TRENTHAM CAMP.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 100, 28 August 1915, Page 6

TRENTHAM CAMP.

REPORT OF COMMISSION. l'Ktt I'IIKSS ASSOCIAT :ON. Wellington, August 27. • The- TrenChani Commission report fills one hundred pages. The coinmissioiis finds , that the sickness, amongst other causes.'was due to aggregation of, so many men in''a confined space, . the wetness of the ground owing to the absence of efficient drainage, deficiencies in hutments, and the presence of. damp clothes in them, unnecessary exposure during sick parades, and the sudden change to camp life. The principal findings of the commission are that due care was not" at all times taken to minimise sickness and , mortality, that an efficient system for treatment of the sick did not at all times exist; that medical examination of the sick was inefficient and failed in respect to .sanitation ;, that there was no evidence; of. neglect or improper treatment in certain individual hospital cases, or of undue delay in removal, of patients to hospital; that when the camp became overcrowded the surface drainage be-i came inadequate, but the water supply and, sanitation, were generally efficient; that the camp is suitably situated, and no reasons exist for its removal if its size is limited to JSOO men^ and some recommendations for iutprovements, especially to the hutments,are carried out; that the accommodation for the men was insufficient after May 29; that, except as shown above, the troops were not exposed to undue hardship or discomfort. As to the question whether any official had been guilty of neglect or. misconduct the commission finds it cannot give a specific answer. Generally, the commission considers that throughout trying conditions all ranks acquitted themselves as soldiers and men. and the militant side of the camp administration' worked unsparingly.