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H. HUNT

17. You appreciate the fact that if you are committing a nuisance you are prepared to pay for the damage? You. are prepared to do your best to work the drainage of your factory so as not to be a nuisance to anybody ? —Yes, we are doing that at the present time. . We are practically working under those conditions at the present time. 18. All that you support this Bill for is that you do not want anybody who may be antagonistic to you to get an injunction against youl —That is so. 19. Have you tried to dispose of the drainage of your factory by means of what might be called a sewerage farm —that is, letting the whole of your drainage go over a certain area of land and soak away?—No, we have not tried that. We have often thought about it, but the nature of our soil has always, we have considered, been against such a remedy being possible. 20. That is, your land is a heavy clay land ? —Yes. 21. And the water would never soak away? —No. 22. So that really there is no method of dealing with drainage but the method you are employing?— That is so, so far as we can find. 23. Have you noticed, from the drain going through your property, any ill effects on the stock ?—None. 24. They use that water for drinking purposes?— They can use it. They have used it. 25. And you have had no ill effects? —None whatever. 26. Mr. Sykes.] Is the drain that you speak of used solely for the purpose of conveying the refuse-water through your paddocks, or is it a drain that is used for. the purpose of draining your land ?—lt is used for the purpose of draining the land as well. 27. Therefore there is other water in it? —Yes, artesian water running into the drain. 28. Yet you are really led to believe that if you farmers were not interested in this factory you would have objection raised occasionally to the smell?— Yes; I have not the least hesitation in saying that if a sheep-farmer bought my farm he would immediately take steps to stop the drainage going through. If the sheep got in, the wool would be rendered practically useless. 29. Is there a noisome smell emanating from the drain during summer-time? —Yes. It is not quite so bad now since we have made every attempt to prevent the solid matter going down; but there is a smell. 30. This is the only available means you have of draining away the refuse-water ?—Yes. 31. Mr. Baldwin.] You, as a matter of fact, have taken every precaution to prevent this water being rendered unfit for use? —We have attempted to do that. 32. Everything the Public Health Department suggested to you you have attempted to carry out?—As far as I remember, when we had the Public Health Officer there he told us there was only one remedy, and that was that if there was a complete drainage system from the town by which the nightsoil could be put into the tank it might work. 33. Apart from that, you have taken every step that you have been advised to take to render this effluent harmless? —Yes. 34. You think that is a right and proper nosition to take up with regard to the people into whose water you drain—that they are entitled to ask that you should take every precaution ? —Yes. 35. The Chairman.] You say that your refuse goes first into a pipe?— Yes. 36. What distance? —44 chains, I think, is the distance of the pipe-line. 37. What sort of piping is it?— They are ordinary glazed drain-pipes. 38. How long have you been using this pipe?—We have been using the present one about four years. 39. Is there much fall? —No, not much. 40. Have you had any trouble through the pipes blocking?— Yes, formerly we did. This is the second pipe drain we have had. The first one we had considerable trouble with, but this being a new pipe drain we have not had so much trouble with it. It has been better constructed, it has not had the same time to block up, and we have endeavoured to prevent the solid matter going into it. 41. Supposing you had several open drains leading away from the factory, and you used them alternately for two or three or four or five days, as the case might be, and at a given distance all these drains converged into the channel that takes your drainage away now : do you think that would be any improvement? —I do not think it could possibly be, situated as we are, for the simple reason that we are right in the town, and the soil is of such a clayey nature. It would dejjend on how far apart you put those drains. The action of the drainage through those drains would have the effect of undermining, and they would fall in together. Anjdiow, we could not provide the land to put in a system of drainage like that. We could not leave them open on account of people and stock falling in. 42. At a factory in Featherston, taking the milk from seven hundred cows, they have two open drains, half a mile long, leading to a creek. These two drains are used alternately, one being allowed to dry and sweeten while the other is in use; and there is no smell that anybody has ever taken notice of. Do you think you could apply such a system as that to your conditions? ■ —No, I do not. 43. Where do you find the greatest amount of nuisance in your' one drain —close to the factory, or at what distance? —At the end of the pipe drain. 44. Proceeding along, does the nuisance abate altogether?— Some distance down, 45. What distance? —Perhaps a mile. 46. Then there is no nuisance after that?— Nothing to hurt any one. But in our case a system of drainage like that would be impossible, because the pipe enters a drain that goes through a reclaimed swamp full of timber, and it would be a hard matter to duplicate that drain. 47. On account of there being so much timber?— Yes.