THE Wairarapa Mercury. SATURDAY, MAY 18, 1867. THE WAIRARAPA VOLUNTEERS.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 20, 18 May 1867, Page 2

THE Wairarapa Mercury. SATURDAY, MAY 18, 1867. THE WAIRARAPA VOLUNTEERS.

It is a mistake to suppose that an editor, up to his work, is ever iu want of a subject to write upon; but he is sometimes puzzled to determine which of the various aspects in which it can be viewed is the one which will enable the public to come to a right conclusion regarding it. The resignation of the officers of most of the Volunteer corps in the Wairarapa is a subject of this kind. Though an event of apparently local importance only, it is one, whether regarded as following so closely on the heels of the warning recently sent forth by the Superintendent of Wellington, or as regards its nature, its causes, and its probable consequences, of great, colonial interest. Nay, taken in connection with the withdrawal of the troops, and the self-reliant policy so much talked of by Ministers, and which the Home authorities appear determined to force, nolens volens, upon the colony, the subject possesses even Imperial interest. The event, local and temporary, as at first sight it may appear, might furnish a fitting subject for the comments of every journal in the colony, for it really possesses more interest, political and financial, to the people of Dunedin and Christchurch, to the press of Auckland, or to the Provincial Government of Wellington, than many of those which frequently absorb their attention. Wo are not, therefore, in want of a subject to write about; but, owing to one or two important points involved, we have felt a great difficulty in deciding what course ought to be taken by the public with reference to it. It will be in the recollection of all our readers that some four months ago one of the members of the Colonial Government, Mr J. C. Richmond, in the absence of the Defence Minister, without any correspondence with either the Magistrates or the Volunteer Officers of the district, and, it is said, without either consulting Mr Station! or Mr Fitzherbert on the subject, undertook to appoint a personal friend of his, Mr J. V. Smith, the Captain of the Masterton Volunteer Corps, Major and commander of the Mali tia and Volunteers of the Wairarapa. This appointment, as is now generally known, was very distasteful to the officers and men of the various Volunteer companies. To the officers, because ho was appointed over their heads, and without either the rule of seniority or the Volunteer principle being observed. To the men, because it was thought them was a certain peacock pomposity of manner in the gentleman appointed, not uncommon amongst those who first assume a nobleman’s or the Queen’s livery, which rendered him eminently disagreeable in the eyes of “ rough-and-ready ” colonists. As soon as the officers of the Featlierston, Grey town, and Carterton corps heard of the appointment they had a meeting amongst themselves, and the result of which was the tender of their resignations. It was not until last week, four months after the occurrence, that a circular letter was received by each of the officers, not from the Defence Office, hut from Ensign Revell, the newly appointed adjutant of the district, the purport of which was to ask them to reconsider the subject. To this request, thus conveyed, the officers, we are informed, have replied, in effect, that as they had well-weighed the matter before determining on resigning, the decision they thou arrived at remained unaltered. The consequences will probably that we shall hear, before wo go to press, that

their resignations have been accepted, .and that the Greytown Cavalry Volunteer Corps, and the Featherston, Greytown, and Carterton Rifle Volunteer Corps, have all been broken np ! This at a time, mark, when the troops are being withdrawn, and at the moment when we are told by the Superintendent of Wellington there is danger of another native war.

In defence of the course adopted by the Government we have heard it urged that Captain J. V. Smith was the only Volunteer Officer of the district really eligable for the appointment. Captain Faitbrother, it is said, did not wish it, and that while Captain Donald was a Provincial Government Officer, and •Captain Boys too hot-headed, the appointment of Captain Bunny was out of the question. But if it should be admitted that this was the case, which is an admission which will not be generally made, the Government have first to show that the appointment was necessary, arid second, if necessary, whether it was imperative that one of the "V olunteer Officers of the district should be appointed to the command. "We have heard it stated on good authority, indeed the ■best that could be consulted on the subject, that no such appointment was required. If the matter had been so urgent, as the appointment implies, an ■officer ought to have been appointed with more military genius, knowledge, and experience than that posssssed by mere civilian soldiers, who had never seen active service. If the matter was not urgent, and local knowledge, with a saving of expense were the points aimed ■at, then, we contend, that either the rule of seniority, or the Volunteer principle •ought to have been adopted in making 'the appointment. It will be seen that the difficulty we referred to in coming to a right conclusion on the subject before us, does not relate to the points we have already touched upon. The course taken by the Government is in the highest degree -objectionable on other grounds besides those stated. There is no better established or better understood constitutional practice than that of the military cornman ler of a district, in the event of a disturbance, placing himself in communication with, and under the control of, the civil power. In this appointment the principle oa which the practice was founded appears not to have entered ’into the heads of those who made the .appointment. It may be very properly -urged that the civil power does not necessarily reside exclusive!}' in the office •of a Resident Magistrate, but when -the position be occupies relative to the native population is considered, it will be admitted that that position is superior 1 to that of a mere justice of the peace, and ] •one which has been purposely invested by j the law with great power and still greater "responsibilities. But without dwelling upon this, or other points, it must be •conceded that the fact of nearly the whole of the Volunteer Officers of the district tendering their resignations, as soon as thev heard of the appointment, is prima facie ” evidence that it was an ill-advised one, and one which ought to have been cancelled.

If, however, the conduct of the Government is not only unjustifiable, but highly censurable, we must confess that the ■conduct of the Volunteer Officers, appears ;at first view, equally as hasty and indefensible. If a member of the Government, for mere personal considerations, made theappointment, without apparently regarding the peace and safety of the district, it appears, at first sight, that *he officers, in sending in their resignations, were guilty of precisely the same offence. But, admitting that they were ■busty in the matter, and that they considered less the public interests than their own feelings in the step taken, if they felt, in the positions they occupied, that an indignity had been done them, they did right in at once resenting it. Men who have such a blunt sense of honor, who show that they are so insensible of what is due to their position, as not to resent an insult when deliberately offered them; would be unfit to hold ■commissions in either the Imperial or the ■Colonial Forces. They felt—rightly or wrongly is not to the purpose, that they had been the recipients of an unmerited •indiginity, and feeling thus, they did /right in at once resenting it in the only way open to them. At a great sacrifice ■of money, time, and patience they had been the means of organizing and disciplining an efficient local force capable or defending the district against any Maori aggression ; and thanks, and not insults, were what they had a right to expect from the members of an Executive who do not render their services to the state without renumeration, taking care at the same time, through the columns of a hireling press, and with their own pens, to parade them before the public. Rut here lies our difficulty. Unquestionably the Government were wrong in making theappointment; unquestionably the officers were right in sending in their resignations ; out what course are the men to pursue ? We confess we are unable to give a reply to the question. We feel that they ought to support their c&cers in the course they have adopted, ■and we do not want to see the district in the defenceless state it was formerly in. We know that our Volunteers, armed, •disciplined, and ably commanded, have been instrumental, if not in suppressing rebellion, at all events of putting a stop

to Maori bounce, abuse, and domination, and of giving that sense of security to i the settlers, so essential to the happiness of their wives and children and to the material progress of the district. Knowing this, .and knowing too, that the possession of arms gives security to freedom, as well as to freemen, we could almost urge that they would not give that support to the action taken by their officers as would be implied by their resignation in a body, but rather wait to see what action will be taken by Parliament in .the -matter. A policy of self-reliance is not now a matter of choice,hut of necessity; and as the colony cannot afford to pay a hired force to preserve its internal tranquility, Parliament, we may feel quite sure, will not be willing to lose the services of our Volunteers, but will rather be disposed to dispense with those of a Ministry, who, by their unwise, short sighted, and inconsiderate conduct have driven the settlers of one part of the Middle Island to the verge of rebellion, and placed the fence and security of those of the North sland in the greatest jeopardy.