I.—sb.

30

[E. B. fiOLTON.

42. You were given notice at the close of your year? —One thing I knew about it was this: when my rent demand notice came in for the other section the demand note for this particular section was not sent with it. That was in December. On the 4th January I received notice from the Land Board that they had cancelled by lease on the 31st December, and that they would grant me instead a half-chain road across the middle of this section. 43. Are you still occupying the section? —1 am still using it. 44. So that you have really got ten months' extension of the period, without any rent being asked? —That is so. 45. Will this road through the section be as suitable-for you to get on to your hilltop as the previous way of getting to the back portion of your section? —Oh, dear, no, not the way they have told me it is to go. It goes up the very worst part of the section. 46. You would like the road in some other part where the grade is easier? —Yes. 47. Have you represented that to the Land Board ?—I asked them to put it in some other place, but they said No. 48. Mr. R. II". Smith.] Would you like to obtain this land? —Yes; it is very important to me. 49. If it had been put up to auction you would have bid for it?— Yes. 50. What do you think it is worth to an outsider?—lt is not worth anything to anybody for the purpose of getting a living. 51. What is it worth at all?—It is so useful to me that 1 would give what anybody else would give. 52. What would you give?— The reserve price is £12 an acre. When that come out I saw the local manager of Dalgety's and he said, "You go and buy it; it is no good to anybody else; and you can draw on us for the money." 53. You consider that it will only carry a sheep to the acre? —Yes. 54. And how many acres are there in it?—B£ acres. 55. Do you forget that earlier in your evidence you told us that you could carry between twenty-five and thirty extra ewes if you had it?— Yes, but that is with working this land in with my own. You would not keep them on the 8 \ acres all the year round. It is done by shifting them about and using this land in conjunction -with the rest. We have ploughed this land a good many times and had turnips and rape, and so on. It is down in grass now. A lot of the rest of the section is in its native state. By shutting this little patch up and getting the feed on it to come on we can put perhaps thirty or forty sheep on it for a month, and then turn them off again. It is using it in connection with the rest of the land that enables me to keep about thirty extra sheep. 56. So thtit with this extra land you can keep thirty extra sheep?— Yes. 57. Did you understand when you took up the section originally that the Board only had to give you certain notice: did you understand that the Board could terminate the lease?—l was told by the Ranger when I took it up. I asked for a lease in perpetuity of it, because that was the common lease in those days, and he said, " No; this is reserved for the future development of the Port Robinson landing-service, and if it is required for that purpose you will have to give it up; but if it is not required for that purpose you will never be interfered with." That was how it stood then. 58. I understood you to say that you were led to believe that it had been decided to let the section secretly on renewable lease : was that so ?—Yes; that is, put it through quietly and keep it secret. 59. Do you not know that where land is being dealt with in this way, unless it is being sold to the adjoining owner, it must be submitted for competition—that is to say, the information you got was quite wrong —it must be advertised?—Oh, yes, it must be advertised. 60. How- could they put it through secretly if they were going to advertise the section?—l do not know; but there was another little bit of land of 2J acres called the Lime-kilns Reserve: that was put up and it was never advertised. 1 was told at the time that that would be advertised and that I would "get notice when it was going to be put up. I made application for that section, and a man named Ashworth made application for it. I watched the papers, thinking that it would be advertised in some way or other, but it never was advertised. The first that I heard about it was that a letter came to say, " The matter was before the Board on such and such a day, and as you own land and Mr. Ashworth does not we have granted the section to Mr. Ashworth." Mr. Brodrick was Commissioner then. 61. What tenure was that limestone reserve let on?—I never could find out. I guess that it is a seven- or ten-years arrangement. 62. You would have liked that piece of land in addition to this and the other place you have too? —I had it at one time: it was all included in my first lease: then they pegged it off as a limestone reserve and gave me this fresh lease. It reduced the area from 10 acres 1 rood to 8£ acres. 63. If you could have got it you would have liked it as well as this other? —Yes. 64. Hon. Mr. Mftssey.] How long ago is it since they did that? —Eight years perhaps. 65. You are quite clear on the point that it was not advertised?— Quite certain. I searched the papers and never saw any advertisement. 66. That made you somewhat suspicious that this other piece would be disposed of in some other way? —Yes. 67. Mr. R. W. Smith.] You do not know what tenure that was let on J—No. I guessed that he has it for seven or ten years. 68. Mr. Statham.] When the Land Board offered to give you the right-of-way, did they make stipulations about fencing?— No. It was just mentioned casually, I think, that it would be