11

1.—12 a.

E.- i>. LEVIEN.j

9. What do you mean by "vegetation"? —The small pieces that come off the flax —little pieces as big as your finger-nail. 10. Do you use the water for any other purpose than the washing of flax? —Up till lately we had used nothing but the river-water for the cookhouse and for the stock to drink. 11. For how long did you use it?— For the last five years I have used it, and prior to that it was used. I think the mill has been running twenty-five years. 12. Did you ever hear of any trouble at all in the way of sickness or in any other way?— No, I have never known of any. The horses drink nothing else but the river-water. 13. Have you leased the bottom part of your property to anybody? —Yes; Mr. Slack has it. 14. Where does his stock get its water from?— The only water it can get is the Oroua River water. 15. And that is below your mill? —Yes, right below. 16. Below how many flax-mills? —Four or five. 17. His stock is drinking the water that has gone through these mills: does his stock suffer, do you know?—l have never heard of any trouble with it at all—in fact, he gave evidence in the case in Palmerston that he had never suffered any injury through his stock drinking the water. 18. What stock does he run?— Sheep, cattle, and horses. 19. You have never had typhoid or any sickness at your mill? —No. 20. Have you ever noticed any fish in the river?—l believe there has been an occasional trout in the river. 21. Have you seen any fish of any description?—l have seen one or two trout. In fact, we have caught flounders in the river occasionally, and eels are there in thousands. The Oroua. River down where we are is not a trout river at all. It is a silty river, and trout cannot live in it in consequence, apart from anything else. 22. Mr. Buick.] Is your mill the furthest up on the Oroua?—lt is the lowest down the river. 23. It was not at your mill that there was the typhoid fever case? —I have never had a case, to my knowledge. 24. You say you have used the river-water for cooking purposes ?- -Yes; but since this case came on I learned that the Feilding septic tank emptied into the river, and I have put up tanks for my cookhouse, and we drink, that water. 1 pump the river-water out simply for washing purposes in connection with the cookhouse. 25. You can get artesian water there, can you not, by sinking?—l think some of the farmers have artesian water. They have no trouble, I believe, in getting it. 26. Mr. Buxton.] If the law says that you shall not put this by-product into the river, then you say you cannot go on flax-milling?—-We shall have to shut up : that is the actual fact. You talk about running this stuff on to swamps, but we have not all got the swamps to run it on to. 27. You say that you are, by your methods now, doing the very best that can be done with it?—We cannot do any more. 28. If the law says that that is not sufficient and you are to do more, it means that you will have to stop flax-milling?—As soon as the injunction is issued we shall have to stop. lam quite satisfied that the effluent going into the river at the present time is not doing the slightest harm to anybody. ■ 29. You do not think it would kill the fish, then? —I am certain it would not kill fish. I have put down an eel-basket and pulled it up the next morning as full of eels as you could get it. 30. Below your mill?— Below and above. There are four or five mills above that again. Tennant's mill is within a mile of mine, and the horses always drink just below the mill —in fact, I have a contractor who is cleaning up a paddock for me; he has got six horses, which are quite strangers to the place; they go there three times a day and drink the water while the mill is running, and there is no ill effect at all. 31. Mr. Sykes.] It has been stated that from 100 to 180 gallons of water per minute is used at one of these mills That is approximately from 7,000 to 10,000 gallons an hour. How many tons of green flax, approximately, is put through in an hour ? —lt varies, of course. I should think, from 15 cvvt. to a ton. 32. And, approximately, how much of that is refuse and how much dressed flax?—l suppose one-eighth would be solid. 33. And the greater proportion of the refuse you prevent getting into the river?—lt is all caught, barring the vegetation and the dyed water. 34. The proportion of vegetation or colouring matter would be infinitesimal when compared with the volume of water ?—Yes. 35. Mr. Pearce,] With reference to your statement regarding Mr. Slack's stock, is it not a fact that there is plenty of water on the centre of the section without the stock going to the river? —No. There may be a little water there for a day when there is a bit of a flood or a lot of rain—that is all--36. You made the statement that you keep all fibre out of the river by means of two gratings and a man. Would you believe me if I said that I have stood and watched the man throw six or eight forkfuls over the grating to every one that he threw out?—lf you told me that I would tell you that you were telling an untruth. 37. Let me put it in this way : if you put a man there and do not watch him, and expect him 'to throw the stuff up 6 ft. or 7 ft., have you faith that he will not pop it 6 in. over the grating instead ?—You have overlooked the fact that most of these men who are doing this work are on contract, and every particle they save is so much the better for them. 38. The Chairman.] Put it in this way : do you agree that it is possible for your man to do that or not? You deny it? —Absolutely. As a matter of fact, my man was brought into Court