C—l 4

36

A. TBTLEY.

•17. You got a great deal of that ballast/—We got some, 1 suppose. \X. Will you give us some particulars of how you have been cultivating your property during the last three'years. Whal cropping did you do in 11107 after that II I? The place was leased, and wo did no'cropping. Personally I did no cropping. 49. How long has it been leased? —Three years and a half. 50. Just after the flood?— Yes, in 1907. 51. Have you provisions in your lease requiring the tenant to do any particular amount ol cropping?—The cropping is left entirelj at the discretion of the man who has the place. 52. Do you know when any fertilizer was last used on thai land/ I could not give you the date. . i.„w. ■ 53. Was it between one and ten years/ -Yes. I believe some was put on in 1900 in one particular place. 54. T/ie Chairman.] Which particular place?— Not where the Hoods were. It is a piece adjoining the road. 55. Is there much raised ground there/ - About 30 or 10 acres. 56. How long before was any fertilizer put upon any of the rest of Ihe land/ -There was none put on the rest of the land. 57. Mr. Mueller.] That part of the railway-line which was washed away -what was the ballasi coin],used of?— Coarse pumice sand. 58. And broken metal? —No. 59. The Chairman,] Is there any pumice sand on the line now/—lt is being reballasted with pumice sand. Richard Wellington Baonall examined. (No. 14.) 1. Mr. Mueller.] Your name is ilichard Wellington Bagnall, and you reside at Turua/—Yes. 2. You are a director of Bagnall Bros. (Limited)?— Yes. 3. And you arc Chairman of the Thames County Council? -Yes. I About 2,000 acres of land belonging to the firm is situated next lo the Netherton district, in the Ohinemuri County/--Yes; Kahikaputa is nearest to Netherton. There are several blocks. 5. Were these 2,000 acres Hooded by ihe water coming across from the Netherton district I Yes, swept right across. 0. Mr. Mitchelson.] Over the whole area/---Yes, down as far as Manuka. 7. Mr. Mueller.] When did that happen?—On the 15th January, 1907. 8. And subsequently? —We have not been flooded since that. 9. Did this flood deprive you of a good deal of feed for your stock I Yes : the cattle had to be taken off that land. 10. There is a creamery down there? —Yes. 11. You had a number of cattle that you milked for that creamery/ -They were not grazing on the portion that was flooded. 12 But there was stock on it?— Yes, and they had to be removed. 13. How long did it take for the water to recede during that flood?— Fully three weeks. 14. In addition to the loss of the feed, was your communication cut off ?—Entirely ; the road was flooded as well as the land. _ 15. Did you notice a white deposit of slimes on the vegetation ?—t v >uite perceptible in places. 10. What does that indicate, in your opinion?—lt had the same appearance' as the slimes from the mines. It was a fine powder, like whitewash. 17 Did that adhere to the grass/—Yes. or to any vegetation it came m contact with. 18.' Did you notice whether it washed off easily/- -1 did not try il, but it was visible for some time, even after the rain. _ • 19. I suppose you have some drains going into the river from your laml/- \es, a large number. , . 20 You had to clear those drains out?— They have to be cleared out every year. 21 Did you notice whether they are worse after a flood/- No, I could not say they are worse after a flood " but the deposit taken' out of those drains is quite soft ooze: and m the drains in that district gold-bearing substance has been found v I believe—in one place three-quarters ol a mile from the river. , . . 22. The Chairman.] How do you know/--That was told me by some one who examined them -that is, on the other side of the river. 23 Mr Mueller.] Did you have a stop-bank erected to try and prevent flooding/ We erected B stop-bank along our western boundary to prevent water coming over from the Netherton ' ' "il'. How much was expended on that work?— Over £200 was expended in making that bank. 25 When was that erected? —After the .January flood, 1907. 26. Mr. Mitchelson.] What height was it?— Over 2 ft. 27. Mr. Mueller.] Have you noticed the effect of that?—The land has not been flooded since, but whether it will be effective I could not saj . 28. The Chairman.] What length of fence?—l cuhl not exactly say. Roughly, between two 29. Mr. Mitchelson.] That prevented the water overflowing from the 1910 flood?—The flood h as not conic over us since then. . 30 It did not come over the riverside?—We arc never flooded from the river. 31. The Chairman.] Have you seen any milling ladings at different points m the river? What 1 believe to be mining tailings.