H.—l

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5717. Who did?—l think one of the doctors did, but I am not sure. 5718. What happened after that? Did you continue to attend on Mrs. T ?—Yes ; I went upstairs with her, but I have had nothing to do with her since. 5719. Who has been attending her?— Nurse Monson. 5720. When did you go into tlae ward again ?—At (5 o'clock the next morning. 5721. What did you find then?— That there was a great commotion. 5722. Who were there?—Drs. Copland and Maunsell and Nurse Monson. 5723. Anyone else?— Not that I remember. Mrs. Burton came into the room afterwards. 5724. What was done to the patient? —Dr. Copland dressed her wound again. 5725. Did Dr. Batchelor come again ? —He came later on. 5726. Was there a further operation ?—Yes. 5727. Were you there then?—l was. 5728. Was there any trouble about the water, or about anything of that sort ?—There was plenty of hot water available. 5729. Had any special arrangements been made for obtaining hot water ?—Yes. We kept the steam-boiler full of hot water, and we had a can of hot water besides. Hot water was also kept in No. 8 tower ward, and we had only to run there for it. 5730. That is the adjoining ward to where the woman lay ?—Yes. 5731. Mr. Solomon.] How was the blood removed from the tube during the operation on Mrs. T ? —-There was no tube in during the operation. 5732. After the operation then ?—By means of the sponges. They were put into the tube, and absorbed the blood. 5733. When you saw it, was the tube quite empty ?—As far as I could see, it was. 5734. How long was it from the time that the sponges were used before the patient was wrapped up ?—Before the dressing was completed ? 5735. Yes?— Just immediately. 5736. Was there no waiting to see if the tube had-filled up again ? —Not that I am aware of. 5737. Can you say that it was not so?— Not that I am aware of. 5738. Was it spoken about ?—Not that I am aware of. 5739. Do you not know that that is the very object for which these pieces of sponge are used? —Yes. 5740. Do you not know that when a tube is put in almost invariably some blood comes into the tube immediately after the operation?— But not so quickly as it did on that occasion. 5741. Do you not know that in an abdominal operation of that sort blood always does come into the tube ? —But here the tube was full of blood. 5742. Do you not know that the reason for using the sponges was to absorb the blood which necessarily came into the drainage-tube; that a few minutes are allowed to elapse before dressing in order to see whether the tube would fill again ; and that if not the patient is dressed ? Do you know whether the tube filled again ?—Yes, it had filled again. 5743. How do you know that ? —I saw it. 5744. But you told me only a moment ago that the blood was removed from the tube and the patient was dressed?— Yes, but you could see the blood rising again in the tube. 5745. I want you to tell us which is correct. I understood you to say, in answer to Mr. Chapman, that the tube was filled with blood, and that two pieces of sponge were used to absorb that blood, and by that means the blood in the tube was emptied; that no time was allowed to see whether the tube was filled again, but that the patient was immediately dressed. Now you tell us that the tube welled up again ?—But the tube was twice emptied. 5746. Tell us what condition it was in when both the pieces of sponge had been used?—l do not remember. 5747. When the patient was dressed was there any blood in the tube ?—lt had just been soaked away out. 5748. Was there any in it at the time ? —Not that I saw. 5749. The Chairman.] The dressing was not removed?— Not in the operating-room. 5750. Mr. Solomon.] You say that after the sponges were used the tube filled up again with blood. Are you sure of that ?—Yes. 5751. Are you quite sure ?— As far as I remember, it did. 5752. "If I remember." Is that what you intended to say ?—Yes. 5753. What time elapsed from the time that blood was first absorbed out of the tube until the tube filled up again?—l cannot remember. 5754. How long did the patient lay there while the tube was being sponged out ?—I do not know. 5755. You have told us that Dr. Batchelor, when putting on the dressing, said that he would " chance it." Was that said after the first or the second bleeding?— After the second bleeding. 5756. I ask you again : what time elapsed from the time that the drainage-tube was sponged out a second time until the wound was dressed ? How long did they wait ?—I do not know. 5757. Was it half a minute, or a minute, or two minutes ? —I do not know. 5758. May they have waited five minutes?— Perhaps they did. 5759. But when the wound was dressed the last time there was no blood in the tube ? —Yes. 5760. Mr. White.] Were you present at the operation on Mrs. S ?—Yes. 5761. Did you prepare her for the operation?— Yes. 5762. Were you the nurse in charge of that case? —Yes. 5763. The Chairman.] She was in No. 7 ward, was she not? —Yes. 5764. Mr. Chapman.] Do you keep the temperature charts of the patients?— Yes, I take them sometimes.