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F. W. MAC!KEN/tE."!

horse-dung, and the smoke used to blow all over the tents and drive us out. Another reason was because we got an enormous quantity of lice, which lived in the ground, and seemed to come up through the straw. They nearly ate us up, and we had to shift. Another reason why we went away was because of the epidemic of measles which broke out. 42. It was not in pursuance of any fixed plan, but because of the circumstances arising? — Yes. 43. Mr. Skerrett.] Do you say that to your knowledge it is the regular practice of military hygiene that sections of standing camps should be shifted ? —Yes. 44. From one spot to another about every three months?—-It is a practice. It was in my time, and it is the great Japanese practice now. 45. I think you heard the general character of the opinions as to sick-parades at Trentham?— Yes. 46. Have you any observation to make upon that system?— Yes. I came to the conclusion wdien I was wiping out the troubles in Newcastle that sick-parades for getting out the people suffering from infectious diseases were a mistake. What we did there was to make the men parade in the tents. An orderly went round and told them the doctor was coming, and each man passed the flap of the tent and exhibited himself, and the doctor saw his throat and chest, and felt his pulse and took the temperature if necessary, at the flap of the tent, In that way you not only find out the man who is suffering from the disease, but at the same time you are enabled to catch all his companions in the tent and put them in isolation camps. By parading the men you parade all the other seven men who have been mixed up with the man who got the measles or whatever it is, and they are mixed up with their companions for a considerable time before they are isolated, and also during parade. 47. The Chairman.] How would that work : if you went round visiting every tent with a view to isolating the companions of every man found ill you would have to keep every man in the tent till the doctor came? —Every man was examined at 8 o'clock in his tent. 48. And no man allowed out of the tent? —Yes; but they had to be back in the tent. 49. Mr. Skerrett.] How many medical men did you employ for this medical inspection?— Four for 1,000 men —one for every 250 men. They were nearly all contingents, and every contingent of 500 men had two Medical Officers. 50. Have you anything to say as to the sufficiency of medical men at the Trentham Camp?— I do not know anything about it. 51. Is there any other observation you desire to make?— Yes. I believe it is absolutely a mistake to allow soldiers to go into hotels and drink. If it is good for the men to have liquor it ought to be supplied to them by the State. The Chairman: That is rather outside our commission. 52. Mr. Skerrett.] Is there any matter relevant to the camp or the treatment of the soldiers in the camp there that you desire to refer to? —I think I have told you everything. I mentioned to you the question of the transport of measles cases, and I think that is a mistake. 53. It was very inadvisable and risky to move measles cases? —Yes, to move them far from the place where they occur. 54. Mr. Gray.] How long were you in South Africa? —I was there twice-—altogether about eleven months. I was about six months in Newcastle. 55. During your residence at Newcastle 1 think you shifted camp three times? —I did not shift it. The camp where the measles broke out was shifted. 56. Three times? —I was not in camp all the time at Newcastle. I was in the Newcastle General Hospital for a while. 57. At the time y r ou were in camp lam speaking of ? -The time I was in camp it was shifted three times. 58. And each of those times it was for a special reason?— Yes, it was. 59. The burning of horse-dung, the outbreak of scarlet fever, and lice? —Yes. 60. It was not for any other reason, as far as you know that the camp was shifted? —Those are the reasons. As a rule it was shifted every three months, but they were shifted more than that on account of those conditions. 61. The Chairman.] Have you any books with you on the subject?—l have not got any here. 1 have some at my house. 62. Can you show me any passage in a book which says that old camps should be shifted every three months? —That was the rule in Newcastle. You depend upon the locality you are in as to what you do. Some camps are perfectly healthy for years and years. You can sleep on the ground in one site sometimes and be quite healthy. When you sleep on the ground i( becomes infected if you do not clean it, but if you are above ground you do not need to clean it. 63. Mr. Gray.] In your opinion some hospital accommodation should have been provided at the outset?—l have no doubt there was. 64. You do not suggest there was not at Trentham ?—I expect there was hospital accommodation provided. There should have been. I do not say they should provide enormous accommodation for an epidemic when there was not one. 65. Supposing there was an epidemic of measles and the camp hospital would not accommodate more than a few cases, what would you do ?—I would put up more hospitals, put down floors, and hospital tents on top. It is perfectly simple. 66. You do not think the new cases in this camp came from the outside? —Not many of them. 67. You have not had to cope with any large outbreak of measles or other complaints in any of the camps you have been in?—T did have to cope with a considerable outbreak of measles at Newcastle.

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