COLONEL DESPARD'S DESPATCH.

Wellington Independent, Volume I, Issue 29, 26 November 1845, Page 4

COLONEL DESPARD'S DESPATCH.

Camp, Heki's Pah, 3 a. m., July 11th, 1845. Sir,—l have the honor to acquaint you that the Pah is in our possession. Offensive operations against it Avere resumed yesterday, and continued till night, and would have been again resumed this morning, but the enemy evacuated the fortress during the nighty fearing to stand another assault. I was made acquainted with the circumstance about midnight, but pursuit was then useless, —and from the nature of the country through Avhich the retreat lay, thick Avood, and no road, an attempt at it would have probably been attended with an unnecessary waste of human life. I now anxiously await your Excellency's further instructions, and am very desirous to get the troops under better cover before the rainy weather again commences. I have the honor to be, H. Despard, Colonel commanding the troops in New Zealand. His Excellency, Governor Fitzroy, &c, &c, &c. Auckland. P.S.—The body of Captain Grant, of the 58th regiment, which Avas missing, has been found. It had been buried outside the Pah, where he fell, and was not mutilated. H. D.

By the Government brig, the gallant detachment of the 96th have returned to head quarters, they came on shore with evident and abundant proof of hard service and foul whether; the 96th are expected daily, and the 58th are to take up their quarters at Waimate —such at least are the arrangements reported. We are enabled, by the means of this arrival, to report more accurately than before, that the pah was of very great strength and was two days burning after it was captured.

We made last Aveek, some hesitating observations upon Col. Despard's despatches-— these were only defective in firmness, because of the paucity of our information. We are now better acquainted with facts, and consequently are enabled to extend our remarks. In the first place, We beg to inform the Col., that his disparagement of poor Phillpotts and his silence on the merits of the other blue jackets, is the subject of universal dispraise. The unnecessary brevity of this latter despatch we quietly commented upon last week, but little did Aye suppose that we should have to sift the character of this official publication upon such grave charges as now must be answered.—For the Horse Guards will Undoubtedly hear of it. —Everybody knows the one-sided desire of the Governor to palliate Maori crime, and to shield Maori character.

The fact of the horrible atrocity of roasting a captured soldier alive, and eating part of his body, is too firmly established to be now doubted—Phillpolts was scalped after a refined and surgical fashion, —The most fleshy parts of Capt. Grant's body were cut off and .devoured; every possible attempt to conceal these facts has been made, as if it were not now more just and necessary than ever, that the true character of the native people should •be revealed, and the protectorate cloak of •blasphemous falsehood removed.

Archdeacon Williams endeavoured at least to suggest, if not to prove, that the mutilation of the body of Captain Grant, was effected by pigs, but it Avas sagaciously objected that it was not likely the pigs would select the officers only—besides, Captain Grant's dress had been removed for the purposes of excision, aud replaced afterwards —a performance we presume beyond the power or intelligence of swine. We are perfectly disgusted when we hear of the Archdeacon upon the spot, defending or screening these attrocities, Mr. Laurie in Auckland preaching up the superior sanctity, of the horrible monsters, and Mr. Maunsell elsewhere following in the same strain. The utterers of these falsehoods and foul aspersions are traitors to their countrymen, and deserve to be treated as such. But we return to the very grave and very important subject of this last despatch—and we most earnestly demand of Col. Despard, who wrote the postcript ? Most certainly not himself, although his initials are placed to it. We. have sufficient acumen in the science of circumstantial evidence to place this beyond doubt. Thus—first of all—the despatch

bears date 3 o'clock, a.m., July 11th, and was instantly sent off; the body Avas not found for twelve hours after ! so that here is a relation of an event yet to occur —Anachronisms in history, if not wilful are pardonable—but this is a falsehood! the body had not been pound. Again ! " the body hid been buried ouside the pah where it fell," The forger who avrote this postcript, like most false witnesses, convicts himself by attempting to prove too much, for the body was buried at the other side of the very extensive Pah.—Again! the body was not mutilated —Here is another assertion which has been since most abundantly disproved.

We most unflinchingly, therefore, solicit of Col. Despard, a solution of the public anxiety, —WHO WROTE THE POSTCRIPT? Let US know, if possible, avho avrote the postcript ? Or if that is beyond his power, for his own name and fame, and well earned reputation, let him, for himself at all events, disclaim it* It is to he hoped that we have but feAV, out of the pales of the Protectorate squad, that would be thus guilty of suppressio veri, or what is worse, downright falsehood in favour of a prejudice which has already been found so fatal to the unhappy land we live in.—who avrote the postcript ?

Talking of postcripts, we will have one of our own. Did not Colonel Despard send down before the publication of the Government Gazette, from which we quote the despatch, information of the wilfully mangled condition of Capt. Grant's body. We put this question to his Excellency the Governor.

The wounded men within the walls of the Pah, although demanded by the Rev. Archdeacon Williams, under a flag of truce, are said to have been cruelly murdered in the course of the evening.—And these are the poor dear Maories that we were to sacrifice everything to protect and cherish—the rubicon is passed—the sword is drawn and the scabbard thrown away, and we shall hear no more we hope of one annoyance—Mr. Clarke and the Protectorate to wit.—The loss of our dear "countrymen should teach us how the daddy-mammy policy of Capt. Fitzroy has undervalued the Maori character and acquirements.

Poor Phillpotts Avas the first in the breach, and the first to fall. With perfect self-de-votion, he led the " forlorn hope," and we regret to see that his name, in the despatches, is mentioned with so little of generous or grateful recollection. His eye-glass, which Toby's friends (this was the familiar soubriquet by which his shipmates loved-fo call him) have now in their possession, was found hanging by the inner palisade, and near it a part of his mangled scalp !

When the Pah was taken, after its defenders had run away, one very old woman was left in possession of the premises; the certainty that our countrymeu would not injure her was very sagaciously and safely relied upon, and it is probable she is furnished with ample means of communication with the fugitives.

Mr. Laurie will probably be pleased to hear that it Avas not the cackling of the geese in the camp, or capitol, of the cannibals that gave notice of their nocturnal flight; but that the suspicious circumstance of the omission of their vociferous psalmody in the morning was what provoked the detection of our people, and gave opportunity for our quiet and unopposed possession.

The operation now proposed, Aye believe,— for we have no official certain intelligence— is that 200 of the 58th regiment, under command' of Major Bridge, shall retire upon Waimate: the 96th and 99th returning to Auckland. How or when this unprofitable contest is to be renewed of course we cannot apprize our readers, —or whether it is to be considered as an enterprise abandoned altogether ; Col. Despard's pithy correspondence would seem to favor the latter conjecture.

From the seat of war there has only arrived the Government brig Victoria, but all hostilities have for a time ceased. The 99th are very sickly, and are coming to Auckland, to be replaced by the remainder of the 58th regiment from, this place: further reinforcements will soon arrive, but nothing offensive against Heki will be. undertaken, before the spring advances. The continuance of the strict blockade at the Bay, we understand, has been strongly urged on the Government, by the natives acting in concert with us ; but we well know such recommendations have their origin neither in Maori affection nor in pure disinterested patriotism. Monopoly of trade, under cover of a blockade, is exceedingly profitable.

The head quarters of the 58th regiment embarked this, morning, with colours flying and band playing " the girls we leave behind us," on, board the government brig Victoria, for Waimate. A report —we were going to

say incredible, but nothing is beyond credence under the present government—is in circulation, that the head Protector is going by the same opportunity to negotiate terms of peace with Heki and Kawaiti— Credat Judaus !

It is said, that at least six months provisions, salt fish, potatoes, pigs and poultry, sufficient for the garrison were found. These provisions will, we conjecture, be distributed among the native allies, and we cannot forbear to say, that with so large an accession of native force as there was in conjunction, it is somewhat surprising how the enemy could have stolen their march of retreat, with such perfect success.