DISTRICT COURT. Wednesday, 5th September.

Taranaki Herald, Volume IX, Issue 423, 8 September 1860, Page 2

DISTRICT COURT. Wednesday, sth September.

J. Hawlien v. D. Bayly.

This cause (except the evidence of one witness) was adjourned, owing to the absence of the plaintiff at Waitara on service. J. Carrklc v. A. King. I. Nush v. O. Spurdle. 11. Allclnson v. W. Rioltards. Theic weie withdrawn, and concluded the cause

CONTINUATION OF JOURNAL,

Saturday, Sept. 1. — A native from Waiwakaiho reported this morning that a party of friendly natives from the Hua and Katere pas had been to Puketotara and found the pa unoccupied. 200 of the 65th, under Capt. Barton, Lieuts. Uiquhart, Whitbread, Toker, and Lewis, and Ensign Pagan ; 40 of the 40th, under Lieut. Hobbs ; and 50 of the Militia and Volunteers, under Capt. and Adjutant Stapp, Lieuts. Hirst and Jonas ; the whole commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Leslie, proceeded to destroy it. They found the pa empty, and burnt the palisading and whares, and levelled the trenches. No natives were seen. A number of horses weie brought in, and a quantity of potatoes and kumaras destroyed. Simultaneously with the burning of Puketotara, Capt. W. C. King's two-storied house, at Woodleigh, at the edge of the bush, was fired by the lebels, and totally destroyed; and some houses in a bush clearing in rear of Mr King's were seen in flumes. As it was apprehended that the natives might burn the house of Capt. H. King, R.N., at Brooklands, a party of 80 bluejackets and marines, in command of Lieut. Bent, R.M., and Lieut. Hume, R.N., went out in that direction, but without meeting the enemy. The rebels aie supposed to have left Puketotara on Thursday, but mubt have intended to return, as there was a large quantity of potatoes, &c, in the pa and its pits outside. A force of 150 men, under Capt. Shaw, 40th Regiment, and Lieut. Talbot, 65th Regt., and 25 Militia, under Capt. Richmond, escoited supplies to the camp at I Waireka. The Fawn for Wellington, and the Aiiedale for Nelson, remain at the anchorage wind-bound, in consequence of the south-easter. The Jane Peata, from Wanganui, arrived to-day. The following proclamation was issued to-day :—: — PROCLAMATION. Much irregularity, delay, and inconvenience to the public service being caused by families, ordered to embark on boatd the bteamers piovided for their conveyance, disobeying the onleis they receive, the Major-General directs it to be notified that he will be compelled to employ the power with which he is invested to enforce the emtmikation of such peisons ; but he trusts that the good sense of the inhabitants will lender unnecessary his having recourse to a measure so lepugnant to his feelings. By Command, R. CAREY, Lieut.-Colonel, Deputy Adjutant-General. llcad-Quartris, New Plymouth, 3id Sept., 1860. Sunday.— ll.U.S.S. Fawn left to-day for Wellington. She is to return immediately with some guns from the Peloius. The Airedale sailed to-day for Nelson with families. The White Swan (s.s.) is expected to morrow to carry another living freight, and the Airedale returns on Thursday for the same puipose, so that, by the end of the week, the military authorities will have cleared Taranaki of the settlers' wives and children. Two or three families, we aie told, who refused to proceed by the Airedale to-day, were informed by the Deputy Adjutant-General, that by the next opportunity they would be compelled "to leave. Major-General Pratt inspected the forces to-day in the tienches. The garrison will muster in the trenches for inspection by the Major-General every Thursday and Sunday at half-pabt three, p.m. 50 men, under Major Nelson and Capt. Seymour, R.N., reached the Bell Blockhouse from Waitara to-day, having left 150 men at Mahoetahi, after burning the Tima, Te Puke, and Kaipakopako pas. The Tima pa had a red flag flying, and apparently had been recently occupied/by the rebels. The flag was pulled down'and taken away by the 40th. The Tasmanian Maid arrived from Waitara to-day. No news. Monday. — Weatlicv fine. 60 m«u of the 65th, under Lieut. Talbot, formed a guard to carts sent out to Capt. H. King's to-day, to bring in produce and household effects. 50 of the 12th, under Lieutenant Lowry and Ensign La Touche, came in todny from Bell Block as an escort, and returned in the evening. At dusk this evening the Militia and Volunteers' bugles sounded the call, and 150 men with rifles weie ordeied to be in readiness to fall in at 11 p.m. It is believed that an attack is to be made against the Southern rebels on Burton's Hill, near Ratapihipihi. The Kiwi for Auckland, and Sea Gull for Wanganui, sailed to-day. Tuesday. — At 11 o'clock last night the Militia and Volunteeis assembled opposite the Militia Office, received 60 rounds of ball ammunition per man, and at midnight started, as was anticipated, for Burton's Hill, in conjunction with a large force -of military and blue jackets, in command of Major General Pratt, C. B. The attack-

ing force were divided into three divisions, and proceeded by different routes, to meet at one point, viz., Burton's Hill, where the rebels have been located for several days. No. 1 division of 18 men of the Itoyal Artillery, with 1 24-poumler howitzer, 2 3pounder field pieces, and 3 5g inch mortars, 32 of the Royal Engineers, 105 of the 40th regt. (from the Waireka camp), 210' of the 65th regt., and 13 of the naval brigade, with 2 tubes and 30 rounds of 24 pounder rockets, in command of Lieut.-Colonel Sillery, Capts. Turner and Barton, Lieuts. Bailie, Urquhait, Whitbread, White, and Talbot, 65th regt. ; Capt. Hare, Lieuts. Clerk, and Burton, 40tli regt. ; Gunner Buckle in charge of rocket tubes, proceeded by Moturoa and Scaly Road ; No 2 division, of 88 men of the 40th regt., 80 of the naval brigade, and 73 of the 65th regt., in command of Lieut. Colonel Leslie, Capt. Shaw, Lieuts. Hobbs, Gibson, and Adjutant Johnson, 40th regt. ; Lieuts, Wrixon, and Ensign Pagan, 65th legt. ; Commodore Loring, Lieuts. Hume, Medley, Paiish, Connolly, Midshipmen Heneage, Gambier, Gassiot, and Home, naval brigade, proceeded across Elliot's and Looney's farms. No. 3 division, of 150 men of the Militia and Volunteers, in command of Major Herbert, Captains C. Brown, W. C. King, Captain and Adjutant Stapp, Capt. Des Vceux, (in charge of mounted escort), Lieuts. McKellar, Morrison, and Hirst, proceeded by the Frankley Road to Patterson's saw mills, where they halted till morning, and continued their march through a dense forest till they reached A. Brookin^'s clearing abnut three miles in rear of Burton's, when they came upon Burton's road and continued the road through Messenger's clearing towards Burton's Hill anxiously expecting the signal gun of attack in their front ; they arrived at the hill at about 10 a.m. and found the place evacuated, though quite recently occupied by the enemy as logs were burning and some native dogs running about. When it was found that the other divisions had returned to town, No. 3 division continued their march through Ratapihipihi, (the settlement of the notorious Manahi), which they burnt, bivouacked fora short time at Honeyfield's, and returned to town by lo p.m. The medical officers accompanying the different divisions were Dr White, No. 1 ; Dr Murray, No. 2 ; and Dr Niven, No. 3. The Genera] was attended by thr following staff, uz., Colonel Mould, R.E., Lieut.-Colonel C.ncy.D.A.G., Capt. Paslcy, 11. E., Capt. Mould, R.E., Lieut. Foster, A.D.C., Capt. Stjovor, R.A. Tl.e Native Secretary and Mr Parris, with several friendly natives, in charge of Lieut. Good, accompanied No. 1 division! The expedition was very trying to all the force, the roads being in places knee deep in mud, and the night bitterly cold. The steamer White Swan fiom Wellington, and schooner Parininihi fiom Mokau, airived to-day. Mrs. W. Bayly, jun., died to-day of low fever. Wednesday. — The Tasmanian Maid from Waitara at the anchorage. The Korihi and Tikorangi pas have been destroyed by Ma- ! jor Nelson. Tikorangi is a strong position on the north bank of Waitara and is only accessible by one road. The pa was found without inhabitants, but half-cooked food was on the fires, and other evidences that j the lebels had made a precipitate retreat. The following Camp Order was issued by Major Nelson :—: — Camp order. 3rd September, 1860. Major Nelson desires to thank the officers, noncommissioned officers, and men, for their conduct in the operations of to-day. The correct and regular manner of the crossing of the rapid Waitara ; the disciplined order of the line of march ; the successful destruction of the pas Korih ; and Tikorangi, the latter one of the rebels' greatest strongholds ; reflect the highest creJit upon all concerned. Thursday. — 40 Militia and Volunteers, in command of Captain Watt and Lieut. Hirst, marched to Bell Block this morning to relieve the 12th stationed there, but after arriving, the order was countermanded and the force returned to town. The steamers Wonga Wonga from Wellington, and Airedale from Nelson, anchored this morning. The schooner Jupiter from Whaingaroa, and Traveller's Bride from Manukau, also arrived to-day. The latter reports the wreck of the brig Emma, Capt. Holford, at Manukau Heads, happily without loss of life. Captain Holford has for many years carried on our chief trade with Sydney, and was on his way hither with a cargo of timber from Mnnukau when the unfortunate accident occurred. Large fires have been seen to-day fiom Bell Block inland of Puketakauere, and it is said that Ngataiparirua, Kairoa, and Huirangi, have been burnt by the troop*. W. King and his party have now only their stronghold

Mataitawa in the forest. The forces mustered in the trenches again to-day, and were inspected by Major-General Gold. Major Nelson came into town, by land, today, and returned to Waitara in the evening with a mounted escort. The Southern natives arc leported to have retreated homewards. The Waikntos have returned elated with their successes, and have reported on their way that they drove the pakehas bofoie them, and burnt and plundered as they liked. They were laden with plunder, and intend, so they state, to return when their ciops aie in the giound. The White Swan sailed this evening for Nelson with families. We were truly concerned to see force employed by the mililavy authorities on the occasion. A leu families, under orders to embark in the AVhite Swan, refused to leave. The father of one of these (Mr S. Andiews) was sent to the guard-room, and an officer of Militia (Capt. W. C. King) placed under arrest for refusing to accompany a file of soldiers to coerce the wife. The end was that she yielded. The proceeding occasioned great agitation, and has I,6ft a painful impression. Friday. — The abandonment of the Waireka camp having been decided on, carts, with an escort of military, left early this morning to biing in the tents and bagg.ige of the troops stationed at Waireka. W. Leech, Esq., Collector of Customs, died suddenly this morning, aft»r having been a sufferer for many years from a pulmonary complaint. The flag was hoisled half-mast high at the port as a mark of respect to the deceased gentleman. The Tasmanian Maid arrived from Waitara last night, and shortly after leaving this morning on her return, an accident happened to her boi'er, and she dropped anchor off the Henui cliffs.

3 p.m. — The troops from Waiieka have arrived in town, and are camped in ftueenstreet, near the Union Mills. The Tasraanian Maid has got up steam again? and left for Waitara.

The march to Burton's Hill will convince the rebels that our troops can follow them into their strongholds in the forest. Title it is that again we have been disappointed in our hope of meeting with the enemy; still, the expedition uhich left town on Monday night has not been without its sen ice. it has tended to give confidence to the men, and, at the same time, to the observant must have conveyed some idea of the tactics required should they be called for adion against* the lebels in the forest. The march was both difficult and dreary, not so much from the distance as from the excessive badness of the roads. Setting aside apparent icsults, a step has been taken in the right direction — one that will prove to our wily enemy that from whatever cause we might have been prevented from following them up befote, now the time of 'retribution has anived, and the murderers and robbers must be punished according to those laws of civilization which they pretended to have adopted. The plan of operations, as detailed below, was perfect. Every way by which _jji^re was a chance of the enemy retreating by good generalship had been most effectually cut off. It is true that many of the natives might have escaped from the too well known deadly effects of the Enfield rifle, but this must have been through the bush paths too narrow to allow of wheeled vehicles accompanying them in their retreat ; consequently, all the plunder must have again passed into the hands of the English. A question for future enquity remains to be answered — Was it a foreknowledge of our movements that induced the natives to forsake their naturally strong position ? Have we enemies in the camp or not ? It is wrong to judge too harshly, and great care must be required both to think and act in an unprejudiced manner ; but, when a case that may be so serious in its effects comes before us, we feel ourselves bound to suggest caution at least. The care taken that all our movements should be governed by silence and order were such on the part of our superiors that no news could have diverged so suddenly from town. Before describing the order and incidents of the march, we will lay before our readers a descriptive plan of the country over which the various divisions passed on leaving the town of New Plymouth. By inspecting the map, a line of beach may be seen extending from the town to the Sugar Loaves, a little beyond which, about three miles in a right line from the beach, is Burton's Hill, the approach to which was made by three roads, which we will describe as according with their distance from town, as numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. No. 1 is the Frankley road, taking

its course almost in a southerly direction from the town, passing Patterson's sawmills, and joining at an acute angle No. 3, at the Mangotuku stream, which is known as Barrett's, or the Whalers' Gate Road, which runs up from the beach about two miles from town, a little to the eastward of south, so that the two roads will be found to form an imperfectly-shaped A. Continuing along the Omata road from town, which runs parallel to the beach for about one mile and a-half, we leach another branch, on which Petei Elliot's faun stands, this leads nearly in the same diiection as the other line, it being situated between them. Continuing past the road parallel to the beach, and nearly tlnee-quarters of a mile beyond the stockade, we reach what was foimerly the village of Omata, from which the Scaly ro'id stiikes off ;is the olheis do towards our boa itiful mountain, and is connected by a cioss load with No. 3, the Waiieka camp being about one mile beyond on the main road that leads to Witiea. The whole of this country is a denbe bush, with the exception of those clearings which have been fitted for agricultural pursuits by the hard-working, but now ruined settler.

So quietly was everything arranged, that nothing was known for certainty of an intended movement until Lite in the afternoon of Monday, when, after being supplied with extra ammunition, each division was directed to fall in at the hour of eleven at night. No. 1 division, with the artiUery and rockets on the beach facing the boat house, No. 2 opposite the Brigade Office, No. 3 in a line at the Militia Office. Carts were provided to carry forty rounds of extra ammunition for each man, at the same time each division was separately provided with ambulance accommodation in case of need, and every man ditected to take cooked food with him. The batteiy of the artillery foice which was attached to No. 1 division compiised 1 24-pounder howitzer, drawn by bullocks ; 2 3-pounder guns, two horses to eacli ; 3 Ssj inch mortars ; and 2 rocket tubes with 30 twenty-four pound rockets. No. 1 division at th.3 appointed hour marched up the beach as far as the Moturoa pi, fiom whence they struck olfby the cross road that leads to that which p isses the Omata stockade, fiom whence Messrs. F. Mace, Edward and Charles Messenger joinc I them as volunteer guides. Continuing on to Sealy's or No. 4 load they weie joined by 100 men from the Wuireku camp, when they immediately matched up the road towards Gudgeon's farm, from whence they struck across to the Barrett or number 3 road, upon which Button s hill, the stronghold of the natives, was situated, down which, after having communicated with No. 2 division, they returned to town. No. 2 division commenced their jouvney by marching up the Omata road before described, until they reached the branch No. 2, or Elliot's road, at which they ai lived between 12 and 1 o'clock. After proceeding some distance along the road they diverged, crossing some fields from Ciwling's and halted, when Kingdoiy / and Looney, the volunteer guides, went up the road to see that all was clear. Having perceived recent native tracks, they returned to the main body, which remained stationary until daybreak when the ammunition and carts being moved to the extreme rear, at eight a.m. they marched into the bush as nearly as possible in a soutl.eily ditection towards Wheeler's clearing, when a skirmishing patty was sent out. Finding no signs of the enemy they returned to the open lands, from whence the Colonel in command sent out three horsemen to communicate with No. 1 division, which being effected orders were given to return to town, which was reached at 10-| a.m. The 3rd division, under their own commanding officer, left town nearly at the same time with the others, taking No. 1 or the Frankley road, along which they con - tinued until Patterson's saw mills were reached, and a halt was commanded until morning, when an endeavour was made to open communication with one of the other divisions, in whicli, from the distance and thickness of the bush, success was not met with ; consequently orders were given to march, the first part of which was by a road through as dense a bush in parts as could very well be imagined. In the route some few houses at intervals were observed yet standing until Newland's property was reached from whence utter devastation was noticeable until after crossing the Mangotuku stream and continuing, with a slight difference in the angle of our march, toI wards our return home that Messenger's

house was found to be standing, about a half a mile from which, on the summit of the hill, the Omata church stands, which, in accordance with native superstition, as a matter of course, was unmolested ; a small lean-to alone having been erected for shelter. In continuing the 'route little w<ts observable until leaching Burton's hill, where some slight attempt had been made at fortification in the bhape of a few rifle pits and light palisading. From this, passing through bush and muddy roads to R.itapihipihi, which was not quite so rapidly passed — some of the foremost of the division having lushed forward to hum the houses of tlie murdering traitor Mannlii, — a halt was made at Honeyfield's, fiom which, by the Om.Ua road, weary .uid tiled, town was le.iched at about half past 1 p.m. Themaichof this division, composed solely o( militia and volunteers, was both the heaviest and the longest, reaching as it did, in a light line from the beach, five miles and a half, being in the extieme lear of all the divisions. Allowing for the meandeiing of the road, the distance matched could not be far short of twenty miles. — Communicated.