49

H.—l9a

363. What aay aid you go into camp?—On Saturday morning, at 10 o'clock, I got there with the main boay. 364. Was it wet then ?—No. 365. When aia the camp begin to get muaay ?—I was compellea to shift my horse-lines on the Monday afternoon. 366. Why ?—Because of the mud. 367. Am I right in assuming that the mud got worse instead of better ?—Undoubtedly. 368. Say by Wednesday afternoon, what was the condition of the camp as regards mud ?—I cannot absolutely say it was over your boot-tops, but it was much more comfortable to go round the horse-lines on horseback than on foot. 369. What was the condition of the flat ? —lt was like an ordinary cow-yard in wintertime. 370. What is your opinion of Newtown Park as a suitable place for a camp of mounted men for the number there in June last ?—Considering the weather, I should say it was a very unsatisfactory camping-ground. 371. Looking back, are there any specific matters which you think are proper grounds for complaint in reference to the camp ?—The questions of rations and forage have been gone into. I have really no complaint to make about the forage, excepting that some of the hay disappeared when it ought not to have done, and on two days we could not get the amount of hay we ought to have been able to get. There was plenty of chaff, and, with the exception of the day which I mentioned, there was plenty of oats. 372. Do you think the cooking arrangements were sufficient ?—No; I think they were very insufficient. I think lam right in saying there were only two men cooking for the whole of the seven hundred men in camp. At any rate, lam safe in saying I only saw two men at one point. I did not see them every morning, but every other morning. 373. Can you say whether there was any orderly officer there to attend at the issue of rations ?—There was an order issued when I first went into camp that one officer was to be present at every issue of rations. That order was carried out in my company; but there dia not appear on every occasion one officer placed in command of the whole lot, so that it was really a fortuitous circumstance when the officers appeared at all. It really meant one officer taking it upon himself to do it. One of the four battalions had usually an officer of the day, and that battalion officer, so far as I could see, appeared to be doing orderly officer's work for the camp ; certainly on one occasion it was so. 374. Whose battalion dia you belong to ?—No. 3, Captain Dunk. 375. In that battalion was there a battalion ana a subaltern or officer of the aay ?—I ao not know. I only know that I was not put on duty. 376. Were any battalion orders issued by the battalion commanders ?—Orders were issued on the day the battalions were formed, which I think was Sunday; but I received no subsequent orders of the day. 377. No battalion order was ever received by you stating that any particular officer or officers were appointed officers or subalterns of the day?— No. 378. What were the cooking appliances like ?—They had large-sized cooking-boilers standing on iron rails, with an open fire underneath. 379. Was there any protection for the cooks from the weather ? —Absolutely none. 380. There was a small corrugated-iron shed there : what was that used for ?—I think it was used as a bread-store, but I am not certain. I rather think that the tea-fires were just under the lee siae of it, between the shea ana the bank. 381. Is there any other matter you think is grouna for complaint besides what you have mentioned? —I should rather call it ground for criticism than ground for complaint—that is, a want of a field officer to be responsible for the parading of orderlies for the whole camp. Since the camp at this meeting had one central point, it was practically useless to have a number of company officers detailed off unless you had some senior officer to superintend the whole thing. 382. In your opinion, was the organization of the camp satisfactory ?—ln that respect I should say, certainly not. 383. Was the aiscipline of the camp satisfactory ?—So far as it came under my notice—that is, in aealing with my own company—l have no complaint to make about the aiscipline. 384. Did your observation extend beyond your own company ? —To a certain extent it did. 385. So far as your own observation went, what conclusion did you arrive at on that point ?— Men excellent; officers did not know much about it. That is my frank opinion. 386. Was the material good?— Material excellent, without a doubt. 387. Colonel Davies.] Who is your quartermaster-sergeant?— William Howie. 388. Is he a good man ?—He has not been very long at it. 389. Is he pretty capable ?—Yes, on the whole, I should say so. 390. Did he look after the men's rations, the forage, and so on ?—He had nothing to do with the rations —only the forage. 391. Do you think your company got on better than the others in the way of rations ?—I do not think they got on better than any one else at all. 392. I suppose when you saw it Was a general scramble your men looked after themselves?— They were not the last when the rations were being served out. 393. For that reason they got on better, perhaps, than the others ?—We were not in the ruck ; we were in the midaie. 394. Which battalion were you in ?—No. 3, Captain Dunk's. 395. Were any battalion oraers issuea ?—None that I recollect after the first aay. 7—H, 19a,