THE MAORI WAR.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 381, 20 October 1868, Page 3

THE MAORI WAR.

Charge oe Drunkenness against otjr Troops.—Mr Fox furnished the House of Bepresentatives in a recent debate with curious illustrations of the state of discipline which has existed for some time past in our forces in Patea. ' When he was waiting in Wanganui for the steamer which was to bring him down to his duties in that House, a despatch of the unfortunate affair at Waihi was brought in. Colonel G-orton was about to send back the orderly with return despatches, and at eight o'clock next morning a gentleman rushed into his lodgings, asking him to go to the lockup and release, on his authority as a magistrate, the orderly, who had been locked up the night before in a beastly state of drunkenness. That was the orderly who was about to be entrusted with despatches to the Front under such oircumstances. Mr Fox then mentioned another circumstance of the same kind. At a late hour at night, a horse unmounted was seen outside a dwelling house about six miles from Wanganui. On coming out of the house, the inmates saw an orderly, who had been sent with despatches from Patea to Colonel Gorton, in a state of drunkenness ; the man had to be put to bed in the barn, and the despatches were sent on byanotherhand. Mr Fox then alluded to circumstances which were known to have taken place at the Chatham Islands, which in his opinion led directly to the escape of the prisoners. There were two publichouses there, carrying on a flourishing business ; and they were entirely supported by twenty-eight constables. Mr Fox next accused the Grovernmeut of having appointed an officer within the last few months to fight the enemy at the Front, who was known to be unfit for the ordinary business of life. That man was entrusted with an important military position at the Front. In addition to this, Mr Fox asserted that he knew of three officers, at least, who had been removed from the force on account of their drunken habits—' men holding high military positions, but whose character was as well known at the time of their appointment as if the bellman had been sent round the town with it.' The last and crowning instance of the kind was the appointment of a man who had been refused employment at Nelson because he was a common drunkard. Now it seems that eases of this description have led Mr Fox to believe that the forces generally are made up of similar characters. He put the matter very strongly when he said that ' the force taken into the field on the West Coast was composed of elements that held out very little promise of success in any engagement. He had Been the class of men who were engaged, and they were loafers, bloated with drinking, men of lazy and intemperate habitf, and totally unfit to pursue the hostile Maoris.' Such a charge impli-

cates every man in the force alluded to, and such a charge should be followed by an immediate investigation. If the statement thus made be true, it i 3 singularly strange that facts so disgraceful should be first made known by a private member of the House. Was Colonel M'Donnell aware of these facts ? "Was Colonel Whitmore aware of them ? Was Colonel Haultain aware of them ? If any of them was, the public has a right to know why such a state of things should have been allowed to exist one moment after it was discovered. K neither of those gentlemen was aware of the facts in question, the public has au equal right to know how it was that they were ignorant of them.