D.—2

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could go into the Kaikoura Harbour are vessels like the " Tui," and they could not always get in there. It is a little beach harbour. 117. Is it improvable ?—They have improved it very much. 118. By means of more engineering outlay could it be improvable ?—Not to any extent for large vessels. 119. How many hours would it take a 12-knofc steamer to go from Wellington to Kaikoura ?— About seven hours and a half; but allow me to say that large steamers would never get in there at any time. 120. Never at any future time ?—No ; never at any future time, unless the harbour was made much different from what it is. 121. Supposing you had a railway between Kaikoura Township and Christchurch, how long would it take to make the journey, reckoning fifteen miles an hour? —It would take nine hours and a quarter. 122. That would be about seventeen hours by that route to Wellington ? —Tes. 123. And therefore you think there could be no advantage at all in having a railway along the East Coast?—As far as saving of time goes it would be of no advantage. 124. Do you know anything about Cape Campbell ?—Tes. 125. Is there anchorage there?—lt is simply an anchorage where, when a north-wester is blowing, vessels may take refuge under the lee of Cape Campbell. There is no harbour. 126. Is there any landing there ? —No; but there is a very fair landing at Maxbourne. 127. In ordinary weather could passengers land there ?—Yes. 128. Could they land in southerly weather?—No ; but in moderate westerly weather they could land. 129. In south-westers could they land at Cape Campbell?—l think not. There is no good harbour from Lyttelton to Cape Campbell, except the small harbour at Kaikoura, which is only fit for vessels of the tonnage of the " Tui." 130. Mr. Fulton.] Have you made any estimate of what would be the probable number of passengers, and what would be the amount of freight, by going the central route ?—I have not made an estimate. I have got, of course, my own opinion. There is one thing with regard to the central route : everything that is produced there would go by the central route. There is no sea to compete with anything produced on the central route. 131. How much wool would be delivered by that route ?—Prom the carrying capacity of the country, and the present stock on it, there would be 5,000,000 lb. of wool produced between Waipara and Kenwick. 132. What proportion of that would be between Waipara and the Red Post ?—About one-third. 133. How many miles of country would the Central railway go through that would not be occupied except for pastoral purposes ? —I do not think that any of the country between Hanmer Plains and Hillersden can be occupied in any degree for any other purpose than pastoral purposes. 134. Then of course it follows from that that the population of that portion of the country is not likely to increase ?—Yes ; quite so. Ido not think it will ever increase very much. I have no doubt that cultivation could be carried on in some of the valleys. I have heard of people growing grapes and good fruit there. Still it is a pastoral country. 135. Supposing the central route be adopted, would there be any economic advantage in carrying the railway further than Hanmer Plains ? —Yes ; 1 think you would always have a certain amount of traffic that way. You would have a far better traffic inland than you would by the coast. Ido not think you would have any people going by the coast. 136. Although the time occupied would be so much greater ? —The time would be a couple of hours more, but you would connect more settlement. 137. For how long and how deep have you seen the snow lie on the Central route? —During the snow storm of 1867 the fall of snow was three feet and a half in the whole of the Amuri and in the Clarence. That was on the level country, but there were snow drifts much deeper than that. 138. How long did the snow lie there ? —Por about a month. I had 30,000 sheep, and I lost 4,000 of them during that storm. Most of the losses were near my own house, 500 feet above the sea. Of the flock of sheep I had in the Clarence I do not think I lost 400 during that storm. 139. Have you any experience of the snow-fall in the Acheron Valley ? —I have travelled in that valley in all seasons of the year, and the snow never stopped me. The deepest snow I travelled through there was about eighteen inches deep. 140. Is it liable to heavy drifts ? —Yes ; all that country is liable to heavy drifts. 141. Going from the Hanmer Plains towards Christchureh, is not the land almost entirely in the hands of large proprietors ?—Yes, I think it is. 142. Are these persons prepared to part with their land at all for the purpose of settlement?— Yes. 143. Have any of them made any efforts in this direction ?—Yes. 144. What have they done? —I will take myself as one of them. I had the whole of my land surveyed under the Land Transfer Act, and I cut it up into small pieces for the purpose of sale and for agricultural purposes. 145. Did you put it into the market ? —I had it all in the market. 146. Have you sold any of it? —!So ; I did not care to sell unless I could sell the whole of it. 147. Is it in the market now ?—Yes; it is in the market now for the purpose of settlement. 148. Have any of your neighbours done the same thing ?—Yes; Messrs. Wilkin and Davidson are willing to cut up their land into small sections. 149. Is that land in the market now ? —I think it is. 150. Can you give us any idea of the price at which it is in the market ? Is there a reserve price upon it ?—Yes ; but it is not very much. Some of the land near Eotherham was lately sold for about £5 an acre, as it is very good land. 151. Have these sales increased the population much in that district ? —There is a considerable