Mr. R. W. A. Warren, continued,

very cheap in the Eastern States in the future, because great stations in Queensland have had the cattle swept off them by drought, and I do not know where they are to go for their meat supply.

1389. It is your opinion that an invasion of rabbits would cause a great increase in the price of meat ?—It would greatly enhance the price of meat.

1390. Would it not be a loss to the State if the Government were to allow rabbits to invade the pastoral country here, without taking into consideration land settlement at all ?—Yes; I think it would be a great blow to the State. Last winter, I believe, Perth and the Goldfields were in a great measure dependent on the North-West for their supply of beef.

(The witness retired.)

Mr. John Morton Craig, further examined.

1391. By the Chairman : We want to get in evidence those figures we asked you for during your previous examination, as to the expenditure up to date ?— Up to the end of February £2,714 12s. 6d. was the total amount expend in connection with the rabbit incursion.

1392. Does that include the cost of those expeditions ; Page's and Mason's ?—Yes.

1393. By Mr. Richardson : Not Mason's —Mason's too. It was hardly fair to charge Mason's expedition entirely to the rabbit incursion, because he was sent out as much as anything to look for land and report to the Government; but still the expedition is included here.

1394. By Mr. Wittenoom : How do you mean " to look for land " ?—To look for new pastoral country.

1395. By Mr. Richardson : that was only an auxiliary object ; the primary object was the rabbit incursion ?—But there were the instructions. In the instructions the primary object was the rabbits, but he had to keep the other object in view. He reported pretty lengthily on the land ; at any rate the cost of the rabbit inquires is included here.

1396-7. By the Chairman : This morning I had handed to me a telegram to the effect, "Have just seen a full grown rabbit shot this morning near Broad Arrow cemetery ", that is signed by the postmaster.—I got that telegram yesterday.

1398. Have you had any further information ?—Nothing further. You know we have it reported that rabbits have been discovered considerably above that.

1399. That is farther North on this line ?—Not farther West, but farther North.

1400. Yerilla is on the line.—Yerilla? White, who reported, had good evidence on good authority.

1401. Mr. Harper: It was a mistake in the name.

1402. By Mr. Forrest : Have you sent a telegram in answer to this ?—There was nothing to reply to; he simply said he had seen the rabbit, and that was conclusive evidence.

1403. By the Chairman : The other day, in giving evidence, you were asked what legislation had take place in this State with regard to rabbits, and you told us that the Act of 1883, and its Amending Act of 1885, were the two Acts in force ?—That is all the legislation I know of.

1404. Have those Acts been a dead letter as regards your department, or have they been carried out ?—We have not been working under them. We have to send in a half-yearly report, and the Inspectors a monthly report, weekly when practicable. These reports have been sent on to the Commissioner of Crown Lands ever since.

1405. Of course these are what you might call casual reports ?—No.

1406. Under the Act there is a statutory report that ought to be made once a year and laid before Parliament, which is a most important matter, because it gives members of Parliament an opportunity of seeing in an official manner what has been done, and does not compel them to take information from hearsay. These weekly and monthly reports do not necessarily go before Parliament, though no doubt it was in the minds of the people who passed the Act that something definite should go before Parliament once a year. Has that report been laid before Parliament ?—No, it has not. I thought the monthly reports would answer the purpose.

1407. But the monthly reports do not go before Parliament ; there is a statutory report which ought to have been made ?—But all the information that was received went before Parliament; everything. You will find it on the table of the House ; I get reports sometimes from there. Even the police reports went before the House.

1408. The Chairman : That is a very unusual thing for reports from the department to go before the House.

1409. Hon. R. G. Burges : Unless asked for.

1410. By the Chairman : At all events, do you not think it would be advisable to carry out the Act ?—Now that the matter has been started in earnest, that could be done. But you must remember that Mr. White was appointed as Inspector of Rabbits at a paltry salary of £200 a year, and he could not be expected to devote the whole of his time to the work. What inspector with such a salary could find horses and camels to travel that desert-stricken country ? He could not do it. All he did was to furnish reports of all the work he did in his spare time, and these reports were sent on.