Colonial Despatches

Mr Elliot
Refer to the War Office, and request to be apprized of the nature of the answer which should be returned? It is a question purely for the consideration of the Military Authorities.

Draft.

Moody to Colonial Secretary, 19 March 1861, forwarding request as per despatch. Transcribed below.

Draft, Elliot to Under-Secretary, War Office, 22 January 1861, forwarding copy of the despatch for consideration.

I have the honor to request that you withdraw the attention of His Excellency the Governor to the total absence at present of education for the children of the men of the Royal Engineers serving in this colony.

The total number of children is seventy (70), of whom thirty-one (31) are of an age to attend school.

The young women who recently held the position of school-mistress, has, from misconduct of a nature provingproving her entire unfitness for the charge of children, rendered it necessary to dispense with her services. An unfortunatley misplaced sympathy on the part of many of the Detachment, arising however from the kindest feelings, makes it impracticable for me to obtain the services of another teacher unless at once assisted pecuniarily by the Government.

Hitherto the men of the Detachment, subscribing at a rate proportionate to the number of children sent by each, furnished an income of Thirty-six or Thirty-seven £36 or £37 Pounds, that of the Teacher bring guaranteed at Forty five £45 Pounds per annum.

In In addition to this she enjoyed the privileges of living with her parents in the camp, her father being a sergeant. This remuneration was deemed by me sufficent without applying for Government aid.

I am made aware of the certainty that any other Teacher than the above will not receive the same amount of voluntary support from the sympathy towards the first to which I have above alluded; though I have no doubt that, by firmness with kindly forbearance on my part and the judicious selection of a successor, a wiser course will be adopted.

Under no circumstances, however,however, can I sanction the employment of the unfortunate girl who lately filled the position of Teacher. I cannot find at present the circular or authority by which the War Department, under certain circumstances, grant pecuniary aid towards the schooling of soldier’s children where there is no War Department Teacher, but I am sure such grants are made, and what I now solicit the sanction of His Excellency is to an advance from the Colonial Treasury of the sum of Thirty £30 Pounds per annum with free rations, Communicating the circumstance to the Colonial Department for consideration andand arrangement with the War Department in England.

With this small amount of assistance and, I trust, the gradual return of all the soldiers children with their Parents pecuniary contributions, we may early anticipate an income worth the acceptance of a respectable young Teacher.