The Westport Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2422, 19 January 1888, Page 2

The Westport Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 1888.

In a recent loading article wo commented at length on the rumour originated in Wellington to the effect that a proposal would be niado to the Imperial Government for the employment of British troops for the defence of the colony. AVhilst treating the report with due caution, wo took exception to the nature of the arguments raised in certain quarters against the introduction of what was very absurdly named " foreign and mercenary troops," and asserted that in "»r judgment, the presence of a highly - disci |> lined body of men from th< Imperial service would prove of the greatest benefit to the and military instincts of our own citizen volunteers, At the same time, we felt convinced the Horse Guards would not receive such proposals •with favor. That we were not far astray in our deductions will be seen from the following statements, made by one of the Ministers in Wellington to the special correspondent of the Herald, which also explains the foundation upon which the rumour was created :—■

" You mi', in the garrisons fur the chief towns. It was just mentioned and nothing more. There, has been no Cabinet Council at which such a project could be seriously and fully discussed. Considering the elforts being made to retrench the public expenditure, the first aspect of the question for an impoverished colony would he the question ul costs. Now, if tiiu Imperial Government were to send us a Harrison of, say, 200 men for each of the four cities, that would cost the colonv a very large sum of money. The cost of a garrison of 200 men would be £0000; four town garrisons would therefore cost £21,000. It is not probable that Parliament would consent to that expenditure, and (.lie question wooid have t■> lie submitted to Parliament. But it is cwedingh doubtful, even if an application were marie to the Imperial Government for such a ford', whether the application would b» granted. It is found that a force fcontracted for and lent in that way is of very little use. after e return* home. Having lost tiie usual dn.., 6t is inferior in discipline to fie rest of t-.-force I'foHi which it had been detached. Inferior discipline would have a demoralising effect all round. The. ell.v.t of the presence of the New South Wales contingent with Imperial troop* ilhutrated this question of discipline. N" fault was to be found with the men. They were the very be t, material for troops, 'I hey tind pluck,

limvcr* i'f cnihiMiicf. muivtry, nml «ven disci- j pii nc- anions thenisehes upon which they rim!,l tl:"mse!\es rely ; but they liati been ;KVU.-I onieil to |>ri vilrjt.v, to method-, til lUions .if which the resular Siri army, with whom they served. knew little or nolhins,'. They wen; cheered and weicone d by their comrades, the ' n»<jul:i* bur. their vi-iv ill eiplnie was of an 'imiliar' pattern. 'I'iiere, i.s therefore very p-cat don'ut whether the 1111li-'i iil (ioveiilinent wouii! lend t'n Colony such a force if they wen; asko I. There are many other reasons against such a proposal, which it is not, necessary to enumerate. That (juestinn ot in the. present state ot the colony, isonoof theliist ,11 s;11 must present itself upon any serin is enn-aderation of the subject, and you .see. what that points to. '