THE NEWS FROM THE WEST COAST.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 89, 14 September 1868, Page 224

THE NEWS FROM THE WEST COAST.

" ' (Wellington* Indepenaent, lOth'Septeraben)' •. lo6k upon" the i news" that Has come , Horn the Hrontby the Start as being otherwise , fimn. absolutely,, disastrous. ' 'lt may be that our j j ? h ave killed twenty-seven Maoris, though t 7;: that . is. doubtful ; .but. ten.—aye, a hundred ;. v that ■ number slain—would, not-make up the .loss to* the colony of intrepid Yon Tempsky, of ' SBlkint Buck, of-genial-dashing Hastings, and of ; the other officers and men wholfell. on. this occasion; -v It-is:not-opr business’ to obstrude our.pri.vate and personal feelings upon ; the l public phut may'be; said, that we. mourn the loss , of Yon Tempsky, Thick, and Hastings; as that of , - persqnal, friends, and . that we cannot find * YQrds; in.-which-to express the poignance .of the J ; grief which ;this; news has inflicted upon us.. ■ And y in a lesser; ‘degree the colonists of New Zealand will lament the fate of those men, who were shot ; jur^}^iJ^^kont ; the being : .p, biowagamit their ponbealed Js ;ih®hare. facts .have only .reachedjis'as yet, and we know not what additional horrors the ceil fullidetailsmay disclose. -So fiir as can he gleaned, ‘it appears -that the stronghold of‘Te Ngutu 6te ''<^liietely'des^6yisd v at’itbb first attack; hnd that - the rfebels' haying taken 1 refuge 7 ;A: against them decamp .necessary.j Thti-enpmyjSeem to have been v.i 'WeH. ; informed; as ; . fo/, the .-intentions -.and.-,mover . . mentd of the . coloniaTfor ces. ; .Our 7 forces \ left ' - ir Hhe-latter-were ir.u /^S^jfi^pr^Ppred: this tinie every p6st , . rof;.vantage contained armed yifle pit was <ki^9S^P}g^hy o .Maorig^and. along of the t\- the firtosi,iwere><occppied.by; men toatjhas been. r; i^^y^auttoie,^udgi»g^theipresenfe^ TM>Sol«telyfdisattr«otiS;TS- i ■ f VV -vv : ''

career' of Von is “ weTT His name 1 is identified'witiimany vigorous 'assault,' and r hard-fought fencouhterdtiring tbh last^iive.; years.- In ;the j^ailfato, tiki, ,and at l\as; doue £ gooi service as will Msmembry neid inhonor by* ‘all who'- 1 respect' brave ’deeds and gallant - menu* - ' Captain-Buck, toio, .was I ;‘known as a gallant ’.officer in her Majesty’s service, who bad he been. afforded the opportunity,. would have fbrther'distinguished himself in that' of the colony. Connected by-marriage vritli a leading-Wellihgton settler,. Captain; Buck possessed many friends id this commnnity, and.the sad news of his untim'ely death will be felt, not only.by the mourning widow he leaves behind,'hat also by many others who entertained a warm regard for him as a pert sonal -friend.’; The ; late Captain Buck joined the Gotli Regiment as ensign in 1851. He was ap r pointed fieutenaht' in 1853, and attained' the rank of captain in 1860. " ‘He served with the 65th for many years in New Zealand, hut .on the : occasion of its going home exchanged into the 14th Regt., and in his capacity as. an officer .in it was known and liked in Wellington, not only by his men but by all whom he came in contact with. A straightforward, honest and gallant fellow was Captain Buck. It.seems but yesterday that we heard his bluff cheery voice—but yesterday since we had our last pleasant country walk : with him. Of our old and intimate' friend’ and fellowworker on this'journal, Henry Charles Holland Hastings, we can scarcely trust ourselves to speak. Originaly ad officer'in a cavalry regiment, Lieut: Hastings, after taking part in some rough work in India, emigrated to New Zealand, and ultimately came to Wellington. He then became connected ’ for a short time with the Evening Post, and afterwards joined the staff of this journal; and remained .on it for :nearly four years.: A well educated man, a ready writer, and a genial companion he was liked by every one ; and when the day came that he resolved to lay down the pen to take up the sword, no one was there of his friends who did not hid him a hearty farewell and wish him “God speed” Even now we have his last private letter before ns, in which he writes: “We are going in for another fight, old fellow, and some of us will never come out of it. See Mrs Hastings and tell her to cheer, up.” Then there is his “own correspondent’s” letter, published in the paper to-day; but the pen with which the events of the' campaign have been so graphically delineated has now dropped from a dead man’s hand! ' Poor Hastings! we shall not soon cease to think of the kindly friend, able collaborates, whom! we have lost. It will he sad news to a distinguished family in England that the mail took home yesterday, while here there is a young-wife, and an infant sou left to lament the loss of the poor brave fellow, who lies stark and dead in the narrow bush-bordered- traclrtharleaarTO Te'Ngu-' tu o te Maun.

And how what is to be done ? What are we to. with, these bloodthirsty rebels, who abstain from no treachery, who respect no usages of civilized warfare, who regard no conditions of truce, who only, make a hollow pretence of peace so that they may find time to prepare for committing fresh outrages ? Are we always to wait till they murder settlers, and only' them make reprisals ? - Or are we to face the existing difficulty and set.,ourselves to the task of. exterminating those hapus on the West Coast, who, during the last eight years, have been the perpetrator's of all the atrocities in those districts.which have occurred:? There is no use blinking the.ugly,facts of the case. 1 There are a certain number of 'natives on the West Coast .who will never cease to rob, burn, and; murder*. These men must .be shown no mercy. . They should be treated as wild beasts —hunted down and J slain. Modern' teaches us that irreclaimable savages, who Rendered colonization impossible ,and the lives of* peaceful settlers J insecure, have been, in'the interests of society; exterminated. Rajah Brooke, in the Inlands ,of the Eastern. Archipelago, rendered an important' service to his country by’the "partial use of-such means; and "Eyresaved Great Britain millions, of money, by hanging the ringleader and summarily stamping out the , rebellion in Jamaica. This is not the first time we have boldly avowed such sentiments; and although that., arithmetical politician, the hon. John Hall, lias called'them atrocious,—and though that small wit House,-the hom-Mr Mantell, has] stigmatised our language, as disgraceful to : an: Englishman, yet we do not abate one jot or tittle I of our previous assertions. We are not advocating ’ a war against'the whole Maorir ace—than which no course could he more unjust or. impolitic—hut what we emphatically assert is this; , there are'certain liapus of-tribes on the .West Coast whose deeds of rapine and murder have made .them .the curse of the, colony,, and we Moidd. exterminate them, nit 1 does ndt matter what means are employed; so longi as the work . is'dona effectually. '’.Head-money, blood-money, killing, by., contract-r-any or either of those means may he adopted,; and'we shall be content ’so long as ; the > business ’-is accomplished, and.the colony -rid ,of a terrible danger;and,ruinous taxation. If the worst hapus on the West Coast were dealt with in the "manner' prescribed we sliouldihear little of outbreaks, elsewhere. - ' ; We, .convinced,.that the time' has f co>ne for the people of Wellington to ‘ give an eihphatic demonstration of their opinion.* 7 - -The- Government hasjio.policy,; ;aud nojy that thecolony, is.plunged into .war,; they we' -unable’to ‘grapple with diffiueiilties of : tKe situation. ' ' In.: truth the* whole, native.policy of the Governmenthas been nothing but a display ,of temporising and impotence. They have no aim arid.end: ;Th6jr fight only when; the deadly tomahawk of theHaiihairhas heen buried ip .the • Brain; iseiflery*'ishey., gfodlfc malm ijeace when the cowar.diy nhu'derers’wi’sli a respite to |pfepare* for other deeds 1 of-bloodsKbd; ;f :The ! blood, of .the.colonistsjim thisrisland is nowfairly ufy and;they will,-no, lpuger.be c.phtente v d with a system pf'c'owardice" and ffishohesty 'bh' the Tpart of;Ministersi:; -We> are jiiforineds that ?manyM the lemling,,ciliy!ens.hayb S to.pall.ftjhqhster public meeting '.to* consider the r critical select' of affaira. 1 wltich fids ariseh ofcfeiSi; proyiueei^.aiuMhat itbey/bontemplatei going [a petition; demandm’g; thatrthe' GoverHn(eiit‘ : !lffainly«'d»elaretthe ippliejbahfl' the’ which native xebelhon on the ■ -