The Native Rebellion.

New Zealand Herald, Issue 75, 9 February 1864, Page 4

The Native Rebellion.

C.V.MP TE T!C)RT. [l'ltOM Ofll OWN COKIiKSTONDENT.] Pehruarv 5. Alt. vesterdav the firina: htween the new redoubt and Paterangi continued, but without much result. Some of our ritle bullets were seen to find their billets, and the Maori efforts to stav the progress of that, paiiienlavly diso-nsting redoubt- were fruitless. All round us the Mauris were blazing away during the dav from ancient. P.vo-.vn Be?ses of enomious report;. but perfectly harmless at the distance from which the native warriors think it safe to approach us. We received news yesterday of the death of Lieut. Mitchell, 011 his way down in the ' Avon.' We cannot move yet, ill consequence of the difficulties of the transport r.f supplies. Hern are the ' Pioneer' and ' Avon,' both useless now ; and unless some remedy is found for the evil, the question some day will he not- so much how to advance as how to hold their own. If the 'l>lue Nose" is such a wonderfully suitable boat for the Waikato why is she not rent up to nssirt opf-rations; or where is the ' Kohorc.il J*' The finest General in the world could not feed his troops without feed ; and if the authorities choose to sit. down and fold tluiiv hands in disgust at the diftlculties to ho encountered, instead of strain!!-" every nerve to further the advance of the General while the summer lasts. Ave shall have another year of warfare to look' forward to. It is :t singular feature in Kiurlish Avar fa re, whether on a large or small scale, that there i.s ahvays sure to lie a mess and a failure in the ti-anspnrl, or the commissariat., or some other department, and that the hardc.-t, part of a commander's business is to he the stirring up of {lie sleepy authorities of some braurh of the red tape labyrinth to the performance of their duties, which, instead of heing a drag to him, are supposed to tend to his assistance. We ought bv this time, or, in fact, a week ago, to have attained tho object of our present movement, and there wuH h;n-o been some probability of a termination to (he war, but one dclav after another has been caused hv the inefficiency of tho traiispoit arrantrenients, and there appears now to he no knowing how lnn;r we may stop here. The river i° sinking 'htil v, and already the ' Pioneer' is useles", and all depends upon the * Avon,' which, though of the greatest assistanoe, is only an old boat, and liable moreover to accidents as any other boat would lie ; and let anything happen to her, as avo are noAV, the annv is powerless. Along the hank of the iiA-cr, jiH beneath the rise Avhere f'owelfs house once stood, and Avhere our head e,u:irfers are now located, is a small leved patch 1 of grass ; here the sailors i'.nil J?nngovs' camps are | pitched, and of all CA-ening one might almost fancy it a village green in ICngland to see the mob of .jolly feiloAvs-enjoyine a game of "rounders," or "cricket,," barefooted .lacks a.s lithe as eels, dodging a hall at rounders, and running', .jumping, rolling OA-er. roaring with laughter, and swearing Avith the energy' that .lack Tar onh" can show after a hard day's work. Then see them at cricket Avith hats, halls, and wieVt.-ts of their oAvn manufacture, pursuing with a most j elaborate display of science a game founded 011 cricket may be, but. Avilh A'ariatious which every individual player introduces hv force of arguments which cannot- be refuted unless the disputant is prepared to match himself against the swearing and the lists of a Blue .Tucket. AVhen it becomes too dark for cricket a ring is Conned and songs Avilh choruses of unlimited volume are sung, till bed time. Looking 011 that spot 01 1a- it Avould he hard to imngino that to be Aval*. The picture differs from that of Avar ill the f'riuiea, Avhen the poor fellows had to step into a tent literally knee-de:p in nuti!. and lie down in the slush beside a dead companion for aa-lioiu 1 here was 110 room hi the hospital ; or Avere obliged, hungry as they were, to take the piece of pork scrA-ed out fe.r their dinner and burv it to tret rid of the putrid slinking abomination. Thanlc God. mismanagement, has not been allowed to progress thus far here as A-ct, though a Avinter up here even Avoid he 110 joke, uiih-ss better arrangements are made. It is rather amusing to see John null's tlieoiyof invading a country. lie plum]'' l his soliil weight stolidly down in a place he means to appropriate, and without am* A'iolent ctfert lo bann the previous OAVner, he proceeds to laA- in huge stores of beef anil good living, and Avith the profoundest indifference to the efforts made to shove his dead weight away, he goes 011 eating and sleeping, and just repeating in a comfortable Fort of tone, "Jt is 110 good, my friend, I mean to sit. down here 011 your propeitv, so vuu'd better make peace and take it quietly." It the attempts to upset him go too far, he giAT-s a lazy sort of a slap, and knocks some one or two of his tormentors down, awl pities thrn: afterwards Avith a most abM-.rd good nature. I'.nt as for going actively ahor.< an invasion and beating a people into subjection, it appears qe.ite out of dohn Hull's line of business. It is almost, absurd here to see hr.Av uuietly eA'ervonc pursues his daily avocations and makes himself com tat able and takes what, pleasure lie call and eniovs his night's rest in the most sublime disrcgaid' o'r the frantic poppings and spasmodic (lodgings and A-ain expenditure of breath in howls and bucle-lilnwirg en the part of the unfortunate late owner:; of the soil. The leizurely pitching* of a camp and defending it from too much annoyance by redoubts and tlieproA-ision for a due supply of excellent food to everyone seems to constitute the main scheme of operations 011 the AVaikato. sso Avell planned . ambuscades to cut. off the Avatchful bodies of proAvlors, —no expodiiif'lis to any spot where they are likely to assemble hut t he da v after a «hot may have taken effect. All overwhelming force is dispatched to the locality Avith ostentatious parade to inspect .and report, Avith careful and uv'nnte exactitude, upon the nature of the spot whence the shot Avas delivered, but as for any I attempt to catch the enemy himself, by whom the shot Avas fired, such actiA'ity is not to he thought of for one moment, in connection Avitli John Bull's inA-asion of a refractory people's territory. Let him ! swing his vast centre "of gravity doAvn 011 the land Avith a thump, and no one can upset him, and it. )nt(?t conic light when other people liaA-e had enough of trving and feel inclined to take it- quietly. To-day Lieutenant-Colonel Havelock had a narrow escape of being cut off by a small paitv of Maoris Avliile exploring the neighbourhood of Vatcrangi, and his orderly's hwre was shot, several shells were pitched into the pursuers from the Kedonbt at a distance of 1,500 yards, but it avius not seen that any were sj ruck. This evening again some men, having swam the river, avcic in a native plantation getting potatoes when they were tired at by a party of natiA-es, and one Avas wounded in the heel; they all ran for the river and swum back and on reassembling on the safe side, two belonging to the <50th Avere found to be missing, one Avas supposed to liaA'e been droAvned in swimming the river as his comrades say he was heard calling for assistance, Avhicli they Avero too much seared to afford. Last night the Bangers, piccpiets was lircd 011 by some Maoris, and some heavy tiring Avas returned,'lliucll blowing of natiAe bugles and howling took place, but, nothing of any consequence resulted. The. tAvo missing men of the aOtli liua-o not yet been heard of. Tho name of one is DonOA-an, tho other 1 have not yet ascertained.