1864. And those responsible knew?—Yes.

1865. By Mr. HARRISON: Did they try to confine the weevils in those sheds?—Yes, at first.

1866. Since then they could have got into other wheat?—Yes, latterly with the wheat coming in wet it is very hard to find weevil.

1867. You have no idea where the weevily wheat came from?—Oh, yes, there is a record of all these notes up at the place. This is a specimen of our notes (document handed round). These are copied out every day.

1868. By Hon. R. G. ARDAGH: They are handed in to clerical staff?—Yes, every day.

1869. By the CHAIRMAN: You make a report every day of wheat you reject?—Yes.

1870. I find here, "11/4/18, R 1687, Dowerin, 49 bags weevily wheat, unloaded 'A' shed." What was done with that wheat?—It will be in "A" shed yet. Those 49 bags were unloaded before we found the pitted grain.

1871. By Mr. BROWN: How many bags would have remained in that truck?—It all depends on the size of the truck. There are approximately 200 bags in an R truck and 100 in C and G trucks.

1872. The number of the trucks appears to be R1687. I see there is a lot of weevily wheat coming in them?—Yes, pretty well every day.

1873. I see another entry, "20 bags, V3419, ex Baandee"?—That was a checking of the weights.

1874. Eighteen bags show an increase of 1.1lb., and two bags show short 5lbs., which is though to be due to leakage?—Yes. My instruction came from Mr. Hayes. It was desired to know how much a bag gained in the stack. On several occasions we weighed a few bags to see how much this was. In the rush and tear of getting the stuff through it is a difficult matter to check the weights. We took the weights marked on the bags every time, but out instructions from Mr. Hayes were that we were to get the scales into the trucks now and then and check the weights. We pretty well always found that the weights were good at the commencement of the season. From such places as 2,000-bag sidings the wheat is sent down to be weighed at Spencer's Brook by the farmers, and a certificate is issued on the Spencer's Brook weights. On more than one occasion when trucks have come down from one of these sidings Mr. Forrester would not allow us to weight every bag in the truck. He would say that we could not delay the gang now, and that we would have to put 20 bags on the scale and average the lot. Fancy a man being paid on a certificate which has been based on an average of 20 bags out of 100 in the truck!

1875. By Mr. Harrison: Did that occur often?—I know it occurred more than once. Mr. Hayes and Mr. Lawrence can give evidence on that point.

1876. There was no check weighbridge weight by the railways?—No.

1877. By the CHAIRMAN: Here is another entry "Fa truck 9765 ex Wubin"?—That was in a bad condition.

1878. The entry goes on "Bags more or less damaged through wet in stack; now dry; a good deal of damaged wheat adhering to the sides of some of the bags." That is not ticked off. The entry is dated 3/5/18?—There were very heavy rains at Wubin.

1879. By Mr. HARRISON: Had you many trucks on hand unloaded every day at Spencer's Brook?—Yes.

1880. For what period on the average would they be lying at Spencer's Brook before being unloaded?—As a rule not for more than two days.

1881. Were you in the habit of unloading trucks during wet weather?—Yes, and standing them out to dry.

1882. Were any bags deliberately taken off the truck in a wet condition and put into the stack?—This was done in February.

1883. As an agent for Darling and Songs at Bruce Rock before the Scheme, you will have a good idea as to whether wheat would be wet although the top bags of a truck might be dried by the wind. Do you think there is any danger of wheat in that condition doing damage to the stack?—If wheat is delivered damp we always reckon it is best to be on the safe side and expose any damp patches to the air at once.

1884. There were not the same precautions taken at Spencer's Brook as a private firm would have taken in regard to damp wheat?—No.

(The witness retired.)

The Commission adjourned.