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207. Mr. Massey.] Have you any reason to believe that more money has been demanded of you because you proposed to start your paper than if you had proposed to start a small paper in any other part of the colony ?—I should say, yes. 208. Can you give me a reason for it ? It has been stated that it was because it was within a radius of so many miles of a town that this enormous fee was asked 209. The Chairman.] Who stated that ? Mr. Massey : He said that was one reason ; he pointed out that one paper was published within six miles and another in the same district within a short distance, one being admitted for £150. 210. The Chairman.] You said, I think, that the Brunner News was admitted to the full rights of the Association although it was within six miles —six or seven —of a town where two Association papers were published ?—Yes. 211. What is the population of the Brunner ?—I should say it was quite as large as Hastings at the time the Brunner News was started. 212. How long ago?— About five years. 213. Mr. O'Began.] About seven years ?—lt may be seven years ago. 214. What was the population of the Grey ?—About four thousand. 214 a. Was no copy presented to you of the agreement that you were required to enter into with the Association before you paid this £300 ? —No. 215. And you did not ask for it; all you wanted was to get the cable news, and you were satisfied with everything else?— Yes. 216. Mr. Massey.] Do you know that seven years ago the entrance-fees to the Association were lower than they are at the present time ?—I do not know anything about the fees at all. 217. Not the entrance-fee you would have to pay ? —We naturally expected that the fee would be about the same as was paid for the Brunner paper. 218. The Chairman.] Did you not know that within two years they had considerably raised the scale of fees ?—No ; I did not know that at all. 219. Were you willing to pay that ? - Yes ; on the strength of that we ordered our plant. 220. Mr. Hogg.] When you gave the Press Association the cheque did you expect something in return for it-? —Yes; rather. We also expected that we would be able to make a start on the following Monday. 221. Did' you anticipate that, if you were not allowed to join the Association, your cheque would be handed back to you ?—Yes; we understood that all along. 222. You did not pay that cheque in as a deposit, the same as you pay a cheque into the bank as a fixed deposit, or subject to forfeiture ?—No. We understood that there would be no difficulty whatever. We did not expect we should have any difficulty whatever, and that we would be able to start on the Monday. 223. The Press Association had the use of your money for several months ?—Yes. 224. That has been so much withdrawn from your capital ?—Yes. 225. And it would have been of the greatest service to you if you had had it ?—Yes. 226. Did you fix upon interest to be paid? —I should charge interest, but I did not know whether they would give us interest or not. 227. Mr. O'Began.] Do you know of any instance of such a sum as £500 being asked ? —I never heard of a country paper being asked to pay such a sum. 228. Were you asked to pay £300 in cash ? — Yes. 229. Did they say it would not be returned to you if you did not pay this £200 ?—They were willing to take a promissory note for the £200. 230. Did they say that when you paid the balance you would have the cables ?—Yes. 231. And you have got nothing back from them ?—No. 232. Not even a telegram ?—No. 233. Is it the fact that Mr. Knowles is personally interested in the Telegraph published at Napier ?—Yes. 234. The Chairman.] By taking news from other sources, have you put yourself within the copyright clauses of the Electric Lines Act—l mean by the news you have published in your paper ? Well, I will not press the question ; but I can form my own opinion. 235. Have you received any communication from the Press Association in regard to any news you have published which they allege was an infringement of their copyright ?—No ; I have not.

Tuesday, Bth September, 1896. E. W. Knowlbs examined. 1. The Chairman.] What are you, Mr. Knowles?—l am a newspaper-proprietor. 2. What paper do you own ?—The Daily Telegraph, Napier. 2a. Do you appear in that capacity before the Committee, or in any other ?—I would like rather to appear as chairman of the Press Association, to make a personal explanation, if I be allowed, as I have been personally referred to. 3. Are you a journalist by profession ?—I am not. 4. How long have you been connected with the Press of the colony ?—I suppose I might say that I have been connected with it since I became a shareholder in this company—if you mean individually. 5. I mean, actively connected with it? —Probably twenty-one or twenty-two years —probably sixteen or seventeen years as sole proprietor of a newspaper.