THE LATE COLONEL FADDY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4916, 23 December 1876, Page 2

THE LATE COLONEL FADDY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sir, —I hope this letter will be the last I shall have to trouble you with on the subject of the late Colonel Paddy. It is I think obvious that nobody would have offered a man whose mind was affected bo much as this unfortunate gentleman's any appointment whatever. It is also only reasonable to suppose that I would have made some enquiries before committing myself to any promise of the kind. The Royal Artillery is a very large corps, its head quarters are at Woolwich, many of its officers are continually in London, yet, although they were perfectlyaware of poor Paddy's wretched condition, they did nothing to alleviate it. Is it not obvious that good reasons must have_ existed which prevented them from that aid which even a private, or private's widow, would have been certain to receive from the charity of that distinguished corps? Poor Faddy had three stepdaughters, all in affluent circumstances, who lived with him formerly for some years, yet they would do nothmffHis father had absolutely discarded him, and only on very strong representations from Canon Niubet and myself was induced to make &

email pecuniary provision for his son; but in doing bo he expressly stated he would do nothing for the children. There were strong reasons of course why all his relatives, and all his old brother officers, and all h.s former acquaintances, had left him to starve; and if 1 had ventured to obtain him employment I must have known that these circumstances must ultimately come to the knowledge** the New Zealand public. Moreover, poor Faddy .s conduct in Napier was quite enough to convince anybody that, had I undertaken to be responsible for his behaviour in a position of importance, I must have been as nearly mad as hewas. It may occur also to the minds of many that I must have many friends who served under me here, and many old brother officers, who would have done me credit if I used any influence in their behalf, whose claims, had I had an appointment to give away, I should have preferred to poor Faddy b, especially as I never had been on very friendly terms with him when we served together. Arid, lastly, for seven years I have been opposed to the Government, and more especially to the Native Department, and during that time have never asked for any appointment whatever for anybody, except on one occasion, under great pressure, for admission to the Constabulary as a private for a friend of a friend of mine. These reasons should be sufficient to prove that I never could have promised poor Faddy any appointment; but I may as well add a distinct deniil of that statement in Mrs. Palm's letter. I dare say, among other hallucinations, this may have been one of poor Faddy's; but as a fact there was no foundation for it, and when I left England there was no necessity, as his father had provided for his wants. Mrs. Palin is disappointed that the relations have not acknowledged the care Bhe claims to have taken of the children. But if she had asked me I could have told her that there was no possibility of the children being provided for. The guardians under Faddy's will would willingly have taken the children from her at first, and it was her own choice to keep them. When Bhe learned that the relations would not help her she at once called upon Dr. Spencer to remove them, or she would hand them over to the police. The project of sending them to the Auckland training ship was the result of her letter to Dr. Spencer, and I believe it is to be regretted the boys were not Bent there. Although from the first I helped Faddy, I always explained that I did so only out of charity. I would not be responsible for his expenses or his behavior, but I gave what I chose, and considered that I, not Mrs. Palin, was • the best judge of the extent to which my charity should reach. I gave the sum the Commissioner of Police arranged for the board of the boys and their father up to the time he was taken to hospital, and while I refused to allow the master to look to me for the expenses of the funeral, I nevertherleß* arranged with others to provide.them, .and applied to the Napier Artillery to follow him to the grave. t It is this sort of thing, sir, which disinclines peoples to relieve the unfortunate. The time and money I devoted to poor Faddy in London were not inconsiderable, and the task was an unpleasant one in many ways. His coming out here was very ill-judged on the part of his friends, but seriously inconvenient tome, to whom he chose to look for entire rapport. Still, I willingly did what I could afford for them, though his behaviour in Napier waa so objectionable that I was continually embarrassed by it. You will judge how far in future I shall be likely to go out of my way to aid an old officer, however distinguished, whom all the rest of his friends, relatives, associates, and brother officers have found it necessary to abandon to his fate. If Mrs. Palin chooses to relinquish her selfimposed charge of the lads, I feel sure they will be taken care of through their spiardians, and that-is all, in my opinion, she can ask under the circumstances, and after her behaviour in publishing the statements she has made. I enclose for your private perusal, but obr viously not for publication, some correspondence from Home on the subject of the children, which I shall feel obliged by your returning when yon have read it.—l am, &c, G. S. Whitiioke. Napier, December 14. ■.