NEW ZEALAND MEDAL.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 3886, 4 February 1870, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND MEDAL.

, As considerable anxiety is naturally felt, | ill military and naval circles especially, m regard to the proposed distribution of.me.dals j to the officers and men who have shared in the various contests with the Maoris during 1 the past twelve or fifteen years, it may be as well to state that the dies for striking them are in course of preparation at the Mint. Some time, however, must elap3e before the medals are struck, for the ordinary coinage has to be simultaneously carried QU at that establishment, and medal-making is at all times a tedious operation. The following designs ornament the metallic decorations: The obverse of the ew Zealand medal i bears as its principal device a bust of her j Majesty, and this covers the greater portion, of the field. The Royal head, which IS out la very bold relief, is completely draped at the back, the veil falling }n ample folds to the shoulder. 'Jho fcioe of the Queen may be conqjdenetl as a successful portrait, if a margin be allowed for a pardonable amount of flattery on the part of the artist who delineated it, and, as on the English coinage generaj^yj \t\s, turned towards the left. A supposed tiara of gold, in wlr\qh c\iamojlds" and other precious, gtcyies are jmaginarily set, and which a^ a whole is. excellently engraved, vesta gracefully on. her Majesty's hea.3, whilst strings of pearls and. gems encircle the neck and rest upon ail elaborately ohased rr* ' QQYQvingthe'hreajst. TUo inacrin*'- _ rTf obverse >w lengthy, bufc * -? n f °lSf nality can soa&»'- , u . ae j 13 !"* •? ongl * P03itir>" -^y be claimed for its coin..t, as it is identical with that on the common penny, viz.: "VICTORIA D:_O: britt : REG : p : D :" The riband has just been exhibited at the orderly room of the 1st ] battalion 12th (East Suffolk) Regiments a fc Aldershot. The riband ha3 blue fringe and a red stripe down the centre. The 12th i Begiment took part in moat of the engagements in New Zealand from I860 to 1866. The following regiments and corps are entitled to the medal : — 1st battalion 12fch Regiment, 2nd battalion 14th Regiment, 2nd battalion 18th Regiment, 40fch, 43rd, 50th, 57th, 65th, 68fch, 70fch ; and detachments of Royal Artillery, Commissariat Staff Corps, Royal Engineers, and Military Train.