helping our cause. And please give me the name and address of your solicitor as I must have the best advice that can be got to help us through with our case, and from what you have told me of him I believe he must be good and will be of very great help in fighting our case. If everyone of our brother settlers would only take the stand that I am taking, our case would be easily won, as it would simply mean this, that the Midland Railway Co. would have to put us all into court to recover payment of their promissory notes, and we on our side could easily prove that it is absolutely impossible for us to pay the exorbitant price they have charged us for their land, and the result would be decided in our favour.I do trust that you and Mr. Lang will be able to make those who are in doubt see things in the same light as we do, and stand shoulder to shoulder with us, so that our case will be strengthened in every step we take. Do try and keep friends with all of then so that our case may be won successfully.

Mr. Jensen also wrote to Mr. Gilbert as follows: — I have to acknowledge your letter of 22nd inst., advising me that the London Board of Directors of the Midland Railway Company of W.A. Ltd., in their reply to our joint petition for a revaluation of our farm lands, have stated that they decline to make any revaluation, but agree to the outstanding amounts being spread over a period according to the present position of the settlers. In reply to the above, I have to point out that the relief your London Board of Directors are offering to their settlers is not a relief but an ultimatum telling us that if we do not like to remain under the condition which we in our ignorance agreed upon, ie., slaves to the Midland Railway Company for a period of 20 years, we can have our difficulties extended to 25,30 or even 40 years, as long as we agree to remain in bondage to the Midland Railway Company of W.A., Ltd. Such conditions are untenable, as the heavy strain of work and financial difficulties which the Company is holding forth to us is impossible for me to live under, and I must therefore again advise you that anything short of re-valuation of our farm lands on the basis asked for in our petition is no good to me.

In January I saw the Premier, together with Mr. Lefroy and Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Wilson told me to put our case before you, and said that with your recommendation he could move, but not without it. At present we cannot pay our rent. Our suggestion is that our lands be re-valued on the Government basis. We are prepared to pay interest on what the Company has spent improving our land, and we want a correct account rendered to each holder. We are under a contract with the Midland Company to purchase. The settlers along the Canadian Pacific railway were in exactly the same position.

9612. By Mr. PAYNTER: But the company there hold the land under certain conditions from the Government. Here there are no such conditions?—Mr. Mitchell raised the same point. But there is nothing to hinder the Government taking up our case, seeing that the whole position was misrepresented to us in the first place. We have seen our solicitors, who tell us that we have a good case in equity, but might go down on a point of law. We had to sign a second agreement on arrival here, the second ratifying the first which we signed in England. I arrived in January, and signed the second agreement in May. Until the second agreement was signed the Company did nothing but soft-soap me. Either our farms should be revalued on the basis of the Government values, of the Government should take us over. The land is productive enough. I have had 15 bushels and 16 bushels from the only two crops I have grown. Putting in and taking off costs £2 per acre. That clears 10s. an acre, and my rental is 10s. an acre. Of those who took up readymade farms only those who are doing outside contracts are making good. None of the 22 members of our Association are making good by farming alone. There is only one farmer in the district who is not a member of our Associations. (The witness retired.) _________________

JOHN LANG, Farmer, Carnamah, sworn and examined: 9613. By Mr. PAYNTER: You complain that the Chairman at a previous sitting questioned some of your statements, and you wish now to furnish evidence in support of those statements? —Yes, I have here a letter from the Midland Railway Company as follows: —

With reference to your inquiry regarding my company's "ready-made" farms in Western Australia, I have the honour to inform you that fifty-eight of these farms are now ready for occupation. I enclose herewith pamphlet and set of classification plans showing the blocks now available in these subdivisions. Each holding has from 120 to 190 acres cleared ready for the plough, and the balance of the block has been ringbarked 12 months ready for burning. The cleared portion is fenced off from the remainder and a ring fence of six wires encloses each block. There is a substantial house on each of the holdings with ample stable accommodation. In every case these farms are ready to give an immediate return. From the pamphlet you will see that the terms of sale for the freehold are 10 per cent. cash deposit and the balance in 20 equal annual instalments, bearing interest at 5½ per cent. per annum. If you decide to purchase one or more of these blocks the company would be prepared, if you so desire, to give you for six weeks after landing in the State the right to change the blocks purchased for any others that might be available, did you so prefer. This land comprises some of the richest wheat country in Western Australia, and is situated in a rainfall area that is practically droughtless, the average annual precipitation being about 18 inches; but what is more important, the bulk of this rain falls on the crops during the "growing" months —May to October —being well distributed over this period. No less an authority than Mr. F. A. Hunt, the Federal Government Meteorologist of Australia, has publicly stated that the South-West portion of Western Australia is one of the best and most reliably watered areas in the