239

A. BLACLIN.]

H.—l9b.

9. When were you promoted to sergeant ?—lmmediately I landed in Samoa. My promotion was antedated to the time I joined first. I took over subordinate charge of the hospital in Samoa. 10. You returned from Samoa in October, I think ?—Yes, about the I,4th October. 11. And received your discharge from that date ? —Yes. 12. When did you rejoin?—On the 28th or 29th October. I received a telegram from Major McKillop asking me if I would rejoin the service as a sergeant-major and take over the training of the Medical Corps at Trentham, which I did. 13. And I think you rejoined at once as sergeant-major ? —Yes. 1.4. You were at Trentham from the 28th October until when ? —The Ist February, 1915. 15. And you were then transferred to the Wellington Military District headquarters ? —Yes. 16. Ido not understand that you have come here to make any complaint: you have come here at my request ?—Yes. 17. The Chairman.] You are not a voluntary witness ? —No. Mr. Skerrett : I have called this witness merely in case he should be able to give us information, and to prevent it being said that if he were not called there was an attempt to keep any information lie could give from, the Commission. Will you tell us briefly the nature of your duties at Trentham ? —I was responsible for the discipline and the military training of the New Zealand Medical Corps whilst I was there—from the end of October until the Ist February. 18. We will speak throughout your evidence only of that period I—l1 —I have been there since with the No. 1 Stationary Hospital, and in the hospital ship. 19. What was done on sick-parade ? —The men were marched to the marquee —the inspection marquee —by the non-commissioned officers of the various regiments, who brought with them the sick-report. They were, handed over to Sergeant-major Dorizac or myself. Sometimes we were both there, sometimes only one. Wo passed the sick-reports inside, retaining a copy ourselves, and we used to shout out, the names and march the men in front of the Medical Officers, who would examine the men and. turn round to the clerk sitting at the table and give the diagnosis and instructions for the disposal of the men—-whether they were to be returned to duty, or light duty, or sent to hospital. Then they would be passed on to the orderlies in. attendance to receive their treatment. 20. Did the examining Medical Officer dictate his diagnosis or treatment, or did he write it ? — He just turned round and dictated it to the clerk. The clerk wrote it. 21. The Chairman.] Is that the usual practice ?- —Yes. 22. Mr. Skerrett.] Were you the senior non-commissioned officer ?—Not at that time. Sergeantmajor Dorizac was, but he was only responsible for supplies. 23. It was suggested by Sergeant-major Dorizac that the examining Medical Officer at sickparade, as a rule, wrote out either the diagnosis or the treatment —or the prescription, if I may be allowed to call it that—and did not merely dictate the one or the other to the clerk ?—That is wrong. If there was a prescription to write they wrote it; but that was a thing that very seldom happened. They had generally got there what was wanted. One Medical Officer would say, " Give that man a dose of salts, or a tablet." The clerks did the writing. 24. The Chairman.] He dictated to the clerk what was to be done—told the clerk ? —Yes. 25. And the clerk would then write it down ?—Yes. 26. Mr. Skerrett.] T understand it was only when, there was some more or less complicated prescription that the Medical Officer would himself w 7 rite it ?—Yes. 27. And that was in very exceptional cases ?—Yes. 28. How many marquees were there for the examination of those who attended sick-parade ? — At, first there was only one, where they were examined and where they were treated. 29. One marquee ? —Yes ; and we had a couple of beds —three beds, as a matter of fact. That was in October and early November. 30. Was there great congestion there : tell me in your own words ?—Anybody can understand that if you have three beds at the end of the marquee, and a table in the centre with a couple of clerks, and three or four orderlies waiting with drugs and dressings, and in front of the table three or four Medical Officers, there must be congestion . It could not be otherwise. 31. By what process of selection was a man assigned to any particular doctor ?—When a man came in I just looked round and saw what Medical Officer was disengaged, and pushed the man. over to him. The, Medical Officer saw the man and had a look at him, and beckoned to an orderly and said, " Give this man such-and-such." That would be the last the Medical Officer would see. 32. Was the system of having a sick-parade, in the presence of three Medical Officers together conducive to a satisfactory examination of those claiming to be sick ? —That is rather a difficult question to answer. It rests with the Medical Officer. I know one or two Medical Officers grumbled now and then at the congested state of things, and if a man was really in. want of a thorough examination he was told to wait until the others were finished, and he would be taken by himself and put on the table and examined. That system was all right for a cursory examination. 33. The, Chairman,.] A man perhaps would not be so willing to unburden his mind in such a large concourse ? —Everything was conducted as privately as possible. If a man wished to make a remark to a Medical Officer, and would not like anybody else to overhear what he was saying, it might be possible for him to go a little further along to one end of the tent. The marquee itself was only open, for about a quarter of the distance along the front. The rest of the marquee had a curtain all round. The Medical Officer could take his patient to one end. 34. Mr. Skerrett.] During your experience in. the Imperial, service was it the practice for three medical men to hold one sick-parade ? —No, I have never seen more than one Medical Officer to a tent. 35. Would it not have been a reasonable way of organizing the sick-parades to divide up the patients and assign a definite number to each individual doctor ?—I think so. That is what I should have done. One Medical Officer to one tent, I think, is quite sufficient.