MAP No. 7.
W. & A.K. Johnston Limited, Edinburgh & London.
There is little of interest to chronicle in the doings of the battalion during the year 1868. The headquarters remained at Auckland, with detachments in various parts of the colony. The armament of the Royal Irish was modernised by the issue of Snider breech-loading rifles to replace the muzzle-loading Enfields with which the men had hitherto been provided. In December Colonel Beatson, the officer who for a year and a half had commanded the troops in New Zealand, left the colony; before sailing he issued farewell orders in which he expressed his “unqualified satisfaction with the correct and soldierly conduct of the 2nd battalion, XVIIIth Royal Irish regiment, which reflects credit not only on themselves alone but also on the British army of which they are now almost the only representatives in this distant colony.” Early in 1869, the battalion was warned to be in readiness to relieve the 50th in Australia. The European population, however, strongly opposed the departure of the Royal Irish: officers and men were alike popular with all classes of society, and while on personal grounds the colonists wished to retain the regiment among them, from the political point of view they deprecated the withdrawal of the XVIIIth, who were the rear-guard of the British army in New Zealand. As a concession the Ministry at home reluctantly postponed the departure of the battalion, but after a few months again ordered it to Australia. The Government of New Zealand remonstrated warmly against this decision, and offered to guarantee for five years any annual payment which the War Office might fix as the price of the retention of the XVIIIth. But as the Imperial Government had decided to throw upon the settlers the responsibility for the defence of the colony, it decided that no regular troops should remain in New Zealand, and at the beginning of 1870 the battalion embarked, the headquarters and four companies for Sydney, and detachments of two companies each for Melbourne, Adelaide, and Hobart.
How highly the Royal Irish were appreciated in New Zealand will be seen by the following extracts from official documents, newspaper articles, and farewell speeches on the subject of their departure. Sir George Bowen, who succeeded Sir George Grey as Governor of the colony, recorded his “sense of the important service rendered by the 2nd battalion, XVIIIth Royal Irish during the present rebellion, and also of the admirable conduct of the officers and men, who have invariably maintained the most cordial relations with their fellow-subjects. Their approaching departure is viewed with deep and general regret both on public and on personal grounds.”[222]
In a speech made by Sir George Arney, Chief Justice of the Colony, on the 16th of February 1870, the following passage occurs:—
“I believe that every inhabitant of New Zealand has heard often of the 18th Royal Irish—has heard not only of that gallant and distinguished regiment, but also of the society of gentlemen who have won the affections, I believe, and certainly have commanded the respect, of the whole colony. And that which I have said of the Officers, I may in some degree also say of the men. As the head of one special department, I can say that during my long sojourn here, I have known no other regiment which has been so distinguished by its freedom from crime; and the men of this regiment have themselves thus become respected, not only by those of their immediate class, but by all classes of society in the Colony. That circumstance must be taken as due not only to the efficient command of the Officer at the head of the regiment, but also to the temper and discretion with which his orders have been carried out by the Officers of the regiment. I will say but little on the fact that this Colony is now losing the presence of this gallant regiment; it is a subject which, I believe, is a painful one to the hearts of the whole of the colonists in New Zealand. I believe that the 18th will be universally regretted, as they are now universally respected.”
The Ministers of the New Zealand government also gave their testimony to the good conduct of the regiment in a communication to the Governor.
“Memorandum for His Excellency.
“Ministers cannot permit the last detachment of Her Majesty’s 18th regiment to leave the Colony without expressing the regret which they feel at the departure of the regiment, and bearing testimony of the uniform good conduct of the force under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Elliot, during the period of its service in the Colony; the sentiment which the Government thus places on record is that of the whole community.