H.—6c.

[trooper g. waldie.

413. That was on your own deck? —Yes. 414. Were you on the upper or lower 'tween deck? —Lower 'tween deck. 415. What means of ventilation had you down there? —We had one wiudsail. 416. And an electric fan ?—Yes. 417. Did they ventilate the place sufficiently?—No, they did not. 418. Do you know whether any complaint was made to the officers as to the ventilation?—l could not state. ' 419. You say the meat seemed to be fairly good in quality, but that it was not cooked sufficiently ?—Some'of it was, and some of it was not altogether. I was not a great eater of meat, and did not take much at all. They used to serve it to me, but I did not have it. 420. You cannot say from your own personal experience whether it was very good or very bad?— No. 421. Did you ever see any bad meat?—l did not. 422. Then, you say there was not enough—or do you mean that there was not enough per man, or enough per mess ?—Enough per man. 423. How many men were in your mess?— Sixteen. 424. What quantity of meat would be sent down for the sixteen? —Sometimes a small roast would be sent down. I should think, about 8 lb. or 9 lb. of meat. 425. Was that for dinner?— Yes. 426. Was there meat in addition to that for breakfast?— Yes ; I think there was bacon or fish, whatever it might be, and stew which was made of potatoes. There was very little meat in that. 427. Do you think the men got 1 lb. of meat a day?—No, they did not. 428. Did you ever hear any complaints about the quality or quantity of the water?— There was never enough fresh water. We could not get any to wash any clothes. We could get plenty of drinking-water. 429. And plenty to wash yourselves ? —You were lucky to get a wash in the morning. You could not get it afterwards unless you stole it from the guard on the tap. 430. You got no water for washing clothes ?—No, unless it was salt water. 431. When did you first notice that your bedding was not too clean?— Well, I noticed it about two days after I got on the boat. 432. Did you take any action in connection with it when you found this out ?—I just grinned and bore it. 433. And it was pretty general throughout the ship? —Yes, it was. 434. Mr. McNab.] Did you make any personal complaint to any non-commissioned officer or an officer regarding the accommodation in the way of sleeping?— Yes, sir, I have. 435. To whom did you make a complaint ?—To the quartermaster. 436. But what was his name ?—Quartermaster-Sergeant King. 437. What did the quartermaster-sergeant do: what did he say?—l asked him for more blankets. He said he would requisition for them if there was a chance of getting them. 438. What did he say? —He said he would get them, and we did get them about a week after. 439. You complained about a want of blankets and the quartermaster-sergeant attended to it, and got the blankets ?—Yes, sir. 440. Did you make any complaint about the want of room ?—No, not to any non-com-missioned officer. 441. Did you make any complaint about tea or coffee ?—No. 442. Did you make any complaint about the meat being uncooked?—l never complained to any officer. Of course, it was general. 443. Did you make any complaint about the bedding being lousy ?—No, I did not. 444. You said that sometimes a small roast came down to sixteen men ?—Yes. 445. If a trooper says that the meat was always boiled, never roasted, he is telling what is not correct ?—That might be. 446. You told the Commission that a small roast came down to sixteen men : do you still persist in this statement? —Yes, I have seen a small roast come down. 447. Then, a trooper told us what was not correct when he said they never roasted the meat? —He might not have got roasted meat. 448. He said they never roasted the meat: is he stating what is not correct ?—Well, he might never have seen roasted meat. 449. Did you have roasted meat ?—Yes, I had roasted meat. 450. Then, he told us what was not correct when he said that meat was never roasted?— Yes. 451. Eegarding the wash—you say men were lucky in getting a wash : what time did reveille go in the morning?— Half-past 6. 452. Supposing a man got out of his bed when reveille went, would it be possible for that man to get a wash before the water was shut off?— Yes. 453. When was the water shut off?— Well, of course, I cannot tell you exactly to the minute. I generally happened to get a wash about a quarter-past 7 myself. 454. Can you tell us when reveille did go ?—Half-past 6. 455. Well, if the orders state it was 6 o'clock the orders must be wrong ?—I might be wrong. 456. Well, I want to know whether the orders are wrong—l have them here ?—Well* I must be wrong. lam wrong, then. 457. Might you not be wrong about the men getting a wash when the reveille went?—lt all depends on the "go" of the man. If he liked to bustle he would get a wash ; but he would have to be a bustler. 458. If he preferred, in place of bustling, to take out another half-hour, and imagined that reveille was at half-past 6 instead of at 6, and took a little advance on half-past 6 in his bed, he

58