AHURIRI.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 527, 21 November 1857, Page 3

AHURIRI.

Public Meeting. —- In : accordance! with the terms of a requisition, the Resi-j dent Magistrate has convened a publid meeting for Tuesday, the 20th instant, for the purpose of considering the present dis-i turbed state of the district. Whatsoever! views may be entertained on this matter—; and we are "aware that,they differ greatly —we hope that all who possibly can will attend on the day.-named.— H. B. Herald. , The Mails to the Interior.—lt is much to. be,regretted, that owing, we be-! lieve, to the fact of the natives who hitherto performed the service, being with one or the other of the war parties^ the mail to Waipakrua, has been suspended for some weeks. I The result, as may be supposed, has been a serious inconvenience to settlers in the interior. We have heard that the" service is likely to be resumed^ and we really hope it may be so.-r-Ibid. I The Overland Mail.—On Tuesday; the sth October, we had to welcome the arrival of the first mail from Auckland— > the bearers of it being delayed by the severity of the weather. We are sorry that the foot-sore natives should not, on their arrival themselves, have received a better, welcome than that of a bed on the island without food or refreshment; but we hope that better arrangements may be made before the coming of' the next mail. It started on the return trip, early on Thursday morning-. The mailmen departed in the best of humour, being' well fed and housed by Mr. Smith, in honour of the occasion. We can now count on writing to Auckland and receiving a reply within three weeks —a highly important step in the right direction. — Ibid. The '* Herald,' we are happy to say, is going a-head. We have a long list of subscribers, and an excellent advertising connection. Our thanks are due to the settlers for having so liberally tendered us their support and assistance. We need not. say that it- shall be our study to deserve it. — Ibid. The Harbour.—An important want in connexion with the harbour is the want of a pilot boat: If we are to have a pilot boat at all, the pilot should have something better than a wretched dingy to go outside with on the arrival of vessels. We understand, that, during last session of the Provincial Council, a sum of £40 was . voted for a pilot boat at Napier, and surely 'it ought to be expended. A few days ago an excellent, whale boat was in the market—Suitable in every respect for.a pilot boat, and we would suggest to the Provincial authorities the necessity of issuing instructions to take advantage of the recurrence of such an opportunity.— Ibid. \ ANOTHER NATIVE FIGHT. We regret to learn—although the event has been for some time daily expected-— that. another. collision between the respective contending parties of Te Hapuka and Te Moanui Nui, took place on Wednesday last—resulting in two men being killed and four wounded. - ■ i We are enabled to supply our readers with the following particulars kindly furnished us under date the following day, by Dr. Hitchings, native surgeon, whose avocation called him to the scene of bloodshed, and whose account we subjoin:— " I am sorry to inform you that another fight, took place between Te Moanui and his confederate chiefs, and Te Hapuka, in which two natives have been killed and a few wounded. . The circumstances which led to this out- , break were detailed to me piecemeal,, during the hurry of my professional visit to day, and I give them to you in the same disjointed way that it may be expected I heard them, when my total igno- . ranee of the native language is taken into . account. T?e Moana Nui and his party,'.ever since the last engagement, have evinced a great ' deal pf fassurance, and an open tone of de-' fiance' towards those '] to 'them

"their numerical:superi6rityFt or their real or supposed victory oh that or both),: and,-particularly durin ff the^past^eek,, havei repeatedly sent'cha^ , lenges ; to „ them; but /these Kaye notbeen accepted,.Hapuka!prejFerrihgtlie shelter of ' ms pah fortifications, to risking an unequal encounter on the open plain; A challenge was sent yesterday and at first refused, ..but the one party emboldened and the other maddened, or rendered desperate in consequenceof the arrival of some twentyji veto thirty natives .fromTaupo, the latter (the Hapuka party) v hoisted a red flag at Wakatu, which means an acceptance of the challenge, and some seventy or eighty men> headed by the Pakowhai chief, Pukara, advanced to meet the enemy. A long and desultory battle ensued, which lasted till darkness came on, and which, strange ,to say, led to so few casualties. This is the more surprising, as the respective parties were frequently firing at each other at some ten or twelve yards distance only, and the numbers actually engaged on Te Moana NuiV side were at least two hundred men—armed.

To-day all is quiet again; and although a resumption of hostilities will almost inevitably take place at some future time, so long as the exciting cause remains, — (Te Hapuka continuing at Wakatu), yet this will seemingly be controlled by accidental circumstances, or by the caprice of a moment."

Robbery by Maories.—lntelligence reached town early in this week of a robbery haying been committed upon Mr. Gray, a well knpwnsettler in this district; and, a day or two later, full particulars were furnished us by Mr. Gray himself, who at the same time made a deposition before the resident magistrate. It appears that, on Thursday the Ist inst., a native named 'Rangihera, chief of Tero wero, came to Mr. Gray's warre, attended by some 10 or 15 merij armed with tomahawks, having fire-arms at a short distance, and accused Mr. Gray of having burned down a fence that surrounded the grave of his (Rangihera's) child. Mr. Gray denied the charge; the land he occupied had not only been long in the hands of the Government, but he (Mr. Gray) had never seen any such enclosure. The natives, persisted, and demanded utu in the shape of a double-barrelled gun, known to be in Mr. Gray's possession. The latter refused, upon which the natives began to make free with his goods and chattels. A struggle ensued, during which Rangihera's followers took possession of the gun-case, and a number of other articles. In the course of the same afternoon most of the property was returned, the principal article retained being the gun-case and its appurtenances, so that the matter appears to resolve itself into this. The natives were on their way to join Moana Nui's war party, and resolved to have fire-arms at all risks. It is lamentable to think that such a state of things should exist.