TAURANGA. (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) Te Papa, April 23.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3043, 27 April 1867, Page 5

TAURANGA. (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) Te Papa, April 23.

Everything here is in the same state of uncertainty as when I last -wrote, and nothing at all has been done. Nothing, I believe, can be done till the steamer brings leave from Wellington, and it would not at all surprise me if it brought orders to strike the Arawas off pay. That would he a va»t mistake, as it is only the fear of the Arawas that prevents the Hauhaus from advancing nearer to Te Papa than they are now. Our news as to the number of the enemy is entirely derived through the natives of the settlements at the western end of Tauranga, who have pretty good means of knowing, if they could be depended upon. The statements of these men make the Hauhaus number from 140 to 300, and that they are making every effort to recruit. It seems that, for some time past, tha resort and re-cruiting-place of the disaffected in this quarter has been, not Patetere, but Ohinemuri, in the Thames ; andTe Hira and his kith, kin, and allies, will need to be pretty sharply looked after. Supposing there are even but 140 Hauhaus in the bush, we could not muster here more than that number to attack them, with all their advantages of position. - Of course, there is no doubt ttut if Major McDonnell gets leave to advance he will do so, at all risks. Meantime, the district does not advance. The grand scheme of settlement by the Ist Waikato Regiment comes to the fact, that only four individuals have put a spade into the ground, and the best men are rapidly leaving the place. This is not to be wonderedat. There is no protection beyond the Gate Pa, and the land of some of the men is in the bush beyond Paengaroa, where ib would be madness for any man to go at present. There are, however, persons who evidently believe that Tauranga will have a prosperous future soon," for several new pre« mises are being erected, and the large new store of Mr. Norris, above which is to be an assembly-room, is nearly completed. The hotel is apparently doing far too good a trade for the size and prosperity of the place. A native brought down news the other day that the Hauhaus were again mustering in force in the bush, at Rotorua, but there is a want of distinct information from that quarter, as from places nearer. Indeed, the way in which the Maoris manage to keep their secrets is something wonderful. The Ngaiterangis here made a request to Mr. Clarke that he should supply them all with arms aad ammunition, and that gentleman offered them a number of muskets. Those, however, did not please them, as they wished rifles, and they rejected the offer. Rumour says that Mr. Clarke is quite well pleased that they did not take the arms, and it certainly is a puzzle what they wanted them for, at nobody thinks of attacking them, and they are not to be called on to fight against the Hauhaus. Besides, in almost every Ugaiterangi^ whare I have been in, there are guns in good condition. Captain Percival, paymaster of the Ist WaUcatos, proposed, some days ago, to proceed to Opotiki overland, and several other Europeans were alsoto'hav* gone. Mr. Clarke, however, advised that the party should wait till the arrival of the mail from Opotiki, as there was considerable doubt about the safety of the road. The mail came in last night, bringing letters from Mr. Mair, ft.M., who states that from communications he has had with the famous Wepiha, and other chiefs, he considered the road unsafe. This news, therefore, caused a peremptory stop to be put to Captain Percival's journey. A native named Oriana was brought up before Mr. Clarke on Thursday last, charged

-with stealing ~£6 from Lieutenant Bon, lit Waikato Regiment. Oriana pleaded guilty, and wai sentenced to three monthi' imprisonment, with hard labour. The prisoner offered to pay a sum of money for his crime, but was informed by Mr. Clarke that that could not be taken, and that Maorii must be punished in precisely the same way as Europeans. • The Arawas ■» now all in tents at the Gate .Fa and Judea Ford. There is a great deficiency of religious lnstruc tion in Taurang*, both for Europeans and natives. While the Imperial troops were here, there were two tervices in the Archdeacon's chapel, but one of these is now discontinued. On Easter Sunday, a considerable number of people assembled at the chapel in the forenoon, and, after waiting for some time, a deputation proceeded to the Archdeacon's home, and was told that the forenoon'» service had been dropped, and that even the afternoon* service was quite voluntary on the Archdeacon's part, as he was not paid for attending to Europeans at all. lam certain that he does not attend to the natives. Notwithstanding the number of Arawas here, nobody appears to trouble himself in the least about their religious instruction (at least the Protestants); and as for the Ngaiterangis, they won't attend sendee at all. The Church Mission is possessed of some of the finest town and suburban lands, which even now are bringing in a good revenue, and which, when the place is settled, will be productive of an enormous income; and, surely, if the Archdeacon does not consider himself bound to minister in spiritual things to those who are waiting at his door to be fed, the Church authorities ought to ■end some other person down. The Roman Catholics have two services, with a clergyman not nearly so well paid as Archdeacon Browne.

April 24. A woman has come in from the Hauhaus, and reports that they are gathered »t the Wbakamarima and near it, gathering up their crops for » safer place in the bash. A party is at Te Irihanga keeping watch over the track which leads from the "Wairoa to the butn. A meeting was held, at which one speaker, after detailing the numbers of the Arawas at the G»te Pa and Judea, advised an immediate attack on the latter place. An old tohnnga, or priest, was appealed to, who said that he had had a dream that they had gone to the Gate Pa, and attacked it, and had all been killed. This settled the matter as far at the Gate Pa is concerned, and the Maoris have such a dread of a place which is covered with the blood of the dead that it is not likely they will approach Te Papa by Te Kanga and the Gate. Maoris are rather irregular soldiers, and this morning most of the men at Judea have come into town without leave — indeed, in opposition to orders. The officer stationed at that place, and permanently attached to the Native Contingent, is unfortunately ignorant of the Maoii language, which one would expect to be a sine qua non for his situation. . Tomika te Mutu, a well-known chief of the Ngaiterangi, has just died at Rangiwaea. Mr. Clarke has given £50 for the funeral feast, which will be a great one. Tomika, considering the influence with which he has been surrounded, has been a good man. He was one of the fullest and best tatooed men I ever saw.