WAR ON THE EAST COAST.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IX, Issue 462, 18 March 1867, Page 3

WAR ON THE EAST COAST.

TAURANGA. A PRISONER BY THE HAU-HAUS. SOLDIER DROWNED. SKIRMISH BETWEEN THE ARAWAS AND THE HAU-HAUS. ONE HAU-HAU KILLED, AND ONE ARAWA WOUNDED. of tie war at Taurangy, v.e take tlnT following extracts from the N.Z. Herald; |tliat after the troops proceeded from Paid pa, the expedition was given over (o tiro guidance of Mr Beers, G-orornment Surveyor. After two or three orders which were countermanded, the Arawas were left under the'direction of Colonel Haultain, who advanced them towards and past the village ofjMeanee; here, of course, the Native Contingent got separated from the Militia, sue* to sst, e very serious .and deplorable misunder- * standing seems to -have arisen between ■ the respective commanders. Muon hai

been said about the interpretation to be put upon a very significant remark made in the hearing of several officers, and which had a most injurious tendency on the minds of both, officers and men of the Ist Waikato Regiment, and to render the difficulty a little less susceptible of clearing up, a letter purporting to be from the hand of the Defence Minister, and who it was reported had promised an ample explanation of his statements in the Tanranga Argus has not hitherto been fulfilled. Ou the second day after the engagement at Aktuko, a body of the Ist W.R., consisting of Nos.l, 3 and 3 divisions, Mr Deere acting as guide, proceeded to Omanawa Redoubt, where it was understood they were to take over charge of the na-

tive pa of llaliakaharoa. Doing directly in the lino of march between Akcake and the latter place, it was expected that a severe contest would have resulted, and as the position is one of almost impregnable security, much loss was anticipated ; but oil our approach, our foe (the hau-hau) was not visible, but our trusty friends the Arawas very heartily regaling themselves. Ou the 9th (Saturday), the Volunteers or No.LDivisionwas ordered ou the marnh to tiic Omaatiwa, together with the Fn,ginecr corps, all operations were totally futile in consequence of the enormous torrents of rain falling during the succeeding three days, in fact the discomfort ol ;hc camp, the utter dejectedness of the place, rendered the service one of down-

right. mi-cry : but from our gallant commander down, the best was made of a bad job. Many old Crimean campaigners told us that nothing could have surpassed it even before Sebastopol.

Oil 2doud.iv head-quarters was joined by the remaining forces from Akeake, made up of the Opouki soldiers, under the command of Major St. John, Captains dower and Walker, Lieutenants Ross, G. C. Pitt, and others. If the Omanawa detachments sillierod daring the preceding wet weather, our brethren left behind nl Akcake must have been in a perilous .-talc indeed; hut wo hope there wiii be an end of ail things of like nature, and that Thursday's exploits may be the mentis of subjugating an enemy, than one who, by constant harrassittg of the troops,, have succeeded in obtaining the credit of being r.u-tal worthy of us. From the front we learn that the troops were to make an attack at an early hour on Friday morning, and strongly supported by ail our available force. Troops marching from Tovey’s farm, where they have been stationed for (ho last two days, for Ihaiv.nga and the adjoining villages. It has also been rumoured that in the event nt’ surprise and success, the Ist class Malitin, together with the Volunteers, will return in the coarse of a short time to Te I’ap-t, and be i-.Lmr.KnUed. The service the-e men have urea engaged in has been one of immense hardship, and wo shall ce gi.td to welcome them once more to Te f’apa. Air. Jordan and a detachment proceeded at u late hour on Thursday night to construct a ford across the Greek above die Farm for the troops on route lor Hiaranga.

We are glad to bo able to inform our readers a list of the names of the Rnuneer corps forming a division of the Expeditionary force, and to assure them that no portion of the Military effective strength has worked more cheerfully and done their duty Letter than they. It may be satisfactory to some of our distant rulers to know‘vital good service their- friends and ■relatives are effecting in a thankless warfare, and with much pleasure do we up pend their names :—Captain Skcct, Lieut. Cvundry, Privates Denham, Deere, 11. Graham, K. C. Jordan, T. Jordan, Frasi, Dean S. t'andes, Jackson, R. Campion, 11. Rowe, Mitchell, Tregear, Woolley (wounded). Cradp, O’Donough, and Rushbrook.

A PRISONER BY THE HAB-lIAtTS. The llauhaus captured one of the survey party at Panguroa on the night of the 10th January- After taking his horse there was a long torero held amongst them as to what they should do to him, when through the influence of a few of diem came to the conclusion to detain him a prisoner. Providence alone knows his fate at the present moment; he may be still alive, but we have grave doubts of that being the case. Wc have destroyed even thing that wo could possibly find belonging to triem, and in retaliation James Corlctt may before this become a victim to their fiendish appetites, as there has been nothing heard of him since. SOLDIER, DROWNED. On Monday evening, between the hours of five and sis o’clock, a private belonging to the 12th Regiment lost his life by drowning whilst bathing. The body was not found until Wednesday, when it was recovered at the Mount by some Maoris, and brought into Te Papa the same evening. On Thursday an inquest was held, and the jury returned the following verdict —“ that the deceased was accidentally ! drowned.” The body was buried in the afternoon.

V. t "cf or? fr* Tillhliell flan! following, as an incorrect account of the! alfair has been allowed to creep into the! columns of a contemporary : | On Monday, 4th February, 1867, the; expeditionary force stationed at Pye’s Pah, j to the number of 200, including in all, Mi- i iitia. Volunteers, and Engineers, marched) out at 3 a.m. to attack the Maori position! at Akeake. Fifty Arawas, under the com* maud of Mr. Mair, who approached the edge of the bush, were discovered by one of the Hau Haus, evidently upon the look • out ; the alarm was given, aud the Ssu

Han bc-11 rung with great force; whilst the fanatics themselves were yelling and chaunting their religious songs with great spirit. Colonel Harrington having ordered a few shots to be fired as a signal to tho 12th Regiment and Arawas, who approached by way of Omanawa, the rebch opened lire, which was as promptly returned by Nos. 2 and 4 divisions, who entered the gully, which is thickly wooded, and the fire became general. Major St. John, who was in reserve with No. 5 division, haying received orders to try and penetrate the bush on the right, 20 volunteers were called, end quickly responded

to the call. This party approached the village gradually, driving tue enemy before it, many of them being seen to fall. At this time Private Wooiy, of the Engineer Corps, received a shot in the groin ; and Captain Muir, of the Volunteers, had a most miraculous escape, the ball glancing oil' the brass button of his tunic ami wounding him in the throat, iiy this time the Major and his party had gained the village, tke rebels retreating into the bush; they wore quickly followed by the remaining divisions, and the work of plum, der commenced, the Arawas remaining in the village of Akeake, whilst the force proceeded onwards to Taumata, which was destroyed. Hero.wo met the 12ih Hcgiment, under the command of Ooloue. Hamilton, who did all in his power to reach the village in time to cut off the retreat of the rebels, but having a long and difficult march of twelve nines, this wallet accomplished. The whares navi:;-., been burnt, and pigs, poultry, &e., satvi.ticed to the knife, the Arawas, 150 in number, under command of Captain Walker and Ensign Coats, of the l=t Waikato regiment, appeared, bringing as prisoners, •one man, seven women, and one cnhil who had been found in the bush ; these were at once marched to To Papa. ila> indestroyed everything possible, the force wore preparing to march to Akeake from Taumata, when they were fired upon from the edge of the bush; the -Major and the whole of the men immediately scoured the bush for some 500 yards, but no rebels wore seen; the force then returned to Akeake, where it encamped for tho night. Xcsfc day the village of Taumata was revisited by a party of 100 men, under tile command of Major St. John, who commenced destroying a crop of potatoes, about 21 acres of which were planted in bush land. On the (ith of February, four divisions, under command of Captain Stark, proceeded to Omanawa, where tm-y encamped. Preparatory to tho men being 1 marched away, the Hon. Colonel Hauburn 'called the officers commanding divisions together, and stated to them that a rumour was currant in cam;) to the cil'eet that he had stated that the position would never have been carr ed but f„r the pluck and ! bravery of the Arawas, thus throwing a ;li o hr upon the Militia and Volunteers, he slated (hat he had called them together to deej’ that statement-, it being perfectly untrue; ami he took the present moment to thank Colonel Harrington, and the ofll eers, non-commissioned otlioors, and men lurthoir gallant conduct. Colonel Harrington was requested to convey (his to the men, which he did, and ol coarse was met with general approval; the men were then marched away. February 7, 18(i7, tiie meti in camp still employed destroying potatoes. February S, camp Akeake —dreadful weather; rain in torrents ; all miserable. Through some mismanagement wo were served out with no grog, and orders have arrived for the men remaining here along with tin; engineers to proceed to Omanawa to-morrow. Feb. 10 —Still raining ; several tents blown down ; the commanding oißcer, Major St. John decided not to march in such dreadful weather. February 11—a prospect of cleaving up, the force left for Omanawa at 10 a.m., and reached that place about 4 p.m. Feb. 12—an order having arrived for Xos, 5 and G to proceed to Tovey’s Farm, they paraded at 3 p.m. and marched, arriving there at G - 30, under command of Ensign Atkyns, Ist Waikato Ilegimeut February 13—the whole force marched from Omanawata to Tovey’s Farm, where they encamped.

SKIRMISH BETWEEN THE ARAWAS AND TUB HAUUAUS. [New Zealand Herald, March 11.] March G, Our correspondent has been enabled to glean particulars relating to a brush which took place I between the Arawas and liaubaus on Saturday last. It appears that the former did no: go out for the purpose of lighting, of which :!i-y bad not the most distant idea. They mustereu but twenty

and were out for the purpose of piig- hunting, havling with them no loud of any kind, live of them, [with whom was Mr. Gilbert Mair, had separated from tlie rest, and after having killed some pigs, llauhau tracks were discovered by (hem ; each man flew to his gun, and had scarcely made preparations for their defence, when a volley was nourod into them from at least thirty rebels. Nothing daunted, this handful of men stood their ground, and returned the fire with interest, killing | two of their opponents, a bullet having entered the 'lower part of the face of one of them, carrying ; I with it the crown of the head. Tire remainder of' jthe twenty (amongst whom were some Ngatira-a jngis) came np at this juncture and also opened| Hire, when, ns usual, the liaubaus skedaddled. I (regret to have to record, on tho most reliable au- | roomy, that, iiiu on tins occasion tired i blank cartridge. Abundance of evidence can be [adduced of their so acting on a recent occasion, j but for reasons it is unnecessary to mention, I 1 hnvc not intlicrto disclose*! j but tho fket is T )fit° r, t The Arawa wntftuled in this affair was brought in [this morning by boat, Mr. Warbrick attending on | the beach, at the request of the uatives, to receive I him. aud uv wnom the wounded man was couI ve.yed to the hospital. His wound is of a far more serious nature than was at first imagined. 1 It should be noted that the two Haubana who 1 fell were shot by a native, named Pene, one of : those who were engaged in fighting against Kere- • —>• a* flaA -A->tvi nne Town qffoif i av vuw mimvw)