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Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 7, Issue 352, 16 July 1863, Page 3

is no one seems to be able to fathom. It must, of ought to, be a very strong, one that causes the troops to suffer such degradation in native eyes, as the abandonment of Tataraimaka must produce. To ordinary observers that step, is about the most injudicious that could have been taken. It will elate the Natives . everywhere, and'fcbnfirm their feeling of "su‘periority,’ and those Svho did not 1 believe the tales of our supposed heavy loss oil the 4th of June will certainly believe it n6w,: —-will certainly believe that we have beeri most ' ighominiously defeated. Whether an attack on" been determined on'we do not know ;we can only suppose that as the Governor .and .General are -both as aware, as we can be, of the! evil consequences which will follow the cessation of. aggressive

hostilities , at Taranaki, that they have a eotmtefbalancing plan of operations iii hand. : ,The ! of the General ought to induce faith in his soldierly intentions even in those who don’t repose implicit confidence in tliosqtof his .Excellency.; ''. !, . ! From. Auckland there is nothing of a warlike spirit. The Waikatos are said to: be,unusually, quiet. Rewi’s party appear to be the only ostensible exception ; a portion of his people at Waitara Laving begum to fortify Te A rei, the pa to which General Pratt’s sap was so long making its tedious way. The conditions on which the.confiscated lapd- at Taranaki is to be occupied have been issued j we will i-e----print them next week. A part of the 18th Royal Irish has. arrived .; the Sandfly, formerly the Tasmanian Maid, has been put into commission under LieutHunt and'some men-'from tlicb Harrier ; and the General Assembly has’ been formally prorogued to the 27th July, biit.no * mention is yet. made as to when dt- - will be called together for the despatch of business. ....

The order issued by; the Governor! calling out jibe Militia for training'and exercise, will we think be received with general satisfaction. While it is quite true thartlie Rommunily is"'divided as ~tcf‘tFe wisdom making any dembnstiations that would lead the;'natives to become suspicious of our; good intentions ; yet every one feels that preparation, in some shape or otheiyoughtto.be made all over the district for whatever emergency may arise. Whatever may be its effect on the native mind, the calling out the will tend to create confidence in. that of the settlers. : - . ■ -

It is worthy of note that although the Governor had delegated . his Militia powers totheloeal authorities in Hawke’s Pay and this province, yet he has himself suddenly acted in the matter. Our own idea immediately was..that some emergency, known oidy to the Governor, had arisen which rendered sounusual a proceeding necessary. Oh making inquiries we have been led, to. believe that such is not the case ; hut that it arises mainly from the impression of the General that lie oiiglit to feel himself able to concern trate troops at any given point by the .•temporary reduction > of r the : garrisons eveiywhere. The more effective tlie Militia force, the more, confidence will lie feel, in withdrawing the troops from any given spot. In support of this view it has been pointed out to us that the Governor has only called out the, Militia in those districts where troops are stationed; that in the Wairarapa for instance, where there are neither troops nor volunteers, the militia has simply been ordered to be enrolled. There does eertainly seem to be reason in this explanation, otherwise we should 1 not think that "those districts in which there are no troops ought to be the first to need tlie calling out of the Militia. While ~aw do - not look upon thisyunusuaL interference of .the Governor with those to whom lie delegated his powers as indicating any present emergency, we do look, upon it as a “ note of .preparation.” and. trust the settlers will cheerfully I'espond to it. :

We have been informed that the Government .has' intimated its intention of embodying one hundred men, for a Defence Corps within this district. We believe the information is reliable, although we do not vouch for itV absolute correctness. Assuming that it is so we profess ourselves highly delighted, and to whomsoever we may be indebted for it we offer the thanks of the district. In most parts of the district tnouuted troopers will be invaluable and we hope that the conditions of service Will be made known without delay. For the Corps just formed at Ahuriri, eighty were obtained from Otago; |and in a local paper there we find the pay , offered was as follows :—Privates per diem 7s Gd ; Corporals 10s ; Sergeants 12s 6d ; and out of this it is said the nen were required to provide everything requisite including dress, provisions, horse and revolver. We scarcely think that this chn be in all respects correct, as it is evidently coutrary to common sense to suppose that troopers should find their own lforses, and still more so that they should each have .to forage for them'. With a Volunteer force the horse question is. altogether different; those who have horses join a cavalry corps, those who have none betake themselves to the rifles.

It is with much satisfaction that we learn that the; General Government have chartered one of the N.Z.S.N. Co.’s boats to run between Wellington aiid Manakau calling each way at Wanganui, Taranaki and Raglan. Time tables are to be dispensed with* as the steamer .is to use all convenient speed, with a view to render communication as rapid as ' circumstances will allow. With this certain means of communication, combined with that by the.tegular mail vessels, we may reasonably hope that the complaints we have

had so often to make relative to tlie want of information from head .quarters, >vill now be obviated. .

A' despatch from the Duke of Newcastle, in reply to! tlie v Assembly’s nou-resporisi-bility resolutions, lias been laid' before Parliament, and 1 is published in the Auckland journals. It is ail exceedingly lengthy document. With regard' to the cost of New Zealand wars, his grace says “ the first and most obvious answer is, that the cost of all Avar and government should be borne by those for whose benefit it is cai-ried on, that is to say, in this case, by the inhabitants of New Zealand. Tlie, members of every community are bound to pay for what immediately concerns their personal safety, and the’ security and extension of their property.” But notwithstanding this, the Imperial Government'will give eveiy consideration to the peculiar position of the colonists. With regard to the position of the Go v r ernor and the Ministry, tlie responsibility arrangement entered into under tlie previous Ministry must be enforced,—“Your constitutional position Avith regard to your, rdvisers will,\ as. desired by your late ministry, be the sariie in regard to native as to ordinary colonial affairs ; that is to say, you will be generally bound to give effect to "the policy Avliich they recommend for your adoption, and for which therefore, they will be responsible.” It is thought veiy probable that the Assembly will be called together earlier than anticipated ; but there is nothing authentic to that effect.