vil, firstly, moisture and, secondly, humid atmosphere?—Those are two most favourable. 4447. If you have moist wheat to start with, you only want the climate conditions as far as the warmth is concerned to give the other?—Quite so. 4448. And having the two conditions, weevil is likely to develop?—More likely than with unfavourable conditions. 4449. We had one witness who fears that the weevil pest is going to be worse than the rabbit pest?—I do not know on what he bases his comparison. 4450. If you give the facilities that are suitable, you anticipate the post will develop?—Yes, it would develop in any case. 4451. By the CHAIRMAN: How long have you been engaged in the wheat trade?—About 15 years. You do not want to overlook the fundamental fact that the Australian wheat contains sufficient moisture to suit the most fastidious taste of the weevil. We have weevils here at both Fremantle and Geraldton that prefer to work on dry wheat rather than on damp. 4452. Then we find as far as dunnage is concerned delay has been caused—it may have been by the railways, when we say dual control we do not put it down to the Scheme, but one gets out of the responsibility by putting it on to the other. The position is this: on looking through the files, delays have been caused in supplying dunnage, and the consequence is that wheat, in many cases, has been stacked on the ground?—It was in a few places; I do think at many. 4453. The majority of the files I have looked through say that a great many stacks are on the ground?—I cannot recall from memory a great number. the history of the dunnage business was something after this style: On 3rd December we received a letter from the Westralian Farmers supplying a list of sidings at which dunnage was required. On the 17th December we wrote to a number of sub-agents and asked them to hand over sleepers which they had an our behalf of the Westralian Farmers. It was at between 30 to 40 sidings, on the 17th December we pointed out to the Westralian Farmers that there were about 37 Sidings about which we Wanted information as to dunnage, and on the 20th December, with the expectation of the sleepers for the Dowerin - Merredin loop line, and the eastern Goldfields line, all the damage was ordered in from the Railway Department. That includes the order they gave us on the 3rd December and the order they gave us on the 17th December. On the 27th December the sleepers for the Dowerin-Merredin loop line and the Eastern Goldfields line were ordered in from Northam, but a slight delay occurred because the Commissioner would not agree to sell, but he agreed on the 3rd January. Before we could order in these sleepers—— 4454. By MR HARRISON: At that point I wish to ask you mention the sale of the dunnage was it sold or hired?—The Northam dunnage was sold, in fact all the railway dunnage was sold, not hired. It may be at one two country sidings that it was hired. when we first got the Westralian Farmers' list on the 3rd, we then had to make inquiries from the Railway Department as to what dunnage they had available, because their list only spoke of sidings where it was impossible to get bush timber, where it would have to be railed. The Railway Department had to spend some time in getting their particulars as to where the dunnage was available, and as soon they got the list as to where the dunnage was available we had to pick out the most suitable spots to order the dunnage in from. All that was done by the 27th. There were 37 sidings that did not requisition dunnage for until the 17th December. That hardly gave us much. The majority of the dunnage is sleepers lying between the rails. Take Merredin: the engineer in charge lives away from Merredin, and they have to get in touch with him, and he has to get in touch with his men. They have to send a special gang out to pick up the dunnage, therefore it takes a considerable time to supply the dunnage to the ordinary acquiring agents, but such a long delay was occasioned in getting it that most of the agents did without it. They took a little bit and cancelled the order for a lot of it. In the 1916-17 season there was a long delay. This season it took time, but whether the time was longer than what should have occurred, taking into consideration the work, I could not say. As far as the Scheme is concerned, I do not think there was undue delay. 4455. By the CHAIRMAN: Mr Murray stated— Although we started on the 30th November requisitioning dunnage and repeatedly asked for it, it was not supplied, and actually when we started to receive wheat on the 4th January there was not a single stick of dunnage and not one truck available for us. — On the 17th December the old shipping agents were written to asking them to hand over certain dunnage to the Westralian Farmers and the list of it was given. Speaking from memory, there were 30 or 40 stations at which dunnage was available. As it had to be used at the stations at which the damage was, it must have been available on the 1st January. The dunnage we are getting from the Railway Department. A lot was ordered on the 20th December and some on the 27th December. When that dunnage got to the various sidings I cannot say. 4456. By Hon R. G. ARDAGH: It requires not much time to find that dunnage?—No; as a matter of fact, one of the first things I did when I took charge was to get one officer to put in a lot of time to deal with dunnage, because I knew it would not get along in time. The Westralian Farmers, apparently, expected us to supply it in quicker time that it took them to find out that they required it. 4457. By the CHAIRMAN: Mr Harrison followed up that question and the witness answered there were certain sites at which we had our own dunnage; on the list of sidings to provide dunnage for which we had to requisition the Government, there was not one place at which the Government had succeeded in providing dunnage. then i asked, was the requisition put in in sufficient time, and the answer was the 30th November? ---That letter of the 30th November took three days to reach our office. It is stamped as being received some time on the 3rd December. It is customary for a lot of letters from the Westralian Farmers to take three or four days in reaching us. This occurred so often that I made the remark that the Westralian Farmers evidently ante-dated their letters. We have a time stamp and every letter is stamped with the time received 4458. By HON R. G. ARDAGH: How long was it before the 30th November that arrangements were made for them to handle the wheat?—At least a clear month. It was the 3rd December before we got the first requisition for dunnage, and on the 17th or 19th December we got a requisition for the last 37 sidings. If the depots had been ready in time the wheat would have been coming in even before we had requisition for the dunnage. Mr Murray stated they were not allowed to receive wheat before the 4thn January. In regard to the Spencer's Brook depot we would not allow trucking to commence before the 4th January. 4459. By Mr Harrison: Would the railways receive it before the 4th January?—Yes. 4460. What about the holidays?—I do not know about New Years Day, but I know that at Kellerberrin they received wheat on the 2nd January. A lot of these places are unattended, there would be nothing to stop them dealing with the wheat there. With regard to inspectors, apart from the general duties of the inspectors, apart from the general duties of the inspectors to see that the work is being carried out in a workmanlike manner, and so to prevent any neglect or mishandling of the wheat, this year they are also specially checking the wheat to see that the agents are loading it direct when trucks are available. At Wickepin the inspector reported that the agent was putting the wheat into the stack when trucks were standing there empty. The Westralian Farmers denied that. The inspectors are also checking the quantity of wheat roofed, and in this regard we found that the Westralian Farmers Billed us for roofing stacks which never had a sheet of iron on them. If we did not have our inspectors we would have had to pay those accounts, and would not have known any difference. 4461. By Mr Brown: Who fixes the salaries of the inspectors?—The minister on my recommendation. 4462. Are the salaries uniform?—They are paid different rates.