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199. Was there a departure from the original plan ?—The plan was originally made by Sir John Coode. In some part of his report he mentions that the width of the entrance was subject to alteration; and the width of the entrance was ultimately altered from 400 ft. to 450 ft. That was done by authority of the Marine Department, as provided by law. 200. So that from the commencement to the present time one plan has been adhered to ?— Yes, with the above exception. 201. In what state was the railway when you took charge?—lt was finished. 202. Do you know the date at which the railway commenced to carry coal? —It was opened, I think, in 1876. 203. Have you any return of the amount of rolling-stock available for coal-carrying purposes? —I do not know more than is in the Working Eailways returns. 204. Have you anything to do with the Eailway Commissioners?— No. I think you can get that information from Mr. Stone. . . 205. Have any works been done on the railways during your time, under your supervision during the last ten years ?—The erection of wharf and hydraulic machinery has been done in my time, "and, as it is not usual to keep an engineer here for Working Eailways, anything that does not come within the scope of the manager's functions my services are usually obtained for it. 206. Have there been any breakdowns or accidents on the railway during this time ?—Not that I recollect. At any rate,'there have been no serious stoppages. 207. You have not "been called upon to repair any serious damage?— No. 208. Do you know of any reason why accommodation should be refused by the railway to coal companies ?—No ; but I should not necessarily know these things. 209. Can you say what accommodation there is at the wharf, both as to length of berthage and depth of water ?—The berthage is as follows : For the lower 800 ft. of the wharf the depth is 15ft. at low water, spring-tides; the middle 650 ft. is 12ft. at low water, spring-tides; and the upper 450 ft. is 10ft. at low water, spring-tides. That is a total length of 1,900 ft. 210. Mr. Brown.] What is that intended to provide for?— The lower 650 ft. of wharf will accommodate two ships loading coal at hydraulic cranes, but with regard to the rest it will depend very much on their size. The Harbourmaster will be able to tell how many ships can be put in. 211. How many cranes have you provided for?— There are two hydraulic cranes and one steam-crane. 212. Can the vessels lie two deep?— Yes ;it is frequently done. 213. The Chairman.] Have you got any return of expenditure by the Government on harbour and various works, including railway ?—Yes. I will divide the harbour-works expenditure into three periods. . 214. What are those periods ?—The first period was prior to the constitution of the Harbour Board in 1885, when under the control of the Government the expenditure was £114,000 on harbour-works. The second period is to the end of March, 1888, when under the control of a local Board, £122,000. The third period is from the Ist April, 1888, to the middle of 1890, £43,000 —that is, under the Government Board, consisting of Government officers, the Board being necessary in order to pass accounts in accordance with the statute. 215. Who are the present members of the Board?— Major Keddell, Eesident Magistrate ; Mr. Carders, Chief Postmaster; Mr. Stone, Eailway Manager; Mr. Burton, Clerk of the Court; Mr. Wilson, Assistant Engineer at Westport; Mr. Woon, the Collector of Customs; and myself, as Chairman. 216. Are there two separate Boards for Westport and Greymouth ?—Yes. 217. And Mr. Wilson is on this Board also? —Yes. 218. Mr. Brown.] Has there been much expenditure since the 31st March, 1890?— No ; there has not been much expenditure since that date. 219. The Chairman.] Can you tell us in general terms what was included in this expenditure >. —It includes the works on the south side of the river below the lower end of the wharf, and all the works on the north side of the river up to the Cobden Bridge. It includes everything that does not belong to railways or is not used by railways. I will put in a plan showing the exact distribution of the expenditure. 220. Now, what has been the expenditure on railway works ?—I propose to classify them as follows: In the first place there is the expenditure on the Brunner Eailway from the Cobden Bridge to Brunnerton, including Brunner Bridge and Brunner Station. The total of this amounts to £85,000. , „ xt . i.i v. •* 221. Mr. Brown.] Can you give us the cost of the bridge separately ?—Not exactly; but it was about £7,000. The next item is the expenditure on the Stillwater Section—that is, above Brunnerton 4 chains above the bridge. A portion of this has been handed over to the Midland Eailway Company. The expenditure on that was £14,000. Then there is the cost of the remainder of the railway—that is, the railway and sidings within Greymouth. The cost of that was £13,000. 222. What is the cost of rolling-stock?—£7l,ooo. That comprises five engines and 257 coalwagons. Then there is the cost of cranes, accumulators, &c, £17,000 ; cost of stone quay wall from quarry to Tainui Street, £13,000; wharves from Tainui Street downward, £30,000; £14,000 for reclamation behind them : that is, £243,000 altogether for railway works. Total for harbour and railway works, £536,000. 223. Then, there are no other charges?— No. 224. Under the heading of " Eailway works amount charged against railway," what amount, in your opinion, should be taken as the basis for calculating the traffic returns ?—£243,000; but I see in parliamentary paper 1.-6, 1889, the amount up to the 31st March, 1889, charged against railway is £199,121. This leaves a difference of £43,000. 225. Can you explain the discrepancy ?—Well, out of the £71,000 expended on rolling-stock, £20,000 was spent by the Harbour Board. Then, there is the £17,000 for cranes and accumulators. There will be other small items.