MONTHLY SUMMARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 177, 7 June 1864, Page 4

MONTHLY SUMMARY.

" Ui'ox compulsion," we seem to be drifting into the Maori system of warfare. To-day a lie icc and sanguinary fight; and for weeks thereafter ft, term of brooding and helpless inact ion. AVe have'more than sufficient time to consider our achievements —to deplore the loss of the heroes who Jell oil the instant, and to sum up the melancholy tale of the mortally and dangerously wounded who, after much and painful suli'ering, amid the hoites and fears of anxious, loving friends. | have eventuallv passed that bourne "whence jno traveller returns." Strike the mortal balance of the last twelve months, and the reckoning will disclose a frightful loss of noble blood ; blood for which the island homes of our forefathers will be drowned in unavailing tears, and for which this Colony has but too constant and too touching cause to mourn. Amongst our several and most recent losses is that of Colonel Nixon, wounded on the 21st February at Eangiawhia. He was buried with all military honors amidst the so-rowing crowds that followed him to the grave. Auckland has again passed from the active to the passive stage of rebellion. Since the affair of the " Gate Pah," the rebels have never shown i'ace. "Winter has set in with unusual mildness ; a few days of wet having been succeeded by bright and beaming sunshine, and with quite a summer's temperature. On the AVaikato, and at Tauranga, huts of raupo, of galvanised iron, and of sawn timber have been and continue to be rapidly erected, so that the soldiery is being as quickly and as comfortably housed as the exigency and pressure of our occasions will permit. The public eye is all " speculation" relative to the nervous question of what is next to be done. They who were clamarous and but too successful in louacing the Gore Browne government into the wretched truce of AVaitara in March 1801, are not less impatient to help our present ruler inlo a slough of despond. After the battle of -Rangiriri, like the false and fallacious prophe.lx that they are, they staked their reputation that the war was at an end, that there never would be another slot fired on the AVaikato; ami, now, after such proclamation of their ignorance, they are again busy with ■ their assertions, affirming that the conflict has come to a close, and that " peace at any price" no matter how unsubstantial or Heeling should be the governing principle of our ; rulers; and that the rebels should be csti- ; mated not according to the representations of a feeble-minded and fanatic clique who. careless of colonial peace and prosperity, look only to their Maori predilections, and who by tlieii special instrumentality, involve the colonists not merely in this black and bitter war, but in a self defensive conflict against the excited and unpardonable prejudices of a ' weak and misdirected section of their Ijritisli fellow countrymen. As we have said, there is a pause in the course of action. The rebels have withdrawn; and the troops are preparing to go into winter quarters. There is a change, too. in the disposition both of land and sea forces. Lieutenant-General Sir D. A. Cameron and his Staff have quifted Tauranga; and Auckland, at the present, is once again Head Quarters. The 3rd AVaikato regiment which was held in readiness to embark for Tauranga, with the judicious intention of commencing the work of military occupation and colonisation has since been countermanded, and as no reason for this change of movement has been suffered to Ifituspire, many bitter and by 110 means flattering surmises of the integrity of some in high quarters, not the Ministry, have agitated the public mind. At Tauranga and its immediate outp< sts, Colonel Greer of the (JJSth regiment commands. lie has his own noble battalion ; part of the43rd light infantry ; a small detachment of the 3rd AVaikatos, with a few of the Ifoyal Artillery and Engineers, and Colonial Defence Force. 11. M. S. S. '11 arrier,' 17 guns, occupies the post of guard ship. A detachment of upwards of 200 rank and file of the 2nd battalion 14th regiment, sailed for Napier 011 the 2Xth nit., in the local steam transport 'Alexandra.' Thev arc under command of Major Dwyer, anil were sent as a reinforcement fo the companies of the lltli already at Napier ; and to exercise a moral and material influence over the minds of the natives of that part of the Northern Island, who have too long carried mailers with a high hand, and whose : loyally has been of a very questionable ' character. ! There is ;i rumour that the liead-quartcrs of the 11-th are to proceed to Wellington. This has created some surprise in Auckland. ■Ast he 11th were looked upon as the special relief of the Goth, whenever this line and long tried regiment could be spared to leave otir shores. Events, too, heve called i'or further support at AVanganui and Taranaki; and in , furtherance of that end, a detachment of the 571 h has gone to alignment the AVanganui garrison, whilst upwards of 320 rank and file of the 70th have been sent from the Waikato to New Plymouth. Perhaps the not least remarkable phase of the war is that of the embroylios between . the loyal and rebel natives, who, without any incitement from us, have come to bloody conclusions with each other, and with a de*gree of vigour which can hardly fail to astonish Aboriginal Protection praters who hector and lecture British colonists in whom alone they can discover an insatiate itch to exterminate the Maori race! AVe are all familiar with the old quotation—" When Greek meets Greek, &c." But we of Northern New Zealand have recently received a practical illustration that " when Maori meets Maori, then comes the tug of war" —since at Maketu, Beckham and his Arawas slew an infinitely larger number of their foes with their double-barrels and tomahawks, than the .12, 40 and 110 pounder Armstrong's (the latter at a cost of £5 per shell) could knock over at the " Gate" or any other pah. This operation which has been repeated upon an equally extensive scale, and with a like successful result by the "" Loyalists" of AVanganui. Yet wo "could not be content to permit our friends to complete their work in their own way, but must needs step in to stay their hands, and to meet with merited reprehension for holding back ourselves when we should follow up a beaten enemy until his discomfiture ami subjugation were rendered complete. The Navy as well as the Army seems likely to take advantage of the " lull" to have at njl events »temporary chuueo of station:

' Falcon,' 17, Commander Parkin, sailed for Sydney on the 2Sth ult. 1 Curaooa,' 23, Commodore Sir William Wiseman, Bart., tripped anchor on the 30th, conveying the Governor and a party to tho island of Kawnu. Tho ' Eclipse' and ' Curaooa,' have both sailed for Sydney. Miranda. 15, Capt. Robert Jenkins, senior officer; Esk, 21', Commander Philimore, remain for the time being in the Waiteinnta. Salamander, paddle, G, Commander the Hon. John Carnegie, (who served as midshipman in tlie Calliope, 2G, Captain Edward Stanley, during the war of 1545-46) is shorty expected from Sydney, ill relief, it is said, of Harrier for some time past ordered home. The Auckland garrison just now consists principally of the Royal Artillery and Military Train, with a few men of the different other regiments. The Auckland Kifles and Militia have been relieved from service at the outposts; hut the Militia still continue to perform their tour of garrison duty. An attempt, which was recently made to establish steam communication between Melbourne and Auckland has been abandoned after two voyages undertaken hv a fine and powerful ship, the Souehays. l'"J )e ship lias been withdrawn, m consequence, as some folks say, of the utter want of wharf accommodation, and the great expenecs en--1 tailed by long detention through discharging in the stream. The Chairman of ihe Chamber of Commerce attributes detention to a quarrel between the master and crew AV c ourselves are of opinion that the arrangements in the matter of the Souchavs were altogether at fault. Intercourse with Melbourne, to be beneficial either to Victoria or to Auckland, must he direct; and to compete with Sydney, which has been mistress of the Auckland trade from the town of Auckland's birth, will demand patience, perseverance, and most probably a first loss. • It is no easy thing to wrench away a connection of a quarter of a century's growth; and no more hopeless measure could have been essayed than that chalked out for the Souehays, name!}', to make her passages imt simply via Sydney, but at the particular time fixed for tlitf mail steamer to take her departure for Auckland. Had the Souchays been an intermediate ship, sailing a fortnight after the mail, she might have done better, but it can only by steamer direct that intercourse with Melbourne will profit either party ; direct steam communication with Melbourne would give us more advantages by the Suez route as it at present exist , than we should experience wer2 the Panama line even established. As to want of wharfage, and other harbour accommodation, the evil has long become the chronic disorder of Auckland ; and although we have again and again hern promised a becoming measure of extension, . still these promises have been so long of fulfilment that, like hope deferred, tliev have made our ship-men heart-sick. .So patent and so painful arc our seafaring deficiencies, that our ships, like colliers in the Thames, might be seen hanging together in tiers, a Newcastle-man, discharging into a hulk on one side and a steamer on the other, the hulk at the same time supplying another steamer on her opposite side. Now, steam to be profitable to owners and beneficial to the public must experience no detention. Energy, expedition, and facility ; of coaling, cleaning, and refit arc its vital , motive powers. Without these it cannot prosper —and to afford these, and to yield a profitable return to their providers, it , behoves the constituted authorities to set about the special construction of a wharf with warehouses, coal sheds, and other necessary requirements for the exclusive accommodation of steam ships. Such appliancis would not onlv abundantly repay the outlay but they would render Auckland a port of attraction instead of one of repulsion to steam ships. Our English ships have latterly been making protracted passages, and those that have arrived have not materially augmented our population. However, we look forward . to a considerable influx of imigration with the spring; and, in the mean time, we are more than holding our own with the neighbouring colonies, whilst we have had one arrival, from Prince Edward Island, atul another from tho Cape of (rood Hope, with • a very valuable class of settlers. Sales of land, as well in Auckland, as in . the surrounding towns and villages, have been numerous and frequent: buyers have been oil tho alert, and competition keen, not as matters of speculation, but in order to occupation and improvement. In Auckland, buildings of the most permanent kind are arising in every direction. The firmness ot the ministry—the admirable system they have organised for the pacification and colonization of the country, commands the conlidence of the people, and if it is only allowed to be followed out as they themselves wish and intend, will infallibly insure peace, progress, and prosperity for the sorely harrassed Northern Island of New Zealand.