THE Wellington Independent "Nothing extenuate; Nor set down aught in malice." TUESDAY MORNING, 10th FEBRUARY. INTERNAL DEFENCE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1828, 10 February 1863, Page 2

THE Wellington Independent " Nothing extenuate ; Nor set down aught in malice." TUESDAY MORNING, 10th FEBRUARY. INTERNAL DEFENCE.

In a recent issue we commented fully on the ... views expressed by the General-Government on . : ' the subject of volunteering. The following article, which has been contributed by a gentle* "man of considerable experience, holding a commission in the Co)oi>ial Volunteer Force, contains some suggestions of practical value, and we therefore, gladly afford it a place in pur columns. It will -be observed, that the write* . favors tbe establishment of a Volunteer Force, rather than a Militia, a view alSo taken now by Ihe present Government, , ■ " '= ' At this particular period, when the Imperial QoYernroentrihinks^t. toj^adrimportanfe-leaeonsto r — . the Colonies, warning them that ere longjheiru Internal Defence must be left in. a great mejasure . to themselves ;. when the Canadian Govern^ftft^; is severely lectured for the apathy she show* jfl. .< the matter, with her neighbours in arms on heir very frontier, and. when we ourselves^, wjthour. ; difficulties thick upon us> are coolly reminded, that the time ißfast approaching when we must cease to look for the military support of the mother country, it is perhaps a fitting moment to enquire. ■ . • what wo are doing towards providing ftir that event. .. ' ' . ■, ■ ■ What shifts a nation may be put to when suddenly driven to the necessity of putting armaments at a moment's notice in. the field, and what the effect of placing masses of untrained men, exposed to the harassing attacks of guerilla bands,, that is more peculiarly the fea_ture ; of a border Warfare, the recent engagements in America furnish us with but too many melancholy examples; Yet experience has shown us, tbat we are exposed to a very similar kind of attacks in tho* event of collision with the maories, and that a certain degree of military organization- is absolutely necessary, in order that, in the event of surprise, small bodies of men can act effectively in concert. No sooner waa the war note sounded. in. the North than the subject was eerioualy how far, with the limited supply of troops at our disposal, a sudden attack upon any of the settlements couldsuccessfullybe.met? Rifle Cprj>B;were;r.apidly 0 . , ; formed, and imperfect though the system adopted may have beon, the settlers showed that as a bodjr they prepared to sacrifice time and money to acquaint themselves with those minor military movementSi that should enable. them to act suffice ently together in the event of an emergency. How far they succeeded, the actions of Waireka, and Mahoetahi fully , testify ; while from the evidence and opinion of practical military men, the other settlements had brigades in an equally efficient state. And without quoting further examples, it cannot but be, admitted that at the close of the first bJx months of the. Taranaki campaign, the nucleus of as good an : organised force as the position of a scattered community could afford, was laid in the Northern Island. The Native difficulty is yet unsolved., and hoyI ever far we may be disposed to place reliance on ! the efforts of Sir George Grey, and to comfort, v? ! ourselves at every turn by the accounts , we , we constantly receiving, of the favourable aspect affairs . . are assuming, still to lull ourselves into the belief that further outbreak is impossible, is impolitic, if not absolutely insane. .; There can be no question 1 for a -moment, but that the Volunteer Force is the one most adapted for a young colony like this. ' :"' That principle of patriotism and mutual, reliance, the mainspring of*volunteeririg, is one that \ all will strive to encourage thas have the wel^aro^ of the colouy at heart. But unfortunately thepriri- ' ciple is fast dying out.' The Volunteers find out that the Governrhent has no idea of raising the able bodied ; male population to be an effective military' auxiliary. They have the option of volunteering, or the com- } pulsion of joining the militia, a threat that has never " been attempted to be carried out ; they feel $bat, while they are sacrificing labor and time to render themselves as effective in military duty as wcum-, stances will admit of, numbers are escaping altogether, and the pleasing" prospect is before them, that in the event of hostilities suddenly; commencing, they are to be thrown into the rgnjkal | ;< with a lot of untrained men, and they naturally imagine, that oith er- the Jbrunt otitnros^^ must fall on them, or the very fact of insufficiently support will prove their utter; destruction ;. they :- are handed over to the care of ex -military, men^fei: to whom nothing but the discipline of tho barraok^ square, or the dreary movements of a regimental parade, ground will suffice; they are becoming thoroughly disgusted, and aa a natural consequence " are 1 dwindling into insignificance, , ; : .-'-» . \". --' • ;•- The Volunteer force in Auckland is defunofc, in Wellington it is a skeleton, and in Wainganai/| v thatfwhich no more plucky little settlement exists, 1 and 'whose Volunteer hbrigade : binder theirs'li'te i 4 - i commander fm* predit: to I;h6 (place, itis aU biit 1^; ahaming the fate of the larger settleinenter ;; \ j»t»^

Why those liable to serve n the Militia, in the various districts, cannot be properly brigaded into companies, and after a shoit squad drilling, be merely mustered once a quarter for inspection and report, we confess wo are at a loss to imagine. Provided that four square miles constituted the extent of any district, out of which a company could bo formed, we can unhesitatingly state that no objection would be raised by the Bottlers, towards putting themselves under training. Beyond the simple light infautry movements, we have the word of that great soldier Sir Chas. Napier, it is unnecessary to go; and how easily they are learned, and how simply a force effective as an auxiliary can be raised, the encomiums of General Cameron on the N. Z. volunteer and niiliti» companies, are a sufficient guarantee. This can be successfully effected without recource to drills, laying down all sorts of fixes and penalties, that the authorities not only cannot carry out, but that utterly disgust the community. Let the settlers plainly see that such a force is necessary for their own defence, let them be put under the command of men such as Major Herbert proved himself in Taranaki, and we can safely vouch for the rapid organization of a force, that shall reflect credit upon the country. The reckoning of how many effective men wo can place in the field, will be asked one day by that man of figurfts, the Duke of Newcastle, or an equally statistical successor, and what sort of an answer Mr Secretary Domett will make, it is not very satisfactory to imagine. _ We reserve the criticising of the miserable expedient the present Government intend adopting by their " Mounted Police Bill," until another opportunity, merely remarking that its expense is likely to be fully c to its practical inutility— And for the present we content ourselves with raising the warning note " in peace let us prepare for war " and that no insuperable bar exists towards the establishment and maintenance of a militia aud volunteer force, alike creditable, inexpensive and effective.