UPPER HUT.

Wellington Independent, Volume XIV, Issue 1444, 7 August 1860, Page 3

UPPER HUT.

[From our own Correspondent.] Upper Hutt, August 4, 1860. 1 have so far sont you all the particulars of the management of the Committee of the what was to be the Volunteer Rifle Corps, and now send you the great (in.-ile. At the last public meeting it was decided the Secretary of the proposed corps was to wiit upon every individual member and after acquainting- them of the time and place to meet Major Trafford, to be sworn in, ' the Secretary was to communicate with the Major upon the subject. Acordingly, on Saturday, the 28th of July, a letter was posted to the Commander-in-Chief requesting bis attendance according to his (.the Major's) instructions on a certain day and a particular hour to swear the members in. The day and time was communicated to the Major, half past 2 o'clock on Saturday p.m., the 4tii of August. The day came and the hour arrived, not so the Major, two hours elapsed and no appearance. Application was made to the Secretary, to know if be could throw any light upon the mystery, the only information he could j>ive was the copy of the letter he had forwarded according to instructions, and as he had received no communication to the contrary, believed the Major would most decidedly arrive. However, such was not the case, and after the man waiting upwauU of two hours theydispersed,andin what | humour I leave the public to guess.

I hare since waited upon tlie Secretary who informs me a letter written by the direction of Major Trafibrd, reached the Upper Mull seven "Louis ;%hev the thno* of meeting-, and did not reach his hands (and only then by accident) until 24 hours after. The letter was dated the 3rd but it was the 4lh when it reached the Hint, and the sth when it readied its destination and its purport appears to be to the following 1 effect. That the members could uot be sworu in for the liu'.t district in consequence of no prueUma tiou having yet appeared (o u?uke it legal, and the swearing iv would have to tales place a:*ain on the arrival of the proper authorities from Auckland, Regretting at the sa-.ne time he could not give earlier notice of the fact, as he was not previously aware of it himself. So nmcb for Government aid and assist.ince. The contents of the letter, I must say rather pux/,le.s me, and still more so the Secretary, he being one of the deputation, who waited upon the Major at the commencement of the affair, and the Mujor distinctly told the deputation tliL'ro was no district for the Hutt, and the Corps must be sworn in for the Wellington district, which fact was brought" before the meeting-, and All consenting to serve accoidingly. How the Major can now state, he has- only just known the fact which he personally stated to the deputation. I cannot say, I am not hisju'lyr, neither do I wish to throw blame on any one, but I cannot think his conduct has been quite as it should be. In the first place the deputation pressed him to wait upon the meeting on the Monday following- the Saturday they waited upon him aud he promised be would endeavour to come himself if he was well enough ; (he was ill in bed when the deputation saw bun) if not, he would try and send some one iv his place. This was not carried out, he then makes an offer to come up and swer the corps in himself and for hours after the appointed time nothingis heard of him orany one authorised by him, leaving all interested in the affair in a per feet state of stupid darkness. The afternoon was wet, cold, and wretched, but most of tje members living the road up didnot leave their houses in conseqnenee of not seeing any one pass likely to swear them in. AK-o all who were living in the neighbourhood of the place of swearing, acted upo;; the same wise principle, consequently the number who an" peared at the rendezvous, appeared but small but a full corps was ready to be enrolled but I feur are not now disposed to be played the fool with a second time. Toe Government ba^e in this instance lost tjjc assistance of from 80 to 90 men at a point fully acknowledged by the best authorities as a most impottuut one.

On Thursday evening 1 , the2isd inst , the above locality was visited by tiie IXnv. W. Scott, who delivered a lee'lure at the ne.v store of Mr. Piimmer, to a wry respectable audience, the subject being " two Ways and two Ends." The lecture of the Rev. Gentleman appears to have given gieat satisfaction, and well it may as it was very kind and feelingly delivered, h"e pourtrayiug the good and evil ways in exceedingly pleasing and effective language, dwelling verj impressively on the evil ways of intemperance, Sabbath-bieaking, blasphemy, &c., contrasting those evils, with the good being- accomplished by such men as the Earl of Shaftesbury, and many other labourers in the good way's, and bringing the death bed of an inlidel in contrast with that of a young 1 Christian whose death bed he had latelj attended. The lecture was highly appreciated, and I believe he has promised to give another at no distant period. On Friday evening, the 3rd instant, a supper and ball was held at Mr. Brown's the Criterion Hotel, Upper Hutt. Mine host provided an excellent spread mid kept his company, who were very numerous, well supplied during the night with tea, coffee, cakes, &c. He appeared perfectly happy at the patronage he was receiving from his friends, and his friends appeared to perfectly appreciate his entertainment and atloution.

('/<> the Editor of the Wellington Independent.) Sir,— l have just discovered I have been snbjeeted by the people of the Upper Hutt to a grand gull. I scarcely know whether the people of the above neighbourhood consider themselves clever at such pranks, or th.it I am remarkably green ; but as I must acknowledge myself to have been gulled, t think it nothing hut fair the trick should be made sufficiently plain to the public, as to prevent others being played upo n in a simitar way. I must first apprise you I was invited to a public meeting for the purpose of forming a Volunteer Rifle Corps, which meeting' I attended and signed my name as one among efgiity-six, taking it for granted I was to help defend the neighbourhood in case of a native rising: and to show how naturally the game was kept up we were asked again and again if any wished to withdraw their signatures from the list. One or more did so, I suppose th it the trick may not appear too plain ; and eventually on Saturday afternoon, at 2 o'clock, the 4th of August, was fixed for the swearing in and forming the corps, the place of meeting being Mr. Plimmer's new storo, the most central that could be found. Accordingly, at the appointed hour, I' repaired to the place of mooting, and to my amazement found about fifteen others had been as cleanly deceived us myself, and had it not been for the prevailing sickness one or two others would have been there. You may i'.migine my surprise at finding only fifteen instead of eighty, six, and upon enquiring I found the majority of the others were quietly enjoying the sport they were having at our expense. Now, Mr. Editor, let me ask the public and the Government is it right that in these times tricks should bo played with such subjects Cannot the Government interfere and prevent those really serious iv the matter, being made

fools of, or is every part of the colony to be subjected t.t the idle pastime of such ,i set nf — certainly not men, children would be too leni ent a name foi them — in fact I cannot find one, so will leave the public to give it to then). I must confers my disgust was so great at the discovery t!>at J had but little patience for any thiinj ; but. l have since discovered there is a spouting birig in the nein-'ibfnrhood whose j fl.)win<r sM'cams of dnqinneo, poured into tin 1 mouth-iof'bis pot valliant heroes, have eiieetuaily sto'en the drains and fill-'d tiu'ir craniums will) fo£<ry effusions, certainly such nicks could not oimuate from persons having mo «r\in of brains. That it has been a trick is quits patent from Major TralTord's non-nppearaneo or any one deputed by him. I have also been givcri to understand the magistrates have ap plied to the Governor for a stockade for this neighbourhood. Surely these people do not purpose a similar trick upon the Governor and have chosen the magistrates as tlHr tools. Y«t I am disposed to think it must be so for .should there be one erected, who in the name of fortune is t< defend it? Only fancy what could fifteen or seventeen men do towards holding a | stockade filled with women and children, for I am quite sure the pot valiants would all run away and like monkeys — grin at the mischief they had created. If tue Government are disposed to grant a stockade to this prank playing place, I sincerely trust it will not be begun until they cm find (I fear a difficult task) at le ist fifty man willing serio-.'N.'y to <!<.'/<-iicl it. I romai.:, : Your obedient servant, L.VNCET.