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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1018, 30 January 1869, Page 2

Sib, — I notice in your paper of the 23rd a letter from Mr. F. J. Tiffen. The part that alludes to myself is scarcely worth noticing; but the serious attack that is made on the private character of a fellow officer and settler I feel it my duty to notice ; therefore I trust you will allow me space in your paper to comment on the whole letter.

In times like these, the three first reasons that Mr. Tiffen gives for not " falling in" are paltry in the extreme. Whether an officer is in uniform or not; whether he has had his commission read out on parade ; whether the Militia has been called out exactly according to the Act; — are excuses that no good man would attempt to make use of. And I am proud to state that out of the 170 men that form No. 6 Company, which takes all Waipawa and surrounding country — Kaikora, Te Aute, and Patangata, Mr. Tiffen is the only man that has not behaved well ! lam competent to give an opinion, as during Mr. H. R. Russell's absence in Wellington I had the honor to command the whole company, and for some time took all the different squads, and not one man has attempted to excuse his attendance on any such grounds.

Next I come to the serious part of Mr. RJ. Tiffen's letter. To vent his spleen and disgust at Mr. Weston's being chosen as ensign instead of himself, he, in a low and cowardly manner, attempts to ruin Mr. Weston's private character. Even supposing that Mr. Weston has, when not on duty, taken a drop too much — mind you, I do not say that he has, but for the sake of argument supposing that he has—what occasion would there be for Mr. F. J. Tiffen to take the trouble to let the public know. To put it in its 'mildest form, would it not be unkind,? Mr. Weston has not long been gazetted ensign. As soon as he was, I asked him to take the Te Aute division, to give me a little relief during the absence of our captain. He has had command of that division ever since, attending every Saturday. He has taken Patangata twice. And only one complaint has been made, and that was that he was once rather late in his attendance. Mr. Weston lias proved himself a good and zealous officer. I now come to where Mr. Tiffen endeavours to injure me — not in niy private, but in my public, character — by wishing to let the public think that I do not know my drill ! , Ido not suppose the public much care whether Ido or not .' But, as it happens, I do know a good deal of it. Mr. F. J. Tiffen, in endeavouring to show that I am unfit to take a squad, has unwittingly paid me a compliment^ for by making use of tmtruths to support his assertions, he plainly shows that he must have been badly off for reasons I The untruths I spealc of are the following : — Untruth No. I—That1 — That I ever ordered men to march with "eyes right." Untruth No. 2— That I ever told the men to " form fours by telling the two flank men to take two paces to the rear." Mr. F. J. Tiffen must have confused " forming fours" with " rear rank taking open order." Untruth

No. 3— That I ever " dismissed the men with fixed bayonets." With regard to this assertion, I told Mr. F. J. Tiffen (one day on returning from drill), at his own house, months before he joined us, that I very nearly dismissed the men with fixed bayonets ; that I had given the order "To the right face," and was just going to say " Lodge arms," when, luckily for my reputation as a drill instructor, I noticed, just in time, that the bayonets were fixed ! G-avip the word " Front," " Order arms," " Unfix bayonets," "To the right face," "Lodge arms."; Mr. F. J. Tiffen has not added to his reputation as a gentleman by publishing what I told him as a friend in confidence ! As for not knowing how to form fours, I am sick of hearing the words, having been used to teach " form fours" for the last four years. At the word " fours," rear rank step back one pace of twelve inches, &c, &c. I have said it so often that I cannot have done what Tiffen says. Untruth No. 4— " Bayonet drill, as taught by one of my men on Sunday." This Mr. F. J. Tiffen must know is a lie, as, on the occasion when Tiffen attended, and the first time I ever tried the men at the bayonet exeroise, I put an old soldier that, has lately left the 12th Eegiment as fugleman ; then deliberately took my drill book out of my pocket, and read the commands in the bayonet exercise from it ! -a.

There is some truth in the last assertion, but a strong attempt at perversion. On© day, when about 16 of us* were firing at the target, long before Mr. F. J. Tiffen joined us, I explained to the men that it was a good practice to knock off the old cap before loading. All the reasonable men understood what I meant. Not to alter the platoon exercise 1 but if ever they were called on to keep up a continuous firing, when the rifle got hot, or in exceedingly careful shooting at a mark, it is a good thing to do. I have found it so, and I have been used to shooting since I was twelve years old, when I haveg(shot seven dozen rooks in a day !

As for the other mistakes that I am said to have made, they were most likely made on the Bth of December — the memorable day when Mr. F. J. Tiffen joined us 1 and so successfully played the fool in the ranks that men and officers were both rather " put out."

I can only say that I have tried my best to get the men of No. 6 Company efficient in the most useful part of the drill— that is loading, firing, being good shots, skirmishing, and marching ; and I am ready to back No. 6 Company in general, and the Patangata sub-division in particular, to be equal — if not superior to any company out of Napier ! ! 1 This, you'll agree with me, Mr. Editor, is the main thing. Away with, all petty little quibbles. Mr. F. J. Tiffen is vexed with Himself-— vexed to see^others raised above him. Let him remember that "it is never too late to mend" — that there is yet time to raise himself in the estimation of his fellow settlers, when I have ' no doubt he will be appreciated accordingly. — I am, &c,

Alfeed Chapman, Lieutenant No. 6 Company, Napier Militia. Edenham, 27th Jan., 1869.