LETTERS FROM THE HEADQUARTERS AT NGARUAWAHIA.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 2000, 24 December 1863, Page 3

LETTERS FROM THE HEADQUARTERS AT NGARUAWAHIA.

Thr following particulars from tbe headquarters at Ngaruawahia will be read with special interest they are by tbe correspondent of tbe Southern Cross, who thus describes how he got there :— December 8. About 8 o'clock this morning the steamer Pioneer started up the river, having the General and his staff on board. She wen tas far as

Ngaruawabia, which was completely cjeserted Immediately on her return, which was in about throe hours the bugle sounded orders, and in a few minutes afterwards it became known that a portion of the troops were to embark at once, aud proceed to the occupation of Ngaruawahia. By half-past oue o'clock the Pioneer was again underweigh, conveying the General and staff and about 400 men, consisting of the 65th, a portion of the 40i!i, and some sappers. Col. Wyatt, 65th Regt.,was the field-officer in command, Colonel Leslie being left behind in charge here. I shall date my letter from Ngaruawabia tomorrow, when there will no doubt be something mure to write about. THE FLAGSTAFF. Having: attended to the various household duties which are incumbent upon dwellers in tents, I went round to see what was to be seen. In the fiist place, the settlement is on a lerel flat, at the junction of the Waipa, and Horotiu : rivers, the former on the west and the latter on the east side. Directly opposite the point, at about fifty yanta from the beach, stands the flag-staff, fitted in true seamen-like manner, with top-mast and cross-trees, and large enough to make a good mizen for a good-sized barque. | The blocks and running tackle, which adorned I it on former days, had all been removed when I the troops came up; but now, the British 'Ensign Hies from the mast-head, telling- of the downfall of Maori kingiteisui, and the triumph of British avms, and the supremacy of our beloved Queen in the heart ot the rebel country of the Waikato. POTATAU'S TOMB. The bones of King Potatau the Ist are here reposing in their last resting place, which is a small wooden building, about 12 by 16, with a balcony in front ornamented in the modern gothic style of European architecture ; there are two small windows in the building ; inside is the coffin, in the bead of which is a small pave of glass. In the immediate vicinity are several graves fenced round, some of which are said to be those of tbe men who fell at the action of Koheroa. THtf KING'S "PALACE." The palace of the ex king is uear the beach, and is built in the good old Maori style; it measures about 40 feet by 20 feet, is beautifully thatched, and lined with small reeds tastefully tied together. Orer the porch in front are specimens of Maori carving, also down the sides and along the bottom ; on the apex of the roof is a. carved god, as also at the bottom of the front pillar. The centre pilhr which supports the roof in the inside is also decorated with a grotesque carved image; these gods, or whatever they may be meant to represent, have all an excellent allowance of. tongue, which is well displayed, and which, from what I have seen of works of art in this country, it is considered essential to make a prominent feature when modelling the form divine. The whole building, however, appears to have been neglected, and vow stands in need of some repair, which does not speak well for the loyalty of the king's subjects, to allow so great a man's house to look shabby ; the excuse would be, -no doubt, that it was war times, and there were other things to attend to. Besides the King's, there sire several well-built wbares — amongst them the printing office, the runanga, and houses of his ministers. The press has been taken away, and in fact, everything that w;is worth anything; nothing but heaps of rubbish being strewed on the floors, which, together with the lively gentlemen that delight in making raupo houses their dwellingplacu, is quite sufficient to make anyone satisfied with the outside view, amh a peep in at the windows, without troubling the inside with a visit. Tiie number of wbares, in all, is about forty. FORTIFICATION. In the way of fortification, the Maoris have not be«n idle, for round the banks for some distance facing the rivers,' on both sides, are rifle pits, and on the banks of the Waipa is a redoubt in a half-finished state, but still sufficiently advanced to show what a formidable construction it would have been, if time bad been allowed to carry out the plan. It is 30 yards square, and surrounded by a ditch, which is cut diagonally, with a parapet behind corresponding in shape. The inside is cut in the same way all round, but is only partially dug out. The pits inside the parapet communicate with the outer ones by passages cut through underneath. As it stands at present, a spring will take you from the outside of the ditch to the top of the parapet, but it is not likely that such would have been the case had the work been completed. The worka at Raugiriri and this half-finished redoubt here go to prove the talent of iYTaoris for constructing- defensive works, behind which they have proved themselvesnodespicable enemies. To construct such works, however, they must have time ; and if the war is to continue, I have no doubt that the General will give them but very short breathing time, and if they can't fight in the open they must take to the bush or corns to our terms. On the arrival of the troops yesterday, a piece of paper was picked up, on which was drawn part of a plan of . fortifications of the most iutricato descriptiou, but which bears no resemblance to any that have been commenced. This paper is much worn at theedges,{and bears marks of having been carried in the poaket for some time. The part that is missing might con tail: the redoubt, but the lines drawn on that found are entrenchments, having communication with one another ; and on the riffbt is a very novel affair in a circular form, the live of pits winding round into the centre, which would make it a formidable place to attack without mortars; but the defenders once hemmed in could have no means of escape. The designer certainly deserves credit for his inventive genius. LETTER TO THE GENERAL. When the General arrived yesterday with the troops, in front of the king's whare was found an inscription as follows : — " For the officers of the army and steamer;" the door of the whare was fast, and on. it written in English (mi mis the commas), " We hate been here on the 7th Dec we came to' see if you had arrived here you will send a messenger to let us know the terms that you wish here you will find a letter from William Barton on the window of this whare. Signed A Barton." The letter was to the General, requesting ( that he would not destroy the whares, and hold sacred the grave of Potatou, which now has a sentry posted on it. William Barton is a native Wesleyan missionary, one of William Naylor's people, living at Waipa. THE GENERAL'S MOVEMENTS. On the Ist November Meremere was evacuated. On the 20th of the same month, the General marched to the attack of Rangiriri, which was surrendered by the enemy on the following morning. Since then, three progressive movements were made till finally ou the Btb December, the General occupied the vacant rebel head -quarters, and I find myself writing this evening from there, at a" distance from the Queen's Redoubt of about forty-nine miles, and from Auckland eighty-six. THE MAORI HOSTAGE. The friendly chief, Te Wheoro, who went up to visit the General of the Maori forces, Te Wharepu, who is dangerously wounded at Mo> ' erangi, returned about 10 o'clock on tbe night 1 of the 9th Dec, aud brought with him tbe s grand-daughter of that chief. The sending ol

this girl, I am informed, signifies, according to ancient Maori custom, entire submission ; and taken as such, we may therefore conclude that the war in this portion of the Waikato is virtually at an end. - The girl is a very good specimen of the Maori fair sex, about 12 years of age, and on first arriving seemed very timid and frightened at her novel position, but soon recovered <m finding that she was well treated. She now occupies one of the vacant whares with the chief Te Wheoro. At the action of Rangiriri, Te Wbarepu received a wound in the groin at the commencement of the fight ; but, rapping his blanket round him, he kept up until 10 at night, by which time he had received four additional wounds. Whilst this affair was going on, the Ngalimaniopotos cowardly deserted their allies, and set to work looting the whares here, and on leaving, carried away the bones of Fotatou the Ist, which fact the Waikatos did not dis- I cover until afterwards. Such being the case, I suppose that the two tribes will bare a small difficulty of their own to settle when they-have done with the pakeha. THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS. I hear this place is famous for high winds and rain, and certainly we have had experience of the fact, although the latter has been confined to passing sHowers. Were it not for them it would be almost unbearable, as the soil is so light and sandy that one would stand a chance of being either choked or blinded in a long drought. Sandflies, also, are another pest, and down on the river banks swarm like gnats on a summer evening. A great daal of land on both sides is in cultivation, being 1 planted with potatoes, Indian corn, &c. The potatoes are not very large, but still vevy acceptable. Besides the land alread) planted, some has been ploughed up, and lies in fallow. From a gentlemen who has been in these parts before, lam informed that there is more cultivation here now than has ever been before ; and to what purpose has it all been done ? Why, to minister to the creature comforts of the pakeha. We ought, indeed, to he thankful. Almost every morning we have an opportunity of listening to the beautiful effect of echo, when the soldiers go down to discharge their fire-arms. They fire into the river Waipa, on the opposite side of which runs the range of mountains, and each volley and shot, after a moment's silence, is taken up and repeated from hill to hill, growing gradually fainter and fainter until lost in the distance. From this an idea can be formed what a grand effect would be produced weru an action being fought in which great guns added their roar to the rattle of the musketry. Everything is quiet here now; not even a canoe with a white flag arrives to vary the usual monotony of camp life. The arrival of the' Governor, if it is his intention to come up, will, I suppose, be the next sensation.