OUR SOLDIERS IN NEW ZEALAND (FROM THE "UNITED SERVICE GAZEETE,' JULY 16)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2238, 22 September 1864, Page 6

OUR SOLDIERS IN NEW ZEALAND (FROM THE "UNITED SERVICE GAZEETE,' JULY 16 )

Tsei\ino on the old «.aw which teuhcs tlnl ' deul men toll no tales' the calumniator ofoui 'oldiois have ahead) commenced thiu dub woik o\ei (lie «caieelv closed gwncs The conospoiident ol one of I lie morning pipei-, wiitin<* horn Melbourne, bicdU icouses the ! 'id ol cow iuluo, because when ill their officers hid been shot down b\ one vollov the men endiMvoured to ritieit liom the " witlu i ing flu" of the Ala ji is We should like, vuv much (o pLiee this nngniniinoiu scnoo who thus due-, iiom i pi ice of sifets, to cluinm.iie ln.ne men, m t lie centie of i pi, with t ne muz/les ol a handled JUaon nlles di iccfed at his piciious pei^on Wt 1 Uh( i think Cut with him disrietio'i would be deemed the belter put ot valoui, and tint he would liudh ha\c waited loi the =lui<; ! itei of hia oilieeis hotoro he comnenced i yen 1 ipid letieit "We wonder t'nt an_\ poison could be iound so be' elt ol ijood t iste mil common hum mit \ as dehbeiateH (o wnte ioi public vtion in in Imi«jli~'i journal ol gient eucuhtion a deiibcutc hbel on liia wounded and muuleted countnmen The explanations that wcio mule m Pailnment on Thursdi> evening, coupled with the lnloimihoi biought home l>\ the 1 i:fc mill, iull\ confiiin ill our conjectuies of list week It nppnrs lint Cfenei d Cimeioi' had some pieces oi the he.iue-l arlilleis, 110 poundois, to i^si-t linn m his ilt\tl>, iind lint it lie had a little patience he might lunc clestio3ecl the pa and driven out its defender without the sicnficj of a smglo Butish life A tew shots weie "ill tint was necessary to make what was deemed a piacticab'e bieaeh, and it is obvious that a few moio would hue knocked down the pa altogether But this it appetr? wis altogethei too skm a pioce=^ for a commandei who ha 3 cMclently taken the AmeiiLin Geneial Giant lor his model !Xo sooner had tl.e «moke cleiied away a little, and that a bi each, howe\er snnll, was cliscovoicd, than the uuioi lunate 43id was ordeied up to be slaughteied, and at once fell into the ambush tliat had been lud for them 0} the aitful Maoiis "What in the name of stiateg} could General Cameron have been thinking of when he shut out liom his calculations the contingency of an ambush, when attacking enemies with whom ambushes ioim the mam Icatuie of their tactic-^ Had Genei il C'imeroii kept his 110-poundeis woiknif; lor only lnlf an hour longer, the Maom and tin lr ambush would luue been blown away together, audit would not haie been left for the anonymous sc.ibe, wlio obviously is a pnhzan ol the civili m colonists, to biand with cowu lice the bia^e men who ictiicd iiom a position fiom which tlicn ofliceis must. Ime withdiawn (hem had they lned , but the latler, lining been ill sLmghtei«d, left the men entiiely to then own diiection Mr Cai dwell stated that Gcneial C'ameion piared everyone and altnbuted his iiuiuic to the complicatedintcnoi auaiigcmeiits of the pa Wo shall «co when these despitches aio publichcd what icason Genoial Cimeion gnos for not having thought of "those complicated ainngemcnls," which aie common to all pas, bcloie he incuired tlio awful le-ponsibihty of sending scien ofliccis and Mxly or seventy Englishmen to ceitam death. It is quite clear that if thcie be any sense of justice, any public spiut, any sympathy with the muideied dead left m the Bnfish Paihamont, wo must haie two inqumc3 lcspecting this jS'cw Zealand war. We miibt fust know whether it is a war in which the foices of the empire ought to bo engaged, or whether it is meiely a sencs of expedition*, imdci taken at the instigation of giaspmg colonists, who wish to get hold of the lands of the naln es per fas aut nefat, without inclining the nsk of fighting' foi them There aio ■whispeis abroad that both oiu soldieis and sailors aie fully aware of the chai actor and objects of this war, and dangerously demoialiscd by tlio conviction that they aie called upon to saenfice their lues solely in the cause ol colonial plunder This is a question which Pailiament would leaddy enteitain, and it being no parly question the best heads on both sides of the House would give their aid in Us solution The second question is the milituy conduct ol the war, in lespeetof wlncli we ti ii-.t noithei the mihtaiy authorities nor the House of Commons will bo satisfied with what info] mat ion they may glean fioin Genual Camerons despatches. II (he military management has been wrong, Geneial C'ameion is the pimcipal offender, and should not bo allowed the esclusne privilege of telling the sfoiy We know that flieie is a veiy geneial opinion in mihtaiy cncle-, tint (he late slaughter was quite unnecessary, and that a different and moic skilful mode of nil icl.inn the pa would have obtained (he desin>d leiult vtliout (ho sicnfice of a suigl< Bnti-.li h/e In (ho X.ual sonico a Captain who lose? a ship is biought to couit-miuti'il for tlie aofc, and v,o do not eeo why tv Gonernl wlio is

thought to hi\ o caused the unnecessary slaughter by his blundeimg sluukl e=capo with impunity. General Camerons sending the I'Jrcl into the ambush to meet eel lain death w as acop3 T lnminia 1 uro of Ocnoral WJulolocke's atlnck on Buenos Ayrea, in that case the biench was made by the artillery, and the men wcic ordered to stoim, but no account was taken of the possibility ol anamba-.li nillim the walls. Our men weie dn\en back with gieit slaughtet, >nd when (ho newo came liomo a genet il feeling ol tudignition wis moused m linsfLind General Wlulelocko wis tued lor treason and conauliee, but has only convicted, on a miiioi count ol negligence 01 want of skill In the ease ol Gonoial Cameron (ho accub'ilion of either treison or covun dice would of course ho "out ot (ho question lie is abi uo and a lojil British officer, but we Aery much doubt whether he is a or a caictul one 11 ho Kis been unskilful 01 caicless, nnd that it lias bern thiough the exhibition ot (hiae delect ■> «o ha\e lust our olheers and men, then has his negligence or stupidity nsen to t.lio lungniludo ot a ciune, and we should h'uo an inquiry, it i( were only to il( ii x les-.on to Inline comm.indeia 11 miut be, it ought to be, a ciimo to llnow a\\ iy unneccssnrity oi uuskillully the life ol a tingle o'liccr or soldier, nul whit must we say to tint comnuuidei who h.is been the cuise ol u pcileel nussiere 3 r J heie atem.inj ilieoues.is to the c uiso of such dispiopoilion ife lo^s ol ollK'eis m this alliur A eouespondonl siiij^eslsi th.it then t>,is]ie? made them conspicuous mu k» for the iMioii lilies, mid lie locomniendi thil UiOiC di->tm"iiiihing appendigci -.hould bo dispensed with lle.iddb lint (he sash i^, genei.illji imp ipultu in the Vnnj , .\ud tint thine is not one ollilci m i bundled but who would be delighted lo got iidol il We llnow out l!iw hint as woitliy ol conbuleialion, luu mg it to moie competent j iclge^ (o decide on lU \\ue O'ie thing i-> quite ceil uu •nd that i-., that il soinelhing bo not clone the missieie at T.unangi will only be the beginning ol the end, and the legimenU son m« m Ncu Znhud will be the wondei of the Buti^h aimj' foi the lapidity of then pioniotion A couple ot assaults on pas, niangcd accoiding to the Oamoion t ictic^uo, will ui.iUe a junioi J'Jnsign Licutc.ianfc Colonel, ,nul .x couple moie will sjuo all tho seifjouit-. and eoipoials connn.Sbioii'3 AVhcthei the^e l.ittci bi.ivc and do sci \in<; fellows \\ill lehsh a system ot "pioniotion fiom the i <mks " which gives them only a tew hoius to enjoy then nouly lionoius i-j auothoi (]iie tion Wo slull study thcie piomiscil xm;\\ Zo il intl dusp itohes with tho keenest soiutmy, is well as any uthei document uy c\ideucc we may be 'bio to lay om hands on, is wo eon-idci it to be oui b mtulcii duty, as milil uy jouuiali,t^, to pieseivc ihe metnoiy of oui bi.ue dead soLheis if possible fiom aspuision, and tho li\ls of those suiviwng ft jin being w mtoiily, ot wiokelly, ot ignoiautly saoniitcJ by a caicleas oi incompetent commau lei.