D.—lo

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Cross-examined by Mr. Moore.—Mr. Hansen knows me and could tally from his house. Sheep generally come northwards. Fats certainly do, and also bulk of stores. Fats go to freezingworks. The increased settlement below the river is on account of Government cutting up land. New settlements at Springbrook and Pareora No. 3. Knows name of people there. Not many bring their traffic through this way. Thompson brings a portion. Samuel Higginbotham sworn. —Is a farmer in Lower Pareora Eiding. Has been there about fourteen years. Has about 540 acres. Knows land on both sides of river. Excluding Elworthy's, land on both sides is similar. Productivity somewhat equal. It depends on the season. Am a connection of Elworthy's. Produce from Elworthy's all goes by Main Otipua Eoad to Timaru. It crosses by the Upper Bridge. Sheep mostly go over by Zigzag Eoad. They cross the bridge. Table A : All these are Waimate ratepayers. He is a Waimate ratepayer. Sidey will cart to Timaru. The others will all come over Jeffcoat's or Brassell's Crossing. All these, except perhaps Sidey, will cart to Timaru, and not to St. Andrew's. It pays better. It is almost a day's trip to St. Andrew's. The traffic along Otipua Eoad is increasing. It has a tendency to increase from Waimate. There is more of that portion being put in crop than there was a year or two ago. Next year there will probably be a good deal more. Was one of the petitioners for joining Levels. He uses mostly Levels roads. For heavy traffic he uses it exclusively, except about two miles to the river. There is not much heavy traffic to St. Andrew's. None from where he lives. Cross-examined by Mr. Hamilton.—Knows Elworthy's Estate. Eoughly there are about fifty miles of road through it. By Commissioner. —Some of these are formed and metalled and never used. A road right up Gordon's Valley is never used. The traffic went off the centre on to the side. The upper portion of Pareora Eiding is rougher ; not quite so suitable for cropping. Considerable difference in upper portions Pareora Eiding as compared with Levels. It is more used for wool than grain. Do not say if it was cut up for settlement it would not produce as much. A good deal of Elworthy's grain comes over Limestone Bluff Zigzag, but it all comes on to Otipua Eoad to Timaru. The land has not been cropped much the last six years, but prior to that a good deal. They had six hundred acres in themselves, which yielded forty bushels about five or six years ago. They had other land in crop. It comes over Limestone Hill, near Pareora Eiver, called Limestone Zigzag. (This is in extreme west side of estate.) Ec-examined by Mr. Eaymond.—Periodically hundreds of acres of Elworthy's land are being cropped along Limstone and Gordon Valleys. This land would have continued to be cropped if croppers would have paid the price. Elworthy is likely to crop it himself. Land is likely to be cropped in future, and the area cropped is likely to increase. In Limestone Valley there are 5,000 acres under offer to Government suitable for crops. Eoughly speaking there is a ten-thousand-acre block there that is arable and likely to be cropped. In Gordon's Valley there are 3,000 or 4,000 acres that can be cropped. In ordinary course all the outlets from these lands must come by the Otipua Eoad to Timaru. Robert Hutton sworn.—ls a blacksmith at Beaconsfield, six miles from Timaru, on Main Otipua Eoad, near Brassell's Eoad, about one mile and a half from river. Lived there nearly twenty-four years as a blacksmith. Knows the traffic on the road. Does a large amount of business with people coming and going. Traffic nearly all comes from Waimate side—grain, wool, and sheep, also considerable quantity of light traffic. From Timaru to Waimate there is very little traffic. No comparison between the two. Cannot give estimate of sheep travelling. Cross-examined by Mr. Hamilton.—Lived six miles from Timaru. Eeferred to Waimate traffic as nearly all coming on this road. Nearly all the traffic on the Pareora Eiding comes on the Otipua Eoad. Considerable quantity of shingle is carted from Pareora Eiver bed. There are a number of farms between him and Brassell's ford. James Blackmore sworn.—ls a farmer on Pareora Eoad, between Jeffcoat's and Brassell's Crossing on Waimate side. Has a property in Levels. His produce consists of wheat and oats. Carts half by Jeffcoat's and half by Brassell's Crossing, thence by Otipua Eoad to Timaru. Carts about 5,000 bushels a year on the average, also twenty bales wool. Comes same way generally by Brassell's. Takes about 15 tons back loading by Brassell's. Has been there a long time. Re Table A : They all use the road, but do not know Mrs. Squire. Parish generally carts to St. Andrew's. McKeown sometimes sends to St. Andrew's, sometimes to Timaru. The reason they carted to St. Andrew's was because they could not use the fords. Cross-examined by Mr. Hamilton.—Cannot say that there is more tendency for traffic to go to St. Andrew's than it used to do. Ec-examined by Mr. Eaymond.—ln his opinion these two ridings should be in Levels for the purpose of traffic. Thomas Priest sworn.—ls a farmer in Upper Pareora Eiding, about two chains from Upper Bridge, on Levels side. Lived there thirty-four years. Knows the traffic on the road. Knows many Waimate people who use the road. Many people on Table A use Jeffcoat's or Brassell's Crossing. Mr. Elworthy is the largest user of the Upper Bridge and Otipua Eoad. He crops more than 300 or 400 acres. He generally carts by wagon three or four times a week, and a large number of those wagons are wool-wagons. Re Table A: C. Hendry does not travel on that road. Knows all the others, and the bulk of their traffic comes over the bridge and Otipua Eoad. The land is much the same on both sides of the river. Agrees with the estimate of one-third cropping and two-thirds pasturage. There is little traffic from Levels into Waimate all the way. Stores only are carted from Timaru for stations. Cross-examined by Mr. Kinnerney.—Table A : The biggest part comes over Brassell's and Jeffcoat's Crossings. Did not say it came over Upper Bridge. Does not know much of Parish. Thinks Cox went last year to St. Andrew's, but does not know. McKeown did cart last year. Wake