I. —SA.

80. Do you know what price was paid to the Government at their sale in the olden time ? — The land round about was sold at from £1 an acre up to £4. I knew a man who said he had paid as much as £3 an acre. 81. The Chairman.] That would be very many years ago?—Yes. 82. Mr. Scobie Mackenzie.] You were the owner of this Pomahaka land when it was sold to the Government ?—Yes. 83. And you had been owner for a great number of years ?—Yes. 84. When did you buy it ?—ln 1869 or 1870. 85. You bought at auction?—Yes. 86. What did you pay for it ?—I got it at a gift—los. an acre, and under very peculiar circumstances, which I could relate. Sir Julius Vogel rushed a lot of land into the market. 87. And it has remained unimproved ever since, with the exception of this fence you speak of ?—Yes; but it has been burnt and grazed. 88. It has not been grazed by you ?—By my tenants. 89. But you have done nothing to it since 1869?—I have done nothing to it, save fencing, burning, and grazing as already stated. 90. I understood you to say yesterday that you did not improve it because you had your hands full ?—Because I had other properties to improve. Yes, I said that; I had the Waihao Downs and Mount Eoyal in hand; also another property at Hampden, since sold. I could not devote my attention to cultivating Pomahaka Downs. 91. When did you purchase the Waihao Downs ?—Twelve or thirteen years ago. 92. Then you held Pomahaka twelve or fourteen years before you purchased Waihao Downs ?— Somewhere about that. 93. Why did you not utilise Pomahaka before you purchased Waihao Downs?—l had Mount Eoyal in hand. I could not do two things at the same time ; and cultivation, which required close attention, was necessary to make the best return from Pomahaka Downs. 94. You say that prior to the purchase of Waihao you did not cultivate Pomahaka because you were improving other properties ?—I was improving Mount Eoyal. 95. When did you acquire Mount Eoyal, before or after ? —I had Mount Eoyal more than twenty-five years ago. There are seven properties in Mount Eoyal, all different purchases made at' different periods. 96. Will you be good enough to tell me when you purchased Mount Eoyal?—The first property I bought was Mr. John Jones's Maori claim. This must be twenty-eight years ago. 97. When did you purchase Mr. Nelson's?—That was only a small bit of property; there is only 1,500 acres or so from Mr. Nelson; that was in the "sixties" some time. Mr. Nelson was my tenant. 98. When did you buy the block?—lt was first a Maori claim from Mr. Jones; it is twentyeight years ago; then I bought 1,000 acres from Mr. Fullerton; 4,000 acres from Mr. Jones's trustees, and several other blocks, subsequent to that. 99. Did you buy the great bulk of Mount Eoyal subsequently to the purchase of Pomahaka ?— It would be about the same time; I had commenced to purchase the estate before. 100. Is the great bulk of Mount Eoyal fit for agriculture?—The great bulk of it is pastoral land, but there is a quantity of agricultural land on it. 101. Is it improved? —I have laid out £30,000 in improving it; it is one of the finest improved properties in the colony. It was my residence. 102. But you say the great bulk of it is pastoral property ?—Yes, the great bulk is pastoral property, yet as a whole greatly improved by cultivation, draining swamps, clearing, surfacesowing, subdividing, &c. 103. What is the assessed value of Mount Eoyal ?■ —I cannot tell you, because it is in two counties. 104. Is it more than £1, with all the improvements ?—Yes, more than double. I have been offered £100,000 for it, including stock. 105. There are plantations and homestead, and everything else required?—Yes. 106. Is it inferior to Pomahaka ? —lt is inferior, acre for acre. There is some better land on Mount Eoyal, limestone land; but not so uniform in quality as Pomahaka. I preferred Mount Eoyal as a residence, being thirty-four miles from Dunedin, with every convenience; Great North Eoad alongside my homestead, almost; within ten minutes' drive of Palmerston, with telegraph and other conveniences. It was the centre of my other estates. 107. This was to be the centre of your operations ? —ln addition to which it was convenient for Dunedin, Oamaru, and the country round about. Four mail coaches a day passed and repassed my gate before the railway started. 108. But, anyhow, you preferred to cultivate Mount Boyal?—I had my residence there, and it was come-at-able, while Pomahaka at the time in question was very inaccessible. 109. In spite of the fact that Pomahaka was superior land ?—Yes, for a residence Mount Eoyal was preferable. 110. Two shillings per annum and taxes was the highest rent paid?—Yes; I have already given a full statement of the different rents paid, and for the different periods. 111. Some of these were the rents during what has been called the land boom in Otago, from 1871 to 1879 ?—Yes. 112. After that you let it to the New Zealand and Australian Land Company?—Yes. 113. And the rent from that period, which was the highest, from the Land Company ?—ls Is. 6d.; the land was unfenced then. 114. Commencing at Is. 6d. in August, 1878, it ranged down to 9d. at the period when you sold the land ?—Yes.

43