H.—6c.

80

r TBOOPER V. ANDREWS.

338. Will you kindly state what complaints you have to make: what were the particular points you objected to ? —The sleeping-accommodation and the food. 339. Nothing else ? —Nothing particular. 340. Will you tell us what was wrong with the sleeping-accommodation?— There was not enough room for the men to swing the hammocks. There were about sixteen at each table, and there was only sufficient room for about ten men to sleep, and the other men used to have to sleep on the tables and floor. 341. Was any complaint made about this to the officers?—l could not say. 342. Do you think it could have been rectified if complaint had been made: was there anymore room ? —No, there was not. 343. There was no more available room for more than were swung ?—No, none at all. 844. Could not the officers have rectified it ?—No, not in our quarters, sir. 345. What was the matter with the food ?—Well, the meat was tainted at times. 346. Was any complaint made about the food being bad ?—Yes, some complaints were made at times. 347. Who were they made to? —I could not say exactly —to the orderly officer. 348. When those complaints were made was any attempt made to rectify the matter ? — Yes, sir, at times. The meat was bad, and we had preserved meat sent to us instead. 349. Do you know of any occasion when complaint was made to an officer and it was not rectified ?—No ; I could not say. 350. The meat, you say, was tainted : was that beef or mutton ? — Beef. It was very badly cooked. It was pretty well raw. 351. Were you given anything else in place of it? —Sometimes; we did not always trouble about it. 352. Is there anything else in connection with the food ?'—l have seen preserved apples going down with worms in them. 353. How often did you see that ?—I think that was about twice. 354. Upon those occasions when the preserved apples were sent down with worms in them, were they taken away and thrown overboard and something else given in place of them ?—They generally came down, and we chucked it away. Nothing was said. 355. As far as you know, you had to go without when they came down in that state?— Yes. They did not trouble to complain. 356. Was anything wrong with the other food?— The tea was very bad, too. 357. Was it inferior in quality?—lt tasted just like stewed tea. It was very seldom drunk. 358. Do you think it was the fault of the tea or of the cooks?— The fault of the cooks. 359. The tea itself was good : it did not get proper treatment ?—Yes, sir. 3fiO. The meat was badly cooked and the tea was badly made: then, it is a complaint against the cooking principally?— Well, the meat was tainted. 361. Was it cooked properly? —Sometimes it was. It was very often tainted on the outside. It seemed as if it had been thawed and frozen up again. 362. Was that meat ever eaten?— Sometimes we would cut the top off and cut the centre out. 363. You have known that meat to be eaten?— Not the outside, sir. 364. Yes, but some portions of that meat were eaten?— Some of the men used to eat some of it —not all. 365. Do you know if the attention of the officers or the orderly was ever drawn to the fact that the meat was tainted ? —Yes, several times, sir. 366. Did he ever take any steps to get the men something in place of it?— Yes; we used to get preserved meat in place of it. 367. You did get a meal, even if it did come down badly cooked : you got it in some other form? —Yes, sir. 368. Is there any other matter that you wish to bring before the Commission?—ln the mornings, when the orderlies were cleaning out the place, all the men used to be on deck. That would be about half-past 10, and the spray would come over, and it would be very damp for the men. That is how the men caught most of the colds. 369. What time was that, after breakfast ?—After breakfast; yes, sir. 370. Were the men often on deck in cold and wet weather like that ?—We had to do it to allow the place to be cleaned up. 371. Was there any shelter on the upper deck to prevent the men getting wet? —It depended which way the wind was. We were able to get the shelter of the cabin. 372. The whole of the men would not be able to get in the shelter, would they ?—Barely, sir. 373. A portion of the men would get wet on the decks in bad weather ?—Yes. It was very wet under foot, too. 374. Would it have been possible to clean up the decks without the men going on the upper deck ?—Not very well, sir ; it was too much crowded. 375. It would not even be healthy for the troops to remain below in dircy quarters?—No ; I should not think so. 376. Do you think many men caught colds when they were up in the daytime like this ? —I think so. It was rather cold weather, and they went up out of a warm place. 377. Was the attention of the officers ever drawn to this fact ? —I could not say. 378. Did you have much bad weather between Durban and Albany ?—No ; it was always the spray thatiwas the trouble on the deck. 379. Do you know anything about the latrines?— They used to be very bad towards the latter part of the evening. They used to get blocked and overflow.