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What figures did you. discuss in Auckland ? —£400,000 for the 'Works ; goodwill, £150,000. Were not the figures first £500,000, then £400,000, and then £300,000, as discussed m Auckland ? —I do not remember. Mr. Witters was asked, at page 957 — What was your object in going to see Mr. Rowlands % —That is my idea of doing business. Had we called a meeting of shareholders and told them what was in our minds, what kind of reception would we have got from Rowlands ? At the top of page 958 he was asked — What was your object in going to see him ?—With a view to carrying on what had started with Mr. Tolerton. And afterwards with a view to negotiating for a sale ?—That was my idea. Of your company's works ? —Yes. You discussed that with Mr. Matthews, and that was his idea also ? —Yes. At page 959 lie is asked— I suggest you thought that business might possibly result by your going ?—That was the object of going there. Then I take it that as far as you were personally concerned your negotiations with Yesteys were merely a matter of prices ? —Speaking for myself, yes. At page 960 Mr. Witters was asked— Suppose the bank had sold to Vesteys for £400,000, you would have had no complaint, would you ? —Had they sold at something like a fair value, I suppose everybody would have been satisfied. Mr. Witters was asked, at page 1016 — Supposing Vesteys had agreed to buy at the price suggested, and that proposition had been put before your directors and your shareholders, and they had agreed to buy at £650,000 —£150,000 to include the ship —suppose they had agreed to buy at that price, and the Minister of Agriculture had intimated that he intended to consent to the transfer, do you think that your shareholders and directors would have objected to the transfer of the license going through ? —I would not. He was further asked, at page 1017 — You then personally would have had no objection intrinsically to the sale to Vesteys— it was only a question of the price ? —Yes, that is my opinion. That is, you consider the price at which the works were sold was too low ? —lf was an absolute sacrifice. Mr. Lysnar's recollection of the interviews is somewhat different. He says, at page 425 — . . . . When the law forces and allows Vesteys to operate in our own vicinity, and they are drawing the life-blood out of one, it is certainly our duty to do the best we can with Vesteys to adjust matters. To sell to Vesteys if you can ? —To do business with Vesteys. And to sell if you can get enough money out of them ? —On proper terms, which I know we would not get. Were you not prepared, as Mr. Rowlands has sworn, to sell your works to Vesteys ?— I was not prepared. At any price ? —Oh, well, if you put it "at any pries," then I would at a price. I would not be so foolish as that. I wanted conditions, and one of the conditions was that the shareholders of the Poverty Bay Meat Company should have the right to put their stock in at all times at the average cost in the North Island. Mr. Lysriar professes to consider that there was no offer, but that " the value was discussed ; there was no offer —how could you suggest there was an offer ? " He again says, " There was a discussion as to what they were worth. How could we unofficially, without the authority of the directors, attempt to offer the thing % It was only a discussion. One director there was very anxious to sell the works." At page 429 he was asked— Was there a sum mentioned by way of a proposed oiler of sale by anybody ?—lt was simply a question of getting values. There was no offer of sale. Mr. Lysnar said, at page 430, that he did not protest in any way against what the other two directors were saying, except to say that the matter was unauthorized and had to go to the shareholders. Further Interviews. Mr. Rowlands says that between February and May of 1923 he saw Mr. Lysnar again, and Mr. Lysnar again stressed that Vesteys should take up the two proposi-