I.—lA

12

T. UYAN

18. Mr. Dickson.] Do you not consider you are in a much better position as honorary Rangers up there than they would be in Canterbury? In Rotorua and your own district a lot of the residents depend solely on the tourist traffic. Would not that make the honorary Rangers more interested in the work than is the case in Christchurch, where only a few gentlemen go in for the sport?—lt would, because our grounds are so limited. 19. You cannot compare the two districts? —Not at all. 20. If there were proper supervision over the fish they could be increased considerably m size over what they are at present?—ln Taupo we maintain about the same average—about 6 lb. or 7 lb. The quality of the fish is what you want to strive for. 21. You consider you could do that better under a local society than under the Tourist Department?—l think so. 22. Mr. Robertson.] You spoke about a particular individual taking a number of fish down to the smoke-house and a great number being rejected : xvhat was the reason for that—was it lack of accommodation? —The answer of the man was that the man in charge told him he could not do with them. He just took out what he wanted. I may say that the smoke-house down there is only a small affair. 23. Probably it would be owing to the small size of the smoke-house?—lt may have been. At the same time I have seen tourists smoking the fish splendidly in packing-cases and making a first-class job of it too. It is the method. lhe last year the smoke liouse there was a bit of a failure. They put the fish in there and they sent them to Wellington, and I believe they turned out absolutely rotten when the\ r got here, so the smoke-house was closed up. They said they could not deal with the Taupo trout —they were too fat. That was the reason 1 got. 24. Mr. Payne.] It seems to me that all that is necessary is to establish an efficient smokehouse system. From my little knowledge the fish were not half smoked —they were not properly treated as smoked fish? —I do not think those that the Tourist Department did the season before last were properly treated, because they had to close the smokehouse up and said they could not treat the fish, yet the local people were treating them and sending them away. 25. The Chairman.] Do you think that if you had the right to sell fish a profitable market could be established there without detriment to the fishing sport —that is, if, instead of the fish being wasted, it was sold in the open market during the open season ?—Oh, certainly. 26. You think it would be an advantage to the district and the public generally?— Certainly. 27. Mr. Isitt.] Would the post take them all over New Zealand?— Yes. 28. Then you would affect other fishing?— But they are posted now. 29. The Chairman.] In reference to the Government launch, in your opinion was it a necessity there? —No, absolutely not. 30. How many launches had you on the lake when that launch was imported?— There are about thirty or forty on Lake Rotorua and about eleven or twelve on Taupo. 31. What was the launch imported for —what was she to do? —I understand, just to take the men round to the different parts of the lake —to these rivers, and land them there for the purpose of netting. 32. Had the Department any other boat at the time?— Not on Taupo. 33. What did they do?— They did not approach me in any way. I do not know whether they approached any other owners. 34. Mr. Payne.] Would it be possible for the I'ourist Department to prosecute their business without having a boat of their own on the lake?—-Yes. 35. Then how could they get about the water to inspect, and to on ?—By hiring one. 36. By that, then, you admit that they need a launch? —Yes. 37. It is purely a question whether owning or hiring a launch would be cheaper?— Yes. 38. Do you admit that a launch is needed? —They could do it with a rowing-boat if they go to the nearer rivers. 39. They need a boat of some kind?— Yes; but it is not absolutely necessary.

Lionel Hanlon, of Whangarei, examined. (No. 4.) 1. The Chairman.] Will you proceed, please?—l speak merely as an angler who goes to Taupo every year to fish. I have done so for five years, and I have noted, of course, the diminution or degeneration in the size and quality of the fish, as every angler going there has done. Anglers in the camps there are always talking about it and saying, overseas men especially, that iln fishing in Taupo is practically done, and that probably they will not come again owing to the poor fishing they are getting. This is a serious matter, because it is estimated that the anglers from overseas leave anything from £16.000 to £20,000 a year in the Dominion. From that point of view it is of importance, and as an advertisement it is of importance, that the fishing should lie kept up to the standard We have complained, as anglers on the Tongariro especially. of the Department not clearing the banks of the river so that we can get along. We think that part of the license-money might be spent on that. There are miles of the river-bank that is practically impassable. There has been some £16 spent on clearing what is known as the Islington Promenade, and a couple of hundred yards up, by Major Janes's pools, and that is all that has been done in clearing the banks. In regard to the size of the fish it is the opinion of many anglers that the cause of the falling-off in size is the breeding of the fish—that they breed from the poor fish. They get the large fish at the end of the season. They think that the season should be closed sooner. Ihey think that May should be a close month insteadof an open month, because the best fish are going up to spawn then. The early spawners go up first, and these