BATTLE OF THE REDOUBT.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XX, 9 February 1861, Page 5

BATTLE OF THE REDOUBT.

The following account, from private sources, gives a clear aud striking description of the repulse of the natives at the redoubt, from a different point of view to that given in the accounts which follow it : — •

This formidable post the natives undertook to surprise ; and at daybreak, on AVednesday, the 23rd, a sentry discovered a native creeping toAvards the ditch. He fired on him, and Avas himself immediately shot by natives in the ditch, a large party having succeeded in entering unperceived. The troops, on rushing to the platforms Avithin the banks, Avere met by a fire from several covering parties, who Avere placed in reserve some distance from the redoubt. Our men, therefore, threAV hand-grenades and live shell with shortened fuses ; and (as would appear from the shell-AVOiinds Avhich some of them sustained), without leaving time for all the shell to explode, the gallant felloAvs rushed into the ditch among the storming party. The natives had been a considerable time in the ditch, and had cut steps in the bank to enable them to climb, and upon the first shot they began scrambling up the bank, and attempted to force a Avay through the gabions and carts Avluch filled the unfinished angle. A tussle iioav took place ; but our men Avith the bayonet Avere too many for the Maori aud tomahawk. Shut up in the ditch, the natives Avere deprived of the advantage of their extreme aethity and quickness; but they fought valiantly. The bayonets (Avhich arc not so perfect in their attachment to the present En field rifles as those of the old regulation muskets) were wrenched off several gnus. One Maori hoisted himself on to the bank by a bayonet which Avas thrust at him, and' Avas Jailed by :i second ; and several received many wounds before they fell.

On the fir>t sound of the attack, the garrison of Ivairau redoubt, men of the Goth and 12th "Regiments, turned out to the aid of their comrades, and, passing on each side of Xo. 3. fell upon the Maori reserves with the bayonet, routed them, and pursued them toAvards the bush and rifle pits. The struggle lasted some twenty minutes from the first shot to the return of the pursuing party. Lieutenant Jackson, of the 10th, and four others, died in the fight, and eleven

more of our men were Avounded, some dangerously. Among the avouikls, some arc from tomahaAvks, but the heaviest injury was inflicted on us by the guns of the covering parties in front. The Maoris left from forty to fifty dead and wounded near the ditch, but a very competent authority estimates their loss at 120 in all. One prisoner only survives. He states that the storming party Avas 140 strong, " hol-o ichiti/" seven score, a number looked on Avith superstitious respect by Maoris, as the awful number seven from which it is derived has been and is still among other races. This number is commonly chosen by the natives for purposes such as that of AVednesday, aud is associated Avith mauy successes in their traditional history.

The AVakaito proper, or kingship men, the Xgatihaua, Xgatimaniapoto, and our oavu Xgatiawa, furnished their best men to this audacious band. Epiha, ReAvi, Ilapurona. and AVetini's brother, besides others of even higher Maori rank, though less renowned among ourselves, Avere of the number. Epiha, the Avounded man thinks, is killed, and H apurona Avounded. A ntor of unusual beauty is among the spoils, Avith a history aud a name no doubt like the celebrated diamonds that adorn royal crowns, a mere such as none but great chiefs carry, besides several other meres, many tomahaAvks, and about forty guns and muskets. The assailants had made sure of success, and brought provisions for several days' consumption. Several of them Avore figured satin Avaistcoasts. They expected to be fired upon from the bank, and had intended to seize the bayonets Avhen pointed at them, and disable the soldiers' hands with longhandled tomahawks. Several bodies have been brought in since the numbers T gave above Avere reckoned. Many Avounded men and corpses have probably been removed under cover of the fern and the night from the space between the rifle-pits and the redoubt.

The rifle-pits are in all probability now abandoned: the smoke of the native fires was removed on the day of the attack' beyond a ridge a mile aud a-half inland of the peach grove. Probably an immediate advance might have resulted in the capture of the pits, and of the pah some distance in their rear; but General Pratt was not on the ground, and the officers in command probably did not feel justified in risking anything in his absence. Xor can they be blamed, after the past experience of the Avar. The General has decided to continue the sap up to the position, and not to risk any men in a rapid movement.

This defeat Avill probably result in a temporary or permanent retirement of the AVaikatos. Should they be convinced of the uselessness of the struggle, they Avill no doubt desire to fall back on the status quo ante. They dread the consequences of an invasion of AVaikato. If the lesson is not sharp enough, they may come down in greater numbers to revenge their losses. It is beyond those best acquainted with native habits to prophesy on this point. A T ery few persons gave them credit for the determined courage they have just shoAvn. The Xgatiruanui and Taranaki men, with a party of 200 AVaikatos, are fortifying AVaireka. A Aery bold Avarrior, named Tapihana, leads them. If the Waikatos return home, the southern men Avill no doubt break up also. They have pretty Avell gleaned the relics of our herds, and arc busy clearing off the rest of the houses. 1 presume, therefore, that they luv\ c dropped the idea of a permanent occupation. Jt Avas said they preserved some houses for their use hereafter.

The rebels must ha\e been in the ditch in front of the redoubt very early, as they had cut steps in order to'scale it, but the sentinel, seeing some of the reserve creeping through the high fern, fired on them, Avhich caused everyone in the redoubt to fall under arms.

The enemy attempted to scale the front, but no sooner made their appearance, than they Avere knocked over. We then commenced the attack on them in earnest, the brave -10th, under Colonel Leslie aud Major Kelson, Avere supported by the Goth and 12th in this desperate engagement, which lasted about one hour. Lieutenants AVarburton, Jt.E., and Green, Tradgelcy, andLucker, R.A., threAV about tAvelve live shells into the ditch amongst the enemy Avith terrible effect. The shell made fearful havoc amongst them.

I have not given you full particulars of this desperate affair, as 1 feel sure you Avill get a full account of it in the Herald of next ►Saturday. January 25.— The proud AVaikatos, as they are called, appear to have had enough of it on AVednesday morning, for scarcely one has been seen since.

It is thought that the General Avill attack the rifle-pits shortly, and probably Avill find them empty. The Rev. Mr. AVilson has not visited the rebels since, but he thinks they must be very much down in the mouth on account of their loss.

The moral effect of this affair will be humensely'valuable. The extreme caution of the responsible commanders has led to the mistaken impression among the natives that our race, and especially our soldiers, are physically timid. They could hardly deny our superiority iv the arts aud mechanism of war. Now they have felt the pluck aud vigour of the hearts and arms •of our soldiers ; and those who have not hitherto entangled themselves in this miserable struggle will not, with a few exceptions, be likely to drop in now. The gallant 40th have abundantly retrieved Puketakauere, and recovered in the eyes of the Maori any prestige they may then have lost. Colonels AVyatt and Leslie, the officers and men of the 12th, 40th, and G'sth, by their wise, prompt, and bold conduct on AYeduesday last, have laid a lasting debt on New Zealand ; they have changed the face of the war.

The timely arrival of the first instalment of the ,07th Regiment, and the intelligence brought by the November mail of the departure of a battery of Armstrong guns and 250 men, with rumours of further aid, are further grounds for thankfulness. The human race are readier at demanding what they think their rights, than at paying the debts of gratitude ; but it is to be hoped the colonists of New Zealand will not fail in the fullest acknowledgement of the liberal support we have received from the mother country. It will be said it was the duty of the British Government to help us, aud that they had undertaken to govern these Islands. Granted, but we must remember that in the particular case much has been done to fui uish an excuse, if such had been desired, for leaving New Zealand in the lurch. From within our own bosom the enemy has come out. Disunion aud conspiracy araoug our very legislators ; denunciations from our Bishops and Archdeacons, and tho elaborate defence of armed resistance to the Governor from a once revered Judge of the Supreme Court ; these have raised dust that might have given a colour of justice to any neglect. But the British Goverument and press have uot sought such a colour. They have cut through the cobwebs woven by party violence and semi-insane seutimentalism, aud declared that the fault of the Government here, if proved, is but light ; that they have offered payment to the wrong man, perhaps, but that they have uot robbed ; that the right of any race to retain a laud in a state of barreuness cauuot be admitted in the face of the necessities of a growing population; and that the dream of Maori nationality which this monopoly is in.tended to maintain must now, once for all, be put au end to. On the opposite side of the globo it has not seemed to our countrymen a cruelty that British law should even be imposed on the Maori. They have not called it cannibalism to follow peace and order even "thro' the brazeu gates of Avar," and although peace and order may be attended by the extension of au English colony. Once for all, they have declared that New Zealand is to be a part of the British Empire ; not governed by Potatau, nor by Salisbury-square, but by British colonists, under the supreme authority of the Crown.

In this honourable liberality, aud trenchant common sense, at home, and in the courage and success of the gallant men at AVaitara, this week brings us cause for deep gratitude to God aud to our countrymen, which Taranaki as a settlement, aud New Zealand as a colony, Aye hope will not fail to recoguise. If, as is often hinted, sympathy with the Maori race is not wanting in high military authorities, now is the hour to show it. Ouly by the most energetic use of the present and coming advantages can the privilege of being merciful and generous be earned. No one not blinded by party animosity or a one-sided philanthropy cau really believe that a colony of Englishmen, founded in the 19th century, from among the quiet and respectable classes of Great Britain, will abuse the powers of Government against a race so full of good qualities as the Maori is. To give them over to Government is to save them. To leave the present contest half decided is to hasten their destruction, and is, moreover, evidently contrary to the practically expressed intentions of the Imperial Government, that the supremacy question shall be settled, once, quickly, and for ever.