G.—2.

20

[C. ANDBEWS.

Hawera, Saturday, 11th May, 1912. Chaklbs Andrews sworn and examined. (No. 1.) 1. Mr. Welsh.] You are a farmer, and lire at Okato? —Yes. 2. You are a lessee under the Act of 1881 ?—Yes. 3. Section 2, Block 11, Cape Survey District?— Yes. 4. Your acreage is 127 acres?— Yes. 5. And your rent is ss. an acre? —Yes. 6. When did you get possession of your land? —In 1883, I think. 7. Had you been a farmer before then? —No, a tradesman. 8. What inquiries did you make regarding the lease that was offered? —I heard that this section was open for selection, and I got my brother-in-law, a farmer, to inspect it, and also saw Mr. Rennell, the Reserves Agent at the time at New Plymouth. 9. Did you make inquiries from him as to the terms on which the lease was being offered? —Yes. 10. And what were you informed? —I was told the rent was ss! an acre. 11. By Mr. Rennell ? —Yes, ss. an acre, based on the" unimproved value, a lease for thirty years, payment for all improvements at the end of the term, and that the section would then be put up either to public tender or public auction, I am not sure which, and that I would have a chance to bid. 12. The section was to be put up for sale? —At the unimproved value, 13. You mean the lease of the section, not the land itself? —Yes, the unimproved value. 14. You got your lease? —I told him at the time, after consulting with my friend Mr. Dingle, that I would take the section, and he was to prepare the lease accordingly. 15. Mr. Kerr.] Did you bid or tender?—No; this section had been open for selection for twelve months, and it had not been taken up. We considered that the price asked was too high. I think the principle was that after a year if there were no tenders it was open for selection by any person who came along. Mr. Zacariah: It is open immediately the tenders close at the upset. Witness: I might state that I asked Mr. Rennell to reduce the rent, and he said he could not do so without calling for public tenders again. 16. Mr. Kerr.] And you got the lease at the upset?—-Yes. 17. Mr. Welsh.] Did you take possession of the land before you got your lease? —Yes. 18. How long were you in possession prior to receiving your lease? —From two to three months. 19. Then you received your lease?— Yes. 20. What did you do with it? —Well, I had a look through it, and I was not satisfied with it. I thought it was not altogether what Mr. Rennell had represented, and I showed it to my brother-in-law. 21. How were you dissatisfied? —It said nothing about —well, I could not say just now exactly how the lease was worded, but it was not worded as it had been represented to me by Mr. Rennell. 22. In what respect?— That it did not say anything about being paid for all improvements. 23. And what did you do?—I simply did nothing, because I could not. I had spent £200 or £300 on the place, and I thought it was no good saying anything about it. I had built my house at that time. 24. Speaking from memory, can you say what your lease did say at that time? —No, I could not, because I have not seen it since. 25. Well, it said that at the end of the lease your buildings, fixtures, and fences were substantial improvements under the regulations, and should be valued, and that you should be paid for all those by the incoming tenant. Do you remember that? —Yes, I think I can remember that —that was about what it was. 26. That was not what you understood when you took the lease?— No. 27. But you had spent £200 or so, and you determined to go ahead?— Yes. 28. Now, what was the nature of the work done by you upon the land from the time you took possession? —Well, there was something like 30 or 40 acres of furze, and I commenced to clear that up. I worked on the farm all I could. ~ 29. I want you to tell the Commission the condition of the land when you took possession : was it bush land? —It was fair open land, with furze, tutu, and fern. There were about 40 acres of furze, and the rest of the land was tutu and fern. 30. I suppose we can take it generally that you commenced to clear the land ? —Yes. 31. Did you live on it? —Yes. 32. What buildings did you put vp —to what value? —The house cost me about £130, and there was"a small dairy, and small buildings such as piggeries, &c. 33. And you worked at the clearing?— Yes, part of the time at clearing. 34. And the rest of the time? —At other work. 35. Farming the land generally? —Yes. 36. Were you able to pay your rent from the beginning?— Not always. 37. Was any reduction made to you? —Yes. 38. Tell the Commissioners shortly the manner in which the reduction was made : how came it about that they reduced your rent?— Well, times were bad, and the land was not paying expenses. I had to go out to work to keep the land. 39. What work? —Road-making and bushfelling, and different things. Several times I had to borrow money to meet my rent. Of course, I must say that the Public Trust Office was very good to us; they did not push us; but when the time came I often had to borrow money to pay my rent.