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168. If Oregon costs 14s. 6d. and seasoned rimu 175., do you not think the Oregon competition would affect the rimu trade? —Yes, undoubtedly it would. Oregon is now finding a very ready sale here, and the builders prefer it because it works so freely and it is drier. 169. Mr. Ell.] Have you any experience of the use of native beecn?—l used it once for a cottage which was near a beech forest, but it was very unsatisfactory; it casts and twists about in all directions. There are considerable areas of beech forest, and it is useful for rough work — posts and so on —but not for scantlings and boards. I had those cut from it, and they were very unsatisfactory; it was not seasoned before I cut it up, of course. 170. Do you think if it was properly seasoned it would be valuable? —The timber I used twisted up in the drying. I do not know if other examples would answer better. My experience in that instance led me to suppose it would buckle up in the drying. 171. If cut in the winter-time it would be less liable to twist and warp?— That might be so. I should think it would be a thousand pities to see the beech forests go up in smoke if it could be made into good timber for any purpose. 172. With regard to Oregon for finishing—panels and joinery: what is the price of that as compared with the finest description of rimu?—Fourteen shillings and sixpence for Oregon, as compared with £1 2s. 6d. for figured rimu. All Oregon is one class that comes here as far as price is concerned —14s. 6d. Ido not say it is the highest class that comes here, but I say selected portions of it can be used for joinery. 173. Mr. Field.] You have not had occasion to use Oregon unless specified, by clients? —I have not used it hitherto unless asked for by clients. 174. Are you forced to use rubbishy timber of our own in place of Oregon?—No, certainly not. With regard to the use of Oregon : when I used the Oregon it was, I think, 18s. 6d. or £1 per hundred. It is only quite lately that it has come down to 14s. 6d., and therefore forms a rival with rimu. At the time to which I refer rimu was so much the cheaper, and quite as good as Oregon, and therefore I should not have used Oregon except at the request of my clients. To-day, if I could not get first-class heart rimu, I should certainly use Oregon at the ruling price. 175. Can you not get good building-rimu ?—Oh! 1' think so. The yards are not full of rubbish; you can get good timber, but you have to take special care in the selection of it. 176. Mr. Barber.] While you are particular to use only good heart rimu, supervised by you as architect, the same care might not be exercised with regard to the selection of timber for buildings run up for speculative purposes?— Well, the poor timber is used somewhere; it is not burned. Unquestionably the inferior timber goes into the construction of buildings, although manifestly bad pieces are put on one side in the yards and sold at a lower rate. 177. So that in the use of Oregon pine there would not be this risk of inferior timber getting into the buildings?—No, because it is all good class. 178. Is it a very large portion of New Zealand timber that is bad. We know that we throw away 30 per cent, of the timber; is a large proportion of this 70 per cent, bad?—No, the larger proportion of it is well fitted for building purposes, and I should say that only 20 per cent, of the 70 per cent, is not fit for building purposes, or rather less perhaps. C. E. Page, sworn and examined. (No. 39.) 1. Hon. the Chairman.] Can you tell us anything with regard to the cost of felling and milling?—No, I am a timber-merchant, of the firm of Edmonds and Page, Christchurch, and I only know the price we pay for the timber. The price of red-pine is 6s. 9d. to buy from the miller, and scantlings and timber suitable for dressing, and Bs. 6d. for dressing sizes and sizes suitable for dressing. Of course, that is not the cost to the merchant. In addition we have freight, 35., by water; railage and wharfage, Is. 2jd. ; marine insurance, Id. or a fraction over; then, from the railway-truck the cost of handling and cartage to yard is Bd. to 9d. till it is sorted in the racks. The price of kauri is 18s. 6d. f.o.b. Kaipara. We only get one class of kauri here ; there are three classes listed. The cost would be the same as above, with the exception of insurance, which would be greater. The price of kauri to the merchant in Christchurch is dearer than to the builder in Auckland —that is, it costs us more at the mill than it costs the builder in Auckland. , The price at which kauri is sold varies. Red-pine —for instance, the ordinary building-material—is sold at 14s. 6d. ex yard, less 5 per cent, trade discount and 1\ per cent, cash; other lines are sold at higher rates; unseasoned timber selected for dressing is charged at 16s. 6d.—that is, the higher-grade timber. But, as a matter of fact, I think the price-list would speak for itself. [Present price-list of timbers in Christchurch put in.] A great deal has been said as to the difference in the cost of construction of houses owing to the increased price of material. From experience it is altogether wrong, in my opinion. The increase in the cost of material makes but slight difference in the cost of construction of building. I have made one or two notes —one of them taken from our books—the price of contract and timber supplied. This particular house was a single-storied eight-roomed house with all conveniences, and the contract price was £790 (this was within the last month or two), made up as follows: 450 ft. super. V.D.L., £4 17s. 3d.; 1,082 ft. super, red-pine, £9 os. 7d.; 487 ft. kauri, £6 2s. lid.; 264 ft. matai, £3 3s. 2d.; Oregon, 11,218 ft., £78 4s. 3d.; jarrah, 840 ft., £10 7s. 7d. ; red-pine, dressed, 6,804 ft., £66 13s. sd. ; mouldings, 2,232 1 in. ft., £17 17s. Id. : total, £196 6s. Id. The discounts off this were 5 per cent, and 2£ per cent., making a net cost of £182 7s. 3d. I have estimated as near as possible (estimating moulding from 1 in. ft. to superficial feet) that the amount of timber was 22,333 ft. If the price of timber were to rise or fall Is., after taking out discounts, it would make a difference of only £10 6s. lid. on a £790 house. I have also got three plans in which.there is a gross estimate of timber, which I can give the Commissioner. [Three plans handed in.] These are of houses, two of which contain 12,000 ft. super, and the third 15,000 ft. super. The quality of the timber is pretty much the same in the three houses, rimu or Oregon being about

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