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silver. Mr. LEIGH found $300 in notes left on his table. These gentlemen come forward frankly and say, "Yes, I was offered these things; I did not take them." Well, if the Contractors would offer things like that to people in the position of Major MULLOY and Mr. LEIGH would they not be much more likely to offer them to people in the posi-

tion of foremen?

A. That I don't know.

-But what do you think?

A.—Well, I think it is very likely.

Q. Did you ever hear about that $300 that was found on Mr. LEIGH's table?

A.-Never. This is the first time I have heard of it.

Q.-Mr. LEIGH said he found out who it came from, and he sent it back. Did not all the department know of it?

A.--I don't think it was at the time he was in the Surveyor General's Department.

Hon. A. LISTER.-Yes, it was. Very well, you have given us some valuable information about the bills, and I am very much obliged to you. I hope you will try to make your two colleagues understand we should have respected them very much more if they had done so.

The Commission adjourns.

FIFTEENTH MEETING.

1st February, 1884.

Present: The Honourable A. LISTER, Treasurer.

F. B. JOHNSON.

Mr. A. SETH, of the Colonial Secretary's Office, is examined,—

Q.-Hon. F. B. JOHNSON.-We want, Mr. SETH, if possible, to get some light as to how certain letters got into the hands of Mr. FRASER-SMITH. You have been long connected with the Colonial Secretary's Department, and we thought perhaps you could give us some idea how they could have escaped?

A.-My idea is the information could not have been given from the Colonial Se- cretary's Office; first, because from the way the letters were quoted they were evidently quoted by a person unacquainted with the practice in the Colonial Secretary's Office. For instance, if we wanted to quote a letter from any department we would quote our own number, Colonial Secretary's Office, No. so and so, whereas from what I have seen the numbers of these letters were those in the Surveyor General's Office, so I think it could not have come from any one acquainted with the practice of the Colonial Secretary's Office.