a contract, and before it was signed, some omission was discovered, and a difference of opinion occurred between him and the Eesident Agent how it should he dealt with. To trumpery complaints of this kind we have had to listen at great length, and, however briefly we may state them, they will still, we fear, seem tedious. Complaint No. 6.—" Timber—s,ooo feet—was supplied from Hokitika which complainant could have cut, and offered to cut, at the settlement." The offer alleged to have been made is not proved with any degree of clearness. Mr. Macfarlane says he has no recollection of it, and that he was obliged to get the timber at Hokitika, although he had a standing offer of 15s. per 100 feet to any one who would deliver it on the river-bank. We believe that Mr. Macfarlane 8 desire would have been to obtain the timber at the settlement if he could have done it; his interest, as well as his disposition, pointed in this direction. It appears also that Murdoch did get employment in sawing timber. Complaint No. 7. —" False reports were made to the Government by the Eesident Agent as to cash being plentiful in settlement." It has not been shown that the Eesident Agent ever made such reports, nor what object he could have in so doing. It appears, however, that Mr. Murdoch intended to refer to a letter from Mr. Patten to the Under Secretary for Immigration, dated 29th April, 1878, in which he stated that Mr. Marks kept supplies of cash. Complaint No. B. —" Difficulty in getting orders cashed, and orders were given for different amounts from those due for earnings on public works. Different cheque given from that in the number of the voucher." With respect to the first part of this complaint, Mr. Patten, in his evidence, explains that sometimes orders from the settlement could not be met by him because the expected remittance from Wellington had not arrived. Some delay may easily be accounted for by the circumstance that a new Ministry entered upon office at a time when the accounts of the settlement had become rather complicated, when the store was about to be transferred to private hands, and when the Government had to determine what course to pursue with the settlement. The other part of the complaint is perfectly frivolous, and, if Mr. Murdoch, instead of making a note of it for future use, had taken the trouble to inquire, he would have learned that it was sometimes very convenient to " split " a payment into two or three parts, and give a cheque for each ; and that it might even happen that a cheque drawn for one man might be given to another by way of change, and thus the cheque in a man's possession might not agree with the voucher ho had signed. Complaint No. 9. —" Complainant took contract for £8, and out of the amount £2 was stopped for boating. The men to whom this amount was due afterwards signed day-labour vouchers for the £2." This comes under the charge made in the 4th clause of the petition, and our remarks there made will apply to it. No proof has been given of what documents were signed, and the possibility of such a practice is denied in evidence by Mr. Patten, who audited the accounts ; and, after the thorough sifting and explanation of Bcveridge's case, already detailed, it would be waste of time to entertain a similar charge, unless positive evidence were first produced. Complaint No. 10.—" Mr. Macfarlane repudiated agreement as to payment of £2 10s. due complainant from settlers." This is very frivolous even for Mr. Murdoch. It was no part of Mr. Macfarlane's duty to collect his debts, and, as a matter of fact, he got his money. Complaint No. 11.—" Complainant sold Mr. Macfarlane some grass seed. Mr. Macfarlane sold it to settlers, and refused to collect the money due for it from settlers." This is a similar complaint to the last, except that the money was due for grass seed instead of mutton. It appears that Mr. Macfarlane sold the seed at too high a price ; but Mr. Murdoch got his money, and we do not quite understand what more he wanted. Complaint No. 12. —"A house was forcibly taken from a settler—Courtney." Murdoch seems to have bought Courtney out. The only information we were able to get about it is that Courtney, never intending to be a bond fide settler, persisted in building on a reserve, against the instructions of the Eesident Agent, who afterwards bought the hut for a Government stable, and holds Courtney's receipt for his share of the purchase-money. Complaint No. 13. —" Men were dismissed from the saw-mill for signing the petition." At the time in question Mr. Macfarlane was legally manager of the saw-mill company, which has nothing to do with the Government or the Eesident Agent. A new lease was about to be given, aud it was a matter of necessity, independently of any petition, to terminate by fourteen days' notice the engagement then existing with the workmen whose dismissal is complained of. These men had signed the petition, and some of them had a principal hand in it. It is not to be supposed that their doing so was any recommendation of them in Mr. Macfarlane's eyes, and much favour could scarcely be expected from him by men who were equally ready to accuse him of forgery and embezzlement, and to withdraw such charges on condition of getting as much work as might suit them. Mr. Macfarlane seems to have spoken and written on the matter without much reserve to Mr. Amos Nicholson, manager of the mill, who was at that time, to all appearances, his friend, and might have been expected not to repeat his confidential remarks and produce his confidential letters. But whatever Mr. Macfarlane may have said or written, he was under a necessity of dismissing the men, and the management then passed out of his hands. Complaint No. 14.—" An arrangement as to collecting money for butchers' accounts made by Mr. Macfarlane with complainant was afterwards repudiated by Mr. Macfarlane ; also another arrangement as to purchase of cow by ' Max.' " The first part of this relates to the supply of meat, upon which we have no more to say. Tho second part is similar to statements 10 and 11. Mr. Murdoch got his money, but it would appear that money is not money to him unless every farthing of it is collected by Mr. Macfarlane. Complaint No. 15. —" A settler named Jacques bought flour from complainant for £3 10s. ;he was then refused work by the Eesident Agent in consequence." 2—H. 9.

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