ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE

Wellington Independent, Volume I, Issue 28, 5 July 1845, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE

- To the Editor of the Wellington Independent,

«. SIR T AII °? me t0 ask a few questions through the medium of your paper. ~ A *s. e °ommencemeatof the second month of the Militia, the men were informed that, as the Governor could not spare any more money for the the erection of batteries, the Militia must do itthey had done it at Auckland ; but those men who did not, or could not, from business or otherwise wSi If UP v" P . er , day *° pay the others that would do it. Yesterday another order was read on parade purporting to come from Col. Hulme to the effect that the Militia were to do coaxing at first, peremptory at last. Now I would mmT^V 3 C ? l ' , Hulme ' that he can alteTthe iaQd S e Militia """"S he SitSLift^f why are the — R nSp? B i * is . thi^, Th ey cannot force the soldiers to do it, M the present case, without pay. ment; nor can they us : therefore I say, prbtlt strongly-protest against it. V ' P ' I remain, &c, One of the Militia.

To the Editor, tyc.

\yM P w rß '<. by a P ara S ra P h in Saturday's paper that the Hutt question is being amicably arranged!

nud that the Maories are about leaving the E tonga; an event which all well wishers oflr" unfortunate colony must hail with feeling pleasure. But it is to be hoped that the m P used for that purpose will not be discreditedl ? 8 the honor of Britain, or only a temporising m sure to suit the whim of the cunning savage h" now perceives that the white man is better n pared to resist their brutal outrages, andtounh U the supremacy of the law than they have hitherf been ; but that it will be as lasting as beneficial But yet, I cannot forget the enormities which W already been committed, and therefore ask they to go unpunished ? What would be tho'uS of a body of free born Englishmen squattine in St. James' or Hyde Parks, cutting the trees down putting up barricades, and insulting the wiv2 and daughters of persons in the vicinity ? Would they be paid to go away ? Would not the autho rities order them off, and if they did not coamW read the Riot Act, and order the military to fir on them ; take the ringleaders and try them at the Old Bailey, and most likely hang them. The Maories are British subjects; they are fuhV sensible of the advantages derived from the law and have often taken cases before the Police Ma' gistrate, both against white men and Maories and why therefore should they not be punished for all aggressions agaiast that law from which they themselves have reaped a benefit. It is supposed that the influence of Rauparaha has wrought in a great measure this change; but I should always be reluctant at receiving 'gift s from the hands of a party who bad been the means of shedding the hearts blood of some of our best settlers; and who actually placed the intruding natives on the Hutt. He is cunning and views with a jealous eye the power which is daily increasing here, and thinks it politic to be on the strongest side : but send away the troops and disband the Militia, and you will soon see the same scenes enacted on the Hutt, that have J already occurred there. What guarantee is there that they will not again be playing their pranks in a few months ? 'Tie true, that it is better it should be peaceably (if permanently) settled ; for if they were driven off the land, there would no doubt bs many valuable lives lost, and the farmer that sowed, would be uncertain if he would reap ; yet better that, than the continued uncertainty we have been living in. It would be unwise to send away any of the troops, or to stop the progress of drilling the Militia; for no faith can be placed in a savage. The natives must still see that we have the ■will and the power to assert the sovereignty of the law,—that they cannot at their will and caprice set all order at defiance. That which has been the cause of so much good, must not now be laid aside like a child's toy; but justice, tempered with mercy, must be the order of the day ; and we may yet hope to see the advantages of this beautiful country appreciated and developed, to take the tide at the turn and lead on to a prosperous future. I am, Sir, Respectfully your's A Settler. Wellington, July 4, 1845.

To the Editor, S^c.

Sir, —To me, and I dare say not less to others, it is strikingly evident, that as the Militia are now organized nothing effective can reasonably be expected in the event of their being called into action. Some there are amongst them, who are tolerably proficient in military exercise, from the circumstance of their having served in the Volunteer corps, and the additional drilling they have had since the formation of the Militia.; others, again, there are, who have now been installed to fill the vacancies occasioned by those who have retired, and these new comers are more than ample to derange the whole of the company to which they may belong, and hence a perfect medley, and an inaptness to act in case of necessity. Now, Sir, I beg to submit, that so long aa Volunteers are suffered to act as militiamen, beyond the time of their having acquired a knowledge sufficient to enable them to acquit themselves creditably, nothing like efficiency will be realized.

If the object of the " Militia Bill" is to make every man effective, to qualify him for a soldier, then the system which is now carried on, if we progress as we are now doing, will not effect it for years. If there really be any danger to apprehend, immediate or remote, qualify the whole without delay and as quickly as possible. No jobbing, no succumbing to caprice, or if you would rather, to idleness and cowardice, but let erery man stand forward, and act the part he is called upon to play consistently and fearlessly ; and to do so, one thing is necessary, viz., that every man appear in his own proper person when called upon to serve in the Militia, and I am assured that my fellow colonists will with me feel more confidence and security in the knowledge that all are capable of acting as soldiers, than if the knowledge of arms were confined to a smallsection of a small community like ourselves, as is the case at present. I am, Sir, Your's, &c, An Observer.

Wellington, July 3, 1815.

To the Editor, Sfc

Sir, —At a meeting held on Wednesday last, ior the purpose of considering the best means to be adopted with regard to the Debentures circulated in this town, a great deal of information was obtained in one shape or another. Several of the speakers seemed not to know their own mind, or else they have an under current at work which they do not wish the public generally to observe, for they state pubackly that they do not wish to depreciate the value of Debentures, and yet privately they will pay them to those they employ, and at the same time will refuse to take them back again for goods, for the cry is cash, thus at once going against their own arguments. How ridiculously absurd this is. The meeting was got up for something, but the majority of those present could not make out what it was about, whether V e l H ent 1 ureß or Captain Fitzroy's conduct. Probably the narties who got up the meeting know

best; n3 it appears to me, as it did to severa 1 others, to be got up to suit a party, and who that party is I think the public can very easily find out. A great deal was said too, Mr. Editor about Captain Fitzroy issuing out an unlimited number of these said Debentures, possibly to a greater amount than the £15,000 sanctioned by Lord Stanley, and the difficulty of detecting the illegal from the legal. How did our merchants gain this piece of information, or is it merely a supposition, if so, then why raise an alarm. Why not act like men and say we will or will not take them. Their answer would be merely yes or no. If they were to act in a straightforward manner, the poor man would know what to do as well as themselves, and not be obliged to take that which he could not exchange. But, Mr. Editor, why was this stand not made twelve months ago, when they might with propriety have told Captain Fitzroy that they would not take them, instead of waiting till the place got swamped with them. Possibly there is something in this beyond my comprehension but I hope not, however, the remedy might be easily brought about by the Governor drawing Treasury Bills, which the bank would cash and so buy up all the Debentures, and then we should have to look out for something else to grumble at. A good wholesome currency is indispensable to the well-being of the colony and I should like to see it established here, as it would no doubt have been, had Captain Fitzroy kept at home, and not have come amongst us The following extract from the Dispatch of December 15, 1844, will show you Mr. Editor the estimation that our Governor and his paper currency are held in at home: — " Lord Stanley gives the New Zealand Colony a governor in the shape of a dandy sprinkling of nobility. This Captain Fitzroy, of the Ducal family of Grafton, is the Governor. He finds what he left at borne—an expenditure exceeding the revenue. He ought to have bent his energies to raising the revenue or diminishing the expenditure, but instead of doing either he resorts to giving bills, which, if ever paid, must be paid at home. The expenditure of this young colony is immense. It amounts to £20,000 a-year, the whole population not exceeding 15,000 persons, or about twenty-five shillings each person. This is unprecedented. Even Great Britain, except in paying the interest of her debt, does not spend anything like it. The preceeding Governor s Bills having been dishonored, a mock Legislative Council, composed of six persons, make the bills a legal tender, and thus are the poor settlers swindled beyond all precedent. Such a paper money as this was never yet thought of. The French assignats, or the notes circulated in America during the revolutionary war, were always issued on some little prospect of re-payment; but here there is no prospect whatever, and the settlers can procure for their notes nothing from ships that may arrive with European supplies. The notei will not circulate amongst our eastern colonies, and no captain will sell goods to be repaid by notes on Great Britain, which, like their predecessors, have already been dishonoured." I find, Mr. Editor, I must draw to a close, as my letter already exceeds the limits usually allotted to newspaper communications, hoping, should you find the above worthy a place in your valuable paper, you will be kind enough to insert it. I remain, your's, &c. .„ ... Phiz. V\ elhngton, July 3, 1845.

This day a chief from Waka's party (it being their custom after a battle to communicate with each other) set out for Heki's pah, where he was received with hospitality, and many questions asked and answered on both sides. On the chiefs enquiring the number of their dead and wounded, they said they could form no idea, as both their dead and wounded, which they had brought in off the lull were strewn over the pah in all parts, but chiefly Kawiti's men; as they declared their own numbers to be very small, seven only be;ng shot when actually in the pah; tbey were then asked if 200 would cover the number,—to which they again replied it was impossible to tell. Kawiti, it appears, being too °id a man to run, had, during the second charge uecreted himself under the dead body of one of his band, and thus saved his own hfe, deceiving those who must in the heat of the charge have trampled him under foot; this is to be much wondered at, as no quarter was shown to the wounded on the field, the wen bayoneting, 01 otherwise despatching all those who fell in their way, having had orders to this effect previously, in consequence of the oaring custom of their wounded rising themselves up after being passed, and firing on the rea r of their pursuers, which was once or twice attempted, but without success, as they *ere immediately destroyed. This is the second time, I am told, Kawiti has saved nimself in this manner. By this chief Heki sent a message to us to say that our dead had been picked up, and that they should have a yiristian burial, and the read over them. There was one, he said, among the number he supposed to be a Eangitira or officer, and that if we wanted his remains he would give them up to us ; but on being told tnat no officers were killed, he appeared much .appointed and annoyed, he having lost, his P«ncipal aud bravest chief; and Kawiti having been compelled to retreat with the loss of seven or eight, in fact all his chiefs, two ot which were his own sons. It appears that some of Kawiti's and Heki's men wanted to st rip _our dead of their clothing, (the soldier's jacket being much coveted), and to diVl «c the spoil among them, but Heki would

HOM Heki —V-y Herald,