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of how they should be issued. If you take the Easter camp, the forage and rations were issued very differently at Tayforth. There was a system there, while there was none at Newtown Park. 236. You are aware that many men had their meals out of' camp down here ? —I am not aware of it. Very few of our men had their meals out of camp. 237. Colonel Davies.] Did you see the string hung across in the camp with some of the rations on it, put up as a mild protest ?—Yes. On the Wednesday I saw a stick with a bottle attached to it stuck in the hill. 238. What part of the camp was that in?—At the corner, near the asphalt path. The stick was stuck in the bank. I do not know that it had anything to do with the procession. It was a long stick with a bottle on it. 239. Whose lines was it in ?—lt was in no one's lines. It was on the hill, on the opposite side to the gate. 240. Is there anything else you wish to tell us that you have not been asked, either about the camp or the arrangements ? —No; there is nothing that I wish to tell you. Colour-Sergeant Redmond recalled. (No. 36.) 241. The Chairman.] How long was Sergeant Rankin in your sight on the afternoon of the procession by the Volunteers in town ?—I saw him when I first saw the procession, opposite the Bank of New South Wales, and followed him right along the Quay with the procession. 242. Did he follow the procession all the way round ? —Yes, along Lambton Quay, up Bowen Street into Museum Street, through Sydney Street into Charlotte Street down on to the Quay again. 243. Did you see him in all those streets ?—Yes ; I followed him right round. 244. What was he doing?—He appeared to me to be the ringleader. He seemed to be calling on other men to join the procession, and when it got to a point opposite Kirkcaldie and Stains' premises I saw him beckoning men into the procession. 245. You have no doubt that it was Rankin ? —No ; I saw him in uniform, and pointed him out to Sergeant-Major Healy, who spoke to him. 246. Did you hear Sergeant-Major Healy say anything to him ?—No; I just pointed him out to Sergeant-Major Healy, and told him he was the ringleader of the procession. 247. Did you recognise any officers standing near Holliday's shop?—l saw two officers, but they were strangers to Wellington, and I did not know who they were. The only officer I recognised was the admiral of the fleet, who was in uniform. He was going down Bowen Street at the time. 248. Colonel Davies.] You are sure Rankin was in uniform ?—Yes; he had a khaki uniform on. 249. Did you notice anything peculiar about his uniform ? For instance, the Manawatu Mounted Rifles have had two tunics issued, one some time ago and the other lately. One tunic had five cartridge-pockets on each side of the breast, and the other one had not?—No ; I did not notice that particularly. Lieutenant Charles Higgins examined. (No. 37.) 250. The Chairman.] What corps do you belong to ? —The Eketahuna Mounted Rifles. 251. How long have you been an officer of that corps?— Since the establishment of the corps. 252. When was that ? —Last November. 253. How long have you been a volunteer? —Since 1860. 254. Have you been in a mounted corps before ?—No, I have been in the artillery. 255. Were you at the camp in Newtown Park in June last ?—Yes. 256. How many strong did your corps go in ?—Sixty-two. 257. Do you know how many tents they had ? —No. 258. Had your men sufficient tent accommodation ? —Quite sufficient. 259. Had they sufficient straw ?—No. 260. What was the ground like ? —lt was in a terrible state and quite unfit for men to occupy it. 261. Why?—lt was a quagmire both inside and outside. 262. On what day did you go into camp ?—On the Sunday previous to the Royal visit. It was the 16th June. 263. What time did you get to the camp ?—About 1 o'clock in the afternoon. 264. What were the rations like, and the meat particularly?—lt was simply not cooked at all. It was scorched on the outside and quite raw in the centre. It was quite unfit for human food. 265. Did that occur on more than one occasion?—On every occasion. I did not see any meat properly cooked during the whole time we were there. On some occasions we could only get bread and butter. 266. Did you notice what the bread was like ?—Yes, it was very stale and dry. 267. And the butter?— The butter was not so bad. It was as good as might be expected for camp purposes. 268. Were there any vegetables for the men ? —I saw none. 269. What were the tea and coffee like ? —The tea was very black and disagreable. In my opinion it was made in dirty vessels. 270. What was the officers' mess like ?—Very little better than that of the men's. The only difference was that it was placed on the table instead of on the ground. 271. Was not the meat cooked ?—No, I could not eat the meat. 272. Did you visit the men in the tents of your company ? —Decidedly, regularly, and I battled for them with the cooks. 273. Did any of the men make complaints to you ?—Repeatedly.