The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, JANUARY 26, 1861.

Taranaki Herald, Volume IX, Issue 443, 26 January 1861, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, JANUARY 26, 1861.

The heaviest blow of the war has been struck. During the week a storming party of 140 of the gallantest men that Ngatihaua, Ngatimaniapoto, Waikato, or Ngatiawa could produce, headed by Rewi, Epiha, Hapurona, and others, and supported by a reserved force of 300 more a few hundred yards in their rear, has had the courage to attack a well entrenched redoubt full of 360 men of the 40th regt. At the grey of dawn on Wednesday the 23rd it was discovered by the sentry that this party had crept into the ditch of No. 3 redoubt, and was preparing to assault. The fire of the reserve kept our men from the bank, and the happy expedient was adopted of throwing live shells among the heap of living heings in the trench. After their explosion, and hardly after it, our gallant fellows rushed into the ditch upon their assailants, and, after a deadly struggle of twenty minutes, the enemy was routed, leaving 41 dead bodies and 5 wounded prisoners, four of whom have since died. In the meantime, immediately on hearing the noise, Colonel Wyatt sent 250 men of the 65th and 12th from the garrison of the Kairau redoubt in all haste to the scene, who, passing part on one side and part on the other of the combatants, fell in with the reserve, whom they attacked with the bayonet, and drove them before them into the bush. Our gallant fellows lost 5 killed and 11 wounded, and, of these 11, only a part, it is to be feared, will recover of their wounds. The moral effect of this affair will be immensely valuable. The extreme caution of the responsible commanders has led to are physically timid. They could hardly deny our superiority in the arts and mechanism of war. Now they have felt the pluck and vigor of the hearts and arms of our soldiers ; and those who have not hitherto entangled themselves in this miserable struggle will not, with a few exceptions, be likely to drop in now. The gallant 40th have abundantly retrieved Puketakauere, and recovered in the eyes of the Maori any prestige they may then have lost. Colonels Wyatt and Leslie, the officers and men of the 12th, 40th, and 65th, by their wise, prompt, and bold conduct on Wednesday last, have laid a lasting debt on New Zealand — they have changed the face of the war. The timely arrival of the first instalment of the 57th Regiment, and the intelligence brought by the November mail of the departure of a battery of Armstrong guns and 250 men, with rumours of further aid, are further grounds for thankfulness. The human race are readier at demanding what they thirk their rights, than at paying the debts of gratitude ; but it is to be hoped the colonists of New Zealand will not fail in the fullest acknowledgment of the liberal support we have received from the mother country. It will be said it was the duty of the British Government to help us, and that they had undertaken to govern these Islands. Granted — but we must remember that in the particular case much has been done to furnish an excuse, if such had been desired, for leaving New Zealand in the lurch. From within our own bosom the enemy has come out. Disunion and conspiracy among our very legislators ; denunciations from our Bishops and Archdeacons, and the elaborate defence of armed resistance to the Governor from a once revered Judge of the Supreme Court — these have raised dust that might have given a color of justice to any neglect. But the British government and press have not sought such a color. They have cut through the cobwebs woven by party violence and semi-insane santimentalism, and declared that the fault of the Government here, if proved, is but light — that they have offered payment to the wrong man, perhaps, but that they have not robbed ; that the right of any race to retain a land in a state of barrenness cannot be admitted in the face of the necessities of a growing

population ; and that the dream of Maori nationality, which this monopoly is intended to maintain, must now, once for all, be put an end to. On the opposite side of the globe it has not seemed to our countrymen a cruelty that British law should even be imposed on the Maori. They have not called it cannibalism to follow peace and order even " through the brazen gates of war," and although peace and order may be attended by the extension of an English colony. Once for all, they have declared that New Zealand is to be a part of the British Empire, not governed by Potatau, nor by Salisbury Square, but by British colonists, under the supreme authority of the Crown. In this honorable liberality, and trenchant common sense, at home, and in the courage and success of the gallant men at Waitara, this week brings us cause for deep gratitude to God and to our countrymen, which Taranaki, as a settlement, and New Zealand as a Colony, we hope, will not fail to recognise. If, as is often hinted, sympathy with the Maori race is not wanting in high military authorities, now is the hour to show it. Only by the most energetic use of the present and coming advantages can the privilege of being merciful and generous be earned. No one, not blinded by party animosity, or a one-sided philanthropy, can really believe that a colony of Englishmen, founded in the 19th century, from among the quiet and respectable classes of Great Britain, will abuse the powers of Government against a race so full of good qualities as the Maori is. To give them over to government is to save them. To leave the present contest half decided is to hasten their destruction, and is, moreover, evidently contrary to the practically expressed intentions of the Imperial Government, that f he supremacy question shall be settled, once, quickly, and for ever.

Tuesday's expedition to Waireka must undoubtedly be called abortive. Like many a very wise scheme, it failed entirely of the purpose for which it was planned. But the general intention was good, and the plan at least better than that of the first Waireka expedition, which, for several months, was the only success of the war. The position of affairs in and about the town was such as to justify something of a sharp remedy at the Mancls or any one who had it to apply, and we have cause to thank Capt. Cracroft for his effort. The same perfect inaction and appearance of fear which preceded and attended the first fortnight of General Pratt's presence among us was emboldening the southern natives to creep up to the very .town, and to threaten an attack. The sight of eight hundred of his countrymen cooped up within a semicircle of a mile radius, while the Maori, no stronger in numbers, danced his war-dance around them, and fired into our narrow bounds, was too much for the gallant commander of the Niger. Long may such a sight be intolerable to our brave seamen. The expedition as undertaken was a strong remedy, but one which, if the Niger's crew had landed, the result would have justified. As it was, the advance of our troops and volunteers, in all probability, saved the lives of the next escort to Omata, by unkennelling the ambush at the Whaler's Gate. It also reminded our neighbours, the Ngatiruanui, that the very men who discomfited'them at Waireka in March last, were still alive and not more nervous about encountering them, than at that time.

This week, a man named Te Rama, who has been for some months with Wi Kingi's party at Mataitawa, came in to offer his adhesion to the government. It has not transpired yet what is to be done with respect to him, and it Is to be hoped that no promises or undertakings will be made to him until the Governor shall have been consulted in the matter. The position of those who come in and lay down arms is of grave political importance, more especially at this juncture, and one which should not be decided by any subordinate officer of the native department — nor indeed by the commander himself. We have never been desirous that the summary processes which are often used against rebellion, should be employed in the case of the Maori. But the utmost that can be demanded for a native who comes over from the insurgents, is the grace allowed to the conquered. It is not improbable that, before long, all the Ngatiawa men, except an obstinate knot, may be willing to exchange the supremacy of Waikato, and the failing fortunes of Wi Kingi for the liberal jnstice of the Government. The Governor is now in the ascendant, but a reverse might induce

such gentlemen to change again. It may greatly embarrass the Government, and will undoubtedly be a cause of heart-burn-ing to our steady friends, if such timeservers are to expect as good terms as these friends. The Maori is only technically a rebel, but his fancy for independence is too costly and destructive to pass unpaid for and unpunished. He has made a great and foolish mistake, but innocent persons ought not to suffer for his error whilst he can indemnify them.