TRENTHAM.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1915, Page 6

TRENTHAM.

COMMENT BY MB. ALLEN.

By Telegraph.—Press Association, Wellington, August 30. The Minister for Defence made some comment to-day on the report of the Irentham Camp Commission, which was published during his absence in Auckland. "The Commission has placed mo in rather an awkward position," he said. "The question that I wanted them to answer they have not answered. They were asked to say whether anybody was to blame for tile difficulties that arose at the damp, and they have not replied to that question. One point emerges clearly from the report and the evidence, and that is that Trentliam camp itself was not responsible in any way for the outbreak of meningitis, or even of measles. Another point, made quite plain, is that the site chosen for the cauip is quite suitable, bu<; the Commission has not said that anybody should be blamed for what occur; ed. The report states that it is a matter for regret ..that when the Defence Department decided to lay >out a permanent camp at Trentham, the Public. Works Department was not asked to' lay out ihe drainage. The drainage system, as a matter of fact, was designand superintended by irr. ■ Morten, the Wellington Oity Council engineer. I cannot eonceive that he was not as competent to undertake the work as an officer of the Works Department would have been. The Departmerft is now in charge, yid it has not made any change in the underground drainage system. It has made some changes in the surface drainage, but that is due, chiefly), to the alteration of 'the levels hy the completion > of the roads. I think that " the medical off icers should have realised earlier than, they did that the sTfeknerfs'' wis iisslim-« ing largo proportions, and should have warned the Commandant i|nd myself. To that extent the medical branch of tii.! camp organisation was found wanting, but the medical branch had had control of the camp for many months j and had met all difficulties up to a cer- | tain point in a satisfactory way. You _ must remember that in' the early stages of the camp it was very! difficult for us to get medical officers. Subsequently the medical men realised that they were needed, and caine forward more readily, but at the beginning a small staff had to face a very big undertaking without experience to guide them."