61 



Mr. Hitt. — He is to make an estimate from the knowledge he has. 



JVtr. Adams. — I ask him to base his estimate upon his general 

 knowledge, from his official position and what he had heard from 

 sources upon which he relied. 



Mr. Hitt. — That was not his answer. 



The Witness. — My answer is this: That' I have never visited these 

 lands; I have never seen them, personally, and I know nothing, of my 

 own knowledge, as to their value ; I am incompetent to state what 

 their real value is ; I simply state that I have heard they were worth 

 five dollars per acre. 



Q. And you heard from what class of persons and in what way ? 



A. I can't recall now; I have asked about the value of these lands, 

 and I can not recall now any persons who have told me positively what 

 they were worth, but I remember — at'least I have heard from some 

 sources which I can not now distinctly recall — that they are worth 

 about five dollars per acre. 



Mr. Fiero. — Now we ask that that answer as to what he has heard 

 be stricken out as being no evidence whatever. 



Mr. Adams. — I do not suppose that an investigation of this tort is' 

 to be governed by the strict rules of evidence. 



Mr. Fiero. — Nor do I; only I want something that is tangible. , 



Mr. Adams. — Whatever is probable, even if it is founded upon hear- 

 say, that source from which the information has been heard, may be 

 repeated, and this committee would have the right to act upon it the 

 same as an individual would* in his own affairs. We do not know 

 everything from legal evidence, but we do hear things from reliable 

 sources, and they are so reliable that we act upon them, and I sup- 

 pose statements of that kind are proper in an investigation of this 

 kind for what they are worth. 



Mr. Hitt. — The question is, whether they are worth anything. The 

 witness says that he knew nothing about them; he does not know who 

 the party is; he has heard what some one has stated, that those 

 lands are worth five dollars an acre. 



Mr. Adams. — Perhaps he does not come up to the proposition that I 

 stated, but suppose Mr. Patton, for example, should come into the 

 Comptroller's office and say that these lands in that vicinity were 

 worth five dollars an acre; although it would not be legal evidence, 

 it would be proper to be received and be acted upon to aid this 

 committee in their duty. 



Mr. Hit*. — Certainly; but he don't do that. 



Mr. Adams. — If the committee think the witness does not come up 

 to that point, the evidence is less valuable than I had hoped it would be. 



