THE VOLUNTEER MILITIA MOVEMENT.

Southland Times, Volume 3, Issue 102, 17 October 1863, Page 6

THE VOLUNTEER MILITIA MOVEMENT.

;^rj^^»||i^/^J^*P^^ct--B.>''- ; ;!^'«- ; The alacrity iwlth the invitati;on of the \G.bVfirntneht:'oris\few^fcalanfli'tp;yol-,.; unteers for : 'tTie -Mill tialfprce. lias been i;t- ■.•■•; sponded to,jlsv^)njj vpf the inidst^hterlestingj '"'.!. features of itHe present war. l^hose^who/ ' : ' d d<iub'ted' : ,thUabUit^ 1 lattyti to rjvise aycolorii r al j jfor6e|2safficientai. ■^:le^lsfbT'Mrtlp¥tp^ j /be i|*pnlyfreqxiuedt the r effetjo ( "be'Tnad4^b ;£iocM ai-myv „ ' [\iy -the Ne\V; Zealand '\ ':;] doyernment ha|s bcen.emmently successful, arid one 'can only regret that rt.he«!ep ;of ; '■' organißing.aißtrqng colonial force Was not : ' adoptedin ibJe last It; riiay be saT -ly, •' calculated-;tlinl'the[ Milituv "and. 1 Volunteer" Fwce of iliecqjony numbers npw some ■ 5000 ; meh; •■••- "'FrPm' Au vraiia'over'jJOpO men have been raised, and Otagp hasxjontributed ; to ihe Aiickiand'an^'TariEipakr^tifitiaand:; . tlie Defence-Forces at Napier and Welling- ■' • ton spmevvhere about $QO. To these must be''ad : de'd 'thejftfrlitia and "Volunteers con- - stituted from ;the local population. It will of course' take some time to render this large force,:sjLiperior as it' is in the cluality'of •■'material to the re'gtrlar miliv;Yary|fiiaywlatjliß.. fpr. the purposes of Wctual : ; ■Jw&i&re.^:' : :;.|n.^facf, we^dovibtl'much if it ' wouiff he desirable to - use it for such pur- ; pp3!ft^^v!she l^W'■^i|;iavratß(Bil under the special .conditions of occupancy of Native land is essentially a defensive force, and as such must befeitarded. Its utility 'will consist in finding garrisons for outposts, and the chain of redoubts, which it is General Cameron'stintcntipn to establish round the districts which feed the insurrection. In coufse'of- time each 'little band will become ; thoroughly acquainted wi<h the country ii.the vicinity bf its post; the men are not: inexperienced: raw recruits, but inured to 1 almost every hardship and trial. The great' prbporlibh'of the Volunteers raised in Otago° affd Victoria', consists of men to whom the inconveniences and privations of bash life offer no terrors. Those who have been accustomed to encounter in tlie wilds of Australia and i Otago all the vicissitudes of hunger, cold, and the thousand obstacles continually occurring to n,en of their vocations, are not - li ely to be daunted either by the natural intricacies and difficulties of the New Zen land bush, or the prospect of an encounter with the natives. We question if at any , previous time a ; force so admirably adapted • for the -purpose for which it is intended, was collected together as the Volunteer, Militia now being raised ; and whatever result may attend the offensive movements of General Cameron, we may safely con elude that the defence of the co'onial settlements will be fully ensured by the civilian forces. We are strongly of opinion that the proposed military settlements should at once be organised, and the men employed in the construction of tbe necessary blockhouses. The sooner this is done the sooner may we expect to hear the last ] of "the- murderous and sudden onslaughts i ]>y the rebels, which nt present keep the whole of the Auckland frontier in an in secure state. As General Cameron gradually drives the insurgents before hrn, his rear should be followed up and occupied by these military settlements, which will serve not only to keep open tbe communication, but to prevent the chance of the enemy securing any advantage by a flank movement — a contingency to which, in a country of so , intricate a character, anattacking force is , always more or less liable. ' Fears are expresse-I in certain quarters tliat the Colonial Government has not the power to alienate the lands of the rebels. and that the- home Government will not consent to such a sweeping measure There is a good deal of plausibility in the arrguements brought forward in suppor! of thie view, but nothing can be more certain than that the confiscation programme will be carried out At a time and under siach circumstances like the present it will not do to draw too fine lines of distij c itm between what is strictly right and what is a military necessity. The treaty of Waitangi has been used as a weapon by the philo-Maories on both sides of the question. At onetime it was the fashion to speak of the treaty of Waitangi as so -much waste paper, so far as the Maories themselves were interested. " Tbe Natives did not understand its obligations ; it was a treaty only partially acknowledged," said they, in discussing the questions which -'gave rite to the last war. Now r the treaty of Waitangi is burled in the face of the advocates oT confiscation. '"The treaty guaranteed | the integrity of the land of the Natives, j therefore you have • no right to deprive -! this or that tribe of its land." Common j sense, however, is quite sufficient for the consideration of these finely drawn arguments. If the treaty is of any value at all, its provisions must be of a compensating character. The privileges conferredj" and the obligations demanded, were dependant on each other, and any departure from the one warrants the deprivation of the other. The plan of confiscation recommends itself in every way. It is in a military sense a necessery part of the scheme of self-defence: legally it is right, morally it is just. The most, ardent well-wisher, of the Maori race could not devise any measure so calculated to save the aborigines from rapid total extinction by imposing a cheek on their disorderly tendencies, as the .formation of military seltlements. Besides, the word of the Government- is pledged to the measure, without which the large volunteer force would hot have been secured. We fancy it is intended to carry out the military settlement scheme extensively throughout the North . .Island; as we notice that a recent Gazette contains the following conditions upon ■which land "situated in the North fsland of New Zealand will be granted to volunteers — ran enlargement evidently of the Waikato and Taranaki schemes. Sufficient land not.only for the purpose of the proposed niilitary settlements but for the purpose.qf colonisation, wUi. fall in under the Confiscation Act without making the condition of the Maori population any worse Thousands upon thousands of acres of valuable land are in the hands of the Native owners absolutely worthless, not the slightest attempt being made to cultivate them. Supposing the 1 md of every insurgent tribe to be confiscated, there would still be ample room for the Govern- . mebt'J ; to jmake suitable and extensive reserves for the native population sufficient, for their, requirements, and leave an euormous-area of land> for profitaMe occupation by 'Europeans. We notice it i* suggested ,tb'. offer grants of laiTd to the regular 'military^but the proposition is a fool ish one, although dp ab 1 1 ess wel 1 i n tend cd . Tiie^occupatibn pi tbe land is ihe most important'feature'of .tlite' niilitary settlement scheme T-a^condition- which the soldiers of the line could, not comply with. It . mi^hfe be T to make offers to men whose term of service has expired, and it would' not' be" a bad plan to periodically

,:djraihy, ] Ba.ys^ i of service-was np an(l:vvho-;would;gl ; adly I accept-thocohditiotispf inTlitary 'obcuf miip inUlvis^w&yitl^ 'calculate' i o'n^receiving an\acc l es f sioh > «r mili^," ;taryv strength, year by 'y&w, $ntil anyi ex- t ' -trariedfus fiassist^itce .^cptila 'be eatiiejj'j dis.f ' peiised with'i,';" ,„.';,'".'.".,.,--,.■ .--ri; ri"\ ■■; ;; ,/,^lq ; whichever tyay We look* at ■ the mili-i ■ tary settlement Siihenie.it appeal's' to-.-bfe the-mosfc^rejlable-sys-env 6F : defence, anft tcr i hold out the greatest hope for the p rev en - Uibitfotf- native 'outbreaks. The colony lias -reason to congratulate itself on the maglii- | ficent body of men Which has been raised ; umK'r the auspices of ,] the Government. VVheifi the present war is finished an ele ment of strength will have been created. wiiicli will render the colonits as able as. they are willing to defend themselves for the future.