213

H.—l9b.

I. HABTLEY.J

46. Do you consider that your clothes and boots were proper and sufficient? —No; they were not sufficient. 47. What was the matter?—We could do with another set of denims, so that one could Inwashed. 48. You had one suit of denims? —Yes. 49. And one uniform? —Yes. 50. Did you get them immediately you went to camp?--We got the denims the lirst day. and the khaki about a fortnight afterwards. 51. Did you get two pairs of boots as soon as you got to camp?— No. I got the second pair a few days before I left Trentham. 52. How long had you been in camp by that time?— About two months. 53. Have you any remarks to make about the management of the camp or any complaint or suggestion to make for its improvement,?•— No. 54. You are satisfied? —Yes. 55. Did you serve in the Imperial Army?— Yes, I'm- twelve years. I left just after the Boer War. 56. The Chairman.] And have you slept in, huts before? —Yes, in the musketry camps in Ireland. 57. What kind of huts were they?— Wooden huts and concrete huts. 58. Mr. Ferguson.] Have you ever lived in a galvanized-iron hut? —Not before (his. 59. The Chairman.] How many men were in the wooden and concrete huts?— Just a section of twenty men. 60. Mr. Ferguson.] Do you think twenty men enough to be put in a hut?—Of course, they are a different size. The ones at Home hold twenty men. 61. From the point of view of discipline that is enough, is it?--—Yes. 62. What is j-our objection to these galvanized-iron huts? —I had no objection. 63. But you said they were cold? —Yes; but a man must expect to he cold when on service. 04. Are they colder than the timber huts? —Yes. The concrete huts are also warmer. 65. What about ventilation in the huts at Trentham: is there enough?— Plenty of ventilation. 66. Too much ventilation?—l thought so. 67. How were the huts in Ireland,ventilated'? —Just in the ordinary way, with windows. 68. And in the roof ?—No. 69. What part of Ireland were you in? —At, Curragh. 70. Did you have fireplaces in the huts? —No, a stove in the centre. 71. Were you in huts in South Africa? —No. 72. You prefer living in tents to huts? —Yes. 73. Were they more comfortable? —Yes, not so draughty, and you felt warmer. 74. Mr. Gray.] Except for the cold you got during the lirst fortnight, did you enjoy good health in the camp?— Yes. 75. Mr. Ferguson.] A. large number of men went from hut Xo. -'18 ill : did you find any unpleasant smell in the hut in any way? —Not in the hut, but coming through the windows. 76. Was that reported to anybody ?— The first time I had experience of it was (he morning 1 was leaving —the night previous to leaving. 77. That would be the only occasion? —Y/es, to my knowledge. An unpleasant smell came into the hut through the window, and I went outside to find out what it was. 78. Mr. Salmond.] Was il. near enough to the latrines to account for it? —No. The night latrine-tins were just outside. They had been removed, but the ground was smelling from that cause. 79. Mr. Ferguson.] Were the huts at Curragh farther apart, that those at Trentham?—Yes, much. 80. And perhaps a little higher? —Yes. Those at Trentham were rather low. In fact, as I stood up I got the draught on my neck from the eaves. 81. Mr. Gray.] How long were you in the camp?— Two months--from the 28th April till the break up at the end of June. 82. Did you only notice the unpleasant smell mi the one occasion? —Yes, the night before we left. 83. You had been in the hut how long?— About a month. 84. I. suppose you find in all camps there are some complaints?—Oh, yes; there are complaints everywhere. 85. Have you any complaint to make about this camp?—No; I have no complaint. 86. Mr. Ferguson.] You say the men complained? —They have complained about colds, and (hat they did not feel well. 87. They thought that was because of the hut? —No; they did not say so to me. 88. Mr. Gray.] A good many of the men who were in tents got colds? —Yes; but I think the huts would give the men colds quicker than the tents. 89. You did not complain of the cold in the hut? —No, I did not; I felt quite all right. 90. I suppose you expect to get a certain amount of hardship on active service? —That is so; yes. 91. Mr. Salmond.] How does the food and general treatment of tin's oamp compare with that in the British Army?—It is much better here as regards food.