THE MOVEMENTS OF THE COLONIAL FORCE.

Colonist, Volume XII, Issue 1171, 15 December 1868, Page 2

THE MOVEMENTS OF THE COLONIAL FORCE.

The state of affairs in connection with.the proceedings of the Colonial forces, and the singular action taken by the Ministry in the movements of the troops, seems to exhibit' a degree of administrative imbecility scarcely, credible. A glance at the doings of the past three months can create only astonishment in the minds of business men. We pass over' in the meantime the defeats our arms have' sustained in the field; and refer to the fact only that in the district north of Wanganui, our " self-reliant" forces have, bit by bit, abandoned a long tract of country, which has been occupied by Tito Kowaru, whose confidence is so great that he, ,the other day, had the audacity to send two of hismen with a "flag of truce " to the occupants of Goodall's redoubt, a few miles from Wanganui, stating that he intended to attack them, and advising them to evacuate it, and, in fact, intimating in perverted scriptural phraseology his intention to sweep the white man out of the North Island. There must be some cause, beyond the mere savage bravery and hopeful vanity of this cannibal, for bravado like this; and we believe a great portion of that cause is to be found in the vacillation and apparent helplessness, not only of the officers in command, but iv the administrators who command them. "Witness the shifting of the forces to and from Napier to Wanganui, a performance thrice performed amidst the dissatisfaction of the people-of both places. The unfortunate Colonel Whitmore seems to be the military Marplot of New Zealand, and, go where he will, succeeds in achieving for himself an amount of unpopularity so great as to puzzle one in attempting to unravel its cause. His appointment to the command at the front was the signal for general disapprobation., The removal of the constabulary from Napier, which preceded the disaster of Poverty Bay, has left some of the dark stigma, which that removal created, attached to Colonel Whitmore. Mr. Stafford, with that cold-hearted Mephistopheles look, which marks him when thwarted, could tell the people of Wanganui that they "did not deserve assistance;" and Colonel Haultain, and the unhappy Whitmore, it is stated by the Wanganui papers, reiterated the ungracious statement. During his command at Patea, disaster only occurred, and post after post, for eighty or ninety miles of country, was abandoned. Then, in the face of the advancing Tito Kowaru, it was resolved to withdraw 350 men from Wanganui district, in order to send them With Col. Whitmore (the fluent despatch writer) to Napier and Poverty Bay. Before his arrival there a handful of Europeans, with the valuable assistance of friendly natives, were doing good service against Te Kooti. Colonel Whitmore arrives, and meets with a reception which, under such circumstances, we should regret to see a personal enemy encounter. The result of his presence is a collapse of the service successfully going on before he landed; and Mr. Whitmore returns to ; Wanganui, his expedition, which was intended to be a " crushing blow," having been a simple failure. It is a repetition of the old nursery rhyme:— And Colonel Whitmore with three hundred men, Steamed to Napier and then—steamed back again ! 111-advised, ill-judged, and ill-carried out schemes, in connection with the native outbreak, are all that, as yet, the Ministry has devised; and this expedition, this trip from Wanganui to Napier and back, must have cost several thousand pounds in money, besides much loss of time. Hapless exceedingly, and followed by more or less of disaster; has been almost every movement that the Government has made, and the expense to the country is something fearful to contemplate; for it means public bankrupt, and that will bring private disaster; it means public and private poverty, " and no man layeth it to heart."

Odotelt-ows' Ham,.—One of the most successful companies that over catered for the Nelson publio— the Nathan Troupe—again arrived here on Saturday last, for a very short stay, and last evening one of their popular entertainments would have been presented at the Oddfellows' Hall, had not the severity of the weather precludod it. This evening the same bill is advertised for performance, and should the weather be favorable there is little doubt that in accordance with the usual success of .this company, there will be a large audience assembled to witness the last and only performance that can be given provious to their departure for Hokitika. The programme will be found in another column. New Fabm Machineby.—An instrument quite new to this Province and rare to this Colony, has just been imported by Mr. Gapper, Waimea East. This is a straw-elevator, and its object is to save time and farm labor iv building stacks of corn and hay, and in fact all kinds of straw. It will raise the straw to a height of twenty feet, and is calculated in stackbuilding to save the labor of three or four men. The elevator will of course be worked by one of the movable engines, and by its aid, wheat, hay, &c, can be very rapidly and regularly stacked. Mr. Gapper, the importer, has already shown marked enterprise in connection wifcli the latest improved farming machinery, having imported various machines, steam engines, &c, which are let on hire, and have been found of great service to the farmer. New Eush in the Btoleb Distbict.—The West' port Times of Dec. 11, says : —" There has been some new ground opened at Hatter's Terrace, on the Great North Lead, and a snail rush from Giles' Terrace and the Caledonian has been the consequence. It is believed that another lead of gold has been struck, situated about 300 feet more to the westward than the lead which was formerly opened, and on a lower level. The prospect obtained is about three grains to the dish, and the seam, as fur as it has been tested, is about four feet in thickness, the wash digging inwards. The lead was struck at a distance" of sixty feet in from the terrace. Yesterday there wa« a number of miners from Giles Terrace on the ground; and the impression seemed to be that it would torn out well." The escort from Charleston arrired in Weatport on December 10, bringing, it is laid by the jftrajcl, 4155 QZB. gold,