garoos, which have done over £100 worth of damage this year. A man is too busy to hunt them systematically. They are worst this year than they ever were before.

7212. To the CHAIRMAN: The present position of the settlers here is due to adverse circumstances. Under the present conditions of the Agricultural Bank the case of the settlers is hopeless unless they get extra assistance. For instance, we are allowed so much for clearing land, which is not enough. After you have got a certain amount cleared you only receive three-fourths of the cost paid to the bank. I personally have only been allowed half. In order to give us a chance, I consider that to try to farm on anything less than 600 acres is absurd, and the only chance is to be assisted to get that area cleared. If possible, a man should have 750 acres.

7213. Which do you think would pay the State better, for the settler to clear his land himself, or to do it under contract?—We have a plant now, and therefore it would not pay us to do it on contract. I have had a lot of land cleared by contractors, and I have done some myself and have paid as much as £2 an acre. I made a mistake in getting it cleared, and should have left it until later, only that it happened to be very good land. I got some of it cleared for £1 on contract.

7214. We gather that you want more land, less rental, more land cleared, and the full value of the clearing and stock advanced by the department?—Yes.

7215. If you were granted these concessions you would be able to make a success of farming here?—Yes. All that I want from the Government is to get the land cleared, and then I could make a do of it.

7216. By Mr CLARKSON: You say you estimate the maximum area a man can put in is 200 acres. Do you do your own work?—I do all of it.

7217. If you had more cleared land and could put in a larger plant you could put in more that that?—Certainly, with a full plant and the help of some labour I could add another 100 acres. Six working horses at least would be required. Then one could do 300 acres.

7218. I am doing that with wages men. It strikes me that those who are working for themselves only can do from 150 to 200 acres. Surely the settler should be able to do more than a wages man?—It is a matter of strength really.

7219-20. If the amounts owing to the Industries Assistance Board were funded, it would only be a couple of years before you would need any further assistance?—Yes; that scheme would be all I require. The capital that I put into that place has gone. If we could get he Government experts to find suitable fodder plants for his district much good would result. Salt bush, for instance, could be sown, but the ordinary farmer has no time to look after that kind of work.

The Commission inspected the holding of E. Beakbane, Boongalla, and shearing shed. (The witness retired.)

________________

JOHN MILLER, Farmer, Ajana II., sworn and examined:

7221. To the CHAIRMAN: I was brought up on a farm in the old country and spent five years in New Zealand. I took up land in Ajana II. which is 10½ miles east of Ajana in 1910, an area of 1,000 acres. I was charged 20s. 6d. for it but it was reduced to 15s., and I am expecting a further reduction. I inspected the land before selecting it and understand the railway station would be five miles away. However, my land is good. I have 285 acres cleared, 4½ miles of fencing and 320 acres ring fenced. My water supply is good for stock. I live in an iron humpy. I have a set of implements, four working horses and three cows. I put £150 into the land. The Agricultural Bank lent me £550, and last year I got assistance from the Industries Assistance Board to the extent of about £240. I am a single man.

7222. To Mr CLARKSON: I have 210 acres under crop. Eighty-five acres was fallow, but it looks very much the same as the other. It was put in last, and the other was dry ploughed. I never had fallow before. Sixteen bushels was the highest yield which I have had, and that was over 145 acres. This year it will probably go eight bushels over 190 acres. The difference between this year's and last year's yield was due to the hot spell. It will take a 10-bushel crop before I could get anything for myself, after paying expenses. I think bulk handling would help the farmer. I would get my stuff to the siding on a wagon arranged with planks. I sow 45lbs. of seed to the acre of some varieties, such as Federation, and 70lbs. of super. Without doubt the farmers' machinery should come in free of duty.

7223. To Mr PAYNTER: I had rust last year. I pickled the wheat but did not grade it. A man should hold 1,000 acres of good land in this locality, but the whole trouble is the quantity cleared. A man should crop himself annually 300 acres of fallow. That is provided that the land is cleared, but considering the erratic nature of the seasons and the distance from the railway, the land is far too high priced. A fair price for the land I occupy would be nothing at all. It cost £2 an acre to clear. If the Government gave the land away for nothing it would be of no use to a man without capital. My land is York gum saplings and very thick scrub. Rainfall is shown on the plan to be 14 inches but it is actually somewhere near 11 inches, and it was taken up under false pretences. From May to October the average rainfall is eight inches.

7224. To Mr VENN: I intend to run sheep of I can get them. If I had more area cleared I could make a living out of 600 acres, but there should be a reduction of rent made according to the distance land is situated fro the railway. There are only three settlers out my way.

7225. To the CHAIRMAN: The area available for settlement out there is 13,000 acres, mostly sandplain and second class land. There is no poison there. Of my thousand acres, 800 is cultivable.

7226. To Mr CLARKSON; If my liabilities were funded and I was granted a period of 10 years for repayment it would be a great help and I do not think I would require any further assistance from the I.A.B. The security of the I.A.B. is being absorbed by the Agricultural Bank. The I.A.B. take their