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certificate quickly: that, as he has the killing of the sheep on the Crown lands, he would naturally take care to kill all those in the neighbourhood, to keep his own boundary free ?—Certainly. 2042. Is it not rather singular that he should still have scab there? —No; the wild dogs have rushed the sheep about. The dogs have been there all through this last winter. 2043. I should have thought that, as Mr Liverton is killing the sheep, if he had set to work to kill them thoroughly, he would have so completely cleared them out of his neighbourhood that there would be no danger to his own run ?—He might .have done so, but he says he had to work against his own plan. For instance, he wished to begin on the west side, and Mr. Sutton, he says, wished him to begin on the east, so as to prevent scab from spreading up in the direction of Hawke's Bay. In that way he thinks he has driven them nearer his own ground. His ground is something like the letter L in shape, and it is rather hard to explain the position to a person not knowing the nature of the country. 2044. You think that you are adopting the best way of getting rid of these sheep by employing Mr. Liverton?—-I am sure of it. 2045. You think the best steps are being taken now ?—I do. 2046. You are satisfied with these steps : you do not think anything further is necessary ?—I cannot see anything at present. During the spare time that I have lam going over the ground with Mr. Liverton, and there seems to be every prospect of his giving great satisfaction. 2047. You expect to get rid of them shortly?— Yes ; I think so. I think we should have done better if we had anything like a decent season; but last summer was almost like winter: it was the most troublesome season I ever recollect. 2048. Mr. Liverton was appointed on your recommendation ?—Yes ; it was on my recommendation ; but he was appointed by Mr. Sutton. 2049. I wanted to know were any recommendations made in regard to the working of the Act in your district, and whether your recommendations have been attended to?—I think so. 2050. You have not been thwarted in any way or hampered ? —No, not of late; but when I first had charge of South Wairarapa I was. 2051. In what way?— Well, I think Mr. Maunsell had more power than he ought to have had. 2052. And how did he hamper you ?—ln many a little way I could not say at the present moment. 2053. Do you remember scab breaking out in the river flock at Mataikuna ?—Yes. 2054. About how many sheep were actually scabby in that flock ?—lt is rather taxing my memory to answer that now. It is two years ago or more ; but I fancy it was about one thousand six hundred sheep. 2055. About how many sheep were there altogether?—l think from fourteen to sixteen thousand. 2056. Were all the fourteen or sixteen thousand sheep branded S ?—Not at first; they were afterwards. 2057. But Mr. Bellis, I think, states that he had no notice of scab having broken out at Mataikuna in this river flock, and therefore he was not put upon his guard regarding his own boundaries. Subsequently a sheep bearing the Mataikuna ear-mark was found in his flock scabby? —Quite true. 2058. He further states that his flock was in that way scabbed, and that the sheep in question was not marked S?—No; it was not marked S. 2059. Can you account for that: how was it the other sheep being on the same run, they were not all marked S. I cannot account for it. Mr. Sutton was in charge at the time; but I will tell you how it occurred. I happened to be at Te Nui. I was doing some inspection at the time, and he and Liverton applied for a permit to remove some rams of Liverton's. Berris said, " There was no occasion, as the rams were to be dipped, and Mataikuna was not an infected run." I said, "It is; " and he replied, " I have received no notice." I said, "It is infected ;" and he answered, " Oh, no; Mr. Sutton only cancelled the certificate for the river flock." I said, " There was some mistake there," and so there was. I saw his order ±o clean his sheep :it was for the river sheep only. In the quarterly returns afterwards the whole run appeared. The order to clean was for the river flock only. I saw the return. 2060. Was the river flock divided by natural boundaries from the other flocks so as to enable Mr. Sutton to make a distinction between the two flocks ? —No; I do not think so : anyhow it is only a common seven-wired fence. 2061. Were these sheep still scabby when you took charge of that district ?—Yes ; there was scab over most of the run. 2062. Were these outside sheep branded S when you took charge of the station: the whole flock had been branded S before you took charge ?—(No answer.) 2063. Did you give notice to the owner of Mataikuna to brand the whole of the sheep?—l feel certain I did. I saw some scab among his sheep. He said, that they were not scabby, and he had not had an order to clean them. Mr. Sheath was in charge. 2064. They were branded afterwards?— Yes; afterwards, at shearing-time. I took charge at shearing-time. 2065. Did you take any proceedings in consequence of the sheep not being branded S?—On Mataikuna ? .-a-***-*, 2066. Yes ?—No; you see I only took charge in August, and they sheared the sheep in October. I allowed them to shear the sheep, brand them, and dip them twice, which they did. The sheep were all shorn in October. 2067. And branded immediately after shearing?— Yes; most of them were branded before shearing—l think in September. I know that they had finished shearing, and, I think, had dipped them twice before the end of October. 15—1. 5.