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New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 347, 28 August 1849, Page 1

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To Lieut. -Colonel Hulme, M. L. C> H. M. 96th Regt. SIR.-— In the Report of the Debates in the Legislative Council on my claim for compensation for the destruction of my premises at Kororareka by the ammunition of H. M, forces in March, 1845, I find you are reported to have asserted — 1 st. " That there was not a grain of Gunpowder belonging to either the army or the navy at the time •/' 2nd. "If any was there at all it must have belonged to the Volunteers;" and 3rd. — on the question being put for deferring the further consideration of the subject you stated — " There would be one great objection, viz. that you would be placed in this position, that you would not be able to substantiate your statement as not a soul then present was now in New Zealand." I must assume these statements as reported to be true, your never having denied them. Ist. As Commander of the forces at the period, though not on the spot, you cannot allege ignorance of the facts so notorious at the time, as the Council Paper printed for the especial information of the Members lay before you, in which my Memorial to H. M. Secretary of State is inserted. £ln it I have stated " the buildings until their destruction were made use of by the inhabitants, and latterly as a point d' appui for the Military, Naval force, and Volunteers : contrary to my expressed wish all the ammunition of the forces together with additions from H. M. Ship Hazard were lodged on the premises, until finally, it is supposed from accident, the whole suddenly exploded, scattering in ruins the whole pile of buildings, &c." In corroboration, the attestation of the Police Magistrate at the instance of His Excellency Governor Grey, and forwarded by him to Earl Grey, follows, in which that functionary states**. " Police Office, Auckland, September 22 J JU346 V , " Mr. Polack's house at Kox'urare&sTwas occupied for the purpose he alleges, and was destroyed in the manner he describes ; but it was not ' pressed into the public service,' he having voluntarily tendered it for that purpose ; and I am not aware that he objected to the ammunition being placed in it. I believe Mr. Barclay has no knowledge of the transaction. (signed) Thomas Beckham, Police Magistrate." 2ndly. It is remarkable that you do not seem to be aware of the notorious fact that the Vo- \ lunteers had no ammunition of their own, but were solely supplied from that of H. M. Ship Hazard lodged in my premises. 3rdly. So far fiom " not a soul who was then present being now in New Zealand" you could have ieferred to the identical Mr. Beckham who holds the same appointment here, in Auckland ; and above a hundred persons now here and at Kororareka who were on the spot at its destruction, and actually a bill lay before you in Council for the relief of persons who were wounded at the time, and since in the wars at the Bay. As a Member of Council the recommendation of Earl Grey should at least have commanded your respect, especially as you were impugning his discrimination and the veracity of my statements to him, by assertions, not only unsupported by a single voucher, but directly contrary to all official data on the subject. On my earnestly requesting His Excellency the Governor to be beard with witnesses before the Council to disprove your assertions for the further satisfaction of H. M. Government, I fully expected that the feslings of a military gentleman, and the remembrance of your recent oath as a Councillor, would not only have urged you to court enquiry, but to have demanded a searching investigation to prove your own allegations or rettact your e/roneous statements so calculated to deprive me of a just right, for you were constrained to admit that my claim " was peculiar if I could prove ray property to have been destroyed by the military or their ammunition." I therefore call on you, Sir, to prove the assertions you made before the Council, as a Member, or as a man of honor to retract them, as I believe their expression has been the cause by which the Council refused even investigating a claim for £2,600 with interest, hitherto lost to me for accommodating H. M. forces and the community at a period of great public danger and distress. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient seivant, J. S. Polack. Auckland; August 20 ; 1849.