ROBERT SHAW MITCHELL PATON, Officer in charge of the Wheat Scheme at North Fremantle Wharf, recalled:

4921. By the CHAIRMAN: Do you want to put some further evidence before the Commission ?—I wish to refute some statements made by Mr. Murray in the course of his evidence. He states that he received a letter from his Fremantle manager alleging that the evidence in question was an exaggeration and a distortion of the facts, and further states that bad feeling had arisen between the Westralian Farmers and Mr. Paton (myself) owing to the fact that the Fremantle Harbour Trust had sent a letter to the department drawing its attention to the disgraceful state of the stacks at North Fremantle. No such letter was sent by the Fremantle Harbour Trust. There was a letter sent by the secretary of the Harbour Trust on the 16th February. This letter drew attention to the condition of the protective screens on many of the wheat stacks on the north side of the harbour. It stated that screens are ripped and torn and flapping and rubbing against the bags, and that in some cases wide stretches of screen are gone altogether, and that this was a serious matter owing to the winter approaching. I was asked for a report on that and gave a reply dated 21st February. A copy of this letter, the original of which is on the file, is as follows :

The General Manager of the Wheat Scheme—Protection of wheat stacks.—Harbour Trust Secretary in his letter of 16th inst. no doubt particularly refers to the screening on the river side of the Westralian Farmers' long series of E stacks situated at extreme end of wharf, bearing Nos. 49 to 52 inclusive. Approximately 100 yards of this being in a frail and perished condition has recently carried away, and a further, approximately, 200 yards being in a similar condition may go in any blow accompanied by rain or otherwise. Meantime and until such time as they are replaced we are deriving beneficial results from the action of the sun in its weevil-killing qualities on outside walls. Generally speaking, the balance of the screens covering various stacks all require more or less attention, whilst sundry others will require either new strips from top to bottom or complete renewal as occasionally demand before winter rains set in. We have certain screens available as removed from recent stacks, and will be able to put these again into immediate use. I will also form an early estimate of our possible requirements after present stocks are exhausted, and advise you later with regard thereto.

The Fremantle Harbour Trust make no reference to any disgraceful condition of the stacks, but they do refer to certain screens being down, and ask that serious attention should be given to them. We only took over the North wharf on the 1st January. The letter was dated 16th February, which allowed only a very short time for the stacks to get into a disgraceful condition, though we do not admit that this is the case. I had already reported that these screens were very frail. I have here a piece of screen which was put up by the Westralian Farmers. (Sample produced.) As you can see it readily tears with but slight pressure with the fingers. This is a piece of screen which was blown down and recovered by myself, placed in store and left there ever since. It is absolutely perished and cannot stand. It broke away during the blow we had this year. I think this disposes of the complaint with regard to the disgraceful condition of the Fremantle stacks, as indicated in Mr. Murray 's evidence. The letter only deals with screens, and this is a sample of their screen.

4922. The letter only refers to screens ?—Yes. Mr. Murray said further that my evidence was coloured or prompted by a bad feeling which existed between myself and the Westralian Farmers. I know of no bad feeling whatsoever. The Westralian Farmers were stated to have made a certain statement to the Minister, and I was asked for a report upon it. I simply showed that letter to their Fremantle manager, and he disclaimed any knowledge of it. I expressed my opinion of it at the time in a few words. Beyond that, there was no bad feeling in any shape or form that I know of as between myself and the Westralian Farmers. Supplying further confirmatory evidence of, may I say, their work on the wharf as compared with a ship of my own which was questioned at the time, the "Austral Brook," here is a letter I wrote from York on the 19th July, 1916:— Placing of tarpaulins on wharf to save wheat from falling through wharf when loading ships.—When at the wharf last Wednesday I had the opportunity of seeing the "Bonnie Vienne" loaded by the Westralian Farmers without any tarpaulin being used to prevent undue losses through wharf decking. I called the attention of their wharf manager to this, and he said that the lumpers would strike if a tarpaulin was placed in the way of their feet. I was at the ship again on Saturday morning during the temporary absence of wharf manager referred to, when three small boys in knickerbockers were present, sweeping up wheat between railway trucks and the ship, whilst loss to correspond was taking place on the stack side. I spoke to the foreman ganger of lumpers employed, asking him if there was any truth in the statement that they would strike if a tarpaulin were put down, or give any other trouble if any steps were taken to prevent loss going on. His reply was that if necessity arose he could find me 50 men as white as anything that stood in Australia, and they were just as willing as the next man to stop the waste which they saw every day before their eyes; only it was impossible to expect good results from a parcel of boys who were suitable enough for certain classes of work, but quite unfitted to skilfully cope with the job then on hand. I have no desire to belittle the efforts of the Westralian Farmers, Ltd., only I desire to emphasise the fact that so far as I am in a position to judge from the very few men on the North Fremantle wharf at present who would put an extra hand out to assist the Government and the farmers in the wheat trouble if they were properly handled, and saw a general move in desired direction.

In my evidence when last before the Commission I said that the Westralian Farmers were noted for their insufficiency and inefficiency of labour and the predominance of boy labour in such labour as they had. That brings into prominence the fact that there were only three small boys in knickerbockers on the wharf sweeping up wheat. I maintain that the fact of my having written this letter on the 19th July, 1916, shows that so far as that section of my evidence was concerned it could not possibly be coloured in any way by any letter which the Fremantle Harbour Trust had written concerning the condition of stacks this year. I think I also spoke of dirty trucks coming in with wheat, and in this same letter I deal with that matter—

Sweeping of trucks prior to loading in country.—This, again, is an important matter, and Captain Ulrich vows that more wheat is lost in dirty trucks than through the wharf. He adds that the condition of floor of trucks in which wheat is carried is frequently filthy with coal dust or other debris, so that it is impossible to collect or save clean wheat. This condition, which I know from personal experience has existed for years, is due, first, to the Railway Department, whose duty it should be to supply clean trucks, and, secondly, to country loading agents, who should refrain from loading into dirty trucks when supplied. With rotten and burst bags coming in in excessive quantity during the present season, it might easily be worth while making some effort to remedy this defect. I would suggest that if railways were to lend a hand by only supplying clean trucks with sound floors for the carriage of wheat, the difficulty would be largely overcome. Only yesterday I saw wheat escaping in quite a small stream from a truck in transit. Unfortunately, also, upcountry agents are by no means free from blame. No later than yesterday I saw trucks in transit to Fremantle, where apparently no attempt had been made by loaders to repair bags prior to loading; and, to name one special instance, truck G.C. 7349, ex-Shackleton, was in transit for Westralian Farmers with bags stuffed with other rotten pieces of sacking, in preference to taking the care to sew them.

That is in the same letter, and it shows that my comments regarding the entire absence of any precautionary measures to prevent loss through the wharf, and