—only fit for sheep. I have a domestic supply, which is caught on the roof, that will last me till January, when I shall have to cart water for two miles. I have been doing that for five years past and carting about 350 gallons a day. I have no family. I have a bush stable and machinery shed, all the necessary plant, and six working horses, five cows, five calves, a bull, and 200 sheep, including lambs; also poultry and pigs.

6586. To Mr Clarkson: I have 300 acres under crop, 100 acres was fallow, and that is the worst I have. I cannot give a reason for it. The highest yield I had was last year-five bags. This year I think I shall get three bags to the acre. It costs four bags to pay the expense of putting in and taking off a crop. Bulk handling would reduce costs, and my idea is to build a bin on the dray in which to take the grain to the station. The tariff is a very serious matter and I consider that only a reasonably protective duty should be imposed. A very light duty indeed ought to suffice; both the tariff and the railway freights are far too high.

6587. To Mr Paynter. Last year I suffered slightly from rust. I have not pickled all my wheat, only a certain quantity, not having the labour to do it. Certain wheats, such as King's Early, are subject to smut. If the Federation is clean I do not pickle it. I have tried to establish clovers, but they are only struggling along so far. I had three decent neighbours when I came here first, but only two of them have survived. I keep poultry and pigs for my own use. Wages are 30s to 40s and keep. I have had some exceptionally good men and others that are not worth their food. The hours that they average are rather long-about nine. I myself work about 12 hours. It all depends on the quality of the land of course, but in some instances a man should hold not less than 2,000 acres, while of land of first quality 1,000 acres should be sufficient. A man cannot crop by himself more than 400 acres in a year; 280 acres of my land was summer ploughed after the summer rain in January. One hundred acres is fallow and 180 acres has been handled with a disc cultivator plough. It would be a great advantage for us to co-operate for the purchase of supplies and marketing of produce and it could be brought about here, and some of us have been just working to that end. We have a number of settlers here ready to take shares as soon as the society is formed. The present land laws are not calculated to encourage people to take up land because the conditions of settlement are too severe for any but single men. I had a neighbour whose wife would not stay on the farm any longer and they went back to Perth. He was a good settler that has been lost to the State. I can instance a number of similar cases in this district. The wives could not live under the awful conditions. My wife intended to give some evidence on this particular subject, but unfortunately she is not well enough to come in, but putting it briefly, the conditions are such that they are not fit for any family to face. Married people should certainly have a reasonably sized cottage, floored, and containing a stove. I should very much like you to see the conditions under which some of our women kind are living out here. There are as many as five, six, and seven children all living in a bag humpy, yet they are most industrious people and have cleared their land, and are struggling like slaves.

6587a. Could they not spare enough time to build themselves houses? They have not the means to build houses with.

6588. To Mr. Venn: I am satisfied that sheep do well here. I might say that the Surveyor General promised a reduction of rent, and my rent has now been reduced to 14s. I was told I would have to pay the survey fee, but I cannot afford to stand out of my money for a year until it is surveyed. I have heard of dingoes, but only one instance has occurred of their killing stock. I lost, myself, 14 lambs, then I laid a bait and the dingo has been no more since. Cows milk fairly well, but they do not give much cream, and it is not a dairying district. Cows must be artificially fed to be a success. They run to fat instead of to milk. The top feed is very good for cattle. Sheep that are bred here are very good indeed. A two-tooth would go 40lbs. The conditions for wool are not good as yet. I average a 5lbs. fleece right through.

6589. To the Chairman: I did not inspect my land before I took it up. Mr. Udy, who was land agent at the time, visited the goldfields and called a meeting to put the land settlement proposition before us and he made out a fine case. A number of applications were put in for the land. Then the Ajana area was thrown open. There were 50 applicants for each block for some of the land at Morawa. A goldfields man named David came down and put in for some of this land but he did not get it. Then the Perenjori land was thrown open and he selected there. It cost him £30 to go and see it. Six hundred acres of land was classified as being first class, but when he saw it he found there was only about 150 acres that he could cultivate, so he returned to the goldfields and has given up all ideas of selecting land. However, as far as I am concerned, I went on to the land with my eyes open, and if the seasons are favourable I can establish myself successfully. We have gone through all our hardships, but we would not go through them again. When I came here first I lost 16 horses. I cut a road from my camp to the hills, 14 miles away, and there I got water in a soak, but the other settlers soon came along and swamped the soak and my horses perished. Those were some of the conditions under which we came here, and I would not advise my worst enemy to undergo what I have undergone. If married people are to be put on the land, there are certain essential improvements that should be effected before they are allowed to go on it. There should be a cottage and water supply and sufficient land ready cleared to enable them to earn a living.

6590. By Mr. Clarkson: What is the rainfall in the growing period? - In 1911, my first year here, 4.35 fell from April to December. In 1914, 6.35 fell, but most of that was summer rain and thunderstorms. In 1915 the rainfall was 13.75.

6591. To Mr Paynter: In order to ensure him a return every settler should have at least 200 acres of land cleared. I think, too, that the Government should appoint a veterinary surgeon to travel round these districts one or twice a year, as we have had great mortality amongst our stock, and there are always cases which require attending to. The whole of this land should be reclassified. Many of us have been misled by the published classification and our land is not anything like the standard at which it was classified. Then, too, we shall have some chance of medical attendance, and at least we should be provided with a telephone. The other day we had an accident here and we had to go seven miles to send—