THE WAR IN THE NORTH.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 40, 16 September 1863, Page 6

THE WAR IN THE NORTH.

Auckland, August 26, 1863. The fallowing t tegr.un was received last evening:— 11 Attack of natives on a working party of the 40th. Two men engaged in clearing the bush above Rama Rama Camp .saw Maoris gliding towards them The men ran to meet the escort, and saw the natives rushing across the road for the arms oi the 40th, and earned off twenty odd stand of arms; no ammunition The escort came up. firing into the successful natives. The latter killed two of the 40th with their own pieces. One man of the 18tli wounded. A party of armed btishmen fired a volley into the flying natives. Natives retired west. Three natives kiiled. One pulled down by a large Coromandel dog; on getting up again, the man was shot." From further information received, at 2.30 this morning, the particulars of the affair would appear to be as follows On Tuesday, at about 11 o'clock a.m., two men who were engaged felling timber for the purpose of clearing the bush from the Great South Road, observed several Maoris passing through the bush to the rear, and making towards the working party of the 40th regiment, at the bend of the road on the right, beyond the camp at Williamson's clearing. The bush, at this place, comes out towards the line of road in a sharp corner, and was at all times a locality where an ambush could be easily laid. The two bushmeu referred to threw down their axes, and ran to the road, for the purpose of apprising the escort, which was then coming up the line from Drury. The natives fired between 20 and 30 shots at them, but without effect. The bushmen made their Whv good, and reported the circumstance to the officer in command ot the escort, who ordered an immediate advance.

The Maoris, in the meantime, went straight to that part of the road where the arms of the working party of the 40th regiment were piled ; and the escort arrived ju*t in time to see the natives carry off 23 stand of arms. The escort fired into the retreating party, killing two of the Maoris ; a third was shot by a soldier, through the exertions of a dog of the blood-hound breed, which belongs to one of the bush party, and which arrested the Maori, pulling him to the ground, and rendering it impossible for him to get away before the escort came up, when one of them shot him. The body of this native was lving on the roadside shortly alter the affair; the remaining corpses of the enemy were lying where they fell, off the highway a considerable distance.

The enemy returned the fire of the escort, wounding Private Laurence Clover, 18th regt., Royal Irish, severely in the leg. The Maoris, on going up to the pile of arms, it appears took possession, firing a volley at the working party of the 49th regt., killing two men on the spot One of these is Private Giveny.. 40th regt., and another is a private of the same regt. whose name could not he ascertained. Giveny joined the corps in Melbourne. He had two bullet wounds on his bedv—one through the breast, another through the thigh. The second of our killed was shot in the breast. It seems that no commissioned officer was with the working party of the 40th, although it consisted of 24 men ; but doubtless this circumstance will be carefully inquired into by the proper authorities. The Maoris made good their retreat into the bush, on the westward of the line of road, but encountered the fire from a party of bushmen, deeper in the forest than the men of the 40th, who had been warned of their danger by the firing around them. Whether any of the Maoris then fell is not known.

The news of this raid by the Maoris was brought to the Drury camp by a carter, who was coming to the Land Transport stables. One company of the 70ih, commanded by Captain Tovev, marched f*»r the scene of action, succeeded by I Lieutenant Kait, R. A., and his mouuted troop. Ail the troops in the camp were under arms. The troop of cavalry took tiie road to Makatu, to cut off the retreat of the Maoris, if they returned by their former track, but as they retired by a line to the westward the troopers saw nothing of them. The company of the 70th meeting the escort, returned to camp. The dead and wounded men of the 40th and 18th, were conveyed to the camp in ambulance carts.

On Thursday an experimental 4 alarm" was sounded in the city, with the view of testing the promptitude with which the volunteers and militia coukl assemble at the several appointed posts previously fixed upon. The idea originated with Colonel Carey, commanding the Auckland garrison and camp at Otohuhu, and was most successfully tarried out. Notice hai been given that within a period of ten days from a certain specified date, an alarm Mould be sounded in the day time by the firing of guus, &c., when all persons enrolled as militiamen or volunteers would assemble as quickly as possible at the nearest appointed rendezvous to their residence or workshop. The signal was three repititions of two k'uns, fired in rapid succession from the ramparts of Fort Britomart, and followed on the instant by the clangour of the fire bells in different parts of the city. The call was responded to right nobly, for hardly had the sound of the first discharge of cannon died away, before the streets became crowded with persons running in all. directions, some with rifles, some running to fetch their rifles, but all with one object—to find their way in the shortest possible period of time to their posts. In about ttn minutes there would be 300 men assembled in barracks, and in half an hour there would be more than double that number. As an indication of the '• turn out" that night be calculated to take place in the event of actual alarm the exhibition was most satisfactory to

all concerned. Colonel Carey, with other officers, visited the barracks and all the outposts, and heartily complimented both officers and men on the alacrity displayed in a tending to the summons to place themselves under arms.—Daily Times.