E.—B.

I have now exonerated both myself and the officers under me from all blame in the matter of the defective wagons referred to in the Eeport of the Civil Service Commission. We have simply had nothing whatever to do with them, and the present inquiry has resulted in transferring the responsibility to the officers of the Working Eailway Department, who had thrown the responsibility on us. Mr. Smith now makes this point quite clear. In his report to you of the I.7th instant he distinctly states that his original evidence as to the defective wagons having been made by contract was given on the authority of the Commissioner of Bailvvays, Middle Island, and the Locomotive Engineer, Dunedin, and at the same time he shows that they have been in reality made at the Dunedin workshops by daylabour, thus proving the statement of those gentlemen to be incorrect. Summary of Conclusions. In order to make the whole question perfectly clear, I shall now summarize the principal conclusions arrived at in this report. 1. That the statements made by me in my report of the 29th June are true and correct in every particular. 2. That no wagons built by contract in Dunedin were delivered in Christchurch at the end of last year in a faulty condition. 3. That no wagons built by contract anywhere in the Middle Island had to be almost rebuilt within six weeks. 4. That the only contract for wagons at Oamaru was tho one with McNab and Aimers, finished in November, 1875. 5. That the officers of the Public Works Department are in no way responsible for work done in the railway-workshops. 6. That, out of a total of 4,000 wagons, about thirty-six are alleged in general terms to be defeciive, and of these a specific description of defects is given in six cases. 7. That the defects are chiefly caused by shrinkage of the unseasoned timber used in the construction of the wagons. 8. That five out of the six wagons in which the defects are specifically described have been built in the railway-workshops by day-labour. 9. That the sixth wagon is asserted to have been built in the same way, but the evidence on this point is not conclusive. It is, however, proved that this wagon was not built by contract in Dunedin, and if built by contract at Oamaru it is now four and a half vears old. 10. That the evidence given to the Eoyal Commission by Mr. Allison Smith, to the effect that the defective wagons w*ere built by contract in Dunedin, was given on the authority of the Commissioner of Bailways, Middle Island, and the Locomotive Engineer, Dunedin ; and thpt Mr. Smith now shows that evidence to be incorrect. I have, &c, W. N. Blaie, Engineer in Charge, Middle Island.

Statement of Wagon Rolling- Stock erected South of the Waitaki River, under Contract with the Public Works Department, current on and entered into since 30th June, 1875.

Public Works Office, W. A. Thomas, Wellington, 27th July, 1880. Accountant, Public Works. * 13 low-Bide wagons on or before 31st July, 1878 ; 1 low-side wagon in July, 1879 ; 4 horse-boxes, 2 cattle-trucks, and 6 timber-trucks, on or before 27th December, 1878; 2 cattle-trucks, 4 covered-goods vans, and 8 brake-vans, in or before July, 1879. f Built under a contract for the supply of stock for the Foxton to New Plymouth Railway. Note. —The through line was opened from Christchurch to Oamaru on lßt February, 1877; Oamaru to Dunedin on 6th September, 1878 ; Dunedin to Invercargill on 22nd January, 1879. W. N. Blaie, Engineer in Charge, M.I. 2—E. 8.

5

Contractor. Where Built. Description of Stock. Date of Contract. Date of Delivery of Wagons. Campbell Brothers ... Peter Dey Winton Invercargill 50 low-side wagons ... 46 covered-goods wagons, 15 cattle-wagons, 20 sheep-vans, and 2 horse-boxes 2 goods brake-vans 2 brake-vans and 10 low-side wagons ... 20 hopper-wagons ... 14 low-side wagons, 4 covered goods wagons, 4 horse-boxes, 4 cattle-trucks, 6 timber-trucks, and 8 brake-vans 11 Jan., 1875 On or before — 18 Oct., 1875 Brown and Francis ... D. and W. Loekhart J. Murray Wenzies and Hughes 21 Aug., 1876 15 Sept., „ 8 Jan., 1877 15 June, „ 2 July, 1877 31 Oct., 1876 31 May, 1877 31 Aug., „ ,, Jampbell Brothers ... Dunedin ... 19 wagons , ... 25 wagons *f. ... 30 low-side wagons... 7 timber-trucks 20 covered-goods wagons, 15 cattle-trucks, 20 sheep-vans, and 6 horse-boxes 1 horse-box 13 timber-trucks 20 low-side wagons ... 1 cattle-truck 4 cattle-wagons, 20 low-side and 34 high-side 11 Dec, 11 May, 1875 26 Oct., 22 Dec, 7 Mar., 1876 31 July, 1879* 30 Sept., 1875 31 Dec, „ 31 Mar., 1876 31 Mar., „ ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 24 Aug., „ 24 Aug., „ 13 Mar., 1877 19 June, „ July. „ Aug., 1877 Dec, „ t May, „ Aug., „ July, „ II. Hislop ?indlay and Co. Campbell Brothers ... rfcNab and Aimers ... Oamaru ... 16 Mar., 1875 21 Aug., 1876 'eter Dey wagons 6 covered-goods, 12 sheep-vans, and 2 horse-boxes 11 Nov., 1875 29 Aug., 1877