Wellington Independent "NOTHING EXTENUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IN MALICE. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1868.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXIII, Issue 2729, 8 September 1868, Page 4

Wellington Independent "NOTHING EXTENUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IN MALICE. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1868.

" TnE chapter of accidents is the Bible of the fool." "What a magnificent edition must bo in the possession of Lieut.- Col. Whitmore ! The hero of Oinaranui made a great speech on Friday last in the Legislative Council, in defence of the manner in which certain abortive militaiy operations have been conducted on the East Coast, in the vain attempt to " intercept, arrest, or annihilate" the Hauhau prisoners who escaped from the Chatham Islauds. The lion, and gallant member for Hawke's Bay had an ugly task to perform on Friday afternoon; but he went at it boldly, put the best face he could upon the matter, and by his very vehemence carried single-handed the position in which those veteran warriors and harmless sonators, Colonels Eussell and Kenny, had entrenched themselves. " My son," said an old sportsman, " when you come to an ugly jump, shut your eyes and apply the Letchfords ; but always ride straight — mind,rido straight!" Whitmore " rode straight" on Friday over obstacles which would have deterred most men, — Poverty Bay Volunteers, settlers, friendly natives, brother officers, and the very law itself, were all ruthlessly ridden over by this vain-glorious and self-complacent knight errant. All and everybody had been wrong, recreant to their trust, and useless, except his own most noble self. He proved to his own entire satisfaction that he was a most valiant soldier, and that the accidents and disasters were the natural result of a concatenation of adverse circumstances, and a condition of things for which he was not responsible. Like young Norval, when every one else was panic-stricken, he might have said : " I alone, With bendod bow and quiver full of arrows, Hovered about the enemy, and mark'd the road they took." The first part of the speech was devoted to unlimited condemnation of "Westrup's men and th'e Poverty Bay Volunteers : these men will doubtless feel highly flattered when they learn the hon. member's

opinion of them. Power to hold a drumhead court martial appears to be the only panacea which the fertile imagination of the irate Lieutenant- Colonel can devise in order to prevent the recurrence of such disasters as we now have to deplored^ In the existing state of the law, he declared that an officer in the field was almost entirely at the mercy of his men; he had no power to enforce his orders, and no authority to punish summarily those who disobeyed them. When the Poverty Bay Volunteers were within two days' march of the enemy, whose fires were almost within sight, they would not budge beyond their boundary, the Hangaroa river. Is this the fact? Is there not another version yet to be given of this affair? One story is all very well until the other is told. Lieut.-Col. Whitmore's ex parte statement to his " friends in Council" must be taken cum grano salis. He is not a popular man, and, like most unpopular men, affects to despise the popularity which he has failed to win. "If officers," said he, "are to depend upon their popularity with their men for power to enforce their orders, I pity the Government which can only be served on such terms, — which really means at the expense of the public pocket." Some of the greatest Generals and many of the bravest and most sue- . cessful officers in the British army, have been the most popular with their men. Colonel Whitmore makes a grave mistake if he supposes that volunteers and settlers in the Poverty Bay or any other district, will tamely submit to that military impertinence in which martinets delight to indulge. The Legislature will need to be very cautious as to how they give punitive powers, such as those conferred by the Mutiny Act, to officers of . the Whitmore stamp in the field. It is bad enough to be at war with a fanatical horde of canuibals, but it will never do for the Government, or the officers it appoints, to quarrel with settlers and raw volunteers. The latter, doubtless, are not no effective as veterans ; but with a little tact and good management they can be turned to good account. We are sure that a Von Tempsky or a McDonnell would never have made such a speech as Lieut.-Colonel Whitmore uttered on Friday. The public will re-echo the question asked by Colonel Kenny, — How long is this predatory warfare to continue ? How long are small bodies of Europeans to be sent on impossible errands? How long are. we to submit to constant defeat, and be deluded into the belief that we have accomplished victory ? Colonel Russell is not satisfied with the recent military operations on the East Coast, neither are we. The whole affair is a blundering mixture of tragedy and farce. We have lost in. every way, — in lives, in property, in money, and in prestige. " All is lost, save honor !" There are many varieties of thick-skinned animals ; but for a thorough-going criticism-proof pachyderm, commend us to the military muddler. A large body of desperate armed fanatics andcaunibals, whom Whitmore was specially ordered to "" intercept, arrest, or destroy," have been allowed to escape into the interior, from whence they may come forth whenever they please and ravage any unprotected district. Past experience leads us to the conclusion that half-measures will not answer with the Maori race, whether Hauhaus or not, — whether on the shores of Poverty Bay or at Patea. It must be a real peace, or war to the knife. No middle course should be attempted; and when important services have to be undertaken, the volunteers and armed settlers must be led by experienced and energetic officers. The volunteers and settlers of Poverty Bay are naturally digusted with the affair of the 16th ult ; but they are prepared at any time to take up arms in defence of the colony under the leadership of men in whom they have confidence. Wo suppose it will be as well, now that these Hauhaushave got off, and our Volunteers have returned to Napier, to cease further efforts for their recapture. Still, it will be the duty of the Government to take steps for the protection of the Poverty Bay district, which may at any time be made the scene of outrage by the ex-prisoners, who, through the culpable negligence and criminal folly of the Government are now at large.