H. J. H. ELIOTT.]

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90. Bight Hon. B. J. Seddon.] Would they not be given in the taking-out of any right? —No ; that would be in the corporate name. . t 91. There would be nothing shown except the name of the registered company?—We have parties, not registered companies. i 92. Have you not some registered companies as customers? —Yes. : ~ 93. Who are they ?—We have one, the Long Tunnel Company. ,•,,/,; 94. You have a registered company as a customer of the Government ?—Yes. 95. Is there more than one?—l do not know. 96. There was £131 19s. 9d. due by the Long Tunnel Company in August ? —Yes. 97. The amount has been reduced, I see, to £115 ss. 4d. ?—Yes, they paid some. 98. The back debt is wiped off, and they keep taking water ?—No, I do not think the back debt is quite wiped off. That is a payment on account. 99. If there is only £115 owing, how much have you received from them ? Can you tell us that ?—That is the latest information I have. The amounts do not come into the office. They go into the Treasury accounts. 100. But you see there was £131 19s. 9d. due in August.. Then there would be the current account for water. Do you know the amount of that ?—No. 101. They do not pay off; they pay so much off, and that would reduce the total amount. The £131 would be paid off, and the amount now due would be for the current account of> the water?—l do not know that. However, instructions have been given to proceed against that company, so I suppose it will be brought out. 102. You do not know how much has been due for water between the time of the £131 and the present ?—Does it not state the amount on the papers there? 103. No ?—Well, Ido not know. It states there that some has been paid off. 104. It says the debt has been reduced to £115 ?—That means the back debt. 105. I take it that the current account of the Long Tunnel Company would be £115 now, as against £131 in August. Then there is the water that has been taken in the interim ?—Yes. 106. All you can say is that the amount owing now is so much less than it was befo r e ?— Yes. 107. Unless it is in connection with that company, there is nothing to show that the Mayor of Kumara owes anything ?—I have no evidence. 108. Have you told the Committee the number of years that this matter goes back ? —Yes; it is in the printed correspondence. It goes back to 1898. 109. To your knowledge has any attempt been made by different Ministers to introduce the payment-in-advance system ?—Yes. 110. Do you remember a large sum of money being given by Mr. Larnach so as to enable the miners to pay in advance ? —No. 111. I mean, free water? —Well, free water is always given for opening out a claim. 112. Can you not remember that Mr. Larnach tried to introduce the payment-in-advance system by giving a month's water to every man on the field ?—There was something of that, but I was not with Mr. Larnach. Mr. Gordon would know about that. 113. But you were Under-Secretary at the time? —No. 114. Was Mr. Gordon Under-Secretary? —There was no Under-Secretary. Mr. Gordon did the work with Mr. Larnach. 115. At all events, attempts have been made ?—Yes, from time to time. 116. With what result —I mean attempts to introduce the payment-in-advance system ?—We have never got it. 117. Taking into consideration the length of time that this sum is spread over, the annual payments made, and the poor character of the ground, do you say it is an unreasonable sum to wipe off?—l say it ought not to have been allowed to accumulate so long. 118. Has the Manager been asked to give particulars of the amounts that needed writing off from time to time ?—Only lately. 119. The Department was not aware then of this accumulation ?—The matter was brought up by the Audit Department from time to time, as is shown by these papers. 120. Have you taken advice on the question of giving credit ? Has the Department been advised as to whether it can legally give credit or otherwise ? —There was no direct opinion as to the power to give credit. It was as to disallowing the surcharge. With regard to credit, the opinion was that in authorising the giving of credit the Government performed an administrative act within its powers. It was an act of administration. 121. Whose opinion was that?— The Solicitor-General's. 122. Well, then, the Department has been advised that it is an administrative act, and that credit can be given ?—Yes, it is an administrative act. There is no legal authority for it. 123. Is there not a letter from the Manager among those papers, where he says that he has taken legal opinion ?—I never heard of it. When he was surcharged he gave his own opinion, which is in the printed papers. 124. You are now following the same system of giving credit as obtained in connectiou with the Mount Ida Water-race?— Yes ; but there are no arrears now. These were, wiped off, and the miners keep up their payments. There will be two small amounts to wipe off this session of £5 or £6, just to clear the account. 125. They have credit given to them ?—The same system prevails. 126. Do you think it possible to adopt the payment-in-advance system ?—I have explained that to the Committee.

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