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it's a pity you are away." He replied :"I am not going back again ; it's a beastly, unhealthy hole, ox in words to that effect. 1202. But that does not pointedly refer to this Hospital being a hot-bed of septic poisoning?—l never expressed myself in such elegant language. 1203. Has no one ever used it, then?—No ; but we implied very much the same thing. 1204. That was not your language : tell me, then, who it was that characterised the Hospital as a " hot-bed of septic disease " ?—That was not our language—no. 1205. Did Dr. Coughtrey characterize it in that way ?—I do not think he used that language. 1206. Was it your opinion it was a hot-bed of septic disease ? —I would not have spoken so warmly about it as I do now. 1207. Do you acknowledge that any one ever used the term?— Nobody ever expressed it in such nice language. 1208. Then, that is not your language?—No, it is not. 1209. Now, you say you would not have spoken so warmly about the Hospital some time ago as you do now. What is it that has changed your opinions ? —Experience of the Hospital. 1210. Since when, pray?—lt has been growing gradually on me year by year. 1211. Then you abandon the term about the Hospital being a hot-bed of disease?—l never used such an expression; Mr. Solomon used it. 1212. Have you ever, from first to last, reported the Hospital to the Trustees as being in an insanitary condition ?—I do not think any formal report has been made to the Trustees on the matter. We have mentioned it many times. 1213. I would rather you spoke of yourself, and not of " we."—Well, I should have taken very much stronger action than the rest of the staff. 1214. But, any way, you never did so?— Unfortunately I was tied down. 1215. You never did, from first to last, report the Hospital to the Trustees as being in an insanitary condition ?—No, I never did. 1216. Under this growing terror, did you gradually reduce the number of operations you performed in the Hospital ?—Well, I should say no. I think my cases have increased, and in that way I did not reduce the number of my operations. I should certainly say no to your question. 1217. You did not reduce the number of operations you performed on women in the Hospital ? —I should think that by my cases increasing my operations increased in like manner. 1218. Now, do you know when these statistics in the Hospital Eeport for the year 1889-90 end?—l know nothing about them. They were only sent to me once. 1219. Will you look at this report and examine that table at page 15 ?—Yes, I am looking at it carefully. 1220. Can you tell how many operations you performed on women in the Hospital during the year 1889 — The Chairman : I have not had a copy of the report. Mr. Chapman : A file of the Hospital reports from 1886 will be supplied. 1221. Mr. Chapman.] I want to know if Dr. Batchelor can see how many of his gynecological operations are mentioned in the report ?—I cannot tell by it, because other men performed gynecological operations. I see one death there that was not my case. There are two deaths in this table, and one of them is certainly not mine. I do not know how many operations were performed by other men, and I do not know how many operations there were. 1222. There were twenty-nine?—l know that the death at the top of the column is not mine. I cannot answer for the other cases. 1223. There are twenty-nine cases in the list. Can you, looking at the description of the cases, tell how many operations you performed in the year 1889-90 ?—lt would be rash to give an opinion on the point when I find that other men are performing operations. Ido not want to take the credit of their work. 1224. Do you suppose most of them are yours ?—I do. 1225. Do you know how many gynecological cases there were generally in the Hospital ?—I do not. 1226. Should you expect it to be something like sixty-two out of the one thousand and odd cases ?—Yes ; I think it would be about that. 1227. Do you know whether the number is a high number for a general hospital or a low one ?—I should think it is very high, because I know that this form of disease is exceedingly common in Dunedin. 1228. Any particular form ? —All forms of uterine trouble. I think it has something to do with the hills about the town. 1229. And you have a private practice, I suppose ?—Yes, and from my private practice I am pretty convinced of that. 1230. You cannot say that, on account of the unsatisfactory conditions that prevailed in the Dunedin Hospital, you have from year to year reduced the number of your operations ?—No. More people came in, and I had more operations to do. 1231. And the condition of the Hospital did not stand in your way of performing operations ? - It certainly has done so. My operations would have been doubled if they had been turned out in half the time they should have been. 1232. What do you mean by that?—lf I could have got a proper ward and healthy, hygienic conditions ; and in addition to them being doubled, they would not have cost the Trustees one halfpenny more, and I should have had better results. 1233. When did you come to the conclusion that the cases were not being turned out of the Hospital with as much despatch as they should be?—l cannot tell that exactly; Ido not jump at conclusions, but form them by very slow process.