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Q.-They have not been added to?
A.-No.
Q-How many Markets are there in the Colony ?
A. There are six in the city and four outside the city.
Q.-Dealing with the city ones, are any of them let as a whole ?
A. No
Q. They are let in stalls?
A. Yes.
Q-Are they as a rule let by the month or by the year?
A.-I think principally by the month.
Q.-The fixing of the rent is entirely at the discretion of the Registrar-General's Department?
A. Yes.
Q.-So far as you know, has the Department been acting upon any definite prin- ciple in fixing the rent?
A.-Well, the rents are let by tender.
Q.-There is a competition between the applicants, and he who offers the highest rent, other things being equal, would get it?
A. That has been the general rule; there are some exceptions up to now-up to recently.
Q.-Has it been altered recently?
A.-No; it has not been altered recently in the way of getting tenders, but there is a certain amount of discretion used by the Registrar-General as to what he thinks is best for the public and best for the Government in the letting of these stalls.
Q.-There is nothing to prevent his letting them by competition in the old fashion; but what you mean to say is that recently the Acting Registrar General, or Registrar General, in the exercise of his functions has not been following that out as before?
A. He has been letting by tender, but he has not necessarily taken the highest tender. That has only happened about two or three times.
Q.-The result of that is that one stall may be let for $10 a month and another stall for $35 a month?
A.-Yes; it depends on the position of the stall. There is a great deal of differ- ence between them.
Q. It depends upon the number of applicants and that depends upon the position?
A. Yes.
Q. How many stalls are there in the Central Market?
A. 288 stalls and shops.
Q-That is on the two floors ?
A. Yes, and there are two or three rooms in the side entrances, and two of these are let.
Q.—What is the difference between a stall and a shop-is there any difference in size ?
A.-A stall ought to be rather different froin a shop. A shop is a little larger.
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