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150. Who did you get the order from?— Lieutenant Pringle. 151. Does he belong to your corps?— Yes. 152. Have you ever been in a camp before ? —Yes. 153. Where? —At Palmerston, but only our own training-camp. 154. How many mounted corps were there ?—Only the one. 155. Colonel Davies.] Do you know anything about the procession of the men that took place in the town ?—No. 156. You never saw anything of it ?—No. 157. Were you in camp when Colonel Penton came up? —Yes. 158. Were you on parade when he mustered all the corps? —Yes. 159. Could you hear what he said distinctly?— Yes. 160. First of all, he asked the officers to collect the names of the men who took part in the procession ? —Yes. 161. And the officers were not successful ?—No. 162. Then he asked the men to step out and they did not ? —I think it was something like that. 163. Then he made certain remarks about the conduct of the men bringing disgrace on the rest of the camp ?—Four men, he said. 164. And he said they were cowardly?— Yes. 165. Whom did he mean? —The four men who were leading the procession or taking part in it. He said if those four had stepped out and said they had done it, it would have taken the responsibility off the rest of the companies. 166. You have no doubt he was referring to those four men and not to the rest of the companies ?—Yes. He said if those four men would come out it would take the responsibility off the others. 167. He called them cowardly because they were not taking the blame when they deserved it ?—Yes. 168. Have you ever been in any camps before ? —Only when the Imperial troops were here. 169. Was it fine weather then ?—Yes. 170. How does this camp compare with that ?—This would have been all right if the weather had been better, but it was so wet and sloppy. 171. Were the rations better on the former occasion?— Yes. 172. Had you your own cooks then ? —No, it was the same as this one. 173. Major Hawkins.] Who was in charge of the camp at the time the Imperial troops were here ? —I do not remember. 174. Do you know what arrangements they had for cooking as compared with the late camp ? —It was just on the same principle, as far as I can remember. 175. Did you form one of the ration parties at the last camp ?—I was a tent-orderly, the same as the others. 176. Was there any order at the issue of rations, or was it a scramble ?—There was such a big crush there that you had either to wait for an hour or else go away without getting what you wanted. It was a terrible scramble. They would sling your meat into your can, and your tea in the same way. 177. The Chairman.] Is there anything we have not asked you that you would like to tell us about the camp ?—No. Quartermaster-Sergeant Harry Palmer examined. (No. 35.) 178. The Chairman.] What is the name of your corps ?—The Manawatu Mounted Rifles. 179. How long have you been quartermaster-sergeant ?—Two years next November. 180. You were quartermaster-sergeant at the camp at Newtown Park in June last ?—Yes. 181. How were the rations there as to quality ?—Bad, and scarce. 182. Were they bad in quality —the meat, for instance: what was the matter with it?—We had one piece of meat that was all gristle and bone, and it was not cooked. The principal trouble was that it was scarce and very rarely cooked. 183. Was it uncooked on more than one occasion ?—Yes. 184. Did you make any complaint about it ? —Yes. 185. To whom? —We complained to Captain Dunk, one morning in particular, because he took our tin bowl away with him. Our orderly went up and brought down the meat. It was principally sausages, and they were not cooked—in fact, they were quite raw; so we put the tin outside the tent, and Captain Dunk, who was on his way to the officers' tent, saw it, and asked what it was. We said, " This is our breakfast." He examined it, and with the assistance of Private Giffen carried it up to the officers' mess tent. 186. Did that happen on more than one occasion? —Yes. On one occasion we did not get any meat at all. The orderlies were sent up and came with bread and no meat. 187. How was the bread ?—Stale. 188. And the butter ?—Good. 189. What about the vegetables ? —There were none. We had potatoes once, and they were overcooked. 190. What were the tea and coffee like?— Coffee we never had. The tea was bad. 191. Had you any meals out of camp?— No. 192. Had any of the men?— Very few. It was very difficult to get leave. 193. When were your horses shifted from their lines ?—I think it was on the Wednesday afternoon. 194. Do you know at what time ?—I should say it would be after 3 o'clock.