PENSIONERS FOR NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 117, 14 July 1847, Page 3

PENSIONERS FOR NEW ZEALAND.

The Right Hon. Earl Grey to Lieut.-Governor Grey. Downing-street, 24th Nov. 1846. Sir,—ln my despatch No. 4, of this date, 1 have apprised you that her Majesty's Government have determined on raising ior scivice in New Zealand a corps, which will receive the designation of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles. I will now proceed to state, for your information, what are the views which have led to this determination, and what steps are to be taken to carry it into effect. It is intended that this force should be composed of men discharged from the army, cither with or without pensions, and wlio therefore are already trained in military discipline and duties. Men ot good character, and still of vigorous constitution will alone be permitted to enter this force; and J """d that, from inquiries recently iustitutedby her Majesty's Government, there is little room to doubt that u sufficient number of discharged soldiers, ansiveiing this description, may readily be procured lor the purpose. You are probably aware that umler an Act of Parliamertt passed three or four years ago, the pensioners of the Biiiish army, residing in this country, have been organized for service, when required, under ihe command of Colonel Tnllocli. 1 enclose a paper showing the terms upon which they serve. 13,000 of these men have been thus organized, and it is loniit! that ten or twelve days' exercise in the year are quite sufficient to enable these old soldiers to mauttuvre with sufficient precision for must military purposes. I likewise enclose another paper showing under what modifications of the above conditions the New Zealand Feneibles will be engaged. As in New Zealand what you require is rather to be enabled to command, at short notice, an overwhelming force to put dowu any lesistaiice which may be attempted to the authority of the government thau the constant service of a large body ot troops, it is tlie opinion of her Majesty's government that men thus engaged for service, when wanted, will hardly be less valuable, for at least some military purposes, than regiments permanently embodied ; while, at the same time, they will afford a highly valuable increase of the supply of labour in the colony. I am aware that hitherto discharged soldiers have not proved good settlers, but I conceive that this has arisen from the circumstance that men accustomed during the greater part of their lives to be constantly under the cue of their officers, and to be lelt very little dependent upon their own forethought and provideuqe, have been sent into our colonies under no superintendence whatever, and lelt to shift for themselves under circumstances altogether novel to them, and under difficulties with which they were little fitted to contend. It is, therefore, intended that the men to he embodied toi service in New Zealand, though they will not be constantly employed in military duty, should be under the constant care and superintendence of officers in permanent pay. Six companies, of about live hundied men, will be in the first instance enrolled, and will be sent out to New Zealand with the least practicable delay. I propose that these men should be established in two or three villages, to be prepared for their reception, in the northern part of the island, and probably in the vicinity of Auckland. The men of the proposed corps will in general be accompanied by their wives and families; each man is therefore to have a cottage or hut prepared for him, with one acre of land, of which one quarter must be cleared. la order to enable the men to maintain their wives and families, they will ha\e (besides the small quantity of land to be assigned to them) an assurance of regular employment at fair wages. This assurance there can, of course, he no diiiiculty in giving in a new colony where labour is so greatly in demand, and in which, for some years to come, the construction of roads, which you have justly pointed out to be no less necessary for military than for civil purposes, will alone lurnish the means ot advantageously employing a considerable number of men. It is uot intended that the men composing this force receive grants of land beyond the small quantity 1 have mentioned, which will be rather calculated to answer the purpose of gardens than to provide for

their support, 1 conceive, that until by their own industry they can save the means of purchasing enough land lor their entire maintenance, it is much bettor that they should continue in the same condition of life as that in which they are at home— that namely, o\ labourers for wages. I have said that they will be under he care of officers iv permanent |>,iy ; in each of the proposed villages for these military settler?, there must therefore be erected two or three lug-houses, such as are occupied by the better class of settlers To each of these houses ten acres cleared and forty of uncleared laud should be attached; and it is proposed that the officers should occupy them rent free, aud shall, at the end of ten years, become entitled to possess them as freeholds. I consider >t as an essential part of the plan thai the men composing this force should be in this manner settled in villages; this will, in the first place, contribute greatly to their security, and render them far more available than they would otherwise be for military duiy when called upon at the shortest notice ; but further, I consider it a great defect in the state of society in most of our recently established colonies, that the population is so much Ids collected together in villages' than it is in this country, and than it was in the lit st British settlements effec ed on the American continent. The keeping together villages of the first settlers in what are now the New England stales of the American Union, which was rendered necessary by the danger of attacks from the Indiaus, greatly contributed, as I believe, to the success of those settlements/ and especially to their maintaining their place in the scale of civilization. It is obvious, that, both education for the young; and religious instruction for all ages can be far more cheaply, and far more effectively provided for a population thus collected in villages:, than for one scattered in isolated habitations over the whole extent of the country. To realize this advantage, with respect to the proposed military settlers, it 19 intended that each village prepared lor their reception should contain a school house, which may also for a time serve the purposes of a chapel. Such is the plan which her Majesty's government have determined on adopting, and of which I trust that the explanation I have now given will be sufficient to enable you, without delay, to adopt those measures which arc necessary in order to prepare for its being carried into execution. The measures to which I advert are the laying out and building the villages in which the military settlers are to be received on their arrival 1 . I have, therefore, to instruct you immediately to determ.ne upon the site nnd plan of these villagee. Iv choosing the sites, the fiist consideration must, of course, be where the services of a military fone of this particular description, are calculated to be most useful. I do not anticipate that these men, though all possible care will be taken to select those who are strong and healthy, will be available as younger soldiers lor military operations requiring long marches and fatiguing exertions ; but for the garrisons of any posts which require to be defended, it may, 1 think, be calculated that they will be not less useful than any other troops which can be employed, and that they will thus render disposable an equal number of men of the regular force. This will render it, of course, advisable that they should be established where their services in garrison will be most valuable, which would probably be in the immediate vicinity of Auckland. Whatever military operations may be in progress elsewhere, the capital and seat of government must always be left in security, by having a sufficient force maintained fur its protection. Without, therefore, fettering your discretion by any positive instructions, I have to suggest that the greater part at least of the Fencihles should, in my opinion, be. established as near to Auckland as may be practicable. Hut it is also important that the sitei of these military villages should be so placed that the greater part of the acljoiuujg lands, of which the value will ol course be veiy greatly increased by the formation of these settlements, should be still in the possession of ;he Crown, since it is calculated that, by the sale of these lands, a c .nsidcrable part of the expense incurred may be hereafter recovered. With respect 10 the kind of houses and cotlages to be erected, I have only to observe, that they should afford good and comfoi table accommodation, but that all unnecessary expense must be most carefully avoided. In these villages, I trust that it may be in jour poncr to avail yourself, to a considerable extent, of the labour of the troops already in the island, and that their cust may thus be kept within very moderate bounds. I hope that no very long time will elapse before the Hist of the men who are to compose tilts force may be («nt; and if it should be found that there is really the facility I expect in enrolling and sending to New Zealand military settlers on the plan I iuve described, the measure may hereafter be extended, aud military settlements will probably be formed not only in the northern part of New Zealand, but also, in concert with the New Zealand Company, in the neighbourhood of Cook's Straits — I am, &c, (Signed) Gnxv.