R. W. DE MONTALK.]

7

1.—12.

3. To Dr. A. K. 'Newman.] The flag-paved road would have an advantage over a concrete road when repair work was necessary in connection with an underground conduit. 4. To Mr. Graigie.] My house-building scheme is one of boards, studs, rafters, &0., made of concrete in a factory and taken to the site. The hollow walls are made by putting in wedgeshaped pieces. 5. To Mr. Sidey.] I can only build a concrete house as cheaply as a wooden house, provided it is done on a sufficiently large scale. 1 would like the Committee to urge the Government to give me sufficient consideration to put me in a position to build houses of concrete as cheaply as houses of wood can be built. As for capital, you would require at least £10,000 to get an up-to-date plant for the production of concrete for the purposes I have mentioned. 6. To the Chairman.] I am convinced that what is known as the block system will never be perfect. The joint is never good. My scheme is not a block scheme, but a scheme of boards and studs. L. Mence, Photographer, examined. (No. 6.) I live at Featherston. It has occurred to me that it would be a good thing to take cincmato graph views of New Zealand subjects. I find, however, that the New Zealand picture companies do not want such views. They say that the public do not want them, and therefore I cannot sell the work I am doing. If the Committee can help me I shall be pleased. The majority of the picture companies are under a combination, which sends its films round the Dominion. If I prepare a film it does not fall in with the circuit, and for that reason I do not see where I come in. A little time ago I took a film of a dairy herd. It is an educative film, and ought to be shown. 1. To Mr. Sidey.] I have put the matter before the Education Department, but have not received a reply yet. I know that some of the schools are getting cinema pictures, but I presume they are obtaining their supplies from America. I have not sent films out of the country. George E. Baker, Indent Agent and Manager of the Dominion Toy Company, examined. (No. 7.) We have been manufacturing toys in Wellington since February last, and have had a fair amount of success. Owing to the high freight we have been able to compete with the imported article. The freight is now reduced considerably. What we would like is to get an increase in the duty on imported toys. Up to the present we have made a considerable number —about two dozen different kinds—but there is no telling how many we could make. We have not touched wooden toys. The duty on toys generally is 20 per cent., and we say that it should be at least another 10 per cent. 1. To Mr. Hornsby.] We manufacture an article at, say, 10s., but the wholesale man and the retailer have to get their profits, and the public will have to pay 20s. for that article. 2. To the Chairman.] The 10-per-cent. increase in duty would cover the decrease in the freight. Dolls' heads are imported free of duty, as they are for manufacture. The printed material used for dolls is also free of duty. Before the war many toys came from Germany. If they are going to come out again under cheap freights we shall have strong competition. Last year, which was our initial year, we about paid expenses, but the influenza epidemic was against us In 1914 the value of imported toys and fancy goods was about £237,000. We reckon that about one-tenth of the amount represented toys —say, £20,000. 3. To Mr. Hornsby.] Before Christmas we had fifteen girls employed, and if the industry develops our factory is large enough for fifty hands. 4. To Mr. Veitch.] We are paying duty on a good deal of imported material. 5. To Mr. Luke.] If' we could get the duty off the raw material it would help us. We were willing to give a guarantee that anything we import would not be used for anything but manufacture, but that was not sufficient for the Customs officials. They wanted it cut up. 6. To Mr. Graigie.] When freights become normal it will go against us unless wo get some protection. We could exist if the duty was taken off the raw material. We can compete with Japan, but it is a burning question to put a duty against a nation that is our ally.

Friday, 7th February, 1919. Evan Parry, M.1.E.E., Chief Electrical Engineer, Public Works Department, examined. (No. 8.) I wish first to make some remarks with regard to the hydro-electric-power scheme "of the North Island, in connection with which details have been prepared. In respect to the South Island, the scheme has not yet been prepared in detail, but I hope before I leave New Zealand to prepare that, leaving details to be filled in by my successor as time goes on. It takes a considerable amount of and study to fill in the details, and all I can hope to do is to determine the main outline and the principal features of a similar scheme of supply and distribution for the South Island. I would also like to emphasize the fact that the scheme is on a very sure foundation, because it is founded on the ordinary needs of the community—that is to say, we have examined very carefully the position with regard to a community which is fairly well served at the present day—what its requirements are in the way of electric power and electric services of all kind—its requirements per head of the population. In founding this scheme 1 have not taken anything like the maximum, but something like half, so that the scheme is founded on a very conservative basis. At the same time we have kept in mind further developments and also special requirements in the way of special industries. We have kept that in mind by making sure that there