THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 170, 30 May 1864, Page 3

THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES.

Till", s. s. ' Prince Alfred,' Captain Randall, dropped anchor oil' the Queen Street wharf at 11 a.m. yesterday moniint;. She brings our usual .Southern tiles. AVo lind that in liawlie's ]>;!)• there is every prospect of traiujuilitv. ' The IS'^atik;iliun<, r uuu liave issued a proclamation insisting th.it hostilities shall he kept at a distance from that Province. 'Die llawke's Bay Times ridicules the idea of .sending troops to Napier, and indulges in the following hitter remarks against the self interest which has induced a"party in that Province to call for such assistance. Tim Jirritltl, (says tin- Tiiiiris, in its issue of the ■J7th nit.,) is It mil in its jmi riotir- nqiiiieuunts of m>. r.' trnnps iinil fnrtlu-r prnto.-tinii, Ki-., for llawkes I!:i\,--ii ill" [latrinlisin we 1 1< id hardly say ; abnili a* disinterested as tin- i-i'lijriini of tlio individual who it-ll in lovo with tin.' diamond eyes of .liiWinaiit. "VVi- have nut yi't learned to protect >iiift.7-lv«'S by ii ve.-pict. I'<>r exiting laws, mill w an: nut therefore, entitled to expert further assistance trom others, and so long :,s :l small c!ic|Ue of peoplo arc allowed illegally to occupy tin.' heart of this Vroviiir.- undisturbed,'we have no shadow ofii right to cxi)i-i-t tin- unfortunate llriti.-li tax-payer to submit to further exactions on our behalf. And iiyaiii— We an: not u]>iuchensivc of the w<r ext findintf to this rrovince: tin.- intt-rost uf the resident natives lie more- in tho diruction of ]U'iiuu tliun of war, t present at sill events. From Wangnnui we have further details of the successful brush of die Queen's natives with the fanatics. The conduct of the loyal natives both at Maketu and at AVanganui is causing the ipiestion of whether it were not better to employ them actively in our behalf to be warmly taken up. We Jearn from the Chronicle of the LStii,tlial in the AVangantti The Government natives intended following up tho victory by attacking Tawhitenni on Sunday, kurotawliifo on Monday, and I'iperiki yesterdiiy. They hiivo Loon iiistrnotcil to advance, as far as i'lpenki, that it may be; tupit, and that, finis* tho widows and children remaining may he safe from reprisals on the jiiivt, of tho friiiiids of those who li.ive fallen. "With the sami) ohjeet in view in order to prevent them from Ixiini? killed Jiy any of tho widows of tho "ovmnment natives who tell, JIv.AX lute has ordered that the two prisoners he hroiijjhl down here, and delivered up to the iiuthoritios, to he dealt with according to law. ~,.,,!• The friendly natives are much dissatisfied at being prohibited from following the fiiifitivus t<, Waitolara. .Ir.hn Williiims, one of the most eivih/.ed and loyal imtives expressed his imlifrimtion in no inwiBiired terms- to Mr. While. He said he was not iiii.'lT witli him, hut with the government lor tho pofiey they pursued in not, following up tho advau- '' with the tokens of .'ood-will shewn them. On Sunday, the garrison Mag wits hoisted half-imi4 high, as a marl; ot respect for the dead ; and on Monday they were supplied with several kegs of gunpowder, a cwl. of lead, •>u 000 cups, and live guns with 300 rounds ol ammunition, for them, to enablo them to stand their grounJ should they bo again attacked. Dr. the Superintendent ot I the Province arrived in the ' Stormbird' on the Lsth, and on the 17th proceeded up the river to the scene of the late action, m company with Mr. liooth. ~\V r e take the following items of military intelligence from the Chronicle of tho 18th.

Ti.o Iwonty-fivi- raoa of thw Jleienco Force from Pahmtanni. who came in tho 'Siunnbird,'went out yesterday to luingitikei. A redoubt lias been made on the top of King's hill, about two miles from town on the "Waitatoni road. It is Ha feet square, and is surrounded by a rampart o foot high, on the outside of which is a ditch about fi foot deep nnd 9 feet broad. The redoubt is occupied by 50 men of tho 57th. The natives at Aromoho are building a pah, surrounded by a ditch, and double lines of palisading, and riilo pitted. Aromoho is three miles up the rivor on the rijjht bank. The body oi' George Blackhall, a soldier of the <) itli, recently drowned by the overturning of a fiiiiuo, was found yesterday by a soldier near Mr. W alUer's, on this side of Aromolio, about half a mile below where the accident took place. An inquest was hold to-diiy, and a verdict returned of accidentally drowned. His Honor tho Superintendent on his arrival hero on Sunday called out the Militia for active service. \v o believe that he has since granted exemption to some poisons, but we have not seen tho list of them, .hiitioiis were served out to-day for the first time, and a good many have bec:i supplied with blue sorgo smocks, and boots. A blanket with a hole in the middle, to be worn as a poncho, is also to be given to each limn, :m <l we suppose trowsnrs will follow, lliere is very considerable grumbling at the unequal distribution of duty, and the needlessly long time tlin.se on duty are kept on each occasion. We hear that a representation to the Superintendent regarding; these matters is receiving numerous signatures. The death of Matene the leader of the rebel party is thus described in the Chronicle :— Matene was one of the las), to take to the water, alter being wounded in the leg. He swam for the right bank, but being observed several vollies were fired at him. As be was not hit, Te JForo, a policeman, stripped and followed him, and gutting hold of him by the hair, just as he was reaching the bank, despatched him with ;i paraon or whalebone mere, striking, or as the native said, smashing his body with it. Before lie was hit, Mateno cried • ~Pui iiirin'iv. Jlok, lion ! To 3loro body across the stream, and laid it among the rest of the dead on the i.-laml. The following which are the fullest and latest particulars known of the recent light upon the river were published in an Extra by the Wanganui Chronicle on the 20th. We give it entire. Several letters came down the river last night to tlii! Native Magistrate, Mr. White—one from Meti Kingi, another from Pehi, a third from the Kev. M. Liinipiller, anil others of minor importance. Their substance, we believe, to be as follows —First, with regard to the battle : Mete Kingi states that tho adherents of Mntcno were 200 and that 100 were engaged in the fight; that the number of Government natives was 400, of whom 200 were actually engaged ; and that eighty of the rebels were killed, while on. the other side then: were fourteen killed and nine wounded. Tho names of these are given, and also those of some of the dead rebels, and as some of those not yet published may be known to our readers, we subjoin the whole list. M. Lampiller says there wore about fifty rebels killed. He was not actually engaged as was at first said, but remained in the background with the reserve, in older to attend to his own particular duties. The fight lasted fifteen minutes. The nearest relatives were engaged on opposite sides. As one of tho letters says, " The fight was between fathers and sons, younger brothel's and older brothers, uncles, nephews, and cousins." Alter it was over tlie victors took some food and proceeded to Tawhitenui which they took possession of by 10 o'clock, and on the fame day took tvo other pas, but the names are not given. There seems to liave been no resistance ; and 40 men, women, and childii ii were taken prisoner?, who were afterwards demanded by I'elii on the ground that they were his people, but Mete Kingi declined to deliver them up, saying to Pehi, that he. was alraid of liis (PeWs) killing them—rather severe sarcasm. The prisoners an: mi their way down to be banded ovir to the authorities. Among them are three conspicuous rebel.-,. lVhi's king flag " I'awiingi" was taken. Mete Kingi and his comrades seun in high leather; hu subscribes hiiiisi'lf " t'i>l"iiel," and in cr.e of the letteis hit is styled " (Jeiu-nil." Among the incidents in the light may bo mentioned one related by Taniihana, who lies in the hospital. He tomahawked two men ; in wrenching his hatchet from the head of the second, the handle broke, and while lie turned round to look for another weapon, one of the enemy aimed at liim and broke his leg. It limy also be mentioned, that when tho messengers tame down on Sunday, a contribution was immadiatcly made lor the wouiukci. Sir. Finnimore gave ii bag of sugar; Mr. Firwson, several hundred pounds of l.eef; Mr. "Waters, u quantity of tarpaulin ; Messrs. I'.ell, a lot of tobacco ; Mr. Hurley, a number of loaves ; and a considerable sum of money was contributed on the street in sums of from a shilling iijiwiiids to buy other coni/oits. These supplies were entrusted to Kollihe Poaka, policeman, and by him despatched up the river. Revised List of Dead a>d Wovjxdkd. GOVERNMENT NATIVES. Dead. llemi N.ipe, Assessor Krreti te Iliwitahi, Policeman Hhvai Tawhitorangi Heremia te lluiigi Takuku Penetito te Korewa J!otohiko AVuitnki Mttnihcra Maui AVi renin te "Waruiti llakaraia te Kiaki Wnrena te Polio lYhira te Kahtt o llauru Matin te Potabi Hohepa Whakaruku Hare te Kaliu Wounded. Tamihana te Arewa (in the hospital here) Aperhiimii te Tuatara Hapiuuina to Uranga Paranihi Kanira Aperaniko Uangihilcitia, assessor "Wiari te l'atii, policeman IVra 1e Kahu. ditto Koroniho (in the hospital). KEIIEI. NATIVES. Dead. Wanganui— Hohepu te Kauihi Matene Kangitauira Mohitcltiko Takana te Aheihei Haimonn. Kaureti Tauhei Te Atiawn— Tari to Kanukaupuho Tiii-iinaki— Manihera te Kopara Wiiitotara— Porokoru te Tangopu Kaupa Ngaiotu. TYroin tlic Wellington Advertiser of the 24th we find the following in reference to the patent slip : It will bo seen from the extract given by our London correspondent, from the report of the Directors of tho Panama, New Zealand and Australian Koyal Mail Company, that they had it in contemplation to accept the terms offored" by the Provincial Government as regarded the erection of a Patent Slip in Wellington, and of tho establishment of a repairing vard in connection therewith. We are now in a position to state that tho arrangements have been completed between the Company and Mr. Morrison, the tormer undertaking the construction of the necessary works, and the government guaranteeing a minimum intoiost of soven per cunt on the outlay. A great meeting of the King natives had taken place at Otaki, when the three leading chiefs, Wi Tako, Heremia, and Hapi, made speeches, the purport of which was, it is said, that they would forsake the King movement. If this be true we have in it one of the best features which could possibly be adduced, that the effect of the threatened confiscation of the lands of the rebels is not to drive even those already disaffected into open and desperate rebellion. From the Advertiser of tho 21st we learn that — The now steamship Wellington, Capt. Mclntyre, belonging to the Hew Zeidand Steam Navigation I Company, arrived oil' Cow Bay this morning, under

nil ■■ iii ■ !——_-■ '- •. -~- : - -J. ■ri canvas, after a passage of 128 days from Holjliead. We are glad to learn that the AucHand Superintendecoy has'proved bo good a thing to a late holder"of it, as the following, which we take from the Independent, and which is going the round of- the Southern papers, would lead us to believe. The Late Superixtexdext of AuckliAlTD.— Tho following olioice morceau from the Skiiibereen and Il'est Carbery I'ogle, or South ireslern AdvcrtUtr, nu Irish journal, has been handed to us for publication : —" We are allowed to make the following extract from a letter from a frieud iii New Zealand to John H. Townsend, Esq., J.P., Dunbeacon. It speuks favourably for that rising colony: —" Auckland is now a large town. There are few old face* to be met there. Sulrattn is yet alive. 3vuesenga hae been gathered to his fathers, and so have many others that used to give us u friendly greeting. Old Capt. Porter wears out well. Your nephews, particularly Bichnrd, are fine lads and likely to do well. I am now proprietor of a large estate with thousands of sheep, and about one hundred horses, besides cattle; being also the chief olKcer of the Province is not to be despised, as the class of people here are really very good, hi foe simple, I possess in the Province 17,000 acres, besides a right over about 100,000 —so you can see I have not done so badly. New Zealand is progressing rapidly. You see handsome mansions, good (anus, rint stock, and abundance of the luxuries of life without being encumbered with the restraints of home society." The only news from Marlborough is the unsatisfactory nature of the new diggings. The special correspondent of the Marllioroiiffh Press writiug from the Pelorus on the ISth says .- — It is with extreme regret I am compelled to witness the largo number of arrivals which every clay pour iijto this gold field. lam sure, had the letter* written by your correspondent been read by the diggers, many of them would have paused bofore they came on to the ground. I shall here once more reprat what I have so clearly and emphatically stared on previous occasions—the Wakamarina gold field is only rich as respects the river bed and a portion of ite batik-is. It is true that some of the gullies and creeks have beun found to contain good claims, but at present only to a limited extent. The river is now quite takeu up from near its source to where it debouches into the Pelorus. Those who come now, and hundreds of those who arc already here, will have to look to other rivers in other localities for paying claims. That they will be found no doubt whatever is expressed ; but the same thing happens here as I have witnessed on most other gold lields. Everybody is waiting for everybody else to prospect new ground, when all are quite ready to follow upon any success which have been obtained by others. ■ If any further confirmation were needed of the failure of this goldfield it may be gathered from the fact that the disappointed diggers are leaving it as fast as they can. The "W. S. N. Company's s. s. ' Wanganui,' Captain Linklater, arrived in Wellington on the 20th, from Picton, with a number of return diggers. From Canterbury and Otago we have three days' later papers, but no later news. Tip to that time it would appear that no party in the Provincial Council had been able to form a, ministry.