THE TRANSPORT PESTILENCE ENQUIRY.

Taihape Daily Times, 14 December 1918, Page 6

THE TRANSPORT PESTILENCE ENQUIRY.

"Following is a continuation of the

evidence taken on Wednesday before the committee which is inquiring intc circumstances of the epidemic which occurred on the transport conveying the 40th Eeinforcemcnts to England. SHOEE CAPTAIN'S DENIAL. -Captain Post ("-ho was in charge of the New Zealand Government steamer Tutanekai) said his duties comprised the necessity of seeing that the . ships were fitted up to carry the maximum number under Admiralty requirements. The ship was on this occasion making her tenth trip and she had never left New Zealand previously He could not admit she 'was in any ■way overcrowded. The hammocks were 16 inches between the hooks, according to Admiralty instructions, and there were hundreds of ships carrying troops on the same lines. As a result of having hammocks, there was more air space, and the Transport B'oard had no suspicion of any shortage in that respect. The lavatory accommodation was beyond Admiralty instructions. In any ship there would be trouble in bad weather, with seasickness etc. Other ships had been fitted on the same scale, and there had been no complaints. The ships that came out with returned troops were fitted •up on the same scale. Mr. Veitch: Have any ships come out from Britain fitted up in Britain? Witness: Yes, they were fitted up in exactly the same way. "MUST TAKE EISKS." Colonel Eoberts, senior embarkation officer, said.he was not responsible for the supply of food, and there was a misunderstanding on the subject of hammocks. The regulation -was misleading, because the hammock was only shown stretched to its width of 3 inches. He had gone into the question carefully and had drawn up a plan showing how the hammocks hung. If the hammocks were fully extended they must touch each other, and he lad always corrected such defects. He had quartered the artillery and specials in the. cabins. Th O.C. artillery .thanked him for putting his men in cabins. Witness told him: "Perhaps one of these days you may be sorry," and that had been proved, because the losses in the cabins had been very much greater than in the hammocks. Hammocks could be taken out during the day, and the deck space made available. Exactly the same cargo space was occupied as on the previous voyage. Only a few days before its departure the ship was taken over by the Imperial authorities. She was loaded by -witness on the previous trip When the transport left with the 40th Reinforcements, her accommodation was a very great' improvement on that which had existed on her previous voyages. She was "a much more airy ship than she had ever been." Under ordinary conditions, a troopship cannot be a passenger ship. Under epidemic conditions it must necessarily be a hell. You cannot transport troops under passenger conditions. We have sent away 111 transports, and the men have been carried exccedingly "well, from the medical point of view, except on this occasion. Mr Field: Haven't we run grave risks? Witness: We have only "fallen in" once. I suppose we must be prepared to run grave risks under war conditions. I '*fHE MAJOR WAS SATISFIED ■ Major Nutford said no troops w r ere accommodated in the vessel's hold, and the number in the cabin were reduced. Proper provision was made, for ventilation. The food provided was of the highest quality, and the scale of the most liberal description. That had been borne out at the inquiry in England. To Sir James Allen: The officers' food had been cut down very much since ho had come here. The officers did get a little better food, but the difference was limited. In any case, the Government paid first-class fares for officers, and they got food according to that scale. THE OFFCIAIL CASE. i Captain Kirkwood produced the bill of fare provided for the troops— a minimum scale, which must be provided, and varied according to the discretion of the O.C. The design was to get the biggest variety possible, and prevent the men being victimised. The transport in question took a full six months' supply of food. Some meat, taken aboard in South Africa, went bad, but it was dealt with in the or- ■ dinary way.. To Sir James Allen: There was no , country in the world which gave a greater sameness between the food . provided for officers and that provided for men. I MEDICAL MEN. Colonel (Dr.) Makpfll. Assistant Director of Medical Services said the , proportion of officers who died on the | ship was practically the same as the proportion of men. The two medical . men en board were fully qualified. -The senior officer had been two or I three voyages on troopships. Both -were Amongst the first to go down '<

when the outbreak occurred. The disease was practically the same as that which had affected New Zealand. The mortality on the ship was due to the violent nature of the infection and the large number of men massed together. Mrs. Gibbons asked Colonel Makgill I if it was not a fact that many of V/e ■ deaths among soldiers were due to their youth. Witness replied that he did not think that had been a factor. He had 1 been informed that men who suffered ( most severely in the camps were men j in the late 20*s and 30's. In the epidemic generally the more mature men l seemed to have suffered most. What ran short was stimulants and according to evidence, they had to "fall back on rum. In any case, the supply was in excess of the Admiralty regulations The Committee adjourned till next / day. j