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143. Then, the cost of the column as produced by the matrix to the newspaper proprietor is about one-third of what it would cost to set by labour here?— That is so. 144. It would therefore follow that a duty on the value should be 200 per cent, on the article imported ? —That is something like it, provided the whole of the supplements were set in the colony. 145. We assume that you want to insure that the cost of production in the colony should be equal with the cost of the production of the imported article ? —That is so. 146. Then, you would not gain your object of absolute prohibition without a duty of 200 per cent. ?—That is so ; but I think 100 per cent, might check the importation. 147. But anything less than 100 per cent, would be of no avail at all ?—I really do not think it would. I might state, further, in regard to these matrices, this was tried : Boys in Wellington were put on their lines at 3d. per thousand, and the matrices were, of course, taken from the type. Casts were then taken, but at that low price (3d. a thousand) they could not do them locally as cheap as they could import them. 148. That goes to prove a little more than what you said. The cost per thousand now is about Is. Id. ?—About Is. on an average. 149. And boys setting at 3d. per thousand can produce cheaper ? —No ; they cannot produce so cheaply as you can import. 150. Taking the cost of the local production as 3 to I—suppose you produce it at one-quarter the cost of the men's labour, surely you make the production cheaper, as one-quarter of 7s. is Is. 9d.? —Against that you must place as charges a man's time occupied in taking a matrix and gas for heating moulds. There is a great deal more trouble in casting from the type than from the matrix, and, including the extraneous expenditure, it came to much more than the imported article from Home. 151. Taking it all round, then, at 3d. per thousand, the matter cannot be set up here so cheaply as it can be imported by matrices at 2s. 6d. per column ?—No; and when the linotype becomes more popular they will send matrices out at a much cheaper rate than that, because the cost of composition will be much less than at present. 152..1s there not another point? If linotype machinery were used here the use of the matrices would go out, because the cost of production would be very much less. Supposing the newspapers had circulars only to do, and that sort of thing. They cast their matrices as they go, line for line, and then the matrix is also broken up by the machine afterwards?— Yes, I believe so. 152 a. I believe these machines cost £3,000, and at present I think they are out of reach of our newspapers —with the exception of two or three—in the colony?— What I meant to infer was that they are in use at Home, and that they would be employed in setting up the matter there. I did not refer to the colony at all. 153. What you mean us to understand then is that, instead of composing in the first instance letter by letter, they would compose line by line, and, that being so, it would be possible to cast matrices much cheaper than at present ?—The argument is that composition is done seven or eight times quicker by the machine than by hand-setting, and therefore must reduce the cost considerably. 154. It is quite possible that a matrix that now costs 2s. 6d. might be cast for 6d.?—Yes. 155. You assume a tax of 100 per cent, would be quite ineffectual, and that a tax of 200 per cent, is required to produce equality in value in connection with this use of matrices. Is it or is it not a fact that the matrices are used principally by the country papers ?—Yes. 156. Is it not the fact that none of the leading papers—say, the Auckland Herald, Neio Zealand Times, Lyttelton Times, Press, Otago Daily Times —use these matrices ? —They do not, so far as I am aware, use them at present ; but the Neio Zealand Mail and Auckland Star proprietors did use them, but were induced to discontinue the practice at the request of the Wellington and Auckland Typographical Societies. 157. Take the second-class papers—the Wanganui Herald, North Otago Times, Timaru Herald, Southland Neivs, and Times —do they use them ? —I cannot specify any particular office they are used by. They are used in the Wairarapa district here. 158. Take the Rangitikei Advocate, the Ashburton Guardian, and a number of other 'papers of that class :do these use any of these matrices ?—I am not prepared to state any particular office that uses them, but, so far as we are aware, the Typographical Conference that sat here some time ago got reports from Dunedin and Christchurch stating they were used by the country newspapers in those districts, and also in the Wairarapa district. 159. This is a question whether the importation of these matrices limits the field of labour. Is it not the fact that the cheapness of these matrices induces some country newspapers to issue extra sheets by way of supplements that they could not possibly afford to issue if they had to set them up ? —That might be possible, but they are also used extensively in the outside pages. 160. In connection with the outside page, is it not the fact that the outside page, particularly the fourth, is often largely a dummy page, that advertisers do not care to advertise there, and proprietors fill it up with matter that can be thus cheaply obtained? —That is not the question with us. 161. I think it is a consideration. If you can show that labour is being injured by the importation of matrices it might be urged as a reason why a duty should be put on. Would a duty result in the employment of any more labour ?— It would certainly cause that, as the space would have to be filled up. 162. Mr. Tanner.] Filled with hand-set type ? —Certainly. 163. Mr. Hutchison.] What is the distinction between matrices and stereos ? —The matrix is taken from the type and the stereo from the matrix. Matrices are imported from Home, and can be easily packed, and the stereo is taken from the matrix in the colony. 164. Is the Government Printing Office doing that ?—The Government Printing Office has a stereo department which does all the work in this direction required by the office. 165. The matrices come out to some persons who undertake to stereotype them, but do they