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MONDAY, 1 Otii JULY. 1834. Commilttee met pursuant to adjournment. Present Messrs, Hart (in the Chair), O'Neill, Ludlam, Picard, King,. Macandrew, Dr. Monro. Mr. Macandrew examined. By the Chairman : Name and place of residence? James Macandrew, of Dunedin. Are you acquainted with the New Zealand Company's operations in Otago ? Yes. Have they any property there ? Yes. What? According to the terms of purchase they were entitled and bound to purchase two hundred of each, town, suburban, and rural properties, of which a certain number have been selected, but what number I cannot tell. Have they selected lands in proportion to the quantity they have actually sold? I believe much beyond it, and the selections which have been made are the most valuable in the settlement. From your general information what should you suppose to be the value of the properties? I cannot tell the number selected, I believe (hey are more than twenty. Then for any information respecting this private estate we must send to Otago? Yes. Why do you say that the properties of the Company in Otago are some of the most valuable? They were selected early by the surveyors who knew the localities. Some of those in the town originally priced at 121. 10s. are now worth 250 i., and are increasing in value as the place progresses. l)o you know what is being done with those lands? Since leaving home I find from an advertisement in a newspaper that the Commissioner of Crown Lands is disposing of the town properties, and I think of the suburban properties too, at the original prices. Did the Company fulfil all its engagements with the Otago settlement ? • Yes, it did. Had the Company any absolute title to land in the Otago settlement in 1847? They had a grant under the seal of the colony to 400,000 acres, which, minus the quantity which had been sold at the time of their retirement, reverted back to the Crpwn. How many acres had been sold ? Certainly under 30,000 acres. Mr. King examined. By the Chairman:—Name and residence ? Thomas King, of Taranaki, settler. How long have you resided at Taranaki? Thirteen years. Do you know what land the Company had in Taranaki in 1847? 1 should say about 35,000 acres. Of these how many had they sold ? They had chosen 7,000 acres outside the block, and I should say 12,000 within it. Mr. Wakefield examined. By the Chairman: —Name, residence, and profession ? Edward Gibbon Wakefield, of Wellington, settler. Have you had opportunities of becoming acquainted with the circumstances which led to the imposition of the New Zealand Company's debt upon the colony; and, if so, can you describe them to the Committee? I have had the best possible opportunities, having been the principal founder of the Company, and its principal managing director from the time of its foundation till the summer of 184G, allowing for intervals of absence occasioned by illness, and other occupation at a distance from England. I consider the first origin of the Company's debt to have been the arrangement made between the Company and Lord John Bussell in November, 1840, which led to Mr. Pennington's award. The part of that arrangement which laid the foundation of Mr. Pennington's award, was never cordially approved of by some of the Directors, including myself, or by a considerable number of the proprietors. By all of them, however, it was accepted, as a sort of compromise