LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 203, 9 August 1860, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, -—-In your issue-of l 9th inst. I notice a communication .signed- f Mars Minimus,” pur-! porting to be; an answer to “ Pbilopeanien,” which, instead of being one, Is nothing more

than "a burlesque f roitf' beginning to end. It is,' ( indeed, painful to observe,'in a question so momentous, the'gravity* we*' expect to find in the critic degraded* to*flre buffoonery of the merry-andrew. That gentleman “ was called upon ”to remark upon my letter. It is to be hoped that, for his own sake at least, he will for tbd 'fiiture/liavf a ?‘.Call ” to remain silent, ‘ until rie shall hive given as much attention to the_ subjectasi the Individual who seems to afford him much"merriment. "* /Either niy letter can or it. cannot. .If it can,?,it has no need of defence; if it cannot, it is not worth defending. Mars Minimus,” at any rate, needjnbt he answered; is heidoes ndt/seeifi toliiave understood many of my remarks,

But I offer him thanks for liis gratuitous,counsel, adyisi»|(f|ie not to treat of wiiat ignorant,mejrely. remarking,” that• else, is justified in assuming thiit I in this matter.; It may hot i; he"'O'ilt' of'place to inform that gentleman—especially as thisfettepis a finale. So far as*** Mars Minimus ” isgepncerned —that the writer has, years ago, *sfudied <s t?ie noble and Mfence ; ami that no opportunity. has been lost by him : of inspecting places of strength, from the stockades erected at the formation of the first road in theretovi'nce up to tbpse most recently built ; that lie if.acquainted,'iby .des&riptida; hftcourse, With the famous pa at the north, where British troops in A/ew Zealand ,met 'with tlieir first reverse’; with the yet stronger fortification at 7?uapekapeka, • where these troops time'repulVed-;~with the L ’pa .’at tlie Waitara, the description of which is known to -all. The writer has also j%| and cmpstj cSrefully, no less than ten fighting pas in' various parts of ■the* island, all made-- purposely to resist an enemy, and for that ,e»d alone ; and yet I am coolly told by a person ;who knows nothing •about me;:that I am quite ignorant of these matters. -- - £*

One remark more, and I have done. It is certain, if so-much’ backwardness in the.conduct of''the war as ‘‘ would like to see adopted, the war .will be interminable, and the colony ruined. . The state of .affairs is,, plainly,: not /whether we can •‘ afford to lose one man to. theMaories’ threej” but to bring the war to a speedy ter rninatiqn aiid! yp& dofe.-pneifnan to the Mapries’.’three, or three to the Maori es’ one-—whjtah.God fi^bjd^it. ip» v st be ended; I say, so,/though *may s be/ among the first that fall.

I remain/ yours,. &c.. I‘HILOPCEMEN;

; , 'sr j July23rd,aß6o. | Sir, —I perceive is' yowr last week’s edition the words-' ,A One man - there * was who could have made this affair a' decisive victory.” Now, with all deference to the uniform which that “-owe-man ” wears; may' I be allowed to ask the Governor, through the medium 01 your paper; how ■ long J he intends 1 to let the lives of so many gallant men be at the mercy of such a man; W'ith ’ 300 men ’ under Bis command, within If miles of the Waitara, what could, have prevented him from going ahead to find out the actual state of matters? It if argued, that the “ one man,” hearing no firing,- was not aware of the-battle having been fought—a paltry excuse, that can only have emanated from the “ one man ” himself.; But was If miles too long a distance for him to travel, or despatch;ah;aid-(te-Caipp r inquire ? —and did he' "a' requisitibnirom Major Nelson, informing'him. of. theproposetl attack ? f No, sir, there is not the least excuse for.such conduct, For we hie' all well aware, that if Major .-Nelson had not.’ requested his assistance, he would quietly, have" continued his state -.of.,listless inactivity?. ; What spirit, might I ask, is such acting as this likely to infuse into our volunteer corps ? •.. • ? [; I am sorry to Isay here, -is;. a, report here|to (lie effect; that Colonel Wyatt is .lively, ?to take command of the fisth;at: Nqw- ; Bjymouth. If-so, is tjie jiera oL jlKaireltflt-'tor or our;friend tlie ■ If-not trti6, we may. congratulate' ourselves/ ! for Colonel Wyatt’s urbanity and long, residence • here almost cause .us to look upon' him as one of ourselves.; We are utterly at' a loss to comprehend that meanness of spirit, which can induce a man having in charge the lives of his feilow-'creatures/lo'maintain a "position for which he must be conscious lie is totally unfit. We one day, perchance, among the list of those! military celebrities who throng the corridors of St? James’s,’rpay drop upon the name of our friend the “ one man,” possibly Major General and C.B. by that upon promotion In consequence of military service in New‘Zealand. ’ On such an occa sion, my only ferven.t wish is, that, this, little tribute 1 to his military genius may have, readied the palaee before that time. ' . : ! v ; ' Yor,?NB et PAratus.

July’ 24th, 1860.

Sir—There eaa be no doiibt th'-t i: the efficiency of anjf rifle corps, or bf any individual of a rioe, p corpSj eagaged with an enemy, ? depbnds; iritel 4lia,”' upon three things,—first, rapidity in firing; secondly, accuracy of eye in judging of -distances over broken and. irregular surfaces (in contradistinction ; arid; tliirdfy,'‘io‘tlm;fijran|Bs<>f corj Rectness of aim with which >ha fire is jSinbe, then, practice r alpnp can insure fli,is efficiency, it seenis highly j desirable; that mea* lures’ slioultl be adopted to , such d system,, of praecipe m view, nagiely, thorough firing! It need hardly fie' pointed" out, that; target practice partially, and only very r partially, attains these ends.

-.Ma'oriesara-* not/piebald, like a target, nor Wbrerwould it be much advantage to as whilst they' continued*; in rapid motion among toi-toi; fern, or" what not. For practice, take the rifleman over broken ground with the usual obstacles, and order him to fire a given number of shots at a dark object, of his distance from which he is ignorant; minute the time in which liis shots are ami measure the accuracy jsf his aim. . Byjome '^clF'lj’ilenpßlone 1 ' could ”y"bu,'With "accuracy .itestnhe- practical value of-riflemen in the field. I venture, therefore, to propose, that prizes, to be; awarded from; the funds of the different rifle corps, be bestowed on the most expert shots (on longing to each corps. That a meeting of the winners of thoge,; : prizes/ slialf"ife-iield'ln' or near Wanganui, t6 : 'contend‘for further prizes, to be raised from the united; funds of the district/; A'ainail moikiily Bubscripti6n{-tdget3ier with; ;a trivial entrance' fee, -‘Would, I : think, afford ample , fuiids to provoke, -tlie. exertions and excite'the emujafidn’''6f corps.' s Thus,' I would’ propose that the' chief prize be ’not -less, than ■£ 100, provided the above method of collection,be adopted/. ■*; . .. I. i; I ‘k* /v'"‘/RIFIiEMAk/’'

\ ; ' /. July 23rd, 1860. •Sir,—You have had a great many pseudo military lately,//not one of whpm apparently uhdersto.dd the. "subject on which ; lie wrote,’except k few sensible remarks from “,\V ” in your last on the 'subject'.of stockades. - , I think, sir; you will oblige tire public by requesting those after dinner claimants to military'notice' .to-’ shut Up till 2 occasion occurs for advice, wlier», ; if a cut and- dry. plan will fit, * hand; it in, .or ’after' it for the occasidri, and not-keep" running in unimportant breathlessness week after; week to' yoiir bflice with hiare’s' hesfst Enough ‘is as; good as a/feast; let us be done with t'akhig imaginary pas through your paper ta .me big ’hr x 'Wiqdy, .battle-, mean only jto ii'ightbn.. ;Tfmt plan has ’’ne-ver^yet’-been-lard on paper that could, be carried out in storming a garrison, or, pa; and much more in . a fight|in the open country, except where .thie?? sacrifice of human life -w'as of. no . aeeo-uut whatever. You. imagine,.the enemy to-'do so ; and so;-but the blockhead iiever does do.so and 'so.; henee tlie necessity of a superior mind;- tliat only shows itself in one among a thousand, to alter liis disposition to .the emergency. lof- the occasion. *

And, sir, tell the advocates of country stockades, that if-they .succeed they will inflict an additional 'amount of duty on the mi .tfiew district? that will not endam -plrySicaP hardship, but prevent a M effectual .combinatron; >, .You .Willi Want one or two other strong.places in conjunction with the t twp;Stocltades. at r present' iu/pbssessroniof the troops, after, gamsonmg (Which ?I? don’t fee where the men are likely to. be to .spare for country stockades, which:,. ia the opinion of every tliinkiug, t unbiassed] man, are perfectly useless to prevent the ingress of hostile natives, or their attack on tlib out SettlersY 1 except “such as live constantly 1 within- -musket*' range of them % then - they are - not safe. - Tfejr ’are equally, ineffectual'; to present the destruction of stock, .or • its., abstraction, .from, the district, unless garrisoned - by a ; stronger aggressive force than- we can spare... If you want to make a combined iwovembnt, you must march your vrhole available fierce front; bn e-stockade te another, fo. remove all .the men that-can he spared, from each.; *Youl must sendtfrdmutfmie to time your whole available forces to escort additions, subtractions,, and provisions to dr from thbin, or ybu will get cirj; up piecemeal. After garrisoning' the town, keep'the remainder of your men to go anyivlierd, recollecting that rireri’ are /a Kspyeablie ‘ stockade, with all: sorts of outworks; ' i-t ’ ' i:;J p ‘~-' /

I an^'‘sir/ybfirebdt/setyjafit/ 1 ; ’ ■; ' r ' ; v ''aUf; : oi^iHiANlK'•••

r .i: a-, Wahganul;"i<fii^t l^tb^iß6 t d. Dear Sir, —7f you can find sjsachin your next- isstie for the following, I believe it will be interesting to the public. His Honor the Superintendent’s communication in respect land on the South;bank of the river, ?opposite the*.Town, lias been a sufficient- time before-ihe public.to make them acquainted..with" the facts which led to its intended; sale. , t . / : ■ r . Whether the Bench of, Magistrates have exceeded their authority in' “Requesting the reserve should be laid off and sold; in small allotments,” or in entering into 'a private agreement.,, for the sale of a,pait t .witlj Mv. Jones; *1 llave 1 to ! bthbrSHd' 1 disciisl ]*4t any rate the public cannot .wish Mr. Jones to be a loser by, any. improper act of - theirs. It is not doubted 'that the out-settlers, (especially those of : RarigitiKei arid - FUrakina) have felt the want of some-accommodation on this reserve land for themselves and their cattle; but if this want be supplied by the land, being yestetl in.Trustefes for itli®' Town there would be an end of their just complaint, as every accommodation could , then be provided at the least possible charge, JFanganui roay-,ppssess. a, large shgre ofjV ample re* serves''for jiublic huf is not in a position- to avail itself i of them, there being no official body who can be ajppbihteff Trustees for the Town, ; >and ritherlfoWthe Cemetery, the.. Race; Course, the Town Belt, the Market Placeßthe; Reserve orifthe ‘opposite side) of ther river,, the Pilots, &c. &c., are not under its control,;nor ayailabJolQ. improvement!‘f3r4%! ir.seyem , iufeh^ejd)..p^fl®CTt. ; .-*,lii all these.iriuttgrs. tojfip.qnacco.un.iubly blind to our own interest ajjd wejfai’e.;il 5,000 has already been lost to the district, (its share or claim on the' amount of larid.sales) and we arc daily suffering from the same cause, viz :-«*

> no official body who can claim it, Or to'‘whop it can:t>e delivered:as Trustees/ of the Town "•‘'•ftnd district, 'all; rjip.VQ.vp.- • moHts: this large sum would ; have effected ;is lost to iis, and one-sixth the/proceeds of/the sale of the Waitotara Block, and the land at Manawatu will also be 4 lost from the sanip f cause/»- \^)iy; h doi we* continue in this false. , position? Is there. ndt ; One'%m6ngS't;:uV r of • r .some .'station? with sufficient spirit.' to -take the lead in procuring for the town -a- 'Municipal -' Corporation'? Then,- and not till'theii, * shall .- we be entitled to receive these large sums, tp

take charge of the ‘‘.ample reserves for public purposes/’ and ; appropriate them to,their Liprbper objpcts-r-from them; a- sufficient'income . might be •■'derived to'iihake' -them'efficient'arid <;i beneficially; useful~shaH ! we then remain ih r .•.».i'different r '<:tOr i oAr-;priv’ileiges'-‘aild:interesis, -: - and - continue/in'One-path; of/apathy.? or move for ..ja - MunicipalvtCorporationv 1 and -so secure all t >these benefits ?-■ ShPuld -time prove its estab- •. lishment?detrimental -or expensive,' we 5 may • follow the example’ of //iickland, arid let'the / Corporation die .out. ; T i:: ;i ; ; V : I am,’ dear sir, ; ‘ " " / • - 5-Yb'u*s>:faitliflillyj ’ Jas. Broughton. 7-,• [ A municipal corpora tiori won Id have.'noth iug to do with the -rural'land sales.]

.1,.-. /Wanganui; August 7th, 1860. . ,i’ SiR,-—-It is ? now, about t six weeks since the battle ofvPuketakuareJ at Wuitara, since theri

. we‘ have had no.-reliable intelligence of f 'What ; lias transpired? fit us \a ! serious fact, that ;al- - though; the nearest settlemen t to the : seat p f , ivar -tfe are the lastlto hear what is going oh! / Speedy; news frorn; the -North is of 'more 4 i.mportauce to us now than it was when we had {i»;weekly.'Overlarid.imail. As Mie ihaiLcahnot ; 7jiow travel over laud, why ds no attempt made 7to convey:by sea ? -• .- % l • >- : IJ believe? that tlie money dhat -was yearly apaid for the carriage of the .overland mail, if -offered \ byr government • (together with the ; prospect of trade between this arid the North, .>!which [promises' to be good) would indilce some..: small iteamer: to take the- rioail between . this, - Taranaki, arid Auckland. In a commer-

cial point of view it: would greatly benefit this place ,to have a steamer running constantly «between this and the above ? ports: I 1 hope, therefore, Mr. Editor, that if; no one' else does,; some of iour. commercial men will call ,a . meeting ito take this subject into considera?. tion. . '

Yours, : A Country Settler.

! ; 'Sib,—-You havri ffroin time to time in your vjournal.enlightened the public by your remarks also, the rate-. of wages per annum paid for farm servants»in the different States.' Will you: oblige your inquirer by informing him . what percentage'of bran is deducted in grind - /ling*, or how. many lbs. to the bushel. In New* . Zealand or rather in Wanganui, When millers . grind , for you . not merely for payment' but hmore to pblige: their charges l areV as is , 3 well known, Is. 6d.;per bushel, and-you receive , from! 20to 30 per cent, in/ bran, and /from :2| to 3. per cent, short of your original , weight, i Mr, Editor will -you enlighten your - readers in general; - arid also your enqriirer in particular. Whit ; airiount of bran ought there to;,be Aaken,* out of a . bushel of a tolerably ; fair sample ; of .wheat.?, in. 'justice to the poor ~ man r who;: sendsliis; little to the millers there ought ,to be some fixed. scale* of course making .ail allowance forigood and bad sariipies? /' " • ... . I remain* Mr. Editor. . 7 ; - v \ Your obedient servant, • / '-'-Mutter.