and owe everybody all round. They say they are anxious to make home but the fault is their own if their crops are put in badly. But of one thing I am sure and that is that the new system of inspection by the Industries assistance Board will be of the greatest possible advantage. I believe the inspectors are keeping some of the settlers up to their work and that is what is wanted. Among the successful men in the district are F. Hornsby ,W. strckland, R. B. Ackland, C Sommers, M. Armstong, Reynoldson, Miller, the two Clarkes, and Bowen. Personally I have 1,200 acres of wheat in, but I do not pretend to be a practical farmer. I have two practical men working for me.

6209. By Mr. CLARKSON : Perhaps you could tell me how long you have been putting in the 1,200 acres?— I have been here three years . eight hundred acres is fallow shows up. I have Alpha and Gluyas in. It would take about 12 bushels here to pay expenses of putting and taking off. Bulk handing ought to reduce cost and bags are a big expense in farming. My property is close to the railway siding so that it would be easy to get it to the trucks and save the expense in bags.

6210. Is it your opinion that farmers' implements should come in duty free?— I would not say absolutely free, but they should be cheaper than they are now. Still, we must not forget that we must be fair with all classes of the community and if implements were to come in absolutely free. the extra tariff would have to put on something else, and the aim of every country should be to become self-supporting.

6211.By the CHAIRMAN: You consider with respect to machinery that to make Australia self-supporting would be quite justifiably, but you can go no further than that?— That is so. I have always a free trader until 18 months ago, and my view is that we should be independent and self-contained. We have a fairly independent class of settlers here but if their liabilities were funded and the repayment spread over a period of years, some of them would be able to finance themselves entirely for the future, but some of them would not; probably half of them would get round and it certainly would have to be done: and there will have to be a charge. One settler sent in an order for implement to the Industries Assistance Board and after the lapse of eight montha was told that the Board was thinking over it, and yet at this time his crop was ready to strip. Another sent in an application at the end or January ( Mr. Reynoldson) and got a reply on the 28th April to the effect that the matter was receiving attention, and it is hoped a reply would be sent in a few days, but his crop is still in the field.

(The witness retired)

LUDWIG HENRY ERNEST HAACK, Farmer , West Wongan sworn and examined:

6212.to the CHAIRMAN: I have been over eight years in this district and was previously farming in Victoria. I now hold 1,285 acres of land of which 700 are forest, 300 scrub mallee and tanna, and the balance grazing country. I have seen miles of cartage to the railway. Four hundred and fifty acres are cleared, and the property is all fence with the exception of about four chains. There are several subdivisional fence enclosing four paddocks in all my water supply consists of a dam 8ft.deep, 300cubic yards capacity. There is no other water supply. I have put down five bores but have not struck water yet. I have farming plant and have eight horses, two cows, two calves eight pigs, and a few fowls which are the mainstay of the farm. The school is about 1¾ miles away and two of my children attend it. When I came here I had about £100 and went on the agricultural Bank. We were before there was a train service, and it did not take long to cut out the £100 that I got from them before I had any returns. After that I went to the National Bank . We were starved in the early stage and did not make enough to meet expenses. The national Bank carried as through without the Industries Assistance Board, which turned me down. I owe the Bank £640.

6213. To Mr CLARKSON: I have 250 acres in crop, but only 30 are fallow. I never had fallow before, the highest yield I have had of a small quantity was 32 bushels, and in one paddock of 50 acres I averaged 24. Another paddock went 20 bushels. A man must have nine to ten bushels at least to the acre to pay the cost of putting in and taking off. Bulk handing would reduce the cost considerably at the present price of bags. There should be no great difficulty about installing bulk handing which could be carried out with tanks and thus save bags. I use a three- furrow plough and a five-foot harvester. With larger machinery I should of course do better work. I have had to struggle along practically without help, and it is slow process. It would take a five -furrow plough to get the maximum of work done. I believe in patronising Australian manufactures in the shape of implement if possible, but they are often prohibitive in price, and we must have the cheapest implement we can get.

6214. TO Mr. PAYNTER: Our crops have not suffered a disease. Sometimes I pickle my wheat but I do not grade it. I have gone for pigs this year and am hand feeding them. We have magnificent grass, but no money to purchase stock to eat it, and the bank are very slow in advancing money. The minimum quantity of land out of which a man could make a living depend upon his ability to get a quantity cleared. Looking to the future, I should say each man should have 1,000 acres and he be able to crop single-handed 300 acres with a little help at harvest time. I took off 300 acres last year without any help, but I had to work night and day . My wife sewed up the bags, and to-day I have been stocking . Of course, it would be an advantage if farmers would co-operate for the purchase of their supplies and the disposal of their produce, but I somehow think that the idea is not practical. The present land laws rent are not all that they might be. The difficulty comes in when you get into debt and cannot square it off. The first thing that should done in settling on the land should be to lay down the railways and then the land should be selected within a reasonable radius and I consider the present land laws antagonistic to the opening up of the country. When I came here first we were 70 miles away from the railways and were isolated for many years. That should not have been so.

6215 To . Mr. VENN : I was dairying in Victoria, and the prospects of dairying here are excellent . If there was factory at Northam I would go in for.