THE WAR IN THE NORTH.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 30, 12 August 1863, Page 6

THE WAR IN THE NORTH.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

The following proclamation to the Waikatos has been issued by Sir G. Grrey:—

Chiefs of Waikato, —Europeans quietly living on their own lands in Waikato have been driven away; their property has been plundered; their wives and children have been taken from them. By the instigation of some of you, officers and soldiers were murdered at Taranaki. Others of you have since expressed approval of these murders. Crimes have been committed in other parts of the island, and the criminals have been rescued, or sheltered under the color of your authority. You are now assembling in armed bands; you are constantly threatening to come down the river to ravage the settlement of Auckland, and to murder peaceable settlers. Some of you offered a safe passage through your territories to armed parties contemplating such outrages. The well-disposed among you are either unable or unwilling to prevent these evil acts.

I am therefore compelled, for the protection of all, to establish posts at several points on the Waikato river, and to take neces|ary measures for the future security of persons inhabiting that district. The lives and property of all well-disposed people living on the river will be protected, and armed and evil-disposed people will be stopped from passing down the river to fob and murder the Europeans. I dow call on all well-disposed Natives to aid the Lieut.-General to establish and maintain these posts, and to preserve peace and order.

Those who remain peaceably at their own villages in Waikato, or move into such districts as may be pointed out by the Government, will be protected in their persons, property, and land.

Those who. wage war against Her Majesty, or remain in arms, threatening the lives of her peaceable subjects, must take the consequences of their acts, and they must understand that they will forfeit the right to the possession of their lands guaranteed to them by the Treaty of Waitangi, which lands will be occupied by a population capable of pro-' tecting for the future the quiet and unoffending from the violence with which they are now so constantly threatened. Auckland, July 11, 1863.

The iron-clad gunboat which has been for some time building at Sydney, intended for Waikato River has been launched, and the following is a description of it:—The boat is 140 feet long, with 20 feet beam, and her hold is 6 feet deep. Her bottom is quite flat, with a draught of water not exceeding thirty inches when loaded. She will be propelled by a paddle-wheel at her stern, and her steersman, as well as the persons on board will be protected by a cupola roof. Of course, the boat is built of iron plates, sufficiently strong to resist rifle balls, and above her deck are two iron towers pierced for rifle shooting; it is by these towers only that access to the interior of the vessel can be obtained.- To guard against boarding, an apparatus is constructed by which a constant discharge of boiling water can be maintained for a quarter of an hour together from her side. She is calculated to carry 200 persons under her 'tween decks. The cost of constructing this vessel will be £9,000, and she is to steam eight knots an hour. The builders expected that she would be ready for sea by the end of this month, and in order to enable her to make the passage to New Zealand, she will be fitted with a false keel. This boat will be able to carry troops into the heart of Waikato, and we nmst presume that the Governor, in sanctioning the expenditure of so large a sum of money as her construction and fitting will cost, had resolved to put an end to Maori Kingship, by striking at its root.

By means of this steamer General Cameron will be able to command the greater part of the river, and to threaten the rear of the enemy. The small steamer Avon has also been fitted up for the same service, but ller draught of water will prevent her being of any great service.

In the Wellington Province, both at Wellington and Wanganui, the Natives still keep quiet, but the inhabitants are naturally taking every possible precaution against an outbreak. It is a serious oversight that there are not arms to equip one half the civilian forces being embodied, although I believe orders have been sent to Sydney to procure them. At Hawke's Bay, the natives, although quiet, are evidently not to be trusted, and if a rising should take place there they will find the settlers prepared for them. The Waikatos are likely to be in a sad plight if the campaign be prolonged for any considerable time. The 4 New Zealander' states that they have for some time been selling everything they could possibly turn into money, and the consequence is that hunger stares them in the face:—" Upon the eve of provoking deadly strife with the Government, they have sold every pound of flour and potatoes, and every bushel of wheat that they could scrape together within 40 miles of Maungatawhiri."