128
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

Newcastle, Waikato, New Zealand,
25th January, 1870.

SIR, —The completion of the fort at Newcastle—for
the construction of which I received your Excel-
lency's commands—having been at this time arrested
by the temporary removal of the Armed Constabu-
lary on active service, I deem it a fitting time to
report upon its progress, and on the amount of
labour produced by the men here employed since
its commencement.

From the report in detail which I have the honor
herewith to lay before your Excellency, it will be
seen that the earth-work is within a few days of com-
pletion; that the bricks required for the tower have
been made on the spot; that lime has been for
the first time produced in the district; and that the
foundations of the tower have been laid.

I may remark, that the number of men at our
disposal was inadequate throughout to the numerous
different branches of work going on at the same
time, viz., earth-work, lime-burning, brick-making,
fuel-cutting, bricklaying, felling, sawing, and car-
pentering. Some time, moreover, was spent in in-
struction, and in converting unskilled to skilled
labour.

Many local obstructions also caused loss of time.
Want of tools and of water-carriage threw us back
much at first. Little could be purchased on the
spot; all plant wanted had to be made by ourselves,
or ordered from Auckland. I endeavoured to enforce
the greatest economy, and allowed nothing to be
purchased that could be made, repaired, or converted
by our own labour. The lime had to be brought on
packhorses down a frightful road, from the summit of
the Raglan ranges to the Waipa River. The timber
—obtained up the Waipa, from a creek two miles
off—was very scarce, and had to be carried great
distances to the water; and the creek would some-
times remain for weeks too low for passage of canoes.
The heavy floods of December—greater than had
occurred for years—washed away our store of fire-
wood, and spoilt a large kiln of lime, the work of
a fortnight.

Of such a character were our difficulties,----difficul-
ties which I could not have overcome had I not
found zeal and good-humoured perseverance in my
fellow-workers.

But, apart from their labours, I trust that it may
be considered that they have rendered some equivalent
for their services, in having, to a certain extent,
developed the resources of the country, by utilizing,
for the first time, the brick-clay of Newcastle, and
by producing in the district lime for building pur-
poses, a product never before obtained in Waikato.

The employment of the local forces in the con-
struction of works of a permanent character is a
novel experiment; and, it having fallen to me to aid
in it, I cannot refrain from expressing my conviction,
that the experiment must prove a true economy, and
entirely successful. All history, from that of the
Romans in Britain downwards, points to a defensive
character of warfare as the sure mode of overawing
and subduing barbarous nations. A fort is a sleep-
less sentry, ever upon post—a source of confidence
and security to all around it. And a system of
strong posts is right economy; for each post, since it
permits of a reduction of armed force with safety, is
equivalent to the services of so many men under
arms. The commander who neglects to fortify
cannot be said to hold a country en permanence;
he moves through it, making no more impression on
it than a whale does in swimming through the ocean;
he neutralizes half his strength by being compelled
to make large detachments; and, when he does want
to strike a decisive blow, finds that he cannot with
safety concentrate more than half his force. Your
Excellency will, I trust, pardon these expressions
of opinion on my part. I am but quoting the most
generally received modern military ideas.

Before concluding, I trust that your Excellency
will permit me to acknowledge the courteous support
which has been always given to me by Lieut.-Colonel
Moule, Commanding the Waikato District.

I feel bound to bring to your Excellency's notice
the able assistance which I have derived from Sub-
Inspector Kenny, A.C., during the work. I consider
that his technical ability would well qualify him
to be employed in the superintendence of any future
works of a similar character to that in which we have
been engaged together.

I hope your Excellency will also allow me to
thank, in official form, Sergeant W. Ryland, Wairoa
Militia, and Corporal H. W. Willoughby, A.C., —
successively my assistants in general charge of the
work, for their zealous co-operation.

Finally, I ask your Excellency to let me acknow-
ledge my gratitude to the Non-commissioned Officers
and Constables of the detachment, Armed Con-
stabulary, engaged in the work, for their steady
conduct, personal good-will towards myself, untiring
perseverance, and the hearty zeal which they have
shown throughout our labours.

As an officer of the last regiment of Her Majesty's
troops ever likely to unfurl its colours in the Colony,
and now quitting its shores for ever, I am bound
to express my sincere thanks to your Excellency for
having offered to me, and to His Royal Highness the
Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief for having per-
mitted me to accept, a position that has enabled
me to show some active sympathy with our fellow-
countrymen in New Zealand.

I have, &c.,
H. W. YOUNG,
Captain, 2nd Batt. 18th Royal Irish,
Acting Military Secretary.

His Excellency
Sir George F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., &c., &c.

Report on the Fort and Tower at Newcastle, Wai-
kato, New Zealand.

IN reporting on the present state of the Fort and
Tower at Newcastle, I propose to compare the work
done, and material produced, with the labour and
expenditure, in such a manner as to give some
approximation to the value of the military labour, as
bestowed, up to the present point, upon that work.

I. The Fort.—The parapet in the main work has
been carried up to its full height (9 feet), loopholed
and finished, with its banquettes, on rather more
than three sides. On the unfinished portion of the
remaining side—namely, one face, one flank, and
a curtain—the banquettes have been put in, and the
parapet itself is 7 feet high, only requiring the loop-
holes to complete it to its full height.

The ravelin (outwork covering the gate) has been
raised to half its full height. It has been left until
the main work be finished, the latter being of more
importance. A party of twenty men could easily
finish the whole of the earth-work in four or five
days, provided the loopholes be at hand. The
scarcity of timber has constantly thrown the supply
of loopholes back, and thereby obstructed the pro-
gress of the fort.

Loopholes to the number of one hundred and
twenty-two were required for the whole work. Of
these, three in each of the eight flanks are directed
into the ditch, their fire crossing, and completely
sweeping every cranny of it.