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43. What do they cost?—£l,6oo a year. 44. That is without travelling expenses?— Yes. 45. Mr. Duncan.] Suppose a number of young gentlemen passed through these schools of mines, and suppose they understood what they were taught there thoroughly, and even he expert, would they be of much use in the practical working of a mine? —-Not unless they had been accustomed to that. 46. Mr. Gadman.'] Do you think Mr. Montgomery is capable of undertaking the management of mines ?—No, certainly not. 47. Mr. Allen.] Can you tell us what becomes of most of the students that pass through the London schools of mines ? —No, I cannot. Mr. M. J. S. Mackenzie : They become, I suppose, members of Parliament in the colonies. Mr. Allen: I may state that the men who pass through the London schools go all over the world, and eventually take charge of batteries and mines. Mr. Caiman: We have not one of them here that I know of. Mr. Allen .- The more ashamed lam that we should have to say so. The Chairman : They would not necessarily know the treatment here. Mr. Allen : They would know every detail. 48. Mr. o'Conor.] Does that £1,600 a year include subsidies for buildings?—No ; the expenditure on teaching and subsidies has averaged nearly £2,000 per annum since the schools were established. 49. Mr. Larnach.] Is it not the fact that the miners gave an equal amount to what the colony gave ?—More, in some instances, with regard to buildings and chemicals. 50. Not less ?—Not less. 51. That is to say, miners have given an amount beyond that which the Government gave?— They have not given anything towards the teaching. I do not know how much they gave beyond the amount given by the Government towards buildings and chemicals. 52. But towards the erection of buildings ? —They have given more than the Government has given for that purpose and procuring chemicals. 53. What is your opinion of what is called the ordinary miner ? Is he not a man of more than ordinary intelligence —more than the mere man about town, in reality ?—You will find the miners a most intelligent class of men. 54. Mr. Valentine.] Is it your opinion that this £2,000 odd expended yearly on these schools of mines have been recouped by the extra benefit derived from them ?—I do not think the benefit from them is quite felt yet; we are only beginning to feel the benefit to be derived from them. 55. You think they will recoup the money expended on them eventually in the increased amount of precious metal that will be obtained ?—They will be the means of more of the ores being worked, and also more of the metals saved. I must say, with reference to schools of mines, that more may be expected from them as more is taught in them. 56. The Chairman.] Outside of these teachers, lecturers, and professors, are you aware of any parts of the country where there are persons competent to give this kind of instruction locally ?— Yes; there are several places where you could get people who are capable of giving the same instruction as that imparted in the present schools. 57. Will you name the places or localities where persons capable of giving this instruction reside ? —Dr. Gage, in Westport, is a capable man; Mr. Purkiss, in Hokitika, is another ; then, at the Thames, Dr. Davey : there is a chemist at Kumara; and at Stafford the schoolmaster is capable of imparting instruction. 58. All persons competent to give this instruction ? —Yes. 59. Mr. Allen.] What do you mean by competent ?—Men who can give the information that is sought in the schools of mines. 60. Are they acquainted with all the processes of gold-extraction?—No; I question whether there is any man in the colony acquainted with all the recent processes of gold-extraction. 61. Do you not think it would be advisable to get such a person to come to this colony?—I know that it would be very difficult to get such a man ; and if you had him he might not be able to do what you required of him, for this reason : a man who is brought up in one particular locality is acquainted, perhaps, with the variety of ores to be found in that locality. But these ores might be altogether different from what he would find here. If he went into another locality than the one he was brought up to study he might have to experiment upon a whole system of ores before he could be of much use in giving any information. 62. On what grounds do you say that ?—You might, for instance, get a man that was accustomed to smelting and treating galena ores, and be altogether astray in regard to the treatment of tellurides and selenides. 63. Do you mean to tell me that a person acquainted with all the processes of gold-extraction would not be equally familiar with tellurides, selenides, or galena ores?—l know this, that a company in Nelson sent to America to get a competent man, the best that could be got. They paid him £1,000 a year. When he came here he was found to be totally astray as to the mode of treating the ores here, as they were different from that which he had been dealing with in America. 64. Do you know where he came from ?—No ; I cannot tell. 65. Did you say tellurium ore? — No, copper principally, in the form of carbonates and sulphides. 66. Was he working gold with copper?— No. 67. The Chairman.] You are aware that the colony is paying £500 a year to Professor Ulrich of the Otago University : Can you tell us whether there is no possibility of the colony getting some more value for that money than it gets at the present time ?—Jle is one of the best mineralogists we have,