H.—6c.

[Q.M.-SBBG. M. MCDONNELL.

597. Did the men get anything besides bread and meat?— They had jam every day. 598. How much ?—About 2 oz. or 3 oz. of jam per man. 599. Any butter ? —They had butter twice a week. 600. Good butter?— Yes. 601. Was it bad on any occasion ?—I never saw it bad. 602. Besides jam and butter, did they have anything else ?—They had cheese once a week. 603. Pudding ?—Every day. 604. What kind ?—Plum-pudding and sago alternate days, and rice on others. 605. Apples ?—They had them once, but the men would not eat them. 606. Why?— They had a sort of grub in them, and the men would not take them. 607. How often did they have them ?—Only once. 608. Was there rice with them?—No, not that day. 609. What did they have for breakfast ?—lrish stew, and twice a week a good ration of bacon. 610. What ration? —About two slices per man. 611. Any vegetables ? —Potatoes. 612. Were they good?— They were good. 613. What size ? —They were a nice size—about the ordinary potatoes we grow here. 614. Do you know anything about the water-supply?—lt was good water. Of course, the men could not have water whenever they wanted it. 615. Not to drink ?—No. 616. How often could they get it ?—Whenever they wanted it; but there was a man in charge of it, and sometimes they could not get it. 617. Was the water ever bad ?—No ; or if it was it was remedied. 618. Was there any complaint of an insufficient supply for drinking ?—No. 619. What allowance was there per man for washing?— The men went and got a basin full. 620. Was there any reason why a man could not get a wash ?—No, unless he shut himself up in his hammock and the water was closed off. 621. Were there sufficient utensils for the men to get a wash before the water was shut off? —Yes. 622. When was it shut off?— About 8 o'clock. 623. When was it put on ?—About 6 o'clock. 624. Can you tell us about the space? Were there hooks for every hammock on board?— Yes. 625. Sure of that ?—Yes. 626. Then, if a man lay on the floor it was because he did not choose to hang his hammock on to the hooks ?—Yes. 627. Quite sure?— Yes. 628. How far apart were they ?—About 2 ft. 6 in. apart. 629. I wish you to be particularly careful about that. Of course, you can only speak from memory ; but do yon think they were 2ft. apart? —Yes. 630. And that there was room for every man to hang a hammock if he chose? —Yes. 631. Did you visit the 'tween decks and the lower decks on many occasions? —Every day. 632. During the night?— Sometimes I walked round them at night. 633. Was the atmosphere foetid ?—lt did not seem bad, although the men were always down there at night-time. I did not see any difference from other ships. 634. Do you know much about ships?— Well, I was in close proximity with the other men when we went Home with the Jubilee Contingent. 635. Was the ventilation fair in the lower deck —which, of course, was the worse deck ?—lt was very fair. There were two windsails there. 636. Had you much wind during the voyage?— Yes. 637. Enough to make the current pretty strong through the windsails ?■—Yes. 638. Had you any complaint from any man about the insufficiency of windsails and ventilation ?—No. 639. The 'tween decks was well ventilated ?—Yes, because the air came direct down through the gangway. 640. Were the ports often open ?—No ; they were not open between Durban and Albany. 641. What was the ventilation ?—lt was through the hatchway. 642. Were there two openings into it ? —Yes ; one through the hatch, and the other through the alley-way. 643. Were they far apart?—No; they were side by side. 644. Was the ship constantly cleaned ?—Every day. 645. As much so as on your Jubilee trip Home?— Yes, I think the " Britannic '' was kept very clean. 646. Do you know anything about the hospital accommodation ? —No. 647. Mr, McNab.] On your Jubilee trip what would be the routine work that the men had to do during the day?—We used to drill morning and afternoon. 648. There was enough room on that ship to drill on the deck ? —Yes; there were a lot of passengers on board, but we were always able to make room to drill. 649. Do you not think that kept the men in better fettle ?—Yes, they were all the better for it. 650. It kept you from getting despondent and moping about ?—Yes. 651. You mentioned about the biscuits being bad : were they ever condemned on account of their being creeping with maggots ?—No, sir ; I never heard of it. 652. It was just the appearance ?—The biscuits as a rule were brown, but those condemned were white and tasteless.

38