H.—7

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755. But you do say that the clay is not able to bear the weight of the superstructure. Now, do you know, as a matter of fact, that the slightest portion of the whole building is where the slip has occurred ?—I did not measure the whole building. 756. Mr. Laivson.] You spoke of the contract plans in connection with these measurements. Did anybody ever toll you, when taking these measurements, that the whole of the site of this building has been changed from the time that the contract has been signed ?—I know that from the drawings. 757. Did you suppose that everything remained exactly as has been shown here on the plan, although that change has taken place ? Did they tell you so ?—I can see that an alteration has been made. 758. I should just like to ask if that plan there is a basement plan. I suppose that you know something about the meaning of a drawing when you see one. You see these black lines dotted on that plan. You see what is now the middle wall filled down to the full depth '?—Yes. 759. How would you read these dotted walls being all along the back ? What did you understand by that ? —I do not know what was meant by it. 760. I want to know what you understood by all these dotted lines here, from that [indicating on the plan] backwards to what is now the central wall, including the cross ones ?— [No answer.] 761. If I were to tell you that it was intended when the plan was first drawn that the wall, or, rather, all the dotted portions of it, should not go down to the same level as is shown in the general plan, would you say that that is a reasonable thing ? —As I told you before, I do not know what you meant by that; and it has puzzled others as well as myself. 762. Perhaps you do not know much about a plan?— Not of that sort. 763. This is the front elevation, and this the back [indicating on the plan]. You see dotted lines in the front and all along; also two dotted lines underneath. What would you take these two dotted lines to mean ?—To mean the foundations of the front wall. 764. The same rule will apply to the back wall, does it not ?—By-the-by, those dotted lines are not drawn on the elevation. 765. If you understand that these lines show the lines of the foundations, then, of course, it follows that these black lines, drawn in the same manner, also show foundations?— Yes. 766. There you see the back wall —the back elevation —and there is the dotted line. How deep is that ? —Why do you not make all the drawings agree? This scale is 4ft., and that place is only drawn 2ft. 767. If you have a plan with the elevations coinciding and showing these dotted lines, that shows, does it not, that the wall is not intended to go down to the full depth ?—lt is shown on the section distinctly. 768. That is a different thing. That ground is very irregular. This might be meant to show that wherever there is a dip in the ground the wall, of course, 769. It is not necessary if you dip like that. There is the transverse section-line ; and that is the cross-section longitudinally [indicating on plan] ?—There was excavation all along the building at the back. 770. That is a section where there has been a great deal of filling. That is the meaning of that. The fact of the matter is that we are 5 chains away from there. You cannot take that as a criterion to measure by ? —But that is all you have got to measure by. 771. But, as a matter of fact, that does not exist at all. Yet you have taken it as a criterion to measure by. We are all groping in the dark. The Chairman: Mr. Hay apparently looks on the contract drawing as the only drawing by which the contractor is bound. Mr. Blair: As you will see here, it goes down to the depth all the way now. The Chairman : That section shows it, certainly. Mr. Laivson: That does not exist now. 772. Mr. Gore.] There is one question which I should like to put to the witness through you, Mr. Chairman. Does Mr. Hay know the ground at Seacliff, more especially the clay and soil ? Does he know if it is full of lime ?—I have never analysed it. 773. Has it not come under your notice that the reservoir we put in in the bush was no good at first—that it leaked at first ? —I believe it has since. 774. As a matter of fact—and you may take my word for it—the water is full of lime. I will put this question to you: Suppose that this ground at the back is exceedingly porous—that it is full of lime and magnesia—and that the ground got saturated with that water, would it not have a tendency to push that wall forward ? —No. 775. Did you never hear of an instance of the kind?— There is not sufficient earth behind the wall to push it forward. 776. Do you know Mr. Walter Guthrie's house in Walker Street ?—I do not. 777. Then you do not think that the weight of earth behind that wall, even though the water has percolated through the earth, would have a tendency to push that wall forw'ard?—Decidedly not. 778. That is your firm opinion ?—lt is. Mr. Blair intimated that that was all the evidence he had to call until after the arrival of Mr. Brindley; and he should reserve the bringing of further evidence until after Mr. Gore and Mr. Lawson had concluded their case.

Tuesday, 14th Febeuaby, 1888. Mr. Lawson.: I may as well at this stage raise the question about the presence of Mr. Brindley, and I request that this should be taken a note of. We previously did not know what the scope