57

D.—4

510. What do you say about that: you call it the upper portion up the river?— Yes. There is not a single miner working upon it, and no miner's right. No payable gold has ever been discovered or been worked upon it. Therefore I should hold it is not required for mining. 511. In order to protect future mining operations, do you think they would extend beyond 4 chains on either side of the river? —No ; I do not think they would want any reservation at all in that upper portion. 512. Hon. E. Blake.] You make a distinction from about the junction of the Warwick, and your opinion is there is nothing required more than 4 chains ?—Yes. 513. Mr. Cooper.] We come now to Block 30. What do you say about that ?—ln Block 30 the lower portion is the Doughboy Creek. It has been worked for gold, but is worked out. When I was there there was only one man who held any rights in it. 514. Hon. E. Blake.] What is the size of that block ?—2,500 acres. 515. Mr. Cooper.] It is a reservation of a mile in width, and the Doughboys Creek runs right through the centre of it ?—Yes. 516. There is only one man working there ?—Yes. 517. How many chains would have been ample ?—About 4 chains altogether; 2 chains on each side of the river would have been ample 518. What is the nature of the land on the banks of that creek ?—The lower portion is very fair timber land. Up the creek it is all timber-land, but hilly. 519. There is the Eiver Matakitaki. First of all, do you know why there has been a lesser reservation on the Matakitaki than on the Maruia? Is there any reason why the reservation on the Maruia should have been so much bigger than on the Matakitaki ?—No; it should have been the other way about. There were hundreds of miners on the Matakitaki, and it turned out gold, whereas on the Maruia there have only been twenty miners at work. On the Matakitaki they have reserved quite sufficient. A hundred times more gold has been turned out of the Matakitaki than has been turned out on the Maruia or is likely to be found there. 520. There is no other block in this plan that you can speak about ?—No. 521. I now come to Exhibit 90, western group, Block 12 ?—I made no examination of that. 522. Can you speak of Block 2b ?—Yes. 523. Will you tell us what you have to say about that ?—Yes; I went over this block backwards and forwards in different directions, and found no one working there, and no gold-workings in that block at all of any description, except at the upper portion, where there is an old worked-out lead on the boundary, and two Chinamen fossicking on the upper boundary. 524. Do you think there is any likelihood of any gold being worked upon that block? — No; I think there is no likelihood of any gold being found on that block. 525. Will you give us the reason ?—ln the first place, I could see it has been prospected in several places, in fact, all over it, but there is no one working it. It has been abandoned. lam speaking of the section adjoining the boundary of the block. There is no one there now, and at one time there must have been hundreds or a thousand men perhaps along there, and I am certain, if there is payable gold in it, they would have discovered it. I could see where it had been prospected in different places, but no payable gold has been discovered on it. 526. What is the nature of the country ? —Flat bush land; there is very fine bush on it. 527. Then, you consider no portion of that block ought to have been reserved?— Yes. 528. Did you examine Block 2a?—No ; I did not. 529. Now, as to Block 6, the next above Block 2b, did you examine that ? —Yes. 530. What have you to say about that ? —I went through the block in different directions, all through, and could find no gold-workings. 531. The Kumara Station is on that?— Yes. I could find no gold-workings on it. There was no one working on this block at all. No payable gold had been discovered upon it, except along the Teremakau Eiver, where there has been a little gold-working at one time. 532. It has been abandoned?— Yes. 533. What is the nature of that country?—lt is all flat bush country. 534. Then, in your opinion, no portion of that lower part should have been reserved?— There might be an exception in the case of a chain or two along the Teremakau Eiver, but even that has been tried by Chinamen and abandoned. 535. That is Block 6?— Yes. 536. Did you examine any of the other blocks? —Yes ; Block 1. 537. What do you say about that ? —I consider that the south-eastern part should not be reserved. 538. Do you say what proportion of the blocks ought not to have been reserves ?—About 1,000 acres. 539. Hon. E. Blake.] What is the size of the whole block?—s,ooo acres. The workings of Kumara take in between 500 and 600 acres, and I allow the rest for timber purposes, and so on. In that 1,000 acres no mining and no payable gold has been discovered. 540. Hon. E. Blake.] What I understand is that what you allow of this Block 1 is allowed for timber and water-races for Kumara, not for the gold itself?—lt is allowed for gold too. There are from 500 to 600 acres worked out. I think the Teremakau Eiver took a bend at one time there, and deposited the gold. 541. Mr. Copper.] Do you know whether, outside that portion, there has been any test for gold?— There have been shafts sunk all over the block, and no payable gold has been discovered. I saw the shafts and the tunnels, which had been abandoned. 542. Mr. Gully.] You say that no gold has been discovered there, but you do not know that yourself ? 542 a. Mr. Cooper.] The witness says he saw the shafts and tunnels and so forth, and that there was no one working there, and the place was abandoned ?—There were no signs of any dams or water-races there at all. B*— T>. 4.