1.—9.

J. A. GRIGG.]

85. Can you give us any idea of the tax imposed upon you, in money-value, by the custom you have been speaking of I —lt is some time since I made it up, but when I ran it out a few years ago it amounted to from £300 to £350 a year; about £100 now—rather over than under. I do not mention it on account of the money it costs. That is not the cause of the annoyance altogether, but I do not see why anybody should be able to demand food and accommodation for nothing. They all get food the same as the other men, the only difference being that they have to come in after the other men have finished. They may say, if this Bill passes, that they do not get proper accommodation, and may bring one before the Arbitration Court. It is not the good men who make the trouble. 86. Hon. Mr. Millar.] Your farm is supposed to be a model farm right through, is it not? — I do not know that—only so far as cultivation goes, perhaps. 87. It is generally looked upon as the show farm of the colony, and visitors are taken down to see it; so it is reasonable to assume you do give better accommodation than others, even in the huts on wheels?— There may be exceptions. I am certain that on the homesteads they can get all the accommodation they like. 88. Then, if this Bill were made to apply to the homesteads, and not to camp-work, a large part of your objection would be removed? —It would. 89. You do not want the sundowner to be able to demand a certain amount of accommodation if he comes ?—That is so. 90. So far as your regular farm hands are concerned, I understand you to say that you believe they ought to have reasonable accommodation ?—That is so. 91. Of course, shearers are transitory, and there, is reasonable accommodation provided for them now ?—Yes. 92. Mr. Poole.] Have you had any complaints from men in the whares about the limited accommodation ?—No, not to my knowledge. 93. They have been perfectly satisfied?— Yes. Once I put some men round a press where I store bales, and there was some objection to that, but it was either that or tents. 94. Have you ever had any trouble with men of bad or unclean habits? If so, have you had any difficulty in managing them on the farm? —There is that objection. The best men, of course,, keep their rooms clean, but some do not. Some years ago my father provided six or eight basins, with plugs, and water laid on, but some of the men broke the taps, pulled out the plugs, and the whole thing is lying there to-day useless. I asked one of the men about it, and he said they would rather take the water up to their bedrooms. It is not always in the master's hands to look after these things. 95. Can you account for the filthy habits of some men?—l cannot. 96. Keferring to the sundowners, do you find this section of the community increasing?—lt was a tremendous tax some time ago, but it is really decreasing. I think the co-operative works and railways took a number of them. 97. Mr. Bollard.] I understood you to say that so far as the ordinary accommodation is concerned for regular hands you do not object to the provisions of the Bill ?—I do not. 98. What you object to is that yoa should be called upon to make provision for swaggers and sundowners I —Yes. 99. The You spoke in the first place of the large floating population continually coming about and asking for work they did not want, and taking the first opportunity to slink away from it? —I do not say that is universal. 100. Later on you spoke of the co-operative works and railways absorbing a large number of the floating population, but on the co-operative works and railways the men must work?— Yes, that is so. I have no definite proof except that I have heard from time to time from men who have been working on the railways. 101. You have noticed a decrease since the co-operative works were first started? —Yes. 102. Does that leave the worst-disposed people floating about, or have they decreased? —It leaves a good many of them still. 103. Would there be any advantage, do you think, in establishing small settlements in which men in the neighbourhood of large farms or estates could live—to make a small hamlet, perhaps t Do you think that would lead to the settling of the population ?—Yes. My father, when he bought Longbeach, did cut up a small hamlet, and sold men a small area, and advanced money to build cottages, as well as building many himself. Certain settlers told him he would ruin himself, but he said these men would be permanent there. I have men who have been twenty-eight and thirty years there. There is one who has been thirty-one years there and has reared a family of twelve. Another has been there twenty-eight years and has a family of six. Four of our men bought land for themselves just a short time ago. Some of these men have told me they have saved as much as £50 a year. It has been mainly due to their father and mother growing vegetables and keeping a cow or pigs, and these sons have been able to save the money they earned themselves. My father's idea was to give the men an opportunity to save money and work up from the bottom. 104. You claim that it was a success?— Yes. Ido not think it will be so in future. There will be no farms large enough to employ that sort of labour all the year round. 105. I do not mean necessarily one estate, but if the hamlet were situated near a number of farms?— The principle is absolutely good. 106. Was there any school accommodation near your estate?— Yes, mostly from a mile to a mile and a half, with from forty to sixty of an attendance. 107. You think that might be imitated by the Government?—l think there is nothing that will keep people in the country so well as these little homes where families can be reared. 108. And you can always rely on the men?— Yes. Of the families settled on the place thirtyfi>e have children. There were 175 children about three years ago.

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