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I have seen them so close in wards in France that it was a matter of difficulty for one to stand up comfortably between the two beds; and there there were typhoid fever cases in every second bed. 4483. I suppose that even in the best hospitals they must sometimes crowd in beds, against their own rules?— Undoubtedly they do. In Edinburgh Infirmary, the rules say that an allowance of 1,800 cubic feet shall be rigidly maintained ; but When half-a-dozen good cases, from our point of view, came in, we were particularly careful to give them all admission. We accommodated them somehow or another. And I never traced any increased mortality to such cause. In Edinburgh "shakedowns" were used at night and taken up in the day. In St. Thomas's, London, where the cubic space allowance is 2,200 feet, that was considerably decreased on occasion, cots being regularly placed between two beds here and there. 4483 a. Have you directed your attention to the waterclosets of the Dunedin Hospital ?—Yes. I do not think that they are particularly bad. 4484. I suppose they are not in the ideal position, or are not ideal in arrangements ?—They are not in ideal positions; but the amount of ventilation they get is very good. 4485. The Chairman.] You say that they are not particularly bad? —They are not. The method of ventilation has been particularly well devised under the circumstances in which they were placed. Whenever I have had occasion to enter them I have never detected any offensive odour in them. 4486. Nor in the ward, arising from them?—No ; nor even in the watercloset itself. 4487. Mr. Chapman.] Comparing them with other places, take, for instance, hospitals in England : how do these waterclosets stand ?—What strikes me just now is that, unless there is extremely careful supervision of the waterclosets by the ward nurses, I should consider that there would be just as many disadvantages arising from waterclosets being cross-ventilated as there is from the present system of ventilation, because the patient goes into a place where there are windows on both sides, and sits, while suffering from constipation, in a very considerable draught. 4488. In either case the ventilation would require proper management, would it not ?—ln any case what is required is proper management. 4489. Have you paid any attention to such matters as the walls and floors?—I have taken note of them; but I do not feel in a position to speak of them as an authority, like Dr. Truby King, who has made a special stu.ly of these matters, and has passed one of the best examinations of any one I know on sanitation. But I have read pretty widely on the subject, and that is only what every one else who has been examined here seems to have done. 4490. Ts Dr. King an authority on this subject ?—I should think so, for he is a Bachelor of Science, and has passed a particular examination on the subject. 4491. You knew him in Edinburgh?—l did, and I consider him the ablest physician in New Zealand, without exception. 4492. The Chairman. J Do you think that the floors are as good as they should be?— Certainly not. Ido not think them good. 4493. What are their defects ?—The material of which they are constructed, and their roughness. But they might be improved by covering them with linoleum, or well-oiled wax-cloth, which is easily looked after, and is better than the ordinary wood flooring, except it be treated periodically. 4494. Have you looked under it to see if there is any dirt accumulated?— No. 4495. Do you know how often the linoleum is removed? —I cannot say. 4196. Would you have the cloth or linoleum go right underneath the bed and the whole length of the ward?— Yes, I think so. Ido not think any joining can be so good as the complete piece. But I would not say linoleum ; I prefer wax-cloth. I would entirely cover the floors. 4497. Mr. Chapman.} "You have seen the floors of some of the older hospitals in the Old Country : how do they compare with these in the Dunedin Hospital?— Some of them are quite as bad. The floors in the French and German hospitals are frequently composed of pretty soft limestone, a cold porous material which can by no possibility ever be cleaned. 4498. The Chairman.] Do you consider them well-ordered hospitals which turn out good results ?—I think them strangely wonderful results. 4499. Mr. Chapman.'] That is, considering the disadvantages they work under ?—Yes. 4500. If the walls are frequently whitewashed ?—I think whitewash is much too absorbent a material, because I consider that the walls do not present a smooth enough surface; but if there is repetition of the whitewashing it is very much better than a coating of paint, which would not be cleaned from one year's end to the other. 4501. But, taking the walls as they are, and assuming them to be disinfected from time to time, and to be frequently whitewashed: do you think that that is a desirable and effectual measure ?—Yes. I consider that the most perfect hospital that the mind of man can conceive would rapidly get out of order if a general supervision were not kept over it. It very greatly depends on the quality of the materials you have at hand and which are used, as to whether good results can be got from your building or not. One has necessarily to judge from results. 4502. There is a system we have here by which two of the wards in the Dunedin Hospital are turned out—fallowed—for a time ; that is, they are cleaned, disinfected, have their walls whitewashed, and the dadoes painted. Do you think that that system is a good one ?—-I consider that it is the great safeguard of the Hospital. 4503. The Chairman.} Have you ever seen it used in any other hospital?— Yes. 4504. Which one?—lt is employed in Edinburgh. There they had one ward in twelve, I think. 4505. Was it fallowed once a month ?—Not so often as that. I may mention that in the Eoyal Infirmary at Edinburgh the flooring of the whole building had to be taken up on account of the dryrot. 24— H. 1.