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23. Mr. Lawry.] The old shares were at a premium? —I was told the old shares started On the basis of £15,000, and then the capital was increased to such an extent as to bring it up to £25,000 approximately, and the original shareholders had their holdings increased proportionately. The last people who came in paid cash, and these are the only ones who could possibly have suffered. 24. Hon. Sir J. G. Ward.] A statement has been made to the Committee that general dissatisfaction exists amongst the people of Queenstown since the steamers have been acquired and run by the Government: is that so? —That cannot be true. It is absurd: because, first of all, they are paying 25 per cent, less in fares and for the carriage of their goods, and they have a better service. We run more steamers than the company did, and the people are paying 25 per cent, less all round. The only suggestion I can make to account for complaint is this : that when we took over these boats, of course, everybody had to pay, while under the old arrangement large shareholders and directors of the company in Queenstown did not pay cash for their fares and freights. I have been told, and I believe it to be true, that the company kept a record of the freight-lists of these different people. They kept these open to the end of the year, and when the dividends were paid out a cross-entry was made and the balance was paid; so that some of the larger users of the boats would not be out of pocket for either passenger-fares or freight, but would simply wait till the end of the year before settling. 25. Is it not the case that there was general dissatisfaction amongst the people of the Lake Wakatipu district with the working of the company before it was taken over by the Government ? — Yes; before I went to Invercargill there were any number of complaints. The boats used to stick up the goods at Kingston until they were sure of getting a full cargo. They would not run for a half-load or a three-quarters load; and the same thing occurred at Frankton. Then, the people complained about the high rates charged, and about the concessions given to some people and not to others. 26. Well, since the acquirement of the company's steamers and business by the colony has that dissatisfaction disappeared, as far as you know ? —I have never heard a single complaint since. On the contrary, I have had several letters to quite the reverse effect. 27. Is it at all likely that a statement made to the Committee is correct, that the people of the district, or at Queenstown, would prefer to have the old condition of affairs restored rather than that the business should be carried on by the Railway Department ? —That is as absurd as the previous statement, except in so far as that certain people in Queenstown in business received certain work from the company, which is now done in our shops since the Railway Department took the service over. It could only affect two or three tradespeople. 28. In addition to a reduction of 25 per cent, in fares and freights, since the acquirement of the service by the Government have there been a larger number of trips run ? —Yes; we started the very first week to run three days a week to the head of the lake, instead of two. 29. What is the mileage? —That is seventy miles a trip. 30. So that immediately upon the acquirement of the steamers by the colony an additional seventy miles per week was run during the whole of the summer ? —Yes. 31. Have any additional men been put on to work the service since it was taken over by the Government? —No; only a boy to reduce the hours of the young fellows and to light the lamps, which is a matter of 10s. per week. 32. The managing director, Captain Wing, was in receipt of a fairly large salary, was he not? —Yes. 33. Has any portion of the salary, under the administration of the Railway Department in running this service, been saved? —We save on an average £175. It has varied as high as £200. At the present moment it is £165, I think, and probably next year it will be more. It depends to a large extent upon the classification. 34. There has been an increase in the mileage run by the extra service to the head of the lake, and there has been not only no increase in salaries and wages on the steamers, but there has been a decrease under the administration of the Railway Department?— Yes, that is so. I may tell you that the total difference in our working the service for one year, as near as I could get it some months ago, as compared with the amount for one year's working by the company —it was a difficult thing to get from their books, because they did not keep them in our form —was £100. But that is explained by that additional trip during the summer-time. In fact, we could not do it for £100. 35. Can you state approximately the figures for one year under the company, and for the same period the figures under the Railway Department? —Last year under the Railway Department's administration the amount was £6,048, and the amount for the company two years before was £5,928. Included in our expenses for last year we put in some hundreds of pounds for improving the steamers, so that the actual difference for the two years is £120, although we spent more that summer to give the additional run to the head of the lake. 36. You know that the earnings upon the total cost of the business to the colony are about 6 per cent. ? —Y r es, it paid 6 per cent, last year. 37. That is upon a capital value of £15,700?—£15,612. 38. So that upon the capital price paid by the colony, without providing anything for depreciation, and without debiting the concern with interest-charges, the net percentage on the capital cost is 6 per cent. ? —Six per cent, last year. 39. Will you inform the Committee whether, in your opinion, the company's assets at the date of purchase —independently of the cash reserves they had in hand and the book debts —were worth £20,000?— Certainly not. 40. In the purchase as completed by the Government, did the company retain the total amount of its cash reserves and the total amount of its book debts ? —Yes, all its reserves, and cash in the bank and book debts. 3—l. lc.