L. FEIEDBICH.]

253

H.—l9b.

25. The Chairman.] You were only there one day ?—We were shifted into the marquee. I must have b.'.cn there more than one day. 26. Do you say that each day you were there a doctor came ?—Yes, I think so. 27. Dr. Martin.] You told me some men were on straw and some on mattresses, and now you saythere were not ? —I did not see any on straw. 28. You said something about grabbing tho mattresses ? —Some had two mattresses and some one. Those who came in first took the mattresses there, and some had their own. 29. The mattresses would be of straw ?—Yes. 30. Was Trumpeter Simpson there for some time . —I could not say. Private Davidson and Private Dorset were there, and I believe I heard of Private Gillespie. 31. Mr. Skerrett.] Do you know of any one who was in the tent when it was blown down who is in camp to-day ?—Private Davidson, of B Company, Sixth Reinforcements ; and Private Dorset. 32. Do you remember on the night that part of the tent was blown down whether any orderly was sleeping in the tent ? —I do not think so. There might have been at the other end. lam a very sound sleeper myself, and when the tent blow in they began to shout out, and that woke me. 33. Was there any orderly directing the reinstatement of the tent the night it was blown down ? —Yes, I think there was. He was a hospital man. 34. Do you remember the same part of the tent blew down on the Sunday morning ? —Yes. 35. I understood you to say that the tent was down for about an hour before you were able to attract attention ?—Yes ; that was on the Sunday morning. 36. Was there any orderly there then ? —I do not think so. 37. Was it before or after breakfast it blew down ?—lt was before breakfast—it was dark. 38. The Chairman.] We were told it was in the evening, at 8 o'clock about, when it blew down first ? —Yes. And it, was dark when it blew down the second time. 39. Then it must have been before 7 o'clock . —Yes. Sergeant Alexander George Buchanan sworn and examined. (No. 68.) 1. The Chairman.] When did you come into camp ?—On the 15th March this year. 2. As a private ?—We came before the men, for a month on probation. 3. What were you before you came into camp ? —I was a cadet in the Government Insurance at Timaru. 4. Did you go and live in tents when you came ? —Yes. When we came we were put into that one hut that was erected as a trial. Wo were there till the, men came. 5. What happened then ? —We all moved over to the tents. 6. Did you move back again from tho tents to the huts . —When the heavy rain came within the last fortnight we did. 7. Which do you prefer—tents or huts ? —I much prefer the tents myself, because there are only eight in a tent and fifty in a hut. 8. It is not quite so sociable ? —No. 9. And as regards comfort ? —The huts are better in wet weather, and the tents better in dry weather. 10. Did you manage to keep warm in the sample hut ? —The huts were always very cold when it was frosty. You noticed it more than you did in the tents. The tents are not cold like the huts are. 11. Did you see moisture on the sides of the iron inside the huts ? —No. 12. Did you see the eaves open ? —Yes, and there was a ventilator right through the hut above the partition. I think the other huts have the ventilator differently. 13. Have you been ill at all ? —Yes, I have had measles. I got them about six weeks ago or a little more. 14. I suppose you reported on sick-parade ? —I came home from route march on the Saturday night and felt hot, and I found I had measles, and reported straight away and was sent to a marquee in the camp. ,15. How long were you ill ? —I was in the hospital five days, and then went home on sick-leave to Timaru. 16. They did not quarantine you ? —I only had measles for one day, as far as I could see. I was not ill ; I was lying in bed for the one day. 17. Dr. Martin.] Were you examined by a doctor ?—When we went in. The doctor used to come round eyery morning, and those that looked worse he would take the temperatures of. The others he would ask how they were, and would go away again. The day I went in would be about seven days before the Fifth went, and they went on the 12th June. 18. You were not in the marquee that was blown down ? —No. 19. The Chairman.] While you were in the marquee was it dry ?—Yes, it was dry. If there had been very heavy rain it would not have been dry. There was nothing to keep the wet out. There was no trench round our marquee. Private George Dell sworn and examined. (No. 69.) -1. The Chairman.] "When did you come into camp . —On the 18th April. 2. What were you before ? —A general labourer. 3. What happened to you when you got to camp ?—We were served with our kit. 4. Did you get two pairs of hoots ?—No, not until we had been in camp for about nine weeks.