I).—10

8

and Brassell's Roads, and their light traffic as well as their Saturday traffic into Timaru. Great lot of traffic comes. Very little Levels traffic goes over the border to Waimate ; practically none. There is no business there from Otipua Road. A few go by the Main South Road to St. Andrew's sales once a month. This is the only business that Levels ratepayers go to Waimate for. The sheep traffic by these roads is very large. Numbers come along the Main South Road, and very considerable numbers come along the Otipua Road. Elworthy's sheep : they have a surplus of from twenty to twenty-four thousand. They would all cross the Upper Bridge. Then they go by Zigzag Road. They would come on to Otipua Road only for a short distance. There is considerable settlement on Waimate side near the Lower Bridge. Potatoes, mangolds, roots are raised there. It comes to Timaru mostly by the Main South Road. Apart from Elworthy's land the Lower Pareora Riding is similar to Levels land. The Kingsdown land being nearer port is more valuable, not that it produces any more ; there is less cartage. All the land is suitable for agriculture and pasture. On the average from seven to ten years one-third is in cultivation. A large part of Elworthy's is ploughable. Quite 40,000 acres are ploughable. About 8,000 to 10,000 acres is good agricultural land. Knows the estate very well. It is cropped from time to time, but not so much as if it were in smaller holdings. Has known the property since 1876. Cannot say what area of it has been cropped this year. The upkeep of the Main South Road is charged to his riding. It is an expensive road to keep up. Keeps his riding in poverty. The reason of the cost is the large amount of outside traffic. Cross-examined by Mr. Kinnerney.—Knows Elderslie Estate, and that there are forty or fifty miles of road laid out in the estate. The one mile previously mentioned was for carting from the property. The other roads are for working the property. Judges from his knowledge of the country that twenty-four thousand surplus sheep come from Elderslie. They only use a portion of Otipua Road and then go on Zigzag. They only use a short piece of Otipua, probably half a mile, cannot say. Could not give estimate of agricultural land on Elderslie. It would only be a guess. As to sheep using the roads : Messrs. Grant and Cunningham are the largest buyers in Levels. They buy fat sheep and send them to the freezing-works. In addition to other sheep brought into Levels some come from Southland. These mostly come by rail, but a few are driven by road. Thinks the sheep derailed at Morven are sold there. A few may be driven to Timaru. Be lands in Waimate County, including Elworthy's : Table A, 52,000 acres. Said that excepting Elworthy's the land was the same as in Levels County. There are thousands of acres in upper portion of Pareora Riding only fit for pasturage. John Elder's 3,695 acres is purely pastoral. So is Mary Squire's land. Is not aware that John Elder uses Cave Road, probably he does. Does not know that Mary Squire sends produce to St. Andrew's. J. D. Parish may send to St. Andrew's. G. Cox used to use Otipua Road within last two years. Does not know if he does so now. Often sees Ben Mack on road. Saw him recently. McKeown Bros. —Does not know they carted to St. Andrew's recently. Has seen them several times on the road carting grain. Is aware that railway rates were reduced to St. Andrew's three years ago. Thinks he has seen them within the last two years carting. Thinks he saw them this year. Wake is a new man. Does not know where he carts. Has a pretty good knowledge of the matter. Arrived at the position from common sense. Has been member of Levels County four or five years. Remembers that Levels County was constituted four or five years ago. Before then it was part of Geraldine County. It was previously the Levels Road Board. Could not say if Geraldine, Waimate, and Mackenzie all combined for purposes of forming the Port of Timaru. Only a part of Waimate is included in rating district for Port of Timaru. South of Waiho is part of the Oamaru Harbour District. Forgets where boundary runs. Object of Timaru Harbour was to enable farmers to send grain and get goods cheaper. When these counties combined they contemplated an increase of traffic. Anything that benefits Timaru benefits Levels, but it benefits Waimate also. It is a benefit to the whole of South Canterbury. The prosperity of the market town benefits the district near it. The most remote settler in Waimate pays as much in £1 as Levels ratepayers. A Bill was promoted by Levels County for the purposes of including these ridings in Levels on petition from Pareora Riding. The Levels County Council took the matter up by the request of the ratepayers in these ridings. The Bill was lost through political log-rolling. Levels County paid all the expenses of that Bill. If Levels County had succeeded there would have been no necessity for this Commission. They would then have had to contribute their share to these main roads. The remainder of Waimate would then have escaped Nothing has been done in Levels County about the Bill since Parliament rose. The Council settled the proportions claimed. They had an idea of the traffic on the roads. The tables were prepared since. Had a good deal to do with proportions claimed from Waimate. It would have been just to ask for more. We should be warranted in asking more than three-quarters for Brassell's Road. It is of very little use to our ratepayers. Our ratepayers hardly use it. It is so largely used by Waimate people and so little by us that we have done little to it. The Main South Road and Otipua Road are not kept in the condition they ought to be, because the outside traffic is so great. We have rated up to Id. in the pound. Our limit is Levels Engineer was instructed to make an estimate of the cost of repairing roads. Do not know if word " renewal " was used. The Levels contribution to harbour rates is £1,431, and Waimate £1,875, but that is a larger county. Does not know Cannington Road. Re-examined by Mr. Raymond.—Elworthy's estate : The wool and grain are carted by Otipua Road over the bridge. All the traffic from these come on that road. In preparing the tables did so with an intimate knowledge of the district and in view of the roads that must generally be used by the ratepayers. Waimate does not pay more, proportionately, to harbour rates than we do. On petition of the ratepayers in Waimate, Levels County promoted the Bill. Copy of Bill was put in (see Exhibit 12). Before going on with the Bill we asked Waimate County to discuss the Bill (see Exhibit 13). Also correspondence (Exhibits 14, 15, 16). So far as he is aware