Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1863.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 148, 13 November 1863, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1863.

The letter of a correspondent signed “Militiaman,” which appeared in our columns last week, discloses such a complication of jobbery in the arrangements made for the payment of the force to which he belongs, that but fur the statements made in that letter being undeniably and most unquestionably true, we should not very readily give credence to them.

That the officers of that force should receive pay every day during the number of weeks required to get through the regulation number of days of drill would be, under any circumstances, a monstrous instance of the unscrupulous manner iu which the public moneys are spent. But that this should be done at a time and under circumstances when the utmost economy is urgently required in the management of our affairs renders the matter, if possible, ten times worse. Some apology for this unprincipled extravagance might be offered if the officers in receipt of that money were all men eminently fitted for the post assigned to them by past military experience, or by great personal merit , but no one, not even the fortunate recipients of this prodigal national bounty, will for one moment attempt to assert anything of the kind.

It is hard enough that, in consequence of a succession of weak and puerile Governments, our relations with the Native race are now on such a footing that the peaceful pursuits of life are invaded, and in a measure materially interfered with, and that the citizen is obliged, in defence of his rights and his home, to come forward and lay aside for a time the ploughshare and take in hand the sword. But when superadded to this disastrous state of things the country is plunged into unnecessary pecuniary embarrassments, when money is being borrowed from all quarters to be spent with a total disregard to all consequences, in a manner unparalleled in the history of the colonies, and when the

most unfit persons that an unprincipled Government can get hold of are placed in positions of command and trust, it is time—high time —that the voice of the people should be raised, and that some steps should be taken to put a stop to this ruinous condition of things. Major Whitmore is answerable to the country for this state of things. That officer, in whom the Government trust so largely, and in whom the people do not trust at all, is the man responsible for the state of things which now exists, and which is bringing the institution of the Militia into contempt and derision—into scorn and disgrace. To that high-placed but most insignificant of men. Major Whitmore, any kind of troops which cost money, or out of which money or patronage can be made, are a source of gratification, and be distributes that money and that patronage in a manner worthy of himself. But, on the other hand, tiiose troops composed of Volunteers, who are removed hy virtue of their privileges in a great measure beyond his reach, and cost nothing, are subject to every imaginable slight, neglect, and studied snub.

A large body of our settlers have volunteered to form a cavalry troop. A gentleman of high military reputation, much respected and admired by all classes, and having a very large stake in the country, is good enough to devote a great deal of time and to give a great deal of attention to the formation and drilling of that section of these troops which had the good fortune to place him at their head, and what sort of support does he get from the Commandant ? Is he encouraged by seeing that high officer exert himself to place the Volunteers upon an efficient looting by providing them with arms and accoutrements, and with drill sergeants and other necessary assistance ? No! ! Every conceivable slight and neglect is thrown in the way of the development of this vitally important branch of the service. Every petty snub and every puerile and childish excuse is laid hold of and offered to crush out that spirit which it ought to be the greatest pride of any man loving his country to foster and to preserve. That money which should have been spent in providing the necessary fittings and instruction to the "Volunteers, who receive no sort of pecuniary assistance for their pains, is lavished upon 'he payment of the officers of Militia, remarkable as a body for nothing so much as their total want of the necessary qualifications for that duty. So much for the management of the war department of Hawke’s Bay. Major Whitmore has a profound horror of his brother military men. 111-natured people say that he is jealous of the presence of men who are up to military matters, lest peradventure his own ignorance and incapacity should become exposed. It has been vainly hoped that at least in the very serious matter of the lire and death struggle now going on between us and the Natives we should have been spared the mortification and humiliation of jobbery ; but it would seem that, under the present management, nothing but jobbery is to be got. We turn for a moment from contemplation of the miserable state of disorganisation which pervades the Militia, to the stockades, two of which formidable structures are being built close to each other in the Waipukurau district, for the especial benefit of Mr. Russell, and for the benefit of no one else. Here is the most palpable, the most atrocious act of jobbery conceivable ; here, in the building of these structures, we detect such p powerful manifestation of the doings of Major Whitmore that words cannot be found sufficiently strong to denounce it. When anything is disagreeable to the authorities, they fall back upon the necessity for economy; but when anything runs with their own interests and their own petty advantages, it is forthwith carried into execution, regardless of the cost, regardless of its utility, and regardless of everything short of a direct and downright upsetting of the whole existing system of society.

Great complaints are being made iL ' exhibitors at the late Agricultural Show, upon the ground of the total misapplication of the funds subscribed by the public for the purpose of giving prizes for the best class of animals. The committee managed the whole affair very badly ; the arrangements were grossly imperfect, a spirit of partizanship and favoritism pervaded the management of the proceedings, and, in short, so strong is the disgust expressed and felt by the people interested in the matter, that it is more than doubtful whether any future attempt will be made to support an Agricultural Show under such management as the late show suffered from. We demand a distribution of the prize money ; and we require, in the interests of the agricultural part of the people, a remodelling of the committee.