CAPTAIN HECKLES."

75

H.—6c.

165. There was nothing but small potatoes on board, then ?—I could not say that, because I saw some decent potatoes on board. 166. Were the bulk of the potatoes on board small ? —I could not say. 167. You say you had small potatoes in the saloon?— Yes; smaller than were issued to the men. 168. You said there was not as] much sleeping-accommodation on board the " Britannic" as you had on board the " Dray ton Grange " ?—Yes. 169. Did you ever go through the " Drayton Grange" of a night-time when the men were asleep?— Yes. I was not a trooper on the " Drayton Grange " ; I was a captain. I was a trooper on the " Monowai." 170. When you were a captain on the " Drayton Grange " how many men did you see sleeping on the'ifloor?—l saw a lot sleeping on the floor, preferring that to slinging their hammocks. 171. I think you said that in the " Britannic " there were any quantity of hooks to swing the hammocks ?—I think so, sir. 172. How many men were there at a mess-table —your men? —Seventeen. 173. How many hooks above the table?—l could not say. 174. How can you say, then, that there was any quantity?— For instance, when I went down at night 175. In reply to Sir William Russell, you said you were not down at night?—l was down one night to rouse a sergeant about a certain thing. I had to go through part of another squadron to get to my men. 176. Did all your men appear to be in the hammocks ?—There appeared to be plenty; they never complained. 177. Did you go through any length of the troop-deck?—No, not far. 178. Had you any trouble to wend your way through the hammocks ?—1 had to stoop down to get along. 179. You had practically to walk beneath them ?—Yes; there was only a short distance to where my men were. 180. The hammocks were so closely packed that there was no alley-way to walk betwixt them —you had to stoop ?—Yes ; that was my experience. 181. In that particular portion you are referring to, if the hammocks were so close that you could not walk betwixt them, and had to stoop and walk underneath, is it fair to assume that any more hammocks could be swung ?—Not in that particular portion, 182. If there were men sleeping on the floor, do you think it possible for them to have swung hammocks under the circumstances named?— None of them ever complained to me about it. 183. What do you think the duty of an officer towards a trooper is ? Is he supposed to have any further interest at all than to go through che ordinary discipline of the day ?—Yes ; to get complaints, if any, and get them remedied. 184. According to you, you had no complaints. Did you make any effort—l am not referring to you individually—did you ever put yourself out of the way to find out whether there was any reasonable cause of complaint or not?—l was always in touch with the men. I would say to them, " How are you getting on ? Have you anything to growl about? " and they said, "No; we are being fairly treated." I myself did this, and the other officers did the same. 185. Did you ever have any complaint about the ventilation ?—Oh, I have heard them say it was a bit stuffy. There were no general complaints. 186. Did you ever go down yourself of a night-time ?—Just the once I spoke of. 187. You never went through the troop-deck ?—No. 188. Do you know if it was the duty of any officer, or was any order issued to that effect, that some officer should go down at night-time ?—lt rested with themselves whether they went down or not. 189. If there is no such thing as a report ever having been made as to the state of ventilation, do you think that this is simply because no officer went down ?—The quartermaster may have done, or the medical officer. I did not myself, I must confess. 190. What were the duties of the captain or subaltern of the day ?—To superintend every issue of rations, and see that men got a fair amount, and that sort of thing. They had to visit the guards at certain times, and write out a report if there was any complaint. They would write any report the next morning and hand it in to the brigade-major. 191. In any report you ever made did you make any remarks about the ventilation ?—No, sir, I did not, because it was not a general complaint. They might have said it was a bit stuffy. 192. When there was any sickness on board was any attempt made to better the ventilation ? I could not say what the medical authorities did. 193. Where does the medical authority come in and the military authority cease : does the medical authority come in when a case of sickness is reported ?—There is always a sick-parade every morning. 194. And that was the duty of the medical staff? —Yes. 195. Whose duty was it to see that the troop-decks were kept clean?— The commanding officers always saw to that, assisted by the others. 196. I presume that the officers of the day appointed by the commanding officers would attend to matters of detail such as that ?—lt rested with themselves, I think, sir. 197. Then, if no reports of that description ever were made, are we to assume that the officers never troubled themselves about it ? — I had no general complaint about it, so I made no report. 198. In your opinion, do you think it is healthy for a man to live in such a vitiated atmosphere ?—I do not suppose it is. 199. If that is the case, do you not think that special efforts ought to have been made to