The Taranaki Herald.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XII, Issue 603, 20 February 1864, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald.

NEW PLYMOUTH, FEBRUARY 20, 1861. The Storm Bird, whose arrival had been looked for with great interest, came in on Tuesday evening, but without bringing the important news that was expected. Such news however of the war as is given in the Auckland papers up to the 13th instant, will be found in another column. But as the vessel called in at Raglan on its way down, we have scraps of news from the front some days later. A skirmish is reported as having taken place near a bathing place of the soldiers. Our loss is stated to have been six killed and four wounded and that of the enemy not less than eleven killed, a3 this number of bodies was buried by the soldiers, besides two prisoners taken, but a native account, reported it is said by the Rev. Mr. Schnackenburg from Ivawhia, states their loss at thirty-eight, the son (?) of Kikikoi being of the number. The General is said to have been greatly retarded in his operations by the imperfect action of the Commissariat. The troops may be said to have been living for some time past from ' hand to mouth,' no" supply of food having been kept on hand, so that an accident like the loss of the Avon, might at any time seriously affect the campaign. The General has detached a force to endeavour to cut off the supplies of the enemy, said to be drawn principally from Eangiaowhia. We hear that the troops — officers and men — are at present living on salt meat and biscuit. The enemy's position at Paterangi (of which we have seen an excellent sketch by Captain Greaves, D.A.Q.M.Gi) is immensely strong, and if garrisoned by anything like the number stated (3,000 or 4,000), an attack upon it will involve a fearful loss of life on our side, unless it- is assailable from behind. With regard to the proposed visit of some member of the Ministry to Taranaki, we hear on good authority, that it is still uncertain when it will take place. The Government we believe is fully sensible of the apparent neglect with which they have treated Taranaki affairs lately, but say that it has been absolutely impossible to avoid it from the enormous press of business occasioned by the war. When Mr. Russell is out of town, Mr. Fox is said to have to attend to five departments — those of Colonial Secretary, Colonial Treasurer, Commissioner of Customs (Mr. Wood being away), Native Minister, and Minister for War. It would surely pay the Colony better to- have an extra Minister during Mr. Wood's absence., than to have the work neglected or . done hurriedly as must often be the case. Cases of pleuro-pneumonia are saul to liave occurred among the cattle at Auckland, but we cannot vouch for the truth of the report. OCCUPATION OF SENTRY HILL. On Monday last, at 5 a.m., a force of 250 men — 100 of the 57th under Capt. Shortt, a few of the Royal Artillery under Lieut. Larcom, the two companies of Bushrangers and some of No. 1 Militia, under Captains Atkinson and Webster, the whole commanded by Major Butler, 57th Regt. — left town to take possession of Sentry Hill. Col. Warre, C.8., accompanied the force to direct the first day's operations. A halt was made at Mahoetahi. and the camp pitched there, and then the force advanced upon Sentry Hill, which lies about a mile and a quarter inland of the latter place on the right bank of the Mangoraka, but the natives offered no opposition, not one of them showing himself nearer than Mataitawa, nor was a single gun fired. Working and covering parties were told off, and the work begun under the direction of Leutenant Ferguson, R.E. The hill (or more properly hillock) is a little knob about fifty feet high, but the land it stands on is rather elevated so that a fine view is obtained from the top. Mataitawa and, Te Kahikatea, looking like one village though in reality divided by a deep gully, (distant perhaps 3| miles) are distinctly visible over the intervening bush, which however hides Manutahi ; the latter place is about half way to Mataitawa and in the same straight line. The work was found to be much more tedious than was expected, from the fact of there being a great deal of stone just under the surface ; the soil was also so light that it was feared the embankments would not stand, and a good deal of timber was got out for palisading with much arduous labor — (the regulation axes supplied by the R.E. department being of the ancient stone hatchet pattern) — but the plentiful use of fern was found to overcome the difficulty, and the banks seem likely to stand well. When finished they will be 14 or 15 feet high from the bottom of the ditch and nearly perpendicular. The redoubt itself is a simple square — flanking corners being unnecessary from the height of its sides and its commanding position, and is meant to hold 75 men. A smaller redoubt is to be made on another little hill 200 yards from the first and rather nearer the sea, but we would suggest whether it would not be better to have the second one on the bush covered hill near the ford of the Waiongana, which being higher than either of the others, commands the other side of the river and the approach to Manutahi, and being the site of an old pa (by name Papango) has the additional advantage of a good deal of the work being already done. On Tuesday 150 of the Melbourne men were sent out, and as most of them did not need to be taught the use" of the pick and shovel, and some of them were first-rate hands, they were of material assistance, and by Wednesday evening the embankments were sufficiently advanced to be worth lookiug after,

and accordingly Major Butler placed a picket there of 30 "men under Capt. Shortt, but the natives did not appear. The next night Capt. Webster took the picket with the same result.

On Thursday a useful discovery was made, viz., a path leading to the back of Manutahi, ami probably to Mataitawa. Major Butler had instructed Capt. Atkinson (whose r,ta ■ pany found the covering party that day) t explore about a little ; and accordingly' with 20 men he crossed the Waiongana at the ford and went half-a-mile up the road and got . sight of Manutahi, which appeared about a mile off, and was evidently fortified. No fresh tracks being seen the party recrossed the river, and suspecting there must be a track leading to the right of Manutahi, sought about and at last hit upon an old path pretty well worn at the bottom, but fern and tutu (the former 6 and 7 the latter 8 and 10 feet high) had completely closed over it, making it hard to find and travelling difficult. After going through perhaps a mile and a. half of this the party came to an old clearing.,(Te Waimauu) on the edge of the bush, and crossing this the path led through the bush in the direction of Manutahi. This road, which seems to be well known among the Puketapu and Wuitara natives, is said to lead to Ma-taitawa,-one branch going to Manutahi on the left, and another on the right to Rorongia (the fern patch near Bell Block where Karauria, the owner of the suu'-wester, was shot) and will prove a great convenience whenever the time comes for disturbing the enemy at either of the first nrmed places. A little plunder was got in an old whare near this clearing, viz., two paddles, a pair of bullock bows, and an instrument which the finder asserts to be the celebrated Heru-a-Maui (Maui's comb) but which looks to us like a Maori imitation of a garden rake, made of wood, the teeth being three-inch) nails. As Capt. Atkinson did not think it would be prudent to get engaged with the enemy with so 1 small a force, more especially as no one in camp knew the road he had come, the party returned after leaving their card upon a tree " — (" Na nga waero pakeha") — and pulling up some taros growing in the clearing. In the afternoon this company (No. 2) returned to town. No. 1 unfortunately could not be spared. We ought to mention here the cheerfulness with which both companies did their new duties, having beeu warned to stay out only one night, and being kept, no doubt unavoidably, one for four cjays and the other for a week, the same applies -to the militia ; but under Major Butler military service is as light as it could be. . -• Yesterday morning considerable interest- ■ was excited in camp by the sight of abjut 200 natives (probably Ngatiruanuis) dancing' and apparently haranguing at Mataitawa,. but they contented themselves with this and did not come any nearer. The report which stated they were ''coming : 'frftflß H'thfc "" south said it was' doubtful whether they would go on t,o Wiiikato or remain here, but probably if a little inducement -were offered them they would stay-r-very likely the sight of the new redoubt will be enough.- It would be a pity that the General' should have the. extra trouble which even Ngatiruanuis might cause. , . •; To-day, we believe, Sentry Hill will be permanently occupied, and it is a curious coincidence, ( as this very day four years ago, William King committed the first, open act of hostility by turning off the surveyors from Teira's block. ' ♦ •

Town Board. — At the Meeting on Tlmrs- ' day last, of the Town Board several minor matters were discussed, but that to which we would direct particular notice is the proposed raising of the bridge over the Huatoki in Devon-street, and also of the street itself in the immediate neighbourhood. The reduction of the hill in Brougham-street, leading towards Marsland Hill, was another suhjuct partially considered, tho whole resulting in instructions to the Surveyor to take the levels and lay the sections of Devon and Broughamstreets before the Board at another meeting. No doubt a subject of such interest and importance will not be lost sight of by the ratepayers, and as the action taken by the Board was for the purpose of ventilating the subject, it may he worth while for the public to express themselves as to whether the bridge shu 1 be made the full width of the street, whether it shall be raised one foot or four feet, or whether it shall be raised at all.

« VOLUNTEEHS FROM MELBOURNE. By the arrival of the Gresham on Saturday last and the Brilliant on Wednesday, both from Melbourne, the province has,received a large addition to its numbers, in thß shape of sGtf volunteers for the military settlements. . They are a fine body of men, strong and healthy, and will be well fitted for the duty they have undertaken when they have undergone the necessary training. We have no wish to remark upon the doings of some of the men during the past week, as it has been their first week here and money has been plentiful, hut we would call upon the steady and well-behaved ones, who are certainly the majority, to help the authorities, if it should be necessary, in enforcing order and sobriety. The 150 men who have been out to Sentry Hill, conducted themselves quietly and creditably under circumstances of some difficulty, and did their work to the satisfaction of Major Butler and the officer of Engineers. No doubt the others will do the same when the opportunity occurs. If they are to stay here, ami not be moved to .Auckland as report states, we hope to see them settle as quietly into their places as the Otago men have done, ami become ultimately in fact, as well as in." name Taranaki settlers. We do not know that we could wish them a pleasanter lot, when the ■ native difficulty which they have come to help us settle is finally disposed of.