A. —4b.

Then, taking Mr. Meredith's own figures right through, the amount per head of expenditure shows in favour of Fiji ? —Yes, from the figures. Has it ever, to your knowledge, been made public knowledge just exactly what is this hydro-electric scheme, and what the details of it are ? —Not publicly. I have heard that when the Administrator returned from his trip to New Zealand and he met the citizens he was telling us of the expenditure of the Administration and the proposed works of the Administration, and said that arrangements had been made for the hydro-electric scheme. Was anything said at that time by the Administrator to show that it was the New Zealand Reparation Estates' scheme ?—No ; I took it to be the Administration scheme. Do you know if anything has been said by the Administrator or if an official communication has been received ?—Not publicly. In connection with the £20,000 subsidy that has been referred to, would that not come into the expenditure : it is a source of revenue ?—lt is expended, and it must be calculated to come under expenditure. Judge MacCormick : That is a subsidy from the Government, and not a loan ? Mr. Baxter : It is a gift by the New Zealand Government to Samoa every year ; I am not sure whether it is a fixed amount. The Chairman : Part of it comes from the annual profits of the Reparations Estates. Mr. Baxter.] When these reports were prepared the Samoans had their own separate subcommittee and they prepared the Samoan report ? —Yes. And they brought it into the general committee ? —Yes. The Chairman.'] You have shown that the revenue and expenditure per head in Fiji is greater than in Samoa—at any rate, the revenue is greater, and in some cases the expenditure is less per head ?—The revenue I have shown is less per head in Fiji than in Samoa. And the expenditure ? —The expenditure also is less per head in Fiji than in Samoa. Is that not what you expect: Surely different conditions prevail in Samoa than in Fiji, even assuming that the expenditure in Samoa was a proper expenditure ? —I would expect that as a consequence of the increase in population. Is it not a fact that there are no less than 71,000-odd labourers composing part of the population of Fiji ?—There is a large number. Can you not give me the exact figure ?—There is a large number of Indian coolies there. According to this document (A.-4b) there are 68,136 Indians, 969 Chinese, Solomon-Islanders and Rotuma boys to the number of 2,235, and this makes a total of 71,000-odd : is that not so ? — I believe your calculation is correct. As against that, Samoa has a labour population of just over 1,045 ? —Yes. The Indian labourers are valuable producers, are they not ? —Yes, they are. And you would not expect the expenditure upon them per head to be as great as if they were inhabitants of the country ? —I would, because they are part of the population. They are there temporarily, and are a temporary part of the population, we know ? —They are there for the time being. Do you suggest that a population of 71 ; 000 labourers would involve the same expenditure per head as a population of 71,000 Fijians settled in their own country ?—1 cannot suggest that, sir. Arthur Williams examined. Mr. Baxter.] You are a tinsmith and plumber, resident in Apia ? —Yes. And a member of the Legislative Council ?—Yes. And acting-chairman of the Citizens Committee ? —Yes. Referring to the financial report that was placed before the committee by the sub-committee, was that financial report considered by the general committee ? —lt was read to the committee, yes. Where did the reading take place ? —ln the Market Hall. Was this read at a public meeting or at a committee meeting ? —lt was read to the committee on the same day as the public meeting. We met in the Market Hall in the afternoon, and the reports were read and translated into Samoan. In the afternoon there were a number of reports, were there not ? How long were you there 1 - -We started very early, because it was a very long meeting. We started at a quarter to two and we went on till dark. Was the report discussed or not ? —No, I do not remember any particular discussion ; but the reports were all read there and agreed to by the committee. Was there any particular discussion or not ? —There was every opportunity if anybody wanted to discuss them. How came it that you did not notice this £100,000 referred to : how is it you allowed it to pass without discussion ? —I understood that the statement had been made in the House of Representatives by Mr. Massey that this money was loaned on the security of the Crown Estates. You mean the £100,000 loan ?—Yes. Did you not know, as a Legislative Councillor, that the statement attributed to Mr. Massey was not a correct statement: did you know that of your own knowledge ? —I concluded it was considered that the Crown Estates were looked upon as property of the Samoan Government. The Chairman: That is not an answer to the question. Mr. Baxter.] As a member of the Legislative Council, have you been in possession of knowledge which would show that the statement attributed to Mr. Massey was not correct ? —Since then I realized that the statement was not correct T believed it to be correct up to that time.

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