MAUGATAWHIRI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 59, 21 January 1864, Page 4

MAUGATAWHIRI.

[rUOM OUlt OWN eoKKKSI'ONnENT.] •January IS. The rain has hoen a in eat drawback In us in carryiiiLt* npthe sUre.stothe i'jont dmim: the l;i>l three day*. Tin- nun have hem perionniiiir tin- work • ■1m ( i hill v, although tin y have had Mich had v cailu r. 'Ha- roads 11l 10 ale ill a pi Tied puddle, knee deep in some i»l;»c< s : the wh« els have made tracks on the road that tal.e the. via els u]) to the axles. There weie a few men employed in repairing tin-reads. hf-Ifiiiiini: to the- Waikato militia ; they made a pait < it' it n< ar to MaitinV j ost, hut the part 1 eyond that i:- a disiiraee to the lolony. It is true that much w< rk could m t he done while all those moveliient.weiv taking place : hut I think a j:o<>d renumeraliou should he for that woik, and that civilians should he e)ii] Wed while the tiuops are in any such an unsettled st:.te as they lately weie. Kr< m l!hede.--' < h arinu; to the top ol' l'okeno hill I never s;w such a road. A plough* d Held cannot he compared to it. J t xpect thai e shall .-con Ileal of some accident il ste]is arc not taken to keep it in i' pair. I have also 'o state that there will rt.on In' no eomimmieation 1 jL'twti u (Jueen's J li-( L< ml it and Ihury. The hriuuv beyond Shepherd's I'lr.sh is in a dangerous slate. There are sella'ol the planks oli', ami the supports sue all go i n from underneath. Some men liave he< 11 em ploy rd on it for a few days, out they no sootur had given i! a patch up beiore tl'.ey were ordered sor.a plaee else. 1 have heard <'1' cases in which the forcieir.- of horses passing over got down ihroiejli tin planks and nearly threw their riders, w ho had narrow '■scape oi their life. It is the l duty of the eoloninl government to see that they are kept in a ]iopei state of repair, and the sooia r lite work is eoninteiu'' d thi' bettor it will he, as orderlies ami others have to travel 011 the vends at 11 hours ol the night.

We are rather short of orderlies at the present, and it would hardly pay to 100.-e any of them during the present .-tate of atlairs. There is a irreatcr trailie than ever on li;-- Cleat South read; evcrv dav during the week there are not less than 150 carts pass up and down laden with stores, \e., besides tho>e belonging to the civil authorities fur pressed hay. Mr. Waited has a threat number of carts employed in bringing up forage for the horses of the transpoil corps, as he has the contract to supply that branch ol the arn.v with everything they may require in the way of food for horses. A great number of bullocks were driwn up to the front yesterday, as all cattle are now sold alive to the commissariat department, and are driven on to the posts at which troops are ;*talioiu;d. A small detachment of the commissariat staff corps are .stationed at all the po>ts north .and south of this camp. These men are 'generally' issuels and bakers; good ovwis are erect <for the bakers, and a place for kneeding up the dough close beside them. Tim troops are supplied with fresh bread every day except Monday, on which day biscuit is issued out; tlie reason that biscuit is issued on Mondays is to allow the bakers to have some lest on the Sabbath day. Tho broad baked by the commissariat is very good. 1 have tasted it and must say it is superior to some that I have bought, in Auckland. A little distance from the bakery are places erected for killing cattle for the use of the troops ; fresh meat is supplied everyday, except Monday, on which day salt pork is served. Tho commissariat at all the posts seems in good condition; plenty of stores are now at every post; bags of Hour and piles of hay are all ready hero for conveyance to the advance posts. More boats have been launched, and men art; joining every day. Wo have heard no news to-day of the ' Lady Parkly,' and are anxiously waiting to hear of her arrival. 1 would suggest that tho government should purchase the little steamer ' Gynmotus.' which is now plying daily to the North Shore. She would be the very tiling for this .sort of work. There are now about 150 large boats here, •which have to be pulled up the river by hand. If a small steamer was brought up she could take some of tho boats in tow besides what she could carry herself, and the men now employed in working the boats could be employed in repairing the roads. The 1 Cymnotus' should be purchased immediately and forwarded on here overland, and after being at work a short time she would clear all expenses. It is expected that all stores will be earned across country from Kaglan, as there is now a very good road there, and small craft can get up for about 10 miles. The only tilings that will come this way will be what is required for posts on this side of Ivangiriri. The troops are beginning to get dissatisfied at being kept so long without potatoes ; at every post exeept this and Queen's iiedouht potatoes are issued every day, and here, as a substitute, split peas are served up. They arc far from being an equivalenttothepotatoes ; fresh meat being served daily, a proper dinner cannot be made out of fresh meat and split peas. 1 think that there is now no scarcity of new potatoes in the country, and the troops serving at this post are as much entitled to them as those serving at Drury or Otahuhw. A melancholy occurrence took place at Martin's post on Sunday night. It appetrs that three men of the 1.-t Waikato regiment (Pitt's Own) had leave tvom their commanding oflicer to go and spend the day with some friends at Tho men were stationed at tho Itazor Buck lvcdoubt. After being

a wliilc at Martin's it appears thev had too much to drink; a man of the name of Kennedy having drank moro than the rest, commenced kicking up a disturbance in cam]); he was immediately taken to the guard room, and while bo was there he kicked and stamped. At last it was necessary that he should bo tied down for the purpose of keeping hiui quie'.: After being tied down and becoming a little quieter the non-commissioned ollicer of the guard left hi hi lying there. The sergeant forgot to visit him, and a few hours afterwards he was found dead. lie hail died through suffocation ; his eyes were extended in his head, and his face was quite black. The corpse was taken own to Drury this morning, where a post mortem examination will be held over the body. It was the dut v of the sergeant or corporal of the guard to have visited the prisoner or sent him to the hospital when he was so ill. The telegraph wires were broken yesterday at the Razor Back. There was a steel wire that "spanned from the Razor Back to Rhodes' Clearing, a distance over a mile, with,out any support; a large tree fell on this wire and snapped it asunder. As tin: wire could not be repaired it was necessary to reconstruct the wires across that part of the road ; the parties were not long in putting it to rights, and i believe the j communication is very e;ooil. The Lord Bishop of Xew Zealand arrived from the front to-dav en route lor Auckland.