H.—l9a

78

123. What were the tea and coffee like?— Very poor indeed. I did not drink any coffee while I was there. I tried the tea, and threw it away, because I could not drink it. 124. How did your horses fare ?—Mine did not fare well at all; he was not half-fed. 125. Had you any chaff and hay ?—At times, but not all the time. . 126. Did you see any men taking the hay from the tent ?—No. 127. Were you ever told off as an orderly to get the forage for the horses? —No ; but I was told off to get rations for the men. 128. Were you fallen-in before you got to the cookhouse ?—Yes. 129. Was there an officer there with you?— Yes ; Lieutenant Riddle, one of our corps. 130. Was any one else there ?—Lieutenant Klingender was also there from our corps. 131. Any officers of other corps? —I think there were officers with all the other orderlies, as far as I knew. 132. How many officers did you see at one time at the kitchens ? Do you think there were more than three?— Yes ; I think there were more than three always. 133. How were the rations served out ?—We went'up to the table and asked for rations for the number of men we had, and the meat was«put into a dish, and the tea into buckets for us. 134. Were any complaints made about the meat not being cooked?— Yes; I reported it to the captain, and I know that several other men did too. 135. Did it improve at all?— No. 136. Was the camp bad on account of the mud ?—Yes ; very bad. 137. Were your tents moved at all ?—Yes ; we moved up under the trees. 138. When did you move ?—I think it was a day or two days before we left for Christchurch. 139. Were your horses moved too? —Yes. 140. Do you think your horses suffered at all ? —Mine did, very badly ; I am not speaking for the lot. 141. Did you let it remain in camp when you went to Christchurch ?—No, I turned him out at Island Bay the day before we left. 142. Are you prepared to tell us anything about the procession in town with the rations on the afternoon of Wednesday ?—All I can tell you is that I was walking up the street that afternoon with a man named Derrett, another Wairoa man, when the procession came down. 143. Where were you walking ?—Up Willlis Street, I think it is, near Denis's Hotel. 144. What did you see when you were with Derrett ?—We saw the procession passing. I saw a board with words written on it, and a bottle and a piece of meat hanging down. 145. What time was that?—lt would be between 2 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 146. When it came up to you what did you do ?—Walked straight on. 147. You did not join it ?—No ; they walked straight past. 148. It is only fair to tell you that your name has been mentioned as one of those who took part in the procession ?—That is false, sir. I took no part in it, and can get two witnesses who were walking with me to prove it—Jack Derrett, one of our own corps, and Sergeant Charteris, of the'Patea Rifles. 149. Where did you go?— Straight along and up Cuba Street. 150. Did you take any notice of the procession ?—No. 151. When you saw it, how many men were taking part in it ?—I could not tell you. I could not tell you who were in it. 152. But how many were taking part in it?— There was a big crowd. The people were thronged on each side of the street, and I was on the footpath. 153. You say positively that you took no part in it at all ?—I say positively I took no part in it. I stood over at the back from it. 154. Did you learn anything about it when you got back to camp?— No. 155. Did you sleep in camp that night ? —Yes, and all the time I was down here. 156. Your corps have green puggerees, have they not? —Yes. 157. Do you know any of the men who were engaged in the procession?—No, sir, I do not. 158. Colonel Davies.] Did anybody speak to you at the time the procession was passing, and ask what corps you belonged to?— No. 159. Did any one ask you anything about it ?—No. 160. Did you see anything of a rope or string hanging up in camp the day before, with rations or tins hanging from it?— Yes. 161. Do you know in whose camp that was?—l could not say whose camp it was in, but it was up on the hill, hanging from one tree to another. 162. You do not know who had anything to do with hanging that up?—No, I do not. 163. The Chairman.] Were you present when Colonel Penton came up to the camp the next day ?• —Yes. 164. You heard what he said ?— Yes. 165. You heard him refer to someone as curs and cowards, or something of that sort ?—Yes. 166. Whom do you think he referred to ?—I do not know, lam sure. I understand our officers were sent round to find out whether any of our men knew anything about it. They went back and told him no one knew anything about it, and that caused him to ride out into the ground and say that some infernal curs and cowards would not come out and own up to what had been done, and all the men would have to be blamed for it. 167. He said " some," not the whole of the men?— No. 168. He did not mean the lot ?—No. 169. You did not understand him to mean the lot?— No. 170. Have you anything to say about the camp that we have not asked you ?—No, I have said all I can.