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long as we spend a certain sum of money, and go on with the works on the Lee Stream proper, we can hold them, title or no title. There is very little doubt about that. 70. Is the Lee Stream a mining district?— Yes; the upper part is. 71. The part you have? —We take the water from below where there is mining. We do not interfere with the water in the upper reaches. 72. Mr. Beid.] The City of Dunedin at present has got the Silverstream River for watersupply purposes? —Yes. 73. This application is for 600 heads from the Taieri River, and a certain number of heads from Lee Stream and Fortification Creek ?—Yes. 74. That is practically the bulk of the supply that is in the neighbourhood of the Taieri, is it not?— Yes. 75. Is there any objection, as far as you are concerned, to this principle : that the boroughs which the power is carried past on the way from the power-station to Dunedin should be entitled as a matter of right to a share of that power on fair terms ?—1 do not see how you can fix that. The same question arose in regard to the Silverstream supply. A Bill went through giving the flat boroughs—Caversham, South Dunedin, and St. Kilda—the right to tap our mains, and take the water at 6d. per thousand gallons. As a matter of fact it costs us 9d. per thousand gallons to bring it that distance. 76. That was only a matter of figures. You recognise the right of these people to have a certain supply of that water, seeing that it is passing their doors ?—The Legislature thought it onlyright that they should have some of that water at a certain price—some fair figure. 77. Do you think the boroughs through which the electrical power is carried should have a right to a certain amount of the power ? —lf there is surplus power they have an undoubted right to that surplus. 78. What is surplus power ?—There is a certain amount of power required in the city, and if we cannot get that power from the source we suggest it is of no use our bringing it in at all. If the boroughs are going to take sufficient power from us to reduce our power below what we want for our requirements, then it is useless going in for the scheme at all. 79. Provided you utilised all the power for which you have taken the rights the boroughs could not have any objection ; but if you did not utilise all your power you would be in a position to prevent other people from using it—the boroughs on the way? —If we had any surplus power over and above what we wanted it would pay us handsomely to supply the boroughs at cost price rather than waste it. 80. Do you mean the actual power from the water, or the power that you would be using in the town ?—The latter. 81. Do you not think that hardly fair? You have those heads of water in the Taieri River, and though you could generate, say, fifteen hundred, you might generate only five hundred, and the boroughs no matter how much they may wish to get a share could not, because you did not put in a plant to generate the fifteen hundred ?—We are prepared if a demand arises to generate the full number, but it is hardly right to say 600, because the estimated supply is only 350. 1 will put it in another way : Suppose we do not take up the scheme at all; there is not the slightest chance of any other body, or amalgamation of bodies, utilising that power in the next hundred years, because the expense would be too great. 82. Mosgiel is going to be a very large place in the future, but probably for the next ten years they might not be able to do it? —As a matter of fact, we have, without fee or charge, given the Mosgiel Council permission to erect a dam on a freehold property of ours at Silverstream, so as to supply Mosgiel for similar purposes. 83. Recognising their right to a share of the water?— Yes, from Silverstream. 84. Do you not think it right to recognise that a fair share of this power should go to the boroughs as a matter of right after your real requirements, for which you are to bring in the power now —the tramway haulage and lighting in connection with the tramways —are satisfied ?—I do not see any objection to that. The difficulty in my mind is how you are going to fix the charge. 85. That might be done by regulation by the Governor in Council, or by electing a fair-minded person to say what would be a fair charge. What I say is that the people from where the waterpower conies ought to have some right in connection with it—not as a favour ?—There is no means of fixing the charge until the whole thing is completed and you know the actual cost. 86. We could not put that in the Bill : it could be done by regulations drawn up afterwards on a fair basis, say, the power to be charged at the same price as that to which the power was supplied to the citizens of Dunedin ? —I would have no objection, if the power was there, to put in generating-plant and supply power to any of the suburbs, or any places adjacent to the mains, at the same price as that at which we would supply it to our own citizens. 87. You said that there is no possibility of mining in this connection. Perhaps you are not aware that there is a good deal of mining going on in the Taieri River ?—lt is considerably above where we are to take the water from. We shall not interfere with that at all. 88. Then there is Hindon alongside of you?—No; that is ten or fifteen miles higher up. 89. All that country is alluvial country, is it not ?—lt has not proved so. The dredge on the Lee Stream had to give in. 90. Lots of fields have given in and started again? —We do not interfere with that, anyhow. The mining on the Lee Stream was seven miles higher up than where we are taking the waterpower from. 91. Hon. Mr. McGowan.] Have you made any estimate of the power that you require?— Only as far as the tramways are concerned. 92. Have you made any general estimate ? —No; we cannot do that until we know exactly what we can supply it at. 93. Is that the reason why you ask for rights over all the rivers of Otago ?—We do not ask for