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22. You pay in to them out of the money they pay out to you?— Yes. 23. Hon. Major Steward.] Are you a married man ? —No. 24. Because I see the rules say the sick-allowance shall be £1 a week for the first six months and 10s. a week for the second six months. You have been paid £1 a week for the first twelve months, and 10s. a week for the last eighteen months ?—Yes. 25. Mr. Fisher.] You are quite positive about that ?—Yes; for the first six months I drew £1 a week, and for the second six months 10s. a week from the sick fund and 10s. a week from the benevolent fund—that is, so far as I can remember. 26. Did the £1 a week during the first six months come from the funds of the Union Company ? —lt came from the funds of the society, so far as I know. 27. Now, you say during the next six months you got 10s. a week from two sources—los. from the society and 10s. extra from the Union Company ? —-No; I get 10s. extra from the benevolent fund. 28. Then, the 10s. a week you get now is drawn from the benevolent fund ?—Yes. 29. You know nothing about these rules ?—No; I do not. So far as lam concerned, lam quite satisfied with the society. It has been a great benefit to me. Had I not been getting this money from the society I would probably have been getting nothing. Alexander Eomeo Pollock was examined on oath. 30. The Chairman.] What is your trade?—l am a labourer on the wharf. 31. Are yo*ti an employe of the Union Company ? —I am a casual employ^. 32. How long have you been working on and off for them?— Well, I have just been on the wharf twelve months. 33. You have seen the evidence as it has been reported in the newspapers?—l did not pay any attention to it, because Ido not belong to the society. I was a member of the society. I joined it after the strike. 34. Why did you let your membership lapse ?—Because I got married, and I left the Union Company down in the islands, and I could not afford to pay when I came back to Dunedin. Sidney Jones was examined on oath. 35. The Chairman.] What are you? —A steward, late on the'" Ohau." 36. How long have you been in the Union Company's service?— Since 1889. 37. Do you belong to the benefit society ? —Yes. 38. How long have you been in it?— Since 1891. 39. Have you seen the evidence as reported in the newspapers?—l have read some of it. 40. Is there anything in the evidence you have read which you would like to supplement, or anything you wish to refute ? —Well, I believe in the society myself. I did not belong to any benefit society, and it was suggested to me after the maritime strike that we should establish a benefit society. I thought then I would be one of the first to join it, and I have been a member of it ever since. Of course, it was only last year that I met with an accident. I have been laid up since the Bth June last year. 41. Have you been drawing from the benefit society? —I drew £1 a week for the first six months, and I have been drawing 10s. a week since. 42. Under the rules this 10s. will stop in June ? —Yes. 43. Will you get a benevolent allowance afterwards?—l cannot say. 44. Mr. Fisher.] You believe in the society ?—Yes. I am not a member of any other society, and I do not know what I should have done after I left the Hospital in Wellington, after my accident, if I had not been a member of this society. 45. Have you any view as to the registration of the society ?—I think the society is very satisfactory to the men ; I do not think it wants any registering. The Hon. George McLean was examined on oath. 46. The Chairman.] Mr. McLean, you have doubtless seen the evidence which has appeared in the newspapers. Have you anything you would like to tell us, either to add to that evidence or to refute anything that has been said ?—Well, I see by the papers that there is really only one person in opposition to the company, and that is Mr. Belcher. I have read his evidence as it appeared in the papers, and I see he is making a mistake about some clauses with which he dealt in the Shipping and Seamen's Act. He referred to section 103 of the Act of 1877, to section 4of the Act of 1890, and to section sof the Act of 1894. I wish to say that the deposit mentioned in that section sis not meant to apply to local companies at all. When the matter was argued in Parliament I thought that that clause was a very proper one to insert. Its application is this : Supposing a foreign steamer comes here she might put a sick man ashore and go away, and nothing would be heard of her again. It is in a case of that kind that the deposit is required. Again, a sailing-ship might come in and land a sick man, and how are you to treat such a case ? I say it is under this section. I think Mr. Belcher has misread the Act when he makes the statement attributed to him 47. Hon. Major Steward.] You say the Act refers to foreign-going vessels only?— Yes. 48. The Chairman.] The Act that Mr. Belcher marked for us was the Amendment Act of 1890, which speaks of seamen employed on home-trade ships?— That is a case in which we used to deal with the men ourselves until Mr. Millar asked a question regarding it in the House. Since then we have always treated with the Customs. But I think it will be a sorry day for the men when the owners say they will be guided by the law entirely —when they will say, "There is the law; take the money, and that is all you will get." It will be a bad day for the men when they are put in that position, and they might be if antagonism should come between the men and their employers. We have different classes of men. Sometimes a man is found to be a malingerer, always trying to