WELLINGTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 902, 13 March 1869, Page 6

WELLINGTON.

(fbom our own correspondeijt.) March 2nd. My last letter was scarcely posted when a messenger arrived overland from Wanganui, bringing news that the Taranaki murders were the work, not of three or four desperate individuals, but of a large and organised band of that always troublesome tribe, the Ngatamaniapoto, and that its leaders were endeavouring to reinforce themselves by offering inducements to the disaffected of other tribes to join them. Colonel Haultain had gone up from Wanganui in the Sturt ; and on ascertaining the real state of affairs in Taranaki, he at once returned to Wanganui, sent off a messenger to Wellington with the news, and instructed Colonel Whitmore to detach 100 men of the Armed Constabulary for the defence of Taranaki. This was done at once, and the detachment sent to New Plymouth in the useful little Sturt. If another 100 meu can be spared from Wanganui they are to be sent, and Dr Pollen in Auckland has been instructed to raise a special force for service in Taranaki It is well known that that Proviace has been almost entirely denuded of its adult unmarried male population, owing to its own poverty and the attractions of the Auckland Goldfields ; and it is believed that amongst those who have been attracted to the diggings, a sufficient number of men acquainted with the country, ,and who have already seen service, can be found willing to join a bushranging force for service in the Province. The Taranaki deputation, consisting of Messrs Richmond (Superintendent), Hirst, and Dingle, were informedPof these arrangements when they waited on the Government to know what steps were to be taken to render the Province assistance, and they seemed gratified, as well as surprised, at the energy and promptness which had been displayed. They, i however, strongly urged the retention of the present garrison of Imperial troops at New Plymouth ; but the reply was that the order had gone forth for the removal of the 18fch Begiment from the colony, and that the Government had no power to keep them. "With this the deputation ; had to rest content, and after warmly thanking the Ministers for what they had done, the Taranaki delegates retired. \ Some restless Magisterial spirits in this | town, however, were not satisfied with what the Taranaki deputation had learned ! about the retention of the troops, so they ! called a meeting at the Club, and 19 J.P's attended. Dr Featherston filled the chair, and after resolving that the_ rejmoval of the troops from Taranaki in particular, and from the colony in general, would at the present juncture be a dangerous proceeding, they resolved to wait on the Governor, and try and get him to interfere. They accordingly did 30, and were of course most graciously received and listened to while urging -their views. None of the Ministry were present at the interview, nor has anyj authorised account of what took place been made public ; but I believe His Excellency's answer was something fco the following "effect :•— That personally he did not approve of the self-reliant policy, so far as it excluded the assistance of Imperial troops ; but that, as the public opinion of the colony, as shown through the Legislature, the press, public meetings, and private communications, wasunmi3takeably opposed to depending on the Home Government, he was of course "bound to yield his own opinions, and to act on the advice of his Ministers. He. reminded the leader of the deputation, Dr Featherston, tha* on a very recent occasion he had presided at a large public meeting in this town, and had with great eloquence urged upon the meeting the views he was now urging upon him, but bhafc meeting '<y a large majority decided against those views. In Canterbury, His Excellency said he knew from personal <r servation that the feeling was very strong against Dr Featherston's views. Apart, however, from the state of feeling in the colony, the state of feeling at home was such as to preclude all hope of receiving assistance from thence. He had in the strongest terms urged the necessity of retaining at least one regiment in the colony, and had j pointed ouiTthat io remove all the troops in the present state of affairs, would be as dangerous a proceeding as to have removed the troops from Ireland after the rebellion of 1798, from Scotland after the rebellion of 1745, or from India .after the Cawnpore massacre. But, notwith- J standing these representations, he had been informed that it was the settled policy of the Imperial Government not I to maintain troops in a colony which refused to pay half the cost of that maintenance, in other words L4O per head per annum. Only that day the Panama mail had brought him a despatch from the new Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which Lord Granville "took the first

opportunity, after assuming the seals of office, to intimate his entire concurrence with that portion of the instructions given by his predecessor requiring the removal of the troops on the arrival of the Himalaya." His, Excellency also stated that he had received a private letter from a friend "who occupied a high place in the Ministry, and who told him that it -was no use writing any more on the subject ; that no representations he could make would alter the settled determination and policy of the chiefs of both political parties, and that if he became too importunate he would only injure himself without benefiting the colony. It waa therefore impossible for him, or for the Government, to do anything more in the matter ; and even if they were inclined to interfere further, neither he nor they had any power to prevent the departure of the troops. The deputation on this had, of course, to bow and retire. I may state that the private friend whom his Excellency alluded to as having written to him, is understood to be Mr Gladstone, who is known to be a personal friend of Sir George Bowen. When the Tararua arrived on Friday, the question of the removal of the troops assumed a new phase, as a brother- in-lavr of Captain Piers, of the Himalaya, residing here, received letters from that officer stating that he had received a telegram from the Admiralty, directing him not to come to New Zealand, and that in consequence he was not coming. The Commodore also received a letter to the same effect from Captain Piers, and on the Governor hearing of this he at once telegraphed to the Airedale at Nelson instructions for the two Taranaki Companies of the 18th to remain at New Plymouth until the receipt of further orders. The Airedale was at Nelson en route for Taranaki, and tinder contract to take the troops from thence to join Head Quarters in Auckland, so as be ready to embark. A proclamation calling out the whole of the Taranaki Militia for active service, and appointing Major Brown, M.H.R. , to the command, was issued, and I believe telegraphed per Airedale also. The arrival of the Rangit^to was anxiously looked for as being likely to bring information as to the cause of tbe Admiralty orders regarding the Himalaya ; but on Saturday evening, to the intense surprise of everybody, the Himalaya herself steamed into Harbour. It seems that at the same time that Captain Piers received his telegram, General Chute also received one from the War Office, directing the return of the 50fch Regiment, and the redistribution in Australia of the 14th Regiment, but only containing some vague allusion to the 18th Regiment. The Commodore being ab- ! sent, General Chute determined to send the Himalaya down to him here, and as he thought, from what he had seen of matters here during his recent visit, that the detachments at Auckland and Taranaki might be safely removed, he gave orders that they should proceed in the Himalaya to Australia, and that the other wing of the battalion should be left at Wanganui. This, if carried out, would be, like all compromises, unsatisfactory both to the Colony aud i the Imperial Government ; but the arrangement is not at all likely to be carried out, for the Commodore is highly indignant at a military officer presuming to interfere with the instructions from the Admiralty by sending a ship where they said she was not to go. He intends, I believe, to send the Himalaya i back to Brisbane to-day, as that is the place she was instructed by telegram to go to. Thus the 18th will remain here for the present ; but even if this point of naval etiquette had not happily been raised, I doubt whether the Government would not have endeavoured to prevent] the departure of the 18th, until more de- j finite instructions had been received, i The doubt which is raised by the Admiralty telegram would certainly justify J such a step. It is said that General Chute has strong reasons for being in such a hurry to get a portion of the 18th to Australia without waiting to see if the j Home Government has changed its mind on the subject. The removal of the 50th Regiment will leave the 14th Regiment only in Australia, and one Regiment will not, according to military usage, allow of ,the maintenance of a Major- General's staff at head-quarters. Unless the JBth, or a portion of them, go to Australia, the Quartermaster-General, several other staff officers, and perhaps even the Major General himself, might chance to find their occupations gone ; and this is said to be the explanation of the haste to get the troops away from here. The move is p.ot, however, at all likely to be successful. What the pause of the sudden and surprising change in the policy j and intentions of the Imperial Government can be owing 10, is only a matter of conjecture; but it is shrewdly surmised that Stock Exchange influence is at the bottom of it. The latest advices speak of a fall of from one and a quarter to one and a half in the price pi New Zealand w«

curities, owing to the disastrous news from the Colony ; and however indifferent the English public might be to our misfortunes, so long as they did not injuriously affect them, there is no doubt that as soon as those misfortunes become felt in their pockets, a good deal of sympathy would be created. It is probable, therefore, that the injurious effect -which the removal of the troops would have on the Colonial bonds, has induced the Government to alter or modify their previously expressed intentions. The arrival of the Suez mail will probably clear up the doubts with which the subject is now surrounded. We have now three St. George's ensigns flying in our harbour. The Challenger, the Blanche, and last, but certainly not least, the immense and noble Himalaya — the second or third-largest ship in the world, and the largest which has ever visited New Zealand. She had a narrow escape when coming in on Saturday. There was a strong south-east gal© blowing, and a heavy mist hanging over the land. After passing the Mana light, she ran on, and without ever seeing the light at the Heads, passed the entrance of the harbour, and suddenly found herself in Palliser Bay. A sailing vessel would have made the discovery too late, but the Himalaya, by means of her immense power, managed to get out of the bight, and retracing her course, arrived here in safety. As already stated, she goes to Brisbane to-day, and we shall soon be left without a single man-of-war. The Challenger goes to Sydney on Thursday to meet the Galatea, and on the 10th the Blanche leaves for a visit to the Auckland Isles, to search for wrecks and to replenish the stores deposited there. The Governor did intend to go in the Challenger to visit the beautiful scenery of the Pelorus Sound, but this intention has, I suppose, been given up in consequence of the near approach of the Prince's arrival. When in the session of 1867 a sum was voted for the purpose of re-surveying the West Coast of the Middle Island, there were not wanting plenty of wise men who scouted the idea as an absurd one, and prophesied that the Admiralty would refuse to recognise any marine survey which was not executed by its own officers. However the Government persevered, and the work was entrusted to Mr Woods, formerly of the Royal Navy, and afterwards commander of the Victorian sloop-of-war Victoria. The survey, as far as outdoor work was concerned, was finished some months ago, and the indoor work a few weeks ago. The Government then requested Commodore Lambert and his staff to examine the cha.rts, &c, and report on the work generally. This the Commodore has done, and his report is, I believe, extremely flattering to Mr Woods and satisfactory to all parties concerned. Singularly enough, too, an intimation has jast been received from the Imperial Government to the effect that the Admiralty will be glad to accept and avail it3elf of the surveys executed by the colony, and requesting to be furnished with copies of the charts and other works. At the request of Commodore Lambert Mr Woods goes to Otago in the Rangitoto to-day, to survey the bar of the Otago Harbour prior to the Challenger or Galatea attempting to cross it. This survey when completed will, no doubt, be of value to your port. At the eleventh hour a Reception Committee, formed of the remains of the Committee of last year, has been organised here, and a sort of programme arranged. The General Government are to find H.R.H. and suite board, lodging, and means of conveyance while here, but nothing more. Everything else will have to be done from private contributions; for although the Superintendent has promised to recommend the Council to vote a small sum, it is well-known that there is no money in the chest to pay it, even if voted, There is to be a procession when the Prince lands, aud Judge Johnston's idea is that the main feature should be a lot of young men on horseback and wearing white "puggeries." DrFeatherston is to present an address, which has been prepared by himself, Judge Johnston, and Mr Dransfield, and is being illuminated by Mr H. E. Brandon. Ail other addresses are to be discountenanced, and there is to be a ball in the Government Buildings ; kit there is a good deal of grumbling at the" prices fixed by the Committee, and which are as follows :—: — Double ticket, L 2 2s ; gentleman's single ticket, 30s ; ladies' single ticket, 15s-. There is not much interest displayed in the matter at all, and I fear that the reception will not be an over-impressive or successful one, March 3rd. The Himalaya has come and gone, and still the troops remain in New Zealand. After due consideration, the Commodore determined that General Chute had no right to interfere with the Admiralty instructions by Bending the Himalaya down here, and he would not, therefore, allow her to go on to Auckland, or to embark any portion of the 18th Regiment,

but ordered her at once tact to Australia to carry out the orders received by telegraph from home. Last night, the big ship got up steam and departed for Brisbane. General Chute -will no doubt be very savage with the Commodore ; but it is difficult to imagine what grounds of justification he could have pleaded for his proposed plan of removing all, except two | companies of the 18th, from New Zealand. If we are to have any troops at all, a single battalion is by no means an excessive number ; but the question of retention or removal has never been one of numbers, but one of policy. The Home Government has objected to our having a single soldier, unless we paid for him ; but if the principle w<is once admitted that it was the duty of England to afford us the protection of any troops, certainly two companies at Wanganui would not represent a fulfilment of that duty. If it was right to keep them there, it would be right not only to leave the other companies here, but io bring other troops. A compromise, such as the one General Chute proposed, would be as much a violation of the clearly announced policy of the Imperial Government as the retention of the whole regiment ; while to the colony it would be much more satisfactory, for we should still have the credit of receiving the assistance of Imperial troops, while any advantages to be derived from their presence would be reduced to a minimum. Besides, if -we want any of the companies to remain here, it is those stationed at Taranaki rather than those at Wanganui. At least a garrison, and it is only for garrison duty that the regular troops are available, is much more required at "New Plymouth than at Wanganui. Indeed the danger of attack on the latter town was much exaggerated when things were at the worst, but now there is actually none. Still, if the Imperial garrison can be maintained there for a time, it will be a decided advantage, for their presence affords us a moral support, which has a good deal of weight with both the friendly and the hostile natives. In the field there, nothing is being done at present owing to the heavy floods in the rivers. Colonel flaultain came back in the Sturt yesterday, accompanied by Colonel Whitmore, who availed himself of the enforced inaction at the Eront to pay a flying visit to this place. He returns to-day in the Sfcurt, and seems confident that as soon as the floods subside he will be able to get at Ti'o Kowaru , and strike a decisive blow. Upwards of 200_ Kupapas or friendly Wanganui natives have taken the field for us. They are represented as being exceedingly anxious to_ hunt Tito out and earn the LIOOO, which is his present market value, dead or alive. He is within about eight miles of our advanced posts. It is said that the place where he is camped is in the midst of the most broken country in the place. The work of road making through the bush has been steadily pushed forward; a really good one between the Wereroa and Wairoa is now completed. Bridle tracks suited for pack horses are being constructed in all requisite directions. The effect of all this must be to permanently open up the country. Occasionally a scouting party of the enemy has been met with, and a shot_ or two exchanged, but with the exception of an Arawa slightly wounded, we have not suffered any loss since the fatal ambuscade at the Peach Grove. Tito and his men are said to be very dispirited, and convinced of their mistake in abandoning Nukumaru and crossing the Waitotara river. _ The reward of LIOOO which was some time ago offered to the Bushrangers for the capture of Tito Kowaru, has nowbeen thrown open to the whole of the colonial forces, and the public generally, ft will be paid for the miscreant if taken dead or alive, but it will not be given if he is killed in a general engagement, or pursuit, or by any ordinary accident of war, unless it is proved that special efforts for his capture were made by any particular individuals. Two prisoners who deserted from the Constabiilary were recently captured, and tried by general court martial. The sentence wa3 fifty lashes each, and 18 months' imprisonment with hard labour. Colonel Whitmore at once remitted the flogging. After about a fortnight's imprisonment the men managed to effect their escape, and have not since been recaptured. Another deserter who was recently caught wa>* tried last week for a charge of desertion and theft of Government property. He was sentenced to fifty lushes and two years' imprisonment with hard labour. As in the former cases, the colonel remitted the flogging, but every effort will be used to prevent the convict from escaping the rest of the sentence. The Itangitoto's mail brings mows of the death in France of Major-General Gold, who was well known here as Colonel Gold, and who at one time commanded the forces in New Zealand. He had many personal friends in this colony, and a son of his is now somewhere in this province,

A Mr Swainson, who lives at Otaki, is trying very hard to capture the taniwha which Archdeacon Hadfield and others declare they have seen in the lake there. Dr Hector has sent up a supply of large size shark hooks, and these attached to floats and baited with mutton have been set in various parts of the lake, but as yet without success. A careful examination of the lake margin has established the fact that the monster is a purely aquatic one, and does not quit the lake for an occasional visit to terra fir ma. Should Mr Swainson's fishing result in a capture there will be great commotion in the scientific world, for geology has not as yet disclosed any remains of such an animal as the taniwha must be, if it answers Mr Hadfield's description. That gentleman nc longer resides at Otaki, but in Wellington. He has, I believe, resigned the charge of the Mission School which he has conducted for some six and twenty years, and it is understood that the results of this well managed trial to educate and civilise the natives and halfcastes were so unsatisfactory as to lead to the abandonment of the attempt.

It is unfortunately but too true that we have small pox in a virulent form in this province. There ■was some doubt as to whether the first case, that of the black man Francisco, was small-pox or not, but the latest accounts from Rangitikei state that another undoubted case has occurred there. It is very singular that the disease should break out in a thinly- populated and remote country district. It has been stated that Francisco was in Wellington when the Kaikoura's small-pox patients were released from quarantine, and that the two infected persons stayed at the same hotel as Francisco. Further enquiry, however, shows that although Francisco was in town tvhen the Kaikoura arrived, he had left a fortnight before the two patients were released, and took up their quarters at the Freemasons' Hotel. He must, therefore, have caught the infection from breathing the same atmosphere as those on board the ship some half a mile away, and must have taken the seeds of the disease up country with him. Not being vaccinated, he was, of course, specially suscepti v le. Whether he would have died had he been treated in an ordinarily humane manner, is a, question which cannot now be determined ; but certainly the treatment he received was enough to cause a fatal termination to a much less serious or dangerous disorder than smallpox. As soon as it was discovered that he had that disease he was put into a car and taken to Wanganui, some 60 or 70 miles distant. There he was refused admission into the Hospital, and kept some days in a tent outside the town. Then, one cold, wet, and stormy day, he was put into an open canoe, for the purpose of being towed down to some quarantine ground at the Heads. The men intrusTed with the task of conveying him there -were unable to make their way against the wind and sea. The unfortunate man, with the fire of the disease coursing through his veins, lay uncovered under heavy rain and with the spray dashing over him for several hours, iintil at last the men in the boat, who were towing the canoe, gave up and tried to regain the shore near the Maori camp. The natives would not allow them to land there, and so they went to another place and landing themselves there, poor Francisco was left in the canoe all night, uncovered and soaking wet. Next day he was taken down the river to a tent on the spit, and the clay after he died there, without, T believe, any medical man having seen him since he left the town of Wanganui. These particulars seem almost incredible, but I have given them as they have been given from time to time by the Wanganui papers. No wonder those papers say the case demands investigation. If the above facts are true, and they have never been controverted, it may well said that Francisco was murdered rather than tnat he died of small pox. And it seems that it cost LBO to kill him. The health officer incurred expenses amounting to that sum in connection with tl>e case ; but when he sent in the bill to tue Provincial Government, the Superintendent very properly refused to pay it, and informed the Health Officer that he had treated Francisco in an entirely illegal manner. That al'hough persons arriving at any port with an infectious disease might be placed in quarantine, there was no power to take a patient in a country district, or who was on shore, and treat him as Francisco had been treated. Dr. Featherston said that the unfortunate man ought either to have been placed in the regular hospital, or else in some separate building, and been treated as a patient would have been if suffering from some ordinary disease, every possible care being used to prevent the spread of the infection. Under these circumstances, the Health Officer is left to pay the little bill himself.

Captain Buck and Lieutenant Hastings, "who fell at Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, were both officers of the veteran Volunteer

Company in this town. A subscription was at once started amongst the members of that Company and joined in by the members of the other Volunteer Corps, to erect some memorial to their gallant comrades. A sum of upwards of LBO was collected, and at a recent meeting of the subscribers, it was resolved to place a memorial window in St. Paul's Cathedral here. A very handsome stained glass window for the west end of the Cathedral was someStime ago designed in stained glass by Mr Barraud, the well-known artist. His brother happens to be one of the churchwardens of St. Paul's. This window will cost about LIOO, but the parish authorities have agreed to make up the difference between that sum and the amount of subscriptions to the memorial fund ; while Mr Hall, a glazier here, has offered to erect the window free of charge. A brass plate with suitable inscription will be placed beneath the window.

The offer of the LSO priz9 for the best essay on the settlement of the goldfields has, I believe, brought somewhere about three dozen literary competitors into the field. I don't envy the judges the task of reading the essays through, and it will indeed be wonderful if they manage in their award to give satisfaction to any one except the fortunate prize winner. It is not yet known who the judges are to be. Mr Gisborne, the chief Under Secretary, goes up to Auckland this week to begin there the investigation into the position of Educational, Religious, and Charitable Trust Estates. Mr Hart, another of the Commissioners, goes with him ; and Mr Heale, another of them, is already resident in Auckland.

Sir David Monro is at present on a visit to Wellington.