EDWARD REYNOLDS aged 64, Hotel-keeper,Norseman, widower , four children, three boys , one girl, aged 23 and upwards—sworn and examined:

233. By the CHAIRMAN: Do you hold any land in the Esperance district ? — About 30 miles out of Esperance I have 1,000 acres in my own name and another 1,000 acres which my boy gave me before he left for the war.

234. What improvements have you made? — I have 200 acres cleared , a dam of 626 yards nine feet deep, and an iron house. I had all the work done by contract. I have had two crops each of 100 acres. The first year , 1913, was very dry. The crop went 7 bushels. I cut 15 acres for hay , which went 7 bushels. I cut 15 acres for hay, which went 8 or 9 cwt. to the acre. On y son's block , 100 acres have been cleared and a 600-yard dam sunk. My second crop was better, but I lost lots of it owing to excessive rain which beat it down flat. It was Yandilla King. My rent installments have been paid with the exception of the last. When I got the demand I wrote back saying that I did not intend to pay any more as i could see no prospects of making the proposition profitable. I have had farming experience in Victoria m, but not in the mallee. If I could see a way to let the produce to market would forfeit the hotel tomorrow and go on the land permanently , but without a railway there is nothing in it. I have had £ 300 from the Agricultural Bank. I think the projected railway 60 miles North of Esperance would allow the land to be worked at a profit. The season before last I brought 126 bags of wheat to Norseman and got 8s. a bushel for it. Even then it was scarcely worth while owing to the cost of carting. which amounted to £50. My first crop was just disced and drilled after clearing with 60lbs. of super and a bushel of wheat. I sowed in May both Yandilla King and Federation. The latter gave the better yield. If the land had been properly cultivated it would have certainly given better results. The suckers were very bad in the following season. They are bad now. If the land is properly ploughed the suckers are not so bad. I paid 6s. for rolling. I attended to the burning and cleaning up myself. I paid 5s. for discing and 5s. for drilling. My land is 12 miles West of the railway survey , at a point a couple of miles below Scaddan. I was down there six or eight weeks ago and saw some good crops along the road. I do not think Grass Patch is picked land, for there is better land six miles East.

( The witness retired) JOH DAVID VALLANCY, aged 52 ,miner, Noreman, part owner of the Viking Mine , Married , one son, age 20 years — sworn and examined :

235., By the CHAIRMAN : Do you hold any land in the Esperance district? — Yes. I am interested in 15 or 16 town blocks at Esperance. I have some property in Perth valued approximately at £ 4,000, and a small property in South Australia. I have had experience of farming on the Murray Flats many years ago. I knew the Pineroo district when it was regarded as desert country. The Esperance land is strikingly similar to that of Pineroo. I once had a serious intention of taking up land in Norseman Esperance mallee, but i concluded that the railway would not be built. If the railway were built tomorrow I would seriously consider taking up land down there. The Unsatisfactory yields from this district are wholly ascribable to inadequate farming methods. In 1896 I saw five acres worth three tons to the acre on Government land at the condenser at Swan Lagoon. At Gilmore's Lake View , about seven years ago, I saw a 40-acre crop worth a ton orover. I have had a good deal of experience with stock. I have been here for 20 years. I have knowledge of the mallee country at Fowlers's Bay and other districts in South Australia. I do not consider that the Esperance-Norseman mallee has had a fair chance. I do not think the ground is salty. I have tasted water at all the dams and found no suggestion of salt.

(The witness retired) THOMAS WATERS , aged 54, Hotelkeeper, Norseman,married, eight boys and one girl , ages 10 to 33 £ sworn and examined:

236. By the CHAIRMAN : Do you hold any land in the Esperance district? — No. I own the hotel and a few town blocks in Norseman. I have had farming experience in South Australia. I have seen good crops on mallee land down here. In 1904 Thompson at Grass Patch had a really good crop. I have heard of the three-ton crop at Swan Lagoon in 1896 , but I did not see it. Without a railway farming in the district cannot be made to pay. None of my sons is on the land. One of them was mad to go, but I persuaded him not to. Given a railway I would take up some land myself and urge my sons to do like wise. On the existing roads leading to the main road 7 or 8 cwt would be enough of a load for one horse. The rainfall in the mallee below Salmon Gums is ample for wheat growing. In the early days all the horse feed used between Esperance and Norseman came from South Australia. They country here reminds me of the country on the track from Petersburg to Manna Hill, South Australia. From swan Lagoon to Grass Patch the country is as good as any I have ever seen . Nothing but a railway is required to transform it into a thickly settled district.

(The witness retired) JOHN DODD BELL, aged 37, surface Miner, Norseman , married , no children—sworn and examined:

237. By the CHAIRMAN: Have you had any farming experience?— Yes, as a boy in South Australia. I have been used to horses and stock all my life.

238. Do you hold any land in the Esperance district ? — Yes; 840 acres of C. P. at scaddan and 160 acres homestead. I took it up in 1911. I have not paid the rents lately. I notified them that I would pay no more rent until we got railway facilities. I cleared 90 acres and sank a 60 yeard tank and erected a two-roomed iron and hessian house, with pigstyes and sheds with iron roofs. Approximately , the several improvements , including rents , have cost me between £500 and £600. I have a couple of drays but no machinery. In 1913 I put in 30 acres of wheat which I cut for hay. The yield was 15 tons. I sowed one bushel of wheat and 45lbs of super. It was only disced in and sown on a drill. This was in April. In 1914 I put in 90acres. I got 12 tons of hay off