CONCLUSION.
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A WORD FOR MY OLD COMRADES.
On my return to Patea from Hokitika, a letter was handed to me from Colonel Whitmore, who had in my absence, paid a visit to my district, for what purpose I know not, I am not going to inflict the whole letter on my readers, but will just give an extract, and
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let it speak for itself: those who knew the men of my old force can judge. He says:--"Your men (such as I have seen) are quite unfit for service, being about twenty years on an average too old; chiefly soldiers who have been accustomed to have most things done for them, and quite unfit in my opinion for duties which will generally require the very strictest sobriety and perfect trustworthiness in all positions, however far from the eye of their officer." And so on.
In justice to my poor fellows who are most of them under the sod and are even now much spoken against by Colonel Whitmore, why, I do not know, unless it is because they belonged to my force, I must say I was proud of my men, who had stuck to me in many a fight with the enemy. As for their being "unfit for service, and twenty years too old" that was simply not the case. The fact that many of them had formerly belonged to Her Majesty's service is correct, and fine brave fellows they were, and not one of them but what had been honorably discharged from the regiment in which he had served. They certainly did not belong to a class that "had been accustomed to have everything done for them." I was not aware, and am not even now, after what Colonel Whitmore has said, that British soldiers were considered such helpless beings; and as for their being helpless, useless, unfit and too old, I will ask where are the majority of those men now? Many of them died at their post at Turu-turu mokai, and the gallant few who held that position were mostly those soldiers, whose sole reward is the knowledge that they did their duty like men, for though promised some reward by the Government, they got nothing. Others of these "useless men" fought bravely and died at Te Ngutu-o-te-manu at both attacks.
Others again fought and fell at Moturoa, near Okutuku, (under Colonel Whitmore) and in every skirmish where men have been killed or wounded, the men of my old force (I include all the old members T.M.S., W.Y.C., P.R., and W.R.) suffered most because they always bore the brunt of the day, and I am not far out in stating that of the men who comprised No. 2 and 3 Divisions nearly the whole of them have been either wounded or killed in action. I wish I had my old force as it once was. They knew their work, and I
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could trust them anywhere; and they had, I am proud to say, confidence in me as their leader. If they had only been treated properly and fairly by the Government they would have remained in the Patea district and thus have settled it; but even supposing that disturbances had occurred, they would very soon, if not hampered by the Native Department, have settled Titoko Waru and the rest of them. Each man of my old force, soldier or settler, was worth a dozen useless rabble.
To put arms into the hands of raw recruits, and send them into the bush is simply providing the natives with arms ammunition, and fresh meat; one active Hau-hau or New Zealander would be only too happy to meet a dozen of such just to keep his hand in practice. Thus much for my brave old comrades.
In justice to the now maligned Wanganui Natives I may here state that when Sir George Grey says:--" McDonnell acted splendidly," I may say that it was to those men we principally owed our success in capturing the Weraroa pa.
Again, in all General Chute's despatches, the services of the Native Contingent are highly commended. One extract will suffice where he says:--"The Native Contingent has been a valuable auxiliary to the force. My thanks are due to Major McDonnell and his brother, Ensign McDonnell, who are active and zealous officers, and deserving your Excellency's favourable consideration."
Our thanks were due to the Native Contingent. During the many years that they served under me, not only in these districts but also on the East Coast, they fought cheerfully and bravely, and I never had cause to doubt either their courage or their loyalty. They would still take the field with me to a man.
