WAITARA CAMP.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1492, 29 January 1861, Page 4

WAITARA CAMP.

(From our own Correspondent.)

January 14. — Since my last itiasbeen blowing so hard that nothing has been done up to this date. On Tuesday morning last, the General marched out to Kairau with a large force, but owing to the bad state of the weather he returned to camp without doing anything. It blew so hard, that most of the tents were blown down.

Tuesday 15. — Yesterday, at four, a.m., the General left camp with a force of nearly 600 strong, and was joined at Kairau with about 400 more troops, with two 24-pounder howitzers, one 9 pounder gun, one 6-pound rocket tube, and the Pelorus 12-pounder field piece. He moved this force on from the camp at Kairau about 900 yards, and took up a position by throwing up a redoubt, during which time the guns gave some good practice, send iug shell amongst the enemy in fine style. There were no casualties on our side ; but the enemy must have found it anything but pleasant, for several of the shell dropped on and about their whares. This advanced post is occupied by Captain Bowdler's company 40th Regiment. .

Wednesday, 16lh. — As two men were out this moruing for firewood, at about 300 yards from the camp at Kairau, they were fired on by the enemy. One of them got away with a bullet through his arm, but the other poor fellow has not been seen since.

The news from town is, that 500 south, crn natives are close on the south side of the town, about Waireka and Omata.

The Robert Lowe arrived to-day with a few of the 65th.

Thursday, 17th. — The men of the 65th who arrived in the Robert Lowe last night, were brought down in the Victoria this morning, and landed, and shortly after prooeeded to the Kairau camp. There has been firing to-day at Kairau, both with artillery and musketry. The Rev. Mr. Wilson visited the rebels today; they told him that he was not to, visit them again unless there should be some very serious loss on their side. They also said that the man of the 65th, who was shot yesterday, died before they brought him to their pah. They buried him close to their flag-staff, and read the burial service over the body. The General will be at them again tomorrow morning, and it is expected that it will be a desperate engagement, as the rebels are greatly exasperated at us for constantly shelling them sinoe the last fight. They told Mr. Wilson that unless we stopped firing the guvs, they would break up into small parties, and waylay and murder all they oould find. You cannot speak too highly of the General for the energetic and determined manner in which he is carrying on the war at present considering the small foroe at his disposal. I should like to know why the Governor has sent 300 troops to Wellington, when it is plain that the General still is, and has beeu, retarded iv his operations for want of these very men. It must appear plain to every one here, that the whole available force should be concentrated at Taranaki,

Saturday, 19th.— Yesterday, at 4 a.m., the General moved out to Kairau with all his available foice, and took up a position at about 500 yards in advance of the one taken on Monday last. From this post the general attacked the enemy, who were in rifle-pits and gullies along our whole front; we kept up a constant fire at them throughout the whole day. Tho 8-iuoh guns aud artillery made splendid practice, dropping the shell into the pifle pits m beautiful style. We ha 4 two

wounded on 1 bur side j the loss "on the enemy's side is not known, but it is thought that it ffiust-tof be| n gi^&t.

[From the «NelsOn : Examiner^ ' dwnCoifespondentl. • t • .-, , -„ January 22, JB6l. , Therejhaß^een a good deal of excitement for some days past at a threatened attack on our town. Parties of natives, large and small, have been moving about the country, .driving away cattle, and firing at stragglers. The* information with- respect to :the numbers at Waitara *is* very imperfect, and it is rumoured that the Tftfaikato men are oozing away by slow 'degrees', but whether 1 north-or south' is not kribwnitf ilhe Rev.^Mr. Wilson, who has had interviews with the taua at Waitara^ [ yras ; recommended by Hapurona, the leading warrior of the Ngatiawa, not to come unless on urgent business. So that we have been altogether in ihe dark about the numbers that could be brought to an attack,, and .anxiety was quife justifiable. Many 'persons thought that now as throughout the war, the tdwriwoiildbeijesfc secured by activity in tiie field, and a great-many requests have been made to the Commander of the Garrison • Colonel Sillery, to allow flying parties to harass the marauding natives, bring back the cattle, and give them enough to do without thinking of that greater mischief still to which their idle hands might be tempted. Yesterday it was. whispered that Captain Cracroft, of H.M.S. Niger, which is in the rqadstead, was on shore proposing soine expedition , against an encampment of natives at Waireka, the scene of what after all was the most satisfactory affair of the whole war. Colonel Sillery's extreme anxiety for the town was, however, well known, and it was not expected that the proposition would be entertained. , It was said that Captain Cracroft asked for volunteers, not merely volunteer civjlians, but men from all services who would volunteer (he would have only, volunteers from his own ship); and such is the prestige of this gallant officer's name, anil the popularity of his- manner '(he has the air and ways of. bne.ofthe model captains you read about in Basil Hall and Marfyatt), that our civilians would have turned out in great numbers to follow or join him in such an expedition. We went to sleep, however, in the belief that the thing was abandoned ; and I understand that it was discountenanced by Col. Sillery, who thinks the "garrison too weak to attempt a move. - But it appears that during the night Captain Cracroft resolved something should be done, and asked that a boat or boats from the harbour department should be left alongside his ship. At one or half-past one he sent ashore to the commander to say that he intended to attack the Waireka encampment, and, \vould. be glad of co-operation on shire.' Upon .his Colonel Sillery despatched 200 soldiers, who left before daylight, and marched by the road towards OmataJ '; The Niger's boats set out at three o'clock to take the blue jackets by water. On arriving at the Whaler's Gate, the troops were fired upon by a party of about 40 natives, who were occupying some houses there, and who, after delivering their volley decamped down the nearest gullies.- A skirmish lasting for half-an-hour followed, and two or five natives were hit. Onourside, onepoor fellow, Hospital-Sergeant Burnett, of the 65th Keghnent, was mortally wounded, and died shortly after at the Omata stockade. Signals from town and from the stockade prevented any further advance, but at half-past five o'clock a body of the Volunteers were marched out to the support. They felKn with a small party of natives about some houses, a mile and a half off town; these men were too much alarmed to fire, but. ran, off, with our men after them. The natives had too good. a start, however, and escaped scot free. The Niger's men being under the pilotage of a, young gentleman from the shore, who had not limited his undertakings to his abilities, arrived at a spot somewhere beyond the Waireka-hill, and at which there was difficulty either in landing or reembarking the force, and this, part. of the expedition did not arrive any nearer its intended object than the other. . \

The expedition, though failing of its immediate purpose is not without useful results ; it will tend to the security of the town by convincing the natives that there is life and activity in the garrison. It also shows that natives may be surprised. A little more circumspection, and guns ready capped and at half-cock, would have enabled our men to cut off two parties of the natives this morning. And if the natives learn the lesson that they are not safe in our houses by the main road, at least they will be kept by the same means from hanging so close about the town and stockades, in positions where our stragglers fall in their way. '■ • •' ' • <■'"

It is Btated that there are 700 men at Waireka, and we shall therefore most likely have ah engagement with them before long. , They court a collision on the very ground where the southern tribes were worsted in March last. If, as I have heard, the boats were guided to the Tapuae river, and mistook the two pahsjbelonging to the friendly natives, for what they had set out to attack, it is on the whole well that they could not effect a landing: : ' .:'.-. A barn of Mr. W. 0. King's, and two houses at Omata, the Rev. Mr. Brown's and-Mr. ; Bailey's,, have been burned, which leads people to conjecture that the natives sustained some loss this morning, but nothing certain is known. No news of further operations at Waitara has come to town, nor haa more firing of artillery been heard ; but the Victoria which is coming up thence, and which will take this letter, will bring you jnore information. •