THE WOUNDED.

Otago Witness, Issue 878, 26 September 1868, Page 9

THE WOUNDED.

( Wanganui Chronicle.)

The task of telling unbiassed truth may not at all times be pleasant to every one concerned, but it is no less the duty of the authorities to see that nothing is left undone that is possible to be done, in the way of attending to our wounded. Such, we are sorry to say, has, from a variety of causes, not been the case in this district. This may be best explained by reviewing the hardships of the wounded ia the last engagement — the storming oc Te Ngutu-o-te-Mauu — and tracing their movements from the field of battle to Wanganui, where a number of them are at present. It is known that threß men were killed and nine wounded in that engagement It; is creditable to our men — and more than creditable to several individual members of the force, who, under a perfect storm of bullets, carried off the dead and wounded from under the muzzles of the enemy — that none were left on the field of battle. Rude Btretchers, the be&t procurable in the circumstance^ were improvised, and the retreat effectually covered. By the time the force reached Waihi, one of the wounded died, leaving eight for hospital. But at Waihi there is no hospital accommodation, and, worse than that, there seems to have been a want of proper medical attendance. Will the public credit the assertion that all the wounded were Dot looked to on arrival? Strange and improbable as. thia sounds it is no lees truth. Some were not attended to till twenty hours after dropping in their place's in the ranks, Xtirefc ha 4 aofj t&fir wouadß

even™ washed* till ten o'clock on Saturday morning — the fight haying taken place about noon the day before— and then only on the urgent entreaties of the comrades of the wounded men. This, too, while the Government pays for the services of three medical men to attend to the invalided. The coincidence is somewhat startling. One of these medical gentlemen, has since been cashiered ; but this, while diminishing numerically the staff, cannot possiMy add to its efficiency. It is Ynb just to explain that the officer commanding was not in camp during this gross dereliction of duty, else (the men we are assured feel confident) the wounded would not have been so cruelly slighted. Colonel M'Donnell and Dr. Walker had proceeded on to Patea.

From Waihi, where there is no hospital accommodation, the wounded were ordered to Wanganui. The last half of the journey was performed by steamer ; the firct upon drays over a rough country. The mere mention of the fact, aided by unlimited imagination, must fall short of the agony upon wounded men that such a jolting cruel mode of transit entails. To the Government we earnestly urge the necessity of an ambulance being provided for the wounded — humanity demands it, and although all the expensive appliances of modern warfare can., rot be expected to. nor is it desirable that they should, * c introduced in this campaign, an ambulance or some easier conveyarce than a eoringless carfc is absolutely required. All the wounded men despatched from "Waihi have reached Wanganui alive, but how much th* worse of their rouch journey not even the doctors -will agree, although all concede the inexpediency of rough measures. Lodged in the Wanganui hospital they are a^out a3 well off as if they had stayed at Waihi. The hospital has been a standing reproach to the"colony, and does not seem to improve with time — indeed, shingles and weather-boarding, upon which no repairs are made, have a decided tendency the other way. But this is not all. No provision in the shape of dietary is made. Imagine in a place, quiet from the agitation of military movements, a company of wounded men being supplied with black tea and a loaf of doughy bread for breakfast ! Now, it bo happens, that a number of the inhabitants of Wanganui and its neighbourhood have subscribed towards a "Patea Relief Fund ;" one of the objects of which is to provide for the wounded. And how is this proposed to be done? By granting them sraaP annuities, once they are better, or before, for that matter. If, Instead of reserving a small annuity for thai© men when they are strong nf arm and able to earn their own bread without a pittance of charity, the Committee were to provide a few comforts — even necessaries — to these poor fellows, they would, we are certain, be carrying out the wishes of the subscribers as much as by any ot ler means to a patriotic end.

A historical character died the other day at Singleton, and a from a short biographical sketch in the local journal we take the following : — An inquest was held on Monday, ths 10th instant, before the d strict coroner, Dr. Glennie, on view of the body of an aged woman, known as Ellen GJasspoole, who was burned to death in her ha* on Saturday last. The above creature was, we believe, the last remaining vile relic conneofced with the infamous Burke and H>re tragedies that horrified Edinburgh, the s n ene of those villains' wholesale butcheries, and indeed th© civilised world* Rime forty yeara ago. As paramour of Burke — who expiated his revolting crimes upon the scaffold —she participated in these barbarities that have never been heard reoited without a shudder. The law, however, in dealing mercifully with the "weaker vessel," sentenced Elleu Ptewart alias M'Dougall to penal servitude for life. In IS3O, she was assigned to the service of the late Mr Jos«ph Singleton, and she has remained in this district since. During the early years of her servitude here she appears to have captivated somebody, who bestowed upon her the name of Glasspoole, and whom 1 apparently she has long survived.

Desertion to the enemy is a novel and un. expected feature in New Zealand warfare. The Westport Star supplies the following intelligence on the subject : — .During one of the late engagements with the Natives, a European, a young man who had been punished for some offence, deserted to the enemy, and it was discovered that another m-m, Kimbal Bent, who, five or six years a<ro. deserted from H.M. 57th "Rejrt., is still living amongst the Hau BTaus of the Ngati« ruanui tribe. This is the man who, it is ?aid r shot Lieutenant-Col. Hassard on the 12th January. 1866. during the attack upon Otapa wa by the for<*e under the command of Major- General Chute. from that time to the present this Kimbal Bent appears to have hean assisting She Hauhaws in almost every encounter which our men have had wi-h them in the Patea district. He was present at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu when attacked by our men on the 21st ultimo, and? left behind him a book in which he had written, in very bad English, a few memoranda, and. several sentences expressive of regret for the past and apprehension for the future. He appears to be more afraid oi' beinc; takes aiive than of bein# killed ia batt\e. He has had many hair- breadth esi capeg, and as our mon are constantly on the look- out for him. wa fully expect before Jong to hear of his being either killed or captured. Let us hope, however, tbat none of our commanders will fall by his hand! It is* stated in a Wellington, journal that JJB hap Disco fewa pfcot,