H.—6c.

68

[SEEGT. 0. R. COOK.

818. Did you see much bad meat yourself ?—On one occasion. 819. Was it cooked or raw ?—Raw. 820. Where did you see that: at the galley or in the cook-shop ? —The meat was away forward, and it was on the deck I saw it, and it was green. 821. Did you ever see any fresh meat in the butcher's shop?— No. 822. You do not know whether that meat which you saw, and which was green, was used?— I believe the chief steward ordered it to be thrown overboard. 823. Do you know of the crew selling meals?— Yes. 824. Who were selling them ?—I could not say, because it was issued from a porthole on the starboard side of the boat, and I never dealt in that line. 825. Do you know whether the seamen sold coffee?— Yes; on one occasion I did see them. That was in our part of the boat. 826. Do you think that any portion of the meat which was issued for the troops was kept by the cooks themselves ? —I could not say. 827. Do you think the men were given a full pound of meat a day ?—No, I do not believe they were ; because a pound of meat a day, with vegetables and bread, is quite sufficient for any man. Ido not say that for certain. 828. You never saw it weighed?—No, I had nothing at all to do with that. That was the quartermaster's work. 829. The Chairman.] Was the " Orient " as large a ship or larger than the " Britannic " ? —I think she was a little larger, but not much. 830. Were you not crowded on board the " Orient," on the upper deck?— No. 831. More room on the upper deck ?—Yes. 832. And more room down below?—l could not say, because I never lived in that part of the ship. I was a passenger, and had to live in a certain part of the boat and keep to it. 833. How did you come back, as a passenger or as a trooper?—As a private passenger. We could not be put on duty, but we were under the colonel's orders. 834. Did you get the same food as the troopers ?—Yes ; some of them lived with us. 835. It was very good food?— Yes. 836. Could anything be done to make it better on the " Britannic " ? —No ; I think the officers did what they could. 837. If you had the " Orient " cooks on board the " Britannic '' you think the food would have been good ? —I think so. It was the fault of the cooks. 838. Was the tea and coffee on board the " Orient" made in the same boiler as the meat?—l could not say; I was never in the cook-shop. The cook-shop on board the " Orient " was far larger. 839. Then, you think the main cause of the discomfort was owing to the bad cook-shop and the bad cooks ? —Yes. We were overcrowded. 840. What about the atmosphere on board the " Orient " : was it better down below than on the " Britannic " ? —Yes. 841. Why? —There were three or four windsails down to one deck, and the ship was higher out of the water, so that we could keep the portholes open. 842. Was there an endeavour to get more windsails on the " Britannic " ? —I could not say. 843. Colonel Dairies.] Which was your squadron ?—F; Captain Ehodes. Sergeant-Major Alexander Pendek examined on oath. (No. 20.) 844. The Chair-man.] Were you in either of the contingents?—ln the Eighth Contingent. 845. What was your rank ?— Sergeant-major. 846. What do you want to give evidence about ?—The treatment in the hospital, and the discipline, so far as I knew, before I went into the hospital. 847. When did you go into hospital?— Eight days after leaving Durban. 848. Where you satisfied with your treatment in the hospital ?—Yes. 849. What doctors attended you ? —Surgeon-Major Pearless, Captain Eccles, and Captain Rogers. 850. Were you fairly comfortable in the hospital ?—Yes, until we arrived here, and then when we got to Wellington there were some men with measles. 851. Was the hospital fairly managed ?—I have no fault to find with it. 852. Ample space and clothing ?—Yes. 853. And the doctors were attentive to you?— Yes, sir. When we came to Wellington some of the fellows told me that they reckoned I was going to die on board. I thank Major Pearless and Captain Eccles specially, because they came and saw me day and night. 854. Were there many in the hospital before you got to Melbourne ?—I was on one side of the vessel where the worst cases were, and next to me and lower down were two who were very bad indeed. 855. Have you any idea of what made you ill ?—No, sir; I had the same complaint in India before. 856. What was it ?—Pneumonia. 857. Your evidence is that you were satisfied with the hospital and the treatment? —I was more than satisfied with it. 858. Colonel Davies.] What about the discipline ?—I was quite satisfied with the discipline in the A squadron, of which I was sergeant-major. I should like to say that I do not believe anything that has been said in the papers in regard to the discipline of the ship, as far as the A squadron is concerned. 859. As far as you know, it was good ? —Yes, I should like to speak about the officers coming