D.—lo

12

seen Parish go backwards and forwards lately not with heavy traffic. Do not know Cox or Sidey. Wake goes backwards and forwards. Witness's man drives a grocer's cart and goes twice a week. Ec-examined by Mr. Eaymond.—lt is a mutual benefit. It serves people in Waimate. Robert Brooklin sworn. —Is a farmer and lives at Kingsdown. Fronts Main South Eoad and knows it well. Sees a lot of traffic up and down the road. Very large portion of traffic comes from the other side. Cannot state proportion. Large amount comes from the other side, especially sheep. Table C : Does not know Eogers or Mesurier. Knows all the others in table, and that they use the road for light traffic. They do not cart much heavy traffic on the road. They take that to St. Andrew's. Witness travels a good many sheep himself from Waimate, where he has about 800 acres, and he carts to St. Andrew's. The sheep chiefly consist of freezers for freezingworks. Witness brings stores from Waimate, and shifts sheep from one side to the other. Knows that many sheep travel, but cannot give the numbers. Five times as many come into Levels as go into Waimate. Sheep for freezing-works are driven. All go by road. This does not apply to the whole county. Upper and Lower Pareora Eidings sheep are driven by road. North of Studholme Junction biggest majority come by road. Cross-examined by Mr. Kinnerney. —Has a freehold farm in Levels. 500 or 600 acres leasehold on south side. Takes a traction-engine both ways. Carted about seven hundred bales from Pareora season before last on Otipua Eoad to Timaru. The sheep are bought by dealers in Levels, and dealers at St. Andrew's send as much as do the people in Levels. Grant and Mackenzie buy a lot of sheep in Pareora, and they travel up. They are the largest dealers. Table C principally relates to light traffic. They cart a little sometimes. Drinnan generally carts to Timaru. Has seen him cart. Hall, Gallatly, and Catherwood cart to St. Andrew's. Ec-examined by Mr. Eaymond.—Waimate sheep going to freezing-works come from Upper and Lower Pareora and Otaio Eidings. They chiefly come by road. Hardly any come by rail. Traction-engine went over to thresh for the Waimate people. None come over from Waimate. Wool-wagons come over Lower Pareora Bridge last week. There was a considerable amount of traffic last year. One lot came from Pentham Hills, behind Waihao Downs, south of Waimate Borough. Friday, 2nd May, 1902. Mr. Raymond said the rateable value of freezing-works is £21,020, and rate at Id. in pound equals £87 lis. Bd., which includes everything. The harbour rates are paid out of revenue. The statement of expenditure of Levels County for five years in the other case was by consent applied to this case. The sheep returns, H.-23, year ended 30th April, 1901, give Levels and Geraldine sheep combined. Separated by consent they are —Number in Geraldine County, 445,841 ; number in Levels County, 228,649; number in Waimate County, 602,705; number in Mackenzie County, 394,927. William Hansen sworn.—ls son of Samuel Hansen (previous witness). Kept tally for two days over Pareora Bridge. At close of day handed the details to his father. Saw Mr. Anstey. Spoke to him. He was going north. Do not remember day of the week. Asked him the number of his sheep. He said three hundred. Did not see him take any south. Put all traffic down on a piece of paper. Gave that to his father. On other days his father was at the bridge. Did not keep tally on Sunday. Does not know if his father did. Cross-examined by Mr. Hamilton.—Sales of stock and sheep are held at St. Andrew's once a fortnight. Did not know if farmers in Levels attend these sales. Samuel Hansen recalled.—Did not take tallies on Sundays. On other days took interval for dinner. Tallied from 8 or half-past till 4 or half-past. Was not particular to an hour. Took traffic as it came. Took it all to the best of his ability. Mr. Anstey has given me a memorandum of the number of sheep he took. On Sunday, 13th, he took a thousand northwards which witness did not note. On 15th he took three hundred, and my boy took the tally. Thought he had put it down in book. On 17th, 770 went southwards. They went over at dinner-time. Mr. Anstey has property on both sides of the river, and these sheep were coming from one of his farms to another. Witness has no interest in making misstatements. Mr. Whitehead and Mr. Black asked me to take tally and the county paid me. Cross-examined by Mr. Hamilton—Sales are held once a fortnight at present, and a good many farmers from Levels go. Knows that sales are held at Studholme, and that some Levels farmers go. Ec-examined by Mr. Eaymond.—At present St. Andrew's sales are held fortnightly; before they were held once a month. From south end of Pareora Bridge, St. Andrew's is distant two miles and a half. Not many sheep taken from Levels to Studholme. Studholme is twelve miles from Pareora Eiver. Charles William Orbell sworn. —Is Chairman of Levels County. State of finances of Otipua Eiding not so good as other ridings. This is attributable to traffic which requires much expenditure on account of traffic on the two roads and Upper and Lower Pareora Bridges, and on roads between the two bridges from the other side of the river. In the other ridings the main roads are not the same as in Otipua Eiding. There is one main road in each riding. No other riding has such a main road as Otipua and Main South Eoad. In Seadown Eiding there is one main road— the Great North Eoad. In Otipua one of the two main roads has to be classed as a district road— viz., from Pareora Bridge to Saltwater Creek. Is manager of New Zealand and Australian Land Company at Levels. Knows Cave-to-Cannington Eoad. It leads from Pareora Eiver to Cave Eailway-station. Re Table E : Knows most of the Levels ratepayers who use the road. Do not know J. Good, G. Squire, G. Collier. All the others use road, with these exceptions, to his knowledge. Some use it for light traffic and some for heavy traffic. It is their road for taking produce to the Point. Re Table F : These and portions of the New Zealand and Australian Land Com-