TARANAKI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 50, 11 January 1864, Page 3

TARANAKI.

; ATTACK OX Till-: KAITAKE PAIJ. ; Wi: e\tract the following fi\»in the Turunaki ][crald % | J )rri ])ji.»T 20: — j An attack was made on Kailake cm Wednesday i 1-ist, which very nearly re>uU«-d in its capture.* A i day ur two previously, Lieutenant Clark, 67th. regitiu ill, with ilire ivies.illy natives, had boon to explore j a line he had discovered, and found iliat it up j thn nil a th»» Lush to tin* ridge which overlooks the I main loiiiJii-alions of Kailake. The Colonel conw j mainlhtg deVrmined, therefore, lommjil ;iji attacking | paHy <>i evenly of the .77i11, under the comI mand of Captain Saurl. accompanied by Lieutenant i t 'la:);, in. this lino, and tlivy rt-irted accordingly from. ; liio IW.*.. redoubt : t '•> o'clock on Wednesday | morning. A second party of Mo men (of the 57th ■'and 70th and «'apt-jin Ys*. Osier's com} any of bushrangers, and part of' Captain Coibeit's company of 01;iL»i» vuluniccis) win'. u-v. n to Jlauranga and extended inland to out >»il' u: tive l who might escape IVoui the pah. and piev« nt. iiie arrival of reinforcements : and a thi;d e;iity ■ t' 1 -V.) muU (o7th, Cnp- , tain Atkinson's bushra;!g«\-s, ;• Jid Lap!-tin Maco's ; mounted orderlies), pr-i*d up the mad from Wairaii. "Willi lhis la.-t ii-ive w<-i■«.; «in«* of the lioynl ; AiliJlrry under Lieut. Laicum,-having two howitzers and a lohoin-nn.itar. .V po>jii.,;i was taken directly • in front of the mrifti liiu« «'t p.duading, at a distance i of 000 or 700 yard*, i.t about half-past ten a.m., a J little in-fore which the Maoris Oivd a few shote, of : course without ettect. The .37th v» ere extended to -the right, and Captain Atkin-on's company to t-ho I left, ju.-t under the edge oi the ridge we have men- ] tioned, which apparently was not defended, and fire | was opened from the with excellent effect, so I that in a little time .-.one- lai breeches were made in the palisading. The -Maoris kept, up an occasional lire, and at times as many as four or live guns went off at once (as when .Mr. Tarris, accompanied by Captain Mace and the orderlies very pluckily rode Hp to within lifty yards of them, to dibcoyer whether there wa> not a road up round the left-hand end of the palisade, which proved to be the cyse.) It is, perhaps, dillieult to estimate their number, as only v ten or twelve of them were seen, and not more than- * * that took any pait in tHe engagement; the others, if any, with rare self-re.-traint, mu-t have been acting only as a reserve. After waiting in vain for four : hours or more for Captain dhoti's party to appear on the ridge above, tlu»- strong timptations to an. ' advance were resisted and the forces withdrawn. Tho } reason of hi?? non-appearance was, we believe, as • follows:—JIo arrived in one of t he-hollows onlbis • side of the ridge, but there found that his men were ■ in the line of tire—fragments of shells falling closo • by ; he therefore endeavoured to join, the main body, ) but missed his way —a very easy tiling to do in .the 3 dense scrub—and came out t»n the main road. When 3 our forces retired, two natives, who hail been previously grrrUouiiig the little pall above, came down, v and manned the rifle pits on the edge of the ridge, r but their lire was without precision, and took no - effect. Late in the evening, a considerable .body of i Maoris (estimatul at 100) arrived as a reinforcement t from tlio south, and, during the next day, nearly 200 f more. .... o Major Butler's party discovered a large canoe at li the mouth of the Timaru, and it. is now safely lodged at Moturoa. It had .been brought up from $ WVrea, we believe, for the use of the .Ivaitako e natives in fishing. 0 We cannot conclude without specially noticing the e. lire of the artillery, which was excellent, and great s praise is due to Lieutenant Lareom and his gunners. >f Tile portions of shells which fell among Captozn 1 {Short's narly were no. doubt from the cohorn, the e ! shells from' this crm, (f u >m want of a proper fuse) I I several Unas high up in the clonds, butlho I howitzer jHiictiee wu.vas yood /i.s li'om the Armstrong ! K Th,. men. hoth a« t Z.volunteers, Wa .rooil (U ;>1 ilixi]p]>ohit''il Ml not .gettiJiy ;mj o( the Tv.ii ,Kv wliirh tl.oy 1.a4 "•ckoned 0)1 88 part of tJi. il- ("}ji'i>tni;is .linii-.-r;. but one important tiling < .]i is In'en ie.n iii'il l'v tliis rspedition-lliiit the swamps _ -jvjjiL.Ji were .su'il to fur: 11 mi': of tlio liuiiii dgfencea of f\:iit;i?><• .'lie proved to he purely fictitious. Tho ( whole uf the ground, iiieluding lhu/boltoin of tlio i gullies, round ihe end .of the ridgo, wh.h as sound aS uny in tho province. .. '' . " •