The Daily News. FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1903. NEW ZEALAND AT WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 7, 9 January 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1903. NEW ZEALAND AT WAR.

I_ —.— I The outbreak of th') Boer war causeJ an outburst of military spirit in New Zealand which came as a suipreeto tnauy of its inhabitants and during the hi', three years men in uniform have baoome qiite a familiar sight. In the case of this colony the military spirit was not confined to merely gay parades but the men who left our shores covered themselves and their country wit-.h glory by tbelt conduct when brought face to face with the enemy. From firs; to last New Zealand eent of htr comparatively small population no legs jthan 8000 men, and their conduct was iwoitby of thj b st traditions of their 'race and won fop them the admiration of ereryote with whom they were brought in contact. To these « ho hava lived in the colony during the past 30 01 40 yews, this outburst of the military spiiit caused no surprise, &s few couiitr #8 have such an inspiring history as this, and the lads who s*> readily responded to the citll to aims were but end-avouring to emulate the spirit and Heeds of their fathers. ' We are led to nuke these reflections by the perusal < f Sir G»orge Whitniore's bo:ik " The , List Maori War in New Zeahnd under the sslf-rsliant policy." Our Of ly regret is tfcat the story of this exceedingly interesting period in the t history of the colony has not been toli i by someone more able to do it justice. S r George Whitaaore's book is a disappoint msiit to those who kr.ow wba rea'ly did occur during the period a«d on the occasions under notice, that it is s d to sea the facts so feebly, if not inticcura'ely stated. The real objpcfc of tin book seems to be the glorification of .ts au hor, aud the vilifioation of that, gre »t statesman, Sir Donald McL-an, between whom and Sir George Wbitrnore an implacable feud exis ed. Inde.id the political wrangling, which was such a masked feature of that unhappy paricd, greatly prolonged the war, and was responsible for the loss of a good many men, whose lives were sacrificed through crusts which had their root in the political acrimony which existed. The most valuable part of the book is '■ he introduction, written by Mr R. L. Louchlin, a Wellington journalist of great repute. AU too briefly, but : fai'hfully the writer deals with the lung prriod duiing which the war had buen carried om by the Imperial troopg, snd, notwithstanding the fact that 1 over 20,000 men were engaged, without sut.j ugating the Maoris. He trac-1 the growth of the self-reliant spiii*, which ' is still S3 marked a characteristic of | New Zeland, and describes in gr pbic [ lauguago the reception accorded in th , B itish Hou»e of Parliament to the i petition from the then population of oiily 150,000 people, to be relieve' j of the financial burden of main . tiiniog the Imperial troops, have tho troops withdrawn, and be allowed to terminate the struggle with colonial levies. The occasion was a mast momentous one, and th> responsibility propesed to be un<W- , taken by the Colonial Government an ) -xceediogly grave one ; but the plm i and tho task which the Im- ! perial troops failed to psrform wa--1 accomplished by a few hundreds of troopi raised in the colony, and led by a number of officers whose memoiy and nanus are deserving of ths highest , honour. These of to-day Jittle know , the struggles and hardships undergone l»y thtse brave m n, aud in the newer 'riumpbs of the Sou h African War we are apt to forget that many of this ! oand of heroes still live amongst us, and there is great ris l ? tint their per victs will be forgotten in the glamor •jf the later war. The young colonic] 1 of to-day knows little of them, of the hardships they endured, of the diflfi . cultie? t hey overcame, and of the deediof valour they performed. Tho Maoris, in the fearfully rough country and almost itapregoable forests in whict t hey took shelter, proved invincible to th<Imperial troops, but, a« was th > case in South Africa, the coloniuld adopted the enemy's tactics and fairly bent bim at his own game. Sir Georgo Whitmora's book is net without interest, it brings these things to mind, and shows vividly many ©f the enormous difficul-

tits the troops had to contend with; bat it further shows how necessary it is that such a subject should be handled with strict impartiality, and the n»ed there is for a complete history of < those times. It would be a good and . wise thing if the Government would , have a full and impartial history of this evactful period compiled before th' se abls to give exact and rt liable information hare passed away,