POVERTY BAY DEFEAT CONFIRMED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 71, 5 August 1868, Page 3

POVERTY BAY DEFEAT CONFIRMED.

PARTICULARS OF TUB SKIRMISHES, By the fl.n, Hangltoto wo have received full fIICH of lJawke'ti Bay papers lo July .'lO. Mr Wood, editor of the JJaw/te'ti JJai/ Herald him also furnished un with proof slips of thu latent ticwn, 'J ho Hawhrh Bay Herald of the 2lnt in„t„ fliiya i— When tho down Hrst reached Napier of the lauding of tho prlßoiiorii, Captain Biggs received a letter from Mr Johnston, upon whoiic run Wliaroungaonga In iiltuato, and whoDoalailon In dlhliint therofrom hcvoo or elglit milieu, dialing that forty-nlnu armed men had passed hi. bouse - that he asked them what lhey wanted, but lhey would mil tell (that thoy killed a law pig« belonging to (he nutlvcn, and then returned to their camp, Next day (Sunday) Captain Blgftfl, accompanied by JVlr Blair, started for Walroa upon builnoflrt, and, culling. at Mr Johnston's on bin way, ho had »uch f/ietn plneed beforo him an convinced him that the rcportH lie had previously hoard wore too well founded. He turned back, and wilhout delay, called together the KuropeaiiH aud friendly uativca-* the former numbering about forty men, and the latter about eighty-- I'M) In all, but imperfectly armed, und with but little ammunition, They metat Captain WeHtrup'Hhoiioo, nnd Blurted for Wliarcongiionga at a o'coolc on the morning of Monday, thu loth, arriving about one o'clock, within half a mile er ho of where lhe priHouoni wero encamped, and from whence (although a deep ravine Interposed) thoy could bo plainly m-en. The first stop tnlccii by Captain Illggs wiih to send to thoir camp l tvo nallvcn wlio bad been originally deported to the Chatham Ifllnnds, but wero iftcrwnrds released by tbo Government, with IniiiruelloiiH lo demand the fliirrendcr of the escaped primmer* and their itrmii. In reply they ridiculed tho Idea of surrendering, They mild that their god hnd delivered them Irom Whnrokaurl, and brought ihem safely there, to the place designed for them to lire iiij that they had uo wlhli to fight, but would do no if atiaolced or prevented from occupying their land, The Jiatlvo i-mlssarlea wero not allowed to see much, but all tho men they hiiw wero fully armed, aud one lmd an ofllccr'-i nword in lilt ponnussion. Captain Rlggn, after careful conDlderation, dcoidod not to nttiiok the party, Ho was In(.lined with in.my lo believe that Much an attack would bo wtcuciihful • but h,. f<,H that in tho event oC a repulse, tbo whole district would be at lhe mercy of a liordu of excited fanatlen, and ro.olvud not to unmimu imeli ro> uponnlblllty. He accordingly enmped wllh bin men In the neighbourhood, un a purty of obflorvathiii, and immediately dent a letti-r to Captain Dolghlon, K.M., Walroa. staling what liad taken place, and requesting him to for' ward the intelligence to Nnpl-*r, That ollloer did so, an our it-adorn aro aware- and the astounding nuwn arrived by expriiw rider on Thursday, tho 10th hint., at 1 p.m. Un l hurnday afternoon, a requisition for iUiy volunteers for active nervine wan ismietl by Colonol^Whliniorei and during Friday mid Hitlurduy, men were .being sworn in at tho militia offlee, Tho terma offered woro .in Od per day and found.' 'J ho application!! however, did not como up to expcututlon---uMcribiiblo, partly, to tho fact that iho Thames goldHelda have withdrawn much of tlie availaide labour from the province, and partly to a atrmig feeling on the part ol old Defence Force men, and othera who might have volunteered, that tbo Government bad broken faith before, and . could not be

relied upon to keep it in the present lm»tnnp.Q, and that thoy woro called upon to porform a dangoroun nervloo simply to rotrloro a great political blumler on the part of a Government that had left tlielf claims for lands unsettled to this day. Indeed, It wan only tho accidental presence In town of a number of iho Walroa military settlors— who had arrived for tho purpono of Helling their land and proceeding to tho goldfields, and whose funds wero not In a very flotirlHhlug condition -— that onablod tho military authorities to got ns nmny men an thoy di I, As it wan, twcntj-iiino wo to sworn in, Any number of nallves volunteered their florvloes, but Colonel Whitmans considered forty to bo Bufllulent, and selected that number from tho multitude that olfurod.' Soon aftor 10 a.m. on Sunday, 11.M.M, flowtrlo showed round Capo Kidnappers j slid was boarded off tho Mull! by Captain Oollenr, and, about 1 p.m., she reached the anchorage In tho roadstead. Tbo lirst boat aidini o wuh tho captain's gig, Htooreil by Captain I'nlmer lilmsolf, who ivns received at iho slops by Llout.-Colonol Whltmoro, A Hor a short consultation- during which Iho master of the Murowal wan called iv and milted at to ilia mitiiro oC that part of the coast where the prisoners had lauded, Capt. Palmer wont oif to tho ship and sent nnlioro the two cutters, which look on board tho small party of volunteers, The number of I hese should, wo liolieve, have been !2!>, but there woru four absentees, nnd of thoso who wero present, not a fowgnvo unmlstnkeablcliidioatlonn that they had huon enjoying themselves boforo responding lo tho call of duty, Tho manner lit which Home of thorn ncrsmbled over the thwarts nnd steadied UioniflclvfrH by catching al ilia up-ended ours was a caution, but tliu turn took tho wholo thing vory good humoii redly, acd uo accident happened beyond the Immersion of a hit or two, Col, Whltmoro followed In iho pile; bout, with (ho arms and aninitintilofi, Ua wu accompanied by Captain Carr, and J, L, llertiek, Ksq ,as gentlemen voluutcors i and as noon' as all were on board, tho Uosarlo (about fi p,m ) got under weigh, yesterday morning, at an early hour, the twin screw mounter VValpara mado her appearanco round Kldnnppirs, and, by nine, alio had foiohod tho anchorage. Tho native troops intended 'to be conveyed by hor to Poverty Ray marched to the Spit soon after, Thoy were fully 40 In number, and lulng picked men and drossed In uniform as well an all seller, thoy presented a very creditable appearance. Thoy wero woll up In the commoner ovoliilloiih, and their marching was vory good Indeed. Having bean shipped In watormen'n boats, ihe rdonnior, having Mr Hamlin on board as interpreter, steamed northward at 2 p.m. Tho oxiiot number of Maoris on board was A'l. Thero wero nlno ten additional European volunteers. Tho namo Journal of the 215 th ull, iiddm — Two despatches havo been received from Walroa by the Deputy-Superintendent. Thu first onmu by thu cutter Grayling, late on the night of Friday hist. Its contents, we believe, wero vory unimportant— Mom-body else having heard firing or something of that sort, Tho second ranched, town Into on Saturday night, by Mr Him of Mohakaj and wo loam that I lio occasion of its being written was this— a moHßonger had arrived at Wnlron with 'Intelligence that a Hkirmhdi bad taken pliiou at Whcuu'iktini, a little abovo thu Kolnga, botwoon tho party out from Walroa under (he command of Captain RlchnrdHon, and tho runaway prisoners — tho latter having been Intercepted ou their way lo tho Intel lor, Homo details aro given and theso wo furnish to our renders, as wo got them. The native part of Itlcliatduou's forco, uniler tho command of Paora te Apritu, are »»ld to havo bolted nt tho (I rut shot, and lo havo retired upon < >polll, The skirmish does net scent to have boon by any means conclusive, onoh party holding his own ground after tho fight, Tho rumour was that oue had been .killed on the European side, and ihrco seen to full ou tho other, and that ono llau-hau prlsonor was retaken. Tho latest intelligence kindly furnished by Mr Wood, of the JJaw/ic's Dm/ Herald, Is as follows S — [jmoM oon own ooiuimwonhkn-i*,!} Ifrldiiy, July 24. Tho mailman from Tiiranga ariived here hist night, and brings word that the Government party, consisting of 100 men (Maorios and Ifliiropoans), under Wcntrup, camo 'into colliolon with tiio HaudiMUH at tho Whakaongnongo. Tho Hred upon tho lending files of the 'iau-hiiu advanoo, with what rooult Is not known, Tho fire wns returned, and ono whito man and a Maori woro shot dead, and others wounded. Tho Government nnrlly finally retreated into tho bush, leav. lug their horses, food, clothing, Stc, in the bauds of the Ilau-haus, Wl to Koro Is tho name of the Government native killed) bo wai a very old man, and belongod to this place for a whito. lt wasjust nuudown when iho Unlit camo oil. Tho llnu-huus ndvoncttd along the rldgo wllh the inmost confidence, The Government party wore liolow tho crest of a hill, and flrod us from a parapet. The Uaii'lnius aro greatly exasperated at being Hred on j thoy aro well armed, ond duclaro thoy will attack Turnngn, This Js a verbatim trnn-dnUon of the native dlory as related to me. I should say there is evoiy reason to boliovo lt truo. Monday evening was the dato of the fl[{hllug, and thu mull was made up In the morning of the snmo day, Friday Evening, Further news arrived by T, Marsh, confirmatory of WoHrup and Wilson's defeat, with tho lohh of their horses— some 80 in number — supplied, &o. Tho llau haun hnd not marched upon i'ovorty Ray as previously reported, but had advanced upon Te Kulnga, doubtless wUh'lnlont lo effect escape Iv that direction.-' lhakii Wbiinga arrived at Walroa' with aoventymen, and suppllos wero lssuod to them, Paora to Apatu fled upon tho approach of tho Ilau-haus, carrying with him tho bulk of the native force. Kiehardson and Suundora

aro on tho watch between Wliunu Kur.i and l'ulccwhlnau. Saturday morning, John Mitchell arrived from tbo front, fllflhimlson'it dcuti'los had fired on the advance guard, l'aors, son-in-law to Mallu Kauhukn, of Ngatlkurupakbika, concealed himself lv the fern, aud as 0110 of tho llau-hsu scout, came along, mounlel on Lieut. Wilson's captured borne, ho sprang upon him, selsicd him by the hair, and, touring film from iho saddle made him prisoner.' There is sharp lighting going on, The Iluungaroa rlYcr being Hooded, provonls tho Ilau-haus csoaplng to tho ranges, Several Inul fallen ott ellhoi' side when Mitchell loft. Kakiroo, of To Ttoingn, who was always a -leoundro', and evidently a traitor, had, lf not actually gono over to the Ilau-haua, furnished thorn with Information of tho movements and numbers of the Intorocptlug foroi-H, Ihaka Whangs— dear old follow—pushed forward, with hin roinforcomonts, nt two o'clock this morning. I'aora to Apatu again ihil, leaving Saunders nnd Itlch ■inlson to Hrn enjoy mon I of iho posll'on, and bolting this tiino lo Opolll. The whistling of a bullet has peculiar terrors for liU fat carcase. The natives never thought othor of him, and If thero ever wns any doubt, thin matter hns settled il, If over llwro was "n pertlelcr, out-and-out, crawling lump of llunldiig Immunity, Hint ugly ton of cow beef Is the Idem leal Moses." Mr iVi- Loan's nbsouco from Napier Is much to bo regretted, There Is no head, and the system Is disorganised, Wliilmoro and Biggs have not bron be.ird of, Volunteers from hero to front aro rapidly draining tho population. A telegram In the Wel/int/ton Independent of yesterday, tinted from Napier, on Monday, at U p in , says 1— Il ti reported that the runaway Miiovla crossed the llangarla hratio.h of iho Walroa on Tuondiiy last, aud that thoy aro now in the Urlwcra country, out of reach, with all their bnggnjio, booty, and arms, tnimin,mmiiimram>Mmmm>m*mmnMwwmvm*»mmmmmmmim»