I.—sa

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144. Do you know whether any one else does that ?—I never went into it. 145. What is the distance between your land and Pomahaka? —Fifteen miles. 145a. And this land of yours is similar to that ? —Very nearly. There is some of it about Waipahi on the tops of the ridges that is very similar, and some of it better than mine. 146. All of it is about the same quality ?—Yes; about the same, perhaps. 147. You went alone to value? —No one accompanied me. There was a gentleman who offered to accompany me, but I declined his services. 148. Then, as a matter of fact, no one did go with you ?—-No one went with me. 149. Mr. Hogg.] How many years have you been valuing for taxation and rating purposes ?— I think about fourteen years. 150. You have valued both for the Government and for the local bodies ? —The local body gets it from the Government. 151. Have the values during that time been altered ?—Yes, it has been up and down a little. All the values three years ago were raised; six years ago things were very dull, and we lowered them ; three years ago we put them up to what they had been before. 152. You do not remember what the value of the property was fourteen years ago, when you began to value?—No; I could not exactly say. I have it at home, of course. I have copies at home, of course. 153. You cannot recollect the difference of the mode adopted by you three years ago from that adopted at the previous valuation ? —I am not exactly sure. I know that they were all raised, but I would not like to say how much on this particular property. 154. You cannot say whether it was 25 per cent.?—lt was nothing like that, I think. Speaking from memory, it was 2s. 6d., or something thereabout. 155. You say it was Mr. Maitland that instructed you? —Yes. He asked me to value. 156. Did you have any communication with anybody else about it ?—No. 157. Neither the Minister of Lands nor any of his officers ? —No. 158. You say that an objection had been raised to your valuing?—Yes; but that was many years ago—nine or twelve years ago—l would not like to say which. 159. Are you aware of any property in your neighbourhood sold at a higher figure than your valuation ?—Mr. Gibson's, of Ashley Downs, the land of which is very similar, sold for over £3 an acre in tussock. I have the figures at home. I think it was over £3 an acre, most of it; there might be some lying back that would be lower; but I am speaking from memory a good deal. Some of it was £3 12s. 160. Is that the only property you are aware of that sold at a higher figure than the assessment ? —Well, there has not been much sold there. 161. What was the assessment of that property after that?—After it was cultivated and had buildings on it, it was just about what they paid before they sold. 162. What was the assessed value of it at the time when it was sold ?—After it was improved. I cannot tell, because it is so far back. 163. But it was sold at a higher price than agreed with the previous assessment ?—I think my valuation would be about £2 10s. an acre, before it was sold; but it is a long time since that. 164. How far back is it: how many years ?—I should think that Mr. Gibson would sell about nine years ago. I have valued it two or three times since Mr. Gibson sold it. 165. Is that the only case, besides your own, which you recollect where property was sold in excess of the assessment value ? —There is a property alongside that one, Mr. Borthwick's ; when that was valued at about £2 ss. to £2 10s. an acre, it was sold at from £3 to £3 10s.; some of the higher sections were sold for £4. 166. How long is that ago? —I think that would be about three years ago; somewhere between the last land-tax valuation and the previous one, as far as I can remember, speaking from memory. It is impossible that I could give you dates, but I could do so if I were at home. 167. You said there was one case of a property sold considerably under your assessment ?—lt was £30 under the assessment; that was the property I bought from Mr. Allen, M.H.E. 168. Are you aware of any other property that was sold under the assessment?—No, I do not know of any other sold under the assessment. 169. When you valued this land there was a petition presented to the Government for the purpose of acquiring it for settlement ?—Yes, I heard there was a petition. 170. Did you never see that petition ?—No, I never saw that petition. 171. In your opinion, was it practically wanted for settlement?—There was a cry at the time for land, I believe, at Clinton ; they said it was a good thing for the people of the district that it should be taken up. 172. I suppose you were disappointed at the result—that there was not a greater scramble for it ?—For some sections there was some scramble. There were a good many applications for some of the sections ; I expected that more would have been taken up than was actually the case. 173. Do you think that the money paid for it was a fair value?—Yes; if it had been mine I Would not like then to have sold. I would be prepared to give a little more for it if it had been alongside my place. 174. Mr. Thomas Mackenzie.] You say that Mr. Borthwick's land sold for £4 ?—-Yes. 175. But there was some of it sold at half the money ?—Yes ; but what I was speaking about was by the road. There was a little more pastoral land on the other side that sold for 375. 6d. 176. What is the value for the whole ?—lt is under what it sold for. 177. And you say that some of Mr. Gibson's was sold for £3 ?—Yes. 178. Do you know Mr. Lawrence's ground ?—Lawrence's was improved by another person; he did not buy an unimproved estate; it was given up by the other party who had it before Mr. Lawrence.