CAMP TE AWAMUTU.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 276, 30 September 1864, Page 9

CAMP TE AWAMUTU.

[I'tioM OUll OWN COUUI-SrONDKNT.] SUHKKNDKU OF NATIVK3. September t. Yesteiday, eleven natives fiirremlored theinsilvcs to Captain loV.'itt, at Knngiawlua. Tlioy ariived here, uie'e. an escort ot' tour men, at about luilt'-jiast tivu "11 the evening, and were nuistereil in float of Urn brigade Ollicc, where a crowd ef soldiers so-ill congregated to have a look at tl.e " living curiosities" ; alter l'cniaing tiiere tor a. short, time they were marched over to a. tent, winch had been pitched ;-r their reception, where a t'ew " (_ oiiuuissai iul com to it.-," were placed Leitae them. j ;i:u sorry to say tii.-it' in this pnrty the " hulploss feminine gender" preponderate, their being light women rial only three men; neither have they brought nay ui 111s. They belong to the Ngatiruru tiibe, and lmve lbr some lime being living at a place called \V>T;itelatiia, on the .Mauiigatantari liiingcs; the 11.lines of the men arc Ngamuka. Ilareini (,Oha.Tj .Maplira, and To Ngau ; those of the women iian'i ila Tihoi, 't'air.ara, Ani, llara, \\ iiiinau, Kihi, anu ltaiiata. 't'itc ic.c-o:i which they assign tor having given themselves up is, tin.' utter state of destitution ill which tbev were living; unquestioning the Chief, he* stated that thev had been living in wictehed liitlu huts with no other iood thiin hinau and ina'.iiaku, for the l et live months, he at tlie same time gave me a lump of hinau ; 1 enclose you a tpec'nuan of this coarse food with this letter ; it is

lmnufaeturcd from the lorries -which fall from the hinau tree, there is a great difficulty in gathering them, and when obtained, they havo to be pounded' and then baked. I have been inlormcd that a whole day's labour is expended in the pieparation of two or three pound of this miserable fare. Taking; these natives as a body, they are certainly the most miserable and dejected looking creatures that I have ever seen, they are all old and haggard looking objects, and seem perfectly reduced by the severe hardships and privations which they* have undergone; they have hardly a vestige of clothing to shelter them from the cold ; amongst the men there is a total abseneo of u nether garments," whilst tl.o women are only covered by a few tattered remnants of blankets and old corn sacks, they at first appeared sullen and uncommunicative, but on presenting Nganmka the Chief, with a couple of stick ; ol' tobacco, ho loosed Ins tongue stiings, and suddenly became quite confidential and agreeable, readily volunteering the small stock of information of which he was the losiicfcsor, amongst other matters he stated that they had left one old man and two women, together with several children at their settlement, and that there-were on the other side of the Hanges a few of the Kgatikoioki tribe, who were al-.o in a starving condition; that they had not been'actively engaged in the war, since the battle of Ihtngiriri, upon which occasion they lost their.guns and ammunition in the •swamp, but that they had a good view of the light at Orakau, also that they had heard of the surrender at Tauranga ; coneurr ing the movements ofthe rebels in Taranaki, jSgamuka'professed perfect ignorance, from what 1 can glean they seem to have been a smnll sequestered community not troubling their heads much about war or politics, but ekeing out their miserable existence in the Ganges, until they were compelled bv actual necessity to come ijf and surrender; they decidedly have not the appearance of fighting men. Mr. Nicholas, in the absence of Mr. Gage, acted as interpreter, and exerted himself most oreditablv, in providing for the comfort of the natives, who were plarcd under his immediate cares. Jdr. Gage, however, arrived irom "\\ hatawhata during' tho evening, thus lelieving Mr. Nicholas of his somewhat unthankful duties. Mr. Gage brought up to this camp with him last evening, irom Whatawhata, four natives belonging to the Ngatimahuta tribe, who had surrendered themselves at that eiiinp to Mr. Mainwaring,Justiceof the Peace, on Wednesday last; they mo all young men. (>ne of them whose name is JLkana, is the son of J tuinuna, an inlluential Chief, who, it will be remembered, was shot during tho iighl at Koheroa. They gave up their arms, consisting <d' three tolerably gwod fowling pieces, together with som 3 am munition to ?.Ir. M.ainwaririg, and also took theoath of allegiance to the Wueen. Unlike the Maoris who arrived here yesterday they appear to bo it choice specimen ol the Maori race ; in a previous communication 1 gave an account of the surrender 'of live others of this tribe, and I am led to believe that before long we shall see the remaining portion of them ctune in also. As they only remained hero for a very short time, I was unable to obtain any information from them ; they are proceeding to Kangitoto, a place about twenty-iive miles distant, for the purpose of inducing their fiicnds anu relations to follow their example, t hey si em very sanguine of elfecting their i'urpose ; if'the}' should fail, they will return to this place. In my communication of the 10th August, I mentioned t hat a letter had been written and forwarded by Mr. Gage (with permission of the War Minister) to the iS'galimataiiori, ami other sections of the Ngatimimiapuio, at llangatiki and Tetuahu ; front the great iiitiuonce that Mr. Gage possesses with these natives I anticipated the most favourable results., and I am glad to say that irom the manner in which it has been received, my anticipations are likely to prove by no means te .•anguine, The letter reached its tmaiion about ihe 20th of last month, and caused a gre.»t sensation. A mee'iug ui'all the Jinngntilii and Tetiialiu inhabitants \v:u> caiietl, when about ioO natives assembled, numi)ers of those present being melied to tears. 'Ihey have sent down word to Mr. Gage that they will ail meet, at Tetuahu, and then come down to tvopua dining the present week, when Mr. Gago will proceed u» that piaee and cojuiuet 1 h-.in hither. 1 i a'.i almost f»rgoUen 10 mention thai the I'rinec.-s Sophia is ainrngM their number ; iter ro\a! hghiuss has but lately recovered in in a severe indisposition. t understand thai 1:1 'Thompson ;s i.ow at a set ilea.cut called V\ liaiaNvhata, di>ianco about U.j miles from this camp, Mid thai he has been vi-iied by Mr. Mackay, but that little good hud accrued Irom the vij.il. Thompson would not at hrsl Jiston to any ofthe counsels or arguments advanced by his vUiior, but iillft- M.t:ac time his stubborn disposition relaxed s.imev. hat, and at parting he condescended to tell Mr. Mackay thi-i. "he waiiid think over what he had said." We are inclined to think this rather a poor reward for nil the trouble taken with him, nevertheless as Peter McGrauler hath said /'greater things have come of smaller boy innings." l-iisl Thursday afternoon, Alajor Von Tempsky arrived lit t-imiji with sixteen oi' his l''orcst iiangeis, from rSgahinipouri. Tiicic were atOliaupo twenty of that corps be:('ore his arrival. After the men lntil rested av.lnie a parade was ordered ; alter inspecting tlic company 1 lie gallant Major .ulurcssed ihem in an eloquent manner, tlie purport ot' liis address was that lie had volunteered his services to Uencral Cameron lor active service in Taranaki, and that they had been accepted. lie then culled lor volunteers to accompany him when, with the exception ol lour men, the enlire company stepped to Ihe front anil signed their names as volunteers. The reason why it was found necessary to eall for volunieers, is the fuel that the .Hangers', in the first instance, only agreed to serve in the I'rovinee of Auckland. The men who are proceeding to laranalii will receive a complete outlit bcforc starting ; those who have not agreed to follow Major \ oil empsky will be sent to Xauianga, where tliey "ill be nettled upon their land with the Ist Waikato Kegiment. There lias been, an extensive conflagration at. Pukeriniu, t-y which twelve ot the huts recently occupied bv the oOlh regiment v.'eie burnt to the ground --three of them were oliicers' luits. A considerable amount of property was destroyed, the origin of the fire is at present unknown. The (iOlii regiment and Artillery have left I'ulcciimu ; the 50th will proceed to Olaliulut, en route for Xaninaki; the Artillery will remain at A'garuawahia for the presenl, tlieir ultimate destination is at present a matter of doubt, i understand that Pukcrnnu is to be abandoned as a military post-. Ihe Militia now stationed there wii! be removed to Cambridge, v. here they w ill at once receive '.heir town acre allotments. The steamers now run up the river as far as Cambridge pretty regularly ; the iiorotiu being much swollen bv the recent heavy rains. September .3. The eight women who surrendered themselves, on Saturday o afternoon, have been sent hack to their settlement, they were escorted about two miles beyond Kangiaw ahia ; they seemed glad to get back", as thev had left, their children up in the ranges, they will now, el' course, be allowed to conic and no at thei< pleasure; i believe thev are to roccivc some seed potatoes, to plant in the land which has already bcou 1-1 The I three men loft this morning for "Whatawhata, I believe they will take the oath of allegiance before Air. Alannering, ltesiilent Magistrate, at that sta- *■'' September 11. Th" past weelc has been eliaracteri-ed by a most unusual dearth of interesting intelligence, insomuch so thatl have abstained from writing until now, prelei'ingto lenilt ill the shape of a weelcly summary, tin- small items 01 news that have transpired. . Last Tuesday, information was received at tins station to the filed that thirty men of t .kore tribe laid come tlow-.i to Kopua, with JlO intuition of giving up their arms. They exploded a wish to ! ce iir. Mainwaring, justice ot the pcaco at whata, and further lett it to bo understood that thev would treat with no one else. Mr. Mamwanng was" accordingly communicated with on the and Marled for this place as soon as Ins olheial duties would permit him, arriving heio LO-day (Jsmulaj) j„st in time to lind that the " birds had flown, for the majority ofthe natives lett Kopua yesterday; it is generally thought, however, that they w, 11 re.um in" -iiort time, and .11 ease then- presence sl.omd at ,„.v time be requirtd, it will not be a matter ot great dii'licultv to ascertain tlieir w.iereabouts as thoy raid in ihe ranges at no great d.stance Irom tho ab.n e■iinned s,-ltii-ua?at. There are five ol the part} who came down still remaining at Ko/aia, amongst •Is r-alcna l'outama, the principal cine! „ l:x<: matakor.a It will be remembered that ihi» man was taken prisoner during the tight at Uangawa ua, bu„ at the solicitation of Hoh.a, a native mims.er, » . .uantod his lieedom, whilst bis lellow captives were sent to Auckland to lnxmi-.tu on Wd that g-.oul^ barque, th? ' Alanon.' i'atone, on ieicivmg 1 » 1 '-licl-e' ofie.ive," nroeoedeil, in eoiupanv \\ith his advt!cattTifobia, J far as Atr. AshwcU's station, on I the Waikato, v.-hero he remained for .1 shoit pe.iod,

in due course of time lie obtiiincd permission, to pay a visit to KaglaL, on business, Mid whilst there ho seemed inclined to travel in a still more southerly direction, and left for Kawliia, eventually, thinking the o]>port unity too favourable to be thrown away, lie joined his tribe once more. Thero is little doubt that the motives actuating him in this transaction were of the most praiseworthy description, as X understand that he has been principally instrumental in' inducing 'these natives to come to -ICopua for the purpose of surrendering. One thing is certain, namely, that he has condemned the impatience of his tribe in not having awaited Mr. Mninwaring's arrival, —having set them an example by remaining behind at Kopua to await the issue of the important- step "which he has taken, l' roiil indisputable authority, 1 learn that Mr. Mannering possesses considerable influence with these natives, he being well known to, and highly respected by, the entire tribe ; it is to 1.0 regretted that his magisterial duties will-occupy the whole of his time during his short stay here. I understand that he will be competed to leave this place on Tuesday, having to be in Auckland during the present week. The whole of the natives appear to entertain an instinctive dread ot' hum mg themselves over to the military authorities.' "Why this feeling of distrust should exist, it is iinjjossi .le for mo to say ; as, whenever natives have given themselves up at this post, they have been treated with most uniform kindness and attention, both as :i matter of duty by the authorities, and from pine compassion by the mm. I expect that the}' think o\ er the probable reception wo should havo reciived irom them a fhort time ago, and, to uso a, somewhat used-up expression, they "measure our corn by their own bushels." One atternoon during the week, a small party of the garrison at h'.tngiawahia, wi.ilst out searching ■for potatoes, encountered about half-a-dozen natives, who were also out on a foraging expedition. On seeing the approach of the soldiers, the whole, with the. exception of one man, took to their heels ; the non-fugitive, however, submitted to be quietly taken, and was brought before Captain Glennett, commanding that outpost, who, on a close inspection of the gMitlemaii, thought it advisable to allow him to return onie mole to his native hills, as lie bore decided ti- ees o*' extreme antiquity, and ;n>reuver '.-.as seveiciy alHicteu with a certain cutaneous disease, which is p; cuiiiir to the jUnori race. He was permitted to i. main in the Redoubt for the night, and having, in liie morning, been given a good breaklbst, and a few wearables, was intoimed that ho might njiike his : this he did, but not without some show of l-i ..ictance. Ou "Wei l : esdav last, Jlajor Jackson's company of Forest Kai.gers marched from Ohu-upo. to Kihi K:hi, where the_. .viil be located on their town acre allotments. Telegriij me communication was opened with Auckland at o'clock to-day ; the entire line having been com; ,eted yesterday. The time occupied in the transmis.- ;.o of a message is live miuutes. There is some deh;. caused m the transmission of message, Ihe batter power not being sulliciently strong to ali'ect the iviro through the entire distance. Tlio consequi i ,of this is, that mestages havo to be received aii I io-lonvarded at two of the intermediate stationßC: the line. The opening of the telegraph will, in i ..ny senses, be iouiul a great boon ; the charges for messages are pretty reasonable. We received inlt ■ iigenee of the issue of M'Lean's trial, at about hall-past twelve.. the weather l'or the last ten days lias been delightful, but there is now an appearance of rain. August 12. 1 have been informed this morning that Mr. Mainwariug has written to the natives at Kopua, informing t hem that he will pay them a visit in about a fortnight's time ; the whole of his time whilst here will lie engrossed by his magisterial duties.