Page image
Page image

A.—No. 4,

resignation of the command of Her Majesty's Forces in this Colony, forwarded by me in February last, has been accepted, and permission granted to me to return to England. From a private letter which I have had the honor of receiving from His Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief, it would appear that His Royal Highness, as well as Earl de Grey, would prefer my retaining the command for some time longer, if any serious operations are still to be undertaken ; but looking at the unfortunate consequences of the relations existing between your Excellency and myself, and which have resulted solely from the course which your Excellency, in conjunction with the Colonial Ministers, has adopted, I feel that my remaining longer in the Colony can be of no advantage to the public service. I, therefore, propose to return to England on the Ist proximo, leaving Brigadier-General Waddy in temporary command, until the arrival of Major-General Chute from Melbourne. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. Enclosure 1 to No. 162. W. F. Foestee to Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic— Horse Guards, 26th April, 1865. With reference to my letter of the 19th instant, I am directed by the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief to transmit for your information the accompanying copy of a letter from the War Office, on the subject of your resignation, and request you will pursue the course therein pointed out with regard to the command of the troops serving in New Zealand, on your embarkation for this country —namely, either by handing over the command to the senior officer on the spot, or by sending for Major-General Chute from Australia, should you deem it more expedient to take the latter course. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. W. F. Foestee. Enclosure 2 to No. 162. Sib,— War Office, 26th April, 1865. I am directed by Earl de Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, on the subject of the resignation by Sir Duncan Cameron of the command of the troops in New Zealand. In reply I am to request that you will convey to His Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief an expression of the sincere regret with which Her Majesty's Government have learnt that the state of Sir Duncan's health has rendered it necessary for him to take this course. But, although the Government would have been glad to have been able to retain the advantage of Sir Duncan Cameron's valuable services until the complete pacification of the colony, they do not feel justified, as the orders lately sent out are likely to lead to a speedy cessation of hostilities, in withholding their consent to the course proposed. Lord de Grey would suggest to His Royal Highness that if, when Sir Duncan embarks, the force of regular troops serving in New Zealand is reduced to such an amount as may, in Sir Duncan's opinion, be left with propriety under the command of the senior officer on the spot, this course should be followed ; but if such should not in Sir Duncan's judgment be the case, Major-General Chute, commanding in Australia, should be directed to proceed to New Zealand, and take up the command there in person, in the event of his being requested to do so by Sir Duncan Cameron. Lord de Grey will be glad if, in addition to communicating these instructions to Sir Duncan Cameron, His Royal Highness will prepare Major-General Chute for the possibility of such a requisition being made upon him by Sir Duncan Cameron. I have, Ac, The Military Secretary. Edwabd Lugaed. No. 163. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Wellington, 25th July, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant, informing me that you intend to quit the Colony, on your return to England, upon the Ist of August next. I am sorry that you should attribute the relations now existing between us to the course which, in conjunction with the Colonial Ministers, I have pursued. I can only trust that a consideration of the subject by impartial persons will lead to a different conclusion. If indeed, as you say, lam to blame for what has taken place, I can assure you that I shall most sincerely regret it; but I believe that my own desire, and that of each succeeding Colonial Ministry, has been to aid you to the utmost in carrying out your plans, however opposed these might be to our views of what should be done, which they frequently were. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey.

68

CORIIESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert