CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11852, 2 January 1902, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT. TO THE EDITOR. ■ ,«| —Touching the' request r.t Mr. Seddon that' all the New Zealand ops should be -''-'■: put in the field together, I have been, under ' tho impression that" the colonial troops, with their bush or open country experience, were meant to supp'lv the deficiency in that line of tho "Tommies" .who. have none of this '-•■•■• experience, and if this is: so,: how can they help the Tommies in this way if they do not work with them? The British infantry have worked with '•: the ' colonials, and have then 7 done what the colonials could not do. Ask "■. ■. somo: of the reliable officers—ask '■ Colonel . ! Davies r .Captain Crawshaw, and others. \> I refer to occasions in attacking positions when : the colonials did tho light cleaving away preliminary business and then, could get no fur- ' ther. Then Tommy came up and showed them How'to carry the position and walk over the Boers against a shower of lead that no colonial. corps would face. So you .see each 'has their own good quality, are > ' working togethei," and are of mutual service to each other. They thus do more for the general '■'• good than if: the} were working indepen- '. dently." 1 do not r think Mr. Seddon, after ; coming to the "front with his offer, in the name of the colony, should hamper. Lord '-. Kitchenei with; such a selfish proposal, but • should allow him to know his own work 'better than he (Mr. Seddon) does. Another thing, Mr.;'Seddon should not listen.to. all tho "yarns" that;have come from the > front, - for, you know every colony thinks their men the best. , I do no't know but \ that the Canadians and Qucenslandcrs have come up best. I know they-have pot most praise, and brought away most' honours. Mr. Seddon, . by: making this request, is driving Lord Kitchener between the devil and the deep "<■ sea. - Ho is forcing him, as it were, more or less, to offend him (Mr. Seddon) whom he thinks has been very good to him, or make ■use of the New Zealand; troops in a way ' which he, as Commander-in-Chief (practically) of two years' standing and experience at the seat of war, does not think the best for the "general good. And this is all to bo done to allow Mr. Seddon to advertise and crack up the colony. that "He" is Premier of. This is not true patriotism, and it is, in » round about way,-- telling the. Commander-in-Chief, who has everything off at his finger end* by now, that he (Mr. Seddon) knows 'what is wanted bettor than he does. Now, supposing ell tho Premiers who sent men were to attach the same request with their offer, and they are just as much entitled to do so as Mr." Seddon is, where would tho ■ Commander-in-Chief be?' I think he would be in a vice r and had bettor "slide,'and make room for Field-Marshal the Right Hon. Richard J. Seddon, P. 0., LL.D., who would; then give his principal attention to the New Zealandera and finish the affair out of hand. I would like to tell Mr. Seddon this: Mili- , tary 'service in tho field breeds grumblers more.than any occupation I know of, even •politics; and, strange to say, it is the idle time in the field that encourages the grumbling. Tho self abnegation necesafy on service finds vent (when there ;is nothing to do) in a good growl. This sort ot thing on the ' part of the men must be sympathised with, but we need not believe all tho yarns they tell, because they aro generally greatly exaggerated. , As for youn„ officers : who growl, thoy should' simply be sat upon as . showing a "bad example to tho men. My opinion is, that our men will be most useful where thoy are. most wanted, and no one knows that bettor than tho Commander-in- ■ Chief. I hear of returned troopers saying ■" that, Imperial officers treat them like dogs, (mind, those men make no exceptions). This puts mo in - mind of tho jubilee contingent. In London, they: were treated to the very host, and made much what was the result? Numbers of them after they arrived here "again said;they .had been fed like pigs at Homo: : simply because they had not got "what they: were used to in New Zealand. Now, there is a good deal of the same spirit . .in some of the returned troopers' complaints. •" • Tho men going on service • should disregard V personal comfort and the constant exposure of their lives, and give all for tho service of : the King. If thoy are not willing to put up ;. with": as hard fare and treatment as the foe .-'.at times, how do they expeot to beat them? By-tihe»way, I seo there are a good many • people who,: think the colony is paying for these contingonts. Ploaso let me disabuse their minds. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and '.now the eighth will cost the colony not a brass - farthing-,;-.• the - Imperial i Government pays ..Ifor : all. ;, They even pay no, inconsiderable amount towards tho expenses of the first, second, third, and fourth, also the third and fourth cost .'the" colony, nothing for equipment . ; ■ «-I mean uniform, accoutrements, horses, and C horse appointments. Those were all' paid . for by private:subscription."-; Just one '*.more, • word. I seo in the paper that there were 2000 applicants for '40: odd- commissions ' in ' 'the eighth. This looks strange. It appears that a great many.of the 2000 want to make 6u:.-e of being paid well anyhow. I would not marid. taking one of their billets myself, old !'j'lis I am.— am, etc., U.Vv.B. . Russell, December 29, 1901. ; ' | ' THE HUMBLE BEE. ....... -• "' TO THE EDITOII. ... . ; Sir,— see that* one ot your country, correspondents is mourning over the introduction of the humble bees into this province, ■ as they are robbing tho boxes of the common ■"" Vioaoy bee. It is tho easiest thing in the word"to stop such pilfering. The robbers being so much larger, all that is required to 'protect the boxes' is to "rnako the entrance smaller, so that the big fellows cannot get inside. The introduction of the humble bees has saved farmers thousands of pounds for clover seed. : .While that is a tangible benefit, a lot of their evil doings, as represented, aro purely imaginary. I have had something to do with bees of' all sorts, and I can assure you that the little fellows are as good fighters and robbers as thero "is any occasion for.—l am, etc., .-■■' ■■; ''■ "■" . Amicus. For New Year: Order now suit to measure at Goo. Fowlds'. \ High-class tailoring a 'specialty. Choice materials. 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