AUCKLAND.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 31, 11 August 1864, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

"We have Auckland papers, to the 29th July to hand, pen the I. (J.R.S.S. Phoebe. With reference to the prospects of peace, th*e Daily Southern Cross, of-26fh ultimo, jK lias the following : —" At last we may Venture to say that,, there ia a reasonable prospect of' there being no more fighting at Tauranga for thb present. One hundred «end twenty of the rebels unconditionally surrendered, gave up their arms, und took the oath of allegiance on Tuesday last —inaldngln all abWt one hundred and fifty, lwho since the late engagement at Tauranga, have brojight .themselves under'^'British rule. Such, is the substarice of the news brought by) they .Icblonial' Cgunboat Sandfly,. and it is expressed in" the;' {following' vlines from—a -under date July _26th: — 'There risTronly; one absorbing subject in the L camp/which; is) the. certainty of peace—and that a firm and'lasting peace. Aboiit. one hundred and fifty rebels have laid down their arms,; and surrendered unconditibnally, to the mercy of the Crown. v ' Amongst those converted rebels, are • the iprmcipal chiefs of Tauranga: Enoka, nephew of Rawiri; Hori Ngatai, of the Ngaterangi tribej; Pene Taka, who distinguished himself at tho Gate pah; Pene'Taka, chief of ' Judea; and Homiora Tahore, Hori Tupaea's son. Nothing could • have been more satisfactory than the surrender of these people ; and the country is deeply indebted to Colonel Greer, who, t assisted by Mr. j Rice, has so satisfactorily and honorably brought about so desirable a state of , affairs. The natives are anxious for a visit from His Excellency, 'which, if complied with at the present juncture; may have a most powerful effect upon the whole bf the tribes southward of this. . The natives have; expressed their gratitude in most [ unmistakeable language to Mr. Rice for his kindness and patience in their behalf, for had it not been for his visiting them when he heard of : their desire to submit, they would no doubt have \ been lurking in their fastnes9 afraid td"surrender.' In addition to the information conveyed in the \ above, we may add that about two-thirds of tho natives who have thus surrendered gave up guns • and amunition, and the remainder Maori weapons of war. Although we would not go to the same \ length as our correspondent in assuming that there is a " certainty, of peace, and that a firm and \ lasting peace," we must admit that from the tenor of this news we may reasonably anticipate . that there will be peace at least at Tauranga, f unless the rebels from other parts should choose it as the arena for hostilities. With those who have been killed or have been put to flight in recent engagements, the natives who have now surrendered represent the whole of those at Tauranga ; and their territory may now be said to be a t the disposal of the Crown. We are informed 1 fchat these men have 'unconditionally' surrendered, and given up their arms, which, indeed, are the only terms on which their submission could have "been received. They have, in fact, ' acknowledged themselves hopelessly defeated ; for we are inclined to attribute their submission to that conviction, and not to any hope they might have entertained that they would thereby be allowed to retain the greater portion of their 1 lands." The New Zealander, of the 29th ult., 3ays: — "Information has been further communicated to us, to the effect that William Thompson is very desirous of having an interriefv frith His Excel - 1 lency the Governor, and wishes that the interview should be private. The Maoris in general, alleges the Ngatihaua chief, are now convinced 1 that the intentions of the Queen are friendly; and ' for the future they wish to have no other Sovereign than' her Majesty Queen Victoria. Thompson has recovered from his illness, and ' will, it is to be hoped, entitle himself to the gratitude of his countrymen by resuming his old * character of the Peace-maker. We have received 1 this information from a source which vre regard ' as thoroughly trustworthy; and we need not ' pojnt out reasons for considering it highly important." ' From the same source we learn that " the term of service of the Colonial Defence Corps —twelve months —having! expired, those who are desirous of leaving the force are .now being paid off. The payment has been demanded in several cases, and some of the men are already in town looking about i for other employment." " The same journal likewise notices the arrival of the commissioners appointed to decide on tho seat of G-overnment question, as follows: —" At last the Seat of Government Commissioners have reached New Zealand. Amongst the passengers by the Prince Alfred, which'arrived at Auckland from Sydney on the 23rd ult., were Sir Francis ' Murphy, Mr. Docker, and Mr. Gunn. The first ia the gentleman appointed by the Governor of Victoria, the second represents Tasmania, and the third New South Wales." On the aubject of the three million loan we quote from the Southern Cross as follows : —" We understand that the proportion of the three million loan which the Imperial Government will guarantee, was definitely fixed before the departure of the last English mail. The Imperial Government will guarantee one million of it; and a bill was about to be introduced into the British Parliament to effect that. It is satisfactory to know that this question was definitely settled —that rre cannot expect a guarantee for a larger amount There can be no doubt, however, that the remaining portion of the loan will be readily taken up as required. TheclosingpriceforNewSouthWales 5 per cent, debentures in London, when the mail left, wa3 99£ to 100^; and that for New Zealand 6 per cent. 109 to 111. If these debentures, not guaranteed, are worth .so much, we may reasonably expect that the 5 per cent debentures, under the three million loan, will readily be sold at the -former 1 quotation. Of course the refusal of the guarantee §mr more than one million will increasa the rate of interest on the remainder by 1 per cent., or £20,000 ; per annum; but this is not at . all dreadful to contemplate, when we; consider that the vital'interests of the Colony are at stake. It will be satisfactory to our readers to learn, too, that the law advisers of the Imperial Government ■ have given their opinion that the Now Zealand Settlements' Act, •as passed by the General Assembly, is perfectly legal."