3

!.—4a.

W. G. NICHOLLS.]

16. Mr. Bennet.] To what depth might these deposits be on the land, after a heavy flood? —In some places about 2 ft. 6 in. I have a bit of land just at the junction of the two rivers. It is a small block of 6 acres, on the Waihou. Mr. Shaw, of Te Aroha, has a piece alongside of it, and he wanted to get this piece of mine to enlarge his. He offered me £1 an acre rent for it. But after the January flood he did not care for it, in fact he would not have it now at any price. Mr. Chamberlain, who has Mr. Shaw's place, had some cattle running there, and he obtained permission from me to cut down some willow-trees that were growing on my land to feed his cattle with, on account of the grass and feed~having been destroyed by the silt. 17. Do willow-trees obstruct the debris going down the river, and thus to some extent cause the flooding? —Well, certainly they obstruct the tailings from going further down the river. 18. If these willows were removed, would that not allow the current to run more freely and probably sweep itself clear to some extent?— Yes, to a certain extent, but the stuff would go somewhere else. It would meet the tide and there it would stop, and make a big bank there, I should think. That would be in the Waihou River. 19. It would have a better opportunity, at all events, of clearing the silt out it these willows were out of the way?— Some of the tailings would go on and be caught below the township. I have here a photo showing the 6-acre piece of land. [Put in.] The Natives used to cultivate there at one time. It was an old settlement. Just below the junction of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers a large bank of tailings has accumulated, practicaly forming a dam, and a few hours' rain will cause the water to run up the Waihou and overflow at a place called Ngarararahi, and flood the Netherton settlers. I produce a photo of this bank. [Photo put in.] There were in 1895 over seventy Europeans owning about 10,865 acres of land besides the land owned by the Maoris, which can be put down at another 10,000 acres. These lands were directly affected by this Proclamation. I have obtained this information from the valuation roll of 1895, and can corroborate it from personal knowledge. It is not correct, as I have heard stated, that there were only six persons affected by the Proclamation. All the farms along the Ohinemuri River were settled. The Natives were there and had their cultivations and farms. There was not a vacant spot on the Ohinemuri River at that time. I may say that up to very recently Netherton was becoming a very prosperous settlement, and it was through the success and prosperity of that settlement that the people were induced to look to the Piako land for further settlement, and it was, I am informed, on account of the numerous applications received from the Netherton settlers that the Government cut up the Awaiti land for settlement. The Government could easily have obtained from £3 to £4 an acre for it. As a proof of this I may say that I sold a block there just before the flood and received £5 an acre for it. This land was unimproved, the same as the Government land. I will show you that piece on the plan. [Land indicated on plan.] Another piece I was offered £3 10s. an acre for, but refused it, and now I do not think you could get 10s. an acre for the land if it were put up at auction —the whole of the Government land too. I produce a photo of Netherton. [Put in.] There were a good number of families living there. I also produce a photo showing their creamery. [Put in.] Last season the Natives of Ohinemuri and the farmers of the district petitioned the House on this same question, and matters are now much worse than they were then. The Governor's Speech at the opening of Parliament places the agricultural industry as first in importance, but I am afraid that as regards the Thames and Ohinemuri Districts it is being crippled for the sake of increasing the profits of the mining companies at Waihi and Karangahake by the destruction of the natural.highway and drainage. I may say that there is no hostility to the mining industry on the part of the farmers and inhabitants of the Ohinemuri County or the Ohinemuri people, but they consider that some steps should be taken immediately so that one industry shall not unnecessarily interfere with the other. The Ohinemuri County Council is desirous that the mining industry shall continue and prosper, but it has also to see that the farmers are not injured and ruined. The silting-up of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers, if immediate steps are not taken to stop it, will be a very serious matter, not only to the farmers and settlers who have by hard toil and exertion made home's for themselves and their families, but also to those who have lands on the Piako side of the river, as the river is now commencing to break through from Waihou and Te Awaiti. The Government hold a large block on the western side of the river, and that will also be affected to a considerable extent. Mr. Breakell, the engineer engaged to carry out the work of drainage on the Piako side, is, I believe, in Wellington now. He was at Piako and he visited Te Awaiti, and I think that if he were called he would be able to give information in reference to this matter. 20. Mr. Bennet.] Can you suggest any means by which the silting-up can be remedied, without stopping the mines or interfering with them in any. way ?—There are many ways of getting at it. Let them stack their tailings. They used to stack them at one time. They were stacked at Karangahake, at Waihi, and at Waitekauri, and I do not see why they cannot stack them now. There is plenty of land about there to stack these tailings. On the Waihi Plains they could get three or four hundred acres of poor ground where these tailings could be stacked. The only difficulty is with regard to two mines at Karangahake —the Crown and the Karangahake. Well, they could obtain land near Paeroa —some waste land about there—and dump their tailings there. There is a swamp that they can obtain and use. 21. Mr. Colvin.] Would it be expensive for them to put the tailings there? —Of course they would have to go to some expense. They would have to purchase the land and erect machinery to carry the tailings on to the ground. 22. They could never do anything else with this soft silt?—l think that if it were run into pits first and the water allowed to drain off, the fine sand would be left, which is quite dry when the sun gets at it, 23. Mr. Bennet.] It would be very expensive to put it into pits, consolidate it, and take it out again, would it not?— Yes.