LATEST FROM TARANAKI.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 325, 30 November 1860, Page 3

LATEST FROM TARANAKI.

[From the Taranaki Herald.)

JOURNAL OF EVENTS AT TARANAKI,

Satur day, November 3.—A party of Militia and Rifle V olunteers left early this morning to visit the farms on the Frankley road. The party consisted of 50 unf'ler Captain King and Lieut. Jonas. They went as far as Patterson's saw-mills, and brought in a quantity «of wood, sawn timber, &c. Tracks of natives were seen in the bush roads, and on returning tho party searched Eliot's and. Smith's farms, as they were inform ied natives had been recently seen in that direction 7

Slunday.— -Weather gloomy, with slight showers. Lw;ut -Colonel Carey arid a party on horseback went to reconnoitre a commanding site called Sentry Hill, landward of Mahoetahi. The report that natives were occupying this position, and that large quantities of potatoes were stored there . was incorrect.—MajorGeneral Prati; inspected the garrison at their alarm posts in the trenches this afternoon. Monday.—A large vessel was seen off Bell Block yesterday. : ; Information1 hy the Tasmanian Maid received this evening from Waitara that during the day while a working party from Puketakauere were engaged: putting a bridge over a swamp they were attacked: by a party of the Waikatos. A skirmish ensued,.in which one man, private Lally, of the 6Sth, was severely wounded in the neck. The rebels were ultimately driven back towards their encampment at Huirangi. They had two large banners with them, one white and the other red. Information was also received that .a party of Waikatos had occupied Mahoetahi. It transpired during the evening that a force'from, ;town commanded by the General, would proceed in the morning at 4 a.m. to take the position named, and the different corps were warned for this service. Colonel Wyatt, 65th regiment, to command the town.

Tuesday.— Before this morning the troops prepared for the march to Mahoetahi, the carts were filled with baggage,-ammunition, &c.,and 2 howitzers (24 pounders), were in readiness to start at 5 a.m. The Militia and Rifle Volunteers mustered opposite the Mdlitia Oflice, and the whole force commenced the march at 5 o'clock precisely: The expedition comprised • the following:—Staff, Major-General Pratt, C B. (commander of the forces),, Lieut-Colonel Carey, D.A.Gi, Lieut.-Colonel Sillery, D.Q>I.Q, Dr. Mouat, C.8., Lieut. Forsterj; R.A., A.D.'C, Lieut. King (Militia), A.D.C.; Captain Strover, RA., and one sergeant and 12 rank and file royal artillery (with two 24-pounder howitzers); Capt. Mould, R.E. and 10 royal engineers; Major Hutchins, Captain Leeson, Lieut. Dudgeon, and 84 men of the I2thre»;t.; Colonel Leslie, Capts. Richards arid Messenger, Lieuts. Dowman. Jackson, and Johnson (Adjutant), Ensign Morphy, and 168 men of.the.4oth regt.; Captain Turner, Lieuts. Bailie, Urquhart, Toker, Chevalier, and 223 men of the 65l;hregti: Major Herbert, Capts. Brown and Atkinson, Lieuts. Ivlorritwn, Messenger, Hammerton, Webster, and 120 men of the Militia and Rifle Volunteers (go of tha former and 90 of the latter;

Capt. DesVcoux and 20 of the Mounted Volunteers. The medical officers' in ; attendance were Dr. White, 65th'resit, and Dr. Niyen, staff!. The morning Was beautifully fine, and the* dew had laid the dust on the roads. As a Rifle Volunteer; and forming one of that corp^in the expedition,, we shall proceed to give an account of what took place; as it came under our own notice. The Bell Block was reached at 6 a.m., when a part of the civilian force (Militia) were left at the stockade, and their place taken by Rifle Volunteers. On reaching the declivity before coming to tlie Mangoraka river, a halt was ordered, and the guns limbered up and, taken.to the front, and skirmishers thrown forward, while Mahoetahi, distant about a mile and a half, and the country adjacent, was observed by the General with a telescope. The order to march wasagain given, and the force proceeded—the 6nth in advance forming a skirmishing- party and support,; with the General and Staff, followed by the Rifle. Volunteers, the guns, the artillerymen, the engineers, and the train of carts; the 40th. and the 12th being rearguard. The Mangoraka stream was forded, the men wading through the stream, and in silence and Rood order all advanced towards Mahoetahi, a hill on the left of the Devon line, about 8 miles from j town, and three from Waitara. In a few minutes* firing was heard in the front, and the order given for the guns under Captain Strdver, R.A., to be brought to the front. At this moment;, one man of the 65th, private Conolly, came to the rear, wounded in the arm by the third or fourth shot from the rebels. The General here dismounted from his horse, and ordered the guns to take up a position at 50 yards distance from the pah, where he remained while a heavy and continuous fire was kept up from a gully to the right of the enemy's position, and proceeded on foot to the front, where he remained during the whole action, guiding and directing the movements of the men. An order was nQ.w sent, to Major Herbert, command.-' ing theßifle Volunters, to take position to theleft, ir} skirmishing order, which was at once done, the, men skirmishing in high fern, and across. a .deep swamp, gradually approaching the enemy's position. Firing was now opened upon the hill by the howitzers, with shell, and the crack of the rifleswas becoming more rapid. The 65th in front were under Capt. Turner, and Lieutenant Toker, the light company under Lieut. Urquhart, being sent to the extreme right, to protect the flank of the attacking force, and Lieut. Chevalier, with 30 men, tp. protect the guns.■> The Volunteers were extended to the left front of Mahoetahi, and their left flank under Capt. Atkinson on the extreme left, and were fast lessening their distance, and by a rush took possession of a hill about 100 yards from the pah. The order at,this moment was received by Major Herbert to charge the pa, when he ordered the men to fix bayonets, and with a hearty cheer the pah was gallantly stormed simultaneously with the 65th in the front (the General being with them), the men running up the hill under a rapid fire from the rebels, who, when the pah was reached retired behind thebanks and whares in the rear. Now commenced a fierce fight, hand to hand in some instances when two of the 65th, McGivern and Rooney, and two volunteers'^ H. Edgecombe and F. Brown, fell mortally wounded, shot by the enemy* at a distance of j a few yards. Captain Atkinson, with a small party, occupied a low hill on the left, and kept up a destructive fire on the rebels on their flank, 30 or 40 of them being a few feet distant from the rest of our party oh the hill. It was some time! before the natives, could be dislodged from the rear of the pah, where they were keeping up a smart fire, wounding several of the 65th and Volunteers, including Capt. Turner, severely in mouth, and Colonel Sillery slightly, Lieut. Toker, and a few men of the 65th, with Mr. W. S. Atkinson (Native Department) were hotly engaged at the right of the pah, while the Volunteers were as actively employed on the left, when most opportunely, Major Nelson's column from Waitara, with 100 men of the 65th from Puketakauere under Colonel Mould, RE., and Lieut Talbot, 65th, came up in the left rear, and with a 24-pounder howitzer, dropped a .shell amongst the rebels under the bank in our rear, jWhich caused them to make a precipitate retreat down the hill into a swamp and across : the country. Some of them ran up the 3u'rangi road, where they were taken in flank by the Waitara force, and in rear by Lieut. Urquhart's party with fatal effect; two shells were also thrown,with good precision amongst them by Lieut. McNaughten from Waitara. It was now a complete rout, and the natives still fell in making their retreat, throwing away their pieces and cartridge pouchesin tlie fern. Several hid in the swamp where they were shot. It was a short and decisive victory —no natives were tolbe seen, beyond a few stragglers' in the distance.. The General, now, with a reconnoitring- party of the 12th, 40th, and aparty of the 65th T proceeded up the Huirangi road, and came round back by Ngataiparirua and Puketakauere. At Huirangi two flags were flying, a red and a white one ; shortly aft'T they were seen, the red flag was lowered and the white one lowered half mast. Several bodies of the rebels were seen lying in the Huirangi road. The friendly natives, 100 of whom accompanied the expedition, with Messrs. Parris, Atkinson, and Wills, proceeded with carts and foraging parties of soldiers, to gather thebodies of the rebels, who were lying on the ground in rear of the pah and in the swamp. The greatest number lay on the right of the pah, where the shells and cannister from Captain Strover's guns did great execution. Thirty-one, including two principal chiefs, and the head chief of the tribe (Ngatihaua), Te Wetini Taiporutu, were brought up and laid out on the ground. One prisoner (unhurt) and six wounded, all dangerously, were also brought in. A large pit was dug under the brink of the hill and 28 bodies interred, the bodies of the three chiefs being put into a cart for interment in town. We are told by a friendly native that the body of a young chief, named Te Purewa, was left behind, and buried with the rest. He is a chief of more importance than Taiporutu, being son of Te Malta, and nephew of Te Waharoa, the great ancestor and warrior of Ngatihaua. At 3 p.m. tho forces prepared for the return to town, leaving 200 men of the 12th and 65th under Major Hutchins to garrison and fortify Mahoetahi. Five of the wounded rebels were put into carts, the sixth being too far gone to move; two died on the road, and we reached town, tired and begrimed with dust, at 5 p.m.—tho termination to this memorable engagement. , Our casualties were as follows :— Wounded— Colonel Sillery. D.Q.M.G., slightly.

40th Re<3T.— Wounded; E. McKay, slightly. 65th Regt.— Killed: Private Wm. Mc.Givern, Private Francis Rooney. . Wounded: Capt. H. F. Tv ncr, right side of Iqwer jaw, severely, ball lodged; Segt. Wm. Knight, right cheek, severely; Privates Bernard Boyham, very severely, ball lodged; Thomas Coleman, chin and neck, severely; Patrick Connolly, left fore arm, severely; Hugh Gibson, right toe of left foot, slightly; Dainiel Mcßrierty, left arm, very severely, compound fracture; Wm. Roberts, both legs, slightly ; Cecil, Wm. Ray, right fore-arm, one bone broken, severely; George Wilmott, right thigh, very severely, compound fracture; Richard Whitlow, leftside of head, severely, bone touched. Rifle VoLUN^EBas.— Killed: Privates H, Edgecombe aiid F. Brown/ Wounded: Richard Langman,; jun., slightly iti breaatand arm: John.Ward^slightly.. in groin ; :, "W..Vercoe, slightly in knee; Thos. Veale, J ditto in knee, r'"''" '""'

While the bodiea of7the rebels were lying, after being placed in a row at Mahoetahi, the prisoner (Renata by name) was. ordered to give their names to Mr. Parris and Mr. Hay. He could only give the names of the following :—i '

Ngatihaua Tribe—Te Wetini Taiporutu, Hikaruia, Pari, Harawira, Wharawhara, Haravvira, Hemi Taiporutu. Ngatiapaku—Wharangi. Ngatikaora—Hakopa Ngaruhi. Ngatiruru—Kotamu,. Tamihana, Hemi Kareha, Hemi;

Ngatitamaiuu-r-Hakopa, Kaiaha. Ngatikoroki—Hakepa, Wanganui, Tamihana. Urukopi—Heneriho. Ngatikaukura—Hirini. Ngati nga wairo—-Kaiamuha, Tamahiki. Ngatikaukura—Tamati. Ngatiapakura—Wirihana, and one of Ngatingamuri, name not known.

The above are mostly chiefs, Wetini Taiporutu, Wharangi, and Hakopa Ngaruhi, being head chiefs of Waikato. ,-- .:..

One of the. wounded natives died on the ray into town and two died shortly after their arrival. The bodies, five in number; and our own killed, were conveyed to the Military Hospital. The two -wounded, Te Poari and Te One, a native monitor, were placed in medical care in the native Hospital in Te Kawau pah. in town. The prisoner who was brought in by the Rifle Volunteers, was put in irons and placed in the town jail. This man, Renata, was caught without arms. He was found in the fern feigning to be dead, and required several good shakes before he thought proper to show animation, A large number of muskets, double-barrelled guns, and pouches filled with ammunition were found and brought away. >Ye are told about sixty stand of arms were recovered. A 65th soldier took from a dead native a 40th rifle and 14 rounds of rifle cartridge's^ Many Of the men came home with a trophy in the shape of a gun or pouch, and one had a valuable greenstone god, taken from one of the chiefs. Where

every one didhis duty in this sanguinary conflct, we need not particularise. The charge of the Rifles is acknowledged by all to be a brilliant.one; and-the bravery.of the 6.5 th men, who were the first in the pah, needs no comment from us. Capt. Turner, who was severely wounded, arid Lieut. Toker, we believei were under a heavy and continuous >fire. c Major Herbert, and Capts. Atkinson and Brown, led their men with cftnspicuous gallantry. The Staff' Officers also were conspicuous, and were to be seen wherever their presence «vas required;, A Volunteer •( W. Marshall) saved the life of private Jones, 65th, by bayoneting a native who was in the act of tomahawking him while struggling with another native in the swamp who had closed with Jones.—The steamer Wonga Wonga arrived from Manukau this evening. > She brings intelligence of the approval by the Home Government of the Governor's proceedings in reference to the native disturbances in this province;-: and that the 14th Regt. is oh its way from England, and the 60th (3rd bat.) is en route from India. This news is particularly gratifying in the present stage or affairs in New Zealand.— The severe loss sustained by the enemy to-day > will either be a death blow to. their hopes, or bring about a general rising of the Northern tribes to avenge the death of their chiefs—the latter most probable, from the disaffected state of the natives. It was stated today that reserves of natives were seen in the distance, on Sentry H'll, and inland, Rewi's party, and Wi.' Kingi's people, who no doubt would, as at Puketakauere, have attacked our forces in flank and roar, but for the sudden and spirited charge into the position of their friends. These reserves never rendered the least assistance to the besieged and routed party of Ngatihau%;7A few were seen to come; down the Huirangi, but .dla,»ot cross the Waiongana.. A few shells discharged"' by Lieut..MNaughten into a hush about half a-iiitle" the other side,of the river no doubt prevented' tlVenQt. making any advance. . For further particulars of tlie.Uatile we rfefer our readers to another column. 3l \

}¥»sdnesddgi 7.4-One of the wounded natives in frbspital;died thisTOoraingi Hisname is Hemi Taiporutu; son of the chief Te Wetini Taiporutu. He was dangerously wounded, having several bayonet wounds in'his-body. Two wounded now remain—Te Poari and-Te .One; the former severely, the latter a 'flesh wound in the leg. The latter has written a letter to the Waikatos at Huirangi—'-to Rewi, Porokoru, Te Puetahii and all the tribe," in which he has expressed his appreciation oftJie kindness shown to him and his fellow-prisoners by the Pakeha—so contrary to' their treatment of the 40th, who fell wounded into their hands at .Puketakauere. Ho made no. secret of bis letter, and the general purport of it is urging the rebels to return to their homes. He alleges that he came down to urge his party to return from Mahoetahi, when he was shot in the leg. He immediately sat down on the ground, and: to the first soldiers who came up he handed his gun, butt first, and begged for his life, which they spared, and carried him to camp. The Taranakis have expressed a desire for peace, Archdeacon; Govett was requested to visit'them "by the General. We hear that they are quarrelling amongst themselves, and would be willing to ciy off on equal terms. Some horsemen who have visited Mahoetahi to-day report that the rebels came down this morning and danced.the war dance. The Victoria left for Manukau last night, with despatches for the Governor. Capt, Norman during the day yesterday arranged with Col. Wyatt to land some men to work the guns in case they might be needed during the absence of the force at Mahoetahi. Weather fine. The Wonga Wonga left to-day lor Wanganui and Wellington, having completed her engagement with the Government.

Thursday, B.—The Tasmanian Maid, from Waitara this morning, reports that J. Hawken, contract butcher, has been missing since yesterday morning. It appears that J. Hawken visited Mahoetahi the day after the battle, and imprudently returned towards camp without company. Yesterday search was made, hia horse was found shot dead, and a letter on the ground which had evidently been taken from his pocket., No trace of Mr; Hawken could be discovered. .-. Information received from Mahoetahi to-day that eleven more dead bodies have been found in the fern', and that the natives acknowledge to having 71 missing of their tribe. The ascertained number of the native loss is 45 killed. The Airedale arrived from Manukau at 10 a.m. She brings many members of the General Assembly. All quiet in Auckland. The: Victoria-reached just as the Airedale was leaving Oriehunga'. At twelve o'clock, noon, the bodies of the three chiefs, and the three natives who died from their wounds^were buried in St. Mary's Churchyard, th^-fffietal -service (iii Maori) being read by Archdeacon Go vett. The bodies were placed in coffins, and placed in two • graves. The funerals of the soldiers ftooney and McGjvern, and the Rifle Volunteers Edgecombe arid Brown, took place at two p.m. They were buried with military honors, the bands of the 4Uth, 65j;h, and' Rifles being in attendance. The General and Staff, all the officers and men off duty in the garrison, and a great number of Militia and Volunteers, followed the bodies to their last resting place. The bodies of the Rifle Volunteers were carried by the 65th men, and those of the two soldiers by Rifle Volunteers. Rooney and Brown are buried in St. Mary's Churchyard, Edgecome in the Primitive Methodist cemetery, and McGivern, in the Roman Catholic burial ground. We are glad to report that the wounded are all progressing favorably. (Japt, Turner's wound is very severe, and all the attempts to extract the ball, which is firmly lodged in the jawbone, have proved fruitless. He left for Wellingtonin the Airedale this morning, with two months' leave of absence.

■ Friday 9.—Late this evening H.M.S. Niger and colonial steam sloop Victoria arrived from Manukau with despatches for General Pratt.

Saturday, 10.— From information received to-day through friendly natives there is no reason to doubt that John Eawken is killed. His horse was shot by a boy, and in falling, and before Hawken could extricate himself from the saddle Tamihana of Kaipakopako despatched him with a tomahawk. Information has just heen received that the following chiefs were also among the slain on Tuesday, and that several natives died after getting near to, and at Huirangi:—Tribe, Ngatiparitekawa—Te Paetae and Mokau—Ngatirnahuta—Timoti.

Saturday, 10.—Weather threatening. It was known eatly.this morning that his Excellency the Governor has sent the Niger and Victoria for 400 troops, and this number, made up of 250 of the 65th and 150 of the 40th will embark this forenoon. The withdrawal of troops, though quite called for as a prudential measure, must seriously interfere with the General's plans and he will now have to act strictly on the defensive untiTthe reinforcements arrive. The vessels in the roadstead put to sea at noon, as the wind was blowing in strongly and the surf getting up, the embarkation of the troops is therefore delayed.— An escort left Mahoetahi this morning to bring in the body of John Hawken, which was found just earthed over near Ngitaiparirua. It is much mutilated about the head by a tomahawk, and has four bullet wounds. The body was brought into town this evening in a cart. Hawkeh haslefta wife and two children, the youngest not much oyer a week old;: ..

"''Sunday, II- —There was no blow, and the steamers haVe, returned to the .anchorage. The Travellers' Bride from Wanganui and Comet from Sydney arrived to-day7 v' The Wonga Wonga hence on Wednesday arrived off the Wanganui bar on Thursday and landed the, mail and passengers. The news of the storming of Mahoetahi was received with great satisfaction by our Wanganui friends. All quiet there. Several meetings of the river natives had taken place, the object, not known, but it was believed for no good. J. .Hawken was buried today at four p.m., the Rifle Volunteers furnishing a firing party. His relations and connections following him to the grave.—News from Mahoetahi to-day that several stand of arms had been found in the swamp, and four bodies of natives found yesterday and two to-day in the fern, some of them scorched by the fire which was ii»hted to clear the land in the neighborhood of the position. It is believed several natives who got away wounded are still lying in the bush and fern. The usual muster of the garrison took place to-day in the trenches which were visited by Major-General Pratt, C.B.

Monday, 12.—The mail steamer Prince Alfred arrived to-day on her way to Sydney.—-During the morning the troops for Auckland embarked on board the Niger and Victoria. The following officers accompunied them':•—4oth l-'egt., Capts. Messenger and Sh7we. Lieuts., Hobbs; Dudgeon, and Ensign Morphy; 65th Regt., Lieut. Col. Young (in command), Lieuts. Urquhart, Toker, Afrixon, and Pennefather. The Rifle Volunteers' band played the respective companies to the boats. The garrison has been considerably weakened by the withdrawal of the troops, and the duty (which it is submitted, might be considerably lessend during the day) comes very heavy upon those in town. The Militia and Volunteers have to garrison two blockhouses and find guards (day) which duty did not fall upon them before, and with the. outlying picquets give the men in many instances but one night in bed.-i-Private Lally. who was wounded on Monday last in the-skirmish at Mangapukatea, near Puketakauere, died last night at Waitara, and also the wounded native prisoner left at Mahoetahi.—The

Niger, left for Manukau at 3 p.m. and the Victoria shortly aftsirwards. The Tasmanian Maid was employed during the embarkation of the troops in towing the boats off to the steamers. She reports that from appearances of natives on the north shore of Waitara, apparently lying in wait for the steamer, Major Nelson had placed a body of men in readiness to encounter them, should they make any attempt upon her. She returned this evening.

Tuesday, 13.—The Prince Alfred left at 9 this morning With the mails. She has taken the largest mail that has ever been sent away from this' place, there being upwards of 1200 newspapers, which is accounted for by the great demand, for our Saturday's issue, containing particulars of the attack upan.Mahoetahi and defeat of the Waikatos.—The Tasmanian Maid from Waitara this morning brought up the Northern mailman. He reports that he met three messengers from Rewi's party at Huirangi to Waikato with the intelligence "that Waikato had fallen at Mahoetahi, and all the chiefs been killed, including five principal chiefs, of five separate tribes." These riicn were men belonging to different hapus, or tribes of Waikato, and- one was on his way to Maketu, in the Bay of Plenty, the head-quarters of the Ngatiwha-. kaue tribe, one of whose chief men had also fallen at Mahoetahi. The nvailman informed us that a. party of Waikatos, who had not heard of tho defeat, were on their way to Waitara. A gentleman writing from Upper Waikato gives it as his opinion that any success on our part would cause a rising amongst the: tribes. This is'also our opinion, and there is'no doubt that, according to native custom, they will come and avenge the death of their 'relatives where they fell.—The friendly natives at Katere, near Waiwakaiho, have discovered that ambuscades have been laid between Bell Block and Waiongana for the purpose; of.cutting off any person riding to and fromj Mahoetahi.,- Four !persons rode into townfrom and) returned to* Waitara yesterday. 3: These gentlemen run a great risk^which should at least be discountenanced.—.'We are informed ;that threejof WijKingi's party were at Mahoetahi; one of them " little Paul." who escaped early in the action.

Wednesday, 14.—A Gazette was published this morning containing a proclamation from his Honor the Superintendent calling together the Provincial Council for Friday.—Private Lally, 65th regt., whose body was brought up from Waitara in the steamer, was buried to-day in the Roman Catholic cemetery at 3 p.m. with military honors. The 65th band played the funeral march.—We have been informed by friendly natives that letters havo been received by Mr. Parris from Rewi, the Waikato. chief, who wishes to know what will be done with the prisoners', and requests that they would send a list of the names of the Waikatos killed on the 6th instant.

Thursday, 15.—The following are translations of letters received by the wounded prisoners from their party at Huirangi: Huirangi, Nov. 13,1860. My Friend Wi One.—How do you do, and all of you in affliction (alluding to the fight at Mahoetahi.) Listen, Te Paetai, Mokau, Te Wetini, Wharangi, and Hakopa (chiefs) —the whole of you, thirty seven are completely taken away by the Pakeha.' Our sorrow is very great for all of you—our anguish will not soon be over. That is all. From Rewi, and all of us.

Huirangi, Nov. 13,1860. Friend Wi One and Paori, [wounded prisoners in hospital.] How do you do, all of you in affliction, Listen, those that have returned to us are Rainuha, Waitere, Te Roma, and Manihera. These are safe. Four of us [i.e., our kapu] are dead 7 That is all from Tahana. \ H\S.—With you is Hone who is not wounded.

H. M. colonial steam sloop Victoria, with her usual expedition, returned from Manukaa alter, dusk. We have Auckland papers to the 14th. All quiet there as yet, and the troops from hence in barracks. From private sources we learn that 1200 Waikatos wera ready either to come on to Taranaki, or give, trouble nearer home. Weather unsettled and wet. Four sailing vessels in the offing, waiting for the weather to moderate.

Friday, 16.—The Mountain Maid from Sydney, with hay for the Commissariat.