The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 99, 9 October 1863, Page 4

The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1863.

The Province of Southland has been a good deal made game of in the matter of gold. It is alleged that we are extremel y anxious — and of course we are^_to discover the metal that converts a sterile land into an El Dorado; but can't. They say that this province, in its efforts towards this end, has found nothing but mare's nests, and they say rightly. There are end/ess rumors comin? in of trumps turning up at last, hut never any reality. There are visionary gold fields dreamt of over night, but the cruel grey of the mornin£ dispels the illusion, and why ? It is not hard to answer; the country is not properly prospected. There have been and there are, it is true, isolated parties wandering about the mountain ranges, turning over the soil here and turning it over there, in a desultory way. Parties without capifal to enable them, to hold out — men whose scanty stock of provisions has compelled, and still compels them to withdraw from the undertaking on its very threshold. A payable goldfield can manifestly never be discovered in this unpractical way, save by the sheerest freak of fortune, that ever formed a paragraph In the chapte:- of accidents. It was not thus that Victoria trifled with her mineral riches. There, no sooner was -the color s^en, than the Government organised prospecting parties — skilled men under skilled leaders — paid them well ; sent them out into the north, and the south, and the east, and the west, and the return was fourfold. The Crooked Riverdiggings, opened by Mr M'Allisfer, the Nicholson, the Londonderry, the j Rutherglen, and many others, far, far repaid the outlay involved by the bands of prospectors. This is an example which we might follow. The color has been often enough seen here— in this province of Southland. No later than yesterday a gentleman, upon whose int 'grity we may rely, washed twenty specks from a dishful of soil on the banks of the Puni Creek ; but for all that, no official prospecting parties have been • fitted out, or even encouraged by the Government. Repeated offers have been made by competent men to take the active charge of schemes of this nature-, a^d have as repeatedly been wet-blanketed. This very week, a gentleman bearing the highest certificates from the Mining Boards of Victoria, Mr William M'Orea the discoverer of the Nicholson diggings in Gipps Land — a veteran prospector-^-tendered his services, for the second time, to our local Government, but was J^olitely requested to call again to-morrow or next day, or next year. His Honor certainly promised to bring his offer under the notice of the Executive; but that was done on a previous occasion, with no result whatever, and it may accordingly be pionounced a mere jacjn de parler. How far .the public imagine that justice is be-ing done to their interests and to this pvovii cc by such, procedure, we are at a loss to determine. This much we know, that any other settlement in the world, conscious of the possession of an undiscovered treasure, and that it could only be brought to profit by Government exertion, would have compelled, loug ere this, its Government to take the proper steps. We Understand that the merchants of Invercargill have, in a " dim religious " way, petitioned his Honor to institute . prospecting parties ; but this has taken place in a manner so secret and uninllueutial—so timid and so fearful of th'c daylight, that we question if the petition will be good for much beyond kindling the cigars of his Honor's department. Now is the time for something bolder ; the people will soon be able to speak through their representatives in the Provincial Council. They want their province developed ; they know it can be most speedily developed by the agency of gold discoveries ; they also know that gold discovery cannot be properly effected without prospecting parties and Government countenance. They know that they have Mr M'Crea, an experienced man, here to organise such patties. Knowing all these things, let them speak boldly to the Government, and the Government, we are sure, will not dare to say, "Call again to-morrow. 1 ' . __ There is much in the recent intelligence from the North island to cause regret, and it may be, dissatisfaction. But to those acquainted with the general circumstances, there is nothing in the present condition of affairs to create surprise. Not only is the war iv which the colony is engaged different in every phase from ordinary warfare, but it is one in the consideration of which it is necessary to divest one's self of many preconceived ideas and prejudices. To every Englishman the idea of disaster

acd defeat in Warfare is inconsistent with good generalship and cltar tactics. And yet we must be prepared to hear again of similar unfortunate occurrences to the one which befel that smaH but gallant band under the command of 'Captain Swift. There can be no doubt that the temporary inatuivity of General Cameron has given great encouragement to the rebels, and it is equally certain that their success at CamerOntown and the defeat of Captain Swift's party will still further embolden them. It is not unlikely either that inflated accounts of these transactions will be -rife amongst the native population, and hesitating tribes may thus be tempted to cast in their lot with the insurgents. But we can see no grounds for supposing that affairs are any the more serious than they were before. It may be better that all the wavering tribes should openly declare themselves oil the one side or the other. The certainty of knowing fche extent of the insurrection would be preferable to the uncertainty which prevails in many native districts. We do not, nor did we ever anticipate, that war with the Waikato natives, would be confined to them, and we still believe that, with very few exceptions, the whole of the native population south of the Auckland isthmus must be regarded as opposed to the authority of the Government. At the same time we admit that a decisive blow in the Waikato would render much of this general antagonism inocuous, and many tribes now simply watching events would ' ' assume a virtue if «hey have it not." It is in this light that it is so desirable as little delay as possibl •, should a c id General Cameron's intended attack on the rebel stronghoMson theWailoi'o. That this attack will be marie as soon as practicable we may be perfectly sure, for no one is more cognisant of the present unsatisfactory state of things than General Cameron. At present it I is as well to admit General Cameron has not at his disposal a sufficient effective force to accomplish his designs. When it is considered how many out- ' posts have to be garrisoned, and what an extent of difficult frontier has to be watched, it should occasion no surprise that General Cameron waits for the possession of a crushing force, to make any important movement. Nothing would be easier lhan for Gen. Cameron at once to attack Mere -Mere, but to do this with any certainty of success he would be compelled in a great measure to leave the frontier at his rear unprotected, affording an opportunity for the enemy, who occupy the whole extent of country between the two seaboards, for making an attack where and when it suited them. SmaH detached parties for any important pm pose, particularly when scattered in the bush in an unknown district, are a mistake, of which the recent affair near Tuaknu is an example. In the bush the Maories are generally so far masters of the position as to'be able to make sudden and deadly onslaughts when least expected, and to retire when threatened with defeat. In these bush expeditions there must always be a great amount of uncertainty as to the strength and position of the enemy, and for this reason they should not be undertaken except with a strong force, or by a number of small parties acting in combination. It is not that the European cannot fight as well in the bush as the Maori, for recent experience proves that he is more than a match for his favage enemy, but that a thorough knowledge of the country and the rapid- uncertain movements of the natives expose small detached parties to the possibility of being surrounded or trapped into an ambuscade. So long as the war consists of a history of petty conflicts may we expect to hear of occasional mishaps. But we have reason to believe that such a force will soon be placed at the disposal of General Cameron as will enable him to assume the offensive. From information afforded us, we learn that despatches have been received from the Duke of Newcastle of so far a favorable character as to warrant the opinion that the Imperial Government have determined to thoroughly subdue the insurrection once and for ever. Large reinforcements are by this time on the way, and what with the militia and other civilian forces and the troops of the line, it may be calculated that General Cameron will soon be capable of following up Irs plans. There is something about the attack on the pah of the "friendly" natives at Camerontown—^the capture of the stores there — the death of Mr Armitageand his companions, exceedingly suggestive of treachery on the part of our dubious allies; and we cannot but again record our protest against employing native allies in any work in which they would have the possibility of concerting with the enemy. In the Camerontown affair, the opposition of the "friendly" natives to the enemy appears lo hnv been of the mildest kind, and the assertion that they fired until their ammunition was expended is somewhat inconsistent with the harmless character of the conflict, no loss of life on either side having occurred, although the rebels succeeded in sacking and destroying the pah. It is no new feature in Maori warfare for quasi allies to fire blank! cartridges at their presumed enemies. We cannot see what good purpose can be accomplished by exposing valuable lives to the bare chance of treachery. The Camerontown disaster appears to us the result of mismanagement. Why so large a quantity of stores should have been placed in a dilapidated pah, without the slightest military protection, we cannot understand, when we remember that the stores, consisting of maize, &c, were a tempting bait to the enemy. Poor Mr. Armitage has fallen a victim to misplaced confidence in the race amongst which he has passed the greater part of his life. Surely sufficient had already been shown of the non-

reliance to be placed Opon old associations, to warn the Europeans agairist pi acing any -confidence; in the M aories. No precautions should be omittedagainst the recurrence bf such a misfoTtune as occurred at Camerontown. This is hot a time at vrhich the colbny can afford to ' lose valuable public officers.