The Evening Herald. THURSDAY, FEB. 18, 1869.

Wanganui Herald, Volume III, Issue 535, 18 February 1869, Page 2

The Evening Herald. THURSDAY, FEB. 18, 1869.

-•There shall be no Alps," was the language in which Napoleon fore- . shadowed his designs on Italy; and he fulfilled his prophecy by making a road up the steepest precipices, and overcoming the most formidable barriers of nature. Colonel Whitmore is not to be deterred bj a j: country, difficult of transport or movements from following the enemy into the unknown fastnesses of the : Seven Hammocks. If his men have . not been baptized by fire, and are not veterans, they can cut their way up to the door of the enem3*, and allow science to complete the victory, in.parapets and cohorn mortars. A cart road is being made down the Wereroa bill, branching off at one part to the Karnkn, and at the other to the river, which is to be bridged by pontoons. Colonel McDonnell has been moved from the Karaka, under the impression that the enemy bad moved on to Okutuku.; hut since then it has been discovered that he is still behind Nukumaru. It is probable that a portion of Titokowaru's force has goi c to Oku-tuku-or Patea, and that the remainder are in the Hammocks. Tf the scouts ascertain this to be the case Colonel Whitmore should employ all his arts and his science, first to drive the Hau-baus across tbe Waitotara ; for it is by forcing them to. act together that their ultimate destruction will be tbe more complete. If Titokowaru has gone back to his old haunts, he will leave the W'aitotara natives behind him in their own country. These, then, can be easily demolished, and their annihilation will ir,spire tbe force with courage, and depress the enemy. It is not impossible, with Colonel Whitmore's force, to penetrate the country where the Hau-haus are said to be, in a week. We want the Maoris driven away from their proximity to the settled districts, for two ' reasons; first, because they are " living on the enemy," and preventing, the settlers from going on their farms; and, secondly, in order that we may get them as near as possible to ••thelast ditch," where they will have to stand and fight, or leave the country and go in among .other • tribes. The Commander of the Forces has two grounds of complaint, which we hope J have been removed. There should I be no excuse tor an inefficient commissariat; and the force should be in a fit state to go into the presence of the enemy. We believe the troops will fight well under favorable conditions, which it is for genius to dis-l cover. ** In all battles," says the high authority from whom we have already quoted, '* a moment occurs ' when the bravest troops, after having made the greatest efforts, feel inclined to run. That terror proceeds from a want of confidence in their own courage, and it only requires a slight opportunity, a pretence, to

restore confidence to them. The art is to give rise to the opportunity, and to invent the ■ pretence." This was spoken of Frenchmen, particularly of veterans who had been soldiers nearly the whole of their lives; and bow much more tact does it not require to handle in action raw levies, and sustain their confidence ? At Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu the bad behaviour of the men has been the favorite topic with a few officers ever since. Some of those men were veterans (Yon Temnskey's for instance) and they fled like the rest, 'leaving the body of their officer on the field, thus bearing out the experiences of Napoleon. A rush upon the pa, even if they had lost fifty men in it, would have excited the men, and they would have stood and fous-ht. It is time that the blame for nothing-, or for failure, were shifted from the men, and that the officer commanding should accept the responsibility. The system of oscillation between the Colonial soldier and natives is a sign of weakness. The natives were untrustworthy yesterday, today it is the Armed Constabulary, and tomon-ow it will be the natives again. Roadmaking, as Colonel Whitmore is carrying it out, is putting us on the defensive and forcing the enemy to attack The present'force if well led, should be a match for any savages if that plan be adhered to.

- Fire.—At half past 2 o'clock thisj morning a house in Campbell-street belonging to Mr Mahoney, was discovered to be on fire, and in less than half an hour, it was burnt to the ground. The I fire originated iri. the back part of the bouse, which has not been occupied for the last three weeks. 'I he circumstances are very suspicious, pointed to incendiarism. Thr Smat.t/Pox Case.—We hear that steps are likely to be taken to have an enquiry into the circumstances of the cruel treatment of the small pox patient. The matter is attracting some attention in Wellington, and commented upon in a way not very favorable to Wanganui. The man, for aught anyone knows, is buried, but the remembrance of the coldblooded way in which be was turned out of the world will not be buried, though there is not one stick to mark his grave. We do not suppose that anyone would desire to visit the aceldama^t the heads.

A Centenary and a Name.—This year is the centenary of the landing of Captain Cook in New Zealand, a circumstance which is to be turned to account by our Tutaenui friends in a re-christen-ing of their delightful little village. In honor of the great navigator it is proposed to call it Cookstown,- or Cookston (the former is preferable), and so get rid of an ill-sounding Maori name of difficult orthography. There is nothing more difficult than to get an original name, and at the same time euphonious. What a frightful name Foxton is ; the " ton " combines badly with Fox, but the popular leaning is to that termination, as the Americans had a penchant at one time for " ville." The name Gladstone has been suggested, but there are two objections—the centenary would not be honored, and there is a place in the Middle Island of that name. If the centenary prevail, as it most probably will, we suggest, Cooksville ; but if the centenary be set aside, then by all means let the name be Stafford. There is not a more euphonious name, while they honor the leading statesman in the colon}*, and are honored. If the Rangitikei is disposed to follow suit, it might be called . Haultain, which is Scotch for Haulto'vn. We hope the gentlemen of Cooksville will do honor to the great" circumnavi-

gator.