STATE OF THE CONTROVERSY ON OUR NATIONAL DEFENCES.

Anglo-Maori Warder, Volume 1, Issue 13, 18 July 1848, Page 4

STATE OF THE CONTROVERSY ON OUR NATIONAL DEFENCES.

(From the Spectator.) The controversy on our national defences have received powerful accession this week, in the person of Captain Edward UNKNOWN a naval officer and writer of repute, aud the Duke of Wellington, whose celebrated Ict'er to Sir John Kurg»y»n\ wih Feme omission, is published by the Mummg th omeii\ Were the matter to be settled by authority, the weight on the side of strengthening our «oud he overwhelming: the t nowi advocates on that side aie Lord Ellcsmerc, Ciptain Pint k tt, Sir John an Engineer omcarof the higher distinction, and the Great Captain. 3'o this li«t, though he deprecates alarm, may be added Admir-i) Bov.l s. Among a host of anonymous or unknown writers, is the originator of the present controversy, " P." ; from whose modest reverie the veil has been turn, some of the newspaper* haviug divulged a n ime perhaps known to moat London readers by its initial—Frederic tfigou. Mr. Pigou is or has been connected with the manufacture of gunpowder; andceituin ciitits discerned in his zeal nothing bat the desire to promote the purchase of that explosive. But he has been a sedulous spier into abuses of divers kinds ; and even if reminiicences of the factory should have given a bent to the (studies of an observant mind, it U gratuitous detraction to suppose that men of so much carnes'ness and activity cannot extricate themselves from the bias of a remote personal interest. The Examiner has taken a curious position, on both aides ; the writer lending his wit on the side of Mr. Cobden, bis reason on the side of the Duke of Wellington. Consistently with this inconsistency, the ■writer assailed the correspondent of the Chronicle, '* P., the initial either of Popgun or Panic.'* Mr. Pigou manfully stood np against his antagonist, v»hose •visor he tore off without remorse. " The writer in the Examiner/* says P., •' might, if he chr.se, use the initial ' F-,' which would here, p^ra.{venture, designate Flippancy more than Foresight** : ** he has contributed the best and must r«cy articles to the weekly press ;" and " the Examiner is a great sea officer ;*' phrat.es which indicate the author of England under Seren Administrations, a. noted yarhter, and lately-appointed Under Secretory to the Board, as dintmctly as his addms card Inferred from bis paper In last week's Examiner % ~£, y & opinion is, that to take heed tor the strengthening of Our defences is Billy, but that to str nsjthen them is ■wise. Wit, we know,consLts in the unexpected union of remote ideas j and F.'s contribution to the dispute unites other ideas quite as remote. Into the question of natural defences he presses umbre'las, G-tffer Thumb, sea sickness, the total lack of a Fiench transport fleet, and other recondite pleasantries. The argument is like the figures—it li&s in the coupling ot incongruities. For example—- '* The gist of the horrible discovery that h.is been made : s this, that in a time oF profound peace we are nut in thfl state of preparation that would he suitable to war. The Fienrlnnan**, advice, as to carrying an umbrella, waß, * When it is fine, a!nays carry an umbrella ; when it runs do a* you like.' The counsel as to defenee is analogous. Iu profound peace, keep up your defences as if all the world were in arms against you; in war, reduce them if yon please. An excellent effect of this s}stero, wuul.l be. that war, whenever it should happen, wcu'd differ in cc*t very tittle from peace, and, therefore, people would cease to regard it with such extreme repugnauce. Indeed, when England and France have raised worhs, planted cannon, and enrolled vast forces against each other, the feeling wdl probably arise tnat such preparations should not be made for nothing, and that it will est very little more, bloodshed only excepted, to mal»e us»e of them, aud turn them to that profitable commodity glory. "The type of ancient wfedom, U-y<-»cs, thbUiht it prudent to banish arms feom an amicable n.eeting, saying, the sight of the iron tempts the man. ' The maxim, if you would be at peace be prepared for war, wants emendation ; it should ran, if you would be at peace, pay the full price of war." A wrong reading; ihe maxim should run—lf you would be at peace, pay the full price of insurance against the chance of war. Like most of what emanates from the same pen, this extract is amusing; bat us a contribution towards the public counsel on the very important subject, it is not so useful as another less amusing part of the same jiaper, because it does not in any manner app'y to the views which it professes to antagonize. Tne paper from which we quote is headed " The Irrational Do- j fences;" the said irrational worko, it appears from the text, being some figment of the critic's own mind; since, while arguing on th-.s side,-he evidently conrem- , plates nhttt no one on the other of the two sides which be espouses has hinted at,—namely, means adequate to aciive warfare. From the most military writer to the mott civil, from the Dokeof Wellington to Lord EUesniere, not one has suegtsted anything but tuch addition to our means of defence as shall secure us mrmnul calamitous contingencies and the chance of surprise. To employ his own analogy, the writer in the ExcntiPer will not carry au umbrella until he U caught in tLe rain: his economy induces him rather t-irtly on the chance of finding, in the pel'irg <>f tie pitile&s storm, such itinerant umbrella merchants ns are seen Leicester Square : he prefers buying a cotton rag on a s'.ick,jL>ro re mi 'a, each time, to carrji'iLr about the decent silk; though the rat; will fail htra in (be thickest of the pelting, and his well appointed bat will be the sacrifice* This is not the popular notion of thrift. It is the wit's thrift; which thus unites, by a tour de mot, the exceedingly remote ideas of economy and improvidence. He makes obt thu " carpe diem** is the true maxim—for the suge economist. The French fleet, it is argued, has yet to be provided; c not her disputant in the controversy, Mr. St, J'-bn, states, ia much more specific that the French puesess, at home, sixteen aUnmers, each capable of carrying about fifteen hundred wen fur a short voyage, besides auxiliary vessels. The disembarkation of a *« large body of men," says the Examiner, '* is not bo simple and expeditious, especially y it be }erforujcd ia boats." There have btvu instances, however, of tolerably expeditious disembarkation; ai Wttl'heren, saren thousand men landed in five minutes, in the face of a prepared enemy. And the Duke of Wellington de<ltuvg, that e&ccp'. n; under the file of Doter Castle, itn) nu Tjber of wtu ui.ght he-landed cu any part ot iul

coasts, at any time* Bat we must not overlook oar *' grPHt ally'' *« One ally of oars, whose fores is always unnoticed, is sea sickness, to which the French are more liable than any oilier people; and 5J.0Q0 shipped heroes would, upon landing, be 50,000 wretched helpleds in* valifts, nauseating even glory " Who knows, however, but what the great deaidera- ; turn, the sea-sick passenger's elixir vi'ie, maybe disj covered, ay. even in chloroform ? A well adjusted ! dose of that sedative might convert a whole army in'o : freight as manageable a-* casks of French brandy, to land as strong as that spirit, and as victorious over '■ A voyaee, no doubt, is an operation" to a Frenchman; but why should not he, like- other patients, awake from "delightful diearns" to viottßjr-P We finish our extrac'B w.th the close of the paper, in which the writer adopts the arguments of the'very -arsons whom he has been combating, and places, them in lapguK.e terse and elegant, though free from the v vaoity which usuilly marks his style: but, as we have already observe*!, the passage, taken in union with the preceding context, is ihe frowning stroke of wil; the critic proceeds to knock down his own figment—- ** While deprecating demands for defence proportioned to exiggerated fanciful alarms, we are far from concurring in Mr. Cobden's opposite argument for a reduction of establishments. _ | ' Ust modus in rebuß, sunt cerii dentque fines, ; Quos ultra citraquc nequit cousistere rectum/ j From prtstnt exigencies our Army and Navy are not j larger than necessary; and it mutt he some time before 'be interests springing out of extended commercial relation? can enable us to dispense with any of onr defensive powers. Ae the Blender roots of grasteskuit the surface of banks and pive them stability, so free trade will bind together the particles of interest Jonayig the great dykes of peace; but the growth time, and meanwhile other appliances for security cannot prudently be withdrawn. " Indeed, we see more reason for adding to our means of defence, short of extravagance, than for reducing litem, and should be glad to see the the force and efficiency of our steam navy augmented; and also some system like that of the French National Guard, instructing the people in 'he use of arm", and practising them iu the ratiioeuvrei by which bodies move with order and precision, A day's drill now and then could be no great hardship to people between the ages of eighteen and fity; and if ten of the men so trained were only eqnal to one regular soldier in efficiency, the result with such nuinbsrs would be an important consideration for an enemy meditating InWe reckon F , therefore, the advocates of sufficient defences. It is cleur that in his mentsheisso; though so fierce ia the storg of wi e thnt it tuu&t vent itself even on the mtst solemn Of subjects. Your true wit, of course, will s-crincft'hjU country to his joke. * '..

If we turn from the more entertaining parts.ofttoe controversy to p'an matters of fact, we find stantial mtiterinls towards a sound judgment multiply to our bands. The highest evidence that can be obtained is that which we reprint in another page—the Duke of Wellington*s statement. It is perfectly distinct, plain, and intelligible. It is not a formal report by an official to his employer, but the genuine personal communing of the great commander with his military frie* d. Ic hits* however, been well prepared by habits of observation, by the Duke's long residence on the i Southern coast, and his opportunities for " reconnoitering." It is Unit ted to the military part of the subject j the Duke leaving the naval department to others. There is not a tr-ce of " alarm " or of old age in the document. It is purely practical. To rebut it wou'd require the most direct and subsuntal testimony* of its error. The Duke states that our coasts are exposed, and tiut he could not undertake to defend the country, with our present military force, against au invader. The pjwerof making *uch a declaration ought at once to b* taken out of the mouth of the most intrepid, dxpericne d, busiuea -like, and successful commander of t-ur tiui«s,his plan for rendering our defences snffickut seems moderate : is is an enrolment of militia to the amount of abiut 150,t'0 ' me- 1 , and such an in-cieij-e ol the regular army atwh.ch cost ab«ut 40U, <iuG7.; we believe that would notgive more than 10,01)0 Among the light literature of Bentley's Miscellany is a paper of Mr. St. John, which the writer believes to give a substantially accurate account of the government p'an. For all bis Whig partisanship, his idolatry of that strange peacemaker Lord Palmerston, and "hh rather old-fashioned Anti-Gallicaa enthusiasm, Sir. St. John is not a writer to lend his name to a statement on light gioun-'s. We find that the plan which he sets forth coincides in essentials with that suggested by the Duke of Wellington's letter, since published. According to Mr. St. John, the Regular troops are to be increased by I*),0dO ineu ; of Militia there are to be euroikd and drilled, in England 100,000, in Ireland 40,000; the fortifications at Sheerness, Dover, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, are to be strengthened, and other towns to he placed iu a state of defence. The increse of Regular troops will principally be given, where it is iLost wanted, by the Ordinance ; a branch most important for defence. We hops that a no less important brauch will be neglected—the Steam Marine; of which Mr. St. John speaks as if it were "sufficient. We know that lespectable evideuce is to be had in favour of the mercantile steamers as an efficient auxiliary at a pinch ; but that point ought to be authoritatively ascertained. At all events, they httve not the guns, still less the men - y and as the L'.iuce de Joinville says, ** a sailor ia not imprayisedi" especially for mancauvering ships j fight, and working artillery. The evidence in favour ] of the Uoyal Steam Marine ia anything but satisfac- j tory; and deficienci.s in that blanch of the service ought to be made good. We olserve with satisfaction that no military or oitieiu! authority proposes any vast increase either of Army or N'.ivy : biih the plans now more or less autheuticvliy before ihe lUblic are moderate, and b?ar no res.uiiils.iice of a »ar establishment—to any project dict.ued uy alarm, such as would makepeace not less costly than war. We presume that either would be suincitmt. Tne true econsiny will lie in providing w hat is sufficient lot the purpose. Nothing is so costly as natioual defeat, especially since modern warfare has made a regular practice of imposing on the van- . quished a fine, as fee for peace ■ France, as the Duke of Wellington reminds us, levelled enormous contributions de guerre iu Russia,' Prussia, and Austria, when herself conquered, she made compensation in the shape-. of Immense territorial concessions—hung fines paid inf k<nd ; and we see what Invasion is now coating The moet economical payment which we can make will be the tutus needed for the defence requisite tOj insure oi* ageiust such surprise as would entail thoie disa U'ta upon us at the coffline >cement of a tear, be" tufe the uation was tmrl" mused to us strength. Lord Rmh'ster having said ot KiagChatlts 11. that he ncvci uttervda foolish thing ur did a vise one;—"lt i> ull tiue " angered his Majesty to the courtier wha r |< r.ed this s* 1 ; "tut ttie r.*asm is obvious; my are my mmi.ttrs; my ;petch is my own '*

JOURNAL OF A TRIP TO THE WAIKATO. After arranging all our small matters and lading the Nativei. we left the Tamakl in company with Mepa and eight or nine oilier Natives, about noon on the 30th March, and went on to Fairburn's at Otahn, where we lunched. This was formerly the scene of many a sanguinary bottle hptween Waikaio tribes and those ol the Nga te Whatua, the lalter being then numerous, and living on the place. After many attempts, the Waikalos, though in the first instance defeated, became too powerful for their opponents, and succeeded in driving them away to Kaipara. Several volcanic hills in the neighborhood show the retuains of their pas and fortifications.. Some ages preceding this conflict, the place was inhabited by the Ngati-wai-hotuhea, who were driven out by the , who, in their tin n were succeeded by the Ngali Whatua. The laud in the district good for some miles and very level, aßbrding good cattle runs, mostly on our road, belonging to Alesaia. Fairburn and Hamlin,—but further lo the right, on the South shores of Manukau, to various laud-claimants under peuny-an-acre Proclamation. Pioceedingon our West, the land after passing Mr. Walters", becomes very inferior, being cold, still', while clay, and very much broken by gullies. On entei ing a wood we halted for the night at Pulahua, and made our bed in what was formerly the course of the mill slieam of Mr. Forsyth—but stream, mill, and Mr.Forsylh, bad alike disappeared, and the waters resumed their original course, which is a brook of fine clear water, in which our party were engaged fishing for eelsduring the night but were not very successful. There are some very tine tiees of various kinds, as kaikatea, &c., &c. After supping and entertaining ourselves with a few songs, we retired to rest in our blankets, but having only the canopy of Heaven for a curtain, we dispensed with drawing it. It was a splendid starlight night, and what with the grandeur of the scenery aiound us, and the tilillation of some few score of fleas, which the preceding occupanls of our bed had left behind them, it was some time ere we fell under the charming influence of Morpheus. 31st. Awoke at daylight, amidst a concert from the birds in the wonds, and although the morning was chilly and we lelt so also, did not feel any ill effects fiom exposure to a heavy dew. Having packed up our traps we again siai led off, and after ascending the rise, met Mr. tiymouds, Native Secretary, who had hi ought to the night before in a roofless house at Papakura, on his return from au excursion to the Lakes, &,c. After exchanging the news, taking a cup ol teanilh him, and borrowingathal indispensable a-tide to travellets, which we had neglected to bring,— namely, a tea-kettle, we took our departure, he for town, and we for Waikuto. Keeping on the outside of the wood, we passed along the lands ol Papakura, of the fertility of which, much certainly cannot be said, nor ,of the achievements of its firs! settlers, though we suw a fine held of catile in good condition, belonging to Mr. Ligar, Smveyor-General. We now passed a « idecieek, which though ai present shallow, would, evidently, require a peison in winter to wade lo the waist. The land now as ne approached the frontier of the demesnes of the Crow n, continued to improve 1111 we came to Papakura, a Native village, which consists only ot a lew liutsainiil some burnt trees, w here we found some excellent land of a light volcanic character, or a red loam. Beyond this. I believe the Government have no laud.it being yet in the hands of the Natives. The land now continued lo appear rich and fertile, and coming to a pi- ce wheie (here was wood and water, we halted to breaklast. We weie now in a line plain, extending only a short distance to the East, being bounded by a tine range of wooded mountains called Maketu, whilst on the West, the plain stretched i out for miles nil bounded by the coast range, di- | versified only by very slight undulations—the Northern side of it bounded by the Manukau, aud | the Southern by the forest billsof Tunnata, and in ! the whole of this vast plain not a unnan uabila tions to be seen, no truces of anim. te objects except a distant smoke arising from out a cteek, which gave token of a few temporary residents, fishers in the Manukau. Alter breakfast, passed on through the upper part of the plain near the Maketu langes, till we came to the Ana Pakeha river or creek, a tine stream of fi esh water running into the Maukau, which we crossed just above the tideway, near the junction of another fine stream. Having crossed we doubled to the right, leaving the Maketu range and several creeks iu our circuitous route, which join the Aua Pakeha at its entrance to the Manukau—came into some low swampy laud, which though not bad"land, was not so good as that on the other side of the river, at least it must be very wet in winter. On nearing Tunnata, we began to ascend to rising ground which has been thrown up into very singular indentations, between each of which there ..ppears to be spiiugs iu the hollows, which run into the creeks we had passed* Arrived at the edge of the Tuiraata"forest, the destruction of wood indicated a Native settlement was at hand. Accordingly shortly after entering it, we fonnd a Kainga, or settlement, of a few houses and some cultivation, belonging to the Nguti po, and of which a Native named Simon was Chief, but only one old man was at home, the others being gone lo Auckland. This man ceitainly confirmed theslateinent of our Natives, that the people of this place were stingy, for n e had a difhculty in getting anything from him for love or money, but heufterwaids in a sulky mood brought us-soine corn, which was all we could get from linn, but luckily ne had other piovisions with us—and if the people weri had, Iheir cultivation also most assuiedly was. Their place was completely overrun with weeds, with the exception of a small enclosute, but that was not much better. There was groundsill enough ill seed to sow a whole colony. However, Mepa, who had lagged behind all day, wished to hah for the night as he was ill, which we did, and ' after passing a long evening iu the best way we ; could in singing and chatting, we turned i t> ' our blankets upon some fern, among some oid burnt trees, which seemed us it weie giant guardians, keeping theii watch. The night was calm and still—the stillness only bioken by i the occasional scte.ichiug or cloaking of ow Is, of [ which tlicie weie many, making the woods echo |.by theu ahull noise. We n ci e some time befoie

we could get to sleep, for I suppose we had packed up the fleas with our blankets in (he morning, and they hud probably invited others to a feast, for they went to work in earnest: wehad no remedy but to submit, and lay watching the stars and the dickering light from the fire (for wehad a fire at our feet every upon the old dead trees, till they were satisfied and went to rest j then we did likewise.