59

H.—l9a

87. Was there any field officer of the day appointed ?—No. 88. Is there anything else you would like to tell us that you have not been asked about ?—I think not. The only thing I hope is that this inquiry will bring about better arrangements for the next encampment, so that it will be better for the Volunteers in future. The tents were very inferior ; a large number of them were simply full of holes. 89. Was there sufficient room for the horses in the picket-lines ?—No. If you wanted to saddle up you had to take your horse and back him out. I may say that the forage was anything but first class. The oats were of.medium quality, but many of the bags of chaff were musty, and I would not give it to my own horse to eat. 90. Did the forage suffer at all for being left in the wet ?—Not at all, because it was all well covered up. Another thing that caused great inconvenience and grumbling amongst the men was that there was not sufficient straw. I know, myself, that there were thirty bales of hay used for bedding because there was not straw. One costs about 3s. 6d., and the other about Is. 91. Did Colonel Sommerville get more straw in?— Yes; but then there was not enough, considering the weather. 92. Where was the brigade parade when Colonel Penton came up to the camp ?—On the flat. 93. Did he make any remarks about the state of the camp ? —No. When he said that if the officers had kept the men in hand the scandal would not have happened I did not like it, because I had done my best to have all these things rectified ; so after the parade I got the other battalion commanders together to go with me to the Commandant, and ask him if I might address him and tell him that it was rather unfair to say that if the officers had had the men in hand it would not have occurred. I said we could have possibly have done more than we had done, and that in reference to any grievances I had brought them before the officers, and therefore it was a mistake to say that the officers had not attended to the complaints, or were to blame. 94. Do you know whether the procession started from the camp ?—I do not know that it started from the camp. I know the four men went out at the back gate. 95. Do you know the four men?—No, but I know the company they came from, but only from hearsay. 9b. Colonel Davies.] I suppose, to boil it all down, what you consider the cause of the trouble was this : the unsatisfactory system of catering, the contractor not carrying out his duties, the want of organization, and the want of knowledge and experience on the part of some of the officers?—l do not think the trouble arose from want of organization. I say that the caterer should have been looked after by the quartermaster of the brigade, who should have seen that the caterer supplied what he contracted for, and should have employed more cooks. 97. That is a failure on the part of the staff?— Yes. 98. The men who got first to the cooks for their rations were better off than those who were last ?—I do not think so, except that the men at the end went short. There were 102 men on the Monday morning that went without breakfast—that is, the Ahuriri and Hawke'sßay corps. They came in on the Sunday, and had to take pot luck. 99. Does that not show that the organization failed on the occasion ? —Certainly it did; but I do not think it was owing to the slight knowledge possessed by the Volunteer officers that these things arose. 100. Was it not due to the want of knowledge of staff dutiess on the part of the Volunteer officers in the camp?—-Yes. I was working up till 2 o'clock on two occasions looking after the arrangements. 101. The Chairman.] Did many of the men get their meals out of camp ?—A great many. 102. Do you know of your own knowledge whether many of them slept out of camp ?—I do not think any did, to my knowledge. I feel pretty certain none of my battalion did. 103. Do you know whether any of the officers slept out of camp ?—I have not heard of any.

Monday, 12th August, 1901. Colonel Newall, C.8., recalled. (No. 29.) 1. The Chairman.] Can you supply us with a list of the officers in Newton Park camp, showing those who hold commissions and those who had not passed the examination ? —Yes ; I hand in a list showing the classification of the officers who were there. 2. This list shows there were forty-five company officers ?—Yes. Of those, ten held commissions ; seven had passed, but had not been gazetted ; eight had passed the theoretical examination, but not the practical; and twenty not yet examined. The large number of officers not holding commissions herein shown is accountable by the fact of the large number of mounted corps in the district whose services have recently been accepted. 3. Having regard to the large number of complaints from Colonel Sommerville as to the condition of the camp, did it not occur to you to make an official visit to the camp ?—The only serious complaint as to the condition of the camp was received from Colonel Sommerville on the evening of Wednesday, the 19th June, after the procession trouble had actually taken place. 4. Who arranged the water-service for the camp ?—I did, by telephone, about four days before the arrival of the first troops. I telephoned to the men who had done it for all the contingents— Messrs. Ballinger and Co. 5. They are plumbers, of Wellington ?—Yes. I told them to lay on the water for kitchens and horse-troughs as on the previous occasion, and at the same rates, and I said, " Will you do it at once? " I believe those are, to the best of my belief, the words ; and they said, " Yes." 6. Did they and you know what the previous service had been ? —Yes. At the entrance of the park, and on the right-hand side of the gateway, there is a tap used by people who go to the