WELLINGTON.

Press, Volume IX, Issue 995, 16 January 1866, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

[fBOM OXTB. GYm COBBESPOITDEJrr.] ] Wellington, January 13. The force which left Wanganui for the Patea country, combined with some of the., military stationed there, attacked a pa situated amongst some difficult bush ranges, and occupied by Hau-hauH,who fired one volley and then made. scarce. Lieut. Keogh, of the 14th Regiment, and Major McDonnell, in command of the Native Contingent, were both severely j pounded. are said to have been killed, but of course the number of the wounded is unknown. After the capture of the pa the force returned to camp, and received thei wMU&Sjpff the General. But General! is^ determined , to c crush the; rebellion, rf possible. A Hying column, | accompanied by Dr. Eontherston, and imposed of eorae of the Military, the Forest Bangers, and the Native Contingent, have been sent on toTaranaki to sweep the country as they go, and | to cut off all the rebels they could meet I with. By the latest accounts the force Had got as far as Eakaramea,. and expected to be in Taranaki in ten days iwaa that time. They had takeu two

v pas, and were in the neighborhood o h another said to contain about 20( s rebels, but very difficult to capture £ However, as the ground is known t( '. some of the Native allies, it was hopet that this too would soon be taken by , the Colonial force and destroyed. It is 3 now stated, on good authority, that the officers of the Imperial troops had 3 received positive orders from General t Cameron not to molest any of the 3 rebels, so that their hands were close ' tied. It is to be hoped, however, that ■ we have heard the last of such nonsense, and that these Natives will be ■ brought to their senses at last. Dr. i Featherston, it was said, had sprained :■ his ankle and was unable to walk, but i was still determined to keep up with ; the column, lest any hitch should occur ] with the Native allies. There are now four candidates in the field for the honor of representing the district of Wanganui in the next Parliament. But if there is to be a contest we believe it will be between I Mr. Bryce and Mr. Harrison. The latter gentleman has for a long period represented the constituency to the full satisfaction of the electors, and although Mr. Bryce is a highly respectable and independent man, he is not quite the kind of person we should expect to see representing Wanganui in the House of Representatives; nor is it easy to see why Mr. Harrison should not be unanimously re-elected. If Mr. Bryce is elected, it will doubtless be in consequence of the leading part lie took in the agitation lately set on foot in order to erect the districts of Wanganui and the neighborhood into a separate province. We should not be at all surprised to see Dr. Featherston a candidate for the suffrages of the electors of either Rangitikei or Wanganui in the forthcoming election; in fact, we believe that unless he can make sure of being successful in the City of Wellington, he will certainly stand for one of the abovementioned districts.. The " Independent" has published !an article of five or six columns, purporting to be a full and correct account of the dispute between Mr. Mantell and Dr. Featherston with regard to the Manawatu. But whoever may have been in fault in the matter, the main point to be secured now is to acquire the block if possible, and render it available for bonafide settlement. An endeavor is being made to resuscitate the Wellington Jockey Club, but the success of the endeavor seems doubtful at present. The fact is, that instead of one good central meeting, at which sufficient inducement could be offered to bring over good horses from other parts of the colony, there are a series of petty meetings held at different times of the year in different parts of the province. Until a very different system is pursued from that at present in vogue, we do not expect to see a revival of sport in this part of New Zealand. The Provincial Executive have rather " gone up a tree " in framing a set of new land regulations. A Land Board has been established, but unfortunately from some imfortnalities, the election of one of its members is eonsidered-rtr have been illegal, &o that the Council must be again called together, or the land sales stopped for a time. The detachment of the 68th, who have been guarding the Maoris on board the Hulk here, has been relieved by a party of the 50th. The former proceeded to-day to Taranaki, on board the Ahuriri, en route for Auckland, where they are to embark for England about the middle of next month. The Airedale, which conveys this, will also contain a number of visitors to the Canterbury races, which are looked forward to with so much interest all over New Zealand, and all those who remain behind wish you all fine weather, and a successful meeting.