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723. How much was paid during the election—that is, how much was paid when accounts were settled—for drinks ?—About 10s. altogether. 724. Do you know Mr. Black, of Opotiki ? —Yes. 725. Did you incur any expenses at Opotiki ?—Yes. 726. Did you incur any expenses at Tauranga ?—Yes. 727. At any of these places did you pay any money before the election closed.?— No. 728. How many polling places are there? —Seven. 729. Well, at Tauranga: Did you ask people to drink there ?—I may have asked persons to have a drink—l never came into town without doing that—but not in special reference to the election. ?80. Were you at Maketu ? —I went down there before the election. 731. Electioneering ? —Yes. 7355. Who was your principal supporter there ? —There was nobody to support me there. We had to send a person from Tauranga. 733. Did you see any electors there ?—Three or four. 734. Is there a public-house there ? —Yes. 735. Did you shout there ?—No. 736. Did you spend anything there ?—I do not think so. 737. Were you at Opotiki ? —Yes ; I visited that place, and addressed the electors, and stayed there two or three days. 738. Did you shout for anybody ?—ln the same kind of way. 739. Mr. Black was a great supporter of yours ? —Yes. 740. AVas he assisting you in your election ?—Yes. He refused to have anything to do with me at first, because I would not bind myself to vote with Sir George Grey, but said I should please myself. But Mr. Black did not like Kelly, and when it came to choosing between two evils, he thought I was the lesser, and therefore he supported me. 741. Did you at this place ask any person, being an elector, to drink ?—I asked anybody to drink who happened to be near me. I never drink alone. 742. Who keeps the public-house at Opotiki ?—A man named Parkinson. 743. How much did you pay him ? —£2 or £3,1 suppose. 744. How much of that was paid for drink? —I cannot say. 745. Some of it was expended in drink ?—Yes. 746. Did you keep a kind of open house ? —No. If I went out for a walk with any one, I might have asked him to have a drink, but that was all. 747. Can you tell the Committee of any gentleman with whom you had a walk ?—Yes; I went out with Mr. Black. 748. He is an elector ?—Yes. 749. Did you treat him ?—Yes. 750. What is his Christian name ?—I do not know. He is an old fellow with one eye. 751. Can you remember any one else with whom you walked out ? —Yes ; I went out with a man named Cousins, a brewer. AYe had some drink at his brewery. ( 752. The treating was the other way this time? —That was usually the case ; if I treated a man, very likely he would treat me then. 753. You were at this place four times?— Yes. 754. On each occasion did this " shouting " take place ?—No ; on one occasion I only arrived late at night, and left early in the morning. I was merely passing through. 755. There was no opportunity for " shouting " ? —No. 756. Where were you next ?—At Gisborne. 757. How long were you there before the election ? —Three or four days. 758. What were you doing all that time ? —Knocking about amongst the electors ; and during the stay here I went to Ormond, and there addressed the electors. 759. Did you " shout " there ? —I do not think so. 760. You may have " shouted " ? —I may have done. If I wanted anything to drink I had it, and invited any one near to join me. 761. Did you do that as a matter of habit, or at election time only?—lt is a habit I have bad habit, I believe. 762. You " shouted "at Gisborne during the election?—l may have done. 763. You knocked about among the electors for the purpose of securing your election ?—Yes. 764. When you saw people you knew, you took them into a public-house"?— I may have done. I only know the old people. 765. Some of them were electors ? —Yes. 766. Did you see many persons ?—Yes.

Thursday, 17th August, 1876. Captain Morris re-examined. 767. Mr. Whitaker.] Yesterday, you had got as far as Gisborne. Now, I want to take you back to Tauranga. You were there three or four days before the election ? —No; I had arrived at Gisborne before the election. 768. How long before the election was it that you went to Tauranga ?—I suppose it was eight or nine days. 769. You went overland ? —Yes. 770. Prior to that, how long had you been a candidate ?—About a month. 771. How long had you been canvassing ?—About a month. I used to go down from my station 772. Where is your station ?—I live three or four miles from Tauranga. I used to come down occasionally to town and canvass,