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26. Did you ever at the top of the mine have any hot stuff handed to you by Molesworth ? —Yes. 27. He told us that he once handed to you a piece of stuff, and it was so hot that you had to drop it ?— Yes, he drew my attention to it when it was coming over the picking-belt. 28. And is that the only time ?—Yes. 29. Now, has it not been discussed among the men both below arid above that there was a good deal of gas escaping there in the mine ? —Not to my knowledge. 30. Have you never heard of men talking about " another escape of gas " ? —No. 31. Never at all ?— No. 32. Even when a man had found 33,000 cubic feet of gas, you have never heard it discussed as a gaseous mine ? —No. If I were in the braceman's place I might. 33. Have you ever heard Mr. Dixon say anything of it —on the 26th July, for instance ?—No, nothing. 34. Do you know nothing about an occurrence on the 26th or 27th July ? —I do not. Frank Reed, Inspecting Engineer of Mines, sworn and examined. (No. 14.) 1. Mr. Wilford.] What are you, Mr. Reed ? —I am Inspecting Engineer of Mines and Consulting Engineer of the State Collieries of New Zealand. 2. What qualifications have you ?—I have many qualifications. 3. Will you give me your qualifications : we may take them shortly as we did those of Professor Dixon I —l hold the following diplomas : British First-class Colliery Manager's Certificate, First in First Class, at the Government Examination, N. District, England, 1884 ; New Zealand First-class Colliery Manager's Certificate, 1887 ; Diploma on Mine-gases and Ventilation, Durham University, J 884; Licensed Surveyor's Diploma, New Zealand, Western Australia, and Tasmania; Examiner on Mine-gases and Ventilation during past eight years at the Government and Schools of Mines Examinations ; member of the Royal Commission on Mines, 1911 ; formerly Mining Engineer and Inspector of Collieries to the Government of Western Australia. I have had thirty-four years' practical experience at the mines of England and the colonies. lam also a member of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (London). 4. Mr. Reed, how long have you known Taupiri ? -The collieries for about eight years. 5. Have you ever inspected the Taupiri collieries ? —Several times. 6. Under the Coal-mines Act have you any responsibility in regard to the inspection of mines ?— Not as Inspecting Engineer of Mines. 7. Is New Zealand divided into districts under the various Inspectors ? —Yes. When I first joined the Department there was no section of the Act which authorized me to enter a mine, and, at my own request, I was gazetted as Inspector of Mines without a district, because my right of entry into the Kaitangata Mine was questioned by the late Mr. R. Lee. I was gazetted an Inspector of Mines to enable me to enter a-ny mine which I wished to examine, but I have no district under section 23 of the Coal-mines Act. 8. The District Inspector here is Mr. Bennie ?—Mr. Boyd Bennie. 9. Mr. Reed, when did you first become aware of there being any danger in the Taupiri Mine ?— I was unaware of any danger until last Christmas. 10. Prior to that you had had no facts brought to your notice which would lead you to form a conclusion that the mine was dangerous ? No. I knew of no defects in them. I refer to both the Taupiri Company's mines. 11. How did you become aware of the condition of the mine ? —I was demonstrating on firedamp at the Mines Department Court at the Auckland Exhibition. 12. You were in charge of that? —Yes. I put up a firedamp observatory and a mine-rescue, apparatus for the Mines Department. I used to grant certificates to all-comers who would qualify to detect firedamp with a miner's safety-lamp. While I was demonstrating there I found a number of candidates coming from the Taupiri collieries to get their tickets. I was surprised, and asked, " Why do you come here; you have no gas in your mines," and they replied " Haven't we." 1.3. Your suspicions were aroused ?—Yes, by the number of men that were coming from the Taupiri mines. 14. Miners to qualify at testing for firedamp ?—Yes. 15. This was about Christmas time, I understand ?—About December they started to come. 16. Then, having your suspicions aroused, did you communicate with the District Inspector ?— I did more than that. I want to tell you how I got to know that there was gas in the mines here. I said no more, but another official came along and got into conversation with me and told me there had been burnings in the mines as the result of gas-ignitions. As soon, however, as he discovered I was drawing him he asked me to treat the information in strict confidence. 17. From information you received you considered it was worth looking into ?—I did, and I wrote to Inspector Bennie a private letter, as I have no authority to write officially. 18. You have no power officially to write to Mr. Bennie ? —No, as he stated. I have no power over Inspectors of Mines ; but the new Act will possibly give me power, because it makes the Inspecting Engineer also Chief Inspector of Mines. 19. You wrote Mr. Bennie then ?—Yes, a private letter. 20. In consequence of what you knew you wrote Mr. Bennie ? —Yes. 21. And as a consequence of your letter, did Mr. Bennie write to anybody ? —Mr. Bennie did eventually write to somebody, but I asked him to see if he could make inquiries himself by going to the union, but the men would say nothing. Mr. Bennie then came to the Exhibition, and said that the men would not divulge anything. I told him then to write to Mr. Fletcher for a statement of all the instances of burning, and that we would accept it as being written without prejudice. Mr. Fletcher then wrote Mr. Bennie a letter referring to three cases of burnings by gas.