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have liked to leave the camp altogether. Not even on active service have I seen the thing in such a filthy state, and never in any camp in New Zealand before. 230. You have mentioned that Lieutenant Thurston was quartermaster. How did you know he was quartermaster?—By inquiring. When I could not get any forage I inquired who was quartermaster, and I was told that he was, and I went down to him. 231. You had young officers, who had had no previous experience of camps at all, in.the camp generally ?—Yes; there were a lot of officers who had had no experience of any camp at all. 232. You have had years of experience, and knew how to go about to get information? —Yes. 233. But young officers who had had no previous experience, acting as captain in command of a company, would not know who was quartermaster, and would have to go round to fossick for information ? —Yes. 234. There was no order paper ?—No. 235. There was generally a want of organization ?—That is what I took it to be all through. 236. The Chairman.] I see that in the list of rations milk was to be supplied ?—I never saw it. It was supplied to the officers. I know that on three different occasions I inspected the men when they were having their meals, and I never saw milk on any occasion in their tea or coffee. I cannot say there was none issued. 237. Was the food, attempted to be cooked, good ? —lt looked to me to be good. On one occasion I was short of food for the men, and I went up and found some cold meat. It did not look very inviting, but after I had got a knife and cut the outside off it looked very nice. 238. What is your opinion as to the suitability of Newtown Park as a place to camp mounted men on that occasion ?—I do not think, considering the season of the year, they could have got a worse place. There was no get-away for the water, and the natural formation of the ground led all the water into the place where the horses were. 239. We are told that it is made ground ?—I do not know that. 240. But if it is would you have chosen that place ?—No, the horses and men were bundled together. 241. You think it is not a proper place to camp, them ?—Certainly not. 242. Did the horses suffer much from being there ?—The horses in the picket-lines did. 243. Where were you camped: among the trees?— Yes. 244. What about those on the basin ?—We were all supposed to be in the basin, but the state of the ground was so bad that, in the absence of orders, our horses were shifted " on our own," because I could not allow them to remain as they were, and seeing the trees there, without making use of them. _ 245. We were told that one battalion was there on the afternoon of Wednesday : how about their horses ?—lf they were there the whole time I think they must have suffered terribly. 246. Seeing that the weather was so bad and the camp in such a state of mud, if you had been in command, of the camp what would you have done?— There are plenty of places about they could get; but, failing to get another place, they ought to have broken camp. After the first night I shifted my tent as well. There were three tents practically under water, and when I went next morning I saw everything in the tent and outside in a dreadful state. I told the men they could not stay there, and not to ask questions but to shift their tents up into the trees; and eventually the three others went. 247. Were there any orders issued that day?— No. 248. Colonel Davies.] You practically took the step because you could get no orders?— Yes. There were no orders, and I thought that if I removed without taking notice of any one it would not be noticed. 249. How were the guards found—did you see any?—l saw guards twice on the two occasions on which I went out and came back again. I presume there was a guard every night. 250. Did your corps ever furnish a guard ?—No, except a forage guard. 251. There were no orders about so-and-so furnishing a guard for to-morrow night ?—No. I would like to say that on one occasion I saw the coffee taken to the tent and looked at it, and the best way I can describe it is by saying it was muddy water; it smelt exactly like hay-tea. I called the sergeant-major and told him not to let the men drink it, and went and saw the whole of it thrown out. 252. Did that arise from taking the water from the muddy dam, or was it through using dirty vessels ?—I should say it was due to the water. 253. Do you think the water in the dam was fit for either cooking or drinking?— No. 254. Colonel Davies.] What did you do when you had this coffee emptied out—did you get any more?— No. 255. The men had to do without?— Yes. 256. Major Hawkins.] Do you remember an order being issued about dirty buckets ?—No. 257. Colonel Davies.] You know nothing about the procession of your own personal knowledge ? —No. I asked my men if they could recognise anybody in it. Two of them said they had seen it, but did not know until after they had passed what it was. 258. Were you in camp when Colonel Penton mustered the brigade the next morning ?—Yes. 259. Did you hear what he said? —Yes. 260. Can you tell us shortly what he said and the impression it left on your mind?— The impression left on my mind is that he was very much annoyed about the affair, and wanted to get at the culprits who started it; and, when he found he could not, he spoke very freely, and his remarks really only applied to those men who were in it. I think he said, " There must be some cowardly curs among you who are not manly enough to acknowledge your guilt and shift the onus from the whole corps." I think his remarks applied only to the men who took part in the affair.