THE NEW ZEALAND FENCIRLES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10575, 16 October 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NEW ZEALAND FENCIRLES.

No. IV. ! AUCKLAND PENSIONER SETTLEMENTS. Is the previous articles we have told the story of the formation in England, arrival in Auckland, and settlement around Auckland, at Onehunga, Panmure, Otahuhu, and Howick, of the First Veteran Battalion of the Royal Now' Zealand Fencibles. We now come to the second chapter in the history of the force, the formation of a Second Veteran Battalion, on modified conditions of service, ■ RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE FORCE.-A SECOND BATTALION. The intention originally was to form one veteran battalion of New Zealand Fencibles, consisting of six companies, but intelligence arrived in 1848 that it was intended to double that number, and divide the force into two battalions, one to be placed under the command' of Major Gray, and the other under Captain Kenny, to be en irelj independent of each other, unless called out for military duty, when the general command would betaken by Major Gray. Ibis idea was never wholly carried out. _ Only two divisionsarrived-those of Captain Symonds (7th) and of Captain Haultain (Bth). MORE BEINFOROEMBSTS.. On the 18th June, 1849,, the shipßerhampore, Captain T. B. Smith, arrived with 88 rank and file of the New Zealand Fencibles, under Captain J. J- Symonds, 81 women and - children .number given) Dr. Carr, medical superintendent. The voyage appears to have in -«■•«" been very pleasant, and Captain Symonds, on behalf of his command, presented an address to the captain. , Th|C?ptainhao: found toys for the children, delicacies tor the nursing mothers, and arranged enter, tainments and concerts for the childl o larger growth, in fact, had proved : Mort of naval Santa Claus. \, ... f < , : _ ■-The Southern Cross of June 21, says The location of the present division w suf> StebeOnehunga,and' Mr.Ormrty ■ busily laying off the ground., £•« though these pensioned.withtheir iamjhes were expectedf or months, not single pre:Pln:the>eantime,^itis,itotod,vSWi^ In this respect they are more fortunate wwa service differed materia ly .WjWWg which' the pensioners already arrived were enrolled/ full power to locate then where he pleasea ' Without reference to ; TO«: : li.id,and>t,pnej^ine'^i;idea^«n^ i : 'tiihedVof piantthg •^won.atMm*JJ, Bay df Isknds, and .•npther f at Pukati, some^ %- : S£ men* Werer notf bound 7 to .«•**« & the FewblM/,*. io lk» were, to-

gab £15 towards erecting a house. The Cross goes on to say to the men just arrived (Captain Symonds' men) : "If they will take a hint from us, we would strongly advise them tb depute some of their number to visit the other Pensioner Settlements to obtain all the information they can on various items of success or failure for the newcomers." It was pointed out that -they came at an unfavourable time, when there was so much excitement about the real El Dorado (California), and a general desire expressed by the population to re-emigrate back again. They are counselled to set about vigorously locating themselves in the full assurance that

industry and perseverance will ultimately achieve a comfortable competence for honest, sober men. On June 30, the rumour aboub a location at Pukaki was

revived, but ib was pointed oub that the. men could obtain no employment 14 miles from Auckland, and the settlement would be sacrificed, and the men would become a burden on the community. The men are again exhorted to send a deputation to Howick to see and hear for themselves as to the state of affaire. Ultimately Captain Symonds' division was located in Onehunga.

' MORALISINGS OK THE COURTS-MARTIAL. The Cross, alluding to the courts-martial, says :—

An ingenious plan was followed up to increase the revenue and counterbalance the heavy expenditure on the settlements. Will it be credited that this was done by means of publichonses ? At the late courts-martial, it appears from the evidence of Captain McDonald that Major Gray set his face against pensioners beiug allowed to keep publichouses. The orders from the Secretary of War were that no pensioners should be allowed to sell spirits,

Major Gray's objections were over-ruled, and a petition, signed by himself, Captain McDonald, and 150 out of 200 Howick men, headed by the Catholic priest, against granting a new license, never came before the licensing magistrate, and the license was granted ! The Cross counsels Captain Symonds' division to take warning by. what had happened at Howick. HOWICK HAS A GRIEVANCE. It seems an unfeeling and unfair system had been adopted of sending the Pensioners' widows belonging to other settlements to Howick. There had been several deaths at Panmure, and their widows, instead of getting their allowance of land at that settlement among their own friends, had been sent to Howick, because the land was inferior to that in the othor settlements. A more heartless arrangement it would be difficult to devise.

ARRIVAL OF THE LAST DIVISION (THE BTH). ' The ship Oriental Queen, Captain Thomas, arrived on the 17th September, 1849, with the last division, Nn. 8, under Captain T. M. Haultain, comprising 71 men, with 71 women, and 118 children, Dr. Hunt was medical officer. The voyage wits 124 days from London, and it is said that the

passengers suffered much from scurvy on the voyage. lb was intended to place this division in the Whau listrict, as a

protection to Auckland on the west asrainst a raiding party of natives from the>North, but thero had been such an outcry over the clay land at Paparoa (Howick), that Captains Kenny and Haultain were appointed to inspect the land, and reported against the scheme. They were accordingly located near Mount Smart, Onelmnga. The Home Government had bogun to complain at the coat of the double cottagos, each of them, though erected under the superintendence of the Royal Engineers' department, costing £150, and it refused to expend any more money in that direction. Each man oi Captain Haultain's division, therefore got an advance of £15 towards the cosb of building houses for themselves, and a year's labour on the roads or the public works, at Is 6d a day. Think of the nimble cighteenpence, ye Government co-opera-tives ! The cost to the Imperial Government of settling the New Zealand Fencibles on the land was £76.000, which the Hon., Colonel Haultain states was charged against) the colony, and..not finally sponged out until Sir William Fitzherbert went Home on a mission to the mother country. One authority, referring to the huge expenditure, said that a descent to minor details of waste looked like trifling with the subject. The injudicious manner in which the required works were undertaken swelled the bill of costs greatly, A single instance will suffice. " Pensioners received 2s 6d a day to clear their own acres at Panmure, with shovels! With such implements it takes 16 men and an overseer to clear an acre of fern land in a day. With fern scythes two man can do the work with ease. The astonishment of the neighbouring farmers at seeing such a fashion of going to work may be conceived."It may be mentioned in this connection that another division of Royal Fencibles was formed for location in the Falkland

Islands, but the climate was nob suitable for the growth of cereals, and the men were resliippod from the inland, some going to Hobaro Town and the balance coming to Auckland, to fill up vacancies in the New Zealand corps. These men came by the Inchinnan and Berwick Castle in 1849.' v DIFFICULTIES OF SETTLEMENT.

When Captain Kenny's pioneer division went to Onehunga there were no cottages, but a commissariat store was erected and two long wooden sheds, into which the Penoibles were put temporarily. 'According to the regulations there was to be a school and a place for religious worship in each settlement, bub that regulation was more honoured in the breach than in the observance. 'Divine service wag held at Onehunga in a corner of one of the long sheds, and the various denominations were subsequently left to erect their own churches. The An-

glican and Roman Catholic Churches, to which the majority of the men belonged, did their best to raoeb the emergency. The Rev. Dr. Purchas, who was at St. John's College, and who had charge of Onehunga and Epsom, was accustomed to walk from the College to Onehunga, hold a military service at seven a.m. (the Pensioners took their religion early in those days), go on to Epsom, hold a forenoon service and afternoon Sunday - school, then tramp back to Onehunga again for evening service. At the conclusion of that service he strolled on to St. John's College again, walking on the average 19 miles each Sunday. Not a bad Sunday's record for a country clergyman ! To obtain the funds for the original erection ot St. Peter's, Onehunga, he walked 1200 miles, shillings being scarce and threepenny bits nob to be despised. Among the officers who specially interested themselves in the moral and religious improvement of the Fencibles, where he was stationed, was Captain Haultain. Ho not only contributed from bis own private purse, but interested his friends in England in the matter. The funds thus accumulated were handed over to the Rev. Dr. Purchu.' The Howick Church was pub togetherjn.the backyard of St. John's College, ,in framework, by Messrs. Cochrane and Hunter. The pieces then numbered, were transported in bullock waggons to Howick,'' where the building was afresh pub 'up, Dr. Purchas giving the finishing touch by erecting the cross on the roof|ng., Services were kept up by the Rev.). Cotton at Howick,. Fisher at Panmure,' students from the college, and by Bishop Selwyn himself when he happened to' be' in v Auckland. Schools had to be provided by denominational enterprise, and the school mistress of the first school in Onehunga, Mies Bates, aged 80, is still alive and well., She carried on her school under Anglican auspices, until the New Zealand Fencibles disbanded, and further means' of '.providing education were provided, first by the Provincial Government, and' latterly by . the Colonial Government. Miss Bates came out with the detachment of Captain (afterwards Major) Kenny.

; The Rev. Arthur Foley Winnington Ingram.' the Well-known and popular vicar of St. Matyhew'i, Bethnal Green, has been appointed to succeed the Bishop Designate of Bristol as Canen of St. Paul's. ~,. , ' Prince Maximilian of Saxony, who for rather more than a year has. been officiating its a simple missionary priest in. the poor German colony at the East End, where he has 'greatly endeared himself to all classes to his unassuminglifeand his unremitting solicitude -'for the welfare, of the L or °! every nationality, is about to quit the scene of his' labour*, Ho returns.,to : Dresden ihoitiy. .. - "< v '/•'-. "' .