The Wanganui Chronicle, AND TURAKINA AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. Wanganui, May 3, 1605.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 9, Issue 504, 3 May 1865, Page 2

The Wanganui Chronicle, AND TURAKINA AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. Wanganui, May 3, 1605.

Ist last Wednesday's issue we stated that the meeting called by Mr. Halcombe at Turakina on Monday, at 3 p.m., had not been held Our informant attended at the hour and remained till six o’clock, when, seeing no sbgn of any gathering, he left. It appears, however, that after this hour about twenty or thirty people

were mustered. to whom Mr. Halcombe gave au exposition of his views, which will he found elsewhere. It. was merely a dilatation of his address, which is before our readers in another column. Passing by certain grammatical slips in this document, which would not have been remarkable in any other candidate, but strike one as being scarcely consistent with the character of a school inspector, we look at the substance of it and the speech. And we do so with, no anxiety to find fault, for we believe Mr. Halcombe to be a very excellent, well meaning young man, and we also believe that, although he is not the man for the place, he will be returned, failing a better.

It must be confessed that the speech is not an improvement on the published address. He tells his Hangitikei and Turakina constituents what he thinks is necessary for the advantage of Wellington city, and the province in general ; but there is scarcely a word as to what would be advantageous to the district itself. There is indeed a reference to the pushing on of surveys, eminently necessary in every country district ; hut there is a remarkable ignorance displayed, or a very sorry attempt to lead his hearers astray, in the inference to he drawn from his saying that the Superintendent must be supported by the Council voting money for this purpose ; the inference being that the Council has stood in the Superintendent’s way hitherto in this matter, while the truth is that the Council has been for years urging on the Executive the necessity for surveys being completed, without the slightest effect. It is almost as well know.n, also, that hitherto the Superintendent’s plan has been, in his own recommendatioas as to expenditure, to appropriate more than the revenue of the province, and he ■ has expressly declared that these recommendations, which have almost always been obediently agreed to by a majority of the Council, are to take precedence of any votes proposed by members of the Council. It is, therefore, most clearly the fault, not of the Council—as Mr. Halcombe wished his hearers to understand—but of the Superintendent, that these surveys are in such a backward state. Mr. Halcombs also refers to the*need of a superintendent of public works in the district. But he, who goes in avowedly in the interest of Dr. Feathers ton, ought to know that this want has been urged on the attention of the Superintendent for years without any effect. Mr. Watt, at the meeting held by Mr. Borlase here, allowed that in this matter the Superintendent was clearly in fault. But Mr. Halcombe mentions the idea as if it had never been broached before. luland communication, too, Mr. Halcombe thinks necessary for the prosperity of the district. Bmt does he not see that the Superintendent, whom he goes in to support, allowed Hangitikei to be without roads for seven years, then got a road made to Turakina from Wanganui, and only within these three years has given any money towards the making of district roads, while the main trunk line through the district is yet in course of formation, and that with the funds drawn from the General Government, which will ultimately come as a debt upon the province 1 Is there any sign of good management here, in the allowing of an agricultural district like Hangitikei to remain eight years without roads? then in giving the inhabitants liberty to make half of their district roads themselves on condition of the Government making the other half, and, last of all, in the twelfth year of his administration, in making the main road through the district with money borrowed from 'the General Government—money which was voted for opening up the country in native districts, not for making a road through a settled country 1 But this is the policy—retarding settlement by roads and surveys—which Mr. Halcombe goes in to support, as a supporter of the Superintendent, to whom he ascribes the present flourishing condition • of the district, not to the nature of the country and the enei’getic character of the settlers —who have made the country in spite of the discouragement of the Government. As for the road to YvYllington, it will no doubt be made in time ; but meantime we hold that the traffic between Wellington and the district from Manawatu northwards will be 'carried on by sea ; so that to make a r«ad from Manawatu to Paikakaviki would he throwing away money that would he much better expended in making roads is the Manawatu district itself. These are the matters peculiarly belonging to the district to which Mr. Halcombe refers. But intelligent settlers iu Turakina and Upper and Western, if notin Lower Hangitikei, must see that the true outlet for their produce, and the true channel of com munication with Wellington and other nbifiw is not by a road to Wellington,

but by a road to Wanganui. This port is their port, and must be so till the Hangitikei is entered regularly by;steamers. A large traffic is naturally carried on between this district and Wanganui. But will it be believed that the means of sending letters between the two is restricted to one mail in the week. The Wellington mail is carried down the coast once a week, and these district mails go with it. kYellington and Wanganui have frequently communication three or four times a week ; steamers are every week arriving in Wanganui from the north ; yet these contiguous districts can only get their northern and southern letters that may arrive by steamer conveyed to them once a week. This is a source of great inconvenience. A post ought to run between this anrl Rangitikei at least three times a week. The matter lias been frequently represented to the Superintendent, who does not even make a promise. Mr. Halcombe says nothiag of tins want, which seems to us the most urgent and the most easily supplied of any. To an inspector of schools, especially, it should have occurred, as means of correspondence is undoubtedly a great promoter of education.

Tlie land regulations be approves of, although to them may be attributed partly the failure of the immigration scheme, which be ascribes exclusively to the “ breaking out of the gold fields,” and to the fact that time was allowed for the payment of passage money. Mr. Halcombe refers to education in a very liberal spirit. It is very evident that

previous to this appointment as school inspector be must havfe paid,; very little attention to the subject, as it is a new conclusion to him that money and men are needed to improve the system. But the most important point in respect to this subject is the inconsistency of Mr. Haleombe’s appearing as candidate for senatorial honours and his holding the appointment of school inspector. The inconsistency arises from the fact, which Mr. Halcombe mentions, that it is against the wish of the Superintendent ; and from the other fact, which Mr. Halcombe does not mention, that it is contrary to his own gratuitous and uncalled for declaration, before be accepted tlie inspectorship, that, having accepted it, he would take no part whatever in politics, but devote himself to the duties of his office. This inconsistency he supposes he meets by promising to “ meet the Superintendent with his resignation in his band.” What if the Superintendent says,—“ My dear boy, you have done well ; it is evident you were born for a diplomatist; you know already the basis of a diplomatist’s character —the maxim that speech was given to conceal men’s thoughts, and, I may -add, the truth, when it will not suit. You did well before I gave you that office ; you have done better since ; keep it, andffiet me see you improve in your devotion to my service, and there is no saying what

office in the state you not may aspire to ” —if Mr. Halcombe be addressed iu this manner, can lie resist 1 It is not in human nature. He is a member of the Council, and a paid official of the Government with little to do. He has already commenced his march in the footsteps of his predecessor.

Fern the last fortnight the town has been agitated with curiosity about a proceeding of the Militia authorities, which, to use a phrase, which is employed in a letter in another column, seemed “ without a parallel in the annals of British warfare.” General interest centred in an apparenfly empty tent, which had been ei’ected on the left side of the principal entrance into the Rutland Stockade, nearly opposite the military guard-room. To guard this apparently —we say apparently—• empty tent, three militiamen and a sergeant have been detailed —we tliink that is the word—every 24 hours during the last fortnight or longer, and at the dead of night or at some hour in which it was supposed that this guard might not be attending to its duties, it has beea visited and inspected by a Commissioned officer of the Militia. An intelligent officer of that corps made a calculation in our presence the other day, from which it appeared that the guarding of this apparently empty tent cost 25s to 30s every 24 hours, the difference being attributable to tlie rank of the officer “ in orders ” to inspect the guard dimng the night. Of course, among less well informed persons the expence was calculated at from ToO to XTOO per day, as it was not known how many dozen officers were kept ou full pay in order to supply one for every 24 hours’ work. But even with those -who made the most moderate calculations the wonder was, why even such an expenco should be gone into to guard an apparently empty tent. The inconvenience to the militiamen was

of course, also thought 01 lour men abstracted from their work for two days (for being np all night although the duty lasted but from 9 am. to 9 n.m., they could not be expected to work on . the second day) for which they only received 4s thereby making a clear loss of, on an ayei'age, 10s a day \ as well as the discomfort to men accustomed to live .in houses of being in an open tent during those cold nights, these things were also thought of; but merely passingly, for the general interest was concentrated on the mystery of the apparently empty tent. Various hypothesis were started to account for men being sent to guard an empty tent. A rumour wont abroad that this tent was one which had been pierced by a bullet at Nukumaru, and that tne General had sent it in, to be kept carefully until an opportunity wa3 obtained of sending it home, where it was to be deposited in the Tower amidst the other warlike trophies there, as a proof of the extraordinary valour of the Maoris and the extremity of danger to which our troops had been exoosed on that occasion. It was also said that, the tent was to be exposed during the winter on the Rutland hill in order to give it a weather-beaten appearance, so as to show significantly the rffiour of the climate and the _ hardships thence arising to which the British army had uncomplainingly submitted, during the Wanganui campaign. By a careful personal inspection, however, we satisfied ourselves that this theory was groundless ; if there had been a hole in the tent, it had been patched with extreme ingenuity, as even the application of a pocket.microscope in experienced hands failed to detect any sign of it. Another a»d much wilder theory was, that information, private and conhden bird, had been received through a friendly native, that a band of ten to fifteen of these terrible fellows, the liau-liaus, were hovering within fifteen miles of the town, with the intention of attacking it some dark night, and in the confusion, while the militia sergeants were running about arousing their men, of rushnig into and pillaging the militia office ; that on this intelligence being received, the Treasury Chest of the Militia was secretly and rapidly conveyed into the Rutland Stockade, buried there two,feet deep, and covered by this identical tent, to winch the name of guard-room was given in order to throw the liau-haus off the scent if they shauld happen to shoot the sentries. The wildness of this story may be judged of from the fact that the militia have got no pay for about nine months’ service, and that the poor militiamen who were at Stewart’s Redoubt and elsewhere have not received the whole of their pay for that service. This objection was, indeed, met by the assertion that there was no money in the miiiria chest ; but that it was kept exclusively for tliß payment of the officers a suggestion which did not meet general credence, and in consequence this rumor gradually dud away. A third supposition which circulated among a few' very charitably disposed persons was, that at length the Militia authorities had been stricken by conscience which had been asking them in loud tone 3 what they been doing for their pay during last three years, and being unable to endure these accusations longer, they had silenced them by putting up this tent and making something to do. This theory was confined to a select few ; for the general public could not by any argument be brought to believe that the Militia authorities ever possessed, ' much less were ever troubled by, a conscience. What may be called another branch of the same theory was, that the militia authorities were driven to their wits’ end to get figures to put down in pay lists to show that they were doing something their salaries, and that they improvised, this as the most convenient mode of enabling them to £ * make returns.” This also had a limited circulation ; for it is generally believed that said authorities are much more ingenious than such a miserable shift would imply. We give these as mere specimens of the rumours afloat to account for the mystery of militiamen being sent to guard an apparently —we say apparently empty tent. For the tent was not really empty. From a hint we lately received, in a secret and very difficult cypher, from our “ special correspondent” at the Front, we learned that some operations of a curious nature were about to be undertaken in tne vicinity of the Rutland Stockade. The delicacy of scent gradually acquired by caterers for news kept back by officials who attempt .to impose on the public on tho principle of ££ omns ignotum pro magnificat’ instinctively pointed to the mystery of the tent as being connected with these contemplated operations. We took the necessary steps winch it is needless to mention. Suffice it to say, that on Friday nigt last between midnight and 1 a.m., two horsemen —tneir steeds flecked with sweat —rode hastily up the Rutland hill, dismounted at the gate, and, giving the countersign, entered. Tney went forward to the apparently empty tent, engaged in a brief colloquy with, and gave a draught of some liqnid to, the guards, to whom they shortly became invisible, although our informant continued to see them well enough. They then stepped into the tent and dug a hole in the ground from which they drew forth a small object which our informant can positively swear was an empty tle carefully tied round with red tape, lliey then filled up the hole carefully, and, gliding out of the tent, took the bottle clown to the ££ Ahuriri,” where it was left, nhe Aauriri” sailed on the same day for Auckland. The mystery is-thus solved ; and whether our readers believe our informant s story or not, we can inform tho militia authorities, that if they make an examination, they will find that the tent is now empty, and that there is nothing buried within the circumference which it covers. There is thus no further need of any guard, at an cxpence to the country of £SOO a year, and at a loss to the men of four times that sum. But we also believe that a series of memoranda on the subject will be circulating through the Colony from one office to another for tho next six months, and that at the end of that period the authorities here may receive an intimation that the services of the guard on the empty tent may be dispensed with.