THE WAR ON THE WEST COAST.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 87, 31 August 1868, Page 211

THE WAR ON THE WEST COAST.

THE NGUTU O TE MA.NU PA CAP ; TURED AND BURNT! NO FRIENDLY NATIVES ENGAGED • 1 ■' nin e hAuhaus Killed. EUROPEAN LOSS—THREE KILLED AND EIGHT WOUNDED. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) < [FROM OUR, OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington! August 25,10 a.m. The fortified pa Te Ngutu o te Manu was captured yesterday and burnt to the ground, with a, loss on our side of three killed arid eight: wounded.; . The following particulars are to hand .. 270 men, under comoiaud of Col. M‘Donriell, started yesterday morning at half-past seyen-o’clock, in two divi-. 3ions;; to attack the rebel capital. Major { Von T-empsky led the Armed Constabulary and Taranaki Volunteers. Captains, Buck’s and Page’s companies composed.thq attacking force. i The pa—which isi about twelve miles'from Waihi, the base of operreached a little after ten o’clock, our; force thus taking about; three hours in threading their way through- the bush. 7 Hauhau Iscou s were ori. the alert, and preparations hadPceri made ,to give , our forces a warm. i : !;‘Orders- had been given P reserve fire until witbia pistol shot of" the qnemy, who kept,up a smart fire upon from, the ; moment .they,apt pearied' in sight, r When within twenty paces of our 'troops - poured iri a galling, Wd' rushed hfeltbr* 3kelter!o.n, escaiading .the, breastwork, and iinside. •; The first person to enter the»pa man named' who was shot through ihe bead hod fell dead on the sprit.

Our men -rushed boldly, forward,’and' iu a few moments-one half of our force had fairly established tbemsrilves'within the rebel - r The Maori® fought,.bravely, but .could! not- stand against our men, 5 who, armed'with tomahawks, revolvers,, and longknives, made short work of them...: The attack only lasted aboutftwenty' minutes; and at the end of one'hourifrom the time when we first opened fire not a vestige of the pa could be seen.; -The Maoris effected a good retreat, with: a loss s of aine killed. The number of wounded is not known, as they were carried riff. Our loss in the above: was three killed and eight wounded. The names of the kiUed are^—R. WaHace, Kerr, and Mackay. Dr. Walker was on the field, .and attended., to the wounded, one of. whom (H. Gear) has since died. : At, half-ipast eleven o’clock Colonel M‘Donnellcommericed the march back. He soon : , fouad ithat the. enemy had concentrated‘ on bis rear, and: write keeping, up . a desultory fire upon the rear-guard. The fire :was ! returned, and .ultimately "the..-Maoris retired, alio wing our troops -to - continue their march without. lurther molestation. Colonel M‘Donnell arrived -at - Patea at midnight. The behaviour of . both officers-and mem of our forces was excellent. , Unfriendly natives took part in the above engagement.... r