H.—2l.

30

Wednesday, 31st March, 1869. The Eev. J. Buller, being re-called, and having been previously duly sworn, states : I know the allotment No. 12 of section 7, City of Auckland. This property was occupied as the residence of the Superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission. The allotments 11 and 10 of the same section were purchased about the same time as the free grant was made. This purchase was made originally by Mr. Lawry, from private means, and the land was transferred by him to the Society. The whole property was afterwards sold under " The Eeligious, Charitable, and Education Trusts Act, 1856," for a sum of about £3,000. The sale was in or about the year 1857. The proceeds were applied partly to the purchase of other land, and partly in other purposes for the uses of the Auckland circuit. The portion applied to the purchase of other land (one-third of the whole) would fully represent the proportion of the free grant to Mr. Lawry's purchase. I think I might state that the whole balance of the proceeds of the sale was spent upon the building of chapels and residences, but I cannot be certain of this.

Presbyterian Church.

Thursday, Ist April, 1869. Present: Mr. Hart and Mr. Heale. Lot 1, Section 9, City of Auckland — Church Site. The Eev. D. Bruce, being duly sworn, states :My name is David Bruce. I reside in Auckland, and I am a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, having charge of St. Andrew's church. There is no difference between the principles of the Free Church of Scotland and those of the congregation in Auckland, of which I am the minister. Mr. Eobert Graham is the only one of the original trustees now remaining in the Colony ; the remainder of them are either dead or have removed from New Zealand. The appointment of new trustees has been proposed, but nothing has yet been done. The question, with some others, has stood over, pending the drafting of a Model Deed. The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand truly represents all sections of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. The different bodies in Scotland were consulted, and signified their approval of the union effected in the Colony. I know the allotment lof section 9in the City of Auckland. (Eecord copy, Eeg. iv., 22, Grant of 2 roods 6 perches, allotment No. 1 of section 9, City of Auckland, produced.) The ground is occupied by a church capable of accommodating from 600 to 700 people. A small portion of this allotment (on which no other building is erected) has been added the playground of the schools adjoining, and a portion of the school-ground referred to afterwards was set apart for a manse site. I cannot state the cost of the building with complete accuracy, but I think it amounted to about the sum of £4,000. The building is of stone, plastered inside, and roofed with slate. Lots 4, 5, and 6, Section 9, City of Auckland — School. The Eev. D. Brace states (Eecord copy, Eeg. iv., No. 29, Grant of 2 roods 18 perches' allotments Nos. 4, 5, and 6 of section 9, City of Auckland, produced) : The trustees at present in office in reference to the school site are as follows: —Eev. David Bruce, minister; Archibald Clark, Alexander Dingwall, Eobert Whitson, Thomas Macfarlane, Walter Grahame, Henry Gilfillan, George Sibbin, and James Smart, elders; James Hunter Crawford, Charles Alexander, Thomas Peacock, and Farquhar McEae, deacons. The site at present in question is now occupied as the school site. The buildings of the school stand on allotment No. 6. The manse stands on the portion of the ground fronting Wynyard Street. The school cost about £500, and the manse about £1,000. Two separate accounts are kept in respect of this property, a ground rent of £20 per annum being paid by the manse and church account to the school account. It is probable that the site may be, at some future time, more useful for other purposes than for a school site, as this portion of the city is not likely to be at any time densely populated. The exchange of portions of the site already mentioned was taken into consideration in fixing the amount of the ground-rent. The school-buildings are of wood, plastered and shingled. On the scale of education hitherto aimed at, which is of a superior class, they will accommodate about 150 pupils. The premises are at present occupied by the High School, an institution not strictly connected with our congregation, but the use of the premises is given to it in consideration of its public utility. The class of education is that of the ordinary grammar schools of the old country. We do not take boys into this school for elementary instruction. Boys seldom remain beyond the age of fifteen years: some few stay till they attain seventeen. The average attendance for the two years last past has not been so high : between seventy and eighty last year, it has risen this present year to perhaps ninety. The school at present is maintained exclusively from its own proceeds. A guarantee was given by myself and seme others, at the commencement, in order to obtain the services of highly qualified teachers; and since the first year, at least, the school has been self-supporting. There is no assistance given by the Provincial Government. It was understood that the grant was desired to conduce towards the establishment of a school of a higher class, but we have not neglected the claims of common schools. The site in Symonds Street is not well adapted to such establishments, owing to the small population of the immediate neighbourhood. Schools of a more popular character have been established in Hobson Street, which is.now attached to the congregation of St. James's church; also in Parnell, at Newmarket, and in the Kyber Pass Eoad, which are still in connection with St. Andrew's church. These latter