THE MAORI WAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2483, 17 December 1868, Page 3

THE MAORI WAR.

By the arrival of the Rob Roy, we have our usual files from the North : WAKGANUI. Papers from this district are up to Dec. 10, There is very little news. The Chronicle of Dec. 10 says:-We have nothing to report from the front, or rather back, Tito is'quiet somevrliere-locality not known,—and as long as he leaves the constabulary alone, they will leave him. The same paper says:—A. detachment of the cavalry troop, in command of Lieut. Day, made an attack on a portion of the enemy on Wednesday morning. The men dismounted and went at the work in right earnest, but to their vexation the rebels had decamped, Having destroyed the works as much as possible, the troopers returned. The Evening Herald of the 9th says.— Capt. Graham has raised the necessary number of men to form a guerilla corps, and to-day he succeeded in getting them sworn in. We understand he will proceed on active serviee at once. It is gratifying to learn that this result has been arrived at, and it only remains now for their officer to show how useful and effective such a corps of men can be, We hope that the authorities will at once arm the men with revolvers and breechloaders, 80 that no excuse can bo made of not being sufficiently armed. The Wellington Independent of Dec, 12, says:—We have received the following important information, from a most_ reliable souree, which cannot be too widely circulated at the present time, relative to the rebel force now under Titokowaro at Waitotara, the presence of which has created so much alarm at Wanganui. A gentleman well acquainted with the Maoris, their language, their customs, and their character, took the best means he had of ascertaining the total number of the forces under Titokowaru, and the result of the information he collected on a subject so important is that the whole force, including lads from ten to fifteen years old, does not exceed the number of 300. We trust that this information has been circulated at Wanganui, as it would be the means of allaying the unreasonable, and, in some respects, the unaccountable panic which is said to exist there and at other parts of the West Coast.

The Chronicle has the following .-Left to ourselves, as the Government has now left us, I are the settlers »f these districts—of the Wanganui district more especially—to wait ' quieily until Colonel Whitiaore or some one comes in his place, and do nothing to put an end to a slate of things which is very surely putting an end to the prosperity of the district ? We think they ought not. Lieut-Colonel Herriok will only act on the defensive; we do not blame him, because, as we understand, his instructions to that effect are distinct and definite, but the enemy will not wait our convenience, and the sure way to prevent an attack is to make one. Why should not the officers of militia and volunteer meet together and choose a leader-a commander, in fact—in whom they would have confidence and go out under him in search of the Titoko. Of course nothing can bo done with the Armed Constabulary, but we daresay the Government would offer no objection to the others acting as we suggest. As they cannot do the work themselves, it seems likely Hi y wuuld be only too glad to get it done for them. There is more than one man well fitted to lead in this way, and the election, if necessary, could be made by ballot. Once elected, let there be implicit confidence and attention to orders, and the best results would follow. The suggestion is no joke j the crisis is too grave for joking; we are making it in sober earnest, believing it to be practical in itself and most likely to lead to good practical results, The matter may. at least, be thought over. Titoko can he beat back, if we would only go about it in the right way. The East Coast campaign is a proof lhat the thing can be done. All that 6eems wanted is unity and guidance. We should cease fighting about the Maoris and unitedly fight against them. An address from tlieNgatiapas(Bfti)gitikei), signed by Katana Ngatina and Kawuna Ilunia, denies that lhat tribe is for war, and is indignant that such a charge should be made against them. They conclude this address as follows:—This is what we have to ! gay, friends: we will remain on the side of 1 the Europeans whatever the consequences ! may he, we will live with the white people and die in I heir defence, but you must not talk so foolishly any more, many people are very apt to be led astray by the foolishness of others. Put we must all keep a watchful I eye on those tribes that have two heads, there ' is one portion who will join the Huu-lutus i and the other portion will join the Govern- ) rneut, But this tribe, the Ngatiapa, not one . of the nails of our fingers or toes, or one hair of our heads will intermix with those treacherous people Ihe Hau-haus. You white [ people must leave o? talking so badly of tins our tribe the Ngatiapa. This is the lost we ' have to say: we will always be true to our ' Queen, and will always aid the white people

in trying to put an end' to Ith'e present war. Those are our trie, thoughts that we have written, w« know that if we speak false and betray our friend* that we will have to answer for it at the day of judgment. roYEBTY Bat. The fallowing extract from the Hawke's Bat/ Herald of the- Bth inst., gives fuller particulars of the last engagement with the Hau-haus:— The arrival of the Ahuriri, on Saturday, brought us the gratifying- intelligence that, on Wednesday,.at 3, p.m, the Hau-hau camp was attaeked-the assailing forces being the Ngatiporou and Ngatikahungunu, together with a few scoutß under Lieut. Gascoigne. After a short but desperate struggle the enemy was forced to evacuate bis rifle pits, leaving behind 30 (or, according to another account, 3«) men killed. Our loss was only three wounded —two Europeans and one native. . . _

Among the dead were Nama and Henare Pata (two cold-Wooded miscreants), and among the loot was 7000 rounds of ammunition, part of what had been taken a day or two before from the escort. It was ascertained that Te Kooti, with the main body, had gone on before, and that this was simply a strong rear guard. Those of the latter who were left beat a hasty retreat upon Puketapu, closely followed by our native allies. The Lady Bird, which arrived on Sunday, brought no mail, but somewhat excited the public by a marvellous story about the Ngatiporou having overtaken the main body of Hau-haus, and inflicted a loss of 55 men. The facts, however, as gathered from authentic sources on the arrival of the Ahuriri, ye.-ter-day morning, were found to be the following : _Part of the Ngatiporou on Friday came I up with the enemy three miles past Te Karetu and attacked the Hau-hau position, eventually occupying one of their rifle pits, with a loss of two killed and five wounded. The Hau-haus afterwards tried to retake the rifle pit, but were beaten back, leaving seven of their number dead on the ground—Karepa, son of Tamihina Ruatapu, being one of the number.

After this action, tb.3 friendly Natives began the return march, thus virtually abanding the expedition so far as they were concerned. Neither of the leaders is said to hare been well, and ammunition was getting scarce. The real reason, however, was probably the fact that they were by that time under command of a new officer. Be that as it may, they all started for Turanganui, The Ahuriri also brought iutelligenoe of the arrival on Friday of the Lady Bird and Sturt, from Wanganui, with Colonel Whitmore and Major l-'rnser and about 400 of the armed constabulary force. Mr Richmond -.vas at the front, but had left orders for both steamers to go round to Wairoa and land the men, it being thought that retreating in the direction the enemy was, that place would be the proper base of operations. Col. Whitmore, however, rode forward, saw Mr Richmond, and obtained authority to start for the front by the most direct route. This he did on Saturday morning, getting to a spot four miles beyond Pututahi, where he heard of the friendly natives being on the homeward match, and halted till they should come up. It was generally supposed that Col. Whitmore would re-embark on board the Sturt and steam to Wairoa, from whence TuVctapu could be more easily replied j but nothing has really transpired as to future operations. This is virtually all the news to hand. We cannot say that, on the whole, it is very favourable. Although one defeat after another has been inflicted upon the enemy he has succeeded, nevertheless, in withJrawiug his main OJdy, together with women, children, and loot, to a place of comparative safety—for none doubts that Te Kooti is now in hie stronghold at Puketapu. Whether this would have happened had Mr M'Lean's instructions to Major Lambert been obeyed in the first instance, and Col. Whitmore been subsequently permitted to remain in Wanganui, may well be open to question. While hoping that Col. Whitmore may yet succeed in the task he has set himself, we confess to grave apprehensions that, while matters have by this time become worse at Wanganui the pacification of the East Coast, which was on the very eve of accomplishment, has been rendered as far distant as ever it was. The following is the official account of the same fight, addressed by Major Wostrupp to Mr McLean . I have the honour to report that a combined attack of the Ngatiporou tribe and the Napier Contingent was made on the enemy's position at Maknretu on Wednesday last, at three o'clock in the afternoon—Lieutenant Gascoigue, with a few Europeans, setting a bright example of courage and daring. After a short and desperate struggle, the

enemy was forced to evacuate Ins rifle pits, j and retreat hurriedly in the direction of Puke- • (apu, leaving behind him some thirty (30) , men killed, among whom were recognised | Nama and Henare Pitta; our force also re- j took six thousand (6000) rounds of rifle am- , munition, and captured a prisoner, who informed them that Te Kooti was wounded and md retired the day previous on Puketapu irith 200 men. Ngatiporou, as usual, did their work in a ■ery dashing manner-well supi orted by the Jgatikahuugunu. Our forces are in full pursuit, and hope to ivertake Te Kooti, By the death of Nama th: enemy have lost ne of their main pillars of strength and in[uence, and th« Europeans a most bloodhirsty enemy. Till further information is received from Jeutenant Guscoigne it is impossible for me o give you a more detailed account. Sub-Inspector Tuke has been most encr--etic in performing the difficult duties allotted ohim, forwarding provisions from the depot, ,cd keeping the Transport Corps in efficient irder, no easy task when the unwillingness of lativss to routine duty, and the absence of lack saddles, is taken into consideration. I should wish to bring to your notice the •reat praise that is due to Captain Fox for he energy he has displayed in training the neu under his command to work the guns, ,nd his disappointment at having no opporunity of doing good service with them is ■ery great. I will forward you a more detailed account iy the earliest opportunity. Dr Ormond reports three wounded, viz., wo Europeans and one native on our side. The Tauranganui correspondent of the 'hwke's Bay Herald writing on Thursday, )ec. 3rd, says:—Ngatiporou reached Makeetu yesterday afternoon about three. They it once attacked and defeated Te Kooti's ear guard, 100 strong; 12 (some say 17) of lie enemy were killed. No prisoners were aken. Nama, Te Waru's head chief and a irophet, was killed, and Ngatiporou burnt lis body Te Kooti. with his women and ibildren, escaped on Sunday. A native boy vas found bound in the scrub ; his lite was aved at the intercession of a Ngatiporou roman He gives valuable information. Te Cooti is wounded in several places; eooo 'ounds of our cuptured ammunition were rcaken. Two of our men are severely wounded. -Thomas Lake, through the head; not exacted to survive to-day; and Howard, a iVairoa military settler, whose arm is shatered. Fighting lasted two hours. Dec 5, 1 p.m.—lnformation arrived per tlr Johnston, owner of the Moriwai station. <opata, a Ngatiporou chief, after the withIrawal of the Ngatikahungunu, owing to the tosence of Hetene and his men, who were ibsent for provisions, was left with seventy nen to surround Te Kooti's position. Seeing ho inferior number opposed to them, the ■nemy made a charge. Tiny were beaten wick by KopaU and. his-men, who followed he enemy and took possession of Ill's outer Me pits As soon as ammunition arrived, of vhich Uopata and his men only retained hree rounds per man, it was Ropata's mtenion to storm the IHauJiiui position. Jrom ,atives present at the affair, we earn that he women and children withTe Kooti were Hard loudly lamenting. Seven of enemy •illed. wounded unknown ; of Ropatft s men, skilled, six wounded. .HftyfWi" iave been counted at the. scene of the late inhts at Makeretu. , The expedition has collapsed. Wlntmore s ssuraption of command has proved the ignal for the return from the front of n ,di native allies. Thus, all Mr M'Lean s ,ble and so far successful plans are rendered

abbrtire. Erin ; after Government M neutralised Mr M'Lean's efforU to a certaii extent, that gentleman had retrieved thei wretched blunder—a certain victory wa likely to hare been achieved, and the mui derers annihilated. By the arrival of tli miserable pretender Whitmore, and hi second wretched failure, thousands of pound have been squandered for nothing, Asl Ngatiporou-enquire of any and every settle here why this expedition waß abandoned, an< the name of Whitmore and Government coupled with " curses not loud but deep," ar a sufficient anßwer, Why the Governmen inflicted that inflate 1 imbecile upon us i inexplicable except to themselves. The following is an extract from i letter received in Wellington from Hawke' Bay, per Hob Roy: -"M'Lean am ;he friendly natives would soon settl ihe Hau-haus on this coast if the Govern nent would only support them; but jus is things were looking up in that direc ,inn, Stafford sends that bird-of-ill-omen tfhitmore, to spoil, in all probability, all tha ms been done. Are Ministers mnd ? Hav< hey left Wanganui to be sacked by Titoki ifaru ? People here think that Minister vill oppose and obstruct M'Lean, at the risl if a catastrophe. What can be the meaning o ,11 this ? It is quite possible Whitmore may iter all, be able to take the Hau-haus' strong mid. The wretches were fearfully thrashed iy the Ngatiporou, and most of their fight ng men are known to be sorely wounded," The Herald of the 12th instant, says :- The news from Poverty Bay by the Sturt am he Ahuriri is summed up in a few words ["he native allies have all gone to their homes he enemy, in a shattered state, has made foi he interior, probably Puketapu; wbili Jolonel Whitmore, instead of doing one ol he only two things he should do—follow U[ he enemy without delay, or, with eqmil expe iition, return to Wanganui, is actual!; ngaged (or at leait is said to be) in attempt ag to settle the land question! The absur lity of sucli an attempt, if true, can ouly bi quailed by its mischievous effects. Om hing is certain, that Colonel Whitmori emains inactive at Turanganui, while oi he one hand, a shattered enemy is retreatin) ( nd consolidating his strength, and on thf ther, a fertile and thickly populated dislric 3 being overrun bv a still more formidabli oe. Truly, the aspect of affairs is mps [ispiritingr. _ _ The following items are from the Herald i 'overty Bay correspondence : Ngatikalmngunu have returned, and are al )weta pah, on the southern side of Poverty Jay. Ngatiporu are retiring by the northen ir Turanganui side. Both parties are lootini verything they can lay their hands upon attle and sheep are indiscriminately slaugh ered •, domestic utensils, camp ovens, buckets nd whatever the enemy had not time to des roy is wantonly smashed by these excesses Yhitmore, with a force of over 300 men, i ither afraid of them, or willingly permits i n revenge for our having first found ou nd exposed his incapacity for command, i imilar reason, perhaps, actuates the Hoi: At Richmond; otherwise, it seems incredibl hat a Minister of the Crown should stan iy with folded arms, and allow the la? emnants of our property to be sacrificci lefore his eyes, and the district convertei nto a desert, whilst" Nero plays the fiddle. 1 Vhat is to become of us God only knows )ur allies will literally leave us nothing. _ Dec. B.—A large fire was seen last nigh nland in a different direction to any oceupiei >y our forces. Supposed to be a reinforce nent from Opotiki on its way to join T iooli, The following list of rebel chiefs ha leenobtained from Henare Kakapangn,a chie if Turanga, and a trustworthy reliable man vho has been several times referred to in t-hi ournal of proceedings for bis worthy conduc owards his European friends the settlers o 'overty Bay, and a sketch of whose life mrpose to write some day. I may premis< bat Henare fought bravely for us in everj ight in which we have been engaged sine he landing of the enemy at Whnreongaonga nd has never disgraced himself by assistin; o plunder his ruined friends. Killed:—Chief i Ngatehineporou: Henare, Fata, Fetera Vkutiua, Maka, 5; Te Wairoa tribe: Kama [ehu, Wi, Tamawra, 4 ; Poverty Bay tribes 'ehemena Paieri, Karepa, Fitone (son o Vnaramatete), Te Whaka Kurei, Ratuua T uncle of Te Kooti), 5 j total chiefs killed 4. Heuare Kakapanga, from personal inpection, counted of common men killed 76, nd believes the total number of killed not to zeeed 90 in all.

Auckland. The Southern Cross of the 4tli instant says; \ —Mr Louis Hetit, whose ordering away from lils place at Otorolianga caused considerable apprehension, under the impression that it was preliminary to a general attack on the Waikato, has arrived in Auckland. He will, however, in a few days return to his old place, where ho lias been nssured that he will be quite safe in staying. So far as appears from the intelligence brought by Mr Hetit, the peace of the Waikato is as little likely to be disturbed as ev t r. The New Zealand Herald says:—fliere are good and cogent reasons for not relying too much on the British Government incurring any great expenditure ou this country, no matter whether the Constitution be suspended, or native affairs he placed in the hands of a Dictator. The colony, we may assume, will be looked upon to pay, and if we complain of our taxation, there is a reply that the principal portion of it is raised on the luxury of intoxicatiHg drink, and therefore need not be paid by those who do not desire to do so, and that there is as yet no income tax in New Zealand as there has long been in England. It is desirable that we should occasionally try to see ourselves as others see us, no matter whether they have a wrong view of us or not. But though the English Government may possibly not aid us much with money, or send us troops unless we pay for them, yet it is possible she might guarantee us a war loan, and so aid ub in that way. The Times and the Pall Mall Gazette are a reliable index to the public feeling in England, and the inference to be drawn from their remarks is, that England would aid us in any way that would not be expensive to her, provided we set heartily to work, as they consider, to .make an end of this native difficulty, once and for ever. We should not be surprised even if Great Britain would agree to lend us a fair amount without any interest at all for a term of years, on condition that we finished this native difficulty.

Colonel Whitmoke. As a good deal has been said lately about this officer, especially in connection with Poverty Bay affairs, we give a summary of what appears to us both sides of the question. , , „ A correspondent of Hie Hawks Buy Herald, noticing Colonel Whitmore's arrival, The Slurt arrived with a reinforcement of 70 men under Colonel Whitmore. The arriral of Whitmore was notified by inscriptions upon some of the more conspicuous of the buildings, announcing that "The GraveDigger line arrived!" The Hawhe'sßay Herald says:—The following memorial, prepared on Friday last, has nlreii'Ty received some hundreds of signatures, and will doubtless be signed by nearly every resident who has the opportunity afforded him o*' doing so :-To his Excellency Sir G. F. Bowen, Governor, ft c—"The memorial of the undersigned inhabitants of Hawke's Bay and districts immediately ontiguous thereto, respectfully sliewctli—Tluit your memorialists, regarding with great alarm and apprehension the condition of the Fast Coast, consequent on the escape and subsequent acts of the Chatham Island prisoners, were pleased to learn that the management of native and defence affairs on the Ka<t Coast had been entrusted by your Excellency's Government to his Honor Mr M'Lean, a gentleman in every way fitted for the difficult talk, as well as enjoying the full confidence of both races of ; hot Majesty's subjects in-ibis portion.of the colony. That your memorialists have since observed with deep regret that your Excellency's Government have not always acted upon Mr M'Leau's advice, but have taken action contrary to his strongly expressed wishes, and calculated materially to interfere with his well devised plans for the pacification of the district. That, as one instance of such action, your memorialists would name the recent departure for Poverty Bay, in com-

mand of the colonial forces, of Colonel Whitmore, a gentleman who, whatever his attainments in military science, is quite unfilled to deal with natives, and is in the highest degree unpopular with both colonial and native forces. Colonel Whitmore, your memorialists understand, has been placed in this position contrary to the advice of Mr M'Lean, and [regardless of the memorials to the Government of the Poverty Bay settlers and Ngatiporou allies, as well as your memorialists believe, in utter defiance of public opinion generally, That your memorialists would most respectfully urge upon your Excellency's Government the extreme danger of such a course of action in the present ex-

ceedingly critical position of the colony, That position is one which, in the highest degree demands united action on the part of those in authority, and such unity cannot be secured by the Government professing, on the one hand, to give full power to the civil officer of a district, and, on the other, bestowing a high military appointment in the same district upon a gentleman who cannot be expected to co-operate with him cordially, or to csrry out his plans for quelling rebellion. Your memorialists would, therefore, respectfully pray that your Excellency's Government will take such steps as you may think fit to remedy so anomalous and hazardous a state of things."

A correspondent of the Herald reckons up what Colonel Whitmore has done in the fol-. lowing sentences. Writing from Poverty Bay, be says.—"As owing to Whitmore's arrival, fighting has ceased, it may not be out of place to summarise his achievements upon this his second ominous visit to Poverty Bay in the capacity of a commander. On Satur-j day, Dec. 5, Whitmore and his 400 men marched fifteen miles upon a first-rate road.! The forces camped at noon three miles beyond Patutahi. Although the enemy were kniwn to beat Ngatepe, hal£-a-day's journay beyond Whitmore's camp, that officer remained inactive all the remainder of Saturday and tiie ensuing day, On Monday, 7th, a reconnoitring party was sent by Whitmore to find out the enemy's whereabouts,. The party found that Ngatepe had; apparently just been abandoned, as it was still burning. As soon as the reconnoitring party returned, preparations made before Whitmore's arrival to follow up and inflict a final crushing blow, were rendered abortive. Our. friendlies sneer and ask what Whitmore came for, if not to fight. Our men and Whitmore's are furious at the escape of the remaining murderers, strengthened as they undoubtedly are by the natives who have joined from here, whilst Richmond and Whitmore ehuikle at the success of their seale 1 order trick, by which

Wanganui and a million's worth of property were abandoned and a fifteen mile promenade upon a beautiful road was accomplished." The Poverty Bay correspondent of the New Zealand Advertiser (Government organ) roay ba supposed to represent the other side of the question. The following is his account of what Colonel Whitmore did:—Colonel

Whitmore arrived at Poverty Bay on the 4th, and found that the last now was that there imd been a second fight which had been successful, but that the Natives had fallen out over a prisoner whom Tareha wishel to spare, and Ropata to kill, and that in consequence the Ngatikahungunu had returned to l'dtutalii, the end of the dray traffic. The distances may be 12 miles to Patutahi, and 50 (in all) to the last fight. Next morning (sth) communication was received by Colonel Whitmore from the Ngatikahungunu in reply to a note of the evening before (asking if they thought the idea of going to Waihare, Moana, Puketapu, or Wairoa, a good idea, and likely to intercept fugitives), and from if, it was gathered that they had learned that Ngatiporron had resumed the combat, and they were starting to their assistance ; that in their opinion, as there was no fighting elsewhere, it would be best for Colonel Whitmore to go up to the place where Ngatiporou were waging still " unequal war," and it was therefore decided to march. Frasar and the

rest were sent on, Colonel Whitmore and Mr Richmond riding on past Patutoe, some 15 miles, when they heard that the Ngatiporou were not fighting, but retiring; pressing on a mile or two they came to Hotene and Ropata, both exhausted, stiff and footsore, but obliged to bring up the rear, as the beavers would otherwise have left their wounded. Mr Richmond and Colonel Whitmore, after seeing them encamped, rode hack a mile or two and slept. Next day Colonel Whitmore sent bearers to carry their wounded, and entertained Hotene and Ropata as they passed the camp, the men coming out and giving them three cheers. While at the camp, Hotene seemed inclined to take a huff, but afterwards came and arranged with them that they should today move on and scout the enemy's last position, and if he had not abandoned it they were to rely on their support, also they would send up two guides, The guides never came, but a note from Hotene to say that he could not persuade any men to go as guides. This morning, 7th December, Eraser was sent before daylight with CO men, and at 7 p.m., the rest of the force was sent on, Colonel Whitmore riding down to Poverty Bay to the natives with Mr J. C. Richmond. The result of the interview was as follows:—Ngatiporou will wait the result of reconnaissance, and come up if sent for. Ngatikahungunu part (100 under Henare) will come if required, part want to go home by steamer, taking the body of their young chief, Kaurauria, with them. There have been very hard words used by the Ngatiporou about the Ngatikahungunu, and it appears allowed that the latter were not up to the mark in the late fight. What difference in the state of affairs the nonarrival of the force might have made cannot be said, but certaiidy there would have been some risk of the two tribes falling out, and the inhabitants, always fancying the worst, would have always thought Kooti in position at the last fighting place.