TROOPER MURRAY.!

109

H.—6c.

" Britannic." You have volunteered to come up and give evidence, so will you tell us what you have to state ?—The accommodation was not sufficient. The food was neither sufficient nor good. The bread that we got in the morning was only sufficient for one meal, and some days we had to live on biscuits. We were without biscuits sometimes for two or three days, and when we got them they were maggoty. The meat at dinner-time was never cooked. There were complaints going on at every meal, but they were never remedied. 7. We want you to state what you know yourself ?—That I know personally. The food was very often shown to the orderly officer. I saw them on one occasion take it to the saloon galley, and throw it overboard. The officers seemed to take no notice, so they (the men) threw it overboard. 8. Who threw it over ? —Mick Mulhern threw it over. 9. Where did he come from ?—Lincoln, I think. 10. What squadron did he belong to?—E. 11. Is there anything further?— The apples were maggoty, and the ground rice was maggoty and musty. They were walking about; you needed weights on them to keep them down. We never could get sufficient water. If you wanted a wash you would have to use half a pint, and if you were a little late—after 8 o'clock—you could not get any. 12. What was your occupation before you went with the contingent ?—Groom. 13. Were you in any other contingent ?—No, sir. 14. You say the accommodation was insufficient: what do you mean by that? —If the hammocks were swung they were crushed together. 15. Were there hooks enough to hang all the hammocks ?—No, I do not think so. 16. Why do you not think so ?—Because most of the men slept on the deck. 17. Did you sleep in a hammock?— Yes ; I slept in a hammock all the time. 18. Had you any difficulty in getting a hook?— Yes, I had, if I happened to go down late. 19. How many were there in your mess? —Fifteen. 20. How many of those men slept in hammocks ?—I did not take particular notice. Some of them slept on deck and some down below. 21. Did they sleep on deck for choice, or because they could not get space for their hammocks ?—They could not sleep down below owing to the foul air and the smell. 22. Why : was it because there were not enough hooks ?—No ; they did not like sleeping down below. The few good days we had only a few slept below ; they all slept on deck. 23. Did you ever sleep on deck yourself?— Only on one occasion. I preferred sleeping down below. 24. Do you know how far apart the hooks for the hammocks were?— Between 4 in. and 5 in. between the hooks—not more than 6 in., if they were that. 25. And was there a hammock hung to every hook ?—ln cases there would be a hammock to every hook. The hammocks would be so closely packed together you could not turn in them. But they might not all sling their hammocks ; they were often without hammdcks. 26. Did you see any hooks without the hammocks hanging?— Yes, I did. 27. How many hooks would there be ?—Every other hook sometimes. Some did not care to sleep in hammocks. 28. Under certain conditions there were hammocks hung to every hook ?—Yes; there were supposed to be sixteen men sleeping over the table, but there were not sixteen hooks. 29. You say the quantity of bread was only sufficient for one meal ?—Yes, sir. 30. How much bread did you get ?—I do not know, sir. The men were always complaining about the bread. 31. What was the quality of the bread?— The quality of the bread was bad. 32. What do you mean by that?—lt could be better. Sometimes the flour would not be properly mixed, and it would be lumpy. 33. Do you mean to say your bread was good, or bad, or what ? —lt was neither good nor bad. 34. And there was only enough for one meal ?—That is all. 35. Did you ever see men eat bread at their dinner ?—They used to try and save it up for their dinner, and sometimes they would have it. 36. Do you think there was a pound of bread a day for each man ?—Well, Ido not know really ; Ido not think so. There did not seem to be a pound in it. 37. How large a piece of bread was it? —It was just a bit of round loaf. 38. Each man got a loaf to himself?— Yes. 39. Were there any biscuits?— Yes, we got them ; but they were never good. 40. They were always bad ? —Yes, they were always bad. 41. How often did you get biscuits?— Sometimes we were three or four days without biscuits. 42. Without biscuits of any kind?— Yes, sir. 43. And you had nothing during those occasions but the piece of bread ?—Yes, sir. 44. Did you say the biscuits were maggoty ?—Yes, sir. 45. What size were the maggots ? —They were a pretty fair size. We always had to open the biscuits to see if there were any maggots in them. 46. Did you make any complaint about the maggoty biscuits ?—I did not personally myself. There was complaint made, all the same. 47. The meat you say was always uncooked?— Yes, always uncooked at dinner. 48. Were there any men who liked it uncooked ?—No ; it was in a raw state. 49. What do you mean by raw ?—I mean the top of it might have been cooked, but it was never cooked in the centre. You could eat underdone meat, but you could not eat that.