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in the valleys of the Grey and Ahaura available for settlement. All along the line of route there are excellent farms, and I was informed by Mr. Galway, a surveyor stationed at Ahaura, that the country between that township and the Tutaeiuri, one of the branches of the Ahaura, some thirty miles up the river from the township, was all practically level and available for culture, and moreover that the ascent from the head waters of the Ahaura to the Hope Saddle would not present any serious engineering difficulties. The country from the Hope Saddle down to the Hanmer Plains is mountainous, and the valley itself is narrow, but nearly the whole, both to the north of the Hope and that intervening between it and the Hurunui River, is available and is used for sheep farms, Count De Lapasture and others having stations in that district on which there are considerable numbers of sheep. lam personally satisfied that a line of railway leading up the Hope and through the Ahaura into the basin of the Grey would open up a large area of excellent country, besides very great mineral resources, and more especially coal. During my last journey I went over the whole of the open coal mines at Brannerton, and I learned from the manager of the Brunner mine and others there that the mines would, even now, yield from 2,000 to 2,500 tons of coal per day, the only difficulty being the carriage to other parts of the colony. Owing to the long continuance of dry weather the bar at Hokitika was absolutely closed, and that of the Grey was somewhat shallowed. There were then several hundreds of truckloads of coal waiting export without shipping to carry it. Of course I am not prepared to say whether the expense of carrying coal by rail from the West Coast into Canterbury would prevent the West Coast coal from competing with that of Australia, or would enable the coal to be so carried as to compete with watercarriage ; but I am satisfied that the coal-mines alone on the Grey are of very great importance to the colony, and must lead to the settlement of a large population in the Grey Valley. The wages paid at the Brunner mine alone, with a present output of only 200 tons per day, is £700 a fortnight. The Westport Colliery Company contemplate raising 1,500 tons per day, and the wages will be in the same proportion as those paid at the Brunner mines. There appears, as far as one can judge in travelling over the line of route, to be no engineering difficulty whatever in constructing a railway from Greymouth to Reefton. I believe the line has been actually surveyed, but lam not in a position to say that such is the case. It seems to present no difficulties at all. There are level plateaux to be crossed, very similar to those found between Marton and Wanganui, with deep valleys between, but they appear to present no difficulty whatsoever. Tdo not say anything about the line from the Tophouse to Blenheim, because there is nothing but the ordinary descent of the river. The Waihopai and Branch Rivers, as well as the Wairau, would have to be bridged, but I presume that would offer no obstacle whatsoever. With respect to connection with Nelson, there is a pass within fifteen or sixteen miles of Nelson at a place called the Wairoa Eiver; it is called Ward's Pass. If that pass be practicable for the purposes of a railway —and Mr. Tertius Mackay wrote to me informing me that there was no.difficulty whatsoever—then the connection between Nelson and the line of railway through the Wairau Valley would bo established without the necessity of passing over the range which separates the valley of the Wai-iti from a part of the Motueka River. [Witness pointed out the locality on the map] There would be no difficulty, as lam informed, in connecting the Waimea Valley with the Wairau Valley by Ward's Pass, and at all events that line deserves examination, because, if practicable, it would shorten the route very much, and would save the construction of a line to the Tophouse across the high range lying between the Wai-iti and the Motueka Valleys, If a line be carried down the Buller Valley the connection between Nelson and the AV^est Coast would be established in that way. Personally I have always considered that the central line would be the most advantageous to the colony, in consequence of the possibility of connecting it with the country to the westward —a connection which is absolutely out of the question if the coast line be adopted, inasmuch as you have the physical obstacle of the Kaikoura Mountains and the rough districts between the Conway and the Waiau to overcome before you could attempt to reach any portion of the western country from that line. In point of fact the only argument in favour of the East Coast line is that it is somewhat shorter than the other. I have not the slightest personal interest in the question at issue. It is a matter in which the interests of the colony alone are concerned. I have had these alternative routes in my mind for many years. I suggested them in 1873 for the consideration of Mr. Henderson, who then con.templated the possibility of constructing the railways of the colony by private capital, and he, after a careful consideration of both routes, conceived that the central line, both from a commercial and political point of view, would be far more advantageous than the coast line. There is a large extent of country available between the Wairau River and Nelson. There are a great many available tracts of country in all the lateral valleys. On the eastern slopes of the range between Pelorus and the Wairau Township there is a considerable extent of rich and available land. All this land would be brought into connection with a line running up the valley of the Wairau, but to which any line passing into the Awatere would be of no use whatsoever. Indeed, there would seem to be no object whatever in any attempt to connect this district with the coast line, for the simple reason that it would lead to no market. 781. Mr. Fell.'] Have you been down the coast line ? —I have been through part of it beyond the Awatere, nearly as far as Flaxbourne. 782. Can you form any opinion of the extent of country that would be served by the coast line ?— There is a considerable area of land in the Flaxbourne country. The Awatere Valley is absolutely impracticable. They have been unable to make a dray road more than a couple of miles beyond Mr. McCrea's station. The country there is exposed to extremely violent winds. Until you get into Flaxbourne, the intervening country is useless for anything except pasturage. In sheltered spots you could have gardens, and no doubt fruit trees would grow very well. It is good soil. There is a considerable quantity of lime in the soil, and I have no doubt it would yield excellent grass, but it did not strike me as being a country likely to be I believe there is a large area of good land around Grassmere, but, after crossing the river at Flaxbourne, I cannot conceive that there can be anything in the slopes of the Kaikoura Mountains. The area of level land must necessarily be exceedingly small. No part of it has been laid out by the Marlborough Government as land for cultivation. The small area which has been acquired by runholders, between there and Kaikoura, is either alongside the crossings of the rivers or close to the sea coast. The rest of it must be exceedingly abrupt. I have been very close to