A. —No. 4.
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., AND LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR D. A. CAMERON, K.C.B.
PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BY COMMAND OF HIS EXCELLENCY.
WELLINGTON. 1865.
EEEATUM. On page 6, No. 19, in the sixth line of second paragraph, for six thousand, read, two thousand.
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No. 1. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 16th December, 1864. Adverting to my previous correspondence with you upon the subject of the operations which should be undertaken during this summer, I have the honor to acquaint you that the information now in the possession of the Government leads me to conclude that it is not at present necessary to retain in the Province of Auckland more than one regiment, to be available as a reserve, which could bo moved to any point that might be threatened. In addition to this regiment, the militia force of this Province will be always available if any emergency should arise. This arrangement would, as I understand, leave at your disposal a force of two regiments, which might be employed either in the Taranaki or Wanganui districts. The objects which the Government are anxious to attain at those places or in this neighbourhood, are as follows :— 1. The military occupation of sufficient country to give possession of the Patea river from the sea to the forest, and of the country between that river and the Wanganui, so that the Waitotara road may be carried on ; 2. Such occupation of the country from Tataraimaka southwards as will secure for settlement a block of land between Tataraimaka and the Stoney Eiver. The ultimate object aimed at by these proposed arrangements is the construction of a thoroughfare between Taranaki and Wanganui, and the establishment of military settlements at such points along that line as may be found convenient. And my wish is, that in so far as the force at your disposal will permit, you will take such measures as may appear to you most likely to conduce to the end which the Government desire to attain. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c., &c. G. Grey. No. 2. His Excellency the Goyernor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Kawau, 26th December, 1861. I have received your letter of the 24th, and am glad to hear that you are back again, and preparing for your move South. 1 fear I shall be delayed here for two or three days more. An awkward affair has taken place here. The natives of this part of the country have pillaged the house of one of Mr. Micklejohn's sons, in revenge for his having, as they believe, burnt their pa on the top of the mountain ; and having become alarmed at the j'robable results which may spring from this act on their part, they have sent messengers to the escaped prisoners, calling on them to return and help them. lam told they will not do this, and I trust not, but to-morrow or the next day will determine the point. There is much excitement amongst both Europeans and Natives ; but if the prisoners move off towards Waikato to-morrow, as they say they will, this will in a great measure subside. But it is a critical and anxious moment, and it is very difficult to see how Tarawhitu is to be dealt with. 1 shall be at Auckland on Saturday, according as events go here, and I will then answer the several questions you have raised. I have, &c., Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c, &c, G. Grey. Auckland. No. 3. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Government House, 29th December, 1861. The Government will bear the expense of such blockhouses at Wanganui and Taranaki as yourself and Colonel Warre may report to be necessary. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c, &c. G. Grey. A.
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN! HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY, X.C.8., AND LT.-GENERAL SIR D. A. CAMERON, K.C.B.
A.—No. 4,
No. 4. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Auckland, sth January, 1865. Not having yet heard how the question between you and the Ministers regarding the employment of troops at Taranaki and Wanganui has been settled, I hardly know what information to give the authorities at home ; but if the instructions I have already received from you on the subject remain unaltered, I suppose I shall not be wrong in stating to Earl De Grey that there is no prospect of an early reduction of the force or of the military expenditure; indeed if the extensive scheme of confiscation, road-making, &c, contemplated by Ministers (in which I do not know whether you concur or not) is to be carried out, I think we ought to apply at once for reinforcements. I have, &c., D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 5. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sib, — Government House, Auckland, 6th January, 1865. Upon the 16th ultimo, I addressed you upon the subject of the operations I proposed should be undertaken between Wanganui and Taranaki. I yesterday received from my Eesponsible Advisers a Memorandum, of which I enclose a copy, in relation to those operations, as pointed out in my letter of the 16th ultimo, which letter was written with their concurrence, and after I had held several consultations with Mr. Weld and yourself. As the enclosed Memorandum refers to opinions you have made me acquainted with, and which T concur in, 1 have thought it right to fupnish you with a copy of it. So soon as I receive from my Eesponsible Advisers their plan for raising such a force in the Colony as will meet the requirements of the Colony, to which they allude in the enclosed Memorandum, I will again address you in reference to my letter of the 16th of December. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c., &c. G. Gret. Enclosure to No. 5. MEMOEANDUM by Ministers. Ministers respectfully bring under the consideration of His Excellency the following points in reference to the proposed operations between Taranaki and Wanganui. They desire to express their views as to the character of those operations, —the objects for which they are undertaken, —and the extent to which military aid may in their opinion be advantageously afforded. They consider it indispensable to the permanent safety of Taranaki, and therefore to the general pacification of the country — Ist. That a passable military road should be opened between Taranaki and Wanganui as soon as possible. 2nd. That the settlement of New Plymouth should be strengthened and extended both north and south, by the location of settlers on land continuous with the present settled blocks. 3rd. That Wanganui should be strengthened towards Waitotara in a similar manner, and further by the establishment of a strong post and settlement at Patea. 4th. That one or more strong posts (with a view to future settlement) should be established between Patea and Taranaki, in order to keep the road open. The large majority of natives in this district are, and always have been, amongst the most lawless and turbulent of the native population. They have committed the worst and most unprovoked outrages on the settlers, and are now in a state of open armed rebellion against Her Majesty's authority. There can be no permanent peace until these natives are reduced to submission and their country opened. The extent to which military aid may be given in these operations must be determined by His Excellency and the Lieutenant-General. Ministers are very anxious that the proposed operations should be carried on with vigor, and advanced as far as possible this season; but thevwish it, however, to be distinctly understood, that, in their opinion, no steps should be taken which may necessitate delay in the reduction and final withdrawal of the troops from the Colony. They do not believe that the employment of Her Majesty's troops would be beneficial if attended with any such results. Subject to this, it appears to Ministers, that so long as the troops remain here they may be employed advantageously for the purposes above indicated. From circumstances which need not be adverted to, but over which the present Ministers had no control, the Colony is unable to provide for a heavy expenditure. They contemplate, however, employing npon the roads the labour of friendly natives—say 200 at each end —besides such strength as the Provincial Governments of Wellington and Taranaki may be enabled to add. Beyond this the means at command will not enable them at present to go ; but it would be desirable, in order to expedite the work, that the soldiers themselves should be employed upon the roads, receiving additional pay iipon a fair and liberal scale. If arrangement were made, Ministers would be prepared to hand over an adequate amount of Colonial debentures to cover such charges. The superintendence and direction of the road-making would then be arranged in concert with the military authorities. Ministers are of opinion, that before operations are commenced a Proclamation should be issued, announcing distinctly His Excellency's intentions. Ministers are aware that there is a seeming inconsistency in stating that active operations are necessary for the safety of Taranaki, and at the same time requesting that such operations should not be undertaken by the troops if, by so doing, it would retard their departure from the Colony. Ministers, in their recommendation, have taken it for granted that a considerable number of the
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troops at present in the Colony would remain until tlie decision of the Home Government shall have been received upon the question of their withdrawal, and have therefore recommended their employment in the meantime at Taranaki and Wanganui. Ministers now understand, however, that His Excellency and the General regard the plan reGommended in their Memorandum of the 15th December, as likely to involve the detention of the troops now in the Colony for an indefinite period, and the probable necessity for a reinforcement. They are not themselves of opinion that any such consequence need be apprehended ; but assuming the views of His Excellency and the General to be correct, Ministers are neither prepared to recommend that any operations likely to have that effect should be undertaken by the Imperial forces, nor to hinder by any recommendations of theirs any reduction of the forces in the Colony which would otherwise take place. Should the force be reduced, Ministers will be prepared to modify their proposed plan accordingly. Should His Excellency, however, determine to commence operations at Taranaki with the Imperial troops, Ministers will be prepared, whenever the Home Government may withdraw them, to occupy the necessary posts with Colonial troops. Ministers will lose no time in submitting to His Excellency their plan for raising such a force as in their opinion will meet the requirements of the Colony. Colonial Defence Office, Auckland, 6th January, 1865. H. A. Atkinson.
No. 6.
Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor.
Sib, — Auckland, 6th January, 1565. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of this date, enclosing a Memorandum from Ministers on the subject of military operations between Taranaki and Wanganui, and I will feel obliged if your Excellency will inform me whether you wish that operations should be commenced at Wanganui as soon as practicable by the force I have already massed there, in compliance with the instructions conve3 red in your letter of the 16th ultimo, or whether you wish they should be deferred until I receive further orders from your Excellency. I have, &c, D. A. Camekon,
His Excellency Sir G. Grey, X.C.8., Ac., &c, Ac. Lieut-General.
No. 7.
Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor.
Mr DBAS Srn George,— Auckland, 6th January, 1865. With reference to our conversation this morning, in which you mentioned that the present Ministers had stated to you that they had the highest military authority in the Colony, for the opinion they have expressed that the whole country between Taranaki and Wanganui could be taken and occupied for the purposes of settlement, by a body of one thousand five hundred men, I think these gentlemen should name their authority, and I hope you will insist upon it. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron,
His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. P.S. —I suppose there is no objection to my stating mmy despatch to Earl De Grey, that I endeavoured to dissuade you from going down to Dunedin at this very critical time. D. A. Cameron.
No. 8.
His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron.
Sfh, — Government House, Auckland, 7th January. In reference to my letter to you of yesterday's date, in which I enclosed for your information the copy of a Memorandum which I had received from my Responsible Advisers, and to your letter of the same date in reply to mine, I have now the honor to inform you that my Responsible Advisers have cancelled and withdrawn the Memorandum which I then transmitted to you, and that no necessity exists for altering or departing from the instructions contained in my letter to you of the 16th of December last, regarding the measures to be taken in the country between Wanganui and Taranaki. The Colonial Ministers now propose to raise a Colonial force of 1500 men, and as soon as the state of the country will admit of their doing so, to dispense with the services of the troops, and to undcriake their own defence with the force thus raised As soon as I receive the details of this plan, I will communicate with you upon the subject. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c, &c. G. Giiet.
No. 9.
Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Governob. Mt dear Sir George,— Auckland, 10th January, 1865. I have arranged to embark in the "Falcon" on Thursday afternoon. If Mr. Mantel lis to accompany mo it is necessary that you should make Application to the Commodore fora passage for him. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut-General.
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No. 10. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir Georoe, — Auckland, 11th January, 1865. I received letters last night from Colonel Waddy. At the time he wrote, the troops were encamped on the left bank of the Wenohanau stream, and were employed in making the road from Wanganui passable for carts. Colonel Waddy had reconnoitered the country as far as Nukumaru without coming into collision with the rebels. Nukumaru is about two miles distant from the rebel position at Wereroa. Major Greaves represents the country as being very broken and difficult, and says, (I know not on what authority), " one thing is very certain, and that is that the men who sold the block had no right to do so, and it is the old Waitara dodge for getting up a war, and the consequent military expenditure at Wanganui." I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His-Excellency Sir George Grey,. K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 11. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Auckland, 12th January, 1865. The steamer" Wanganui" leaves the Manukau at daybreak to-morrow morning, for Wanganui. General Waddy has instructions from me to commence operations as soon as he has means of transport sufficient to enable him to do so. Do you wish me to send him other instructions by the " Wanganui." I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 12. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, —■ Government House, Auckland, 12th January, 1865. I am very glad to hear that General Waddy has been instructed to commence operations as soon as he has means of transport to enable him to do so. I have heard nothing yet to make mo think that these instructions should be altered. If any additional news reaches me before to-morrow morning, '.vhieh leads me to change my views on this subject, I will at once communicate with you again. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c, &c. G. Grey. No. 13. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— New Plymouth, 18th January, 1865. You will be surprised to hear that we have not yet got further than this place. We arrived on Sunday morning, but instead of re-embarking for Wanganui the same evening, as I had intended, I was persuaded by Colonel Warre and Mr. Parris to remain here uutil Monday. In the meantime the weather changed, and it rained and blew so hard on Sunday night, that on the following morning the " Falcon" was not to be seen at her anchorage, Captain Parben having, I suppose, thought it necessary for the safety of his ship to put out to sea. It has been blowing almost a gale of wind ever since, and the " Falcon " has not made her appearance; but as the weather is more moderate to-day, she may come in this afternoon, in which case I shall embark immediately for Wanganui. The grounds, on which I was recommended by Colonel Warre and Mr. Parris to remain here till Monday, are the following: —It appears that the murder of the native, his wife and child, north of the Waitara, of which I presume you have by this time received a full account, has created great disgust among all the Natives, rebels as well as friendly, and Hapuroua has proposed to Colonel Warre to meet him at the Waite. Colonel Warre sent a messenger to tell him that he agreed to this, and the messenger was expected back on Monday afternoon, with some definite intelligence as to Hapurona's intentions. Hapuroua has received a letter from the Ngatiruanuis, stating that they do not intend to aid the Waitotara natives against us, and Mr. Parris thinks that if Hapurona and his followers give in their allegiance, he might be made a useful agent in bringing the Ngatiruanuis to terms without hostilities, provided that I did not previously cross the Waitotara ; as, in that case, they would probably consider themselves bound in honor to fight. I was therefore persuaded to wait until Monday, in order that I might know Hapurona's intentions before I left for Wanganui, and regulate my proceedings accordingly, for if there is any chance of the Ngatiruanuis being brought to terms without hostilities, it will be better not to cross the Waitotara. The messenger, however, has not yet returned, owing, it is thought, to the heavy rains which have flooded all the streams, and I do not like to wait any longer; but I shall endeavour on my arrival at Wanganui, to ascertain the disposition of the Ngatiruanuis, and if I see any opening for settling the matter by negociation, I shall take advantage of it. I find that if Colonel Warre occupies the line of the Stoney Eiver, he will still have a moveable force of sufficient strength to meet any attack likely to be made upon him, and I have therefore authorized him to push his outposts as far as the Stoney Eiver, whenever he may find it convenient. This makes it necessary that the question about Minerapu, &c, should be settled at once, and the Government are so dilatory about it, that I have instructed Colonel Warre to take Minerapu and any
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other natives, suspected of murder, into military custody, to keep them until he receives instructions from you as to their disposal, and to administer the oath of allegiance to the remainder of the hapu who are still on the south side of the Katutai, uncertain what is to become of them. I hope you will approve. These Natives, surrendered to Colonel Warre, are still beyond our outposts, and I think the less the local authorities have to say to them the better. I hope everything is quiet on the Waikato. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 14 His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My oka it G kneual, — Government House, Auckland, 13th January, 1865. I send you a translation of William Thompson's letter. I think it an unfair translation, inasmuch as all Ihe gentlemanlike tone of the original is changed. Still there is no doubt that the Waikatos have determined not to agree for the present to the boundaries of confiscated land fixed in my Proclamation of the 17th December. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, Ac., &c. G. Grey. No. 15. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Government House, Auckland, 20th January, 1865. I am sorry to hear that stress of weather had delayed you at Taranaki, although, apart from regret at the cause of your detention, I think that your presence at Taranaki will have produced very good results. I entirely concur in and approve of the orders you gave Colonel Warre about Minerapu and other similar characters, as also the steps you are taking about the much to be desired submission of the Ngatiruanui. Ido hope that this event will take place. If the friendly natives will undertake the duty, I propose to let them go and capture the murderers of Henare Ngakoti, as to allow such a shocking murder to pass unnoticed, will produce the worst possible effect upon all the natives of the count ry. 1 have had another letter from William Thompson, in which, as in his former letter, he objects to the boundary of the land we have taken in the Waikato country. He has sent his eldest son in to see me, with some other natives.) I gather from them, that if we insist on the boundary, the natives will give way, and that the majority of them believe in their hearts that they have been well treated. They all tell me that the Waikato chiefs have agreed upon peace, and that they have determined, unless they are attacked, they will not ag.tin molest us. Altogether, I feel now tolerably well satisfied that the war in this part of New Zealand is over, but by the next mail I shall be able to give you fuller accounts. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c, Ac, G. Grey. Wanganui. No. 16. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Wanganui, 21st January, 1865. I arrived here yesterday, and found that General Waddy had not moved beyond the Kai-iwi. This little place is in some excitement, news having come in this morning that Eio, a friendly chief, has been taken and murdered by the rebels, and that the w"hole of his small hapu at Pa Karaka have been taken prisoners. If we do not look sharp, they will soon begin murdering and plundering our own settlers, and I am going to establish a line of forts for their protection along the Kai-iwi, to a point about nine miles up the Wanganui river, as I do not like to cross the Waitotara until I have made the settlement safe, at least, on the right bank of the Wanganui river. If unfortunately any disturbance should break out on the other side of the river, the greater part of the settlers would be ruined, as they are so widely scattered that it would be utterly impossible to protect them on their farms. The more I think about it, the more lam convinced that we have done wrong in bringing war into this hitherto quiet settlement. I hear that you are going to Dunedin, but I hope it is not true. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 17. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Wanganui, 21st January, 1865. Since I wrote to you this morning, the " Wanganui" has arrived with a mail from Auckland. There was no letter from you, but from what General Carey and others have written, it appears that everything is perfectly quiet on the Waikato frontier, and is likely to continue so. I have therefore desired General Carey to send me the remainder of the 2nd Battalion 18th, as the establishment of a line of forts for the protection of the out-settlers, the necessity of which, I mentioned in my letter" of B
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this morning, reduces very considerably the force at my disposal for active operations. You will still have at Auckland, a reserve of between seven and eight hundred men. If however, you think the state of affairs is such as not to admit of the withdrawal of the remainder of the 18th from Auckland, I beg that you will telegraph to General Carey accordingly. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. P.S.—I am very anxious to have the " Gundagai" here as soon as possible. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. 0. No. 18. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Kauwau, 26th January, 1865. I have received your two letters of the 21st instant. lam very glad to hear of the arrangements you have made for protecting the settlers on the right bank of the Wanganui. I have telegraphed to General Carey to send you the troops you have sent for—the remainder of the 18th. The " Gundagai" sailed immediately in compliance with your wishes, —at least an express has been sent ordering her to sail. Everything continues perfectly quiet here. Unless I am satisfied that the country is entirely safe in this quarter, I will not go to Dunedin. The English mail has not yet come in; we are all very anxious here upon the subject. I have already told you, in another letter, that I entirely concur in your instructions to Colonel Warre, and in the several steps you took at Taranaki. As I shall probably have another opportunity of writing to you before this letter is sent off, I will not say more now than that I think the present expedition was essentially necessary, and that it will, I still trust, settle this war. I wish you all the good luck and success you can desire. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c, &c, G. Grey. Wanganui. No. 19. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Wanganui, 28th January, 1865. Before this reaches you you will probably have seen some account in the papers of our fight with the Maories on Wednesday last. It was by far the boldest attack they have yet ventured to make. The nature of the ground surrounding our camp enabled them to assemble near us unperceived, and our picqucts were attacked so suddenly that they were forced back some distance before reinforcements could arrive to their assistance. They attacked our front and right flank simultaneously. On our right they penetrated to within 150 yards of our camp, when being turned on the left, and charged by our small party of cavalry, they gave way and fled to the bush a good deal faster than they came out of it. The fight lasted longer on the left, but they were beaten back on that side also, and obliged to retire into the bush. Our loss was considerable, but the Maories must have suffered still more severely, although we did not pick up more than eleven dead bodies, and two wounded men. With one exception, the killed and wounded were natives of Kawhia ; the Ngaliruanui having according to their custom kept well out of danger. We were informed by one of the wounded that the attacking party was 600 strong, and as they left a garrison in the pa, they must be in considerable force on the Waitotara. I consider my force insufficient to attack so formidable a work as the Wereroa pa. It would bo necessary to establish two posts to keep our communication open with Wanganui, and we should have to furnish escorts daily for convoys. This would reduce my force to 700 or 800 men, which would not be sufficient to provide for the protection of the camp in such a country, and at the same time to cprry on all the laborious operations of the siege. Instead of 1100 men, my present available force, I should require 6000. Besides, I should not have a single soldier left in reserve, and if anything should happen in any other part of the settlement, it would take a week or ten days' to remove all the stores and raise the siege. For these reasons Ido not intend to attack the pa, but to cross the Waitotara and see what can be done on that side. I came into town on Thursday for the purpose of getting a look at the mouth of the Waitotara from the sea. We started early yesterday morning in the " Sandfly," but when we got outside the bar it blew so hard from the west, and there was so much sea, that it would not have been possible to get near enough in shore to see the coast well, and we turned back. To-day it is blowing a gale. I hope that vessels can get into the Waitotara, and that we shall be able to establish a depot on it, as it would be impossible to supply a force north of the Waitotara by land. From the Waitotara I propose, if the settlement is not attacked, to advance towards the Patea, and if I should succeed in forming a post on that river, I shall have but a small force left for anything else; but I suppose that as long as 100 men can be collected together we shall be required to carry on this miserable war for the profit and gratification of the Colony. Since I have been in this part of the world I have made inquiries about the purchase of the Waitotara block, and have reason to believe that it was a more iniquitous job than that of the Waitara block, lam not surprised that the natives have opposed our road-making. The Government at homo ought to be made acquainted with the true history of the business. You will have heard of Colonel Warre's advance to the Stoney river, and the apprehension of the natives suspected of murder. Colonel Warre talks (how easy it is to talk) of marching down the coast with a flying column of 500 men and meeting me at Patea; but for what object he does not explain. He calculates on meeting with no opposition, and his march would of course only be possible on that condition, for 200 men in a good pa would effectually bar his progress, and if attacked by *uch a body as that by which we were attacked on Wednesday he would inevitably come to grief. The news is rather bad from the Upper Wanganui, where our friendlies arc expecting to be
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attacked by superior numbers. What is most to be apprehended is an irruption of rebels into our settlements on the south side of the Wanganui river. No advantage that we can possibly gain north of the Waitotara would compensate for the loss of life and property which would in that case bo inevitably sustained by the settlers. Our proceedings are something like those of a man who, living in a glass house, is constantly throwing stones at the blackguards about him. All the well-to-do settlers are I believe aware of the folly of this cruise, and deprecate the war, but the shopkeepers and settlers, greedy of land, of course delight in its continuance. I have, &c., D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut-General. No. 20. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sib, — Head Quarters, Wanganui, 29th January, 1865. I have the honor to forward for your Excellency's information a cojty of a letter I have written to Colonel Warre, com mandiug the troops at Tarauaki, relative to the proposed march of a flying column under his command down the Coast to the Patea Eiver, alluded to in the confidential Eeport of the 25th instant, a copy of which will have been forwarded to your Excellency. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., &c, <fee, &c. Lieut.-General. Enclosure to No. 20. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to Colonel Warre. Sir, — Head-Quarters, Wanganui, 29th January, 1865. I am directed by the Lieutenaut-General Commanding to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential Eeport of the 25th instant, No. 4, and to convey to you the following remarks relative to the proposed march of a flying column down the Coast from Taranaki to the Patea Eiver. The Lieutenant-General considers that the march of a small column so great a distance, and through a country so little known, would be hazardous, except on the assumption that it would meet with little or no opposition ; for a body of natives of less than half the strength of the column with which you have proposed to march down the Coast, strongly entrenched on your lino of march in a position that you could not turn, would effectually bar your progress ; and as you would march without artillery and other means necessary to enable you to dislodge them, you would be compelled to retrace y rour steps, a measure which would have a bad moral effect. On the other hand, should your column be unopposed, the Lieutenant-General thinks that little advantage would be gained by its mere march down the Coast beyond a diversion in his favor, in which respect it might certainly be useful; but as your column would commence its march from too distant a point to produce any effect in the way of a diversion until it had accomplished the greater part of the distance between the Patea and the Stoney rivers ; and as you might be detained a considerable time by the difficulties of the road, or stopped altogether, as above explained, it aj>pears to the LieutenantGeneral that, should it become desirable to employ any of the troops under your command in co-operation with him, it would be better to bring them round to the Patea or Wanganui Rivers by sea, which could be done in a few hours without any of the uncertainty attending the march by land. Should, however, anything occur to render the proposed march of a column down the Coast advisable, the Lieutenant-General approves of the arrangement detailed in your memorandum on the defence of the settlement during its absence. I have, &c., Colonel Warre, C.8., Geo. Dean Pitt, Commanding Troops, Taranaki. Major, Acting Military Secretary. No. 21. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir.— Head-Quarters, Wanganui, 30th January, 1865. I have the honor to submit for your Excellency's consideration whether, under present circumstances, it is not advisable to apply at once for reinforcements from England. Our last engagement with the rebels near Nukumaru has shown that they have concentrated a large force, and are likely to offer the most determined resistance to our advance through this difficult country. I fear that with the force at my disposal the operations are not likely to be of a decisive character, or to fulfil the objects for which your Excellency was desirous they should be undertaken in this country. I need not point out the great encouragement which the rebels will derive from seeing our only remaining disposable force involved in operations which its strength is not sufficient to bring to a successful termination, and the temptation it holds out to them to attack some one of our unprotected settlements. I would therefore recommend that your Excellency should apply by the first opportunity for a reinforcement of at least 2000 men, and for a still larger reinforcement if, in addition to the occupation of the country between Wanganui and the Patea, the road between Taranaki and Wanganui is to be opened and more land is to be confiscated and occupied north of the Waitara, which I understand to be the plan of the Colonial Government approved by your Excellency I have, &c., D. A. Cameron, •. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—ISo. 4.
No. 22. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head-Quarters, Wanganui, 31st January, 1865. As the operations which 1 have been instructed by your Excellency to carry on in this part of the Colony render an immediate augmentation of the force at this station indispensable, I have the honor to inform you that I have ordered here the whole of the detachment from Wellington, and 250 men from Taranaki. I consider that these detachments can be withdrawn with safety at the present moment, and if necessary can be replaced by militia and volunteers. I have also to inform you that I have called upon the Militia and Volunteers of this place to furnish 170 men to garrison two of the posts on the frontier. I trust that these measures, which on account of the delay in communicating between this place and Auckland I have ordered without previous reference, will be approved by your Excellency. I would also request that one of the vessels of the squadron may be stationed at Wellington, for the purpose of moving troops to any point on the coatt when necessary; and that arrangements may be made to enable me to communicate by land with Wellington more quickly than at present. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron. His Excellency Sir G. Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 23. Lieut -General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Wanganui, Ist February, 1865. 1 have been detained in this place much longer than I expected, waiting for an opportunity of reconnoitering the mouth of the Waitotara which I only succeeded in doing yesterday. It is Mr. Cadell's opinion that there will be no difficulty in getting the " Gundagai" into the river. I return to camp this afternoon, and intend to cross the river as soon as possible and establish a depot at its mouth, but still holding on for the present to the camp at Nukumaru so that: I may have the option either of attacking the Weraroa Pa (if I can muster men enough and get a good opportunity) or of carrying the whole of my force across the river with the view of operating in the Ngatiruanui country. The day after I landed here I got Mr. White to send a letter to the natives, at Weroroa, who he told me consisted of Waikatos, Ngatiruanuis, and Taranakis, telling them thai I was ready to listen to any offer of terms they might wish to make : but the messenger was fired upon and obliged to return without having delivered the letter. You will see from my official letters the steps I have taken to augment my force. It would have caused great delay to have referred the matter to you, and waited for your answer, for there has been no opportunity of communicating with Auckland since the 22nd of last month. 1 think some arrangement should be made immediately to ensure regular and constant communication between this and Auckland, as long as operations are being carried on here and you remain in Auckland. The withdrawal of troops from Wellington and Taranaki will probably create some discontent, as it may necessitate the calling out of Militia and Volunteers at those places; but if the Government are determined to continue the war they must expect to be called upon to bear part of the expense. I find cavalry most useful; but the Military Train and Artillery were not sent out here for that kind of service, and I think the Government ought to place the Defence Force on its former footing. I wish you would bring the subject to their notice. We may perhaps see you here on your way to the new scat of Government, when yon can leave Auckland. I have, &c., His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. P.S. —Mr. White has just come to tell me that he has received a letter from the Upper Wanganui, stating that the natives acknowledge to have lost seventy killed on the 25th, among them several chiefs. D. A. C __, No. 24. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp, Nukumaru, 3rd February, 1865. We are still here, but I hope to cross the Waitotara to-morrow night, or rather at daybreak the following morning. I expected to do so without opposition, but it is impossible to say what may happen as the Wanganui Chronicle has thought proper to publish my intention to cross the river, .-it what point it is to be effected, <tc, &c. The only way of putting a stop to such mischievous proceedings is to proclaim Martial Law, which I request may be done at once ; otherwise it is a question whether it would not be better to remove the troops from this part of the Colony. The Maories have been very quiet since the last fight, which is not surprising considering their heavy loss. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 25. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Auckland, 6th February, 1865. I have received your several letters from Wanganui up to the 3rd instant. I was very glad to hear that the natives got such a beating upon the 25th of January, and I hope that their loss
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—Ho. 4.
upon that day will have a good effect upon them. lam more sanguine upon the subject than you are, and I hope that the end of this war is nearer than you think. I will answer the questions you have raised. With regard to your moving troops from Wellington and Taranaki, I think the understanding should be that you remove the troops from place to place as you think necessary ; you can with our present means of communication easily send Ihem back again if you find they arc more necessary at one point than another, or if I wrote to you to ask you to do so, and it will leave you at full liberty to act as you think best for the public service when you know that you have this power. Having said this, I of course entirely concur in what you have already done. The Government arranged at once to raise a troop of fifty mounted men of the Colonial Defence Force at Wanganui for you; the order will go by the next vessel. When that has been done, if you require a larger force, they will raise one to the extent of two troops of eighty men in the whole. A vessel of war will be stationed at AYellington for you. 1 am consulting the Government on the subject of placing Wanganui and the adjoining districts under martial law r, such a Proclamation would now require the signature of a Minister. If you continue to desire the thing, I have no doubt they will do it. lam debating the question of applying to England for reinforcements. I still hope we may do without them—everything looks quiet here. William Thompson has expressed a wish to meet me. The escaped prisoners are returning in large bodies to the Waikato from the North. Seventy of them have recently passed through this place on their way home. The country here appears in a more peaceable state than it has done for some years. The North of New Zealand need therefore now cause you no anxiety. I will write you another letter to-morrow ;in the meantime good-bye to you, and may all good fortune attend you. 1 have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., Wanganui. G. Grey. No. 26. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp, Waitotara, Bth February, 1865. We crossed the Waitotara on the morning of the sth instant without seeing a native, and arc now encamped on the left bank of the river about a mile and a half from its mouth. I left more than half the force in the camp at Nukumaru. The " Gundagai" entered the river in the evening of the day we crossed it, bringing us provisions for several days, and she brought us a further supply this morning. As she can always cross the bar in fine weather, our communication by sea with Wanganui is tolerably secure. lam forming a depot here, and constructing a work for its protection, preparatory to our advance towards the Patea. I shall then probahly remove the remainder of the force from Nukumaru to this side of the Waitotara, giving up the communication by land with Yfanganui for a time, so that I shall have nearly the whole force and land i ransport available for service on this side of the Waitotara. I can always restore the land communication with Wanganui when necessary. My calling out part of the Militia and A Tolunteers at Wanganui has of course created dissatisfaction, the colonists there as elsewhere expecting to have nothing to do but to enrich themselves by the presence of the troops without any trouble or inconvenience to themselves. The Yoluntcer Cavalry, under Captain Cameron, positively refused to inarch to Nukumaru until Colonel Logan had expostulated with them; ar.d as we shall never get any good out of those gentlemen, I wish you could induce the Government to raise the Defence Force here to its former establishment. I hope the Commodore has been able to send a vessel to Wellington ; and it would be a great advantage to have one also stationed at the Manakau. We have not yet received the English mail, our existence being apparently quite forgotten at Auckland. What is the " Falcon" about; could she not have brought it ? Our not being able to answer any of our letters by this mail may entail inconvenience on the public service. We are altogether in a curious position—you at Auckland, the Ministers at AYellington, and I here, without communication with either of you for weeks together. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 27. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp, Waitotara, 11th February, 1865. I am sorry to say that what I so much apprehended has come to pass : two persons have been murdered, namely, Mr. Hewitt, a settler who resided on the frontier, near the Pai-uri, and a soldier of the Wanganui Militia, belonging to one of the posts recently established on the f ontier. At the time I established the two posts which I mentioned to you in a former letter, I directed that the officer commanding the one at Mussen's should place a picquet at Mr. Hewitt's house if he desired such protection, but unfortunately he declined it. The soldier of the militia was out contrary to orders plundering a Maori settlement. Mr. Hewitt's body was found without its head, which has been carried off by the rebels. These two occurrences have created a panic throughout the settlement, and I hear that many of the settlers have already come in. If they come in from the settlements south of the Wanganui, we shall be in a terrible mess. I have sent a reinforcement of 150 men to Wanganui, and directed Colonel Logan, who commands there, to establish another post between Mussen's and the river. I fear that I shall have to send more reinforcements, which will put a stop to my operations. I therefore recommend that the detachment of the 68th at Auckland, or the headquarters of the 14th, if they can be spared, may be sent hero as soon as possible, and that not a moment bo lost in organizing the two C
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT-GENERAL CAMERON.
A^HW4
troops of the Defence Force, which will be extremely useful. There is no person of any authority here to represent the Government. I recommend that yourself and some member of the Government should repair hero as quickly as possible, to make yourselves acquainted with the state of affairs, and to judge whether your instructions can be carried out consistently with the safety of the settlement, or whether they are to be carried out at any risk. I was glad to hear that a ship was to be stationed at Wellington. It would be very desirable that there should be one also in the Manukau. Another steamer of light draught will be wanted here in case of any accident happening lo the " Gundagai." Mr. Cadell recommends the " Sturt" being put into a state of repair without loss of time. I have at last received my English letters—too late to answer by this mail. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., &c. Lieut.-General. No. 28. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Mr dear General, — Government House, Auckland, 16th February, 1865. I have received your two letters of the Bth and 11th of February. I was very glad to hear that you had crossed the Waitotara without opposition ; and I was much grieved at the account you sent me of the two murders which had been committed. In compliance with your wishes, the "Eclipse" proceeds to Wellington to be stationed there ; she Bails to-morrow or Saturday, she could not sail earlier as her boilers had to be repaired. I have also had orders issued that the detachment of the 68th quartered here should proceed to Wanganui. There was no vessel to take them, so they vill go in the "Brisk;" they sail on Saturday, hut will have to go round by the North Cape. Something has gone wrong with the buoys on the Manukau bar, and the Commodore is afraid to risk a vessel of war there with troops onboard until this has been looked to. In further fulfilment of your wishes, I shall embark also on Saturday to go to Wanganui, and the Commodore will I believe accompany me. I have applied to the Government for another small steamer, in case of anything happening to the " Gundagai." Captain Atkinson tells me that they are already raising one troop of the Colonial Defence Force, forty strong, for you ; the other troop shall be raised as rapidly as possible. All continues quiet here for the present; the natives are intently watching what takes place at Wanganui and Taranaki. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., Wanganui. G. Grey. No. 29. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Government House, Auckland, 16th February, 1865. If you want more cavalry there are twenty more mounted men of the Military Train who can be spared, and all the transport can be efficiently carried on. The head-quarters of the 14th can also be spared if you require them. I have, Ac., Lieut.-General Sir D..A. Cameron, X.C.8., Wanganui. G. Grey. No. 30. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Mt dear Sir George,— Camp, Patea, 17th February, 1865. I marched from the Waitotara with General Waddy's force at one o'clock yesterday morning, and reached the left bank of the Patea at about eight o'clock. We have not seen a native since we left the Waitotara; the country in the neighborhood of our camp is entirely deserted. Colonel Wear left Nukumaru at about nine o'clock on the night of the 15th, and took up General Waddy's former camp on the Waitotara. We have no post town between this river and the Kai-iwi, our communication with Wanganui being kept up entirely by sea. Both the "Gundagai" and "Sandfly" entered the Patea safely yesterday under the most favorable circumstances; but as the latter had not more than a foot to spare at high water, it will not be prudent to bring her into the river again. The " Gundagai" can always pass the bar in moderate weather ; but it will not do to depend upon her alone for our supplies, and I trust that the Government have ordered another steamer as quickly as possible; for as these operations are undertaken exclusively for Colonial objects, thoy are bound to provide us with the means of communication. I also hope they are taking active measures to procure some of the 1500 military settlers they intend to locate between Taranaki and Wanganui, as it is desirable they should take the place of the troops as soon as possible in the posts which I am obliged to establish for the occupation of the country. The land about here looks very poor, and is certainly not worth the enormous expense which its occupation by the troops will cost. I have not heard whether you intend to pay us a visit, but there are many points on which 1 wish to consult you. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., Ac. Lieut.-General. No. 31. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sta, — Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 17th February, 1865. I have the honor to inform, your Excellency that on the night of the 4th instant, Brigadier-
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
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General Waddy, C.8., marched from the camp at Nukumaru with the force detailed as below,* and, crossing the Waitotara about one and a half miles from its mouth at daybreak the following morning, encamped on the right bank of the river. Colonel Weare, 50th Eegiment, was left in command of the remainder of the troops (strength as belowf) at the cam]) at Nukumaru. On the night of the 15th, Brigadier-General Waddy marched from the Waitotara, moving partly by an inland track and partly along the beach, crossed the mouth of the Whenuakura at low water early on the morning of the 16th, and arrived on left bank of the Patea, where he is now encamped. On the same night Colonel Weare broke up his camp at Nukumaru, and took up General Waddy's former camp on the Waitotara. Both the Waitotara and Patea can be entered by steamers of very light draught, aud the two camps are supplied by sea from Wanganui by the Colonial steamers " Gundagai " and " Sandfly." I am greatly indebted to the officers in charge of those two vessels, viz.:—Mr. Cadell and Mr. Marks, for affording me the means of reconnoitring the coast, and for the zeal and good-will with which they perform the important duties of supplying the troops, and keeping up the communication with Wanganui. I have, Ac., D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. His Excellency Sir G. Grey, K.C.B. •2-18 Foot—Field Officers, 2; Captains, 3 ; Subalterns, 8; Staff, 3 ; Sergeants, 18 ; Drummers, 11 ; Eauk and File, 280. 50th Foot —Field Officer, 1; Captains, 3 ; Subalterns, 8 ; Sergeants, 15; Drummers, 8; Eauk and File, 350. 57th Foot—Field Officer, 1; Captains, 4; Subalterns, 5; Staff, 1; Sergeants, 13 ; Drummers, 7 ; Eank and File, 270. Military Train and Cavalry—Captain, 1; Subalterns, 2 ; Staff, 1; Sergeants, 2 ; Drummers, 1; Eank and File, 46. Total —Field Officers, 4; Captains, 11; Subalterns, 23; Staff, 5; Sergeants, 48; Drummers, 27; Eank and File, 946. f2-18 Foot —Captains, 2 ; Subalterns, 4 ; Sergeants, 12; Drummers, 5 ; Eank and File, 232. 50th Foot —Field Officer, 1 ; Captains, 3 ; Subalterns, 5 ; Staff, 2; Sergeants, 18 ; Drummers, 9; Eank and File, 275. 57th Foot—Captains, 3 ; Subalterns, 3 ; Sergennts, 11; Drummers, 5 ; Eank and File, 232. 70th Foot—Field Officer, 1 ; Captains, 2 ; Subalterns, 7 ; Staff, 1; Sergeants, 13 ; Drummers, 5 ; Eank and File, 246. Military Train and Cavalry—Subaltern, 1 ; Staff, 1 ; Sergeant, 1; Eank and File, 17. Total —Field Officers, 2 ; Captains, 10; Subalterns, 20 ; Staff, 4 ; Sergeants, 55 ; Drummers, 24 ; Eank and File, 1002. No. 32. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General,— Government House, 21st February, 1865. I only write a few lines to say that I sail to-morrow morning in the " Esk," by way of the North Cape to Wanganui. I delayed for the English mail to bring your letters down to you, but as the Prince Alfred sails this evening from Manukau, I think they will reach you sooner that way. I did not think she would have been repaired so soon. I have no news of importance from England—nothing that you would care to hear. I have released old Tupaea on parole, and have sent the other eight men to Wellington. I hope I shall be with you in four or five days. All remains quiet here. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., Wanganui. G. Grey. No. 33. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp on the Patea Eiver, 23rd February, 1865. I am very glad to hear that I am to see you here soon, for it is very necessary that I should consult you about future operations. It has been the cause of much inconvenience and unnecessary delay that neither yourself nor any member of the Government has been here since operations commenced ; for it was not to be expected that your first general instructions, framed as they were with little or no knowledge of the country, or of the difficulties it was likely I should have to contend with, would be sufficient for me to act upon under all circumstances, without the necessity of further reference. Besides, questions are constantly arising about Militia, Defence Force, friendly natives, steamers, Ac, Ac, which I am obliged to refer, and which it is desirable should be decided as quickly as possible. I hope therefore to see you here the beginning of next week, as the summer is quickly passing away, and time is precious. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., Ac. Lieut.-General.
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A.—No. 4,
No. 34. Lieut.-General Sir D. A Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp, Patea Eiver, 27th February, 1865. The " Prince Alfred" has just arrived bringing the English mail, and a note from you in which you say that you were to leave Auckland for Wanganui on the 22nd instant. You will therefore probably arrive at Wanganui to-morrow or the day after. If inconvenient for you to come here let me know by the " Gundagai," and I will meet you at Wanganui. I have, Ac, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. No. 35. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Ser George,— Camp on the Patea, 4th March, 1865. I send you a copy of a letter from Mr. Booth to Mr. Mantel 1, and a copy of one from me to Mr. Mantell. I presume that the matters to which they relate have already been reported to you. If there is any truth in the report that Te Ua is desirous of making peace with us, I should think that your presence in this part of the world would be desirable. I also send you two telegrams I received from General Carey. I hope it is a false alarm. I have, Ac, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameron. Lieut.-General. Enclosure to No. 35. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to the Hon. the Native Minister. My dear Sir, — Camp on the Patea, 4th March, 1865. I have received Mr. Booth's letter to you, which you sent me through Mr. Strickland. It will be better that you should communicate with me upon matters connected with the public service direct instead of through a private channel. I shall be glad to have your opinion as to wii;tt stops o to be taken in consequence of the desire stated to have been expressed by Te Ua to make peace with us. I would recommend your coming to the Waitotara where you can communicate with the natives, and I would meet you there. Mr. Weld informs me that you have the full authority of the Government who, I presume, will be glad to bring the war here to a close if possible without further hostilities. In accordance with the Governor's last instructions, I was about to move all the troops at the Waitotara, except a post of two hundred men, to this place; but, under present circumstances, I think it advisable to suspend the movement until I hear from you, which I hope to do by the return of the " Gundagai." I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, [Lieut.-General. P.S. —The officer commanding at the Waitotara reports that the white flag is still flying at the Wereroa pa. D. A. C. The Hon. the Native Minister. No. 36. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 6th March, 1865. I came here to see the natives with regard to Pehi and the other chiefs who surrendered to them, as it now appears on terms by which we are bound. lam sorry for this, but we must be content with the advantages we have obtained, which are very considerable. I found here your letter telling me that the white flag is flying at Waitotara. I was consequently going on there this morning. I have since heard that you senf Mr. Broughton to ascertain what they wanted, and I do not now like to go to Waitotara until I have heard the result of his proceedings, which I can do from you by the return steamer this afternoon. lam to see the Putiki natives this morning, and am to'hear their version of the arrangements they concluded with Pehi; and Pehi himself will arrive here to-morrow, so that on Wednesday my business here will finish. If the Waitotara natives have any desire to treat with us Mr. Broughton will soon ascertain it, and I will in thai case have every effort made to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion; but I hardly hope that they are yet in such a frame of mind. The natives of this place and their friends, about 500 strong in all, wish to be allowed to attack the Wereroa pah at Waitotara. Will their doing so interfere with your operations r If not, I will give them permission to do it. lam satisfied if they enter upon this task that they will not commit any acts of cruelty, but will proceed in entire conformity with the rules of civilized nations. Clothing has been provided for the militia here. The " Sturt " has been ordered down to co-operate with you, or rather to be under your orders; the " Sandfly" is coining back to you. I have no news of any interest to send you from this place. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey.
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No. 37. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp on the Patea Eiver, 6th March, 1865. I feel sure that you will think it quite useless for you to go to the Waitotara when you read the two letters herewith enclosed, which the natives at the Wereroa Pa sent me through Mr. Broughton, in reply to one I wrote them, desiring those who wished for peace to sign their names to any proposals they had to make. I therefore propose withdrawing Colonel Weare's force from the Waitotara, as I mentioned to you when you were here last night, leaving a post of two hundred men on the left bank of the Waitotara, and I will move forward with the force here on the following morning. So far from interfering with my operations, the friendly natives will materially facilitate them by attacking the Wereroa Pa ; which Mr. Mantell affirms they will take " in little more time than they will require to march thither." lam quite sure that we could not take it in that off-hand manner, nor take it in any manner without considerable loss: that is, supposing the natives defend it in earnest, which there is no reason to think they will not do. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 37. Te Wereroa Pa, 31st February, 1865. NOTICE —To the German people and the men of importance living with you, — Friends, salutations to you who have come from the king of love to the world, from Francis Joseph, King of Austria. Friends, I have heard from you that from Germany are some of the Europeans who are now condemning myself and my half portion of the island. Friends, what wrong have I done you that you should come to annoy me and my half portion of the island. I understood that by the English people only I was to be punished. Truly, if you had seen that we were a people possessed of the knowledge to manufacture things to cause death to men, it would have been correct for you to have banded together against me. But lam a poor man —a man possessed of nothing—a naked man. Are you not ashamed ? Listen to me, you are not fighting against men, but are angry with the spirit causing goodness and peace (Pai Marire). Oh my loving German people, the God of them is very earnestly disposed towards you and us. " Eire, Eire, Hau." From Te Ua Aneen, Chief Prophet of his word, " Te Hawhi." German, " Eire, Eire, Hau." Enclosure 2 to No. 37. To the Chief at Wereroa Pa, — I have received a letter from you without signature, and therefore I cannot pay any attention to it; moreover, your meaning is very obscure, and Ido not understand what you want. If any of you are desirous of peace, say so in plain language, and what terms you expect. You have read the Governor's last proclamation. Let those who wish for peace sign their names. You had better be quick. This is all from me. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. Enclosure 3 to No. 37. Te Wereroa, 31st February, 1865. To General Cameron, — Friend, we have received your letter. We have seen it. This is our fixed word to you, you must go back peaceably, you and your soldiers to the other side of Kai-iwi, there to watch the doing of that word, the making peace, and to look out also for the ceasing of the evil. Whose is it ? Do not say also the meaning of those words is obscure which you have received. If you are agreeable to these words, write to us ;if you are not agreeable, write us. Be quick. It turns. From Pehimana Te Tahua, „ Hare Tipene, „ Teritiu, „ Aperahama Parea, „ Taate Te Waru, „ Tawhana Ti Koukou, „ Wiremu Tiake Eautangi, „ Eikari Watone, „ Kiriona, „ Tato Hanatana, „ Tamati Oraukawa, From all the runanga of Ngarauru, Ngatiruanui; from Waikato ; from the 1000 men living at Te Wereroa. No. 38. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 7th March, 1865. I received last night your letter about the Waitotara natives. I quite agree with you that it would be useless for me now to go on to that place. I feel rather anxious about the natives who D
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have been left in the pa at Waitotara, and I purpose to hurry on the raising the force of Irregular Cavalry which you require, and some Bushrangers, and also some friendly natives to keep the country clear between this place and the Waitotara. To do this I shall have to request Mr. Jones for the present to make advances from the military chest for the pay and rations of these men. There will be no difficulty with him on this point, as it is only a temporary question. The local Government fand it impossible to raise money here at this moment, and in defraying the expenses of the steamers required to keep open your communication, they are doing all they can do. They are also making arrangements for paying in England by this mail five hundred thousand pounds to the Treasury. ( will let you know by the next opportunity what lias been done with regard to raising men. Pehi has not yet arrived herer- — I send you the copy of a telegram I received from the North to the same effect as those which reached you. I hope the news is not true. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 39. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp on the Patea, Bth March, 1865. I forgot to mention, in my letter to you this morning, that I would strongly advise your applying for a reinforcement of at least 2000 men from England, for you may depend upon it that your plan of occupying the whole line of coast between this and Taranaki cannot be carried out without them. I shall have about 1500 men to start with from this; a reserve of 800 men for about every thirty miles occupied must be kept free to move anywhere; and the remainder will not go far to furnish the posts necessary to keep open the communication. Colonel Warre, as I mentioned when you were here, cannot advance at all from his end of the line. He already complains of the smallness of his force in proportion to the extent of territory he has to occupy. I would also observe, that if anything should occur in any part of the Colony rendering it necessary to send troops there, the reserve of 800 I have mentioned would have to be withdrawn, and the posts depending upon it for support abandoned. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 40. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My Dear Sib George,— Camp on the Patea, New Zealand, Bth March, 1865. We are beset with difficulties of every kind in this country. The tides are now so low lhat two sailing vessels laden with Commissariat stores are aground near the mouth of the Waitotara river, and cannot get out until their cargoes are taken out of them, w rhich the " Gundagai" is to do for them to-night. As Colonel Weare cannot leave the Waitotara until they have cleared out of the river, he cannot march before to-morrow night, and I do not propose to advance until I know that he is moving this way. The post I leave at the Waitotara is very strong, and provisioned for a month, so that there will probably be no necessity to communicate with it by land for some time to come. In a case of emergency, Colonel Logan could collect 600 regulars, who with the militia, volunteers, and friendly natives would be sufficient to open the communication with the post if necessary. We shall always hear from the steamers how Major Eocke and his detachment are getting on. It will however be a great advantage to have a safe communication by land at all times between Wanganui and the Waitotara, —and for that reason I hope the Government will not be long in raising the Bushrangers and Cavalry, which they might have done more than a month ago, if any of them had thought proper to come to Wanganui at the commencement of our operations. What is the Minister of Defence about ? I should think Yon Tempsky and some of his men would gladly volunteer for service. I do not think that, with the force of regulars and militia you have at Wanganui, there is much reason to feel anxious about the natives at the Wereroa Pa, whose numbers, I have very little doubt, will diminish as we advance. What is Mr. Mantell doing with his army, as he calls the friendly nat ives ? I almost expected to hear that he had led them himself against this pa, which, according to him, " they would take in as short a time as they would require to march thither." I wish he would send us some one who knows the country. I hope hostilities will not break out on the Waikato frontier; but it is not unlikely that Eewi will fake advantage of the withdrawal of so many troops from Auckland. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. If you call upon us to pay and ration the Bushrangers, Ac, Ac, I suppose we must comply. D. A. C His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., Ac. No. 41. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp on the Patea Eiver, 12th March, 1865. The " Gundagai " arrived in the river this morning, though without any letter from you ; but
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I hear that you are still at Wanganui. I was anxious to hear whether you had considered it necessary to apply for the reinforcements I recommended, and what the friendly natives are about. I expect to hear that their supposed desire to attack the Wereroa Pa was all bounce, though both you and Mr. Mantell seem to have believed in it. However, if our operations should have the effect of drawing the greater part of the garrison out of the pa, which I expect they will, the friendly natives may have an opportunity of attacking it with some prospect of success. Colonel Weare marched from the Waitotara on Thursday night, and was caught in a dreadful gale of wind, with torrents of rain. The whole of his men and baggage had not crossed the Whenuahenu before late on Friday afternoon. They had great difficulty in fording the river, on account of the heavy surf breaking on the bar. The violence of the gale on these heights was such that my marquee, all the tents and marquees of the General Staff (except Dr. Mouatt's), and a great many of the men's tents were blown down, and about fifty of the latter so much torn as to be unserviceable. It was of course impossible to remove troops in such weather, but I hope to march to-morrow morning at seven o'clock. There is a report that we are likely to see you here again, but this I doubt, as from the flying nature of your visits you do not seem very fond of a camp. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 42. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 13th March, 1865. I had no news of any importance the other day to send you by the " Gundagai," I did not therefore trouble you with a letter. Pehi has taken the oath of allegiance, and returns a short distance up the river to-morrow. He sent back the party said to consist of two hundred men, which the Taupo chief's sent to his^assistance. I feel quite satisfied that the settlement of Wanganui is now quite safe, and that your mind may be at rest on that point. The Ministers tell me that you have a troop of thirty-two Irregular Cavalry now with you, which they will complete at once to fifty men, and that the captain appointed to this force, Captain Percy, shall join you at once with the additional men he raises. If you require more mounted men, they shall be raised as rapidly as possible. One hundred Bushrangers have been ordered here from Taranaki; if that place cannot furnish the number, it shall be completed by men from the Waikato. This body of one hundred men will be sent to Patea, unless you give orders to the contrary. Fifty Bushrangers are also to be raised at this place. They will be retained here to act in the country lying between Wanganui and Waitotara, until you give further orders on the subject. Captain Cameron's troop of Volunteer Cavalry will be brought up to a strength of fifty men, for service in the Wanganui district. Two hundred Military Settlers have been sent for from Taranaki, to occupy Patea permanently ; they will be at once sent on to the Patea, which we will afterwards occupy with other settlers. We had a dreadful gale of wind here on Friday, but the " Esk" rode it out at her anchors. lam sorry to hear that you suffered so much ; you must have had a very unpleasant time of it, as I know from experience, for I was on the Wanganui river in the worst part of the gale, and got a thorough soaking. I have thought it better to remain here for some time, so that I may be able to get any aid for you that it is in my power to procure, and to render myself useful in any way I can. You are mistaken about my not liking a camp : many of my happiest days have been passed in a camp, and I never enjoy life more than when I am in one. I have, Ac, G. Grey. P.S. —I see I have not answered that part of your letter which relates to the Wereroa pa. Mr Mantell tells me that when the natives arrived at Wanganui, elated with their late victory over Pehi, they were anxious at once to have proceeded against that place, but he did not feel justified on his own responsibility in allowing them to do so. Since that time many of them have dispersed, and although they have repeatedly pressed me on the point of their going there, I have thought it better for a little time to watch the course of events, and see what opportunities presented themselves, and what your movements may be, and what results flowed from these. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., Patea. G. Grey. No. 43. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 13th March, 1865. I again talked over with the Colonial Ministers your recommendation that I should apply to England for a reinforcement of at least two thousand men. I found that it would be impossible for me to obtain their concurrence in such a recommendation, for various reasons which they stated at length. They came to this conclusion, entirely on their own convictions, and I came to the same decision for the following reasons : — I think it essential to the future peace of the country that the whole line of coast between this and Taranaki should be open to us, in fact, occupied by us, and that friendly relations should exist between us and the natives inhabiting that tract of country. The sooner these ends are gained, the more speedily will peace be restored to all New Zealand. Believing this, lam naturally anxious to see these ends attained as soon as possible.
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What remains to be done, however, after you have subdued the country north of Wanganui, even so far as Patea, is not, in my belief, more than the Colony ought to be able to accomplish in, say two years from the present time, from its own resources. If, therefore, the force you have is not sufficient to enable you to occupy the country which remains between the Patea and the point Colonel Warre can advance to, I think the Colony must be satisfied with what you can do with the resources at your disposal; and that after all England has done for it, it ought not to call upon Great Britain to send further large reinforcements here. I really should feel most unwilling to make such a demand. Everything that is now taking place leads me to the conclusion that the natives will soon submit in nearly all parts of the island, and once they do submit, they return much more speedily to friendly relations with us than you would suppose. If lam right in this view, the war might be nearly terminated before further reinforcements could arrive. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 44. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 14th March, 1865. The " Gundagai" has been delayed by bad weather, I therefore add a little to my letters of yesterday. I send you the copy of a note from the Commodore, which I have just received, informing me of the barbarous murder of a Mr. Volkner, a German Missionary, as good, simple and upright a man as I have ever known. Nothing could have been more noble than his death was : altogether it is a most shocking affair. I have no doubt that it was a political murder. It was an old native custom whenever they wished to draw you off from a war you were engaged in, and to involve you with a new enemy, to go into his country and commit some most horrible murder, so as, if possible, to excite your passions and induce you to abandon every other object in the hope of obtaining immediate revenge. The murder of poor Mr. Volkner is marked with all the characteristics of a murder of this kind, and I have no doubt it was committed with a view of inducing us to engage in immediate war with the East Coast natives, and to withdraw us from this place. I presume the " Esk" will be at once sent back from Wellington here, and in that case I shall lose no time in proceeding for a short period to Auckland, recommending Mr. Mantell to come here. It is quite impossible to say what steps I may think it necessary to take in consequence of Mr. Volkner's murder, until I receive further information as to the number of the natives who were engaged in it, but I will keep you fully informed upon the subject. I am informed that by the end of this month the Government will have raised a troop of irregular Cavalry, of the strength of sixty-four men and officers. I hope this may prove an efficient and useful force. I am told that firing was heard near Patea yesterday, and there is a report that some fighting took place. lam looking out anxiously for the details, but the surf on the bar is so heavy to-day that I almost fear the " Gundagai" will not be able to get out until to-morrow. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 45. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp Kakaramea, 14th March, 1865. I received late last night the news of the horrible murder of Mr. Volkner, and the capture of Mr. Grace and other Europeans, by the Pai Mairire fanatics at Opotiki. Should the latter succeed in stirring up the natives of the East Coast, the consequences may be serious. I shall be glad to know whether you consider it necessary, in consequence of these events, to make any alteration in your plans regarding my operations in this part of the country. We marched yesterday morning at 7 o'clock from our camp at the Patea, and after proceeding about a mile and a half, we came upon a body of about two hundred Maoris, who had posted themselves on a commanding ridge across our line of advance. We immediately attacked them, drove them from their position, and pursued them for four or five miles. They retired leisurely, and we inflicted a considerable loss upon them. We picked up eighteen dead bodies and three wounded men, and took two prisoners ; besides these, some were shot in trying to cross the river, and there are no doubt still many bodies about the fern and in the swamp, which we had not time to find. Altogether, they were tolerably well punished. We march again this morning towards Manutahi and Manawapou. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. P.S. —We had only one man killed and three severely w rounded. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. C. No. 46. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Manutahi, 15th March, 1865. We arrived here yesterday afternoon, and as the bush comes down to the road at this point a post is absolutely necessary for the safety of our communication before we can move further on;
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Manutahi is rather a large settlement. We found it entirely deserted, but it had the appearance of having been recently occupied. There is a good deal of cultivation about it, which we shall consume or destroy before we leave it. At some points, where only small posts are necessary, blockhouses would save men. Will the Colonial Government sanction the expense of their construction ? If this country is to bo occupied by military settlers, the sooner they are placed on the land the better, for its occupation by troops will put the Imperial Government to enormous expense. I have not heard from you for some time. I suppose that recent events will compel you to return to Auckland, and I should hope that the Ministers will now see the error which has been committed by the removal of the scat of Government to Wellington. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 47. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp Manutahi, 15th March, 1865. I have just received throe letters from you, two of the 13th and one of the 11th instant, and I wish to make a few remarks regarding their contents. 1. It will not be prudent to withdraw one hundred bushrangers and two hundred military settlers from Taranaki, without the concurrence of Colonel Warre, who, I mentioned to you, has stated that the force uuder his command is barely sufficient to defend the country it now occupies. 2. I was very confident that the desire stated to have been entertained by the friendly natives to be allowed to attack the Wereroa pa was mere bounce ; and I was astonished that you should have believed in if, that is to say, if you really did believe in it, and yet you could hardly have proposed that five hundred natives should attempt what I told you I would not undertake at that time with fewer than two thousand soldiers, if you did not really believe that they would succeed. As to Mr. Mantell, he appears to me an excitable person, entirely devoid of common sense, and I shall pay.no attention whatever in future to his opinions. 3. All the reasons you mention for deciding not to apply for reinforcements are, to my mind, the strongest reasons why they should be applied for. 4. In my opinion, what is now taking place does not afford the most distant prospect that -the natives will soon submit in nearly all parts of the island. Their submission never appeared to m»- so far off as at present. 5. I do not agree with you that the Colony will be able to occupy the country between the Patea and Taranaki in two years; twenty would, in my opinion, be nearer the mark. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 48. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 16th March, 1865. I was very glad to hear from your letter of the 14th that you had given the Ngatiruanuis a thrashing on the 13th. This is the first time that tribe has come in for any punishment. It will, I think, do them good. I have just received your letter of the 15th ; Major Atkinson is here, so I daresay I can at once arrange about the blockhouses you require. It is possible that the Government may think that in the neighbourhood of the bush, where plenty of timber can be obtained, a stockade will suffice. This is all we had in former times ; they stood for several years, and the natives never ventured to attack them. We only kept small bodies of men in them :in my own opinion these would suffice. The Colonial Government would, if required, pay the expense of the working pay of the men. The " Ahuriri" is now here on her way to Taranaki, to bring down two hundred military settlers for the Patea. She will arrive there about the 20th; fifty of these men are to be Bushrangers, and one hundred men will shortly be here from the Waikato. If you require more they will be sent for. The "Ahuriri" will reach the Patea to-night, and will wait off the Patea to-morrow to take your orders to Taranaki, for these men being sent to the Patea. If more men are required at Taranaki, we must call out the militia there, but I do not think there is any probability of this being necessary. lam just sending to Wellington for the " Esk" to go to Auckland, but I shall still remain here for two or three days. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 49. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Manutahi, 16th March, 1865. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that Colonel Greer. C.8., commanding at Tauranga, has applied to me for instructions in reference to a letter he has received from you, directing him to try certain native prisoners by court martial. By the warrants I hold I am not authorised myself, or am I empowered to authorise any of the officers under my command, to convene general courts martial for the trial of any other class of offenders but officers and soldiers of Her Majesty's forces, and camp followers. I have therefore to B
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request that your Excellency will be good enough to inform me on what author 3 the prisoners referred to are to be tried by courts martial. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., Ac, Ac. Lieut-General. No. 50. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp Manutahi, 17th March, 1865. Since I wrote to you the day before yesterday we have been fortunate enough to discover a line practicable for carts between Kakaramea and Manawapou, which does not pass through this place or near the bush, so that I hope no post will be necessary between Kakaramea and Manawapou. I rode to the latter place this morning, and I think that we shall be able to land supplies there by surf boats in calm weather, which will save convoys. Cadell is to bring the "Sandfly" and surf boats oft Manawapou to-morrow, in order to ascertain this point. The quantity of food here is surprising,—greater than wo found at Eangiawhia. This is the third day we have been digging up potatoes and cutting maize, and we have not yet finished. It is verystrange that I never heard of the existence of this settlement when I was at Wanganui. I send a detachment of three hundred men to Manawapou to-morrow to form a post, and to make a road for us to advance towards Waimate, —that is if your instructions do not oblige me to move the whole force back to the Waitotara. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 51. § Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp, Manutahi, 17th March, 1865. A passage in one of your letters of the 13th (that relating to reinforcements from England) seems to me. to be at variance with the views you expressed the morning you were at my head quarters on the Patea, in regard to operations in this part of the country. On that occasion I explained to you why I had refrained from attacking the Wereroa Pa when I was at Nukumaru, namely, that the position was so formidable, and at that time occupied in such strength by the rebels that I considered it could not be taken without serious loss to us, uncompensated by any corresponding loss on the side of the rebels, who could a L any time escape into the bush with impunity. I stated that this was the reason why I had advanced to the Waitotara, afterwards to the Patea, and why 1 thought it necessary to consult you as to future operations. You expressed your approval of my proceedings, and requested that I should continue to advance, and occupy the line of coast between the Patea and Taranaki —if possible meeting Colonel Warre, who you suggested should advance towards me from Taranaki. I pointed out to you that Colonel Warre's force being barely sufficient to hold all the country it was then occupying he could not move towards me ; but I promised to advance myself towards Taranaki as far as the force at my disposal would permit. My recent movements have been regulated accordingly. I now refer you to the fifth paragraph of your letter of the 13th, and I would observe that the country north of Wanganui to the Patea can not be subdued without taking possession of the Wereroa Pa ; indeed I believe that the capture of that position is all that is necessary to give us possession of the whole country between the Kai-iw Ti and the Patea, for between the Waitotara and the Patea the country is- perfectly open, and not likely to.be defended. I wish, therefore, you would inform me whether you consider the immediate possession of the Waitotara block of such consequence that you wish me to attack the Wereroa Pa at once notwithstanding the risk to which I have referred; or whether you wish me to continue my advance towards Taranaki. I need not tell you that both operations can not be carried on at the same time. My first impulse on receiving your letter of the 13th was to remove back at once to the Waitotara, and make preparations for attacking the Wereroa Pa ; but on reflection I thought it better to continue advancing until I heard from you, and I trust that you will let me know r your wishes so clearly that I may be enabled to act without the embarrassment which I have continually felt during this war from the want of definite instructions. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 52. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Mt dear Sir George,— Camp Manutahi, 17th March, 1865. I have received your letter of yesterday's date, from which I learn that you consider small bodies of men in small stockades the best arrangement for a post. I should have thought it the best plan to leave these matters of detail to myself and the Officer Commanding Eoyal Engineers. The number of men at a post depends upon the object for which that post is established. When the object is merely to command the ground in its immediate vicinity, —as for instance a post at the mouth of a river for the protection of boats entering it, a few men are sufficient; but when a post has to furnish escorts to large convoys, Ac, the case is different. We shall probably require posts of each description. Those of the first will be chiefly on the coast where no timber is to be procured. Some of the second description may be necessary in the neighbourhood of bush, but even in that case I know from experience that it takes a long time to construct a stockade of any size, and during that time a strong detachment would be.necessary to protect the men at work. Notwithstanding, therefore, what the Government may think,
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and what may have been done in former times, Colonel Mould and myself are of opinion that blockhouses constructed of materials prepared beforehand, or redoubts with huts in them arc to be preferred to stockades, particularly as it is desirable that the men should be uuder cover in the winter; and it is to be regretted that no attention was paid to the suggestion I made to you several months ago in regard to the preparation of material for blockhouses. I will instruct the officer commanding at New Plymouth to send the 200 military settlers to Wanganui, but you and the Government will be responsible for the safety of its settlement, and of the small forts occupying the country round it. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 53. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, March 21st, 1865. I am very sorry that you should have thought that there was anything in my letter of the 16th which indicated any desire on my part to interfere in the detail of matters which it belonged to you and the Officer Commanding Engineers to arrange the details of I intended simply to make a suggestion which I believe to have been a good and practical one, and still worthy of consideration upon a matter in relation to which you were about to entail a very considerable charge upon the Colony of which I am Governor. If you read my letter again, I think you will see that such was the case, and that I kept myself strictly within the bounds of my duty in making the suggestion I did. I have seen quite as good huts in a stockade as I have ever seen in a redoubt, indeed I think even better. It is also a question, in my belief, rather of policy than of mere military operations, for the building of blockhouses seems to infer the holding of a country against a hostile force in your vicinity by troops, a measure which I think the Colony will not iucur the expense of. I have not my correspondence here to refer to, but I believe it would be found that the suggestion of preparing blockhouses originated with the Colonial Government, and that it had reference to another plan of operations There is, however, I believe, plenty of timber prepared for this purpose ; and if you will state the number of blockhouses you think necessary, the proposed size of each, the quantities of timber you require, and the place where you wish each respective quantity to be landed, the timber, which lam informed lies ready for shipment, shall at once be sent for. You will, I think, see that until you furnished this information, the Government could not do more than it has done. It ajipears now that it is to be regretted that this was not done at an earlier date. The question can hereafter be decided, under all the circumstances of the case, whether the Home Government or the Colony is to bear the cost of the erection of these blockhouses. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 54. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My dear General, — Wanganui, 22nd March, 1865. I have received your public letter regarding the prisoners taken by Colonel Greer's orders, whom I wished to be tried by court martial. I will consult the Attorney-General on the poiut, under whose advice I acted, and then at once write to you. I propose to go back to Wellington to-day, to see what is to be done about those East Coast natives. The question assumes a simpler form —the natives up the river say, not knowing that Father Garaval has returned home, that we put him to death in consequence of Mr. Volkner's having reported the fact, that Father Garaval brought to Opotiki a letter from William Thompson, calling upon the East Coast tribes to rise, and that they have punished Mr. Volkner in the same way, for causing the death of their friend. I was much shocked at the murder of poor Mr. Volkner, and I was also much shocked to find that Captain Lloyd's head had been carried to Pipiriki, on this river, and had been there subjected to all kiuds of insults, and that the head of another soldier had recently been sent to the same place, and was forwarded on to the East Coast, to raise the people there, and was the indirect cause of Mr. Volkner's death. I found that the Pipiriki natives were plotting against us, and that they were going to bring a war party to aid them from Eangitikei, who were to come out on the Wanganui, at Parekino. I had no time to communicate with you on this matter, so I moved up at once a party of fifty volunteers and some friendly natives to Parekino, to occupy that place; they will build apa there. The natives have sold us the land, and the Colonial Government are now raising military settlers to occupy it permanently. The friendly natives will then move on, occupy Pukuki within ten miles of Pipiriki, build apa there, and permanently occupy it; this will give us complete command of all the lower river, and we can attack Pipiriki when we like. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 55. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My Dear General, — Wanganui, 22nd March, 1865. In reply to your letter of the 17th instant, in part upon the subject of the embarrassment you have experienced from the want of definite instructions, I would state that my impression is, that my letter, under which you are now acting, was to meet your own wishes, purposely put in such general terms as left you a great latitude. I thought I had shewn it to you before I sent it, and that
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you were satisfied with it, and raised no objection whatever. I understood from Mr. Weld that it embodied your own views, as he had gathered them from one or more conversations ; and I also thought that it accurately expressed the views I understood you to hold. I took great trouble with this matter, and only regret it if there should have been any mistake. You now propose two questions to me,- —Ist. Whether I consider the immediate possession of the Waitotara Block of such consequence, that I wish the Wereroa Pa should be attacked at once notwithstanding the risks and consequences to which you have referred in your correspondence; 2nd> Whether I wish that your advance should be continued towards Taranaki. In reply to the first question, I would say that the idea of the question of the possession of the Waitotara Block has never entered into my calculations. What I desire to see is, the subjection and punishment of tribes who have been guilty of great atrocities, and have instigated others to commit similar acts. Until they are put down and punished, I am sure there can be no peace or safety in this island for Her Majesty's European subjects, or for loyal and well disposed Natives. Next, I would say, you have in your own correspondence, answered the question whether or not I can wish you to attack the Wereroa Pa at once. However necessary I might think the capture of the pa to be, to prevent wrong impressions in the native mind, or to attain the important objects, whicli you have pointed out in your letter of the 17th instant, would follow from the capture of that pa, it is quite impossible for me to request you to attack it at once, when you have told me that you consider your force insufficient to attack so formidable a work, and that to enter upon this task you would require an available force of two thousand men ; that the Natives have rendered the pa so formidable a position, and have at the same time occupied it in such strength, that it could not be taken without serious loss, uncompensated by any corresponding loss on the side of the rebels, who could at any time escape into the bush with impunity. The other alternative presented to me, must therefore necessarily be the one that I choose, viz.,—that you should continue your advance towards Taranaki, so far as the means at your disposal will admit. All I would ask is, that when you find that you cannot get further than some particular point, that you would let me know where that is, that the Colonial Government may determine what it will then do. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 56. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir— Wanganui, 22nd March, 1865. I have the honor to enclose for your information, copy of a Memorandum I have received from my Eesponsible Advisers, requesting that cash advances may be made from the Commissariat chest for the payment of the Wanganui Militia upon a requisition from the Paymaster approved by the Minister for Colonial Defence. The Colonial Government will be responsible for the moneys thus advanced. It is a matter of necessity that these advances should be made from the Commissariat chest at the present moment. The Militia Force about to be embodied here, is necessary for the safety of a part of Her Majesty's possessions, and to co-operate with the Troops. The Colonial Government finds it impossible to raise sufficient funds here at present, either to pay or ration these men. In defraying the expense of the steamers required to keep open your communications, they are doing all that they can do; the arrangement I now ask you to concur in will only be a temporary one, and the Government has, by the last mail, remitted debentures to England for the purpose of repaying to the Treasury £500,000 upon account of advances previously made. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 57. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp Manutahi, 21th March, 1865. We are suffering serious inconvenience from the detention of the " Gundagai" at Wanganui. It has been reported to me that you have employed her to take you up the river Wanganui; if this be true, I hope you will release her at once. She is in the pay of the Commissariat, and is the only steamer that can enter the Patea, and it will be impossible for us to advance further up the coast, or even to maintain the forts we now occupy, unless she makes her trips regularly. If any accident were to happen to her we should be obliged to return to the Waitotara. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. P.S.—The sooner the " Sturt" is on the Patea the better. D. A. C. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. No. 58. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My Dear General,— Wanganui, 27th March, 1865. I have received your letter of the 24th March, regarding the detention of the " Gundagai." I do not know who could have made to you so improper a report, as that I had employed the " Gundagai" to take me up the river Wanganui. You will have found from my letter of the 22nd instant, that the " Gundagai " was employed in taking up men to take possession of Parikino, a post of the utmost importance to us for the protection
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of this settlement as of the Eangitikei District. I have now one hundred and fifty men there, Military Settlers, and will push on another hundred men to-day in the " Sandfly." The Friendly Natives have also taken possession of, and now r occupy the Pa of the Fanatics at Ohoutahi, only ten miles distant from Pipiriki. Captain Spain is now making every preparation to supply you with surf-boats, aud I fear that if within the next two or three days we can take Pipiriki, I must once again have the " Gundagai " for three days after her next trip to you. If there is any difficulty upon account of her being ill the pay of the Commissariat, we must pay her expenses again from Colonial Funds, but Pipiriki is a point of such importance, that if we can get possession of it I must not lose the chance. All the roads from the interior to the Wereroa Pa and Ngatiruanui country pass through that place, it is in fact the main key of the river Wanganui, and if we get it, we gain entire command of the river, and the people in the Wereroa Pa will be embarrassed by having their communication with the interior cut off. In getting Parikino, we have got the second most important position in the Wanganui, and if we can got Pipiriki, we shall be quite safe for the future in this river, and the Eangitikei District will be much safer than it has hitherto been. The consequence of our taking possession of the Pa at Ohoutahi has been, that about twenty men of the leading Fanatics of that part of the river have come in. You mention the " Sturt" The Government state, that the moment I notified to them your wish that the " Sturt " should be here, they had her repairs commenced, but that she was found to be in a bad state, so that her repairs would take some time in completing, but that these are being executed as rapidly as possible, and that directly they arc finished she shall come here. Is not this miserable weather ? I have not yet got the English Mail. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 59. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp Manutahi, 28th March, 1865. The " Ahuriri" hai gone to Taranaki without any instructions from me to the officer commanding at that station (Colonel Muloch) about the 200 military settlers. On receipt of your letter on the subject I caused a letter to be written immediately to Colonel Muloch and forwarded by orderly to the camp on the Patea, but it had not reached when the " Ahuriri" arrived off the river. The " Ahuriri" signalled to ask whether there were any orders, and the officer commanding the camp at the Patea, not knowing that she was to wait for despatches for me, answered that there were none, and the steamer proceeded on her voyage to Taranaki. The master of the " Ahuriri" ought to have been told to wait for my despatches, instead of asking whether there were any orders for him. I do not know whether you or Major Atkinson forwarded any instructions about the military settlers to the officer commanding the Colonial Forces, by the "Ahuriri," but as it is doubtful whether Colonel Muloch will allow them to leave his command without orders from me, it is possible that the " Ahuriri" may have made the trip for noth'ng. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 60. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp near Manawapou, 30th March, 1865. I have received your letter of the 22nd instant, in answer to mine of the 17th. You have misunderstood me if you imagine that I intended to complain of a want of defiuiteness in the instructions you gave me before I left Auckland, which, on the contrary, are the only definite instructions I have received from you since the war began ; but unfortunately they were drawn out without any knowledge of the nature of the country, the strength and position of the rebels, Ac, and they were consequently liable to be found either inapplicable to the real state of affairs, or at all events much more difficult to carry out than could have been anticipated at the time "they were framed. I beg to protest against being held in any manner responsible for those instructions. When Mr. Weld took office, he came to me frequently, with your sanction, for information on various subjects, which I willingly gave him ; but I distinctly told him that I would not be responsible for any measures that might be adopted, in regard to which I considered it your business to instruct me. I only requested if I was to be instructed to occupy territory, its extent might either not be defined at all, or if defined, might be as limited as possible, as I had only a small force at my disposal for such a purpose ; and I confess that when you showed me your instructions, it appeared to me that the amount of land you Droposed to take from the natives (the block between the Waitotara and the Patea) was moderate mough, though I felt by no means certain that my force would be sufficient to take possession of and >ccupy it, in addition to the Waitotara block. As to the idea of the instructions embodying my views, [ was always of opinion that it was unadvisable for us to re-commence hostilities, and remembering vhat you used to say when the last Ministers were in office, as to the inexpediency of entering upon my further aggressive operations, the necessity of consolidating what we had got, Ac, I was astonished it your employing the troops in aggressive operations in this part of the country. In regard to the Wereroa Pa, you appeared perfectly satisfied, when I saw you at the Patea, with he reasons I gave you for not having attacked it, and for having moved on to the Patea, and you leemed very anxious that 1 should advance at once towards Taranaki. There was not a word from you :hen about " preventing wrong impressions on the native mind," or about the important objects to be gained by the capture of the pa. As to preventing wrong impressions on the native mind, I believe :he natives are far too shrewd to misunderstand our reasons for not attacking them in a position where F
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4.
all the advantages are on their side, and where they would have a good opportunity of inflicting loss upon us, with little or no risk to themselves. It certainly would not be carrying out your idea of punishing them. I have no doubt they would have been delighted if we had attacked their pa, and that they have been as much disappointed at our not doing so as you and Mr. Mantell have been. What is it to Mr. Mantell, or to any other Colonial Minister, how many British officers and soldiers we lose in any operation they recommend, so long as the policy they advocate is carried out ? And I confess that this is a point which, it appears to me, has never sufficiently entered into your calculations ; for I remember your wish that I should attack the pa at Paparata, and I have reason to believe that you were of opinion I ought to have attacked the pas at Meremero and Pateranga, and that you and the Colonial Government were as much disappointed on those occasions as you appear to be in respect to the Wereroa pa. For my own part, I have a grave responsibility in this matter, and having already lost a great many valuable officers and men in attacking pas, I think I may be excused if I am somewhat cautious in undertaking operations of that description without the most absolute necessity ; at all events, I consider it my duty, whenever you propose to me an operation which I think likely to be attended with serious loss, to let you know my opinion, and leave it to you to decide whether the political object to be gained is worth the cost. I have no doubt, if Mr. Mantell, instead of talking of my swallowing up the pa, quick, of the friendly natives, taking it in as short time as they would take to march there, and such trash, will set to work in sober earnest, and keep himself informed through the medium of friendly natives, of what is going on at the pa, that w re shall have an opportunity of taking it with little loss. In regard to the last paragraph in your letter, I would observe that it was not at all necessary, because I did not attack the pa, that I should advance and occupy the coast between the Patea and Taranaki; there was no such alternative in the ease. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. P.S. —I shall feel much obliged if you will acknowledge the receipt of this letter when it reaches you. D. A. C. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. No. 61. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp near Manawapou, 31st March, 1865. It appears from your letter of the 21st, on the subject of blockhouses, that it is doubtful whether this country will be held by the troops. Before taking any further steps therefore towards the construction of blockhouses, I shall feel obliged if you will inform me : — Ist. How long the troops are likely to be required to occupy the country ? 2nd. What points on the coast they will be required to occupy, and with what object? When I have this information, I shall be able to judge whether it will be worth while building blockhouses, and at what points and of what size they ought to be constructed. I would recommend that you and some member of the Government should take a look at the line we occupy, otherwise I think it will be difficult for you to form an opinion on such questions as that which I now refer to you. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 62. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. My Dear Gent.hal, — Wanganui, 31st March, 1565. I should feel very much obliged to you if you would give orders as soon as you can, for the advances from the Commissariat chest which I wrote to you about, being made at this place, as we find it difficult to provide funds for paying the Militia, Ac; and it is a matter of great importance to us to pay them with regularity. There are some large canoes on the beach about four miles beyond Manawapou, at a place called, I believe, Taanga-hoe. We are very anxious to get these canoes for river transport, to supply the posts on this river, and I proj>ose in four or five days to send some natives up to bring them down here. We have pushed on two hundred Europeans to Koromiti, and to-day a large party of Natives have started from this place, who, in conjunction with one hundred and fifty of these Europeans will proceed to Pipiriki, and occupy it. They will reach Pipiriki on Monday: it is about eighty miles up the river, and, as I have already explained to you, is the point from which all the native roads of consequence branch off to Waitotara, and the Eangitikei. It is also the place where poor Lloyd's head was taken and exhibited on a pole, and from whence the head of a soldier was recently sent to the East Coasi tribes, thereby causing the atrocities which have resulted in Mr. Volkner's death. I think that the Waitotara people will feel very uncomfortable when they find that we are in possession of Pipiriki. I am just about to start for Wellington, where I will remain until Monday, and thence go on to the East Coast and Auckland, that I may see what is being done in regard to the murderers at Opotiki. Major Atkinson will remain here until Thursday next, if you want anything he can do for you. I am sorry that the orders given to Ihe master of the "Ahuriri" do not meet your views, but no difficulty took place about the Military Settlers coming from Taranaki, and I am satisfied that the place is quite safe; Colonel Warre, I understand from Major Atkinson, was quite prepared for these men being withdraw'!! from Taranaki.
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I regret that the reasons I have given for not sending for reinforcements, appear to you to be the strongest reasons why they should be applied for. I have again considered the question, and I am quite satisfied that the decision at which I have arrived is the correct one, and can only regret that we should take different views of the subject. Mr. Volkner's murder has excited a general feeling of indignation throughout the country, and will, I believe, lead many Natives to declare themselves on the side of Government. I have not yet received any of my English letters, and therefore cannot send you any news. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 63. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp on the Waingongoro, 3rd April, 1865. I have answered your letter about the advances from the Commissariat chest, and have given the necessary orders to Mr. Jones on the subject. I have also had instructions sent to Mr. Strickland, who is now at Wanganui, to advance whatever may be necessary at oiice. We found no canoes at the place named in your letter, but there are several here, some of which we have used for bridging purposes, and we also saw some at the mouth of the Mata, near Waimate. These and those remaining here the natives can have whenever they come for them. I hope your operations up the Wanganui with the friendly natives and military settlers will have a good result. Pipiriki, according to your account of its situation, must be a point of some strategic importance, but rather far for us to occupy, and I fear that we have too many irons in the fire. If the defenders of the Wereroa Pa belong, as I believe, chiefly to Ngarauru and Ngatiraunui tribes, the closing of the communication with the Upper Wanganui will not have much effect as far as the Wereroa Pa is concerned. Major Eooke reports that he thinks there arc very few natives in the pa, which if I am right about the tribes, would be the natural consequence of our advance into this part of the country. It is very strange that with all our friendly natives we can get so little information. If Pipiriki is to be occupied because poor Captain Loyd's head was exhibited there, the same reason would exist for the occupation of almost every rebel settlement in the Island. After the letter I saw from Colonel Warre to Colonel Gamble, I am surprised to hear that the former was quite prepared for the withdrawal of the military settlers ; but if you are satisfied that Taranaki is quite safe all is right. I expressed an opinion that if the occupation of the whole country between Taranaki and Wanganui (not merely of the coast line) is to be effected in any reasonable time, reinforcements would be necessary ; but now I am very far from thinking that the Imperial Government ought to encourage the scheme by sending reinforcements. I presume the military settlers at Pipiriki and Koromiti are not supposed to be under my command. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 64. The Assistant Military Secretary to His Excellency's Private Secretary. Sir, —■ Head Quarters, Camp Waingongoro, sth April, 1865. I have the honor, by direction of the Lieut.-Genera! commanding, to request that His Excellency the Governor will be good enough to cause a copy to be furnished of my letter of the 6th January, 1865, No. 4041, in order that the Lieut.-General may be enabled to give directions for carrying out the arrangements proposed by Commissary-General Jones, C.8., in his letter of the sth January, 1565 ; a copy of which was forwarded with my letter above referred to. I have, Ac, George Dean Pitt, (Major) The Private Secretary, Wanganui. Assistant Military Secretary. No. 65. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Waingongoro, 7th April, 1865. I have the honor to report to your Excellency, that in compliance with your instructions, I have advanced along the coast towards Taranaki as far as the Waingongoro river, and have established posts on the Waitotara and Patea rivers, at Kakaramea, Manawapou, and on the Waingongoro. I have now a moveable column left, of about eight hundred men, which I consider it uuadvisable for the undermentioned reasons, to reduce any further by occupying more posts along the coast. Ist. The communication with, and supply of some of the posts by sea, is extremely precarious. Since the force left the Patea on the 13th ultimo, we have only been able to disembark stores from a steamer on one occasion, and in trying to discharge a second steamer, the lives of four soldiers and two sailor 3 were lost by the upsetting of a surf-boat. Of four surf-boats, one has become entirely disabled, and two seriously damaged. A moveable force is, therefore, necessary to keep open the communications between the posts. 2nd. It is indispensable that there should be a Eeserve available for any emergency that may happen, in this or any other part of the island. At present, there is no Eeserve anywhere but here; the force at Auckland, Taranaki, and Tauranga, having been reduced to the lowest amount consistent with safety.
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No, 4.
3rd. From a Despatch which I received last mail from the Secretary of State for War, it is likely that orders will arrive at an early period, for a reduction of the force, and it is not advisable to establish posts with the prospect of their being soon abandoned. I have also to report to your Excellency, that the country between this coast and the bush is perfectly open, and deserted by the Natives; who have either established themselves in the bush, or occupy villages on its border; and, on the approach of a military force, are ready (as we found when we reconnoitred one of these villages yesterday) to retire into the bush, into which it would be useless for us to follow them-. If your Excellency's plan of permanently occupying this country is to be carried out, the best way of doing it, will be by establishing a line of posts along the border of the bush; but there are no troops at my disposal for the purpose; nor would it, in my opinion, be necessary to form such posts until there are settlers available to place on the land. I shall be glad to receive your Excellency's instructions on the above subjects as soon as possible, and to know whether you intend that the posts already established, shall be occupied by the troops during the winter; as, in that case, it will be necessary to construct huts or blockhouses for them, without delay. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 66. Lieut-General Sir. D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My Dear Sir George,— Camp near Waingongoro, Bth April, 1865. Considering the distance we are from each other without any regular communication, it is very desirable when I refer any subject to you, that you should let me know your wishes so clearly and decidedly, that no delay may be occasioned by the necessity of a second reference. Your last letter on the subject of blockhouses has left it doubtful whether you intend that the troops shall continue to occupy this country, and consequently whether it would be right to incur the expense of constructing blockhouses. In the event however of your deciding that the troops shall occupy the posts we have established on this coast, I enclose an estimate by Colonel Mould of the materials required for a blockhouse for 40 men. Vv'e should require materials for three such blockhouses, viz., at the Patea, at Manawapou, and here. lam glad to hear that the materials for these blockhouses have been been prepared and are ready for shipment, though by whose instructions and by whose estimate they were prepared I am at a loss to conceive, as, if I remember right when I brought the subject to your notice in September last, you informed me that the Government intended to employ the men in building stockades. The points at which I now recommend blockhouses to be built are so far from the bush that the stockades are out of the question. lam very anxious to have your instructions about our going further along the coast. There might be a steamer told off to keep up the communication between us. I have, Ac, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameron. Enclosure to No. 66. MEMOEANDUM of the Quantities and Dimensions of Timber and other Materials required for a Blockhouse to accommodate 40 men.
14 cwt. galvanized corrugated iron in 6 feet lengths; 841bs. galvanized snaprails; 65 feet run galvanized ridge capping j lOlbs. 4 in. nails; 841bs. 3 in. nails ; 281bs. 2^ in. nails ; 401bs. 3 in. floor brads ; 2 windows, 12 panes, 10 x 8 glass ; 2 pair centres for windows ; 1 door 6ft. 6in. x 2ft. 9in. in two thicknesses of 1| in. plank ; li pair strong 24 in. T hinges ; 1 12 in. wood stock lock ; 1 strong homemade thumb latch. Probable cost of the above, exclusive of delivery and labor in erecting, £150. Thos. E. Mould, Camp, Waingongoro, 7th April, 1865. Commanding Eoyal Engineers. No. 67. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D: A. Cameron. Sib, — Government House, Auckland, 17th April, 1865. In reply to your letter of the Bth instant, upon the subject of the timber required for the erection of Blockhouses on the Coast between Taranaki and Wanganui, I have the honor to state that I will request the Minister for Colonial Defence to give the necessary instructions for giving effect to your wishes. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey.
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
Walls ... 640 pieces, 4 x 3, 8 ft. . Plates ... 380 feet run,6 x 3, ... Rafters ... 50 pieces, 4x3, 12 ft. . Collars ... 12 „ 4 x 2, 12 ft. . Gables ... 6 „ 4 x 3, 8 ft. . Joists ... 25 „ G x 3, 18 ft. . Roof Boarding 1500 feet sup. 1 in Weather „ 1300 „ 1 in Floor Boards . 1100 „ l|in 8. f. . 5,120 . 570 . 600 96 48 . 450 . 1,600 . 1,300 . 1,575 Total Timber . . . . 11,359
A.—No. 4.
No. 68. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,-— Camp on the Waingongoro, 9th April, 1865. As the " Wanganui " goes direct from this to Auckland, where I presume you are at this time, I send by her a duplicate of a letter I wrote to you the day before yesterday* about our operations here, and which, as it went via Wanganui and Wellington, may not reach you for some days to come. I have sent a copy of this letter to Lord de Grey, and also copies of the correspondence which lately took place between us on the subject of the Wereroa Pa, and our movements along the coast, as it is essential he should know everything that is going on here. I also send you a copy of a private letter I wrote you on the eternal subject of blockhouses. Since it was written I have been informed by Colonel Mould that 8 per cent, must be added to the quantities in his estimate to allow for accidents. We have reconnoitred this part of the country between Kututamie and Ketemetea, and as I have mentioned in my despatch, these and the other native settlements between them are either in the bush or so close to it as to afford the inhabitants an immediate retreat. Indeed, they have already abandoned them, and keep only a few scouts in them. We might have destroyed both the villages above mentioned, and some officers under my command are disappointed that I did not order them to be burned down ; but as we should gain very little ourselves, and do very little harm to the natives bydestroying a few wharres, whilst we might entail very unpleasant consequences on the outsettlers of Wanganui if the natives thought proper to pay us back in our own coin, as they did at Taranaki, I thought it better to leave the villages undisturbed. We merely cut down the Pai Mairire flagstaff at Kututamie. The other villages we did not enter. I have, Ac. D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 69. Lieutenant General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp, Patea, 14th April, 1865. With reference to my letter to your Excellency of the 7th instant, I have the honor to report that the only surf boat in the service of the Commissariat, which remained fit for xvork, was upset near the mouth of the Waingongoro on its return from communicating with a steamer on the 10th instant, and I regret to say that three of the crew were drowned, and the boat seriously damaged. Thus in the space of a few days nine lives have been lost in this manner, and three surf boats either destroyed or rendered unserviceable. Since the 13th of last month the weather has not admitted of more than three cargoes being landed on the coast beyond the Patea, viz., two at the Manawapou, and one at the Waingongoro, and to accomplish this, three steamers were continually employed at great expense. Under these circumstances I consider it would be useless to attempt to supply the posts at Manawapou, and on the Waingongoro, any more by sea, and they will in future be supplied by land from the depot on the Patea. It would be very inconvenient to supply a third post by land from the Patea, from which it would probably be distant about 35 miles. The only point on the coast between the Patea and New Plymouth, at which there is any probability of our being able to land supplies, is Te Namu which has been always represented as very favorable for that purpose. This might be ascertained, and if Te Namu should be found a good landing place, and should your Excellency desire any more posts established along the coast, that point might be taken possession of and occupied, and from it, as a base, the chain of posts might afterwards be completed, when possible, towards New Plymouth on one side, and the Waingongoro on the other. By reducing the garrisons of some of the posts which have already been established, a sufficient number of men might be collected to occupy Te Namu, without reducing the moveable column below 800 men, and a portion of this column might be temporarily detached to New Plymouth to enable Colonel Warre to march to Te Namu. In making this statement Ido not wish it to be supposed that I recommend the occupation of any more posts by the troops, but in case your Excellency and the Ministers should still desire the occupation of the coast between Taranaki and Wanganui, I think it right to show- how far it can be carried out with the force at my disposal. I have withdrawn the column under Brigadier-General Waddy from the Waingongoro to Manawapou. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 70. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 20th April, 1865. With reference to my letter of the 16th ultimo, No. 80-65, to which no reply has been received. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that the custody of the rebel prisoners at Tauranga and of Minirapa and others at Taranaki, is attended with considerable inconvenience to the Military authorities at those stations, and as there does not appear to be any immediate prospect of their being brought to trial, I have to request that they may be transferred to the civil power. Two prisoners were taken after the skirmish at Kakaramea, and I have also to request your Excellency's instructions relative to their disposal. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. . * See No. 66. G
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4
No. 71. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,— Camp on the Patea,*2lst April, 1865. I came here in consequence of intelligence I received from Wanganui, that the chief Pehimana and his tribe were .about to make their submission, and that the Wereroa Pa would be evacuated. It is even reported that the one hundred Waikatos have left the Pa and gone towards the Waingongoro, and that there are only about forty Natives remaining in it. Mr. White appears very confident about the sincerity of Pehimana, and I am expecting every hour to hear of the evacuation of the pa, which I should of course occupy immediately. Meanwhile, I have desired General Waddy to continue to reconnoitre the villages near the bush between the Manutatu and the Waingongoro, not only for the purpose of ascertaining their position and whether they are still occupied, but also to engage the attention of the Ngatiruanuis and Waikatos, and prevent them from again collecting in the Wereroa Pa, and perhaps inducing Pehimana and his people to change their mind. All the villages we have reconnoitred have been abandoned on our approach, the few natives left in them, apparently as scouts, retiring into the bush ; and, as I mentioned in one of my reports, the only thing to be done now in my opinion is, to establish a line of posts along the edge of the bush, to keep them in it or drive them further into it, if it be desirable to carry on a guerilla war of this description with them. There are no crops now in the ground, and all the food is probably stored and concealed a good distance inside the bush, and all we should gain by attempting to follow them would probably be a few broken heads. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron. Lieut.-General. P.S. —The " Moa " arrived in the Patea yesterday afternoon, the first steamer since the 2nd of the month. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. C. No. 72. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 17th April, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instant, in which you inform me of the reasons which make you consider it unadvisable to reduce further your moveable column of about 800 men, or to occupy more posts along the coast between Taranaki and AVanganui, and request to be informed whether I intend the posts you have already established along the coast shall be occupied during the winter. In reply I have the honor to state that I think it my duty to acquiesce in the decision which you have formed on this subject, and that it is my wish that the posts you have occupied should be held during the winter by the troops, or until the Colony can take them over, which my Eesponsible Advisers inform me it is making preparations to do. The Colonial Government thinks nt so necessary that we should place ourselves in a state of security for the future against the natives of Warea, who have brought such serious evils upon the country, and that generally the safety of the Province of Taranaki should be provided for, that some effort must now be made by the Colony itself to do this. When I have had an opportunity of conferring with my Eesponsible Advisers regarding your letter of the 7th instant, I will again communicate with you on this subject. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 73. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 17th April, 1565. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your private letter of the 30th of March, as also your letter of the 9th instant, informing me that you had sent a copy of the letter to the Secretary of State for War. I regret that you thought it your duty to write the letter of the 30th of March, which contains serious imputations against myself and my Eesponsible Advisers. I regret still more that you should have sent the copy of such a letter to the Secretary of State for War, unaccompanied by any reply from us. You will I am sure feel that I cannot after this continue a private correspondence, which subjects me to difficulties of this nature. I will however publicly reply to your letter of the 30th of March, by the next opportunity. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 74. The Assistant Military Secretary to His Excellency's Private Secretary. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 22nd April, 1865. I have the honor by direction of the Lieut.-General Commanding to forward for the information of His Excellency the Governor the enclosed copy of a letter received from Colonel Greer, C.8., commanding the troops at Tauranga. The Lieut.-General requests that His Excellency will have the goodness to cause interpreters to be sent without further delay to the stations of Tauranga and Maketu, where they are much required. I have, Ac, The Private Secretary, Government House, Geo. Dean Pitt, Auckland. Major, A. M. S.
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—NO/.4.
Enclosure to No. 74. Colonel Greer to Deputy Quarter-Master General. Sir,— Camp Te Papa, Tauranga, sth April, 1865. I have the honor to report for the information of the Lieut.-General Commanding that since the 11th March last there has been no interpreter in this district. On the date mentioned Mr. Eice, the interpreter at this station, was sent by me on board H.M.S. " Eclipse" to act as interpreter to Captain Fremantle, during his mission to the East Coast, to endeavour to recover the Eev. Mr. Grace from the hands of the Pai Marire fanatics at Opotiki. Upon the successful termination of this expedition Mr. Eice (who might have landed at Maketu, at which place the vessel put in to send me an account of what had occurred, from Captain Fremantle) proceeded to Auckland, without having received any authority to do so ; and I have since heard nothing about him except a report from a private source of his having gone to Wellington. Some months ago I made an urgent application for an interpreter to be sent to Maketu, and was informed in reply that one would be sent without delay ; aud although since then I have renewed my application no interpreter has gone there. In conclusion, I would beg to urge that interpreters may be sent both to this station and to Maketu, with the least possible delay. I have, Ac, The Deputy Quartermaster General, H. H. Greer, Colonel, Head Quarters. Commanding Tauranga District. No. 75. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 22nd April, 1865. I have the honor to enclose a copy of a letter from Brigadier-General Carey, dated- Te Awamutu, 30th March last, but only received here on the 19th instant, staling that in the absence of any orders from me he had allowed one hundred volunteers of the Forest Bangers and Waikato Militia to leave the frontier for the purpose of proceeding to the Province of Wanganui, in pursuance of an order received by Colonel Haultain from the Minister of Colonial Defence. I have not heard of the arrival of these volunteers in Wanganui, nor have I received any intimation as to the service oil which it is proposed they should be employed, nor whether they arc to act under my orders or under the orders of your Excellency, and the Minister of Colonial Defence, as in the case of the Military Settlers from New Plymouth, now stationed up the Wanganui Eiver. From several conmmunications I have of late received from General Carey, it appears that he considers the force on the Waikato frontier to have been unduly reduced; looking at the unsettled state of the Native tribes near that frontier, I think that General Carey should always be consulted previous to any alteration in the strength or distribution of the force allotted for the defence of the frontier, as otherwise he cannnot be held responsible for its safety ; and also, that any orders on the subject should be conveyed to him from your Excellency through me, or in my absence direct from your Excellency. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency the Governor. Lieut.-General. Enclosure to No. 75. Brigadier-General Carey to the Deputy Quarter-Master Genehax. Sir,— To Awamutu, 30th March, 1865. I have the honor to acquaint you for the information of the Lieut.-General Commanding the Forces, that in compliance with a request made to me by the Colonel commanding the local Forces, in pursuance of an order received by him from the Minister for Defence, I have authorised the move of the men named below* from this Province to that of Wanganni. Though of opinion that this matter should have been first submitted for the consideration of the Commander of the Forces ; still, being averse to impede by reference any action conducive to the benefit of the Field Force now in active operations, I have taken it upon myself to permit this further reduction in the number of troops occupying this frontier. The company of Forest Bangers is composed of thirty volunteers from Major Yon Tempsky's men, made up to fifty by volunteers from those under Major Jackson at Kihi Kihi. The other company under Captain George, is made up by volunteers from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Eegiments Waikato Militia, in about equal proportions. As the remnant of Major Yon Tempsky's company (about thirty) would scarcely be sufficient to hold the new post at Aripipi, I have requested Colonel Haultain to make up the strength to fifty rank and file. The maintenance of this post I hold to be important, being on the new road to Eaglan and strengthening the right flank of this frontier. I have, Ac, The Deputy Quartermaster General, Geohoe J. Carey, Head Quarters, Wanganui. Brigadier-General. No. 76. The Assistant Military Secretary to His Excellency's Private Secretary. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 22nd April, 1865. I have the honor by direction of the Lieut.-General Commanding to forward for the information of His Excellency the Governor, the accompanying copy of a communication received from *1 Company Forest Rangers : —1 Captain, 2 Subalterns, 50 men, under Major Yon Tempsky. 1 Company Waikato Militia : —1 Captain, 2 Subalterns, 50 men, under Captain George.
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A^-No. 4.
Brigadier-General Carey, relative to the reduction of the force on the Waikato frontier, and bearing out the views of the Lieut.-General, conveyed in his letter of the 22nd instant, to His Excellency. Brigadier-General Carey has been directed not to sanction any reduction of the force under command, except under instructions, direct either from His Excellency or the Lieut.-General. I have, Ac, Geo. Dean Pitt, The Private Secretary, Government House, Auckland Major, A.M.S. Enclosure 1 to No. 76. Brigadier General Carey to the Deputy Quartermaster Genebal. Sir, — Te Awamutu, 10th April, 1865. I have the honor to transmit herewith for the information of the Lieut.-General Commanding the Forces, copies of letters, received from Colonel Haultain, commanding local Forces, intimating to me a further reduction about to take place in the numbers of the Militia on pay in the Thames and Waikato Districts, also bringing to my notice that he does not think it expedient to leave any guns in charge of the Militia. On the first reduction of the Militia stationed at Pukekura, I removed the gun there stationed with its detachment Eoyal Artillery, to his station, as intimated to you in my letter of the 31st ultimo. I have now given orders for the removal of the nine-pounder gun, to-morrow morning from Alexandra to Te Eorc. Relative to the reduction of the Thames posts, I have written to Colonel Haultain to request that if he is empowered to do so he will defer the proposed arrangement until I receive instructions from the Commander of the Forces. My reason for having done this is the present state in which I am led to believe William Thompson's people now are, which renders a reduction of the force on the Thames line, in my opinion, injudicious. Thompson's last letter to me stating that his people were about to rise, take up arms, and proceed to Tauranga and Maketu to fight, I forwarded to the Deputy Quartermaster General on the 3rd instant. I have further to bring to the notice of the Lieut.-General Commanding the Forces that the reduction of the Thames line of posts might seriously injure my communication with Auckland both on the Lower Waikato and on the South Eoad, between Queen's Eedoubt and Drury, should Thompson's people again become unsettled and take up arms. , Geo. J. Carey, The Deputy Quartermaster-General. Brigadier-General. Enclosure 2 to No. 76. Colonel Haultain to Brigadier-General Carey. Sir,- — Ngaruawahia, sth April, 1865. In reply to your letter, No. 148-413-65, of the 23rd ultimo, I have the honor to state, for the information of the Brigadier-General, that as I have received instructions from the Government to reduce still further the strength of the garrisons in the different redoubts, Ido not think it would be expedient to leave any guns in charge of the Militia. I have, Ac, The Deputy Adjutant-General, T. M. Haultain, Te Awamutu. Colonel commanding Waikato Districts. Enclosure 3 to No. 76. Colonel Haultais to Brigadier-General Carey. Sir, —■ Ngaruawahia, 6th April, 1865. With reference to my letter No. 32, of the 11th March, 1865, forwarding a return of the minimum strength of the garrisons of the several posts held by the Waikato Militia, I have now the honor to enclose, for the information of the Brigadier-General commanding, a return shewing the strength which the Colonial Government have authorised to be retained on pay for garrison and all other duties in the Waikato districts—and I have to request that you will obtain the sanction of the Brigadier-General to my withdrawing from the Thames line of posts all men in excess of the number authorised by Government to be kept on pay. I have, Ac, T. M. Haultain, Brigadier-General Carey, Te Awamatu. Colonel Commanding Waikato Militia. Strength of Garrison Staff" to be retained on Pay in the Waikato and Thames Districts. Alexandra—Field Officer, 1; Subaltern, 1; Staff, 3 ; Staff Sergeants, 5 ; Sergeants, 2 ; Corporals, 4 ; Bugler, 1; Privates, 50. Cambridge—Field Officer, 1; Subaltern, 1 ; Staff, 3 ; Staff Sergeants, 5 ; Sergeants, 2 ; Corporals, 4 ; Bugler, 1 ; Privates, 50. Hamilton—Field Officer, 1 ; Subaltern, 1; Staff, 3 ; Staff Sergeants, 5 ; Sergeants, 3 ; Corporals, 5 ; Bugler, 1; Privates, 60. Kihikihi—Captain, 1 ; Subaltern, 1; Sergeants, 3 ; Corporals, 4; Bugler, 1 ; Privates, 40. Pukekuru— Captain, 1 ; Subaltern, 1; Sergeants, 3; Corporals, 4 ; Bugler. 1 ; Privates, 50. Thames Line—Captain, 1; Subalterns, 2 ; Sergeants, 5 ; Corporals, 5 ; Privates, 100. Total—Field Officers, 3 ; Captains, 3 ; Subalterns, 7 ; Staff, 9 j Staff Sergeants, 15 ; Sergeants, 18 ; Corporals, 26 ; Buglers, 5 ; Privates, 350.
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CORKESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
'A.—No. 4.
No. 77. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir,— Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 22nd Apr.!, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's k'tter of the 17th instant, in reply to my private letter of the 30th March. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir G. Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 78. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir,— Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 22nd April. 1865. At the short interview I had with your Excellency at the Patea, in February last, I mentioned to you that it was desirable that I should have some knowledge of the circumstances which rendered it necessary that you should have the assistance of a second military aide-de-camp, in order that I might be enabled to account to the military authorities for the employment in that situation of Major Gray, of the Military Train, who, in my absence from Auckland, was allowed by Colonel O'Brien to leave his corps and join your Excellency. You promised to make an official application to me for Major Grayis services, but as I have not yet received it, I beg to bring the subject again to your notice. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 79. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 21th April, 1865. liTiave the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, which I haw only just received, and in which you raise the following objections to the occupation of Pipiriki:— That it is rather far for us to occupy. That you fear that we have too many irons in the fire. That the closing of the communication between the Ngatiruanui country and the Upper Wanganui, will not have much effect, in as far as the Wereroa pa is concerned. And that if Pipiriki is to be occupied because Captain Lloyd's head was exhibited there, the same reason would exist for the occupation of almost every rebel settlement in the island. I have carefully considered these objections to the occupation of Pipiriki, but being unable to concur in them, I still think it my duty to adhere to the course I have in this instance taken. In reference to the last of these objections, I should state that looking to the importance of Pipiriki, the rank and influence of the chiefs under whose control it was, and the circumstances under which Captain Lloyd's head was exhibited there, and the head of a soldier was sent there, and forwarded from thence to the East Coast, to bring about the murder of Europeans, I cannot see any analogy between the case of Pipiriki and almost all the other rebel settlements in the island. In reference to your observation that you expressed an opinion that if the occupation of the whole country between Taranaki and Wanganui (not merely the coast line) is to be effected in any reasonable time, reinforcements would be necessary, but that you are very far from thinking that the Imperial Government ought to encourage the scheme by sending reinforcements; I would state that the recommendations from you I had to decide on were as follows: — In your letter of the 30th of January, you stated that the engagement with the rebels near Nukumaru had shewn that they had concentrated a large force, and were likely to offer a most determined resistance to our advance through a difficult country, and you therefore recommended that 1 should apply by the first opportunity for a reinforcement of at least two thousand men, and for a still larger reinforcement if, in addition to the occupation of the country between Wanganui and the Patea, the road between Taranaki and Wanganui is to be opened, and more land to be confiscated and occupied north of the Waitara, which you understood to be the plan of the Colonial Government, approved by me. In your letter of the 11th of February, you recommend that myself and some member of the Government should repair to Wanganui as quickly as possible, to make ourselves acquainted with the state of affairs, and to judge whether my instructions could be carried out consistently with the safety of the settlement, or whether they were to be carried out at any risk. I then thought that to stop in an operation advisedly entered upon, would have a most disastrous effect, and that my instructions could be carried out consistently with the safety of the settlement- of Wanganui, and that reinforcements of at least two thousand men to enable the country between that place and the Patea, to be occupied, and still larger reinforcements in the event of the other contingencies to which you have alluded, w-ere unnecessary, and I still think that my opinion was a correct and judicious one. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 80. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir— Government House, Auckland, 26th April, 1865. It was with much regret that I learned from your letter of the 14th instant, that another surf boat had been upset near the mouth of the Waingongoro river, and that nine men have been B
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.— Ho. 4.
recently drowned in landing supplies for the force under your command. On considering the correspondence relating to the proceedings of the force under your command, I think it advisable as you have suggested, that Te Namu should be occupied by a post of sufficient strength, and that Colonel Warre should be reinforced, with a view to his being enabled to march to Te Namu, should such a movement be deemed necessary when the reinforcements reach Taranaki. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 81. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir I). A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 26th April, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant, in which, in reference to a body of Forest Kangers, under the command of Major Xon Tempsky, removed from the Upper Waikato for service in the Wanganui district, under your orders ; you inform me, firstly, that you have not received any intimation as to the service on which it is proposed they should be employed, nor whether they are to act under your orders; secondly, that General Carey considers the force on the Waikato frontier to have been unduly reduced, looking to the unsettled state of the Native tribes near that frontier : thirdly, that you think that General Carey should always be consulted previously to any alteration in the strength or distribution of the force allotted to him for the defence of the frontier, as otherwise he cannot be held responsible for its safety. In reply, I beg to state as follows : — I believe that the whole of the arrangement you allude to was carried out in conformity with your wish. Iso understood your views in the interview we had on the Patea, and on the Bth of March you wrote to me as follows :—" It will however be a great advantage to have a safe communication with Wanganui and the Waitotara, and for that reason I hope the Government will not be long in raising the Bushrangers and Cavalry, which they might have done more than a month ago if any of them had thought proper to come to Wanganui at the commencement of our operations. What is the Minister of Defence about ? I should think that Yon Tempsky and some of his men would gladly volunteer for service." On the second and third points, I would observe that Ido not think that General Carey's force has been unduly reduced, looking to the necessities of the service elsewhere ; and 1 would remind you that lam the person upon whom,in the first instance, the responsibility for the safety and welfare of the Colony rests —that I am in possession of all the information regarding the state of General Carey's particular district which he can possess, and of information regarding the state of other districts of the country concerning which he can know nothing. I cannot therefore, although 1 entertain the highest respect and esteem for General Carey's abilities, undertake always to consult him previously to making any alteration in the strength of the force allotted for the defence of his district, as I must in many instances be guided by considerations of which he knows nothing, and regarding which it might be either inconvenient, or the cause of a long delay, to communicate with him. A consideration of these points will, I am sure, satisfy you. that the power confided to me in these respects is a wise and necessary one, and thai: 1 ought to retain its exercise in my own hands. I have, Ac., Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Guey. No. 82. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, Ist May, 1865. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have left a sufficient number of troops to occupy the posts at Manawapou and the Waingongoro, agreeably to the request contained in your letter of the 17th ultimo, and I have moved the remainder of Brigadier-General Waddy's column back to the Patea, whence I have come up to Auckland to receive such further instructions as you may think proper to give me, and to be at hand to furnish you with any information you may require. With reference to the remark in your Excellency's letter that you felt it your duty to acquiesce in the decision I had formed, I would beg to observe that I had formed and could form no decision, it being my duty to regulate the operations of the troops under my command, in accordance with the views and wishes of your Excellency, a knowledge of which it was the object of my letter of the 7th ultimo to obtain. I did no more than express my opinion on subjects which I submitted for your own consideration and decision. I informed your Excellency in that, and in a subsequent letter, how far I considered it practicable with the means at my disposal to carry out the plan you propose of occupying the line of coast bet ween Taranaki and Wanganui by posts, for the purpose of establishing the land communication between the two places. I have only to add that 1 think that about four hundred men (instead of the whole of Brigadier-General Waddy's column, as stated in my letter of the 7th April), would, under present circumstances, be a sufficient moveable column to leave at the Patea to support the posts between the Waitotara and the Waingongoro, and to keep open the communication between them. The remainder of General Waddy's column amounting to rather more than the same number, might be detached for service at Taranaki, if necessary, as I mentioned in my letter of the 14th April. I also stated that if it be proposed to locate settlers in the open country, between the sea coast and the bush, it will be necessary to establish a line of posts along the border of the bush for their protection, and, I would add, that such a line of posts would, in my opinion, be equally necessary, if, previous to the location of settlers, it be considered advisable to drive the hostile natives from their present position in the bush, and to compel them to abandon altogether the neighbourhood of the open country ; for the fbree employed in an operation of this nature should be posted at favourable points in close proximity
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—No. 1
to the bush, where they would be ready to take advantage of any opportunity of surprising and harrassing the enemy, and whence by a well arranged system of patrolling in small bodies (for small bodies only can act with advantage in the bush) to keep up such an apprehension of danger, that they will at last fall back permanently into the interior. I explained to your Excellency that I considered it inexpedient that the regular troops should occupy a greater number of posts than they do at present, and I am further of opinion (as I mentioned to your Excellency some time since) that armed and equipped as they are at present, they arc not so well adapted for this peculiar kind of warfare as companies of Bushrangers carefully selected, and suitably armed and equipped for the service, and who, to these advantages, should have added the strong incentive of a direct interest in the land which they are posted to defend. Bearing in mind however the large extent of territory already in our possession, without any population to occupy it, it appears to me, as I stated in my letter of the 7th ultimo, that unless there be some reasonable prospect of providing within an early period an adequate number of settlers for the occupation of the open country m these districts, no object would be gained commensurate with the labor, expense, and probable loss of life involved in undertaking a guerilla warfare of this description. In regard to the Wereroa Pa, I could not collect a force sufficient to attack that position without abandoning some of the posts we now occupy, and the season is rather far advanced for an operation of that kind. It might be advisable, however, to add to the security of the settlement of Wanganui by constructing a post in the vicinity of Nukumaru. I have thought it right to enter into these details, in order that your Excellency may be fully informed of my opinion on the subjects to which they refer, and I need not say that I am ready to carry out whatever instructions you may think proper to give me regarding them, to the utmost of my ability. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut-General. No. 83. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, Ist May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, informing me of your arrival in Auckland, for the purpose of receiving such further instructions as I may think it necessary to give, and to be at hand to famish me with any information I may require. I will lose no time in consulting my Eesponsible Advisers on the questions you have raised, when I will again communicate with you. Our impression however was that the instructions already issued were sufficient, and I am aware that they participate with me in an earnest wish that the Colonyshould for the future, in as far as possible, carry on active operations from its own resources, as we believe that if it can only have such operations carried on by being at the same time subjected to such imputations as those contained in some of your recent letters, it would be for many reasons better that it should attempt to extricate itself from its difficulties by relying on its own resources, energies, and courage. This is however a subject which requires the gravest consideration, and regarding which I wish, after due consideration, again to communicate with you. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 84. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, Ist May, 1865. Adverting to your letter of the 9th ultimo, in which you inform me that you have transmitted copies of certain correspondence to the Secretary of State for War, I have the honor, in compliance with the regulations of the service, to transmit for your information, copies of the covering despatches, which will enclose copies pf the same correspondence to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 85. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the Ist instant, enclosing for my information copies of two despatches from you to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut-General. No. 86. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd May, 1865. I was much surprised at seeing in one of the local newspapers a Memorandum by your Excellency to Ministers, dated 4th March, in which you thought proper to quote certain expressions contained in a private letter from me to your Excellency, of the 28th January last.
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—N«. 4
The Memorandum of Ministers in reply, which is a personal attack upon myself, shows that they were fully aware of the person to whom your Memorandum was intended to refer, and that they fully understood the object you had in view in sending them that Memorandum. I intend to forward copies of these Memoranda for the information of Her Majesty's Government, that they may know what your Excellency, in concert with the Colonial Ministers, was doing behind my back, whilst I was engaged in operations in the field. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 87. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd May, 1565. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have received from your Private Secretary, a copy of your letter to me of the 26th April, informing me that you thought it advisable that Te Namu should be occupied by a military post. Since my arrival in Auckland on the 30th ultimo, I have read an account in the newspapers of Colonel Warre having occupied not only Te Namu, but also a point near the White Cliffs, about thirty miles, 1 believe, north of New Plymouth. I had not received your letter of the 26th April when I left the Patea, and had therefore given no orders to Colonel Warre to occupy either of these points, and I am not aware by whose orders he has done so. I shall probably receive an official report from him on the subject in a few days, and in the meantime I shall feel obliged if your Excellency will inform me whether you wish a post to be occupied at the White Cliffs. I have desired Brigadier-General Waddy to reinforce Colonel Warre with a detachment of the 70th Eegiment, of about two hundred and fifty men. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 88. Lieut.-General Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd May, 1865. With reference to previous correspondence on the subject of the reduction of the force on the Waikato frontier, I have the honor to forward to your Excellency a copy of a letter I have received from Brigadier-General Carey, and of its enclosure from Colonel Haultain relative to the same subject. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure to No. 88. Brigadier-General Carey to the Deputy Adjutant-General. Sic, — Camp Te Awamutu, 25th April, 1865. I have the honor to transmit herewith a note from Colonel Haultain, commanding Local Forces, relative to the reduction of the post altogether at the Narrows. I beg to concur in his opinion that this step would be very imprudent under present circumstances, and therefore trust the Lieut.-General commanding may see fit to order its being kept up. I have, Ac, Geo. Carey-, The Deputy Adjutant-General, Head Quarters. Brigadier-General. Sub-Enclosure to No. 88. Colonel Haultain to Captain Brett. Sir, — Ngaruawahia, 22nd April, 1865. As the Government have directed that only sixty men (besides the N.C.0.) are to be retained on pay for the duties at Hamilton and the Narrows, it will in my opinion be necessary to give up the latter post altogether. This would I consider be a most imprudent step, and I have remonstrated with the Government on the subject, and should be very glad if the Brigadier-General could support me by his representations. There are at present nearly 300 officers and men at Hamilton and the Narrows, and as no land is yet ready for them, it will probably be some time before any considerable reduction takes place. I have, Ac, Captain Brett. T. M. Haultain. No. 89. Lieut.-General Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd May, 1865. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have received from your Private Secretary copies of your two letters to me of the 24th and 26th April —the former in reply to a private letter from me to your Excellency of the 3rd April, and the latter in reply to my official letter to you of the
32
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—ffa. 4,
22nd April. As I consider it advisable not to continue the correspondence on the subject to which your two letters relate I make no reply to them, but I will forward copies of them for the information of the Secretary of State for War, with such observations as I may consider it necessary to make with reference to their contents. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 90. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Cameron. Sir.— Government House, Auckland, Bth May, 1865. Adverting to your letter of the 3rd of May, regarding the publication of a Memorandum from my Eesponsible Advisers to myself of the 4th of March last, which you had with other papers transmitted to Her Majesty's Government, I have the honor to enclose for your information the copy of a despatch in relation to this subject which I have addressed to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, together with the copy of a Ministerial Memorandum, dated the Bth of May instant, which I enclosed in that despatch. I have, Ac., Lieut-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., Head Quarters. G. Grey. No. 91. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, nth May, 1865. In reply to your letter of the 3rd instant, requesting me to inform you if I wish a post to be occupied at the White Cliffs, in the Taranaki district, I beg to state that it is my wish that a post should be held at that important point. I have the honor at the same time to thank you for directing General Waddy to reinforce Colonel Warre with 250 men, but I should wish that the reinforcement to Colonel Warre should be made up to 400 men if possible. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 92. Lieut-General Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 9th May, 1865. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have received by this mail a despatch from the Secretary of State for War, communicating to me the wishes of Her Majesty's Government that five regiments should as soon as possible be sent home from this country; and I shall be glad to know your Excellency's views with reference to this reduction as soon as convenient I have also been directed to offer encouragement to the soldiers of those regiments which are to return home to take their discharges with a view to settling in the Colony, and I have been instructed to put myself in communication with your Excellency on this subject. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure to No. 92. COPY of a Despatch from the Eight Hon. the Secretary of State for War to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir,— War Office, 27th February, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the Bth December, No. 102. The confidential despatch which 1 addressed to you by the last mail informed you that Her Majesty's Government contemplated a reduction of the force serving in New Zealand, and the communication lately received from the Governor of that Colony have led the Government to the conclusion that five battalions may at once be sent home, and that the battalions which remain may be reduced to an establishment of 900 instead of 1000 rank and file. The Estimates which have just been presented to Parliament have been framed on the assumption that this reduction of the force now serving under your command will be effected; but at this distance from the Colony I must leave it to your discretion to determine the period at which these measures can be carried into effect with safety, and without endangering the results which it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government, as embodied in the despatches of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to secure. Subject however to the latitude thus entrusted to you, it is my wish that the five battalions to bo withdrawn at once from New Zealand should return to this country with as little delay as possible, and that no time should be lost after the receipt of this despatch in providing the means of transport for them. I have requested His Eoyal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief to give instructions to the several commanding officers of the regiments which are to return home to offer encouragement to their men to take their discharge with a view to settling in the Colony, and it is desirable that you should put yourself in communication with the Governor on this subject. You will be pleased to make such a reduction in the staff employed in New Zealand as this diminution of force may render possible ; and if the services of any of the chaplains now employed in that Colony can be dispensed with, you will direct them to return home. I
33
GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A*—No.4.
The resolutions passed by the House of Assembly on 6th December, point to a gradual reduction of force still greater than that which has now been decided upon, and if you should learn from Sir George Grey that it is the desire of the Colonial Government that the amount of Her Majesty's regular forces serving in the Colony should be yet further diminished, you will take measures to carry out the wishes of the Local Government in this respect, as it is the expectation of Her Majesty's Government that the Colony will provide for the payment of the contribution prescribed by the despatches of the Secretary of State for the Colonies on account of such troops in excess of one battalion as may be retained in New Zealand. I have, Ac, Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. De Grey and Etpon. No. 93. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 9th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of this date in reply to mine of the 3rd instant, and I shall feel obliged if your Excellency will acquaint me with the object for which you wish an additional reinforcement of 150 men sent to Colonel Warre, in order that I may inform that officer of it, and give him whatever instructions may be necessary. I have hitherto received no report from Colonel AVarre of his having established posts at Te Namu and the White Cliffs, of the strength of those posts, by whose orders he established them, or of any particulars regarding them; and am therefore unable to judge of the strength of the reinforcements which ought to be sent to him. Your Excellency may have some information on those subjects of which lam not in possession. If so, I should feel obliged if your Excellency would communicate it to me. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 94. The Assistant Military Secretary to His Excellency's Private Secretary. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 11th May, 1565. With reference to former letters of the 21st x\pril and 16th March, addressed to His Excellency the Governor by the Lieut.-General Commanding, I have the honor by direction to forward for His Excellency's .information the enclosed copy of a communication received from Colonel Greer relative to the rebel prisoners in military custody at Tauranga. I have, Ac, The Private Secretary, Geo. Dean Pitt, Government House, Auckland. Major, A.M.S. Enclosure to No. 91. Colonel Greer to the Assistant Military Secretary. Bin, — Camp te Papa, Tauranga, 3rd May, 1865. I have the honor to report for the information of the Lieut.-General Commanding that Mr. Smith, Civil Commissioner at Maketu, and Mr. Eice, Interpreter at this station, having returned to their posts during the past month, I wrote to Mr. Clarke, Civil Commissioner of this district, on the 29th ultimo, asking him whether the instructions furnished me by His Excellency the Governor, that he in conjunction with those gentlemen should collect evidence against the Pai Mairirc prisoners now in confinement at this station (a copy of which instructions I had the honor of forwarding to you with my letter No. 87, of the 6th March last) had been complied with, and received in reply the letter a copy of which I now enclose, and the purport of which Mr. Smith, Civil Commisioner, also mentioned to me in the course of conversation. I beg to add with reference to my letter No. 87, of the 6th March last, that I have as yet received no instructions as to how I am to act with regard to these prisoners. I have, Ac, H. H. Greer, Assistant Military Secretary, Head Quarters. Colonel Commanding Tauranga District. Snb-Enclosure to No. 94. Civil Commissioner, Tauranga, to Colonel Greer. Sir, — Civil Commissioner's Office, Tauranga, Ist May, 1865. In reply to your letter of the 29th ultimo, No. 144, in which you draw my attention to certain instructions you have received from His Excellency the Governor (which I have seen) relative to Native prisoners named below* in which His Excellency states that I, in conjunction with Mr. Smith, Civil Commissioner, and Mir. Eice, Interpreter, would collect evidence regarding them, I have the honor to inform you that, understanding that the prisoners above mentioned are to be brought to trial by court martial, it will be necessary that I first receive the commands of the Hon. the Native Minister before I can proceed in the matter. To do so without his authority might draw on me severe censure, for a breach of official discipline. I have referred your letter to him, together with a copy of this, with a view to obtain the necessary instructions. I have, Ac, Colonel Greer, C.8., H. T. Clarke, Commanding Tauranga District. Civil Commissioner. * Tamihauua (Tiu), Pimoti (Tiu), Tc Paoara (Tauaro), Honi Makarauri, Te Peka, Sepia, Hipirini, Petcroe Kingi.
34
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—No. 4,
No. 95. His Excellency the Governor to Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 11th May, 1865. I have the honor to transmit for your perusal a Despatch from the Secretary of State, No. 9, Printed scpar26th January, which I received upon the 13th of April last, and which was only ret urned from the atelv. South yesterday. I beg at the same time to enclose for your perusal another Despatch from the Secretary of State, No. 16, of the 27th of February, which I received upon the Bth instant. I have, Ac, Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 96. Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 11th May, 1865. I have the honor to return the two Despatches from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, which your Excellency has been kind enough to forward for my perusal. I had already read the Despatch of the 26th January in the newspapers. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieutenant-General. No. 97. nis Excellency the Governor to Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 11th May, 1865, Adverting to my letter of the Ist instant, I have the honor to state that, having consulted with my Eesponsible Advisers, I find that they agree with me in thinking that the instructions already issued, regarding operations in the country between Taranaki and Wanganui, are sufficient. I was also yesterday made acquainted with the nature of the iustructions issued to you by the Secretary of of State for War upon the 27th of February last, and I should not now think it right to interfere with the largo discretion left to you by issuing any additional instructions at the present time. I will only add that I still adhere to my opinion that it would be desirable to allow Colonel Warre to advance along the coast, from Warea towards Wanganui; and with regard to the question you have raised in reference to the AVercroa Pa in your letter of the Ist of May, I would add that I cannot see any objection that could exist to the temporary reduction of some and the abandonment of others of the posts w re occupy, for the purpose of enabling you to attack that position, if you determine to do so. I have, Ac, Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 98. Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 12th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 11th instant, informing me that your Eesponsible Advisers agree with you in thinking that the instruct ions already issued to me regarding operations in the country between Taranaki and Wanganui are sufficient, and also that you do not think it right to interfere with the large discretion left to me by the Secretary of State for War, by issuing any additional instructions at the present time. With reference to the sufficiency of the instructions already issued, I beg to observe, that those of the 16th December were to the effect, that certain territory north of Wanganui to the Patea Eiver should be occupied by Her Majesty's Troops. Your Excellency's subsequent instructions, personallygiven to me at the Patea, and before the occupation of the territory up to that river was completed, were, that the troops were to occupy the coast-line beyond the Patea, as far as possible towards Taranaki. In your letter of the 17th ultimo, your Excellency stated that it was your wish that all the posts w re occupied between Taranaki and Wanganui should be maintained throughout the winter. In your letter of yesterday, you state that you cannot see any objection that could exist to the temporary reduction of some of the posts, and to the abandonment of others, to enable me to attack the Wereroa Pa, if I should determine to do so. These several intimations of your Excellency's wishes and opinions, appear to me to be at variance with each other; and, although your Excellency and your Eesponsible Advisers still consider the instructions of the 16th December to be sufficient, they were virtually set aside and rendered impossible of fulfilment by the later instructions received from your Excellency at the Patea. Your Excellency is aware that since writing my letter of the Ist May, I have received instructions from Her Majesty's Government for the return of five regiments to England, as soon as possible. On receiving these instructions, I addressed to your Excellency my letter of the 9th instant, requesting to be favored with your Excellency's views on the subject of the reduction, to which letter I have as yet received no reply. From the second paragraph of your letter of yesterday, I am led to infer that it is your Excellency's intention to leave with me the entire responsibility of deciding the time and manner of carrying out this reduction; and as the Colonial Ministers have on several occasions expressed their desire for a
35
GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4.
reduction in the number of Her Majesty's Troops in New Zealand, and in a Memorandum on the Defence of the Colony, addressed to your Excellency on the 20th March, have stated their opinion that a few months will enable them to supply the place of the whole of the troops at present in the Colony, I propose to give immediate instructions for the relief of the 65th Eegiment on the Waikato frontier, and for their embarkation for England, as soon as tonnage can be provided. To carry out the instructions of Her Majesty's Government, it will be necessary to withdraw the regular troops from some lately formed posts in the Taranaki and Wanganui Provinces, as well as from Tauranga. It is my desire, however, to effect the reduction, as far as possible, in concert with the views and plans of the Colonial Government, and I have therefore to request that your Excellency will inform me whether the Colonial Government are making any and what arrangements to relieve the regular troops which it will be necessary to withdraw. It is very desirable that I should receive information on this subject with as little delay as possible. With reference to the last paragraph of your letter, I would observe, that any movement of troops must be altogether dependent on the time and manner in which the instructions of Her Majesty's Government for a reduction of the force are carried into effect. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieutenant-General. No. 99. His Excellency the Governor to Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 12th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, informing me that the several intimations of my wishes regarding your operations in the country between Wanganui and Taranaki appear to be at variance with one another. I am unable to discover in what respect they are contradictory. They cannot indeed be said to be intimations of my wishes; for I believe, in each instance previous to my letter of the 17th ultimo, I was informed that what I wished could not be done with the force at your disposal or at that of Colonel Warre, and I simply (as I believed was best for the public service) acquiesced in your doing that which I understood you to profess your willingness and ability to do. If the supposed variance in the intimation of my wishes rests upon the fact, that on the 17th ultimo I stated that I wished that the posts which we occupied between Taranaki and Wanganui should be maintained throughout the winter, and that in my letter of the llth'instant I stated that if you determined to attack the Wereroa Pa, I could see no objection that could exist to the temporary reduction of some of the posts, and to the abandonment of others, I cannot see any variance between those opinions. The fall of the Wereroa Pa, would render the maintenance of some posts unnecessary, and I believe it would be but a short operation, the troops engaged in which could again take up any posts they temporarily abandoned, if their occupation was found necessary after the pa had fallen. In reference to the intimation you give me, that you intend to give immediate instructions for the embarkation of the 65th Eegiment, and that you intend to carry out a further reduction of four regiments, as the Colonial Ministers have on several occasions expressed a desire for a reduction in the number of Her Majesty's Forces in New Zealand, 1 would observe that the instructions issued by Lord do Grey, as I understand them, are, that it is left to your discretion to determine the period at which the proposed reduction can be carried into effect with safety, and without endangering the results which it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to secure. In this there is no reference to the opinions of Colonial Ministers, which may vary much from time to time ; and in a matter which relates to the safety of a part of Her Majesty's possessions, and the security of the lives and properties of her subjects, for which 1 am responsible, I think it right to act on my own judgment. In reference to the intimation you give me, that to carry out the reduction you propose to make in Her Majesty's Forces in this Colony, it will be necessary to withdraw the regular troops from some lately formed posts in the Taranaki and Wanganui Provinces, as well as from Tauranga, 1 beg to state, that if you will be good enough to inform me at anytime, that in your opinion the proposed reductions, or any part of them, can be carried into effect at any particular date with safety, and without endangering the results which it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to secure, and will at the same time inform me what available force of regular troops will remain in the Colony after such reduction has taken place, I will then determine what is the distribution of this force which will in my opinion best secure the safety of the Colony, and will issue orders for such distribution being carried out. I will not fail from time to time to acquaint you with all measures that my Eesponsible Advisers may inform me they are taking with a view to raising local forces, and I can assure you that in my belief the Colonial Government are prepared in every way in their power to facilitate the reduction of Her Majesty's Forces now serving here, from time to time, as this can be safely done. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 100. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 12th May, 1865. I am anxious to remark on one passage in your letter of the Ist instant, lest I should be supposed to concur in the policy it advocates. It is this : " Whence by a well-arranged system of patrolling in small bodies to keep up such an apprehension of danger that they (the hostile Natives) will at last fall back permanently into the interior."
36
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—No. 4,
My own impression is that the plan of patrolling alluded to would not obtain the purposed end, and that the Natives would return embittered against us when the patrolling ceased. I have not, however, at any time sanctioned operations being carried on for the professed attainment of such an end as driving the Natives permanently into the interior, for I believe, as I have before stated to you, that once the Natives come to terms, they return to friendly relations with us much more speedily than you could suppose. I have no doubt that once a peace is brought about, the two populations will very soon be found living together again on friendly terms. I need hardly say that I quite concur in your views that bodies of men specially selected and suitably armed and equipped are better adapted than regular troops for an irregular warfare ; as also that those forces should be employed in small bodies, for, to the extent of our means, this principle has been recognized and steadily acted on since the first war in the year 1845. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 101. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, May 12th, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, in which you .ask to be informed why I wished an additional reinforcement of 150 men (making a total of 400 men) to be sent to Colonel Warre. In reply, I have the honor to state that in your letter of the 14th ultimo, you suggested to me that a sufficient number of men might be collected to occupy Te Namu, without reducing the moveable column below 800 men, and a portioii of this column might be temporarily detached to New Plymouth to enable Colonel Warre to march to Te Namu. In your letter of the Ist instant, you informed me —" The remainder of General Waddy's column, amounting to rather more than the same number (400 men) might be detached for service at Taranaki as mentioned in your letter of the 14th of April. In asking therefore that Colonel Warre should be reinforced to the extent of 400 men, I imagined I was acting on your own suggestion, which met the wishes I had previously expressed to you. I have no information why Colonel Warre occupied a post at the White Cliffs. But I have received information that a party of the Kawhia Natives intended at the time he did so to march by that route for the purpose of aiding the rebels against us in the south. It has also been long intended to occupy that position as being one of the most important points in the country. I can only presume these reasons led Colonel Warre at that moment to make so judicious and important a movement. I have received no information regarding the occupation of Te Namu, excepting a private note from Colonel Warre, and have no knowledge by whose orders Colonel Warre occupied it. He however in doing so anticipated orders which had been actually given, although he appears from your letter not to have received them, and I believe that the two most important movements ho has so skillfully and successfully made will go very far to bring to a close the war which has so long prevailed in the Taranaki district. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 102. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 13th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of yesterday, in reply to mine of the same date. With reference to the first paragraph, I have only to say, that the occupation of the line of coast between Wanganui and Taranaki was first proposed to me by your Excellency, and that you intimated to me as your wish, that I should proceed with that occupation, notwithstanding my having explained that I did not consider the force at my disposal sufficient to carry it out completely. I adhere to my statement that those instructions virtually set aside your previous instructions of the 16th December, and rendered their fulfilment at that time impossible. I do not think that the second paragraph of your Excellency's letter calls for any reply. In reference to that part of your Excellency's letter which relates to the reduction of the force, I find it difficult to comprehend your Excellency's exact opinion as to the largo discretionary power, which you stated in your letter of the 11th instant, was given me by the Secretary of State for War. I beg however to inform you, that the 65th Eegiment may, in my opinion, be embarked for England with safety, and without endangering the results which it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to secure (as I understand them), as soon as tonnage can be provided. Immediately after the embarkation of the 65th, a second regiment may, in my opinion, be withdrawn from the Colony, unless some unforseen emergency should arise; but to carry out this further reduction, it will be necessary to withdraw the regular troops from the positions they occupy beyond the Patea. I have therefore to request your Excellency will inform me whether there is in your opinion, any reason why these arrangements should not be carried into effect. I wait to recommend any further immediate reduction, until I hear from your Excellency what measures the Colonial Government are taking to facilitate the withdrawal of the troops. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. X
37
GOVERiVOIi ANIi LIE ul.-GENERAL- CAMERON.
A— No. 4
No. 103. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir,— Government House, Auckland, 13 th May, 1565. I have the honor to inform you, that in order that as few demands as possible may at the present time be made upon the regular troops, the Colonial Government intend to take on pay for a time, a portion of the Taranaki Militia and loyal Natives (about two hundred and fifty in all), for the purpose of occupying the White Cliffs and the land to the north of Waitara. I should therefore be very much obliged to you, if you would be good enough to direct the Commissariat Department at Taranaki to issue such funds to the paymaster of the Taranaki Militia as may be necessary for the purpose. This arrangement will only be a temporary one, and the Colonial Government will be responsible for the moneys thus advanced. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Guey. No. 104. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Auckland, 15th May, 1865, 8 o'clock a.m. I have this morning read in one of the local newspapers, a Memorandum of Ministers dated Sth April, reflecting in the most unjustifiable terms upon my conduct. This Memorandum, equally with others to which I have already drawn your Excellency's attention, has evidently been written by Ministers, in consequence of your having communicated the contents of' my private letters to them. I consider it so necessary that the mischief which has resulted from your Excellency's proceedings should be made known to tier Majesty's Government with as little delay aspossible, that I propose despatching the steamer "Alexandra" immediately to Melbourne to overtake the mail for England. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 105. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 15th May, 1865. In reply to your letter of this day's date, I have the honor to state that I am as sorry as yotis can be that the Colonial Ministers should have found it necessary to print for the use of the General Assembly, the Memorandum to which you allude. I only knew at a late hour last night that they intended to do so, from my receiving from the Colonial Secretary a copy of the Memorandum in the form of a Parliamentary paper. Fpresume that when they receive a copy of your letter, to which I am now replying, they will be prepared to shewthat the course they have taken was justifiable and necessary. In reference to your statement that I had communicated the contents of your private letters to the Colonial Ministers, I must be excused for saying that I could not regard your letters as private letters, nor could you, I presume, have looked upon them in that light yourself, as you communicated them to Her Majesty's Ministers. The accusations you brought against myself and my Eesponsible Advisers were of so serious a character, that if you felt you were justified in making them, they should have been stated in a public letter, as, if they were true, I was clearly unqualified to hold the powers I do. And you will pardon me for saying, I do not think that under any circumstances you should have sent them to Her Majesty's Government without giving myself and my Eesponsible Advisers an opportunity of seeing the letter which accompanied them, and of at the same time making our remarks on this letter and your statements. I must add, that I could not have received such statements and have withcld a knowledge of them from my Eesponsible Advisers. I feared you might intend to use them for the purpose of transmitting them to Her Majesty's Government But I especially warned my Eesponsible Advisers that they must in no way treat your communications as official ones, unless you yourself made them public. You did this, by transmitting them to Her Majesty's Government. When I informed them you had done so, I think they were entitled to judge in what way they could best defend themselves from the charges you preferred. I also thought it was right, when you had formed such opinions of our proceedings and motives, that we should most carefully consider everything that I might request you to do, and I think that there can be no doubt that if I had withheld a knowledge of your opinions and sentiments from my Eesponsible Advisers, and you had sent them home to the Secretary of State, as you did, that I should hereafter have been most seriously and deservedly blamed. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. . G. Grey;: No. 106. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, T7th May, 1865. Adverting to your letter requesting me to make an official application on the causes whichi rendered in my opinion necessary for me to have the services of Major Gray as a second military aide-de-camp. I beg to state that I have delayed making an official application in the hope that I might be able to dispense with the services of a second aide-de-camp, but 1 find that it is necessary that I should
38
COIiRESPONDEXCE BETWEEN THE
a.-:
have this assistance, and I believe that the Secretary of State for War will not object to its being afforded to me, for at the Cape of Good Hope, where my duties were less onerous than they are here, the Home Government provided me with a military secretary, whilst the Colony pays the salaries of two aides-de-camp for the Governor. I trust therefore that you will be good enough to allow me to have the benefit of Major Gray's services until the question has been referred to the Secretary of State for War. I have, Ac, Lieut-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 107. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to Hi 3 Excellency the Governor. Sir,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 18th May, 1865. I have had the honor of receiving your Excellency's letter of the 15th instant, relative to a Memorandum of Ministers of the Bth April last. I have forwarded a copy of it to the Secretary of State for War, and it now remains for Her Majesty's Government to decide whether it was right or necessary that the Memorandum in question should have been written and published in the Colony, and how far your Excellency is responsible for any injury the public service may sustain in consequence. .1 readily admit, and I have already considered that the private correspondence between your Excellency and myself on public business, might at any time be made use of by either of us in communicating with Her Majesty's Government, but I deny that your Excellency has the right to communicate the contents of my private letters to your Eesponsible Advisers, or that the fact of their having been communicated to Her Majesty's ministers gives them a public character in this Colony. I beg to inform your Excellency that I forwarded your two letters and my replies privately to the Secretary of State for War without any accompanying letter, though I wrote by the same mail, as 1 do by every mail, a private letter to his Lordship acquainting him with the general state of afl'airs, but in that letter there was but very slight allusion to our private correspondence. I immediately informed you»of what I had done, thus giving you an opportunity of replying to any statements affecting yourself or your Eesponsible Advisers. From the style of your letter of the 17th March, I thought it very probable that after receiving my reply of the 30th of March, which must have reached you at Wellington before the departure of the April mail, you yourself would have considered it necessary to notice it in your correspondence with the Secretary of State for the Colonies. I therefore thought it right to put the Secretary of State for War in possession of the whole case, and now that the Memoranda which passed between your Excellency and the Colonial Ministers, between the 4th of March and Bth April, have come to light, it must be admitted that the step I took was absolutely necessary. Your Excellency has stated with the view of defending the conduct of your Eesponsible Advisers, that you especially warned them not to treat my communications as official ones, unless I myself marie them public, and that after you had informed them that I had done so by transmitting them to the Secretary of State for War, you think they were entitled to judge in what way they could best defend themselves from the charges preferred. I am surprised at this statement, as your Excellency must be aware that at the lime the Ministers wrote their Memorandum of the Bth April, they could not have known that I had transmitted those communications to the Secretary of State for War, for my letter acquainting you that I-had done so. is dated the 9th April, and was not received by you before your return to Auckland on the 12th or 13th and could not have been known to the Ministers, who were at that time in Wellington, until a later period. I must however repeat that the transmission of those communications privately to the Secretary of State for War, did not make them public. Lithe last paragraph of your letter, your Excellency observes that if you had withheld a knowledge of the opinions and sentiments contained in my private letter, from your Eesponsible Advisers, you would have been hereafter seriously and deservedly blamed. It appears to me, on the contrary, that it w Tas incumbent on you as Governor of the Colon}' carefully to avoid doing that which you must have known would create ill-feeling and dissension between the Civil and Military authorities without in any way benefiting the public service. I regret therefore that 1 am unable to perceive that your Excellency's proceedings were guided by a sense of public duty, so much as by other motives, the nature of which may be judged from the fact, that while I was engaged in operations in the field, your Excellency was writing Memoranda to the Ministers and eliciting from them Memoranda in reply which reflected on my conduct without ever giving me the slightest notice of what was going on, and leaving me to discover it a month afterwards accidentally-in a public newspaper. It was only three or four days before you wrote your Memorandum of the Ith of March, that you visited me at the Patea, and yet not a word was said by you on that or any other occasion that could lead me to suppose that you intended to draw the attention of Ministers to any opinions I had expressed in my private letters to you, or that you yourself were dissatisfied with any observations in them. It is now for Her Majesty's Government to judge between us. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 108. Lieut.-General Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 18th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 13th instant, relative to the payment by the Commissariat Department of about 250 Militia and loyal Natives, who are to occupy the White Cliffs and the land to the north of the Waitara.
39
GOV£RKOK AND LIEUT. GENERAL CAMERON.
No. 4.
I consider it my duty to comply with your Excellency's request, and I will give the necessary instructions to the Commissary-General, though it appears to me doubtful whether Her Majesty's Government will approve of these advances being made for an occupation of territory which, however advantageous to the Colony, they may think might have been deferred until the expense could be defrayed from Colonial funds. I would request that the Colonial Government may be directed to comply with the suggestions of Commissary-General Jones, contained in his two letters, copies of which arc herewith enclosed, regarding the preparation of a monthly estimate both at Taranaki and Wanganui. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir G. Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 108. The Commissary-General to the Assistant Military Secretary. Sir, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 24th April, 1565. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 4193, of 2nd instant, containing the directions of the Lieutenant-General for the issue of advances from the Treasury chest at Wanganui for payment of the Militia in that district. I beg you will acquaint the Lieutenant-General that it is not: customary to issue money from the Commissariat chest for such purposes as that in question unless the actual sum is stated in a warrant under the hand of the officer in chief command of the forces, as laid down in Commissariat Eegulations Additional Articles No. 2, page 183 ; I would therefore respectfully suggest that the officer acting as Paymaster of the Wanganui Militia, should prepare an estimate similar to that used by Paymasters of Her Majesty's Army shewing the number of officers and men for whom pay is required, and the amount that will probably be necessary for the ensuing month. This document, when approved by the Defence Minister, should be forwarded to this office, when the warrant of the Lieutenant-General will be solicited for payment of the amount. 1 have, Ac, H. Stanley Jones, Commissary-General. P.S. —Instructions have been given to make advances for this service which can hereafter be covered by the warrant. 11. S. Jones, The Assistant Military Secretary, Head Quarters. C.-G. Enclosure 2 to No. 108. The Commissary-General to the Assistant Military Secretary. Sir, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 16th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a letter dated 13th May, 1865, from His Excellency the Governor to the Lieutenant-General Commanding, with your minute of this date, and beg to refer to the instructions from the Treasury, dated Bth October, 1864, No. 13,729, and from the War Office, dated 26th November, 1861, (No. 53, New Zealand, 1976) prohibiting any addition to the liabilities of this Colony to the Imperial Treasury. Should the Lieutenant-General decide upon authorising the issue of pay to the force in question, at Taranaki, which I can hardly consider to come under the term "temporary levies" as described in the Commissariat Eegulations, page 183, I would suggest that a monthly estimate should be prepared by the Acting Paymaster of the Force, to be countersigned by the Colonial Defence Minister, and submitted to the Lieutenant-General for lis warrant. By this means the Lieutenant-General would be made aware monthly of the number of each rank for whom pay is required and the rates of pay for each. The whole amount being of course charged against the Colony. I herewith return His Excellency's letter. I have, Ac. H. Stanley Jones, The Assistant Military Secretary, Ac, Auckland. Commissary-General. No. 109. Lieut.General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 18th May, 1865. In reply to your Excellency's letter of this date, I have the honor to inform you that I have no objection whatever to your having the benefit of Major Gray's services until the question has been referred to the Secretary of State for War. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 110. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 18th May, 1865. With reference to your Excellency's letter of the 12th instant, in answer to mine of the 7th instant, I beg to inform you that when I stated that 400 men of General Waddy's column might be detached for service at Taranaki, it was to enablo Colonel Warre to march to Te Namu for the purpose of establishing a post there as explained in my letter of the 14th April. As Colonel Warre however had already occupied Te Namu, with the force at his disposal at the time I wrote to you on the 7th instant, he no louger required a reinforcement for the purpose I havementioned.
40
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—No. 4
From information received from Colonel Warre since his occupation of Te Namu and the White Cliffs, I think the 250 men already ordered to Taranaki will be as many as he requires for the present, but if you wish it I will send an additional reinforcement of 150 men to Taranaki. I have, Ac, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameron, Lieut.-General. No. 111. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 19th May, 1865. In reference to the letters you have within the last few days addressed to me, on the subject of the instructions received from Her Majesty's Government regarding the reduction of the force serving in this Colony, I have thought it right to forward to you my opinion at some length on the question, as on it depends the whole future welfare of New Zealand, and in a large degree the interests of the Home Government. I will first allude to the force which appears in your opinion to have been requisite for the defence of this Colony at the date of the receipt of the recent instructions. I have been on more than one occasion during the last few months informed by you that a reinforcement of about 2000 men to the regular troops was considered necessary even for the occupation of the country between Wanganui and the Patea. I have also been repeatedly requested by you to increase the number of the local forces as a necessary augmentation to the regular troops now serving in the country. On the 15th of March last you informed me that the submission of the rebel natives never appeared to you so far off as it then was. On the 17th of March you considered the force at Taranaki so insufficient for its protection that, upon my wishing to withdraw 200 military settlers from that place to Wanganui, you only acquiesced in this being done upon the undersi anding that myself and the Government were responsible for the safety of the settlement and of the small forts occupying the country round it. On the L7th of March you also informed me that the country north of Wanganui to the Patea could not be subdued without taking possession of the Wereroa Pa, an! that nothing but the capture of that position was necessary to gain us possession of that country, but that the position was so formidable that you did not think it advisable to attack it with the force you had. I was also on more than one occasion informed by you that Colonel Warre's force was barely sufficient to hold the country it occupied, and that he consequently could not move southward to co-operate with you. On the 3rd instant, I was informed that Brigadier-General Carey's force in the Waikato country could not be further reduced, and that his reports bore out your views, as expressed in your letter of the 22nd ultimo ; that although the order I had given for moving 100 men from the Waikato District to Wanganui had been carried out it appeared that the force on the Waikato frontier had been unduly reduced, looking at the unsettled state of the Native tribes near that frontier. On the Ist of May, when you had arrived in Auckland, you informed me that a sufficient force could not be collected to attack the position at Wereroa without abandoning some of the posts we occupy, but that it would in consequence be advisable to add to the security of the settlement of Wanganui by constructing a new post iii the vicinity of Nukumaru. Early in this month I am informed through you that, from the weakness of some of the posts in the Waikato country, Brigadier-General Carey was only surprised that the Natives had not alreadycommitted murders at the military settlements, and that Colonel Greer thought it probable that our allies, the Arawa, inhabiting the country near Tauranga would be shortly attacked by a strong combination of hostile tribes. On the Bth instant the mail from England arrived at Auckland ; and on the 12th instant you informed me that, in relation to your letter of the 9th instant, that you had received instructions from Her Majesty's Government for the return of five regiments to England as soon as possible, and that you proposed to give immediate instructions for the relief of the 65th Eegiment on the Waikato frontier, and that to carry out the remaining portions of the instructions of Her Majesty's Government it would be necessary to withdraw the regular troops from some lately-formed posts in the Taranaki and Wanganui Provinces, as well as from Tauranga. Up to the beginning of the present month I did not take so gloomy a view of the state of affairs as you did; but I nevertheless now think tnat the fact of our having left untouched up to the present time the Wereroa Pa occupied in force by an enemy, so close to the important settlement of Wanganui and this avowedly because we could not collect a sufficient force to attack it, has had a prejudicial effect upon the Natives, and has rendered our position in this country worse than it was some short time since ; and I think if a force of two regiments can be immediately collected, and shortly an additional force of three other regiments for the purpose of sending them out of the Colony, and of thus reducing the force in this country —an overwhelming force could certainly be collected for the purpose of reducing the Wereroa Pa, in a manner which might entail but trifling loss upon ourselves, and a large loss upon the enemy. My opinion is that if you carry out the reductions you inform me you intend to carry out in the manner you state that you will plunge New Zealand into greater difficulties than it has yet had to encounter, and will delay indefinitely the pacification of the country, and bring about a new conflict of races, the end of which cannot be foreseen, and probably delay for a long period of time any permanent reduction of the force in this country. I do not understand the instructions you have received to be as you have stated in your letter of the 12th instant, —instructions for the return of five regiments to England as soon as possible ; but, instructions that five regiments are to return when such a measure can be carried into effect with safety! L
41
GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A-—No. -i
and without endangering the results which it has been the policy of Her Majesty's Government to strive to secure. To determine the period of time when this can be done with safety is certainly by the terms of Earl de Grey's instructions left to your discretion. But no mention is made of your being authorised to determine how the portion of the force to be left in this country is to be distributed, and what places are to be retained, and what places arc to be abandoned. To assume the power of determining these questions is (although you have probably overlooked this fact) to violate the terms of my Commission, and the instructions under which we are jointly acting; to assume the entire government of the country ; to place it in a position of the greatest difficulty ; and then to leave to myself and the Local Government the whole responsibility for its future safety, —and thus to entail new responsibilities on tier Majesty's Government in relation to New Zealand, which I do not think they are prepared to undertake. I have said that I have not taken so gloomy a view of the state of affairs as you appear to have recently done. I believe that large numbers of Natives were prepared to submit to the Government. I think that they have in some measure been led to pause in this intention from what has taken place in regard to the Wereroa Pa, and the rumours which have for the last two months been circulated of the intended withdrawal of the troops; but I still think much may shortly be done to bring about the submission of many of their leading men. My own view of the course which ought to be taken in the present circumstances of the country is that a sufficient force should bo collected with the least delay practicable, to take the Wereroa Pa in such a manner as, if possible, to secure a marked and decided success on our part; that the local Government should then, occupying as it would an advantageous position, attempt to come to terms with the leading rebel chief's, which I believe it could speedily do ; and that then, as a consequence naturally and properly following the pacification of the country, the proposed reduction of the troops should be prompt ly carried out. The Colony having in the interim made such arrangements as it thinks necessary for raising additional local forces to take the place of the troops which are to be sent home. In this way I think effect might safely be given to the instructions of Her Majesty's Government. I have expressed in this letter my own views of the momentous question which now occupies our thoughts without reference to my Eesponsible Advisers, but have given my opinion as an Imperial officer and for what I believe to be the common interest of Great Britain and the Colony. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 112. His Excellency the Governor to Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 19th May, 1865. I think it better, in reference to your letter of yesterday's date, to forward to you my replies to the soveral questions you have raised in it, in order that such replies may stand on record, in order that I may not appear to have treated your letter with any want of respect. Generally upon the question you have raised regarding your right of correspondence with the Secretary of State of War, I would in the first place recall the facts of the present case. Upon the 30th of March you wrote me a private letter, containing very serious accusations against myself and my Eesponsible Advisers. On the 9th April, you had forwarded a copy of that letter direct to Her Majesty's Government, in a private letter, without giving me warning that you intended to do so, and without acquainting me with the nature of the remarks you had made, and without letting me knowthat such a letter had heen sent until it had left the Colony. I must deny your right, either in a public or private letter thus to traduce me to the authorities at home behind my back. I say this as a mere abstract matter of right; I have no wish to make any complaint on the subject. lam quite ready to think it was a mere unadvised ill-considered act on your part, and this remark and the future ones I shall make are only to explain and defend my conduct, of which you complain as I believe without any grounds for doiug so. I quite forget any wrong that I have suffered. Tn reference to your letters to myself, if the contents of those letters are such thai it is desirable for the public interests that they should be communicated to the Colonial Ministers, I think that the Governor must necessarily communicate such letters to them. I am also of opinion that any letters, public or private, transmitted by any oflicer to Her Majesty's Ministers, which reflect on the conduct of the Governor of this Colony and of his Ministers must be regarded as liable to be communicated to the Ministers, and to be dealt with as public letters. Any letters reflecting on the conduct of the Governor or of his Ministers, should, according to the rules laid down for the guidance of Her Majesty's service, have been transmitted to Her Majesty's Ministers through the Governor of the Colony. If sent direct to the Secretary of State for War, although this is an irregular proceeding and in breach of the instructions, a copy of the letter to the Secretary of State for War, accompanying them should certainly have been forwarded to the Governor. This has not yet been done, although lam entitled to know the date of that letter and to have a copy ofit To transmit accusations reflecting on the Governor and his Ministers in a private letter to one of Her Majesty's Ministers, without giving the persons reflected on an opportunity of at the same time replying to that letter, obviously places them at a most serious disadvantage. In reference to your remark that the transmission of your communications to the Secretary of State for War, did not make them public, my answer is—that I think that your accusations should either have been publicly made, or not have been made at all. In reference to your remarks upon the statements I have made regarding my having told my Eesponsible Advisers that they must not treat your communications as official ones, unless you made them public yourself, I think you have overlooked the difference between writing a Memorandum for
42
C/v^aili.JL^i.v/x>_iy_L^>CL, x-^IT, ME
A.—Nc,
the information of the Governor, which was done on the Bth April, and the printing of that memorandum, and thus consequently making the matter public. The latter thing was not done until some time after it was known that you had sent your letters containing such serious accusations against myself and my Ministers to the Secretary of State for War. I regret that it was even then done. In reference to your complaint, that while you were engaged in operations in the field, I was writing Memoranda to my Ministers, and eliciting from them replies, which reflected on your conduct, without ever giving you the slightest notice of what was going on, I would answer that it does not appear to have occurred to you that whilst I was beset with the most serious difficulties, perhaps in many respects as great as any one has ever had to encounter, you without any provocation on our part, made most serious and embarrassing accusations against myself and my Ministers. We brought no accusations in reply, but finding that such impressions prevailed in your mind, we consulted as to how we could so shape our conduct as to be in no respect justly liable to such imputations from whatever quarter they might come. This was a right and privilege which belonged to us. At the very moment we wore exercising it, your injurious accusations against us were on their way to Her Majesty's Government in a private letter from you (which has never yet been produced) wit] out your having given me the least warning that you intended to take such a step. This satisfies me that we were exercising that privilege wisely. It is also not quite correct to say that you only discovered the views of my Eesponsible Advisers in a public newspaper on the 15th instant, more than a month after they had expressed them, for on the Ist of May I communicated to you the purport of their views. I then informed yon that they participated with me in an earnest wish that the Colony should for the future in as far as possible, carry on active operations from its own resources : as we believed that if it could only have such operations carried on by being at the same time subjected to such imputations as those contained in some of your recent letters, it would be for many reasons better that it should attempt to extricate itself from its difficulties, by relying on its own resources, energies and courage. I think I thus clearly informed you that my Eesponsible Advisers had been made acquainted with, the objectionable passages in your letters, that we had together discussed what should be done, and what was the nature of the conclusion we were then inclined to form on them. This was all I thought it my duty to communicate to you, and I still think the conclusion we came to was, from Imperial, Military, and Colonial considerations, a wise one. My reply to my not mentioning to you the matters you allude to in owr interview on the Patea is that what I regard as the most serious of your accusations had not then been made ; that I had from the state of the tide but a very short time to remain at the Patea; and thai having during that short time to discuss most important public questions with you, I purposely and carefully avoided broaching any subject which might have had the effect of provoking unpleasant personal feeling. For the purpose of avoiding mistakes and that it may not hereafter be thought that I havesuppressed any objectionable letter of min,e I think it right to mention that I believe that I did not write any letter to you upon the 17th of March, and that when you allude to a letter of mine of that day, you probably mistake the date. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 113. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 21st May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th instant, in which you inform me that the reinforcement of 250 men which you have sent to Colonel Warre is as large a one as he requires for the present; lam therefore quite satisfied with the strength of the reinforcement with which you have furnished him. I havej Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. G. Grey. No. 111. Lieut.-General Cameron to His Excellency the Covernor. Sir,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 22nd May, 1865. I have no wish to prolong unnecessarily the correspondence on the subject to which your Excellency's letter of the 19th instant refers, but there are one or two statements in that letter which I feel bound to correct. It is not true that I traduced you to the authorities at home behind your back. Those opinions which you call serious accusations against you, I expressed to you openly and when I forwarded the letters containing them to the Secretary of State for War, I immediately informed you that I had done so. A~our Excellency was at that time on your way to Auckland, and I was on the Waingongoro, and I have already explained why I thought it "right not to incur the delay, which the distance between us would have caused if I had waited to give you previous notice. I have again to state that the letters in question vrere forwarded without any accompanying letter, and I would add, that in the private letter I wrote by the same mail to the Secretary of State for War, those parts of the letters which you regard as accusations were unnoticed. If I had wished to traduce you behind your back, I had only to follow your own example, aim have withheld from you all information of what I had done. For I repeat that everything that passed between you and the Colonial Ministers, between the 4th March and Bth April, was kept entirely secret from me, and first came to my knowledge through the publication of the Memoranda in the newspapers. I would observe that your letter of the Ist May was written nearly two months after your first Memorandum to Ministers, and three weeks after their last to you, and that there was nothing in that letter from which it was possible for me to infer that any Memoranda whatever affecting me had ever
43
GOVERNOR AND UEUT.-GENEB4X CAMERON.
A.~No. 4.
passed between you and your Eesponsible Advisers, and I could only gather from it that you had in Borne way or other communicated to them the contents of my private letters. It so happens, moreover, that it was on the Ist May, the date of your letter, and I believe before receiving it, that I first saw the Memoranda in the public prints. I would also observe, that these secret proceedings took place before either yourself, or your Responsible Advisers were aware that I had forwarded the private correspondence to the Secretary of State for War. With reference to the Ministers' Memorandum of the Bth April having been printed, I have not so much reason to regret its publication for I should otherwise have had no knowledge of the character of your Excellency's proceedings, but I see grave cause for regret in the interests of the public service, that your Excellency should have elicited such a Memorandum by communicating to Ministers the contents of my private letters, and that you should have received it without giving me any intimation whatever of what was going on. Your Excellency must, however, have known that the Memorandum was liable to be published and as it does not appear that you took particular steps to prevent it, although it was evident on the face of the document that it was intended to be published, you must be regarded as a consenting party, and your expression of regret that it was ever printed is now too late. Vonr excuse for not having mentioned to me on the occasion of your visit at the Patea that you intended to communicate the conU ~ of my private letters to the Colonial Ministers is anything but satisfactory, and I would observe that previous to that visit you had had many opportunities of acquainting me with that intention if it had suited you to do so. Pith regard to the rules for the transmission of official correspondence which you have laid down, I do not know from what code of regulations they have been taken, but they are inapplicable to tiie present case, and I have only one remark to make ou the subject. It is my duty to furnish the Secretary of State for War with any information that I think may be useful to Her Majesty's Government regarding the management of affairs in the Colony, as far as they relate to the manner in which the troops are employed. In these confidential communications I always state my opinions unreservedly although they may occasionally be unfavorable to your Excellency and the Colonial Ministers. I shall continue to do so, and I know of no regulation which requires the Officer commanding the troops in a Colony to furnish the Governor of that Colony with copies of the official or private letters which he addresses to the Secretary of State for War. To do so in this Colony, whilst under your Excellency's Government, would evidently be to communicate the contents of his letters to the Colonial Ministers, and through them to the whole Colony. I find that the date of your letter to which I alluded in my letter of the ISth instant, is the 22nd of March, and not 17th March. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir G. Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 115. His Excellency the Governor to Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 22nd May, 1865. I have the honor to ackowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, in reply to mine of the 19th instant. It was with pleasure that I read the commencement of the second paragraph of your letter, in which you say, —" It is not true that I have traduced you to the authorities at home behind your back.' But this pleasure was alloyed by finding that in the tenth paragraph of your letter you state —■ " In these confidential communications to Her Majesty's Government, I always state my opinions unreservedly, although they may occasionally be unfavorable to your Excellency and the Colonial Ministers. I shall continue to do so." You will I am sure excuse me for saying that I find great difficulty in reconciling these two statements. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 116. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General D. A. Cameron. Sib, — Government House, Auckland, 23rd May, 1865. I have the honor to enclose for your information the copy of a despatch which I have this day addressed to Her Majesty's Government, in relation to your letter to me of the 22nd instant. 1 have, Ac, The Hon. Lieut-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 117. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sib,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 26th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 19th instant, relative to the instructions lately received from Her Majesty's Government regarding the withdrawal of five regiments from the Colony. In the first part of your letter your Excellency alludes to the force which you state I considered requisite for the defence of the Colony, at the date of the receipt of the recent instructions; but I beg to observe that the letters which you have quoted for the purpose of shewing that my opinions on that subject have changed, were written at a time when the troops were engaged in operations for the
44
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
AJ-No;
occupation of a large tract of country, and for the establishment of an extended line of posts not the defence of the-ColoHjvand-which it is contrary to-ihe-spwit of the recent- despatches^ from Mr. Cardwell that the troops should continue to occupy. Those letters do not in any manner indicate my opinion as to the force requisite for the defence of the Colony at the present time. It is therefore almost unnecessary that I should notice that part of your Excellency's letter. I would however observe with regard to Taranaki, that when a detachment of 250 men of the 70th Eegiment was withdrawn from that station in February last, it was represented to me by Colonel AVarre that that small reduction of his force would oblige him' to remain on the defensive, and that should the rebels shew themselves in strength, he might be obliged to call out a portion of the militia. It is not surprising, therefore, on a further reduction of his force by the withdrawal of 200 Military Settlers by your Excellency, without consulting Colonel Warre or myself, that I should have made the remark alluded to in the 6th paragraph of your letter, or that I should have stated as you mention in the Bth paragraph, that Colonel Warre's force was barely sufficient to hold all the country it occupied, and that he consequently could not move southwards to co-operate with me. Since then the state of affairs at Taranaki has admitted of the establishment of two additional posts on the coast to the north and south of the settlement; and Colonel Warre reports, that if the Ministers are in earnest about dispensing with the services of the regular troops, they cannot do better than try the experiment at Taranaki. In regard to the Waikato frontier, I expressed no opinion myself in my letters of the 22nd April and 3rd May, regarding the sufficiency or otherwise of the force stationed on that frontier; but I thought it my duty to let you know the opinion of Brigadier-General Carey, the officer in command. I believe that no disturbance is to be apprehended in that quarter, where not a shot has been fired since the suspension of hostilities more than a year ago. I also thought it right to forward for your information the report I received from Colonel Greer, of an intended attack upon our allies, the Arawas; but I believe that Colonel Greer considered such an attack as improbable as I did. If any disturbance should occur at Tauranga, it will probably arise from the uncertainty in which tho natives have long been kept in respect to the confiscated land. With reference to the Wereroa Pa, I stated in my letter of the 17th March, alluded to in the 7th paragraph of your letter, that when I was at Nukumaru, in January, I did not think it advisable to attack the pa with the force I then had. Between that time and the 17th March reinforcements arrived at Wanganui from other parts of the island; and as far as the strength of the force was concerned the pa might have been attacked at the latter date. The remark alluded to in tho sth paragraph of your letter was made by me in reply to an opinion you had expressed in a private letter of the 13th March, and which appeared to me not warranted by the state of affairs at the time, viz.: that everything that was taking place led you to the conclusion that the natives would soon submit in nearly all parts of the island. Without taking a gloomy view of the state of affairs, I have never been so sanguine in that respect as your Excellency. I can see no reason to expect that the natives will ever make a formal submission, and I think that all we can hope for is, that the punishment we have inflicted on some of the rebel tribes will induce tho others to remain quiet for the future. I need take no further notice of the passages you have quoted from my letters, which, as I have observed, have little or no bearing on the question of the withdrawal of the troops, which must be decided with reference to the present state of affairs, and to the recentinstructious from Her Majesty's Government. I have alluded to the present state of Taranaki, the Waikato frontier, and Tauranga, and I know of nothing that has occurred in the other parts of the island, since the beginning of the present month, to justify the opinion that our having left the Wereroa Pa untouched has had a prejudicial effect upon the Natives, and rendered our position in the country worse than it was before, With reference to this subject, however, I beg to remind your Excellency that, on the 17th March, I wrote to you offering to attack the pa if you wished it, but was directed by your letter of the 22nd March to continue to advance towards Taranaki, as far as the means at my disposal would admit, and to let you know when I found I could not get further than some particular point, in order that the Colonial Government might determine what it would do ; that on the 7th April, having occupied the coast as far as Waingongoro, and having only about 800 men remaining, I applied to you for further instructions agreeably to your request, and was informed by your letter of the 17th April that you would communicate with me on the subject when you had had an opportunity of conferring with your Eesponsible Advisers ; that not hearing from you again from that date to the 29th April, I proceeded to Auckland for the purpose of receiving your instructions and to be at hand to furnish you with any information you might require; that I arrived in Auckland on the night of the 30th April, and on the Ist May addressed a letter to your Excellency, explaining the object of my coming to Auckland, and a note expressing my readiness to wait upon you; to which communications I received a letter in reply (the tone of which greatly surprised me at the time, but was no longer a matter of surprise after seeing the Memorandum addressed by Ministers to your Excellency on the Bth April), conveying no instructions, but intimating to me your wish, and that of your Eespousible Advisers, that the Colony should in future carry on operations from its own resources, and informing me that after due consideration you would again communicate with me ; that on the 9th May I informed you that I had received instructions from England for the withdrawal of five regiments, and requesting that you would acquaint me with your views on the subject; that I have afterwards received from you three letters, dated 11th, 12th, and 19th May, the last of which alone contained an answer to my inquiry ; and I must again observe that your letter of 11th May, sanctioning the temporary abandonment of some of the posts was in contradiction to your former letter of the 17th April, which gave me no discretion on that point. After all these delays you now propose that the Wereroa Pa should be M
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attacked at this inclement season of the year, when such au operation must be extremely harrassing to 1 he troops employed in it. The settlement of "Wanganui is in no real danger from the Wereroa Pa, although as long as it is occupied by the Natives a somewhat larger force will be requisite to ensure the protection of the settlement than if the position were in our hands. In regard to your Excellency's proposal to collect with as little delay as possible a sufficient force to take the "Wereroa Pa, I must inform your Excellency that I consider it impossible to take that position by any formal operation in such a manner as your Excellency wishes, viz., so as to secure a marked and decided success, inflicting a large loss on the enemy, and sustaining but a trifling loss ourselves. I believe that in any formal attack on this position, (which it must be remembered cannot be surrounded, and from which the Natives can effect their escape at any moment,) our loss would most probably be heavier, much heavier perhaps, than that of the enemy; and that, under such circumstances, the mere possession of the place would not be followed by the important advantages which it is your Excellency's desire to attain. On the contrary, it is possible that its capture, with a loss on our side exceeding that of the enemy, might have an injurious moral effect on the Natives, and instead of hastening their submission, encourage them in postponing it. It is indeed a matter of surprise to me that any one with a knowledge of the country between Wanganui and Taranaki can entertain a hope of striking a decisive blow there. The nature of the country forbids the idea, and if Her Majesty's troops are to be detained in the Colony until one is struck, I confess I see no prospect of their leaving New Zealand As we have now entered on the rainy season, I am not prepared to concur in your Excellency's opinion that the siege of the Wereroa Pa would at such a time be of necessity a short operation ; and with reference to your Excellency's remark that an overwhelming force could be collected for reducing the pa, because I propose the immediate withdrawal of two regiments, and as you state shortly of an additional force of three other regiments, I must remind your Excellency that I have expressed no opinion as to the time at which any reduction beyond the proposed one of two regiments can take place,—the consideration of any further reduction, I informed your Excellency, I postponed, until I was made aware what steps the Colonial Government were taking to provide for the defence of the Colony. Experit'iicr 1 has shown me that it is not generally desirable to attack such positions as the Wereroa Pa in a formal manner by a large force openly assembled for the purpose. The Natives, glad of the opportunity of fighting us with all the advantages as to position on their side, assemble from all parts of the country, and having defended their position to the last moment, effect an escape into dense forest, where it is impossible to follow them. An immediate formal attack, therefore, on the Wereroa Pa, at a time the most unfavourable in point of weather, and when the Natives are in all likelihood best prepared, is, in my opinion, tinadvisable. I have, however, to inform your Excellency that before I received your letter of the 19th instant, I had sent Brigadier-General Waddy instructions to form a post near Nukumaru, to strengthen the frontier of the settlement of Wanganui. The establishment of this post will also be useful in the event of a formal attack on the pa being undertaken by your Excellency's desire. I have further given Brigadier-General Waddy permission to surprise or make a sudden attack ou the place if he considers that the information he may receive as to the number of Natives in it justifies him in so doing. It is not impossible that the close proximity of this post to the pa may of itself cause the abandonment of the position or its surrender by the Natives. Looking however to the nature of the recent instructions received by me from the Secretary of State for War, and to the terms of Mr. Cardwell's last despatch which your Excellency received by the last mail, and a copy of which was forwarded to me, I see no ground in your Excellency's letter of the 19th instant to induce me to alter my opinion, stated in my letter of the 12th instant, as to the extent of the reduction that should at once take place. After that reduction, I still propose to wait to see what steps the Colonial Government are taking to dispense with a further number of Her Majesty's troops. In naming the places from which the troops might be withdrawn, I could have no intention of violating the terms of your Excellency's commission, or of assuming the command of the Colony. It was impossible I submit, in proposing any reduction, not to take into consideration the places from which the Imperial troops could best be withdrawn ; and it did appear to me that some of the posts in the Wanganui and Taronaki Districts were those which, in the absence of Colonial forces to relieve the regular troops, it was most desirable to abandon. It will however, be for your Excellency of course to decide whether troops can be better spared from other places, and it will also be for your Excellency to intimate to me your wishes as to the distribution of the force remaining in the country. I do not anticipate any of the serious results foreboded by your Excellency as likely to follow the withdrawal of two regiments, any more than I should look for the submission of the Natives and the pacification of the country, as likely to result from their detention for an attack on the Wereroa Pa. My conviction is, that except there exist other grounds than those mentioned in your letter of the 19th instant for detaining the whole of the troops in the Colony, the withdrawal of one regiment, and of another directly after it, can be effected with safety and without endangering the results which it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government, as I understand it, to secure. This is my opinion, but I think it right at the same time to add, that if as Governor of the Colony, you are satisfied that the withdrawal of any part of Her Majesty's troops until the capture of the Wereroa Pa has been effected, will entail the serious consequences which you have stated, it will be my duty to obey any instructions you may give me to detain them, and to comply with and carry out to the best of my ability any directions which, after this expression of my opinion regarding the expediency of attacking the pa, you may think fit to give me for undertaking the siege of that position or any other military operation which your Excellency may consider necessary for the defence of the Colony.
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Having now fully stated my views on these subjects, the responsibility for the detention of the two regiments which I propoao to send home, as well as for undertaking any operation on which the troops are to be employed, will rest with your Excellency. I have, &c, D. A. Camerolt, Lieut.-General. P.S. —I omitted to mention that I have ordered Brigadier-General Waddy to move a small column, along the coast from the Waingongoro towards Opunaki, to meet and communicate with another column under Colonel Warre from Opunaki, but without forming any additional posts. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A C. Enclosure 1 to No. 118. Brigadier-General Carey to Lieut.-General Cameeo*'. Sic, — Te Awamutu, Ist May, 1865. This morning I learned by telegram that you had returned to Auckland. To-day you will have received my letter informing you that Mr. Mainwaring had sent me a telegram on Saturday last, notifying that a large body of natives were at or about the Mangawara Creek, and begging of me to send a few men down to prevent them communicating with the friendly natives. I accordingly detached fifty men (12th) from Ngaruawahia for this service. This evening I have received Mr. Mainwaring's written report, which makes his telegram appear rather exaggerated. He writes : —" There are a number of Pai Mairire natives up that way (Mangawara) in constant communication with Piako and the Thames. The more difficulties of communication with civilisation that we can throw in their way the better. I must thank you for carrying out my suggestion as to Mangawara " —meaning having sent the detachment (12th) there. Under these circumstances it strikes me that fifty men will be ample for the present. Colonel Haultain sent me the accompanying information to-night, and which I transmit for your perusal. I am only surprised that the Maories have not already committed murders at the military settlements, which are so very weak, and daily becoming more so, from the repeated departures of numbers of the men off pay. I am expecting every minute to hear of the number of absentees from muster at Cambridge and at Alexandra to-day, and will let you know by telegram. The post at Arapipi is very weak, only thirty rangers and nine militiamen. I begged of Colonel Haultain to make it up to fifty, but he appears not to have the power to do so. I have, &c., Geobge A. Caeet, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. Brigadier-General. Enclosure 2 to No. 118. Colonel Geeer to the Deputy Qttaeteemasteb-Genebal. Sic, — Camp Te Papa, Tauranga, 15th April, 1865. I have the honor to forward for the information of the Lieut.-General Commanding, a translation of a letter which I have received from W. M. Marsh, and which contains the substance of the various reports that have reached me recently. If what lie says be true, it appears highly probable that the Arawas will be attacked shortly by a strong combination of hostile natives. I have, &c, The Deputy Quartermaster-General, fl. H. Geeeb, Head Quarters. Colonel Commanding Tauranga District. [Teanslation.] Sins — 12th April, 1865. Don't be uneasy on account of the many reports in circulation. On this very day Tarnate Hapimana returned from the Taheke (Eoturua). He went from this yesterday and returned to-day. He met a messenger from Puhirua, who states that the Waikato army is in the cultivations. They number 150, under Matutaera (the King). They are waiting for the rest of Waikato and Kereopa's • party from the south. They are also waiting for William Thompson's party. When all the war party of Waikato is assembled Ngatirau Kawa will bring up the rear. When they have accomplished this,. then we shall hear certainly whether the enemy intend to attack the lakes or Maketu. The Paeranta (the natives inland of Eotarua), who number 150, say that if they arrange to attack the lakes, they will withdraw and become Queen's men; if Maketu, they will agree, because it is occupied by white skins, the race they had threatened in years gone by. A man from Te Puke has arrived, who states that 250 of the vanguard have arrived at Te Puke. The messenger of Kereopa has arrived at Waikato. Kereopa and Patera have a protecting party of 300, but where this army of Kereopa's is not yet known; we should have heard from Tukehu and Hohia. In my opinion the reason why the Waikato party is keeping close in the bush is that they are waiting for Kereopa's fighting party. When Kereopa is close in the neighborhood they will attack Maketu to divert our attention while Kereopa quietly slips into our pas. lam sending a messenger to see about this party of Matutaera's (the King). Written by William Maesh. H. H. Geeeb, To Colonel Greer and Mr. Clarke. Colonel Commanding Tauranga District.
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AJ^-JSo. 4.
Enclosure 3 to No. 118. Colonel Haultain to Lieut.-General Camebon. Sib, — Ngaruawahia, Ist May, 1865. I enclose you a letter (and its translation by Mr. do Thiery) which has been received from Kawhia by Mr. Todd. It is written by the Maori who pointed out to us the place where gold was to be found on the south of Pirongia, and is addressed to Mr. Todd (whose native name is Manakau) and myself. Mr. Todd has known this man for several years, and has great confidence in him, and looks upon this letter as a caution and a warning that the natives at Kawhia are intending mischief When I mentioned to Mr. de Thiery the circumstances connected with the pointing of the gold on native land near Alexandra, he suggested that it might be a warning to us not to go near the place at present, as the natives are aware that gold has been found, and might be watching the place ; and I am of opinion that this is probably the meaning of the writer. I have cautioned Major Hills by post to day to warn his men not to prospect on native land. I have, &c, Lieut-General Cameron, K.C.B. T. M. Haultaet. P.S. —This letter though dated the 12th April was only received by Mr. Todd on Saturday last, as he was absent from Alexandra. [Tbaxslation.] Salutations to you, oh ! friends, who are still residing at Alexandra. I have something to say to you. We are in great trouble here. This is the cause of my long absence. The King's people have taken some cattle from the friendly Natives, three head in all. lam only waiting till they touch our bodies. If they do not molest us I shall soon return to you ag:v You must not be anxious ou account of my long absence. Sufficient his. Another word. Tou must not be uneasy when you hear false reports from Maories and Europeans. Detain those people who spread false news, and judge them according to law. Be on yoi " guard against murders, for we do not know the line they may come. This matter makes me very anxious. My son has become enlightened, also his ancestors. Sufficient now from your friend. To Manakau and the Colonel. Heia Keeei Najtaia. No. 119. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebo^ to His Excellency the Gotebnoe. SO?,— Head Quarters,* Auckland, 26th May, 1865. In reporting the occupation of Opunaki, Colonel Warre states that he occupied that point " in consequence of a communication from your Excellency addressed to the Defence Minister, on which he considered himself justified in taking action." I shall feel obliged if your Excellency will allow me to have a copy of that communication, in order that I may be enabled to report to the Secretary of State for War the circumstances under which the post at Opunaki was established. I have, &c., D. A. Camebon, Hia Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 120. His Excellency the Goyebnoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon. Sfß, — Government House, Auckland, 26th May, 1865. In reply to your letter of this day's date, I have the honor to state that I have not here a copy of my communication to the Minister for Colonial Defence, to which you allude; but I find that immediately I received your letter of the 14th of April last, in which you approved of the occupation of a post at Te Namu, I communicated a copy of that letter to the Minister for Colouial Defence, expressing my own views as being strongly in favor of the immediate occupation of a post at or near To Namu. I presume it is to this communication that Colonel Warre alludes. I have, &c., The Hon. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 121. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sfß, — Government House, Auckland, 26th May, 1865. I have the honor to transmit for your information a copy of a despatch which I have written to Her Majesty's Government, in relation to Colonel Warre's confidential reports of the 27th April, and of the 13th instant. I have, &c., Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 122. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenob. S*B,— Auckland, 26th May, 1865. I have the honor to forward for your Excellency's information the telegram herewith enclosed, which I have just received from Brigadier-General Carey, and I shall feel obliged by your informing me what instructions you wish me to give General Carey on the subject. I have, &c, D. A. Camebon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.
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Enclosure to No. 122. TELEGEAM from Brigadier-General Caeey, Te Awamutu, to General Cameeon, Auckland. Just received two letters from William Thompson, the one asking me to meet him to-moirow at Tamahane; also one from Mr. Graham, saying that Thompson had chosen me as the officer before whom he would swear allegiance ;so I start at daylight to-morrow morning. In the other. Thompson strongly objects to giving any Waikato land to friendly Natives, which he says will cause more fighting. As you are in Auckland, I am not reporting this to the Governor. If you have any directions for me, please telegraph at once to Ngaruawahia, with orders to send on to Hamilton to meet me. 26th May, 1865. No. 123. His Excellency the Goyebnoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 27th May, 1865. In reply to your letter of last night, I beg to state that I do not think it at present necessary for General Carey to have any other instructions than to administer the oath of allegiance to William Thompson, and to any people he may bring with him to take it; and to inform William Thompson that if he has any remarks to make upon the subject of Waikato lands, they shall be considered if he will send them on to the Government. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 124. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 27th May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date, in reply to mine of the 19th instant. It is not necessary for me to remark at any length upon the first part of that letter. I would only observe that I think that a reference to the letters from your department of the 3rd of May will show that I was informed that General Carey's reports bore out your views regarding the. Waikato frontier; and in reference to the statement, that you thought it right to forward for my information the report you received from Colonel Greer of an intended attack upon our allies the Arawas, but that you believe that Colonel Greer considered such an attack as improbable as you did, I have thought it right to put up a copy of the letter from Colonel Greer which you transmitted to me. I can read that letter in no other sense than that he thought such an attack highly probable ; and I think if yourself and Colonel Greer believed it to be improbable, it would have been right to have told me so at the same time that such a letter was forwarded for my information. I would then remark that in saying that my letter of the 17th of April gave you no discretion regarding the temporary withdrawal of troops from posts, I think you have overlooked the ample general power given to you on this subject in my letter of the sth of February last, which powers have never been directly or indirectly cancelled or diminished. The words which conveyed these powers were : — " With regard to your moving troops from Wellington and Taranaki, I think the understanding should be that you remove the troops from place as you think necessary. Tou can with our present means of communication easily send them back again if you find they are more necessary at one point than another, or if I wrote to you to ask you to do so ; and it will leave you full liberty to act as you think best for the public service when you know that you have this power. Having said this, I of course entirely concur in what you have already done." I think also that the general tenor of my letters to you was such that no instructions I might have given ought to have restrained you from doing anything which would have tended to the suppression of rebellion, or the security of Her Majesty's subjects. Others must judge whether there is anything in my letters or instructions to you which could have such a discouraging effect; but of this I am quite certain, that if I had unwisely or wrongly issued instructions which might have had such an effect that you might have had entire confidence, if you had with the force under your command done that which was right and for the good of Her Majesty's service, that the unanimous approbation of the British Government and of your countrymen would have supported you in having done so, whether it was or was not in conformity with any letters I had written to you. With regard to the remark you make, that after all these delays I now propose that the Wereroa Pa should be attacked in this inclement season of the year, I feel assured that a perusal of the correspondence will show that the delay in attacking that position (if it was proper to have done so earlier) has throughout originated with yourself, and that I have never thrown any delay or obstacle in the way of your attacking it. The whole of your observations relating to the danger of bodies of natives assembling to be ready to fight us under circumstances advantageous to themselves in the event ol our attacking a fortified position, appear to me to apply with still greater force to the case of a fortified position left close to an European settlement watched by large bodies of troops in redoubts, ready to attempt a surprise or sudden attack upon the place, which is the position in which the Wereroa Pa is now left. It appears however that although we are furnished with an army so numerous that it is proposed shortly to send five regiments out of the country, with the finest artillery in the world, and with abundance of all those appliances which science has recently added to our means of carrying on operations against an enemy, and with the power of embodying Native allies, there is within a few miles of the European town of Wanganui, a position occupied by between two and three hundred of the enemy, —and that it is impossible to take that position by any formal operation in such a manner as to secure a marked and decided success. N
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Whilst such is the case I fear that the enemy, emboldened by what is really so great a success on his part, will become still bolder and more daring, when in the face of this a large reduction is made in the force serving in the country. But there appears from your letter to be an additional reason why we should not attempt to attack this place, viz.: —Because it is possible that its capture with a loss on our side exceeding that of the enemy might have an injurious moral effect on the natives, and encourage them in postponing their submission: or in other words, in continuing the war. If this is correct, it is with regret I should find that the presence of so large a force in the country for more than two years has ended in placing the country in a position of such insecurity ; nor can I see how the lives and property of Her Majesty's European subjects, or of her Native allies, can be regarded as being so free from danger that the force in this country can be reduced, when close to an important European settlement it is impossible to attack a small body of enemies who hourly threaten it, lest we experience such a reverse as may augment instead of diminishing the existing danger in this country. I admit that the arguments used would show that we should not venture at so great a risk to attack the place; but on the other hand, they seem to show that the force here should not at such a time be reduced. The power of determining the period at which the force in this country is to be reduced has been left by Her Majesty's Government wholly in your hands. In giving you my opinion in the unreserved manner I did in my letter of the 19th instant, I think I interfered with the discretion confided to you to the fullest extent that I was justified in doing. I have carefully reperused the last paragraph but one of that letter. I find that I could not express more clearly my opinion of what in my belief would best secure the safety of this country, and the fulfilment of the instructions of Her Majesty's Government. The telegrams received last night and this morning regarding the intending submission of Wm. Thompson and his people, tend to confirm me in thinking that the conclusions which I expressed in my letter to you of the 19th instant are sound, and. I am not able to add anything to that letter which would in my belief either assist you in coming to a decision or promote the advantage of the service, I shall therefore not attempt to add anything to it. All I would ask is that you would, as soon as you can, come to a decision as to what you intend to do and acquaint me with it, that I may then with such means as are at my disposal do my best to secure the safety and peace of this part of Her Majesty's possessions. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camerou, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 125. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goyebnoe. Sic,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 31st May, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 27th instant, on the subject of the withdrawal of troops from the Colony. There is little in that letter except the last paragraph, which calls for a reply. As however, your Excellency has referred to your private letter of the 6th February last, to show that you had given me a discretionary power to move troops from place to place as I thought necessary, I beg to state that I could only consider that power given to enable me to have at my disposal, the means of carrying out your instructions in the most effective manner ; not to render me independent of those instructions, still less to empower me to act in opposition to them. The letter in question was written before you instructed me to occupy the coast line between Wanganui and Taranaki, and when in pursuance of those instructions, I had established entrenched posts, to the continued occupation only of which I could suppose you attached importance; when in answer to my enquiry you intimated your wish that they should be maintained throughout the winter, I could scarcely consider myself at liberty to abandon them afterwards, even temporarily, without your sanction, for the purpose of carrying out any plan of my own. It appears to me somewhat strange for the Governor of a Colony to give the officer commanding the troops instructions for a certain object, and afterwards to inform him that he would have received the unanimous approbation of Her Majesty's Government and his countrymen if he had done something else that he thought better. With reference to your remarks as to the expediency of now attacking the Wereroa Pa, I would observe that the numerous army which you state to be at present in the Colony, (and which I may remark is distributed in posts on lines amounting to some hundreds of miles in length, with the finest artillery in the world, and abundance of scientific appliances) is not wanted for such an operation as an attack on the Wereroa Pa; and were the army in the country much more numerous than it is, I should consider it unadvisable at the present time to assemble a large force for a formal attack on this position, by which there is in my opinion, no reasonable grounds for expecting that the advantages your Excellency desires could be obtained. I stated my opinions fully on this subject in my last letter, and expressed my readiness to attack the position if, after the expression of those opinions, you thought proper to instruct me to undertake the operation. As your Excellency however still confines yourself to the expression of opinions in which I find it impossible to concur, and leaves the decision of the question to me, I must exercise my own judgment as to the time and manner of getting possession of the place; and I shall not allow myself to be influenced by remarks, however disparaging, to undertake an operation for the success of which I alone am responsible, in a manner which I do not fully approve. Under any circumstances, I consider that the capture of the Wereroa Pa at the present moment is not of sufficient importance to justify the detention of the whole force in the Colony, after the instructions received from Her Majesty's Government. I see no reason to alter the opinion I have already expressed, that the time has come when the force in the country may be reduced with safety ; an opinion strengthened within the last few days by the submission of William Thompson, the King, and other leading men, on whom it must be
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satisfactory to your Excellency to find, that the fact of the Wereroa Pa having been left untouched, had not had the prejudicial effect which you supposed. As your Excellency considers that the power of determining the period at which the force in the conntry is to be reduced, has been left by Her Majesty's Government wholly in my hands, I beg to inform you that I will give immediate orders for the discharge of the soldiers of the 65th Eegiment who are to remain in the Colony, and for the withdrawal of the remainder from the Waikato frontier to Auckland for embarkation, to be followed as soon as possible by the 70th Eegiment from Taranaki, and I shall feel obliged by your acquainting me with any change you may consider necessary in the distribution of the other troops in consequence of the removal of these two regiments. Having regard to the favorable report made by your Excellency in your despatch, addressed on the 20th instant to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, relative to the state of Taranaki, I entertain the hope that a third regiment may be withdrawn in a short time after the departure of the abovenamed regiments. I will however give your Excellency due notice when I consider it advisable to make this further reduction, and I hope that in the meantime, your Excellency will urge on the Colonial Government the necessity of their being prepared for the removal of this and the remaining regiments of the five ordered to return to EnglandIt will assist me in the performance of the duty entrusted to me by Her Majesty's Government, if your Excellency would furnish me from time to time with any important information that may bear on the question of the reduction of the force. I have, &c, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameeon, Lieut.-General. No. 126. His Excellency the Goyebnob to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Kawau, 2nd June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 31st ultimo, on the subject of the intended reduction of the force serving in this Colony. I would remark, in the first place, in reply to your observation that a large force is not wanted for such an operation as an attack on the Wereroa Pa, that I made the statement I did in my letter of the 27th ultimo, in some degree in deference to your own opinion, which you had formerly strongly pressed on me, that you could not attack it with a force of less than 2000 men. My own judgment, however, upon the whole, rather went with your opinion as now stated, than with the one which you formerly held. I would next state, that my own view of the present state of the Colony is, that if we act deliberately and wisely, effect can be given to the instructions of Her Majesty's Government for the reduction of the force here without incurring any danger, and so as to secure the permanency of the peace which now seems likely to be established. On the other hand I believe at such a moment as this when the Natives are beginning to submit, and the Colony seems in many parts settling down, hurredly to reduce the force here is—for the sake of securing a few months in time, and to save no expense —to hazard most unwisely the continuance of the war in some places, its renewal in others, and its commencement in hitherto peaceful districts. I believe that there has been no period in the history of this country when it would be more unwise or unnecessary hurriedly to reduce the force serving than at the present instant. I therefore, so far as any power rests in me, protest against such a risk being uselessly incurred. I begto observe, that I cannot relinquish to you, in making the contemplated reductions, the power (which it appears from your letter to which I am replying you are about to exercise) of ordering the march of troops through the country, of abandoning such posts as you may think fit, or of reducing their establishment. This involves the most important considerations, on which the whole future safety of the Colony, and the cost of its defence, will depend. Tou will therefore be good enough not to issue any orders in relation to such subjects without my sanction previously obtained. If you will from time to time inform me what regiments you propose to send home, and will furnish me with a state of the force in New Zealand at the time, and of their distribution, I will then, after consultation with my Eesponsible Advisers, lose no time in informing you in what manner I may think it requisite that the force which may be left should be distributed, and orders then can be given for the march of the troops who are to be sent home, in such a manner that their withdrawal from the posts they occupy may harmonise with their relief by other troops, or with the future distribution of the forces which I may think necessary. I beg that you will be good enough, if you intend to reduce the 65th Eegiment, at once to furnish me with such a statement as I have above asked for, in order that I may determine by what other detachments they may be relieved. I have, &c, G. Geey. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., &c, &c. No. 127. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic,— Auckland, 29th May, 1865 I have the honor to forward the enclosed for your Excellency's information. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4,
Enclosure to No. 127. Brigadier-General Caeey to the Deputy Quaeteemasteb-Genebal. Sib, — Camp Te Awamutu, 28th May, 1865. With reference to my letter of the 26th instant, I have the honor to state for the information of the Commander of the Forces, that I proceeded at daylight yesterday, accompanied by Major Tupper, A.D.C., Captain Brett, D.A.Q.M.G., and Captain Blewitt, 65th Eegiment, to Tamahure, where the Chief William Thompson had agreed to meet me. Shortly after my arrival at that place, Mr. George Graham rode in and announced the approach of William Thompson and other Chiefs of note, handing me a paper or covenant in Thompson's handwriting (copy of translation herewith) which he said Thompson and the Chiefs were willing to sign in my presence, under the British flag. I then walked forward to meet Thompson, who, when he saw me, immediately dismounted, and came rapidly towards me uncovered ; we shook hands, he then laid his " tia" on the ground at my feet, in token of his submission to Her Majesty, and said he hoped I would accept it as his gun. We then proceeded to the spot where the British flag was flying, where Thompson signed the covenant in the name of the king and himself, in which he was followed by the principal Chiefs assembled, after which I attached my signature thereto. The only requests made by Thompson were as follows : — Ist. That the Governor would appoint a Commission to enquire into his (Thompson's) character, which he affirmed had been much maligned. 2nd. That he (Thompson) was most anxious to see the face of Tui Tamihana again, and hoped to do so soon. 3rd. That I should let him (Thompson) know, as soon as possible, what the Governor thought of his submission. I cannot conclude this letter without bringing to the notice of the Lieut.-General Commanding the Forces, the very important services rendered to the country by Mr. George Graham, assisted by Mr. Dihar, in bringing about this most momentous event. I was given to understand that the Chief Eewi would immediately tender his submission also. The bearing of the Chief Thompson on this occasion was particularly silent, and submissive in the extreme. I have, &c, Geobge Jackson Cabey, The Deputy-Quartermaster-General, Auckland. Brigadier-General. COPT of Translation of terms of submission of Native Chiefs, subscribed in the presence of Brigadier-General Caeey, C.B. Tamahure, 27th May, 1865. We consent that the laws of the Queen be laws for the King (Maori), to be a protection for us all, for ever and ever. This is the sign of making peace, my coming into the presence of my fighting friend General Carey. Here follow the signatures:—William Thompson, Te Eeweti, Hone, Eiki, Pihia, Paeati. George J. Caeey, Brigadier-General. No. 128. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Govebnob. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, Ist June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 26th May, enclosing a copy of your despatch of the 20th May, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, relative to the establishment of posts at the White Cliffs and Te Namu. Instead of entering into any correspondence with your Excellency on the unwarrantable statements made in that despatch, it is my intention to deal with it as I did with the two previous despatches of your Excellency, Nos. 53 and 54, of the 27th April, 1865, of which you sent me copies, viz., to furnish Her Majesty's Government with full information on all the facts, some of which you have misrepresented, and the most important of which you have omitted. Your despatch is thus only calculated to mislead. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. ' Lieut.-General. No. 129. His Excellency's Peivate Seceetaby to the Assistant Militaby Seceetaey. Sic, — Kawau, 2nd June, 1865. The Governor has requested me to ask you to again lay the enclosed letter* before Sir D. A. Cameron, as looking to their relative position, the Governor feels that he ought not to receive such a letter for the purpose of replying to it. If Sir D. A. Cameron will be good enough to put it in more usual and becoming language, His Excellency will lose no time in giving such a reply to it as may then appear to be necessary. I have, &c, Feed. Thatches, The Assistant Military Secretary, Auckland. Private Secretary. P.S. —I have, by his Excellency's direction, retained a copy of the enclosed letter, in case further reference may be necessary. F. T. * See Letter of Ist June, 1865.
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No. 130. The Assistant Militaey Secbetaey to His Excellency's Private Seceetaey. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd June, 1865. I have had the honor to submit your communication of the 2nd instant to the Lieut.-General Commanding, and I am directed to acquaint you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that the letter of the Ist instant, No. 153, 1865, was not written for the purpose of eliciting a reply, and it is the intention of the Lieut.-General to forward a copy of it, with other correspondence on the same subject, to the Secretary of State for War. I have, &c, Geoege Dean Pitt, The Private Secretary, Kawau. Major, Assistant Military Secretary. No. 131. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 2nd instant, relative to the reduction of the forces in the Colony. I adhere to the opinion I have constantly expressed, that a gradual reduction of the force may and ought to be commenced at once, in pursuance of the instructions recently received from England; but as I cannot suppose that Her Majesty's Government, in leaving the time and manner of carrying those instructions into effect to my judgment, expected that I would act in defiance of so strong a protest from the Governor of the Colony as that which your Excellency has made in your last letter, I consider it my duty not to take any steps for the discharge of the soldiers of the 65th, or for the embarkation of that regiment for England, until you intimate to me that you consider the time come when troops may be withdrawn from the Colony without incurring the serious risks adverted to in your letter. Your Excellency's observations regarding the force considered by me necessary to attack the Wereroa Pa hardly call for notice; but if you refer to my letter again, you will find that you have misquoted it, and that I have not stated that a large force, or a force of 2000 men, would not be required to attack the pa, but that I consider it unadvisable at the present time to assemble a large force for a formal attack on that position. I have, &c, D. A. Camebon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., &c. Lieut.-General. No. 132. The Assistant Militaey Seceetaey to His Excellency's Peivate Seceetaey. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, Ist June, 1865. I have the honor, by direction of the Lieutenant-General Commanding, to forward for the information of His Excellency the Governor the enclosed copies of two telegrams received from Brigadier-General Carey, dated the 31st ultimo. I have, &c, Geo. Dean Pitt, The Private Secretary, Government House. Major, Assistant Military Secretary. Enclosure to No. 132. (1.) TELEGEAPH MESSAGE received at Auckland, 31st May, 1865, from Brigadier-General Caeet, Te Awamutu, to General Sir D. A. Cameeon, X.C.8., Auckland. Please add Mr. George Graham's signature to the others attached to Thompson's covenant sent to you on Sunday. (2.) TELEGEAPH MESSAGE received at Auckland, 31st May, 1865, from Brigadier-General Caret, to General Camebon, X.C.8., Auckland. Just heard from William Thompson, dated 29th. He writes—" Tell the Governor I have stood in your presence with my ' Tia,' the emblem of peace. Let Tiu Tamihana come out of prison." Mr. Graham is here, going to Eewi. No. 133. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, Ist June, 1865. With reference to your Excellency's letter of the 26th ultimo, on the subject of a communication addressed by you to the Minister of Colonial Defence, regarding the occupation of a post at Te Namu, I beg to observe that Colonel Warre could not have seen my letter of the 14th April, a copy of which you state you communicated to the Minister of Colonial Defence, as otherwise he would have mentioned it. It will be my duty to report the case to the Secretary of State for War, as I consider it most objectionable that an officer should undertake any operation for the extension of a settlement, involving expense to the Imperial Government at the suggestion of a Colonial Minister, on the strength of some communication received by that Minister from your Excellency (which communication is afterwards not O
53
GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4,
forthcoming), it being competent to your Excellency in my absence, and in urgent cases, to communicate your wishes direct to any officer in command of a station. I shall feel obliged if your Excellency will point out to the Minister of Colonial Defence that it is no part of his duty to communicate in any manner with the officers under my command, on the subject of military operations. I have, &c, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameeon, Lieut.-General. No. 134. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Kawau, 2nd June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist instant, informing me that you intend to report alleged objectionable conduct on the part of Colonel Warre, C.8., to the Secretary of State for War. In reply, I beg to state that I consider Colonel Warre's conduct, especially in the points to which you allude, to have been energetic, courageous, and judicious, and such as redounded to the good of Her Majesty's service, and to the credit of her arms, and that it will prove to have been one of the leading means of bringing about the submission of some of the rebel natives. I feel sure that the more Colonel Warre's conduct is enquired into, the more will this be shewn to be the case. Although, therefore, I regret the course you have taken, for the sake of the harmony of the service, I feel that Colonel Warre will ultimately only benefit by it, and I shall beg Her Majesty's Government to have the enquiry which you have rendered necessary instituted without delay. I must decline to point out to the Minister for Colonial Defence that it is no part of his duty to communicate in any manner with the officers under your command, on the subject of military operations, for this observation of yours is clearly pointed at Colonel Warre, and if I made such a communication to the Minister for Colonial Defence, as you propose, it would be to imply that I believed he had made some irregular and improper communication to Colonel Warre, and that the latter officer had wrongly acted on it. I believe that neither of these officers have so far forgotten their duty, and I cannot act towards them as if I thought they had. I think it fair to Colonel Warre that he should be furnished with copies of the correspondence between us, which has relation to himself, and I shall order them to be transmitted to him. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geet. No. 135. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goyebnoe. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd June, 1865. With reference to your Excellency's letter of the 2nd instant, on the subject of a communication addressed by you to the Minister of Colonial Defence, relative to the establishment of a post at Te Namu, I have the honor to acquaint you that I have caused a letter to be written to Colonel Warre, which I trust will remove from his mind the wrong impression which your letter is calculated to produce, and I will report all the circumstances of the case to the Secretary of State for War. I have, &c, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., <fee. Lieut.-General. No. 136. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Auckland, sth June, 1865. I have the honor to forward copies of a correspondence I have just received from Colonel Warre, which has taken place between that Officer and the Minister of Colonial Defence. I would beg to call the attention of your Excellency to the irregularity of the Colonial Minister commencing a correspondence of this description with Colonel Warre, and I have to request that your Excellency will take some steps to prevent its recurrence. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 136. Colonel Waere to the Deputy Quaeteemastee-Geneeal. Sic, — Garrison Office, New Plymouth, 30th May, 1865. I have the honor to transmit, for the information of the Lieut.-General commanding, the accompanying letters, relative to the establishment of Military Settlers and friendly Natives on the land north of the Waitara river, by which means, I hope, overland communication with Pakearuhi will bo secured. I hear from Major Atkinson that it is the intention of Government to establish these settlements as soon as possible, and that men from the town Militia have volunteered for this duty on the terms noted in the enclosed printed circular. I have, &c, H. A. Waeee, Colonel commanding troops at Taranaki. , The Deputy Quartermaster-General, &c, &c, &c, Auckland.
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Enclosure 2 to No. 136. The Hon. the Ministee foe Colonial Defence to Colonel Waebe. Sic,— Colonial Defence Office, Taranaki, 30th May, 1865. It having been determined by the Government to form a Military Settlement near Tekorangi on the north of the Waitara river, consisting of one hundred and twenty men, and also two settlements of loyal Natives at Urenui and Mimi, I have the honor to request that you will be good enough to inform me whether you see any military objection to the plan being carried out immediately. The Governor has arranged with the Lieut.-General that the men enrolled for this service are for the present to receive their pay from advances made by the Commissariat Department. I have, &c, Colonel Warre, C.8., commanding the Forces, Taranaki. H. A. Atkinson. Enclosure 3 to No. 136. Colonel Waebe to the Hon. the Ministee foe Colonial Defence. Sic,— Garrison Office, May 30th, 1865. In reply to your letter of this day's date, I have the honor to inform you that I know of no reason why Military Settlers should not, in conjunction with friendly Natives, be placed at once on land north of the Waitara river ; on the contrary, I believe that settlements so formed will secure communication with Pukearuhi,near the White Cliffs; will give support to the friendly Natives who have afforded us on many occasions very valuable assistance, and who have at all times been anxious that such settlements should be formed ; and will keep in subjection the few rebel Natives now supposed to be with Wm. King, at Kaipikari, or at some part of the bush near that place. I would suggest, however, that arrangements be made before the men are placed upon their land, to secure quick and easy transport across the Waitara river, by placing a flat-bottomed boat or scow at the ford near the Matarihoriki, so that, in case of necessity, troops or reinforcements may be sent without delay to the assistance of the settlers, the river being at this season unfordable. I would also suggest that a Medical Officer be attached specially to this settlement. I have, &c, H. A. Waebe, The Hon. H. A. Atkinson, Colonel commanding Troops at Taranaki. Defence Minister, New Plymouth. No. 137. His Excellency the Govebnob to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 6th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date, enclosing copies of a correspondence between Colonel Warre, C.8., and the Minister for Colonial Defence, and requesting me to take some steps to prevent the irregularity of the Colonial Minister commencing with Colonel Warre, a correspondence of the description of that forwarded to me. Colonel Warre was at the time of this correspondence, the Officer in command of Her Majesty's forces in the Province of Taranaki, and was responsible for the safety of the district. The Government had determined to form a Military Settlement of 120 men, near Tikorangi, on the north of the Waitara river, and also two settlements of loyal Natives to the north of the Waitara, at Urenui and Mimi. The Government saw no difficulty in a political point of view in the immediate formation of those settlements, but on the contrary, great advantages. Under these circumstances, the Minister for Colonial Defence, who was at Taranaki, and had to act immediately, as I think with due caution and very properly applied to Colonel Warre, the senior military officer, and requested him to state whether he saw any military objection to the plan of the establishment of those settlements being immediately carried out. I cannot but approve of the caution and courtesy shewn by the Minister for Colonial Defence in this instance, and holding this opinion I cannot, much as I regret to differ in opinion with you, take any steps which might lead the Minister for Colonial Defence to think that I regard his proceedings in this instance as being either irregular or wrong, and I think it probable that you will yourself upon a careful consideration of all the circumstances of the case concur with me. I have, &c., Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 138. Lieut.-General Sir D. A Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 7th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of yesterday's date, relative to a correspondence between Colonel Warre, Commanding at Taranaki, and Major Atkinson, Minister of Colonial Defence, and I have to inform your Excellency that I have ordered Colonel Warre not to correspond in future with Major Atkinson, nor to give his opinion on military subjects to the Colonial Government, except through me, or with my sanction. I have also to inform your Excellency that Mr. Weld having written to Lieut.-Colonel Logan, commanding 57th Eegiment at Wanganui, offering him an appointment under the Colonial Government, I have desired that officer to inform Mr. Weld that your Excellency is the proper channel of communication on such a subject. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.
55
GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4.
No. 139. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, Bth June, 1865. In reference to your letter of yesterday's date, conveying to me instructions you had issued to Colonel Warre and to Colonel Logan, I venture to request that you will suspend such instructions until Her Majesty's Government have been heard from on the subject. It is with diffidence that I make such a request, but an experience of twenty-five years in matters of this nature satisfy me that you cannot give the orders you propose without doing that which is, I believe, without a precedent, and which will inflict real injury upon the service and upon Her Majesty's subjects. Iv the hope of inducing you to reconsider the conclusion at which you have arrived, I will state my reasons for holding the opinions I have above expressed. In the case of Colonel Warre, he is the senior military officer in the Province of Taranaki. In that district for some time past, and I fear for some time to come, emergencies have arisen and are arising which have to be instantly met. You are yourself rarely resident in the Province of Taranaki, often at a considerable distance from it, with only unfrequent and often uncertain means of communication. In all countries circumstanced as this is, where a Military Officer is in charge of a district, the authorities have, as far as my experience goes, been allowed freely to consult with such officers regarding the means which in any emergency they should take for their safety and protection. He has been regarded as the proper adviser upon such questions, and I do not think Her Majesty's subjects ought to be shut out from the benefit of his advice and experience whenever circumstances arise which render it expedient for him in his opinion to afford them the advantage of them. To do so might entail serious disaster or absolute ruin upon them. To order Colonel Warre not to afford them such an advantage when he thinks right to do so, is, I fear, to cast a serious slur either upon his discretion, his judgment, or his military knowledge. An officer who for the lack of any of these qualties is not fit to be entrusted with such powers, and to whom Her Majesty's subjects may not look for advice and suggestions in a time of difficulty and danger, ought not in my opinion to be left in charge of the district. In Colonel Warre's case I cannot imagine on what grounds it should be thought necessary to issue such orders to him. His judgment and advice upon military affairs has hitherto been sound and good. I think it should not be lost sight of in the case of this correspondence between Colonel Warre and the Minister for Colonial Defence, that it did not relate to the establishment of military posts occupied by Her Majesty's troops, but to the location of settlers and friendly Natives, with a view to insuring the future safety of a British Colony. In the case of Colonel Logan, I had no knowledge that Mr. Weld had written to him offering him an appointment under the Colonial Government, and I can assure you that I am not the proper person for Colonel Logan to communicate with on such a subject. I have nothing to do with Colonial appointments. It would be as proper to desire him, if he wished to know would it be in his power to obtain a consulship, to communicate direct with Her Majesty upon the subject instead of with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, as to order him to communicate with me, and not with the Colonial Secretary, if he wished to know if he might hope to obtain an appointment under the Colonial Government. I believe that all officers have a right to communicate regarding what are their private affairs with the Colonial Government, and they cannot be prevented from so doing. The question of whether an officer should ultimately be allowed to leave the army to take an appointment under the Colonial Government is of course a different one, and rests with the military authorities. I am sure that to give Colonel Logan the orders which you state you propose to do would be alike derogatory to my position and to that of the Colonial Ministers, and I believe it would be unjust to Colonel Logan. I therefore earnestly request that such orders may be suspended until the instructions of Her Majesty's Government have been received. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geet. No. 140. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 9th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of yesterday's date, relative to certain orders which I informed you in my letter of the 7th instant I had considered it necessary to send to Colonel Warre and Lieut.-Colonel Logan. I regret that I cannot reconcile it with my sense of duty to comply with your Excellency's request that I should suspend those orders, which I did not issue without due consideration. I cannot consent to the principle that any member of the Colonial Government is at liberty to refer Military Questions, on behalf of the Colonial Government, to Officers commanding at out-stations, or that the latter should be allowed to give their opinions on such questions without my knowledge or sanction. Neither myself nor the officers under my command have properly any official relation whatever to the Colonial Government except through your Excellency; and whenever the Colonial Government require information or an opinion on any military question, it is for them to apply for it through your Excellency, and for your Excellency to refer it, when possible, to me. It is of course impossible to give Officers commanding at out-stations orders adapted to every emergency that may arise; and cases may sometimes occur (though the recent occasion at Taranaki cannot be considered one) which would justify an officer in deviating from the above rule of correspondence, when an indiscriminate adherence to it might prove injurious to the public service. I should hope that the officers under my command have sufficient- judgment and good feeling to carry out the spirit of my orders and tho rules
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of the service as far as lies in their power, and that they will not deviate from them without good reason. I consider it the more necessary at the present time to require from them a strict observance of the rules of correspondence above referred to in consequence of the sanction your Excellency has thought proper to give to recent proceedings at Tarananki, and which might otherwise furnish a precedent to be made use of hereafter injuriously to the public interests. With regard to your Excellency's remarks about the local authorities being allowed to consult freely with an officer in command regarding the means of safety and protection in any emergency — Her Majesty's subjects looking to him for advice in time of difficulty and danger, &c. All such observations have little or no relation to the question at issue. The orders which I have found it necessary to give cannot interfere with the right performance of duties so manifestly pertaining to every officer in command. In regard to Lieut.-Colonel Logan, I intended by my letter of the 7th instant to point out to your Excellency that the Colonial Government should have applied for that officer's services through your Excellency; and I had no intention of conveying, as your Excellency has erroneously supposed, that Lieut.-Colonel Logan should himself apply to your Excellency on the subject. You will see, on reference to my letter, that you misinterpreted its meaning. There can be nothing derogatory to your Excellency, as Governor of the Colony, in receiving a communication from one of your Responsible Advisers relative to the employment of an officer under my command. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., <fee. Lieut.-General. No. 141. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goyebnoe. Sib,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 30th May, 1865. I have the honor to forward for your Excellency's consideration, the enclosed copies of two letters received from Commissary-General Jones, C.8., relative to the supply of rations by the Commissariat Department to militia and military settlers. This subject has already been brought under your Excellency's notice in letters Nos. 4041 and 4201, of the 6th January and sth April respectively, addressed to the Private Secretary, to neither of which has any reply been received. I have therefore to request that I may be favored, with as little delay as possible, with your Excellency's views on the subject of Mr. Jones' letter of the sth January, and of those herewith enclosed, in order that the instructions received from the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may as far as practicable be carried out. My own opinion on the subject is that the Commissariat are only authorised to issue rations and pay to such part of the Colonial Forces as may be actually in the performance of military duty, and co-operating with Her Majesty's troops under my command, and that the accounts of the rations should be regularly settled .in the manner proposed by Mr. Jones. I have also to request that the senior Commissariat officer in each Province may be furnished before the end of every month with an estimate of the number of rations that will be required during the month ensuing ; and further, that the cost of such rations shall be defrayed on presentation of the accounts by the Commissary-General. I would propose that this arrangement should be carried into effect from the Ist July next. With regard to the statement made in Deputy Assistant Commissary-Goneral Graham's letter of the 17th ultimo, relative to the gratuitous issue of rations to the Colonial Forces at Wanganui, your Excellency must be aware that I never sanctioned any such thing. I have,*&c., D. A. Camebon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 141. The Commissary-General to the Assistant Military Secretary. Sir, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 21st April, 1865. With reference to your letter of Bth ultimo, No. 4153, conveying the decision of the Lieut.-General Commanding to the continuance of the issue of rations by this department to the Colonial Forces in the Province of Auckland, I have the honor to submit for his further consideration whether the Military Settlers now occupying posts in the Provinces of Taranaki and Hawke's Bay, are also to continue to be similarly rationed. In bringing this question to the notice of the Lieut.-General, I would remind him of the recent instructions both from the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and the Secretary of State for War, to the effect that no increase to the liabilities of the Colony to the Home Government is to be permitted. Should the Lieut.-General decide upon a continuance of these issues, I would suggest that it be only upon condition of immediate payment of the costs of supplies so issued and of all establishments retained at posts occupied solely by the Colonial troops. I would refer to my letter of the sth January, 1865, No. 510 cin which I proposed this last condition but I have not as yet been favored by the Lieut.-General's decision upon the point. I think I should also draw the Lieut.-General's attention to the fact that at Taranaki and Napier, the issues are made to Military Settlers, and also that most of the Waikato Militia are now or will soon be settled upon their land. It appears to be therefore questionable how far the Imperial Government should be called upon to supply rations to settlers. The Commissariat Regulations in "additional P
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A.—No. 4,
articles " pages 183 to 185, refer to temporary levies, as embodied and serving under the immediate orders of the Lieut.-General commanding, as the Colonial Forces to whom issues may be made. I have, &c., H. Stanley Jones, The Assistant Military Secretary Head Quarters, Wanganui. Commissariat General. Enclosure 2 to No. 141. The Commissariat General to the Assistant Military Seceetaey. Sic, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 15th May, 1865. I have the honor to enclose herewith copies of correspondence relative to the issue of rations by this department to the Colonial force at Wanganui, and request you will be good enough to acquaint me if the Lieut.-General approves of the issue in question. I consider it my duty with reference to recent instructions from the War Office and Treasury to bring to the Lieut.-General's notice that portion of the correspondence which states that the issue of rations to the Colonial Forces in the Wanganui district was to be " gratuitous," and would respectfully suggest that the full value, with 15 per cent, added, be charged against the Colony for all supplies furnished by this Department. I have, <fee, H. Stanley Jones, The Assistant Military Secretary Head Quarters, Auckland. Commissariat General. Enclosure 3 to No. 141. The D. C. Geneeal to the Commissaey-Geneba_l. Sic,— Commissariat, Wanganui, 3rd May, 1865. I have the honor to transmit to you herewith copies of a correspondence relative to the issue of rations by this Department to the Colonial force in the Wanganui District. You will observe that Lieut.-Colonel Logan Commanding has sanctioned subject to the approval of the Lieut.-General commanding these issues being made by Deputy Assistant Commissary General Graham. I can only account for the delay that has occurred in bringing this subject under your notice by stating that the letter was not received by me before the 24th April, and I presume that it had been moving about the country in pursuit of me. I have, &c, E. Strickland, To Commissary-General Jones, C.8., Auckland. D. C. General. Enclosure 4 to No. 141. D. A. C. General Geaham to D. C. General Steickland. Sir — Commissariat, Wanganui, 17th April, 1865. I have the honor to hand you herewith copy of a letter, approved by Colonel Logan, requiring an issue of rations to the Colonial Forces in this district, which I have since issued, and to inform you that there is not here or elsewhere, as has hitherto been the case at other stations, anyone who is authorised to liquidate the cost of such issues. I have the honor to inform you also, that the Minister for Colonial Defence when here, stated to me that the Lieut.-General at the request of His Excellency the Governor, would sanction the gratuitous issue of rations to the Colonial Forces in this district, and I shall be glad to have your instructions on the subject, whether or not this is the case, as the issues for forage, &c, are very large. I have, &c, To Deputy Commissary General Strickland, J. C. Geaham, &c, &c, Patea. Deputy Adjutant Commissary General. Enclosure 5 to No. 141. Quartermaster Gudgeon to Major Rookes, Commanding Militia. Sir, Wanganui, 12th April, 1865. Mr. Graham, the Commissariat Officer, having refused to issue a further snpply of forage or provisions to the militia until he has the approval of Colonel Logan, it will be necessary immediately to apply to him, as I must send up without delay several week's provision to Pipiriki, Captain Brassey having rationed the Maori Militia in addition to his own men, which will soon run him short of the provisions already furnished. I have, <fee, T. W. Gudgeon, Major Rookes, Commanding Militia. Quartermaster. Mr. Gudgeon will wait on Colonel Logan, and obtain the necessary orders if that officer will give them. J- Rookes, (Major.) , Wanganui, 12th April, 1865. Sanctioned for the present, but subject to the approval of the Lieut.-General commanding. R. A. Logan, (Lieut.-Colonel 57th Regiment,) Commanding the District.
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No. 142. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Auckland, 7th June, 1865. I have the honor to request that I may be furnished with a return shewing the cost to the public of sending the " Alexandra" to Melbourne, including coal, wages of officers and crew, and loss of a carrying vessel. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey No. 143. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sib, — Auckland, 7th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of this date, requesting me to furnish you with a return shewing the cost to the public of sending the steam ship " Alexandra" to Melbourne. I beg to inform your Excellency that the cost to the public of sending that vessel, which is now a naval transport, to Melbourne, does not enter into the accounts of any military department under my command, and I am therefore unable to furnish you with the return you require, which, however, may be obtained from Captain Spain, R.N., Resident Transport Officer. I think it very desirable that Her Majesty's Government should be furnished with the return you wish, in order that they may know the expense to which the public has been put by your Excellency's proceedings —an expense however, which became inevitable in the interests of the public service, when I discovered for the first time in a local newspaper of the 15th of May, the Memorandum addressed by Ministers to your Excellency on the Bth April, in which an attack was made on me in my official position. As the Officer commanding Her Majesty's troops, I felt it my duty to make Her Majesty's Government immediately acquainted with what was going on, and I only regret that the secrecy observed by your Excellency and the Ministers, prevented my doing so by the ordinary mail. I forward a copy of your Excellency's and this letter to the Secretary of State for War. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 144. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sib, — Government House, Auckland, 7th June, 1865. I have the honor to request that I may be furnished with a statement showing in detail the present distribution of the troops in the districts of Wanganui and Taranaki. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 145. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, Bth June, 1865. Mr. Cardwell in his Despatch to me, No. 20, of the 27th March, of* which he transmitted a copy to you, states that he feels the more difficulty in giving me his opinion on the important question of safety, because there appears to be a discrepancy between my despatches and those which you have addressed to the Secretary of State for War, from which it appears, that I expect from you services which will render necessary the continued presence in New Zealand, if not indeed the increase, of its present force. I should feel very much obliged to you if you would supply me with copies of the despatches to the Secretary of State for War, to which Mr. Cardwell alludes, that I may furnish the requisite explanation on this subject to Her Majesty's Government. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General SirD. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 146. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 10th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the Bth instant, requesting me to furnish you with copies of my despatches addressed to the Secretary of State for W Tar, in January last. I consider it unadvisable under present circumstances to comply with your Excellency's request, but I may add for your Excellency's satisfaction, that those despatches contained no information of which you were not in full possession at the time they were written. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.
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No. 147. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 9th June, 1865. In a private letter to me dated the 28th January last, you write to me as follows : —" Since I have been in this part of the world, I have made enquiries about the purchase of the Waitotara Block, and have reason to believe that it was a more iniquitous job than that of the Waitara Block. lam not surprised that the natives have opposed our road-making. The Government at home ought to be made acquainted with the true history of the business." Upon the receipt of your letter, I felt that I ought not to rest under the imputation of holding back any information from Her Majesty's Government. I therefore immediately requested my Responsible Advisers to appoint a commission to enquire into any facts which rendered it probable that the purchase of the Waitotara block of land was an iniquitous job. They inform me that they have made all the enquiries they can, and find no grounds whatever for thinking that the purchase of the Waitotara Block was a job —that they are most anxious to appoint a perfectly independent commission to examine into any complaints in regard to the purchase of this block of land; but that they have no such complaints before them, and do not know what points they should direct the commission to enquire into. As I am very anxious to do justice in the matter, to do my duty to the Home Government, and to keep nothing back from them of which they should be informed, I should feel very much obliged to you if you would inform me of the nature of the enquiries you made about the purchase of the Waitotara Block—what are your reasons for believing that it is an iniquitous job, and upon whose information your opinions are founded ? Immediately I am in possession of this information, a full enquiry shall be instituted, and ample justice done, as the state of the country will now, I believe, shortly permit of such proceedings being carried out. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 148. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 12th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 9th instant, relative to a remark in a private letter I addressed to you on the 28th January last. It is no part of my duty to collect information for your Excellency on such a subject as the purchase of the Waitotara Block, regarding which you have ample means of obtaining all the information you require, and I therefore decline entering into any correspondence with your Excellency on the subject. I will now, however, make Her Majesty's Government fully acquainted with the information on which the opinion expressed in my private letter of the 28th January was founded. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 149. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 10th June, 1865. In reply to your letter of this day's date, refusing to comply with my request to furnish me with copies of your Despatches to the Secretary of State for War, which led to the remarks made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in his Despatch No. 20, of the 27th March, I have the honor to state that it is of course quite clear that they could have contained no information of which I was not in possession, but I am now required to furnish explanations regarding the statements made by you in these Despatches, which I am now unable to do. I can only leave it to Her Majesty's Government to determine as to whether you were justified in secretly writing to them that which has evidently created a wrong impression in their minds, and in now shrinking from giving me an opportunity of giving explanations regarding my proceedings (which I have been called on to furnish), by refusing to acquaint me with the statements you did not hesitate to make, but dare not produce. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 150. Lieut.-General Sir. D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 12th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 10th instant, relative to my refusal to furnish you with copies of my Despatches to the Secretary of State for War of January last. Looking at the spirit which has actuated your Excellency's proceedings towards me during the last three months, it is a matter of no surprise or concern to me what construction your Excellency is pleased to put upon my actions, but I have little doubt that the Secretary of State for War will approve of the reasons for which I have refused to comply with your request. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
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No. 151. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, sth June, 1865. I have the honor to forward the copy of a letter I have received from Commissary-General Jones, C.8., with reference to the existing issues of pay and rations on account of the Colonial Government. • I beg to inform your Excellency that I fully concur with Commissary General Jones ; and I propose to cancel all the existing authorities for present issues from the Ist August next. I believe that it would be an advantage to the Colony as well as to the Imperial Government that the whole subject of these issues should be carefully reviewed and that a special application, with full particulars, be made for each case in which the assistance of the Commissariat is required by the Colonial Government. I have, <fee, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure to No. 151. The Commissaby-Genebal to the Assistant Militaey Seceetaey. Sic, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 3rd June, 1865. With reference to your letter No. 4267 of this date, and the previous correspondence alluded to therein, I consider it my duty to bring to the Lieut.-General's knowledge that an expenditure of Imperial funds to the extent of £15,000 per month is being incurred on account of advances of money and cost of rations for Colonial forces and Military Settlers, and although under a promise of repayment, still the power of the Colony to meet the accounts appears to me very problematical, as if the money were available, the necessity for cash advances to pay the Militia could not be requisite. I conceive that there could be no better opportunity than the present, when His Excellency the Governor and two of his Ministers are in the Province, to bring this long open question to an issue, and would suggest that in order to do so, the Lieut.-General should direct that all issues both of money and supplies shall cease from a fixed early date, say the end of next month, and that no further issues be allowed except upon an application from the Colony for each individual case, shewing the necessity for the same, and giving all particulars such as numbers, and description offeree, rates of pay. &c., locality, and all other details necessary to form an estimate of the amount of money or supplies demanded. By this means the Lieut.-General will be able, by reviewing the various questions in detail, to see and judge of the necessity that exists for sanctioning or disallowing each. I have, &c, The Assistant Military Secretary, H. Stanley Jones, Head Quarters, Auckland. Commissary-General. No. 152. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 9th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth instant, forwarding a copy of a letter from Commissary-General Jones, C.8., dated 3rd June. From this correspondence I gather that you propose to cancel all the existing authorities for the present issues of pay and rations by the Commissariat on account of the Colonial Government, from the first day of August next, with a view of reviewing in detail the various questions connected with each of such issues, and of seeing and judging of the necessity that exists for sanctioning or disallowing each ; and that you believe that it will be an advantage to the Colony as well as to the Imperial Government, that the whole subject of these issues should be carefully reviewed, and that a special application with full particulars be made for each case. In reply, I have the honor to state that I can see no advantage that would result to the Colony from a careful review at the present time of the whole subject of these issues. The Colony is responsible for the cost incurred on account of them, and is to repay the amount. The case of every one of the issues which is being made was carefully considered by the Colonial Government before I applied to you to order such issue ; and the Colonial Government is satisfied in the case of each of these issues that it is still necessary, or it would not allow that it should continue to be made. If you choose to cancel all the existing authorities for all present issues from the first of August next, with the intention of reviewing the various questions in detail, and of seeing and judging the necessity which exists for sanctioning or disallowing each one of them, I cannot prevent you from taking such a course, and the Colonial Officers shall be instructed to afford you any information connected with these subjects for which you may ask. But I think it my duty to state why I think it would be disadvantageous to the Colony as well as to the Imperial Government that you should at the present time follow the course you propose to adopt. There is now within a few miles of the settlement of Wanganui a post occupied by rebel Natives, of which they have been long allowed, and are still allowed to retain undisturbed possession. They thus keep alive in the country the smouldering embers of insurrection, which may at any time burst out into a flame and involve in serious disasters the settlements of Wanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu, and the district of Wellington. These rebels who hold the Wereroa Pa, are connected with the fanatics on the East Coast. Their pa was the last point on the South-west Coast, from which the party of fanatics, bearing a head, who murdered Mr. Volkner, were sent upon their atrocious mission, and through their influence, which increases from their being allowed to remain undisturbed, the East Coast tribes may at any time be roused to revolt. Q
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At the present moment important negociations are being carried on with the hitherto rebel Natives in this part of the Northern Island. These negociations appear on the whole to be progressing favourably, but a very slight cause may yet disturb them, and bring on renewed difficulties here. The question of the despatch of troops from the Colony is under consideration; until it has been decided what numbers of troops are to be sent home, and the dates at which they are to leave the Colony, it will be impossible to determine what positions are to be permanently occupied by military settlers or friendly Natives, who would for some time require the assistance of the Commissariat to meet the necessary issues for their support. Various positions already taken up by military settlers and friendly Natives, and which will probably have to be permanently held, are now settling down into a state of peace and order, and their occupants finding that the requisite issues are regularly supplied to them, do their duty contentedly and well. Under these circumstances to direct that all the present issues of pay and rations to the Colonial Government should be cancelled from the Ist of August next, would, I fear, whilst it would obtain no useful end, cause great want of confidence and alarm, unsettle many men's minds as to the permanency of anything the Government is doing, and probably involve the country in fresh disasters. My own opinion as to what should be done to meet the questions you have raised, is as follows: —The embers of revolt which are still slumbering close to Wanganui, should be put out by the punishment and dispersion of the rebels who occupy the Wereroa Pa. The negociations now in progress should be brought as speedily as practicable to a close, which, after the dispersion of the rebels in the neighbourhood of Wanganui, I believe could be done satisfactorily and permanently; then, that it should be decided what regiments are to be sent home, and at what dates to give effect to the reduction of troops which has been ordered. When this point has been settled, that it should then be determined what positions are to be permanently held by military settlers and friendly Natives, and which of those positions will have to depend upon the Commissariat for the issue of pay or rations, and that the necessity of each of such cases should be carefully considered. In this manner I think effect could be given to the intentions you have expressed with due regard to the safety of the Colony. I beg that you will, as soon as you conveniently can, inform me what course you intend to pursue in reference to this subject, as it is one which involves the most serious considerations, and may require immediate action on my part. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 153. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 14th June, 1865. Referring to your letters of the 19th May and 2nd June, 1865, in which you request that I will discontinue issuing any orders relating to the march of troops, abandoning posts, or reducing their establishment, &c, without your sanction being previously obtained, I have now the honor to inform you that I propose making the following moves: — Ist. Detachment 70th Regiment, about two Officers and seventy Rank and File, from Otahuhu to Taranaki. 2nd. Detachment 2-14 th Regiment, about four Officers and ninety Rank and File, from Auckland to Otahuhu. 3rd. Head Quarters 65th Regiment, about one hundred and eighty Rank and File, including the Band, from Te Awamutu to Auckland. 4th. Fifty Rank and File of the l-12th Regiment, from Queen's Redoubt to the Waikato Frontier, leaving only thirty at that post. I propose these movements for the following reasons, viz : — Ist. The Detachment of the 70th at Otahuhu consists of recruits, arrived not long ago from England, who ought to join the Head Quarters of the Regiment as soon as possible. 2nd. The Detachment of the 2nd Battalion 14th Regiment at Auckland, is too weak for all the duties of the garrison. Should the movements I propose be authorised by your Excellency, the force in the Waikato Frontier will be reduced by about one hundred and thirty men. Should your Excellency think it unadvisable at the present time to weaken the force on that frontier, the Auckland garrison might be strengthened by a detachment from the Queen's Redoubt, leaving the 70th still at Otahuhu, and not moving any of the 65th from the Waikato frontier. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 154. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Si R) — Head Quarters, Auckland, 21st June, 1865. I have the honor to forward, for your Excellency's information, the accompanying copy of a letter received from Brigadier-General Waddy, C.8., commanding at Wanganui, transmitting a report from Major Yon Tempsky, commanding Forest Rangers, relative to an attack made by him on a party of the rebels in the bush near Kakaramea. Major Yon Tempsky and the officers and men under his command deserve great credit for their gallantry and daring conduct on this occasion. I have, &c„ D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., Ac, Ac, Ac. Lieut.-General.
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Enclosure 1 to No. 154. Brigadier-General Waddy to the Assistant Militaey Seceetaey. Sir,— Patea River, 16th May, 1865. I have the honor to forward, for the information of the Lieut.-General commanding the forces, a letter from Major Yon Tempsky, detailing the account of an affair on the 13th instant, between the Forest Rangers under his command and a party of rebel Maoris in the bush, about three or four miles from Kakaramea. Ensign Doveton, 50th Regiment, was sent out with a party by Captain Barnes, 50th Regiment, commanding the detachment at Kakaramea, to support Major Yon Tempsky as soon as firing was heard in the bush. I regret to have to report that Ensign Whitfield was mortally wounded, and died in camp here at 11 p.m., on 13th instant. Private Best, who was missing, has not yet been found. I have, Ac, R. Waddy, Brigadier-General commanding Field Force. The Assistant Military Secretary, Head Quarters, Auckland. Enclosure 2 to No. 154. Major Yon Tempsky to Brigadier-General Waddy. Sic, — Kakaramea, 14th May, 1865. I have the honor to report, for the information of the Brigadier-General, that on the 13th of May I had an engagement with rebel Maoris encamped near the Patea river, three miles north from Kakaramea. I had sent out on the 9th instant two parties to scout along both banks of the river. One on the right bank of the river, under my command, found a track evidently considered an important one by the Maoris, as an unaccessible cliff had been made passable by supplejacks and ladder, and many little streams were found bridged. I did not follow the track too far, as our footprints might have revealed our future intentions, and as we had dogs with us. The party on the left bank of the river, under Captain George and Ensign Whitfield, were fired upon by Natives from a bush ; returned the fire, and chased the Natives for some distance. That night I took my whole detachment across the river at 1 a.m., and found at daybreak that the Maori encampment was on this, the right bank of the river. We returned early on the 10th. At dusk three Maori scouts approached our camp, and were seen by one of my men. I sent a party to cut them off, ineffectually. I did not deem it prudent to go out that night by the track on this side of the river, as the scouts had evidently come there, and must have seen our footprints. On the 12th, ten Maori scouts were seen near a plantation, coming also from the principal track. The Maoris proving thus to be too much on the alert, I delayed my expedition till the night of Friday the 12th. At 1 a.m., I started with a force as stated below,* on the right bank of the river, having failed to obtain a boat or canoes, which would have facilitated the attack considerably. At the cliff before mentioned I left one officer and twenty men to hold that point against any circumventive force, as ten men could have prevented there the return of hundreds. After travelling over a most difficult road for two or three miles, we lost the track on arriving at some plantations. We then followed severally two tracks and found them to end, one at an eelwear over a precipice, the other at a place for steeping corn, and no further chance of an advance beyond those points. After a considerable delay the right track was found, but daylight was dawning when we came to a village on the top of a plantation hill bearing north-east from this camp. We found the ashes of recent fires still warm in the whares, also other traces of recent occupation. While engaged investigating these matters, smoke in considerable volumes ascended from a ridge separated from us by a deep gorge, so deep that I mistook it at first for the river. The Natives were there evidently, but broad daylight now interfered with the hope of a surprise ; yet having brought a new detachment for the first time in view of the enemy, I deemed it necessary to attack even at some risk. We crossed the wooded gorge, ascended the opposite side, and were soon at a gate, giving a view of a large clearing with about thirty temporary flax huts pitched on one side ; we also could see some Natives. I extended the men along the edge of the clearing, but found that the latter was all along barricaded. As delay, however, was worse than useless, and the men and officers anxious to charge, I gave the word, and the men, with Captain George and Ensign Whitfield in advance, burst through the barricading and rushed the whares. The noise of breaking the barricading, and the distance of the whares from the nearest point even, gave thj3 Maoris time to grasp their arms and receive us with a heavy volley. We drove them, however, from the whares to the edge of the bush, where they established themselves behind barricading and fallen trees. Taking the best cover we could within twenty yards of them, a promiscuous exchange of shots commenced. It was in the first charge that the most hits on both sides took place. Ensign Whitfield received a shot penetrating his right arm and entering his side ; Captain George had the tip of his thumb carried off, and private Macbean was hit in the head when close to the bush. Of the Maoris I saw four or five hit at the first fire; their bodies, however, had disappeared when we came to the spot. As the Maoris kept up an incessant yelling and calling towards distant quarters, (their calls, moreover, being answered,) I became apprehensive that any delay might bring reinforcements, which could easily take us at a disadvantage. I therefore ordered Lieut. Westneys to take the Maoris in the flank by entering the bush below them. After a while, he reported to me that this was not practicable on account of a precipitous gully ; —the fact was, the Maoris were in one of their natural fortresses. I then resolved gradually to draw off the men, keeping my best shots with me. I sent Lieut. Westneys to take possession of the gate once more, then forwarded the wounded and gradually * 1 Field Offirer, 1 Captain, 3 Subalterns, 48 Forest Bangers, 16 Waikato Militia; Keserve—l Subaltern, 20 Waikato Militia.
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the rest of the men, while the Maoris were singing war and Pai Marire hymns, and dancing the war dance, in a vain endeavour to get up courage enough to charge us. By half-past 9, a.m., I withdrew with the last five men from our position in front of the bush ; we had charged into the clearing at half-past 6 a.m. I estimated the Maori force from sixty to eighty men, though there was accommodation for many more in the temporary huts. At the time of our withdrawal I estimated that the Maoris had from six to eight men hit, and if it had not been for the frightful road to carry home wounded men, I would have persevered in completing our chances of a complete victory. Some officers and men advised me of a better route home for the transport of the wounded than the one we had come. This route, however, after cutting it through a dense bush, ended in a precipice of 150 feet. We returned to our old route, and found that some Maoris had taken possession of some strong whares before which we unavoidably had to pass. Three of these Maoris were seen by my advanced guard and shot, the first by Sergt. Ross, No. 2 Company Forest Rangers, the other two by some other men later. Not wishing to have any more wounded to carry, I sent Captain George and some men to explore the heading of the precipitous gully in our rear. He came back, and reported favorably. We then retreated unmolested through successive forest gorges; the bush was of the densest, and the ascents and descents of the steepest. Private Macbean died on this road. After gaining the fern ridges, we entered camp at 4 p.m. In conclusion, I have to bring specially to your notice the gallant conduct of Ensign Whitfield and Captain George, also the soldierly management of Lieut. Wetneys, and the usefulness of Ensign Irwin, as well as Lieut. Malone, in command of the reserve ; but above all I have to praise the steady bearing of all non-commissioned officers and men, who underwent without a murmur the most trying fatigues for fifteen hours, and performed their bush cutting, road making, and bush fighting, with equal equanimity and courage. My thanks are also due to Lieut. Doughton, 50th Regiment, who with twenty men went to our assistance over a road unknown to him and hardly passable, the variety of tracks leading him astray. I have, Ac, G. F. Yon Tempsky, Major Forest Rangers. Brigadier-General Waddy, commanding Field Force, Wanganui. P.S.—One man lost his way in the bush yesterday, Private Best, of No. 1 Company Forest Rangers. I have sent out a volunteer party to look for him to-day ; they have not returned yet. The party has just returned and found no trace of Private Best; the natives have gone, to all appearances. No. 155. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 27th June, 1865. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have received from Colonel Warre a copy of a letter written by him in reply to one from your Private Secretary, forwarding to him copies of a correspondence which had taken place between your Excellency and myself. Your Excellency's proceedings being calculated to undermine the discipline of the force under my command, for which I am responsible, it will be my duty to report them to the Secretary of State for War, and His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding in Chief, and to solicit their protection against your Excellency. In the meantime I have directed Colonel Warre to abstain from replying to any official communications he may receive from your Excellency on which it may not be necessary for the public service that immediate action should be taken, until he has submitted them for my consideration and instructions. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 156. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 30th June, 1865. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I have received letters from BrigadierGeneral Waddy, C.8., commanding at Wanganui, from which it appears that Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Logan has been for some time acting at that station as Agent to the Colonial Government. Lieut.-Colonel Logan has been performing that duty without my sanction, and I have received no application for his services from your Excellency; I have therefore directed him to restrict himself to his military duties. Lieut.-Colonel Logan is not the senior officer on the station, and it would be improper for him to report on military matters to the Government. But there are reasons for which I consider it objectionable that any officer should hold the appointment of Agent to the Colonial Government, —and there is in my opinion no necessity for it. I have always impressed upon officers commanding at out-stations, that it is their duty to report direct to your Excellency whenever inconvenience to the public service might be occasioned by their doing so through me, and to furnish your Excellency with all the information you may require. ' I have pointed this out to Brigadier-General Waddy.
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Any information which it is not the duty of an officer to report to your Excellency, can always be communicated to the Colonial Government by their own Civil Agents. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 157. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd July, 1865. I have the honor to request that I may be favored with a reply from your Excellency to my letter of the 14th ultimo, relative to the movement of troops, as soon as possible, as it is a matter requiring immediate attention. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 158. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 3rd July, 1865. I have the honor to forward, for your Excellency's information, the copy of a letter, with its enclosures, received from Commissary-General Jones, from which you will see that the Colonial Government have failed to fulfil the guarantee given in their behalf by the Colonial Secretary and the Minister for Colonial Defence, for the monthly payment to the Commissariat of the accounts for rations supplied to the Colonial Forces. On the 18th February, in reference to this subject, Mr. Weld writes to the Commissary-General as follows : " Ministers give their assurance, that for the future the Commissariat Accounts for rationing the Colonial Forces in the Province of Auckland shall be paid monthly, on presentation at the SubTreasury, Auckland." On the 22nd February, in a Memorandum addressed to your Excellency, Major Atkinson states— " Ministers will guarantee immediate payment upon the presentation of the account by the Commis-sary-General for any rations that may be issued." The Sub-Treasurer in Auckland now acquaints the Commissary-General that he is " informed by the Colonial Treasurer that the arrangement referred to is understood to have been superseded by arrangements subsequently made." I need hardly inform your Excellency that no subsequent arrangements have been made which supersede the agreement entered into by the Colonial Government. On the contrary, the last paragraph of my letter of the 21st ultimo to your Excellency shows that it was on the faith of that agreement that I directed the continuance of all the present issues to the Colonial forces. Under these circumstances, I beg that your Excellency will call upon the Colonial Government to make arrangements for supjjlying their own forces, from the Ist August next, unless immediate payment is made of the bills already presented, and unless the Colonial Government can give some guarantee that can be relied upon for the regular settlement of such claims in future. I have, Ac, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Cameeon, Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 158. The Commissaey-Geneeal to the Assistant Militaey Seceetaey. Sic, — Commissariat, Auckland, N.Z., 30th June, 1865. Referring to my letter No. 1000, dated 14th instant, on the subject of the issue of rations to the Colonial Forces, and forwarding correspondence from the Colonial Secretary and Defence Minister in which those gentlemen distinctly guaranteed that the value of the rations issued should be repaid monthly, on a statement thereof being furnished by this department. I have now the honor to transmit for the information of the Lieut.-General Commanding copy of my letter of the 13th instant, forwarding statement of the value of the supplies issued to the Colonial Forces during the month of March, and the Sub-Treasurer*s reply of this date, from which it would appear that the arrangement entered into by Mr. Weld and Major Atkinson for the monthly repayment of the value of all supplies issued to the Colonial Forces, has been superseded by other arrangements made subsequently, and of which no notification has reached me. Should this not be the case, I would beg to submit for the Lieut.General's consideration, whether it would not, in accordance with the terms of my letter above quoted, be advisable to cease the issue of rations to the Colonial Forces from and after such date as the Lieut.-General may be pleased to fix; due notice thereof being made to the Colonial authorities. I have, Ac, The Assistant Military Secretary. H. Stanley Jones. Commissary-General. Enclosure 2 to No. 158. The Commissaey-Geneeal to the Sub-Teeasubee, Auckland. Sic, — Commissariat, Auckland, N.Z., 13th June, 1865. In accordance with the terms of the Colonial Secretary's letter of 18th February, 1565, (copy herewith,) I have the honor to enclose a statement of charges by the Imperial Government R
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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A.—No. 4,
against the Colonial Government of New Zealand, on account of supplies issued by this Department to the Colonial Forces during March last; and request that the amount, £8,232 13s. 7d., may be paid into the Military Chest at Auckland. I have, Ac, H. S. Jones, The Sub-Treasurer, Ac, Ac, Auckland. Commissary-General. Enclosure 3 to No. 158. The Sub-Teeasubee to the Commissaey-Geneeal. Sib,— In reply to your letter of the 13th instant, No. 992 c, enclosing a statement of charges against the Colonial Government for supplies issued to Colonial Forces during the month of March last, amounting to £8,232 13s. 7d., I have the honor to acquaint you that I am informed by the Colonial Treasurer that the arrangement referred to in your letter is understood to have been superseded by arrangements subsequently made, but that on this point His Excellency the Governor will be moved to communicate with the proper authorities. I have, Ac, R. F. POETEE, Commissary-General Jones, C.8., Ac, Ac, Auckland. Sub-Treasurer. No. 159. His Excellency's Peivate Seceetaey to the Assistant Militaey Seceetaey. Sic, — Private Secretary's Office, Wellington, 7th July, 1865. With reference to a letter (No. 152, 1865, of the Ist ultimo), addressed by Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to the Governor, in which he observes " that Colonel Warre could not have seen my letter of the 14th April, a copy of which you state you communicated to the Minister of Colonial Defence, as otherwise he would have mentioned it," and then goes on further to observe that he " considers it objectionable that an officer should undertake any operation for the extension of a settlement involving expense to the Imperial Government, at the suggestion of a Colonial Minister, on the strength of some communication received by that Minister from your Excellency (which communication is afterwards not forthcoming,") I have now the honor, by direction of his Excellency, to forward for the information of the Lieut.-General, a copy of the communication alluded to, which he has only this morning obtained. From this letter, dated 26th April, Sir D. Cameron will see that his correspondence with his Excellency to that date was forwarded to the Defence Minister, who states that he shewed to Colonel Warre the Lieut.-General's letter of the 14th April. I have, Ac, Fred. Thatcher, The Assistant Military Secretary, Head Quarters. Private Secretary. Enclosure to No. 159. The Private Secretary to Major Atkinson. My dear Major Atkinson, — Private Secretary's Office, Auckland, 12th June, 1865. The Governor would be obliged if you would send him copies of any letters he has written to you, enclosing letters from the General in reference to Colonel Warre's movements at Taranaki. I have, Ac, Feedk. Thatchee. COPY of the Goveenoe's Letter sent in answer to the above. My deab Atkinson, — Government House, Auckland, 26th April, 1865. Major Mulock having unexpectedly appeared here, I send you my correspondence with the General up to this day's date, that you may know all that is going on. I have so often talked these matters over with you, that I need not explain the reasons which have made me adopt the course I have followed. Warre is an able and good officer. He will now have a chance in the Warea direction. Pray aid and encourage him in every way to make the best of it, and that rapidly, as winter is coming on. lam glad the White Cliffs are occupied ; having got them, hold fast by them. All is going well in this part of the Island, our friends increase day by day, our enemies shew many signs of giving way. Rewi has sent a messenger asking for Mr. George Graham or some other person to be sent to treat with himself and Matutaera. The North is all quiet, the escaped prisoners are all returning to their own homes. You may fearlessly and without disturbance hurry on the settlement of affairs in the Taranaki Province. When that is done, I believe that the real war will be over. The "Esk" has just sailed for the East Coast, to ascertain the state of affairs there. When she returns, we can see our way clear for action. The English mail has not yet arrived. I have, Ac, The Minister of Defence, New Plymouth. G. Geey. No. 160. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 7th July, 1865. I have the honor to forward to your Excellency a letter received by Colonel Warre from the Colonial Secretary, and which the former has very properly referred to me for instructions; and I shall feel obliged if you will point out to the members of the Colonial Ministry the impropriety of their corresponding with and giving instructions to officers under my command.
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1 have already had occasion to draw your Excellency's attention to irregularities of this kind, and also to report them to the Secretary of State for War. In order to prevent any inconvenience to the public service, I have desired Colonel Warre to forward a copy of the Colonial Minister's letter and the Proclamation to the Superintendent of the Province. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 160. The Hon. the Colonial Seceetaey to Colonel Waebe, 08. Sib, — Colonial Secretary's Office, Wellington, Ist July, 1865. I have the honor to enclose a copy of a Proclamation, dated the Ist July, 1865, by His Excellency the Governor and under the Seal of the Colony revoking the Proclamation of Martial Law in the Province of Taranaki from the Ist August next. You are requested to cause such Proclamation to be published in the local newspapers, and also to ask his Honor the Superintendent of Taranaki to cause it to be published in the Provincial Government Gazette. I have, Ac, Colonel Warre, C.8., New Plymouth. J. C. Richmond. Enclosure 2 to No. 160. A PROCLAMATION revoking Proclamation of Martial Law in the Province of Taranaki. By His Excellency Sir George Grey, Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty's Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same Ac, Ac, Ac. Whereas by Proclamation bearing date the 25th day of January, 1860, His Excellency Colonel Thomas Gore Browne, the then Governor of the said Colony of New Zealand, did proclaim and declare that martial law would be exercised throughout the Province of Taranaki from the date of the publication of tho said Proclamation within the said Province until the relief of the said district from martial law by public Proclamation; And whereas it appears unto me expedient to revoke the said Proclamation : Now therefore, I, Sir George Grey, the Governor as aforesaid of the said Colony, in pursuance and exercise of all powers and authorities in this behalf enabling me, do hereby proclaim and declare the aforesaid Proclamation of the 25th day of January, 1860, to be and the same is hereby revoked; And I do further proclaim and declare that this Proclamation shall take effect on and from the first day of August, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. Given under my hand at the Government House, at Wellington, and issued under the Seal of the Colony of New Zealand, this first day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. By His Excellency's command, G. Geey. J. C. Richmond, Colonial Secretary. God save the Queen ! No. 161. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 7th July, 1865. When I consented to the officers commanding at Taranaki and Wanganui being employed as agents to the Colonial Government, I was informed by your Excellency that the only duty they would have to perform would be to forward from time to time, through me, to your Excellency, or in my absence, direct to your Excellency, confidential reports on the state of the provinces under their command. From the fact, however, of their being paid for this duty out of Colonial funds, the present Colonial Government appear to consider that they are at liberty to correspond with those officers, and to give them instructions regarding other duties which I have never sanctioned their performing. It is probable that this would not have occurred if your Excellency had communicated to the Ministers the objections I have so frequently informed you that I had to their corresponding with officers under my command. A few days ago, Colonel Warre, commanding at Taranaki, in replying to a letter from the Deputy Adjutant-General, stated that a strict compliance with my orders was incompatible with the prompt discharge of his duties as agent to the Government. Under these circumstances, I have the honor to inform your Excellency that I cannot allow Colonel Warre, or any officer under my command, to act as agent to the Colonial Government. I have informed Colonel Warre of this decision, directing him in his capacity as officer commanding the troops, to continue to forward to your Excellency, as usual, copies of the confidential reports which he makes to mo on the state of the Province. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 162. Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 17th July, 1865. 1 have the honor to forward for your Excellency's information the copy of a letter and its enclosures, which I have received by the last mail from England, from which you will see that my
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resignation of the command of Her Majesty's Forces in this Colony, forwarded by me in February last, has been accepted, and permission granted to me to return to England. From a private letter which I have had the honor of receiving from His Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief, it would appear that His Royal Highness, as well as Earl de Grey, would prefer my retaining the command for some time longer, if any serious operations are still to be undertaken ; but looking at the unfortunate consequences of the relations existing between your Excellency and myself, and which have resulted solely from the course which your Excellency, in conjunction with the Colonial Ministers, has adopted, I feel that my remaining longer in the Colony can be of no advantage to the public service. I, therefore, propose to return to England on the Ist proximo, leaving Brigadier-General Waddy in temporary command, until the arrival of Major-General Chute from Melbourne. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 162. W. F. Foestee to Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic— Horse Guards, 26th April, 1865. With reference to my letter of the 19th instant, I am directed by the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief to transmit for your information the accompanying copy of a letter from the War Office, on the subject of your resignation, and request you will pursue the course therein pointed out with regard to the command of the troops serving in New Zealand, on your embarkation for this country —namely, either by handing over the command to the senior officer on the spot, or by sending for Major-General Chute from Australia, should you deem it more expedient to take the latter course. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. W. F. Foestee. Enclosure 2 to No. 162. Sib,— War Office, 26th April, 1865. I am directed by Earl de Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, on the subject of the resignation by Sir Duncan Cameron of the command of the troops in New Zealand. In reply I am to request that you will convey to His Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief an expression of the sincere regret with which Her Majesty's Government have learnt that the state of Sir Duncan's health has rendered it necessary for him to take this course. But, although the Government would have been glad to have been able to retain the advantage of Sir Duncan Cameron's valuable services until the complete pacification of the colony, they do not feel justified, as the orders lately sent out are likely to lead to a speedy cessation of hostilities, in withholding their consent to the course proposed. Lord de Grey would suggest to His Royal Highness that if, when Sir Duncan embarks, the force of regular troops serving in New Zealand is reduced to such an amount as may, in Sir Duncan's opinion, be left with propriety under the command of the senior officer on the spot, this course should be followed ; but if such should not in Sir Duncan's judgment be the case, Major-General Chute, commanding in Australia, should be directed to proceed to New Zealand, and take up the command there in person, in the event of his being requested to do so by Sir Duncan Cameron. Lord de Grey will be glad if, in addition to communicating these instructions to Sir Duncan Cameron, His Royal Highness will prepare Major-General Chute for the possibility of such a requisition being made upon him by Sir Duncan Cameron. I have, Ac, The Military Secretary. Edwabd Lugaed. No. 163. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Wellington, 25th July, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant, informing me that you intend to quit the Colony, on your return to England, upon the Ist of August next. I am sorry that you should attribute the relations now existing between us to the course which, in conjunction with the Colonial Ministers, I have pursued. I can only trust that a consideration of the subject by impartial persons will lead to a different conclusion. If indeed, as you say, lam to blame for what has taken place, I can assure you that I shall most sincerely regret it; but I believe that my own desire, and that of each succeeding Colonial Ministry, has been to aid you to the utmost in carrying out your plans, however opposed these might be to our views of what should be done, which they frequently were. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey.
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No. 164. The Private Seceetaey to the Assistant Military Seceetaey. a.—No. 1. Sic, — Private Secretary's Office, Wellington, 15th July, 1865. Pago 14. I have the honor by direction of His Excellency the Governor to transmit for the information and consideration of the Lieut.-General Commanding a copy of a Memorandum which he addressed to his Responsible Advisers on the 11th instant, relative to the arrangements now in operation for the rationing and payment of the Local Forces. I have, Ac, The Assistant Military Secretary, Ac, Feed. Thatcher, Head Quarters. Private Secretary. No. 165. The Assistant Militaey Seceetaey to the Peivate Seceetaey. Sic,— Head Quarters, Auckland, 26th July, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th instant, with enclosure, relative to the arrangement now in operation for the rationing and payment of the Local Forces, and in reply I am directed by the Lieut.-General Commanding to forward for the information of His Excellency the Governor the accompanying Memorandum. I have, Ac, Geobge Dean Pitt, Major, Assistant Military Secretary. The Private Secretary, Government House, Wellington. Enclosure 1 to No. 165. MEMORANDUM by Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. The Lieut.-General Commanding has read the Governor's Memorandum of the 11th July, and has also shown it to Commissary-General Jones, a letter from whom on the subject is herewith enclosed. The Lieut.-General knows nothing of any interview held between the Governor and the Ministers at Wanganui in March last, nor has the Governor thought proper to forward to the Lieut.-General the Memorandum of Ministers alluded to in his own Memorandum. With reference to the subsisting arrangement between the Imperial authorities and the Colonial Enclosed. Government, the Lieut.-General begs to observe that Mr. Weld's letter of the 18th February, Major Enclosed Atkinson's of the 22nd February, with a copy of a Ministerial Memorandum of the same date enclosed, ■ — and the letter of His Excellency's Private Secretary of the 6th March, each and all distinctly undertake to repay monthly into the Commissariat chest the cost of all rations issued to the Militia, and both the Lieut.-General and Mr. Jones considered this a bond fide engagement on the part of the Colony, until the payment of the March issues was refused. This engagement was never cancelled by any subsequent arrangement, such as that stated by the Governor, part of which was that the Colonial Agents were to be instructed at once to issue and hand over to the Treasury in England New Zealand Debentures to the amount of £500,000, at the rate of four per cent. The Lieut.-General does not see how this remittance could be expected to cover liabilities amounting in" March to upwards of £600,000, when all these liabilities were being increased by upwards of £10,000 a month, and when it was known that New Zealand Debentures were not saleable at par. In regard to the inability of the Colonial Government to raise funds to pay and ration the Militia at Wanganui, and to defray the expense of the steamers required to keep open the communication, tho Colony appears to have experienced no difficulty in raising funds to remove the Seat of Government from Auckland to Wellington, to purchase new Government buildings, Government houses, residences for Ministers, increasing the number of Ministers, and augmenting their salaries, paying large sums as compensation to Taranaki settlers, and entering into a costly new postal service to England in addition to the existing one. These sums would probably have met the cost of the Militia for several months. The only steamers maintained by the Colony for the service abovementioned were the " Prince Alfred " and the " Sandfly," and the coals for them were provided by the Commissariat without cost to the Colony. It was arranged that the entire cost of the " Gundagai " should be paid by the Commissariat. The full cost to the Colony of the first two steamers could scarcely have exceeded £700 a month, which amount could not have greatly interfered with providing funds to meet expenditure for the Wanganui Militia. The Governor's letter to the Lieut.-General of the 22nd March, and tho Lieut.-General's answer a. 4. to it of the sth April (not 3rd April), referred solely to the Wanganui Militia. The Lieut.-General's Page 61. answer was not in general terms, as stated ly the Governor, but clearly and distinctly specified the Wanganui Militia ; and the Lieut.-General cannot conceive how there could have been any misunderstanding on the subject, or how the Governor could ever have supposed that the arrangement sanctioned by the Lieut.-General was a general one for all the Colonial troops rationed by the Commissariat. Mr. Jones has informed the Lieut.-General that he had never heard of such a general arrangement, or that it was ever contemplated. As these circumstances have all been reported to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, it is unfortunate that the Governor should have fallen into such an error. In reference to the Governor's statement on the 22nd March, that the arrangement he proposed was only a temporary one, the Lieut.-General begs to observe that there was nothing in the state of affairs at that period, or in the plan of operation which the Lieut.-General was carrying out, under His Excellency's instructions, to warrant the belief that the operations between Wanganui and Taranaki would immediately be brought to a successful issue, and that the war would thus terminate; nor can anything recently accomplished by Colonel Warre, justify the Governor in using the language he did, regarding the probable temporary nature of the arrangement, supposing that in using that language the Governor intended to refer to the duration of the war, which there is nothing in his letter to show.
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The question is, to what extent and for what period the British public is to be burthened with the expense of paying and rationing not only the Colonial Militia and Military Settlers, actually performing military service, whose number is inconsiderable ; but also those who have been placed on their land, and are only liable to be called upon for service in cases of emergency. This question has been referred to Her Majesty's Government, and until their decision is known, if the Colonial Government are really unable to fulfil the engagement they entered into with the Military authorities, on the 18th and 22nd February, the Lieut.-General will authorize the Commissariat to continue to pay and ration the number of Militia and Military Settlers who are now paid and rationed, on the conditions mentioned by Commissary-General Jones, namely: that Colonial Debentures, bearing 4 per cent, interest, be remitted from time to time to Her Majesty's Treasury, sufficient to cover the full amount of all the advances and the cost of the rations, and that the terms upon which the debentures will be accepted be left entirely to the decision of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. Whatever arrangement may be decided upon, however, it is highly desirable that the Colonial Ministers should henceforward be more careful and explicit in their money transactions, and that they should not contract any engagement with the Imperial authorities which they do not intend, and are not able strictly to fulfil. It would also prevent misunderstanding, if, before calling upon the Lieut.General to sanction any arrangement for paying and rationing the Militia out of Imperial funds, the Governor would make himself acquainted with the exact nature of that arrangement. The Lieut.-General has little to say to the three last paragraphs of the Governor's Memorandum, as the statement of general principles they contain, affords no justification for escaping from liabilities indirectly entered into. D. A. Cameron, Head Quarters, Auckland, 26th July, 1865. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 2 to No. 165. The Hon. Colonial Secretary to the Commissary-General. Sir, — Colonial Secretary's Office, Wellington, 18th February, 1865. I have addressed His Excellency the Governor direct on the subject of your letter dated the 9th instant, to the Private Secretary, reporting the orders which you have given for the discontinuance from the 2Sth of this month, of the issue by the Commissariat of rations to the Colonial Forces in the Province of Auckland; but as it is probable His Excellency may be absent from Auckland when that communication arrives, I have the honor to address to you this letter on the same subject. As serious embarrassment to the public service would ensue from this sudden change of the system of supplying the Colonial Forces through the Commissariat, I have strongly to urge upon you the propriety of not carrying your orders into effect, especially as the guarantee which Ministers will give removes the alleged cause, namely —the prevention of further increase of the liabilities of this Colony to the Imperial Government: Ministers give their assurance that for the future the Commissariat accounts for rationing the Colonial Forces in the Province of Auckland, shall be paid monthly, on presentation at the Sub-Treasury, Auckland. It is however desired that the arrangement for supplying the Colonial Forces with rations by the Commissariat, should only be of a temporary character pending the completion of permanent arrangements contemplated by the Colonial Government, and which it is hoped will take effect within a few months at the furthest. Ministers confidently rely upon your acceptance of this proposal, as the shortness of the notice which you have given entirely precludes the Colonial Government from making other necessary arrangements. I have, Ac, Fred. A. Weld. Enclosure 3 to No. 165. MEMORANDUM for His Excellency the Governor. With reference to the letter from the Commissary-General of the 9th instant, His Excellency is respectfully requested to move the Lieut.-General Commanding to continue the issue of rations to the Colonial Forces at present on active service, as it is quite impossible that the Colonial Government can provide in a satisfactory manner rations for so large a body of men on so short a notice. Ministers will guarantee immediate payment upon the presentation of the account by the Commissary-General for any rations that may be issued. Taranaki, 22nd February, 1865. H. A. Atkinson. Enclosure 4 to No. 165. The Commissary-General to the Assistant Military Secretary. Sir, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 22nd July, 1865. Having carefully perused the Memorandum of His Excellency, dated 11th July, 1865, addressed to his Responsible Advisers on the subject of the continued increase of the liabilities of the Colony to the Imperial Government, I now do myself the honor to submit the following remarks for the consideration of the Lieut.-General Commanding:— Without entering into the detail of the various points touched upon by His Excellency, I think I may consider the whole question as resolving itself into Ist. The fact stated on pages 5 and 6 that the Civil Government finds it impossible to raise funds, at present, to pay or ration the Colonial Forces. 2nd. And in order to meet the existing exigencies of the present crisis the Colony appeals, through His Excellency, for the assistance of the Imperial Government iv advancing as a loan the means necessary for that purpose. 3rd. Proposes to liquidate these advances by means of Colonial debentures, remitted from time to time to the Imperial Treasury, these debentures bearing interest at the rate of four per centum per annum.
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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—No. 4
I venture to remark, with reference to the first, that the point to be considered is to what extent the assistance of the Colonial Forces is requisite to co-operate with the Lieut.-General and Imperial troops in the occupation of the country, and the military operations necessary to conduct the war to a successful issue. Secondly, that as the Colony has declared its inability to meet the expenses of the Militia, that the portion of them above decided upon as necessary should continue to be paid and rationed by the Commissariat out of Imperial funds ; but, thirdly, that the advances so made shall be covered by Colonial debentures to be sent to the Imperial Treasury from time to time in amount about equal to the advances so made. It should be clearly understood, however, that this step shall not be considered as binding upon Her Majesty's Treasury to receive those debentures at any fixed rate, but that the whole subject must of course be adjusted as their Lordships shall decide. I beg to mention that until I saw this Memorandum of His Excellency I had never heard of the proposal to remit debentures to Her Majesty's Treasury to cover the advances now being made. I was made aware of the fact that half a million in Colonial debentures had been sent home to meet previous liabilities, by the copy of His Excellency's letter enclosed in your letter of 2nd April, 1865, but the claims up to that date amounted to £603,917 6s. Bd., as reported in my letter of 13th March last, and must now amount to about £700,000. I have, Ac, H. Stanley Jones, The Assistant Military Secretary, Auckland. Commissary-General. No. 166. His Excellency the Governor to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron. Sir, — Government House, Wellington, 13th July, 1865. I have the honor to enclose for your information the copy of a Despatch I have this day addressed to the Secretary of State, in which I inform him that I have for the reasons therein stated, requested you without delay to act on your own discretion in regard to the instructions which you have received from Earl de Grey on the subject of the withdrawal of the Troops from New Zealand. The Hon. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, X.C.8., I have, Ac, Ac, Ac, Ac. G. Grey. No. 167. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 26th July, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 13th instant, enclosing the copy of a Despatch of the same date addressed by your Excellency to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which you state the reasons for which you had thought fit to re-transfer to me the discretion of reducing the force of Her Majesty's troops in New Zealand. To whatever motives this change of purpose on the part of your Excellency is to be attributed, I feel it my duty to adhere to the resolution which I acquainted you in my letter of the 3rd June I had taken, and which was forced upon me by your Excellency's proceedings. In endeavouring to exercise the discretion which your Excellency informed me you understood Her Majesty's Government to have entrusted to me, my desire was at once to send home two regiments, and as long as your Excellency confined yourself to a mere general expression of opinion against the measure, I continued to urge its being carried into effect, as I believed it might have been done with perfect safety. When however your Excellency, as Her Majesty's Representative, formally protested against any reduction on the ground of the public danger it involved, I felt that His Royal Highness the Com-mander-in-Chief, and the Secretary of State for War, could no longer expect me to carry out their instructions in the face of such a prohibition, and I informed your Excellency accordingly, stating that the whole responsibility of the detention of the troops rested with you, and that it would bo for you to decide when the reduction should be commenced. Your Excellency accepted the responsibility by not communicating with me further on the subject. I reported my proceedings to the Secretary of State for War, and I must therefore decline taking any further action in the matter. I have only to add on this subject, that instead of the concert and support which I should have looked for from your Excellency, in striving to perform the difficult duty devolving on me under the instructions of Her Majesty's Government, I had from the first to contend against a spirit of opposition which, in place of indirectly thwarting my efforts by raising difficulties, should I submit, have at once declared itself as a determination to take all discretion out of my hands. I only hope that with my departure from New Zealand the public service will iv this, as in all other things, cease to suffer from the exhibition of the bitter personal feeling which has of late characterized the whole of your Excellency's conduct and correspondence on all public measures in which I have in any manner been concerned in my official position. I cannot discuss with your Excellency the Memorandum of Ministers of the 26th June, in which, for reasons not difficult to comprehend, they profess a desire for the withdrawal of the whole of Her Majesty's troops ; nor is it at all necessary for me to discuss with your Excellency the contents of your despatch to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the subject of which it will be my duty to address the Secretary of State for War ; I must however observe that the statement in the second paragraph of your Excellency's despatch, that I had resolved not to give effect to the opinions you had expressed, does not convey a correct impression. I certainly could not concur in your Excellency's opinions regarding the Weraroa Pa. The correspondence referred to in your Excellency's despatch shows that the occupation of the coast line, in pursuance of your Excellency's instructions, received subsequently to those conveyed in the letter
71
GOVEKXOft AND LIEUT.-GENEJIAL CAMEHON.
A. No. I
of 16th December, made it impossible for me to attack the Pa during the season favorable for such an operation, and that your Excellency waited until the time of year most unfavorable for it to recommend its being captured. 1 pointed out the objections that existed to commencing the siege at such a time, but also expressed my willingness to undertake it if you considered its political importance paramount to such objections, and thought fit to give me directions on the subject. So far from having resolved not to capture the Weraroa Pa, the chief difference of opinion on the subject between your Excellency and myself was as to tho time and manner of doing it. I have always considered that if the Natives did not surrender the position (which I thought it very probable they would do), an attack on the Pa would become necessary. I acquainted your Excellency that the post which I had formed at Nukumaru would be useful in aid of that attack when undertaken, if its close proximity to the Pa did not induce the natives to surrender it, which I considered probable, and in my letter to your Excellency of the 21st June (a copy of which is not enclosed in your Despatch), I informed you that the Commanding Royal Engineer agreed with me that the attack would not be advisable until a more favorable season, and that all that was to be done in the meantime was to make the necessary preparations, so that no time might be lost as soon as the weather admitted of the operation being undertaken. The Secretary of State for War has been nade aware of the communications I addressed to your Excellency on this subject, and in a Despatch of the 7th instant I informed His Lordship that the post at Nukumaru was constructed as a depot for the material required for the attack, which I intended to undertake as soon as the weather allowed. The Colonial Ministers are incorrect in stating that the force at my disposal was in my opinion insufficient to enable me to capture the Pa ; and your Excellency is in error in supposing that I gave any instructions to Brigadier-General Waddy to order the friendly Natives to retire behind the Kai-iwi, or to put a stop to any negotiation for the surrender of the Pa, but in the absence of all information from your Excellency as to the object which you and the Colonial Ministers had in view in sending the friendly Natives to the neighborhood, Brigadier-General Waddy could not, in my opinion, have acted otherwise than he did. Lieut.-Colonel Logan, too, so far as I can judge from the letters enclosed in your Excellency's Despatch, was perfectly right in the course he adopted, viz., in ordering back from the Pa the officers and men of the Native Contingent, who, having in disregard of the authority of the Brigadier-General, opened negotiations with the enemy, were next in defiance of all discipline and order, proposing to undertake a military service without his knowledge or sanction. As to the Friendly Natives being thus prevented from taking the Pa, I need scarcely remind your Excellency that on a former occasion, when you had the courtesy to ask me whether the friendly Natives, who were then most anxious to attack the Pa, might do so, and I readily assented, the attack was neither made nor attempted, although their number was then more than four times as large as on the present occasion. I am not disposed now therefore to over-estimate the service which the friendly Natives were recently prevented from performing ; but independently of this consideration, I quite approve of Colonel Logan's conduct, and I deplore that your Excellency should support with your authority the proceedings of the Colonial Minister in directly authorizing subordinate officers of the Colonial Forces to deal with the enemy, in utter disregard of their duty to the service, and of the common respect due to the Brigadier-General in command. I will make no further remark on the correspondence enclosed in your despatch than that it carries on the face of it condemnatory evidence of the subversion of discipline, and the consequent confusion and disorder caused by the conduct of the Colonial Minister, countenanced if not encouraged by your Excellency. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 168. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sic, — Auckland. 81st July, 1865. I have just read the Speech of your Excellency at the opening of the General Assembly, and in it I find the following paragraph— " I also recognize the readiness with which Brigadier-General Waddy, C.8., Colonel Trevor, and the officers and men under their command afforded me all the assistance that was in their power, though precluded by their orders from taking any active part in the operations against the enemy's stronghold." It is my duty to inform your Excellency that I positively deny having given any orders to Brigadier-General Waddy, Lieut.-Colonel Trevor, or any other officer, which precluded them from taking any active part in the operations against the enemy's stronghold. I have, Ac, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. D. A. Camebon, Lieut.-General. Note.— This Letter with its Enclosure teas accidentally omitted from its proper place when the foregoing correspondence was printed. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 21st June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 9th instant, relative to the issues of pay and rations by tho Commissariat on account of the Colonial Government, and having referred it to Commissary-General Jones, I herewith forward a copy of his letter for your Excellency's information.
72
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE
A.—N«». 1
I cannot concur with your Excellency, that an investigation of the account between the Imperial and Colonial Governments is superfluous because the Colonial Government are satisfied that all the present issues are necessary, and because they are responsible for their cost, nor that such an investigation would be attended with danger in consequeuce of the occupation by the rebels of a position on the Waitotara river. If however, the continued occupation of that position by the rebels really involves all the serious consequences represented by your Excellency, which I am very far from believing, your Excellency must be held responsible for them. For in the first place, the three best months of the year for operations in the field, were lost in consequence of the postponement of hostilities by your Excellency until after the meeting of the General Assembly, —a delay which would seem to have been unnecessary if you had at that time determined, under any circumstances, and whoever your Responsible Advisers might be, to transfer the war to Wanganui for the confiscation and occupation of territory. And in the next place, your Excellency's instructions to occupy the sea coast between Taranaki and Wanganui, rendered an attack on the position impossible, unless 1 had immediately abandoned the posts established in pursuance of those instructions. It was not until the middle of May, after having more than once applied to your Excellency for instructions, and after having been informed by your Excellency in reply, that the services of the regular troops were not likely to be required, that I received your sanction to abandon any of the posts, but it was then too late. But for these circumstances, the Weraroa position might ere now have been in our possession. As to the plan proposed by your Excellency, I have in previous communications sufficiently explained my opinion regarding it, and I will only add that the Commanding Royal Engineer, Colonel Mould, fully concurs with me that a siege of the position is not advisable at this season of the year. All that can now be done is to make preparations, so that no time may be lost as soon as the weather will admit of the operation being undertaken. Although nothing that your Excellency has stated in your letter is in my opinion sufficient reason for preventing the first proposal of Commissary-General Jones from being carried into effect, yet, as your Excellency is so disinclined to any enquiries being made into the present expenditure on account of pay and rations to the Colonial Forces, and as the question stands at present in a very unsatisfactory position, I think it best to adopt the course recommended by Commissary-General Jones, and to refer the whole subject for the instructions of the Secretary of State for War. In the meantime, I have directed the Commissary-General to continue all the present issues on the conditions stated in his letter. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure. H. Stanley Jones, Commissary-General, to the Assistant Military Secretary. Sir, — Commissariat, New Zealand, Auckland, 14th June, 1865. The Lieut.-General Commanding having shewn me the letter of His Excellency the Governor, dated 9th instant, on the subject of the proposal contained in my letter of the 3rd, to the effect that the whole question relating to the issues now being made on behalf of the Colonial Government, should be reviewed in detail, and the Lieut.-General Commanding having desired that I should report upon the several points in His Excellency the Governor's letter bearing upon this question, I have now the honor to submit as follows for the Lieut.-General's consideration. That as His Excellency so strongly objects to the steps proposed upon grounds of political expediency, the point be conceded to his wishes. I presume that the Colony can hereafter raise no objection as to the description of the persons drawing rations or their numbers, as it has, through His Excellency, declined to enter into any investigation into the matter. The Colony having undertaken to pay monthly for all rations issued since the Ist of March last, the objection to a continuance of these issues are far from as great as would otherwise be the case. The letters of Colonial Ministers state that the continuance of the issues by this Department will be of a temporary nat ure, and not likely to extend beyond a few months ; but I find from the concluding paragraph of His Excellency's letter that he contemplates on the withdrawal of Her Majesty's troops from posts now occupied by them, to replace them with Militia, Military Settlers, or friendly Natives, and to call upon this Department to ration the Colonial Forces so placed. The assistance required from this Department appears therefore more permanent than represented by Ministers. Upon a careful consideration of the whole bearing of this question, I am clearly of opinion that the subject stands in the most unsatisfactory position, and I would recommend that it be at once submitted for the consideration and instructions of the Secretary of State for War. In the interval pending receipt of those instructions I would submit that no increase in the present numbers rationed should be permitted, unless upon special application representing the circumstances requiring such increase ; and also that all issues on behalf of the Colony should cease in the event of a failure of immediate repayment of the cost of all supplies issued since Ist March last. The claims for that month were sent in to the Colonial Government yesterday. Another branch of this question I have the honor to bring under the consideration of the Lieut.General Commanding, is the recent appeal from the Colony for the Commissariat to advance money to pay Militia, Military Settlers, and friendly Natives, at Wanganui and Taranaki. In the application of the Defence Minister for these advances at Wanganui, forwarded by His Excellency in his letter of 22nd March last, there is no reference made to repayment beyond the ambiguous expression—"As the Paymaster is not an Officer of the Imperial Service, the Colonial Government will be responsible for the moneys thus advanced." And in the application for advances at Taranaki, only similar expressions are employed. Both these advances are represented to be merely of a temporary nature, but as in the case of rations, His Excellency, in his letter, appears to contemplate this Department continuing to advance pay to Militia Military Settlers, and friendly Natives, on the withdrawal of the Troops :
A.—No. 4. Page 61.
73
GOVERNOR AND LIEUT.-GENERAL CAMERON.
A..—No. I
The plain inference therefore, is, that this assistance will continue to be required for many monlhs. As no intention is expressed of immediate repayment of these advances, they are necessarily added to the debt of the Colony due to the Imperial Government, which recent instructions both from the Treasury and War Office, directed should not be permitted. This question therefore is one that I consider should also be submitted for specific instructions from the Secretary of State for War. In order to obtain clear and distinct instructions upon the several points under consideration, the best course to be pursued would probably be to submit a series of questions for the consideration and decision of the Secretary of State for War, and I now do myself the honor to enclose separately the questions which occur to me as those most calculated to draw forth the fullest and clearest instructions. I have, Ac, The Assistant Military Secretary, H. Stanley Jones, Head Quarters, Auckland. Commissary-General. The following Questions are proposed to be submitted for the consideration of the Secretary of State for War, with reference to the suggestion contained in my letter of this date. How far this Department is warranted under existing circumstances in issuing, upon payment, rations to Colonial Militia, Military Settlers, and friendly Natives: 1. When on active service under the immediate command of Lieut.-General Commanding. 2. When on active service, not under the orders of the Lieut.-General, but acting independently under Colonial command or occupying posts in confiscated territory. 3. When struck off all pay and placed upon their lands, and in fact performing no military duty but held in readiness when required for any active service. 4. If the families of such Colonial Forces, under any of the above three circumstances, may draw rations from the Commissariat upon payment by the Colony. If the cost of all establishments necessarily maintained at posts wholly occupied by Colonial Forces, for the sole purpose of rationing those forces, should be included in the charge against the Colony, as well as the establishment at head quarters, examining and compiling outposts Colonial accounts, and preparing the charges against the Colony. If the debt due by the Colony to the Imperial Government should under any circumstances whatever be permitted to be increased either by advances of money to pay Militia, Military Settlers, or friendly Natives, or in continuing to issue rations to those forces, should the full cost of the Bame not be repaid on demand into the military chest; and if so, —Under what special circumstances the advances in money and issues of rations may continue to be made and added to the claim against the Colony. Commissariat, New Zealand, H. Stanley Jones, Auckland, 14th June, 1865. Commissary-General.
74
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR, ETC.
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Bibliographic details
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., AND LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR D. A. CAMERON, K.C.B., Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1865 Session I, A-04
Word Count
67,313CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., AND LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR D. A. CAMERON, K.C.B. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1865 Session I, A-04
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