SYDNEY. [From the Sydney Morning Herald.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 39, 5 July 1845, Page 3

SYDNEY. [From the Sydney Morning Herald.]

" The painful and humiliating intelligence, communicated to our readers on Friday, respecting the operations in what may. ngw be called;, the seat of war, was neither more painful nor., more humiliating than we had ventijced long, ago to anticipate,, and almost to predict. The state of affairs at the New Zealand ha? now be-, come serious in the highest degree. The ques-. tion is no longer one_6f mere local interest : it is one which deeply implicates the national honour, The royal authority is openly set at defiance ; the British flag has been contemptu-, ously torn down ; the Queen's troops havebeen treasonably fired upon, and with murdeious effect ; they have been twice beaten, and compelled to retreat. The arms of England, so. often covered with glory in the mighty conflicts, of European war, have been ignominiously de-_ feated. by hordes of savages ! What is to be done? The power of New Zealand is now fairly pitted against the power of the United Kingdom ; and so far as this extraordinary trial of strength has hitherto proceeded, the former has signally triumphed. "The only alternative left, under this inglork ous exigency, seems to be either to withdraw, British authority altogether,, and so abandon the lives and property. of the colonists to their fate; or, on the other hand, to follow up the war with, increased spirit and determination, and so lavish, blood and treasure, to an indefinite extent, on so poor and paltry an object as the subjugation^ of a handful of barbarians. The former will, probably not now be thought on, at any rate not until the national honour shall have been redeemed, and the blood of Her Majesty's troops avenged. Every humane mind deprecates war,, especially such a war as this. But the Rubicon having been, crossed— = rebellion having beer\ pushed to the last extremity of resistance, and, aggression — the powe.r of Great Britain having been bearded and over-matched — there is noth.- , ing for it but powder and ball. England cannot tamely sit down under the disgrace of hav-. ing been beaten by uncivilized rebels, She has been touched in the apple of her eye ; and tho vindication of her own honour, in the faqe of, the world * compels her, at whatever cost, to. bring the rebels to account. '< And if the insurgents be true to_ their lead, ers, we fear the cost, both of money and of lifq and limb, will be found much greater than the Government have counted upon. The details

given in the graphic diary which we published on Friday show but too clearly liow many advantages are on the side of the New Zealanders — advantages "which would enable them to hold out for a long time against the most numerous forces that could be brought against them by Europeans. The rugged naturcof the country, destitute of roads, and abounding with mountains, ravines, swamps, turbulent rivers, and impenetrable woods, opposes the most formidable obstacles to the movements of an army, whether infantry or cavalry, and renders the transit of artillery almost absolutely impracticable. The rebels are not likely, therefore, to be soon beaten by actual fighting ; and but for the entire stoppage of their supplies of ammunition, and the probability of defection amongst themselves, we should consider the British cause nearly hopeless — at least, the war might be protracted for years."