I.—:2a

II

PETITION. To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives of New Zealand in Parliament assembled. May it please your Honourable House, — Our humble petition showeth— (1) That in 1920 and again in 1921 the Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives recommended the immediate construction of a railway from Rotorua to Taupo. (2) That in 1920 the Taupo Tramways and Timber Commission unanimously found that ■" there is urgent necessity, in order to avoid great national waste, for an extension of the Rotorua Government railway to Waiotapu with as little delay as possible." (3) That in 1922 the Royal Commission on the Rotorua-Taupo Railway unanimously endorsed the above finding. (4) That in 1928 Parliament authorized the construction of the railway, as far as Reporoa, and voted the sum of £75,000 for the building of the first section. (5) That in pursuance of this authority a very large sum of money was spent on the said railway. (6) That if the work be not resumed without delay this expenditure will be wasted ; but far more serious is the fact that the development of the great Rotorua-Taupo district will be further delayed. We therefore pray your honourable House to order the immediate resumption of work on the said railway. And your petitioners will ever pray. Earle Vaile (and 88 others).

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS. Wednesday, 11th September, 1929. The Committee met pursuant to notice at 9.30 a.m. Present: Colonel McDonald (Chairman), Hon. Mr. Ransom, Mr. Makitanara, Mr. Kyle, Rev. Clyde Carr, Mr. Massey, Mr. Lye, Mr. Semple, Mr. Samuel, Mr. Jenkins. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Petition No. 74, Earle Vaile and Others. —On motion of the Hon. Mr. Ransom, it was resolved, That Committee reporters be engaged to take down the evidence, and that six additional copies of evidence be taken off for the use of the Committee. On motion of the Hon. Mr. Ransom, it was resolved, That the proceedings of the Committee be open to the press, and that the Chairman do report this resolution to the House. Resolved, That the first meeting in connection with this petition be on Tuesday, 17th September, at 10 o'clock. Tuesday, 17th September, 1929. The Committee met pursuant to notice at 10 o'clock. Present: Colonel McDonald (Chairman), Hon. Mr. Ransom, Mr. Makitanara, Mr. Kyle, Mr. Massey, Mr. Samuel, Mr. Lye. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. On motion of Mr. Kyle, it was resolved, That the action of the Chairman in increasing the number of copies of evidence to twelve be confirmed. Correspondence relative to this petition was taken as read. A letter was received from Mr. Dalziell, and the Clerk was instructed to reply that the Committee thanked him for his letter, and to inform him that it is not the duty of the Committee to call evidence on the petitions set down for hearing, but to hear any evidence placed before it by the petitioners. The following members of the House were present: Mr. Sykes, Mr. Young, Mr. Clinkard. Messrs. Barker and Hansen (Forestry Department) and Mr. P. G. Rousell (Railway Department) were present. The following petitioners were present, gave evidence, and were questioned by members of the Committee : Mr. Earle Vaile, farmer, Waiotapu ; Mr. H. A. Gaudie, forestry manager, Rotorua ; Mr. H. M. Martin, farmer, Ngongotaha ; Mr. W. J. Parsons, farmer, Guthrie ; Mr. F. C. Rollett, agricultural editor, Auckland Weekly News, Auckland. The Committee continued to sit until 1.5 p.m., and adjourned until 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 18th September, 1929. Wednesday, 18th September, 1929. The Committee met pursuant to notice at 9.30 a.m. Present: Colonel McDonald (Chairman), Hon. Mr. Ransom, Mr. Makitanara, Mr. Kyle, Mr. Massey, Mr. Lye, Mr. Semple, Mr. Samuel, Mr. Jenkins.