THE TARANAKI TRAGEDY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XII, Issue 611, 16 April 1864, Page 3

THE TARANAKI TRAGEDY.

We need hardly say that the news from Taranaki which we published yesterday morning in a second edition, and which we re-publish to-rlav, giving an account of the defeat of a party of our tioops there by the rebels, and the horrible treatment wh ; ch the few unfortunate men who became their victims met with, induced feelings of the most painful description in Auckland. Taranaki seems, indeed, to be the hotbed of savagery in its most degrading and cruel forms ; and whatever sympathy we may have for a race which is fighting hopelessly but insanely for its freedom from the innovating but inevitable force of civilization, we can only regard such atrocity with the most intense feeling of horror. This is the great drawback to successful prosecution of the war in New Zealand. Following the civilized practices of warfare we are forbearing and even generous to the crippled foe ; when pressed we off r him terms of capitulation-; when wounded we give him all the atttentiau tkat a British soldier similarly placed would receiv^f and when a prisoner we tred him on the best Afthe land, and leave him nothing to desire but hi* freedom. This we feel to some extent bound to do ) for our own self respect as a nation is superior to the gratification of revenge upon an untutored savage. We need hardly point nut the striking contrast which the conduct of the rel els affords in this instance, as in others which we could call to recollection. We would not of course, for one moment question their right to lay ambuscades and to take ever^ fair advantage hv other stratagems to d'seomfit their opponents. If we look upon them as belligerents, for the sake ofatgumet.t, aud not as rebels, this must be expected of them ; but it is tn their barbarous treatment of the dying and the dead to which we allude, and of whvh we have a fearful example now. The narrative of this tragical event does not make us acquainted with the last moments of these unfortunate men i but it is not improbable that some of them have been compelled to submit to the inhuman cruelty of decapitation before life was extinct, or perhaps when only sl : ghily wounded but in that case their sufferings muht have been too horrible to contemplate. The sudden appenruiii-e of the rehels, who apparently did not greatly outnumber our own force, caused our men to be completely panic-stricken, so that even the attempt of the gallant Captain Lloyd to rally them became ineffectual. The rebels evidently saw this, and advanced upon our force, and the result was fatal to us. If it had stopped there, however, we might have said lhat the rebels deserved what their superior prowess gained for them j hut the after part stamped them as fiends. This is the first instant c, we believe, since our intercourse with the natives of their having resorted to the practice of decapitating their victims. It would appear, indeed, as if the daik shadows of their benighted and barbarous days had once more covered them. Although to a ' Pakeha Maori" such customs mu>t be fami iar so muph so that he cast an air of jocularity about them in his" Old Ne«v Zealand," yet the repetition of them in modern times, when so much has been «aid aud done to Christianise the natives, mu^t naturally excite fnr different feelings. Kuitake has been taken, but we question very much whether the gain in that case has compensated for this unfortunate loss and degradation to our troops; and we cannot help remarking here that since the General left Taranaki there has been a tendency always to send out small detached bodies of men to perform services of an extremely dangerous character, and without ha\ing proper supports in case of attack. The present is a lamentable instance of it, and it is one in which it appears above all others support was watited. We do not wish to say a word against the soldier-like qualities of the gallant officer in command of the troops at Taranaki, but this has been a feature of the operations of the troops there, whether authorised or not, which has not escaped our notice. We trust that the experience wjiioh has now been bought so seveiely may prevent a repetition of such a defeat for the future. The loss of life under such circumstances, including that of a brave officer who was compelled to become a martyr to his profession, knowing as he must have done that there was hardly any chance of rallying his men, is melancholy enough ; but the injurious effect that is likely to have upon the minds of the too credulous natives, and which it may take a dozen victories to wipe out, should not be underrated. — Daily Southern Cross, April 12. The fatal Surprise at Ahuahu.— As was | to be expected, a great sensation was felt in town yesteiday forenoon, when the intelligence' arrived that some of our troops had fallen into an ambush laid by the natives near New Plymouth. Full details of the collision will be found elsewhere, from which it will be seen that the enemy in ambush had most artfully surrounded our men, and then made a furious, attack upon them, taking them complete. ly unawares. Our troops could not act with any conceit, aud gave way, although the gallant Captain Lloyd made an attempt to rally some of his men immediately before he fell dead under the fire of the enemy. In these circumstances, the force bmi>g cut in two and scattered, there was nothing lor it but to attempt to escape from their fierce foes snuve gui petit. But a singular and painful feature which has characterised this encounter as distinct from others, is that five of tho>e killed were found to be decapitated. This revolting mutilation of the bodies has naturally caused feelings of horror, ai.J. some are apt to ascribe it to a special ground of revenge which those barbarians had entertained. At all events such a practice appears to be unknown to the enemies who have recently so heroically encountered our troops at Or<ikau. Whatever has inbtigalud the rehels iv this quarter to such ruthleu [Continued iv Supplement.]

atrocity on the lifeless bodies of our gallant men— whether their savage instincts or some particular grudge — it is to be hoped that it will not influence the conduct of our brave soldiers in their treatment of the enemy. Anything aside from the usages of civilised warfare would not only be alien to the Eoglish name, but it would tend to aggravate the calamities of war. — New Zealander, April 12. Taranaki. — Our readers will find in full in another column, the account of the sad and distressing incident at Ahuahu, which we briefly described in our second edition of yesterday. It is not our intention until even fuller and more authentic details of what appears to have. been a sad military blunder shall have come to hand, to criticise the conduct of those engaged. We cannot however, pass the matter by, without reverting with horror aud execration to the old and disgusting ' practice pursued by our savage foe, — the decapitation of our slaughtered men, and even the disembowelling of one of them. The object undoubtedly " for which this act has been committed, is to send the Heads round as trophies to the wavering tribes, as incontrovertible evidence of their successes over the pakeha, and as an incentive to those tribes to join in the rebellion. The practice of drying the , •• heads of their enemies is an old one among the Maories. The inner part and brain are taken out and the cavity filled with clay ; the head is then placed in one- of their ovens, and in twenty-four hoars is taken out thoroughly dried, the moisture being absorbed by the clay. The hair remains un- ' injured, nay even glossier than ever, the teeth show through thethalf parted lips, and the eyeless sockets and the shrunken cheeks present as ghastly an appearance as can well be conceived. This is the fate of poor Lloyd and of bis five unfortunate companions. These are the courtesies of war which British officers and men may expect from their Maori foe, when it happens that that foe shall be left in possession of the field, as at Ahuahu. Has the time yet arrived when the Maoris having refused to accept the terms of unconditional surrender offered by the Government, any party let it number among its ranks what men of high position it may, shall attempt by indirect means to bring about a disgraceful compromise ; a compromise dictated by fear, and abhorrent to all civilised notions of humanity and justice ? The blood of our brave soldiers, whose mutilated remains are being tossed from hand to hand, cries aloud for vengeance. — New Zealand Herald.