I.—3a.

116

[P. G. DALZIKLL.

schedule hereto upon the trusts expressed in the said four agreements of the llth day of April, 1911, with this variation, that the company shall, as the assign of the said Lewis, be deemed to lie ' the purchaser ' of such portion within the meaning of the said agreements as fully and effectually as if it had been named therein instead of the said Lewis. (2.) The trustee hereby declares iii.it he stands possessed of and entitled to the residue of the said lands, being those portions thereof more particularly described in the second schedule hereto," Ac. The residue there referred to arc the 7,000 acres subleased. It goes on to provide that " the trustee will do, perform, and execute all acts, matters, and things necessary or requisite to be done," and that .Mr. Lewis will at all times keep the trustee indemnified against liability. Both Mr. Lewis and the company indemnify Mr. Bowk , ] , . 154. There is a deed both to Mr. Lewis and the company—it covers all the land 1 /—Yes. L 55. With regard to the mortgage that .Mr. Lewis gave to you : was that for £1,0001 — Yes. 156. For your expenses, I suppose?—lt came about in this way. Mr. Macarthy had a mortgage over a lot of properties belonging to Mr. Lewis, including a good deal of suburban land. The slump came, and he became afraid that his securities were nut so good as they should be, and he asked for further security, and demanded a mortgage over the Mokau leases as collateral security. Mi , . Lewis told me of this, and I said that if Mr. Macarthy was getting a bit afraid there was probably reason why I should. The transaction had then been going mi fur two years, and I suggested thai Mr. Lewis should give me a mortgage for £1,000 to cover costs and expenses in the matter. He conferred with Mr. Macarthy, and the latter agreed to this being done, and to my mortgage going in before his. 157. Your was the second mortgage?— Yes, that of the English trustees of Flower being first. 158. Mr. Macarthy's was the third? —Yes. I."ill. Those mortgages have all been paid off? —Yes. Mil). Out of the purchase-money? —Yes. L6l. What about the survey liens? Were they incurred by Mr. Lewis?—No, but they were paid by Mr. Lewis. They were incurred by the Natives. 162. Hon. Sir J. Carroll.] They were liabilities over the block?— Yes, they were a charge on the block. 163. Mr. Herries.] Were they in existence when Mr. Lewis bought?— Yes. 164. Mr. M<i■-■•.('i/.] Did Mr. Lewis deduct the amount from the Natives?— Yes. 16"). The Did he pay the back rentals that were due?—He did not deduct them, lie had to pay them in addition. !(>(>. Did he pay the rates that were due to the Clifton County —some £400? —Most of it was chargeable to the , lessee. Mr. Lewis had to pay rates. As to land-tax, there was a sum of £7U chargeable to the Natives, which was deducted from the purchase-money, plus survey liens. That point came up at the meetings, and we promised from the start that we would pay them off. 167. .1//. /ferries.] When was the purchase-money paid to Mr. Lewis?— The transfer is dated the 19th May. I think that will probably lie the date of completion. All these transactions took place on the same day. I (is. When did you register the transfer from the Board to Mr. Bowler? —We sent it up at once for registration, but for some reason tin' Registrar stuck i( up, and it was not put through for some time! 1 think that first of all he wanted u« to clear off the survey liens. There was some technical difficulty. But the transfers were presented immediately after the sale 169. In May?—l think it was May. This transfer is dated May. I7U. The date of registration is given as the Bth .Tulv?—Yes; that was the date they were finally accepted for registration. [Witness handed in several documents referred to in his evidence.]

0 Friday, I.">th September, 1911. Frederick George Dalziell further examined. (No. 18.) 1. .1//-. Berries.] I was asking you about the mortgages on the Mokau Block. I see that in Mr. T. M. Chambers's account .£44,221 Is. 6d. was paid off. Could you give the Committee any indication what mortgages were paid oft? —All the mortgages. •2. What were the different sums;— The first mortgage —Flower's —was for £14,000, with interest for about three years, 1 think. The amount was something over £17,000, with the interest. :?. There was your mortgage for £1,000? —Yes. t. And Mr. Maearthv's? —That came at the time to something like £25,000. r>. Then the mortgages that were paid off with this £44,221 would be the original mortgage to Flower's trustees, your mortgage, and Mr. Maearthy's?—Y'es. 6. There were no others?— No. 7. The survey liens were separate? —Yes. They were paid out of the purchase-money. 8. You do not know how Mr. Lewis came to purchase the block at all? You were not connected with him when he originally purchased? —No. In what way do you mean "came to purchase it " ? 9. He did not purchase it in order to farm it, but in order to make money out oi it?—l expect he purchased it in the same way as he has purchased all other properties. 10. He is a speculator? —Yes —at least, he is a man who buys and sells land.