Hawke's Bay Herald. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1869.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1092, 15 October 1869, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1869.

We deem it 'unnecessary to notice at any length the extraordinary article which appeared yesterday in the columns of our contemporary, commenting upon present operations in the Taupo district ; and, indeed, we notice it at all simply because of a peculiarity iu the style of the article in question, reminding one of a series of prettily written romances which, some months ago, en* riched the columns of the " New Zealand Government Gazette," and of a very dreary speech with which, lately, our contemporary edified his readers throughout two or three consecutive issues. On looking over the article referred to, we find the Waikaremoana expedition pitched upon by the writer as one to contrast favorably with the present operations at Taupo. He says :— " We have no sympathy nor congratulation to offer the Government. It assumed office when little remained to be done, but that little was easy and apparent. Te Kooti was recovering his spirits, obtaining ammunition and recruits at Lake Waikarimoana, and in such open country was absolutely at the mercy of the first 100 Europeans wbo approached him. His total force was 70 men — 40 surviving Chatham Islanders and 30 Uriwera volunteers. The opportunity was ignorantly lost, the troops were hurried away to the coast, and the finest chance which has ever existed of crushing the drooping rebellion passed away." We need not tell our readers that when the late Government massed 1400 men to conquer the rebel force at Waikaremoana, a very different story was told. Te Kooti was not then at the mercy of the first 100 Europeans who approached him, or, if he was, how was it that Colonel Whitmore aud his column, 800 strong, including colonels majors and captains without number, had to make that disastrous retreat to Fort Galatea, to which the late Government agent graphically alluded when he said, — " Thank God, Whitmore and all his force are safe out of the bush." And indeed it was matter of general congratulation that the ill-advised, badly arranged expedition ended without more serious disaster. We mentioned, just now, that 1400 men had been massed against the Uriwera ', we should have said, attempted to be massed. The force under Colonel Whitmore and that under Colonel Herrick, making 1400 in all, were to have acted conjointly, but no coalition was ever effected. Our contemporary, referring to present operations, says : — " For more than two months we have seen a series of torpid mauosuvres"— a remark very apropos to the Waikaremoana expedition, seeing that it was nearly two months after Colonel Whitmore's retreat before the other part of his force under Colonel Herrick reached the position where the united action was to have taken place ! But here, where the facts are familiar as household words, it is unnecessary to say more. We dislike strong language, but cannot help characterising as audacious impudence the attempt to contrast the miserable and ruinously costly failure, which the expedition against the Ureweras undoubtedly was, with the brilliant and comparatively inexpensive successes now being achieved at Taupo by the gallant M'Donnell and his little band.