None of the witnesses examined had ever been in Australia; two (captain Wood and Mr Bryan) had been in Van Diemens island, one (Mr George Stephenson) had been in the United States, and one (Mr Burnly) in Trinidad In the report of the committee (dated 10th August, 1836) it is stated, that since the year 1795 the sales of waste lands in the United States had produced the sum of 12,439,049, and that all land is offered for sale by auction at an upset price fixed by the legislature; the committee, however, mitted to state in their report that the price seldom exceeded 5 per acre.

They recom- mended that the principle introduced by the Earl of Ripons regulations of 1831, namely, that land should be disposed of by auction at a minimum upset price should be affirmed by an act of the Legislature, in order to give this principle a character of permanency and stability which it did not then possess But the committee abstained from stating what that minimum price should be, as it must vary according to the circumstances of each colony, and " can only be determined in any one by the test of experience.

" Mr.

Wakefield proposed before this parliamentary committee that a " sufficient price" should be fixed on the colonial lands, but he declined stating what that sufficient price ought to be.

Colonel Torrens, who, as chief commissioner of the South Australian association, has carried out some of Mr ;kehclds views, gave his opinion of the sufficient price" as at least 40 an acre.