The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2681, 19 February 1866, Page 4

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCEO, NON UKO. " If I have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the tpwk I bore."

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19.

The position of matters at Wanganui is an interesting one on several accounts. Perhaps the recent campaign of General Chute is the thing most present to our readers' minds in connection with this subject, and naturally so. This, however, interesting and important although it is, is by no means all. For our own part we should be inclined to say that General Chute's campaign was important rather as an indication of facts than from any great results which it did or could produce. In saying so, we would not be understood as wishing for a moment to detract from the General's merits, nor from those of his brave troops. Perhaps a glance at the facts will best explain our meaning, which might be open to some degree of misapprehension. The march of General Chute, which was undertaken, in the first placej through the interior at the back of Mount Egmont, passed through a large district of very formidable country. On the way there were pas and a good many cultivations, of great value to the rebellious tribes. The attempt to execute such a march was a very bold one, and maybe said on that ground to have fully deserved its success. The peculiar feature of the affair, however, is that, difficult and almost foolhardy as the attempt seemed to be, the execu* tion proved remarkably easy. The most serious obstacle encountered by the General and his little army lay in the want of provisions. This is in itself instructive, as it shows at once the nature of the district. The Commissariat department could not supply the troops; the Transport Corps was unable to follow where the soldiers led. In such a country resistance could not have been difficult, and could hardly have proved even very dangerous. A stand might havebeen made by a few determined men in a hundred places, which would not have been overcome without much loss of life and waste of time. But even the advantages of position were not all. There were pas which were well fortified, and which might have been~defended as Orakau was defended by the natives. They were not defended in this way. A rush at the

pa by the troops was generally sufficient to ' cause the defenders to make off as fast as possible at the back of the fortification Even the cultivations upon which the tribes depended for food were not regarded as of sufficient importance to produce a firm stand. The march was a great success : it was more than this, however, for it was a nearly bloodless success. It was proved by it that the natives would make no firm stand against any considerable body of our forces, even when they had all the advantages of a new country, wholly unknown to us, and very inaccessible. But it might have been thought that this was caused by utter astonishment. It might be said that, after all, the natives were not prepared for this sort of thing — that there were few men in these pas, and that they considered resistance useless, and so gave way to the prompting of valour's better part. It may be thought also that the sudden apparition of a host of troops issuing from the forest, where they had never been known to go before, was of itself surprising enough to account for a panic. Nothing in the march from "Wanganui to Taranaki could refute such impressions as these. Now, however, the General has gone back. It was well known that he was going back by way of the coast even here, and wo shall do the Maoris less than justice if we believe that they were ignorant on so very important a point as this. After giving full time for preparation, the troops started for Wanganui once more, and this time by a road that had already been traversed by troops. In this case no surprise was attempted by the General, and very little resistance was made by the natives. Even at Warea, a place long held and carefully fortified by them as a sort of head-quarter station, they scarcely waited to be attacked, but made off at once in confusion, and so quickly as not to give the troops an opportunity of killing or wounding more than one or two of their number. The natural question that arises is," What " does this mean?" There can be no doubt that this is a very different sort of thing from the warfare we have been accustomed to. Formerly the natives were bold and aggressive, and, if attacked, held out with a vigour and determination worthy of a better cause. We have not forgotten their attitude as lately as the dates of Orakau and the Gate Pa, or even the way in which they attacked our troops in January, 1865, at Wanganui.,- The contrast is a striking one, and it is suggestive. For it is not possible to deceive ourselves with the idea that it is any change that has come over our attitude after all. It was not that General Chute's men looked braver or better than General Camerons men, that induced the men who boldly and almost successfully charged a small army in the open field a year ago, to run away from strong places of defence with hardly an attempt to defend them the other day. With all credit given to the gallant officer in command, thero yet remains this difficulty, which is one also suggested by other circumstances. For instance, we find that the Native Contingent now beats the 'rebels invariably, and without difficulty. The other day we find that a small party of those men met by accident a large party of rebels, and that after a vory short fight the rebels ran away, leaving eight of their number dead on the field. This is a curious chance since the day when ninety rebels at Moutoa nearly routed three hundred friendly natives by the vigour and determination of their onslaught. And here we imagine the clue is suggested. It is this energy, this confidence, and vigour, that were the characteristics of the natives in rebellion, but are so no longer. It is not surprising that this should be so, for probably few races of savages would have maintained so long an undaunted front in continual defeat. It is true that the defeat has not always been crushing. Often they may have thought they had almost got the advantage, but the point of the thing was that they never did so wholly. Month after month they have been going downhill, and they have felt it, we may be sure, keenly. The results are now at last becoming apparent, but the process has been long going on. From the moment at which General Cameron crossed the Maungatawhiri creek up to the present time they have never had anything like a positive success. And instead of wondering at the breakdown in the warlike spirit which recent events seem to prove to be the case now, we may well marvel at the constancy with which, through a long series of continued losses and disappointments,the rebels have maintained the front they have shown to our best efforts for their subjugation.

We have been informed that Mr. Richard McGee has withdrawn his candidature for the representation of the Pensioner Settlements. Ihe necessary documents have been forwarded to the Returning Officer. Colonel de Quincey will therefore be the sitting member, with the formality of a few votes being recorded in his favour. We think Mr. McGee acted wisely in taking this step. The usual fortnightly meeting of the City Board of Commissioners will take place to-day, at three o'clock, at the office, Canada Buildings, when the correspondence received since last meeting will be considered; also, report of the deputation appointed to wait upon his Honor the Superintendent, with reference to an Appropriation Bill for £10,000 being sent down to the Provincial Council ; also, relative to the f ormation of Drake-street, and reclamation of part of Freeman's Bay ; accounts, &c. We are glad to perceive that the farewell dinner to be given to Captain H. Hufcton, by the Otahuhu Division of the Royal Cavalry Volunteers, will take place at Mr. Rogers's, the Criterion Hotel, Otahuhu, on Friday next, the 23rd instant. On Friday night, between eighty and ten j o'clock, a large quantity of wearing apparel was stolen from the premises of Captain Marks, on the Graf ton Road. Captain Marks and the older members of the family were out at the time, and the thief or thieves had got over the fence from the Domain, and took the clothes from the lines. Cap- ; tain Marks is desirous of intimating to the persons* concerned that if they again visit the premises they will get a messenger from a Colt's revolver. The anniversary services of the Newmarket Presbyterian Church took place yesterday. The Rev. Mr. Hill preached in the forenoon, and the Rev, Mr. Beafcon in the evening. The services in this church will in future be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Wallis, the Rev. Mr. Sinclair having left the province. A meeting of the members of No. 3 Company, Auckland Volunteers, was held at the Windsor Castle Hotel, on Friday evening, at which thirty members agreed to enrol in the company to serve under the new regulations. A meeting of civil engineers and surveyors of Auckland will be held this afternoon, at 4 o'clock, at the Belfast Hotel, Princes-street, for the purpose of considering the advisability of establishing a Volunteer Engineering Corps. The ' recitation class of the Wellington-street Catholic Institute will give another performance this evening, when the five-act play, " The Honeymoon," and the pleasant farce, "Did you ever send your wife to Onehunga ?" will be produced. Five seamen belonging to the barque 'Sarah Ann' were given into custody yesterday, by Captain Croucher, charged with disobedience of lawful commands.

\ Tho Americ in Ironolad Minstrels made their last appearance on Saturday evening at the Prince of Wales Theatre, but we regret to say were not very largely patronised. Most of the favourite songs and dances were given, with very creditable instrumental performances, and met with well-merited applause from the audience. A meeting of the stewards of the Auckland and Garrison Hunt Races, to come off in the ensuing month, was held at the Jockey Club Room, Hardington's Yard, on Saturday, to arrange the preliminary business of the events, fix amount of stakes, &c. The result will be found published in our advertising columns, Messrs. C. Arthur and Son will offer for sale, today, by order of the trustees, the stock-in-trade of a draper, harberdasher, &c. Messrs. Hunter and Co. will offer for sale, to-day, at the Newmarket sale yards, fat and store cattle, fat sheep and lambs, pigs, &c.