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TO MB EDITO» OF THB' BUT-IM. - '
Sm,-In your issue of the 18th Instant;t> lotter appeared^',.!
signed " W. O'N;," exprpssing sympathy /or our follow!i.>
countrymen; in their perilous situation in Now Zaalend,'1 »
and proposing that a volunteer fores of 100 or 200'roen'r "
should be Immediately raised «ad sent from , the oonat«. .v
'bulary of Men South Wales, to assist the regular troops
off ho lino in proteoting the British residents in Now; '?
Zealand, and establishing at once and for aver1'tba"
supremacy of her Majesty's authority. I highly admiro 1
tbdpatriotio feeling displayed by our gallant chief oon- "
stable Mr. O'Neill, and I think his proposal a very ra-
tional one, whioh oould alee bo very easily and quickly -,
parried out by means of tho tolograph, as ho proposes. , ;
, , It ia well known that thora ls a large Infusion of mili-
tary men in the polios foroe of tho country,, »nd ? '
thora'' can be no doubt that' the number staled would' '
ot onoo Btep forth st tho call of honour, and should' a :
like numbor como from Victoria, South Australia; and
Tasmania, a forou of effective, disciplined men, could
vory soon bo landed in Now Zealand, and this body of
men would necessarily be of thogroatost value, for they
1 would be possessed of bravery-no oownrd ever volnn- »'
' toers for dangerous sorvioo-of discipline.-for they have
boen long trainod to it, and af a knowledge of bush
I lifo, for tbeir duties bave led them to scour tboeountry
i iii all directions ; in foot, they havo been aoouutomod to
faoo danger and hardship, in almost evory form, and I, ,t
[ would bo disposed to ptaoo a high value upon snob a body
of men, if well offloorod, and I am oertiin they would do
I good sorvioo, and uphold tho anoient honour of ithe
British arms. < ..
The wholo Maori connlation has bonn estimated »rt
?mount to, in round . numbers,- at present BO,OOO,
Of- .? itbis number -it; may, bo ,assumed ;
that''lhere' aro 30,000 men and youths, os« p
'pablo" of bearing arms. ' Of those,' there aro a -
.number friendly to the British rule, but upon'tho .
lowest hypothesis I would say that thero are 10,000
' Maories in arms »g«lnst the British troops ; and when
tha'natura of the ground, and the smallness of the op-
posing force is taken into consideration, it wilt ho seen
¡that imroodlate aotlon ia necessary on our part, andi
trust that Mr. O'Neill's oxoollnnt suggestion'Will bo at
once acted upon by tho Executive- and,1' as slated,' tho
placo of tho mon who would votuntoor, oould easily bo
supplied by speolal constables for tho time belog! ; ?
, And as volunteering seems to bo the order ol the day,
when tho police Tolnnteera roturned from New Zealand,,
with the laurels of victory upon their brow, they1 oould .
again be embodied fer our own defence,
ALPHA,
Quoanbojan, Augöat 83,1800.
$