General Summary. WANGANUI.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 8, Issue 607, 6 May 1865, Page 2

General Summary. WANGANUI.

[From the Special Correspondent of the Independent. Waingono, AprU 8.

Two hundred rank and file and officers, under Major Rutherford, 70th Regiment ; fifty Military Train and seven Yeomanry Cavalry, under Captain Witchell* accompanied the General and staff as escort on a reconnoitring expedition towards Ketemarei — which lies very nearly in a direct line inland from here, and distant about five miles. They rode within half a mile of it, close enough to see. that it was a very large village, and also stockaded — whether fortified or not is another question. Nearly eveiy village is surrounded by a palisading of some sort or other, but very few are really fortified ; in fact the natives very seldom go to the trouble of fortifying a village, that is strengthening the usual palisading, digging rifle pits, and intrenching themselves within, unless they mean- to make a stand there. The party went out at 8 a.m. and returned at noon.

The Moa, which had been blown off the coast during the late gale, returned to the anchorage last night, a light having been hoisted at the General's flagstaff to show her the whereabouts of the camp. The surf boat and crew which she had fetched from Patea came ashore and unloaded her very quickly. Her cargo was principally oats and flour. She seems much better adapted for the Waitotara or Patea trade than for up here ; for, in the event of a shift of wind to the westward, a vessel of small power has no harbour to run into, and the coast line here of high bold clifts forming the bottom of a long bight, would not be pleasant as a lee shore. April 9. The Ahuriri was at the anchorage this morning, but there must have been a good breeze out at sea from the westward, for there is too much swell on to work the boats. The only landing place here is on a sandy beach about half-a-mile south of the mouth of the river, and when the boats have finished work they have to be drawn by oxen up to the mouth ; for were they left in the landing-place in rough weather, they would be dashed to pieces against the cliffs, the sea at spring-tides breaking nearly halfway up them. Should the boats be able to work to-morrow, both the Wangantri and Ahuriri will be unloaded ; the Ahuriri having called at Manawapo for another surf-boat on her way up yesterday.

The whole of the 70th in camj., numbering 274 rank and file, exclusive of officers, under Major Rutherford; 174 of the 50th, the whole under the command of Colonel Weare, H.M. 50th Regiment, marched this morning to Waimate, which is only about two and a-half miles from here. Major Brookes, one sergeant and nine men, Royal Engineers, accompanied the party, who took with them two days' rations, and plenty of engineers' tools in the shape of spades, picks, shovels, &c. They have gone there either for the purpose of building a redoubt or of making a road across the river. If the latter, the forces may very likely make another move farther on, but I doubt it ; at present everything here seems to indicate a halt for the winter, but still, were the steamers to come quickly and land plenty of supplies, things might change. It is idle to speculate on anything out here.

The great coast march, the moral effects of which, on the minds of the natives, seems to tickle Sir George Grey's fancy, is held in complete contempt by the natives themselves, and, I might almost say, by every one else. The cost of local transports, including the steamers, &c., is considerably over the rate of £50,000 per annum for this little campaign alone.

It is no disgrace to the forces that so little has been done in the way of thrashing the niggers. The whole of the forces, from the General downwards, can only aot according to orders, and gladly would the whole of them see it finished. The only style of warfare that will at all succeed here, is just such a one as would entirely spoil the whole of the soldiers engaged in it for European warfare hereafter. Colonial forces -will have tb be raised and drilled to rely upon themselves in the bush or anywhere else, and then let them commence in earnest and not keep them in a state of pipeclay unci idleness like the eight or nine hundred of the Taranaki Melbourne Contingent were for so many months at the various posts between Bell Block and the Waitara. April 10. The weather is far too rough for the surf to work at unloading the Wanganui and Ahuriri. It is regular north-west weather today and very rainy. . The General and Staff, escorted by 30 of the ■Military Train, under Lieutenant Creagh, started this morning for Waimate, crossed the river and rode on for two or three miles to reconnoitre. They re turned at noon and crossed

the river at the native crossing-place, which is much better than the bridle path the engineers are making at the encampment, down at the mouth. The sea has evidently made great encroachments on the coast at Waimate. From the curious isolated hill, just close to this side ['of Waimate, it is evident that the gully which separates it from the main land was once the bed of the river. The sea has so encroached that it has worn away the coast until it has hit another bend of the river, and thus formed a fresh mouth. These rivers wind so that they run quite close ttfthe sea and then take' a sudden turn inland, sometimes two or three before they empty themselves into the sea, and this one especially. The Royal Artillery have moved up into the redoubt on the right bank, as also the remainder of the 50th who did not go to Waimate. v The fishing village at this place is situated on a very curious peninsula, and can only be approached from the main land by a very narrow neck of land only a few feet in width. On one side of this narrow neck is the steep side of the river, and on the other side is a precipice of 250 feet washed at its base by the sea. The natives have cut this neck of land away for a depth of 20 feet, and so have made it an almost impregnable, position in their own ancient style of warfare. I fancy they must have had a very strong position here in olden times, and only wish that they would be fools enough to take up such a position now. April 11th. I am very sorry to have so chronicle another sad accident with the surf boats here. The weather having moderated yesterday morning, an attempt was made to land supplies from the steamers lying off here. The two boats went off once or twice all right ; but at noon, one of them, in coming ashore, struck against a large boulder, and knocked a hole in her bottom, so was condemned at once. This, left only one boat here. During the afternoon the weather became worse, and the sea was getting rather rough, when the*remaining boat was ordered off to the steamer. The crew declined to make any attempt to go off, but no sooner was a volunteer crew called for, than they at once started — not of course liking to be outdone by others. They got off all right, with some hard pulling and a slight ducking, and went alongside the Wanganui and took the mail from her to the Ahuriri, which was just starting for Auckland. While alongside the Wanganui, John Delaney tried to persuade the men from making any attempt at landing, but they only laughed at him. He, however, despite then* jeers and taunts of cowardice, stepped on board, and, as the sequel will show, acted wisely in so doing. The boat, having finished her work between the two vessels, then tried to come on shore. There was a very high sea running at the the tide flowing, and setting down the coast at the time, so the captain of the Ahuriri towed them a good bit to windward to enable them to stand a better chance of coming in at the right spot. Two or tliree persons, among whom I noticed Major Turner, C.T.C., had seen the boat leave the steamer, and at once went down on the beach, expecting nothing else but a capsize. Mr. Nelson went with a flag to direct them where to land, but just when within a couple of chains of the shore, a sea struck the boat* threw the coxswain and all hands forward, and turned the boat round into the trough of the sea. George Goscombe, a Taranaki boatman, who was in the boat, had the presence of mind to pull the boat round end on the- breakers by means of the oar he was pulling • and had the coxswain kept hold of his steer oar instead of jumping overboard, there might have been a chance of bridging all hands on shore safe, even were the boat completely swamped, which I have seen done in Taranaki. The boat then was left completely at the mercy of the waves and though the boat was drifting down the coast and coming gradually on shore, it did not capsize till within twenty or thirty yards from the beach, when she turned completely over. By this time, the beach was lined with officers and men, who did all that lay in their power to rescue the unfortunate men. The boat not coming on shore at the spot where Major Turner went out with the rope, but drifting some 80 to 90 yards farther down on to a place covered entirely with boulders of all sizes, rendered it extremely difficult for anyone to go out. Several soldiers stripped and went in at once, and Colonel Gamble, D.Q.G., gave his watch to a soldier and went in as far as he cotdd up to his chin in the sea, in order to assist or save any that could not swim. As-sistant-Surgeon Davis, 57th, was one of four men who brought one man on shore hi a very exhausted state. Some came on shore on oars, planks, &c, but three poor fellows found a watery grave. Every one did then* utmost, 1-Ut it was impossible to do much amongst a lot of boulders with a heavy sea running For the benefit of the relatives of the crew, who with one exception, were new hands from Auckland and not used to the surf boat, I will give you their names : — John Gray, (coxswain), James Brawley, W. R. Bayley, Albert Canter, John Delaney, James Wilson, Henry Page, T. Wright, Thomas Wilson and George Goscombe. The three men drowned were A. Canter, T. Wilson, and H. Page, all young men ; the eldest being only twenty-six years of age. The General sent this morning to enquire if any of the three were married, in order to open a subscription for their widows, but they were not. I have since found out that previous to this boat going off, it had been determined not to make any attempt at communicating with the vessels any more that day ; but that all at once, it became necessary to send Captain Spain, (Commodore of the Transport steamers) off to Auckland, with despatches for the evil genius of the colony, Sir George Grey, and so the decision of the morning was reversed, the boat went off) and in returning from the steamer | the above accident occured. The boat was so damaged that she is condemned, as is also the other one here which ran against a rock in beaching this morning and smashed half her side in. The one at Manawaj-o was so much damaged at that place the other day, that it hardly bears the shape of a boat at all. £4000, nine lives, and three surf boats have been expended in landing two cargoes north of the Patea — and this all for- want of proper men over the surf boats. At each station there should be a good practical sailor in charge,

whose word should be law, and if he "determined that it was not safe to work the boats, it should be quite sufficient. None of these 'lives would have been lost had such been the case. Mr. Nelsons says, that he ordered the crew to stop alongside the Wanganui till he should signalize to them that it was safe to come on shore. This, however, all the crew firmly deny. I think that there ought to be a thorough investigation into the cause of both accidents, both in justice to the men and those over them. This sad accident has altered the whole of the General's arrangements.

The campaign is now over for the winter. The 70th and 50th, who went to Waimate on Sunday, are ordered back to camp this afternoon, and the forces are under arans to start back to Patea to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock. Truly the " moral effect " of this coast-guard march on the minds of the Pai Mariri Ngatiruanuis is a sublime idea and worthy of Sir George ; but I wonder . what he will say about the "immoral effect" likely to be produced by the present retreat. j

All that has been done since the forces left Patea, has been to build redoubts at Kaharamia, Manawapo, and Waingougoro, and make side cuttings down the sides of the rivers. Three months ago to-morrow, the General left Auckland for Wanganui, and I have every reason to believe he has acted strictly according to his orders ; which were to march overland along the coast to Taranaki, and act purely on the defensive ; on no account was he to act on the offensive unless forced to do so. Just after the accident to the surf boat at Manawapo, the General thought it would be impossible to land any supplies on the coast this winter, and orders were issued evidently tending to a return march. But when the Moa landed her cargo safely and the Wanganui and Ahuriri came up, he wavered in his determination and all were under arms for Waimate ; 400 men were sent there at once to make the road over that stream, and even on the very day of the accident the General had been out reconnoitring, and found out a very good road across. But when he saw how dangerous it was to land supplies, or at least how precarious the chance was of being able to do so, he at once determined to return. The General considers that he ought always to have a reserve of 800 men hi readiness to assist any part of his line that might be endangered, and as to go on and bring up all the supplies by convoy, would entail the formation of other posts as he went along, which posts would be necessary for the protection of the convoys, and would take nearly all the men that he had left, there was no other course open to him but to return. My own impressions of the whole affair are, that if the routine of "European warfare is to be adopted by the forces here, then the sooner the regular troops are taken away the better. Five hundred men under a .commander left to do as he liked could have marched to Taranaki and back again in half the time, and done for more towards settling this question than has now been done. In fact the present march half-way and back again will be circulated all over the island by the natives as a defeat, and will tend to strengthen the ranks of the fanatics. Three days inarch from here and Stony River could have been reached, aud communications again opened with Taranaki. But then I can't see that any good would result from the mere open- ' ing commimication, unless with a view to immediately settling the country. It is currently reported in military circles that three regiments are ordered home at once, and that the Governor will have to> let them go. This is most likely correct and will do more good than harm. Take the troops away, and send out a straightforward man for a Governor ; the colony woidd soon settle the rebellion. Fom* or five hundred men with a good commander, assisted by fifty loyal Wanganuis, would soon clear all before them here, if allowed to do as they liked, and no questions asked as long as the work was done • and to this it must and will come. The Waikato militia who are in the transport corps here are going to petition the Government to give them their land down here instead of in Waikato. They prefer this to anything they saw up in the north, and it would be a good thing for Taranaki if they got it, for they were picked out for their steadiness, and are nearly every one of them tradesmen or bushmen. They are a very deserving lot of men, and as a proof of of their steadiness the fact of one company of them having over a thousand pounds in then* savings bank, speaks for itself. Tangahoe, Wednesday, April 12, 1865. The return march took place this morning. The detachments came in front Waimate yesterday afternoon, and within a hour of their leaving the camping ground Major Brooke, R.B. and Mr. Ross, D.A.C.G., who had stayed behind on the beach, were fired on by the natives, who were then already tracking the retiring steps of oxu' men. Foxu* companies of the 57th, viz : — Capt. Woodall's, Hasted's, Douglas', and Clarke's, under the command of Major Butler, H.M.'s. 57th, were left to garrison the redoubts at Waingougoro together with one Armstrongsix pounder and thirty of the military train under Lieut. K. B. Creagh. The remainder of the forces marched as far as Tangahoe to-day, where they will remain for two or three days, after which they will go to Patea. Patea, Thursday, April 13, 1865. The General and staff arrived here this morning, Brigadier General Waddy being left in charge of the forces. April 17, 1865. " A New Zealand winter is like an English summer." Thus, or in a similar strain, ■writes the Wanganui Chronicle, and I only wish that it was right. Unfortunately I have not found it so, and would the writer in the Chronicle but come up here for a few weeks,' I am rather inclined to think that he would be very willing to retract his words on being allowed to return back to town. For the last fortnight, -with the exception of one day, when the Moa landed her cargo at the front, we have had a regular series of gales, and many are the nights in which I have lain down to sleep in my tent speculating upon thp probability of finding myself roofless in the morning. The Gundagai has for several days been bar-bound in Waitotara, and the Moa is in the same fix in the Wanganui. Although my tent is closed as securely as possible, I can hardly write on account of the sand choking the pen. I have often, when in the West Indies, been compelled to eat sandwiches and musquitoes, for |

no sooner did I open my, mouth to eat the one than the other would fly in ; but hero everything is completely sanded. When you^tum in at night, you may cover yourself up as closely as you like, but you must not be astonished to find your bed half full of sand in the morning, the said sand having during the night acted on your skin as a nutmeg grater, thereby causing a not very pleasant sensation. Everything in the eatable line, too, is covered with it, and should you attempt to go outside, what with the sand in your eyes and the grit of it between your teeth, one ought- to', be very thankful that he is not compelled to take up his winter quarters at Patea. Everything up at the front is the same as when I last wrote. Orders are out for hutting 800 men here, but where the rest will take up their quarters is not yet known. ' I believe that the General is awaiting an answer from the Governor to a despatch that was sent from the front a week ago. The press seems to be greatly divided in its opinions as to whether the General is solely responsible for the campaign, or whether, he is merely acting under orders. lam certain the latter will be found to be the case, notwithstanding that many parties are infatuated with the belief that the General can do as he likes. However the truth will come out, and I shall be very much surprised indeed if it does not turn out that General Cameron has acted strictly up to the orders of his Excellency the Governor.

Since my arrival down here I have had anopportunity of seeing some of your contemporaries. In one journal I noticed two whole columns devoted to the skh'mish at " Kakarami.l," in which the writer talks about the "superior disposition of the forces," the "loud roar of artillery," and also shows the " formation of a regiment in column ascending a hill to attack a village ; such an account as is contained in this journal would lead its readers, to suppose that a moderately well contested battle had been fought ; whereas in ten minutes from the first shot being fired, the Maories bolted as hard as they could with the 57th at their heels. There was no such thing as skirmishing order on our side after that, for our men chased them wherever they could see one to run after. The loud roar of artillery consisted of "two" Armstrong shells from the 6-pounder Armstrongs, and my own personal opinion is that it was wrong to fire them at all, as it compe_lecU.our men to halt for a minute, and gave the natives a hundred or two yards start in the ensuing race. There was no attack on the village, as the men, having .Jinished with the natives, were racing to see who should get to the whares first.

[From the Correspondent of the " N . Z. Herald."! Camp Tangahoe, 18th April. . In consequence of the Maoris having been seen near the Camp yesterday, a party of 300 men with the whole of the cavalry and artillery, with one gun, under the command of Colonel Weare, 50th regiment, were sent out at 8 a.m. ; the intention of the Brigader-GeneraJ, who accomr panied the party, being to scour the country in the direction of Waingougoro and, if possible, to deter the natives from again appearing so near the Camp. The party proceeded about six miles in a direct line with the nesct post, then made a detour to the right and continued to move on for about a mile and halted. Just at tliis time a number of pigs, probably aroused by the cavalry, who were hi advance, came running among the troops. Some, of them were captured and proved very acceptable to the fortunate fellows who caught them, as our commissariat is not at present in a very flour- | ishing condition, and the rations issued anything but nutritious and plentiful. Smoke was seen issuing from the bush, but on MajorGraves riding up to the edge of it, no Maoris were to be descried, consequently the party returned to Camp about one o'clock p.m. The whole of the horse transport left this at . 8 a.m. for Patea, where they are to be stationed for the present, which intimates strongly that the field force will remain some time longer at Tangahoe. 19th April., It appears to be the intention of the Brigadier to scour the country thoroughly, as another party of 200 infantry, with the whole of the cavalry, left this at half-past eight this morning, vnder the command of Col. Hamley, 50th Regiment. This party crossed the Tangahoe river, and proceeded inland along the south bank for a considerable distance. En route they were overtaken by the Brigadier and Staff. When about four-and-a-half miles from camp a village was descried, and the infantry was hnmediately halted; the cavalry were thrown cautiously forward, and advanced in file, but as no Maoris were seen near, they were ordered to ride through, and having formed up on the opposite side they were allowed to dismount, and the men separated to fill their haversacks, &c, with potatoes, a few I remaining to look after the horses. Provisions ! did not appear to have been plentiful, as the men could barely get sufficient to carry with them. The Brigadier ordered up a party of the 50th Regiment to cut down a flagstaff that was in the centre of the village, and as soon as this work was completed, the infantry were allowed to fall out, but the cavalry, of course, had been beforehand, and completely cleared every pit and whare in the place of potatoes ,* they also succeeded in getting four pigs. From this point another small kainga (or village) was seen, and the Brigadier ordered the cavalry to mount, and they proceeded towards it to reconnoitre ; the distance not being very great, the infantry were ordered to remain but be ready to act in a moment if called on. On arriving at the village they found it completely deserted except by cattle, and the cavalry succeeded in capturing eleven and bringing them into camp. An order was sent to Col. Hanley to move his men back to their cantonments, where they arrived at about 8 p.m.

I have not the least doubt but that these reconnoitering parties will prove of very great service, as it will at once shew the rebels that the troops are not idle, and further, be the means of deterring them from attacking any of our convoys, if such has ever been their intention. Every one in camp is beginning to feel dissatisfied with the way in which the mails are detained. I for one have great occasion for complaint, my last Auckland papers being dated the 24th March.

• _'. ; ""' * k\\ ' ; v/ 7 v v ;"V 20th April. There is not the leasff'appearence,' of a move. in either direction as yfet. A mail leaves for Patea at two o'clock tti-day. - , .' . . - , .'•••'-"' Pateaj' 22nd April. . The head-quarters is still at Patea camp, and the field force at Tangahoe. Numbers of the rebels have deserted the Waitotara, al-t-trough they stiU muster pretty strong there.. Some indication oft the part of the General of an immediate attack upon it, but things are so very uncertain with us that it is almost impossible to pass a. correct, opinion upon any movement until it has actually occurred ,* at all events it is pretty certain that there will be an v attack on the rebel position immediately, or that the greater part of the field force will be removed at once to Taranaki. The contractor who supplies the groceries to the troops in this district is a prisoner in charge of the military at Wanganui, for selling powder to the rebels ; the first proofs of his having done so were discovered by some correspondence from him to the natives on the subject, which was found by a soldier in one of the settlements in advance of the Patea camp. If this matter can be brought home to this man, who, I believe, is ah old settler in this district, no punishment, I imagine, could be too severe for him. I understand the proof against him is pretty conclusive. '

(From the " Wanganui Chronicle, April 22.) We learn that Pehiroana and his people, who proposed to Come in and surrender themselves, are detained in the Weraroa pa by Piripi and his followers, together with some Waikatos still remaining there, who threaten his life if he attempts to escape. Seven or eight of his people, under cover of the darkness, crept out of the Weraroa pa the other night and came in, and we believe : that Rio's widow and child have managed to come in also. It is now. said that Aperahama and some others who . were expected to surrender, will not do. so and it is probable that the change in their in-, tent-ohs may have been occasioned by the information that operations had ceased for the season, as they have the winter before them to take advantage of anything that may turnup, and are no doubt pretty well assured, that if it. - is desirable to capitulate six months hence they will be permitted to do so on as good terms as at present. Lieutenant-General Cameron was at Patea yesterday morning, 1 and is expected here either to-day or to-morrow. He would certainly come to-day as far as the Waitotara."