NEW CALEDONIA.

Evening Post, Issue 263, 11 December 1865, Page 2

NEW CALEDONIA.

FURTHER ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND THE NATIVES.

GRRAT DESTRUCTION OF VILLAGES.

(TRANSLATED FOB THB DAILY SOUTHERN CROBS.) By the last mail from Sydney we were placed in receipt of a file of the New Caledonian Moniteur up to the 29th October inclusive. The only news of interest to our readers is contained in the report of MM. Camus and Billes relative to the further proceedings of the Gatope expedition in pursuit of the cannibal murderers of the settler TaiT.ard, and the crews of the Secret and Queen of the Isles. We regret that we have not space to give at' full length the official, yet interesting reports which those "officere forwarded to the Governor of New Caledonia, detailing the operations of the forces under their respective commands ; we are* compelled therefore to confine ourselves to giving a short condensation. Captain Camus declares in the conclusion of his report that in. his attack on Pamale — tlfe residence of Poindi Patchili, murderer of the settler Taillard— he had carried out his instructions by burning and destroying the villages, and as completely as possible destroying the crops. The effect of their arms had also been strikingly felt by thirty or thirty-five Kanacks having been killed or mortally wounded ; whilst such had been the persistency and vigour of the pursuit after the cannibals, that many corpses had been met with before the natives had had time to collect and hide them from the sight of the French — a duty which they strictly observed in every possible instance. The troops and native allies were animated with the greatest rivalry in in courageous acts, and the latter were found of great assistance in destroying and firing the plantations. The only person wounded on the side of the French was, Corporal Spitz, by a ball from the enemy Captain Billes, commanding the expedition into the interior, furnishes most interesting details of the innumerable difficulties met with dv ing the progress of the expeditionary force from settlement to settlement, and the opposition offered by the Aborigines. In the conflagration of the village of Poma, nineteen Kanacks of both sexes became a prey to the flames, and during the retirement of the troops to the camping ground, Dr. Cailuoup and five soldiers were wounded by the heavy stones which the natives hurled from the neighbouring cliffs. Upon arrival at the village of Poinane, on the 16th October, a message was despatched to the rebel chief, Pohen, i for the purpose of intinuting that a parley 1 was desired. Captain Billes then addressed the natives in the following terms : ~" The French have many timeß surprised the men of Gate and of Pamale, who have already i been exposed to numerous losses, and

many have forfeited their lives for their cannibal propensities. Satisfied with the reprisals which have been exercised, the French Bgain come, not to make war, but to offer peace to Gondou and to Poindi Patchili, They promise to save the life of those two chiefs if they give themselves up, that they may be conducted to the great chief of the whites, who alone is empowered to receive their submission. Their immediate surrender is the only obligatory condition for the obtaining of peace." After some tergiversations the Kanacks replied, " Gondou and Poindi fear that they will be killed." Captain Rilles replied that they had no cause for fear ; that the French never lied. A short delay again ensued, the Kanacks consulting amongst themselves, when they said, " Come and plant* two flags in our village, and our two chiefs will place themselves under the protection of those emblems." The two colours having been hoisted at the place indicated, Captain Billes said, "If the two chiefs do not come to the camp at Poihe before sundown hostilities will be recommenced, the villages will be reduced to cinders, and the plantations swept away." The troops then returned to camp. In the evening the natives came towards the camp, apparently with the intention of surrendering; but after some hesitation they retired without attempting to communicate with Captain Billes. Next day the troops surrounded the settlement ; the natives when called on, refused to surrender! when the village was set on fire; the Tillages of Pehetna and Poindeha were also destroyed. The several settlements between Tionbalaptou and Poma were subsequently attacked and all the habitations burned ; also the hamlets of Tiounegape, Toutapa, and Poindefa; and all the plantations laid even with the ground. All the villages owning Goudou as chief were tbus destroyed, bis numerous cultivations laid waste, and more than thirty of his tribe slain; the expedition having been engaged in the work of destruction seven days.

The Danish navy is to be reorganised. A new iron* clad steamer will shortly be built, and arrangements have been made with several commercial houses at Copenhagen for the sale of six old men-of-war, including the steamer Hertha, the frigate Havfruen, and the corvette Najaden. Mr. Spurgeon, in a sermon on the cholera, the cattle plague, and other calamities, remarked that he was for leaving the gentlemen who attack the truth of the Bible to the old women of the churches, for they are not worthy ol the attention of men who could reason, and who knew the revelation from heaven to be experimentally true. He believed, too, that the old women of the churches could answer the assaults in a much better way than the most able of the caitics would exactly like. A Rebel Giriv's Postscript.— A letter from a rebel girl, in Nashville, to her brother in Hood's army, has been published. After giving him a delightfully loquacious account of the marriage of several furiously rebellious young ladies with Fuderal officers, the young lady adds four postscripts, devoted to a certain Federal captain, who has been " boarding with us merely for protection." Here are the postcripts : — "P.B. I.— Do you think it ¦will be a violation of my southern principles to take an occasional ride for my health with the captain ? He has such a nice horse and buggy. You know there can be no possible barm in that. P.S. 2.— That very impertinent fellow actually squeezed my hands as he helped me oub of tile buggy this evening. We had such a delightful ride. I want you to come home and protect me, Tom, as I don't like to live this way much longer. P.S t 3. —lf ever I should marry a Yankee (but you know my principles too well for that), I would do it merely as the humble instrument to avenge the wrongs of my poor oppressed country. Little peace 1 should he find by day or by night ; thorns should be planted in his couch ; his dreams should be of Holof ernes and my dry goods' bills as long as the internal revenue law. JP,S. 4.— Come home, bro ther Tom, and take the amnesty oath for two months or thereabouts. I want to tell you a secret. On due consideration, I have come to the determination to make a martyr of myaelf. Yes, brother Tom, I am going to

marry the captain on patriotic principles. — Marie."— American Paper. A Bold Seal-Stalkfu.— A bold feat was performed at the Island of Gairsay by a younst man named Jitiues Hareus, of Garth, who is fond of seal- shooting, and who is also a good shot. After reaching the island he left his boat and wandered around the shore in search of seals. At last he observed one about 100 yards from the beach, and gave the " selchie" a shot which evidently took effect. The young man, afraid of losing his victim immediately stripped, svram out to the struggling seal, seized the animal by the flippers with his teeth, and thus, dog fashion, triumphantly carried his prize ashore.— Orkney Herald. Praying for Husbands.— A very curious legend wag told by the Rev. C. W. Bingham to that portion of the party which, at the recent meeting of (he Arcli geological Institute in Dorset, was fortunate enough in visiting the little Norman chapel of St. Catherine at Milton Abbey. The legend was, that on a certain day in the year the young women of Abbotsbury used to go up to St. Catherine's Cliapel, where they made use of the following prayer :— " A husband, St. Catherine ; a handsome one St. Catherine ; a rich one, St. Catherine ; a nice one, St. Catherine ; and soon, St. Catherine." Mr. Beresford Hope, who at these gatherings is always equal to any emergency, modestly proposed that all gentlemen and married ladies should retire from the church, so as to afford the young ladies present the opportunity of using so desirable a prayer. — Building News.