I.—7b.

The Hon. Mr. Ward objected, as a similar question put by him to the witness was objected to by the Hon. Sir R. Stout. The Chairman ruled that, as the greatest freedom had been allowed in this inquiry, the question was allowable. The Committee sat till 11 o'clock, and, as a question of privilege was being discussed in the House, the Committee adjourned till 2.30. At that hour the Committee adjourned till 4 o'clock ; and, as the question of privilege was still under discussion in the House at 4 o'clock, the Committee was adjourned until 10 o'clock to-morrow,

Tuesday, 29th October, 1895. Present: Hon. Mr. Larnach (Chairman), Mr. Guinness, Mr. G. Hutchison, Mr. McGowan, Mr. Montgomery, Dr. Newman, Hon. Mr. Seddon, Hon. Sir R. Stout, Mr. Tanner, Mr. T. Thompson, Hon. Mr. Ward. Minutes of the previous meeting read and confirmed. Order of Reference of the 28th October, 1895, read by the Clerk. Mr. J. B. Heywood' attended, and gave further evidence, which was taken down by the reporter. Mr. J. E. FitzGerald, Controller and Auditor-General, attended, and gave evidence, which was taken down by the reporter. Debentures, £145,400. The Hon. Mr. Seddon gave notice that he would move, later on in the day, That the Committee have carefully examined into the transaction relating to the £145,400, and have taken the evidence of the Secretary to the Treasury and the Controller and Auditor-General, and find that the transaction was a proper one and in accordance with law. The Hon. Sir R. Stout gave notice to move, by way of amendment, That your Committee have dealt with the question of the debentures issued against sinking fund under " The Consolidated Stock Act, 1884," and the following table shows the debentures issued: —

Estimate for 1895-96.

That there has been much controversy in the Committee as to whether the debentures issued against the sinking fund of the Government Loans to Local Bodies have been legally issued, and the Committee consider the best course to adopt is to submit with their report the evidence taken, without expressing any opinion on the subject. Interest, .fc. The Hon. Sir R. Stout gave notice to move, That your Committee have to report that the question of the interest payable by the colony was discussed by your Committee, and the following table supplied by the Treasury shows the increases and decreases of interest. The system adopted up to June, 1895, of dealing with the "drawing loan" of 1867 was altered after that date, and that has made the amounts appearing in the interest table vary considerably.

6

Estimate, 1895-96. Adjustment, 1893-94, including actual accretions to 31st March, 1895, in respect of Government Loa,ns to Local Bodies. Net Estimate, 1895-96. New Zealand Loan, 1863 Consolidated Loan Act, 1867 Immigration and Public Works Loan, 1870 Auckland Loan, 1863 .. Lyttelton and Christchurch Railway Loan, 1860 Canterbury Loan, 1862 Otago Loan, 1862 Government Loans to Local Bodies, 1886 £ s. d. 7,343 1 11 39,047 19 7 1,437 0 7 2,172 17 2 £ s. d. 4,436 18 1 2,340 0 0 Cr. 3,047 19 7 152 19 5 332 2 10 £ 11,780 2,340 36,000 1,590 2,505 571 18 6 5,034 0 11 20,812 11 3 38 1 6 330 19 1 64.397 8 9 610 5,365 85,210 76,419 9 11 68,980 10 1 145,400