RAGLAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 102, 11 March 1864, Page 4

RAGLAN.

f fuoM oni o\v.\ roitiiKsroxuEST.l March :J. Mr. AVilliam Unekland rather astonished the lieges yesterday by making his appearance amongst tlu'm. having »}i]ictiroiitlv dropped from (lie skies, or sonic other unknown region. On ottqitirv i( appeared that ho had journeyed overland IVom Xauranga, a rouU> of considerable difficulty, and.l should imagine of great danger at present, in connection with Mr. Uuckland I may mention that the Commissariat here have determined to kill the meat for the consumption of the troops here, Mr. liuckluud aupnlvittg the live beasts. I hear from one of Nay lev's people that, on the ladies, whose advent from Kangiawhia I mentioned in my last, hems; asked how they'escaped the showers of bullets, they replied that they got close down to a creek or swamp. On particulars being requested by tliuiiiulitors.it was related how. the troops came to the edge- of the creek and enquired if there were no men. The reply of course was '• no," although there were several males hiding in the creel; within a few feet of the speakers; oi;c lady actually pulling the water-cresses over Jier husband's head while speaking to the troops. " Very romantic" says Miss Arabella; "touching affection" chimes in ICphraim Squarotoes; and " particularly disgusting" say I. March -I, AVe are expecting the • lVaulifid Star' in daily from the AVaikato Heads to lake in a cargo of limestone for cither .Sydney or Melbourne. Arrangements have been made with the natives for the supply of any quantity required at Is. per ton ; by supply 1 merely mean the permission to remove.

Our township is now honoured with the presence of some three or four able bodied aboriginals uh.. were, by some unaccountable means (Ihey being all Queen's people), at or about when v'ne troops walked in there so unexpectedly. In the lirst place, being Queen's people, why were they thereat all I' and secondly, having been found there, why were they not either bayoneted or taken pri.-oncr.- .' (whichever their fortune was), as well as those among their companions who had the courage to show light':" "Why destroy the mastiil'and spare the cur. who by his perpetual snarling, incites the nobler dog to mischief?

We an' to have a monster meeting of Maoris on the Sth instant, called by old N— himself, (>'iiy!or, not Kick). What the object is. none knows. The natives themselves says there is nothing to talk about, but then there is, or there will be, something to eat, and the latter is a much more important matter than the former. .Voor old Xaylor is unfortunately bitten with "genuine Irish hospitality," (in Knglish, "a wish to keep up his dignity,") and the eon.-ecptenee is that he not only spends every shining of the liberal allowance made him by the Government for that purpose, but, with hospitable dishone.-ty (to coin a phrase) he gets every sixpence of credit he can in the most aristocratic and gentlemanly manner.

] have seen a letter of Mr. .l"C. (iorst'sin yompaper (copied from tin- J->,niitn M<::l.) in which he seems to imply that the natives of New Zealand linve never been assisted to a. suiiicient extent by the Kuropcan? or the Government. Does Mr. 'liorst happen to remember the table of '• Hercules and the Waggoner"—what have they done for themselves:- 1 How many of them have adopted European habits, even partially, although they have had civilized lite before their eyes for twenty years and upwards. No, it is not that too little has been done for them, but too much. They have never been made .self-depen-dent. Let the Government give them nothing, and let a law he passed prohibiting the settlers from selling them anything ou credit, and the Maoris would either be forced into habits of industry and thrift, or they would fall back into their own old beastly habits. Kven doing the paternal,you don't stop theiidtiiinislralion of a dose of medicine because the child calls it nasty. You know it is for [he child's good, and vou use •' gentle force" aeroriliiurlv. March 5.

The ' JCxeclsior' entered ..ur harbour about 1 i> 111 to-ilav. ' '

The Waikaio Volunteer, are beguiling 1., tiro of service, to judge from the fact of two of tiiem having deserted lately. One is supposed to have com: Mouth ill (lie -Storm liirtl'; ilie oilier broke out. of the guard-tent last nighl, and is believed to have made for Kawhia. .Men have a very small chance of escaping here, .surrounded as they are by Maoris, who would iiud it a very dilllcult "matter to resist the amount of the reward ("or n deserter's apprehension, (£7), it" he were one of their own colour, much less when lie is :i .European. The native account of the fights ; ,t Pangiawhia, brought from Kawhia. is that i.Ot"H) to I.2i'ill Kuropeuus were killed in the first encasement, t|„. native loss being 2!>. In the second, the troops were completely defeated, and retreated in disorder to the ■Hon*. The field of battle was uncle deep in Kuropean blood, and the natives are in posses-ion of the country, pahs, and all between Paujtiawhia. and the Hove. Keihnnu, of Xgatimauiapotu, killed thirty soldiers with his own hand.

Subseiiiiont to these skirmishes, :t hi,,:,- ,uif've who was ordered to <juit Kawhia by some of Hone Te Ono'e people, made the following anything but peaceable reply, " Ves, von are the strong party now, hut it will not be long Lei V.re we shall he in a position to drive not only the pakehas away hut vou too." A Gas-con himself could not heat that. March (1. I have just beard that Xaylm's object in calling the meetings i have mentioned above is to express dissatisfaction of, and to petition against, certain of the provisions of the proclamation (published in the Maori language) referring to the dilferont classes of rebellious natives. "What the particular grievance is I do not know, but I suppose Tuesday's meeting, and the aid of an interpreter, will enable me to inform your readers of all particulars, it is rather a singular fact that one of the policemen of Naylor's tribe was among the rebels at the Awanmtu "when the troops advanced on that place. The gentleman has had his salary slopped, and has now returned to his duties here.