COLONEL WHITMORE'S SPEECH.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 978, 15 September 1868, Page 3

COLONEL WHITMORE'S SPEECH.

■■-.- (Trom tbe •' Independent," feept. 8.1 "This chapter 0f accidents is. the Bible of ihe, fool," What a magnificent edition mtiStbiß'm the • possession : of Lieut.-Col; (the hero of Omaranui made j^reijtspeech On Friday last in the Legislative douncili in defence ...of the manner^inrwhich. certain abortive military operations > have been. , conducted on the East Coast, in the Vain attempt to " inteiN Cept,, arrest, or annihilate" the Hauhau prisoners: who escaped from the Chatham Islands. • .The,,hon; and gallant member for Hawke's Bay .had an ugly task to perform on Friday afternoon.; but he went at it boldly, put, the best face he could upon the matter/ and by his very vehemence carried .single-handed the position in which those veteran warriors and harmless senators, Colonels Russell and Kenny, had entrenched themselves; "My son," said an old sportsman, "when you come toan ugly jump, shut your eyes and apply the Letchfords ; but always ride straight •— mind, ride straight !" Whitinore " rode straight" on Friday over obstacles which Would'haye deterred most men, — Poverty Bfcy •Volunteers, settlers, friendly natives, Brother officers, and the very law itself, were all ruthlessly ridden over by this vain-glorious and self-complacent knight errant. All. and. everybody had been Wrong, recreant to their trust, and useless, except his own most noble self*- ' He "proved to his own entire satisfaction that he was a niost valiant so|dier, and that the accidents' and disasters were the natural result of a cod catenation , of adverse circumstances, and a condition of things for which he was not responsible. Like young Norval, when every one else was panic-stricken, he might have said :

£j i •.'.-.. ". .- : lalone, with bended bow and quiver full of arrows, Hovered about the enemy, and mark'd the road ;.;:> they took. .'• '. ■ , The first part of the speech was devoted to .unlimited condemnation of Westrup's )nen and 'the Poverty Bay Volunteers (these men, will , doubtless feel very flattered when, they learn the hon. member's opinion of them). Power to hold a drum-, •head: court-martial appears to be the only ,panacea which the fertile imagination of jthe, irate Lieutenant-Colonel can devise in order to prevent the recurrence of such disasters as we now have to deplore. In the existing state, of the law, he declared that an officer in the field was almost entirely, at ,the mercy of his men ; he had no power to enforce his orders, and no authority to .punish summarily those who disobeyed .them. When the Poverty Say" Volunteers were within two days' march of,. the enemy, -whose fires were '•almost'- within sight, they would not Tiudge;beybnd their boundary, the Hangaroa river. Is this the fact P Is there not another version yet to be given -of this affair P One story is all very well until; the, other is told. Lieut.-Colonel Whitmore's ex garte statement to \\s " "friends in Qouncil " must be taken cum gromo saMs. ' He is not a popular man, and, . like most unpopular men, affects to despise the, popularity which he has failed to win. "If officers, ' said he, "are to depend : /upon ; their popularity with their men for . power to enforce their orders, I pity the Crovernment which can only be served on such terms, — which really means at the ■..expense, of. the public pocket." Some of ■the greatest Generals and many of the .bravest and most successful officers in the • British army, have been the most popular -with their' 'men. Colonel Whitmore makes a grave mistake if he supposes that i volunteers and settlers in the PovertyBay or any other district, will tamely subanit to' that military impertinence in which martinets delight to indulge. The Legislature will need to be very cautious as to how they give punitive powers, such as those conferred by the Mutiny Act.to officers* of the Whitmore stamp in the field. It is bad enough to be at war with a fanatical horde of cannibals, but it will never do for the Government, or the officers it appoints, to quarrel with settlers and raw TOlunteers. The latter, doubtless, are not so effective as veterans ; but with a little •tact and" good management they can be * turned to good account. We are sure that '■'-:& Von Tempsky or a Macdonneli would never have made such a speech as " lieut.-colonel Whitmore uttered on Fri-; ■day.- The public will re-echo the question asked by Colonel Kenny, — How long" as this predatory warfare to continue? . Sow Jong are small bodies of Europeans 4b be sent on impossible errands ? How long are we to submit to constant defeat, - and be; deluded into the belief that we lave accomplished victory P Col. Russell 18 . not satisfied with the recent military •operations on the East Coast, neither are we. .'The,, whole affair is a blundering anixttire of tragedy and farce. We have ; ; lost in/every way,— in lives, in property; ;,ih money, and in prestige. " All is lost, save honour !" There are many .varieties of thick-skinned-animals.; but for a thoxoughrgoing criticism-proof pachyderm, commend us to the military muddler. A . largejbbdy of desperate armed fanatics and. cannibals, whom Whitmore was specially ordered to " intercept, arrest, or destroy," have been allowed to escape into the interior, from whence they may come . forth -whenever they please and ravage ;, any unprotected district.