THE NATIVE WAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XV, Issue 877, 6 April 1861, Page 2

THE NATIVE WAR.

TARANAKI. We extract the following interesting passages from the ' Herald's' monthly summary, dated March 12th:— The last English mail for England left us in a somewhat more hopeful frame of mind fi™! T* ' °Wl^ t0 the re Pulse of< natives horn Kairau, then recent. But the whole such as to allow the clouds to settle upon us, Ztrttf tLan before< °Pe^tions at head SSw f" #l oon818t? d in tue opening and to. winch the insurgents had retreated a mile and a quarter inland of the Huirangi peach grove. A redoubt Lad been formed ok the day previous to the departure of last mail, an operation which cost the life of Captain Strange has S; Ta wosi? cd 'of whom ong at lea °st the Zl ff , • } he Ba*> has been <»mcd up he face of the hill occupied by the natives; ■the slope is not abrupt, but quite enough andtSrh 81' ea Kadvai;taSeto the d^deS; and they have been alert enough to remove the apparatus of the working parties IZ to rehll some yards of the work during the ntht without suffering serious loss. On Tuesday last they even sallied upon the. sappers and endeavoured to drive them off their work In the course of these tedious and disheartening operations, almost daily casualties take place; and it is said moreover, that the natives, finding the works approach too close, have removed their fences and some huts further up he ridge The casualties since Sunday, the 10th nit. have been 2 killed and 18 wounded! On the side of the rebels it is reported that lately the loss has averaged two men daily m,i?!l P °Sli lOn iS I n°t et caPtured, and it must depend entirely on the enemy whether is capture is of any sort of value. Should they resist a final attack, or remain to risk the conclusion, no doubt they will receive a lesson impressive m proportion to the amount manly courage and personal skill exhibited on our side But there is nothing whatever to prevent them from evacuating ?his position at Pnkerangiora as they have done almost every hod v STrt XV find tLemSelveS Pressed ™™ Hotly than they approve. The amount and sort of importance which the natives attach to the lo£ of a position may be gathered from the complaint of those who met Archdeacon Govett and Mr.Whitelev at Huirangi as reported in the 'Herald' of February 9th:« The pakeha," they said "are now reaching out to Pukerangiora:» adding, "only let them do that, and we shall leave it and settle in like manner on the land 1 1 P Hakf h,t N° Shade °f doubt ««« the mind of the enemy that he can settle and take up his positions where he likes, and at the moment he chooses; and beyond question he is right m the idea. A sentimental objection to the occupation of a spot which was the X faH Wa Nat ° Victo1 '?' and whei'e *c blood of the Ngatiawa was poured out in torrents under the 'men' of Wan, may perhaps induce a stand here j but nothing in the mode of attack, or the nature of the position, will.compel a crisis. In all probability, the result of the capture of Pukerangiora will be another cul-de-sac, a helpless cry of " What next?" F

We have now a little army in the field, the men and officers of which are equal to anything: that was ever undertaken by British soldiers;. but dissatisfaction pervades all ranks at the tedious and hopeless labour to which they are condemned, whilst, at the same time, man after man is picked off by an invisible foe. It would be improper to record all the rumours and complaints that are current; some to the effect that serious jars occur between officers of the very hig-hest rank in the force. This report receives color from the sudden return of Col. Warre, of the 57th, whose regiment remains in Taranaki, to Auckland, where an officer of high rankCol, bir J. Alexander, 14th regiment, is already in command of the garrison, includinga small detachment of his 'own regiment No one fears any active evil result from such dissatisfaction, because subordination and respect tor authority are happily too deeply ingrained m the nature of the British peoplecivilians as well as soldiers. But where there S S-?°i lt re \ S fire > and ifc is ri §'ht that the British public throughout the colony and elsewhere, should know the exact aspect of affairs in order that the remedy may be applied. ' lhe month has not been productive of more ! satisfaction near town or on the south A ' f Qnnnmbel™ f Cattle Lave been "moved, and 3000 to 4000 sheep were lately driven off to lataraimaka, now acquired by the Maoris as a sheep run. A mill and several houses have been burned; but, as buildings are becoming scarce outside the lines, there is less to record in this way than during former months. The rebels have approached nearer ta town than heretofore on the south-west side, which, being open and overlooked by several blockhouses, they had hitherto respected. A house, about a mile off in this direction has been ransacked and gutted, without loss by the marauders. On the 23rd February an escort conveying provisions to the Omaa stockade was fired on by the natives who had come out from the Waireka ■SHi ,R f eiD^ en? ents, were dispatched, and arrived to find the rebels retiring befoi'e our 0t Q ?" aireka #ullies- Col. Youn" and Major Herbert made dispositions to attack the pah and had moved forward when, in obedience to stringent orders from the commander of the garrison at New Plymouth, the recall was sounded. Several men were wounded, none dangerously : and two natives were killed m this affair. A party of voungmen, who went out to gather peaches at som! orchards a mile and a half from town, on bunday the 3rd instant, were attacked by a superior force of natives, but they repelled tue rebels with loss, not however till a gallant youth and good rifleman, Mr. E. Messenger, had fallen with a bullet through the heart! lhe young men have been confined in the guard-room since. The protracted character of the war, and the jealousy of the intentions of the government, roused and stimulated by the treason-

able publications oftbTTiZ- , -^^^^^ their still less scrupulous fc ■* is natural fruit. The na?v e eS''s Pfodu^J the northward especially,£ o/Tl^ to insurrection. The am Jal 6 f f e Ve^ of does not mitigate, but rather a^ ?**>* citement. There are persons I'° the e^enough roundly to assert U at 2pWick <* than the extermination of h e vT^ at. Cavillers say why does not Zr" *»* declare Ins intentions distinctly ? y^or years of liberality far bevnmi • ftw entv Jailed of gainin/ confidS^ iff** hoped from aa y dfefa^^ e{ ll»l e c aQ this Ihe Governor, however h!^ 801 proclamation adhering to the tL f lssue^ a tangi. Theei-eotionofbloAho? 7 °f Wi»i Ruction of a road fioS^^AucS^^ Waikato river, through Jandtt" to ««e tto colony has been' declaxed by K^ of ? ATneigbbourhood t0 he a chain aatives the Ngapuhi in the" extreme E^ different to the quarrel ai-P ]Z ■> lon £ in. t There have LnmZ^T^ I'^ bursting- of Enfield riCC^2fi l of cause is probably, the impe ecTfi' °ne the gun by our men, who are Son dlng of ot the speed of their anta^i£, T ever, obviously too light a weannn !-' Wordinary wear and tear°of a camp°o- n the

THE ATTACK ON *51£F3» M ARC R * *At about 4.15 on Tuesday aft 2 Maones m a pretty strono- f o l7 °°D ' t] * on the akimihij whrjnSLV ,* file bush a little beyond the !\Z e l belt ot the 14th who were in tCfiofT' and slow t0 answer it and "echon were not rifle-pits on our rioit and Z • extensiv e near and about T e Yrj tlrt °W; fr°nt > 65th, who were partly at w? lk 1"/' a^ the reserve in No. ".S redoubt, ushed C arms and joined in the fray. Th e Y 7 ° were in the immediate rear o the Vi° and in the sa P; being rath er Lg^a 0? treatment their comrades were exneripn • kept up a rattling- fire on th 2 3 the guns and cohorns added not a 'if h to the row. Suddenly, a volley wa , v and they must have lost lives, as some of the soldiers said they saw them throwing bodies ov er the cliff, to prevent our having tlem they did not show again again. A dl'ch the field officer on duty (Colonel Wyatt 65tb sent them on to the front and they speed fv M N i nt° thl SPirit Of the thi4 St M'Naughten and two gunners hid in the meantime gone to the lap head, and co^ menced throwing hand grenades, and some of hese burst on the edge "of the hill and oThe oiled over, and the cohorns and howitzers in the demi-paral el p lt ched some shells with beautiful precis,on into the more d lS tant rifle pits while the sailors in No. 7 redoubt with he 8-mch gun played the very deuce with the more distant rifle pits under Te Arei *ast and furious did this fun last, and well was !t kept up by all parties; but the Maori bullets no longer flew low, their trajectories had become more elevated: a pretty certain sign they had had enough; and Te Arei, which for a time had been wreathed in white smoke, now began to appear. The troops in the trenches had by this time got thoroughly savage, and on all sides was heard "Why arentwe led l on to charge the pah and rifle pits ? and the officers had some difficulty in keeping them under cover, for in their excitement many had fixed bayonets and were preparing for a rush. By about half-past nve o clock the Maori fire had got very slack and faint, and we anticipated another attack, but they knew better. The trench guards, which generally march home at six p.m., leaving a strong par ty to garrison No. 8 redoubt, remained some time longer, but v a°? j ?att> Seem« that they apparently had had quite enough, and were not disposed to renew the engagement, marched his party home, without being treated, as usual, to a single shot. Our force mustered 300, and from the incessant "buzz" and "whirr" over head, from both front and flanks, it is certain that more than double our number were opposed to us."