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Q-Have you formed any opinion as to the advisability of retaining the rattan or substituting any other instrument for it?
A-No, I have never seen any other instrument.
Q-If the number of strokes were diminished, would you advise the retention of the rattan?
A--Yes. I think the present size of the rattan seems to be a very good instru- ment to use, if you limit the number of strokes, as I say, and never give more than twenty.
Q--Do you think the birch would inflict the necessary pain without inflicting wounds?
A-I really do not know. My recollections of the birch are rather remote.
Q--Now, to come to the Gaol hospital itself. Does the Gaol hospital contain all the medicines, etc., required for the treatment of wounds as the result of floggings?
A-Yes; in fact you can get any medicines you want by simply sending to the Government Civil Hospital. They supply all the requirements.
Q--Is the Gaol hospital accommodation adequate in all respects ?
A-No.
Q-Will you tell us about that?
A-It is far too small. I measured the hospital this morning, and there is a little over 11,000 cubic feet for the whole hospital, which is divided into seven wards. That gives about 600 cubic feet to each patient. That is very small indeed when you consi- der that in some of them there are cases of consumption. We have two very bad cases there now.
The minimum, I believe, in any ordinary hospital is 1,500 to 2,000 cubic feet. The rooms are so small that you cannot have beds; the men have to lie down. If you had beds you would cramp the place up so that you would not be able to get the number of men in you get in now.
Q-After having seen the instrument with which flogging is administered, do you consider that abrasions must follow on six strokes and upwards?
A-Very slight abrasions must follow in most cases, I think. All the six cases I have seen have been very slight indeed.
Q-Is the formation of abscesses the usual result of the floggings you have seen?
A-No.
Q-I take it you have not had any abscesses at all in the floggings you have seen ?
A-Not at all.
Q-Now, to what is the formation of abscesses due ?
A-Well, it is due either to the poisoning of the wound through the introduction of germs from outside, or from the bruizing of the underlying parts without any abrasion of the skin. What I mean is if a man's tissues are very flabby indeed the skin might be fairly thick and he might not show signs of abrasion, but all the underlying parts would be completely deadened and would die.
Q-That would lead to the formation of abscesses ?
A-Yes.
Q-Do you consider that, whatever the man's skin is, abrasions and abscesses would be likely to follow a severe flogging?
A-It depends upon what you mean by a severe flogging.
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