1.-7.

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356. Did not some of the counties in Auckland get portion of the proceeds of land formerly confiscated and afterwards declared to be Crown lands ? —I should think the administration would be the same as in this case. Examination of Mr. John Eees. 357 The Chairman.] In your confidential report of 1879 you estimate the cost of the concrete in connection with the New Plymouth harbour works at 30s. per yard? —Tes. 358. Tou stated also that you added Bs. 3d. to the cost at Kurachee as contingencies ?—Tes. 359. Therefore you must have estimated the cost at that place at £1 Is. 9d. ? —Quite so. 360. Are you quite sure that the cost of the concrete at Kurachee was not £1 6s. 4d. ? —I estimated it at £1 4s. 361. Sir John Coode, in his report, specified that 4 cubic feet of cement were required for a yard of concrete finished, and would be in the proportion of lin 7 Sir John Coode fixed that proportion, did he not ?—I think Sir John Coode amended that, and made it 1 in 9. 362. What was the proportion of cement used at Kurachee ?—One in 10. 363. When you stated that 1 ton of cement would make 7 yards of concrete, you adhered practically to the report of Sir John Coode? —Tes, practically 364. Tou have stated that 1 ton of cement will make 7 yards of concrete? —Tes, about that. 365. As regards labour, what would you estimate the difference of labour between England and New Plymouth ? —About Is. a day 366. I want to know the proportion : for instance, if you have labour at 6s. a day for eight hours at New Plymouth that would be 9d. an hour, would it not ? —Tes. 367 And at ss. for eight hours 7id. ? —Tes. 368. In England, taking the wages at 3s. per day of nine hours, the cost would be 4d. per hour ? —Tes. 369. Can you state whether a day's labour in England in 1875 was nine or ten hours ?—I cannot say. 370. It would not be less than nine hours ?—I should not think so. 371. Then, assuming that the labour at Kurachee and England was the same for this class of work, the cost of labour at New Plymouth would be double that at Kurachee? —Tes. 372. The cement at New Plymouth you stated would cost 14s. sd. per yard ? —The actual cost would be 15s. 373. Tou told the Committee on a former occasion that 1 ton of cement would make 7 yards of concrete ?—Tes, I think I said about 7 yards. 374. Tou first told us that the cement would cost £5 ss. per ton, now you say it would be £5 Is. ? —Tes. 375. Then, if the cement costs 14s. sd. per yard, that would leave you for all other materials, labour, and contingencies 7s. 7d. ? —Tes ; but the average cost would be 225. 376. Then if 225. is the average cost per yard of concrete, 7s. 7d. is the average margin for everything outside the cement ? —Tes. 377 Does that include levelling under water and divers' expenses ? —Tes. 378. Tou have stated that the estimated cost of cement used at Kurachee was £4 3s. 9d. per ton, and was used in proportion of 1 in 10 ?—Yes. 379. Therefore the cement per yard of concrete cost Bs. 4d. ?—Tes. 380. And, as the cost of concrete was £1 6s. 4d. per yard, as was shown by the engineer in charge of the work, the rest of the work, exclusive of cement, would cost 18s. ? —Tes. 381. If the facilities for obtaining sand and other material at New Plymouth were the same as at Kurachee, and labour at the former place was double that at the latter, it would amount to 365. per yard ?—Tes, about that. 382. If your cement at New Plymouth was to cost 14s. sd. per yard, that, added to 365., would give a cost of £2 10s. sd. ? —Tes. 383. Or, if labour at New Plymouth should cost no more than at Kurachee, it would be 18s., plus 14s. 5d., making a sum of £1 12s. sd. ?—Tes. 384. The total quantity of concrete in the breakwater if carried out to YY, I find from Sir John Coode's plans, will amount to 98,802 yards, and, on the basis arrived at on the works at Kurachee of 50s. per yard, would amount to £247,005 ? —Tes, if the conditions were the same. 385. Will you state the cost of the plant provided for by Sir John Coode's schedule, indicated in list prepared and signed by Mr. King ? —£9,000. 386. The list produced is a correct one, and contains the special plant as mentioned in Sir John Coode's specification ? —Tes. 387 The cost of the erection would amount to ? —£2,000. 388. And the cost, exclusive of erection, £11,000 ? —Tes. 389. That added to the cost of concrete would bring it up to £260,000, leaving a margin of about 10 per cent, for contingencies, and would be very nearly the estimate given by Sir John Coode?—Tes. 390. Can you state, from your own knowledge, what price per yard Sir John Coode attached to the concrete work ? —I do not know ; I asked him, hut could never get a reply 391. What margin have you allowed for removing sand from the site of the breakwater ?—Well, there is little or no labour required. 392. Have you made any allowance for levelling the bags under water ?—No ; there is no necessity for it. 393. Sir John Coode stated in his specification that the weight of concrete in bags should be 14 tons : what was the weight you stated ?—We propose to have 50-ton bags. 394. Sir John Coode says that the bags should be levelled by divers, and that a certain amount of boring should have been done for the object of ascertaining what the bottom was like. Can you state if any borings have been made ?—Tes; it was done at low water, and the divers found a hard bottom.