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76. Can you state of your own knowledge that such a rule has never obtained in the shipping company's service ?—Yes ; we have copies of the instructions given to our engineers from time to time. Of every circular and every instruction we have a copy filed, and lam quite sure no such inducement has ever been held out to any of the engineers of our company. 77. Do you know of any ship in the trade which has always delivered her meat in good order ?—No, Ido not know. There are some vessels that may have done less damage than others. 78. Do you not know that the " Doric," for instance, not now in the trade, has invariably delivered her meat in good condition, using the same machinery as in any other case ?—I have no report of the condition of the " Doric's " meat. 79. Have certain shippers at any time refused to ship by one of your ships because of damage to meat by that ship on successive voyages?—We have had notice from some shippers that they would decline to ship in such a boat unless they were satisfied the insulation was in good order. 80. Do you not know meat belonging to myself was damaged in one of your ships, and I absolutely refused to ship by that vessel any longer?—l believe that is so. 81. Can you give any reason why this ship in particular, as against the other ships of the company, did damage her meat on successive voyages ?—No ; we have done all we can to find out the cause of damage in that ship, and, I think, for several voyages past we have had no complaints. 82. Do you not know the causes of damage by that particular ship were discovered and removed ?—I cannot remember any particular damage that was discovered or any cause of damage. 83. Is it not a fact the captain was informed by the shipping company that unless this damage was remedied he should cease to command the ship ?—I have never heard of such a thing. I can quite understand, if they thought the captain was responsible, they should give him that warning; but we have never heard of this. 84. Is it not unlikely that such a notice should be given to the captain without yourself knowing it ?—Possibly. I think that the man who would be more responsible than the captain would be the chief engineer. 85. Is not the captain held jointly responsible with the chief engineer?— Yes. 86. You said the damage to meat was generally found in the lower tier? —In the particular shipments referred to. 87. Supposing the artificial air stopped from any cause, where would the temperature rise above freezing-point first, in the lower or upper hold?—I should say the temperature would rise at the top. 88. Is it not certain the temperature would rise first at the top, the warm air ascending?— The carcases stowed at the top would be the first to suffer in case of stoppage of the machinery. 89. If the temperature on the top tier of carcases is down to the requisite point ?—I do not go into the freezing-room very often myself, and I cannot say. 90. Supposing the freezing insulation was defective through moisture being present in the charcoal insulation, would it not necessarily follow the temperature would immediately rise upon stoppage of machinery in the lower hold? —It might. I have not an expert knowledge on these points, and any expression of opinion I may give is only my idea and of little value. 91. Mr. Fraser.] You told us you have no expert knowledge. Do you think it would be of advantage that there should be inspection at the works before the sheep are put on board?—lt must do good ; it can do no possible harm. 92. Do you know of any instances of sheep being hurriedly frozen at works and sent down aboard ship ?—I do not know I can give any particulars, but I believe meat has been hurriedly frozen and sent down on several occasions. 93. Mr. McLachlan.] Is it possible to hurriedly freeze sheep?—l have no knowledge of that. I might suggest one of the managers of the freezing-works would very soon give you that information. 94. Mr. G. W. Russell.] Would the last tier of the meat be the first to go into the vessel ?—The way in which it is stowed is this : The meat is put on the bottom and stacked up to a certain height, and then another layer is started, and so on. It does not follow that the bottom tier would all go in first. 95. I understand, from what you said this morning, you hold the opinion the efficiency of the vessel, so far as refrigerating goes, is complete. You have not been able to trace any defect ?—lt is as complete as we can make it. 96. Have you formed any opinion as to whether the carcases of meat going bad lay in connection with the railway service ?—I think the railway arrangements contribute to the meat getting in a bad condition. 97. Has it come under your knowledge that both the Belfast and Islington Companies are of opinion the trucks being used are really not in an efficient state ?—I believe some of the trucks are not properly constructed. 98. From what you have seen and know, are you of opinion that a defect in the trucks might cause so slight a measure of thawing as hardly to be perceptible on arrival at the vessel's side, and yet carcases in that state, being stacked one upon the other, would have to be again refrigerated to a degree that would prevent this being noticed ?—I believe it is possible that does occur. The meat may get the slightest damp by being exposed, and, when stowed together, that is where the mildew starts. 99. Did I understand you to say only a very small percentage of the carcases were tested when taken on board?— Yes; while the engineer cannot possibly handle every one, he handles all he can. 100. Supposing that he found one or two carcases that he tested were weak — and there might be fifty or one hundred passed in before he noticed this defect—would there be no test applied