Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1898. Tomfoolery.

Manawatu Herald, 24 March 1898, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1898. Tomfoolery.

We all admire pluck, and if the circumstances are of merit sufficient for reward we desire to see it awarded, but a dsed deserving of such recognition should be one which so prominently stands out at the time that it is done that notice can be taken of it within a reasonable period. Acknowledgement of bravery is excel- 1 lent, it rewards a useful man and encourages. others to do likewise, bub a late act of the general government appears to be anything but advisable or complimentary. In the last Ga zette the following notice appears : — " His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to award the Decorative Distinction instituted by Order iv Council dated the 10th day of March, 1869, to Harry Charles William Wrigg, Esq., late Cornet, Bay of Plenty Cavalry Volunteers, in con siderafcion of his having, on the 29. h June, 1867, with Trooper McDonald, voluntarily carried dispatches from Lieutenant-Colonel John H. H. St. John, then at Opotiki, to Lieutenant Colonel Philip Harrington, ar. Tnu ranga, through country infested by the Native tribes then at war with the British.— T. Thomps n." If this is the handiwork of Me T. Tbomp3on it is very little for him to be proud of, and makes just one more peculiar action of hia requiring elucidation. The announcement is one- to make brave men grieve and all citizens to wonder for the deed of this H. C. W. Wrigg is but a commonplace action in the early days of the colony when every settler was daily doing deeds of daring. To give this man a public recognition entailing a reward of £300 back money and £10 a year for the future for simply riding through a country infested by Native tribes then at war with the British savours of nothing but an excuse to give a | sum of money to a friend .under some guise or another, and this particular guise is thought good enough for the folly. We do not know H. C. W. Wrigg, but we cannot hold a very high opinion of any man who, if he was ever entitled to some recognition for bravery calmly allows nearly 30 years to elapse, and then accepts a money consideration. Valour is not usually considered a merchandisablo commodity, and it saya little for ' either the donor or recipient that they do.

What has this man done worth £300 ? As a soldier it was his duty to obey orders and to face at least a little danger. It is well-known to all settlers that no part of the colony waa ever " infested " with warlike natives, as their numbers were never very great and they had a large tract of land to spread over. We know many men who have done similar rides through quite ai perilous a country who made no brag of their duty and who sought no pecuniary compensation. There waa a time when the warlike natives surrounded Wanganui and Major Finnimore rode through their lines to Wellington carrying despatches. What about the old settlera in the Manawitu ? They deserve, if money is to be the the end of all patriotism, many times more money than that given to H C. W. Wrigg, for instead of riding through an enemy's country they dwelt amongst thorn, and by their conduct secured their own safety and the advancement of the colony. The late Messrs Robinson, Eebbell and Cook, and others we could name, held their posts on the Manawatu River when the great Maori war party marched down the coast. Besides these earlier settlers we call to mind all the settlers in the district in the years 1869-70, the time whan Hauhauiein broke out, how they stood to their homes though parties of natives professing the new creed dwelt almost alongside soma of them, and on the opposite side of the river to others. The notice in the Gazette adds no lustre to the name of H. O. W. Wrigg, nor does it do credit to the Government, but as money bas satisfied the one party it may be that the moneys worth has been received by the other. It is, however, a prostitution of valour.