THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Verie sans peur.” WANGANUI, DEC. 5, 1861.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 271, 5 December 1861, Page 3

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “ Verie sans peur .” WANGANUI, DEC. 5, 1861.

THe course of events, during the last month seems .to tend toward" a, peaceful solution of the native difficulty. In another column will be, found an extract from the Hawke’s Ba y . Herald, which contains the latest , information .that has reached this regarding the progress of the peace movement. The programme is according to previous hints, and is very likely to be pretty nearly correct. We learn by , private communication from Auckland, that it is understood there that the Upper Waikatos are still holding out. On the other hand, we learn from another source, thoroughly reliable, that the King maker,; Wm. Thompson, has sent his Excellency the Governor and the hon; the Colonial Secretary friendly, letters of invitation to, the Upper Waikato. There can now, therefore, be little doubt of peace being established. It is also said, in Auckland; that, the Governor has intimated officially that the troops will not be required on active service this summer. ;

The feeling that is pretty general in the Militia corps regarding Major Cooper is quite intelligible. He has acted in such a manner in his official capacity as to secure the regard of those wliom he has commanded. He has been active and energetic, doing what lay in his power to put the settlement in a condition to resist attack in case of war, which, from the information he received at head-quarters before he came down here, he understood was to be prosecuted in' such a way as would involve this settlement, and yet he has been so accommodating in his mode of using the power entrusted to him, as to ensure the cordial co-operation of the settlers, and the certainty of their willing testimony whenever it should be wanted to his efficiency and urbanity. There are a few, indeed, who say that the latter quality has been exercised at the expence of the former; while there are some who deny that he possesses it in any degree whatever. There are ultras in every case. Had Major Cooper’s relations in other respects been as unimpeachable as his relations with the ’ volunteers, there would have been every reason for congratulation that Wanganui had. heen favoured with such a commandant ol its militia. Unfortunately this has not been the case. "W"e do not intend, as want of sufficient information as well as disinclination prevents us, to go into the charge which has specially been made against our late Major of militia. He is not ashamed of what he has done in the matter. He may.'be innocent; but a person in his position should be, like Caesar’s wife, above suspicion. An inquiry was made, under the superintendence of a personal friend of his own, and the result of it was, that he received a reproof from the Governor, who however retained him in his position on account of his high qualifications for it, although greatly regretting that he had done what would bring a scandal on the profession to which he belonged. Now we are to presume, not having seen the evidence, that the Governor and ministry who appointed Major Cooper would not have reprimanded him so severely without sufficient evidence to justify them in doing so. Presuming that the reprimand was merited, and that it was. a sufficient penalty, it does not follow that a new Governor ■ should be satisfied that .* the officer who had received such a reprimand should be- retained in :his position. Major Cooper says that the reprimand put him in the same position as if he had never sinned. We are not sufficiently acquainted- with the rules of the military or militia service to decide if Major Cooper is correct in this opinion ; but it is evident-that Sir George Grey and General Cameron, who have no personal interest to-bias their minds, think differently, and we are disposed rather to give I their opinion the greater weight..- Sir

George Grey went 'over the case,'and formed his -own j udgment -of it.a case embodying the facts, but not giving the names, was submitted to General Cameron, and'lie arrived at the same conclusion as Sir George Grey,'whereupon the latter recommended Major Cooper to send in -his resignation. . This may be contrary to the rules of - the military service,— Major Cooper says that it is,—but certainly it is not contrary to the rules of? .common sense.- The newly appointed superintendent of a railway .would not think it unjust to supersede a manager of the goods department, who had seriously imperilled .the safety of the traffic, because the offence bad been condoned by his predecessor. ; He would. consider himself as having a perfect right, and indeed as bound in duty, to review the case, and to dismiss the offender, if he thought the interests of the railway might suffer by his remaining in office: Now, if such a common sense proceeding is not according to the rides of the military or militia service, why, we are glad to find that a precedent of this nature has at last. been given, which it is to be hoped may be followed in all similar cases in future. In saying this, we pronounce no judgment ;on this particular case, because we have not seen the evidence. • ’But looking at the in it; the Governor and General Cameron on the one hand (the latter not even knowing the names of the persons concerned), and Major Cooper on the other, who must necessarily -be biassed by bis personal interest in the decision, we would be inclined to think the former most likely to be correct in the conclusion arrived at. . .

Now, though the favourable feeling towards Major Cooper, in his capacity of Major commanding the militia, is quite intelligible, the mode of its expression is to us just the reverse. A public meeting was called, which only gave Major Cooper an opportunity of additionally damaging himself in the opinion of all reasonable men. The .spirit he displayed was not at all creditable. It was one of bitter enmity to Mr. Fox, whom he takes to be the author’of bis dismissal, and ; of enmity expressed in the coarsest and most iingentlemanlike manner. Major Cooper’s former appearance in the same room showed him' immeasurably inferior to the Colonial Secretary as a politician and a speaker; and his appearance last week must have still further lowered him in the opinion of all who know the true qualities' of a gentleman. The explanation s he made was not creditable. His reasons for-resigning were not consistent. One of his reasons was, that .Government officers were not allowed to vote or take part in politics. This interdict was published on the .2 0th July last, and allows Government officers to vote, but not to take, any further part in the election of, members of the General Assembly. Major Cooper therefore seems to have been remarkably deliberate in freeing himself from such a slavish re-' straint, and not to have known exactly its nature. Another reason was, that no corps of militia or volunteers could be efficient if the officers were appointed, as •they would infallibly be by this ministry, for political 'qualifications. One reason for his resignation is, that the ministry will only appoint, their, own partisans ; another, that the same ministry have disabled these partisans from helping them except by their votes. What a terribly corrupt ministry the present is ! No wonder that Major Cooper’s pure and honorable mind shrinks from any connexion with such men. The newspapers also report, that the management of Native affairs and the militia is to be handed over to the ministry ; and if that is true, it'is likely that such abandoned unscru.pulous men will dismiss all hon. gentlemen from Government employment, and put their' own base creatures into the vacant offices. It was high time indeed that Major Cooper should free himself from the suspicion of complicity in such vile doings. He Resigned. To estimate the step at its full value the time must be looked at. The Auckland mail left this’ on Thursday the 14th ult. The letter of resignation is dated Friday the 15th ult., —four weeks after the arrival of the mail from Auckland, the day after the mail left for .Auckland, and five -weeks before the next mail will leave. On the following Wednesday, the 21st ult., ; the monthly mail arrived from Auckland, bringing Major Cooper a request that he should resign. We leave our readers to draw their own inferences from .these dates. The inhabitants of Wanganui are we trust hot such absolute simpletons as the gallant Majof takes them to be.

Not only was Major Cooper thus placed by his friends in an unfortunate position at this meeting, blit ihe course these friends took for his vindication is just as unfortunate. Either the motion means nothing,or it means a great deal too much. It has been the general impression for some time back that the Militia force is to be disbanded ; that impression is strengthened by the reduction of the staff here. If that impression' is correct tile motion falls to the ground, and looks like a gentle quietus given to Major Cooper’s complaints, given as a lollipop is given to a child—is an expression of feeling, indeed, by no means flattering to its object. But if this is not its object, what is it ? Is it to insult his Excellency the Governor.? .It does , so, because it implies that his Excellency has. dismissed Major i Cooper without inquiry into the case ; or that if he has inquired, and considers his conduct necessitated his dismissal, the memorialists, haying heard the Major’s statement, think otherwise, and must insist on their opinion being carried out. In either case it is an insult to Ms Excellency. - Or is it to coerce Major Cooper ? He has deliberately stated- that he cannot , hold his • office under the present ministry. Have jiis friends, no mercy,

i that they would-insist, on iiis doing injury to Ills conscience and; to his,reputationby again having connection with men so unprincipled and unscrupulous as the present ministry—for the miserable solatium of £4.00 a year ? He has been thrice a martyr to his patriotic and honourable feelings—first in making a great pecuniary sacrifice to accept of his late appointment, then in holding that appointment so long afteF ministry took oflice, next iii resigning after an excruciatingly protracted - deliberation on. the subject ; ■ and now his friends* would heat the furnace seven times, and thrust the innocent victim into it again. Really, these friends, , , . “ Glancing an eye of pity on his losses, That have of late so huddled on hi 3 back,” might have expressed their sympathy in a more rational manner. An address to Major Cooper expressive of confidence in his qualifications as an officer would have been far more to the purpose. Or a pe- • cuniary testimonial would have been both more acceptable, and a more sincere expression of sympathy for the heavy pecuniary losses he represents himself as having sustained. We have to l apologise to some of our readers-for taking up so much space with a matter very temporary and subordinate interest. Its being of some interest in the locality may be a sufficient excuse, and is the reason for our not having been well able to avoid adverting to it. - - . \ :