in the Marlborough Province we would not trouble about much) we opposed in the beginning, and as long as there was a reasonable hope of preventing the Government giving away the country. Since the grant was made we have been quiet. Mr. Pavitt stopped the miners working at Nelson Creek; and in continuation I may say that probably it would look to the members of this Committee as if we were extremely greedy to want the whole of the lands reserved for mining purposes. Now, there are several gentlemen here who are pretty well acquainted with mining operations, and who know how very desirable it is that we should have all this land reserved if the gold-mining operations are to be allowed to continue in prosperity. There may be a little at the very extreme north-east of Nelson Creek which might not come in for mining for many years. That is only " might " however. There is Bell Hill in the centre, with gold-mining all round it, and therefore we want a reserve