AUCKLAND.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 79, 2 December 1864, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

By the e.s. Wellington, we are ia receipt of Auckland news to the : lßthi Abut Movements — We understand that General Cameron and staff will proceed to the South at an early period of the present week. The head-quarters of the 14th Regiment, 2nd battalion, are about to return to Auckland.—*?. Cross, Not. 16. : v The WaijeatoS. — We hare been told, da. good 1 authority, that the Waikatos in the North are ! now" under the protection of the chief Hemare," ! who has prepared a great .feast, for them. They will V. talk" over the Governor's! proposal, and will doubtless be guided according to circumstances. One thing we do regret, however — that the rebels j; should locate themselves in. the midst of a', driving European settlement. They were uorleasant enough; neighbors -Vheri :on "lofty Omahu,-!' they are ;ten , times, more so now with. Hemare at Mahurangi.— -Ibid, : '7s6v.-¥7. '-- • - -• : - ; '■-<'■> ■ ■'-' ■•- ■ ' The Escaped Prisoners.— The Governor has j returned from another abortive attempt to persuade the prisoners to trust themselves to his j safe keeping. The history of the affair as it has [ been related to us, is rather amusing. We do not vouch for the accuracy of all the facts, but we believe that ,our information is very ne the truth. It: appears that about a, fortnight since Hemare of Mahurangi had an interview with the Colonial Secretary in -Auckland, and made some arrangement with him to bring down the prisoners from their stronghold at Omaha to his place at Mahurangi, when he would immediately let the Colonial Secretary know, and a meeting should be arranged between him and the prisoners. He intimated that they were very anxious to see him, and thatthey were prepared to "leave the. district on certain guarantees being given them," and other Bteps taken- by Mr. Fox. The Colonial Secretory. • was on the point of starting. for Waikato, but arranged with Hemara to go back to the prisoners, fix a time for an interview, and return or write to* let him know. By that time he would be back from Waikato, and would lose no time in going down to see them. After Mr. Fox had gone to Waikato, his Excellency got scent of the arrangement between Hemare and the Colonial Secretary, by sounding certain officers of the Native office ; and seeing that there was a strong probability that Mr. Fox would succeed in what his Excellency had failed in doing, he immediately started off for Kawau in the Falcon. His Excellency then sent off Mr. White to Wangarei, to bring down the chief I Tir^rau, and other influential natives to help him. Tirarau, who had just returned from Auckland to Wairo, very much disgusted with his reception by the G-overnor, pleaded "indisposition, "and refused to come. " General Cameron," lie said, drawing ■with hiß finger, " goes thus (straight) j " Te Pokiha (Mr. Fox) goes ; but the G-overnor goes O (in a circle)." So he was " indisposed," and did not go to meet the G-overnor. Mr. White, occompanied by Manihera, Taurau, and other friendly chiefs, then returned to Kawau, •where they found the prisoners had gone to Mahurangi, in accordance with the arrangement between Hemera and Mr. Pox ; and Mr. White •went over to them in the Falcon, which anchored in Puhoi Bay. The G-overnor was on board, but did not go ashore. The discussion with Mr. White on the sea beach lasted for about three hours. What took place at that interview we do not know, but we understand that the natives exhibited great distrust of the Governor, and (said that they preferred remaining <.n Hemera's land to putting themselves into his Excellency's power, even w ; th a pledge that they should go back to Waikato. They agreed to send for those of their number who had gone to Kaipara, — about fifty men at Para Mate's settlement — and four teen at Hokianga, [ and said that on their arrival they would send for Mr. Fox to come down and talk to them. ' If the task were left in the hands of that gentleman and Mr White, we suspect they would have no great difficulty in dealing with the prisoners. But the knowledge which the prisoners have of his Excellency's devices, and particularly the j tact that when he sent Major Cooper to them, he had two men-of-war and the Sandfly cruising in , the gulf, out of sight, ready to pick them up if j they tried to cross to Waikato, naturally makes them distrust him. They refer, also, we hear, to the capture (KonihiJ of Rauperaha, in Cook's Straits, and are afraid to give his Excellency the opportunity of tryiug his craft on them. Four or five of the prisoners went on board the .Falcon and had an interview -with, the G-overnor, i and that number returned to Auckland with Mr. I White, two of them being chiefs from TJrivera district, and one of them, Piripi te Matewha, cousin of Thompson, and a man of some importance amongst the Ngatihaua tribe. Piripi has always been a quiet man, of good character, and was formerly employed as teacher in a Native school in Waikato. This was the result of his Excellency's visit, when he tried to steal a inarch upon the Colonial Secretary, and appropriate to I himself the credit which would have attached to I the successful negotiator. But the attempt was a " signal failure ;" and Sir G-eorge Grey has let the curtain drop on another act in the Kawau version of the " Comedy of Errors," the rehearsal of which has occasionally amused the entire colony for the past three months. The escaped prisoners are now at Hemera's settlement of Puhoi, four miles south of Mahurangi. It is now come to this that, with. 10,000 ; European troops in the colony, 5000 colonial , troops, and a squadron of the royal navy, 200 escaped prisoners on the flat sea-beach, 30 miles from Auckland, without entrenchments, and with only 40 or 50 stand of arms, can neither be persuaded to surrender, nor can his Excellency capture them. — Southern Cross. LATER INTELLIGENCE. We extract the following items from the Wellington Independent Extra of November j 22nd .— i On the 19th inst, General Cameron arrived at Taranaki in the steamer Alexandria, with 250 i troops. The s.s. Wanganui left Wanganui the same time as the Ahuriri, the latter vessel arriving here 35 minutes before the former. It was rumored at Wanganui that a lar^e party of Waikatos had arrived at Waitotare, and were inaking preparations to resist any attempt on the part of the Europeans to open the road between Wanganui and Taranaki. The Dutch barque Alfred, Captain Decker, from Cape Town, the 27th September, arrived at Auckland on the 26th inst. with 251 passengers and 85 tons military Btores for the Government. It was rumored at Wanganui that General [' Cameron was expected to arrive there on the 22nd inst, in the steamer Alexandra. From Wanganui we learn that a disturbance is pending. Tho proclamation of paaca alone prevented the military commander from taking hostile action. From Taranaki, the advices are that the Governor's proclamation has been contemptuously received. It was trampled under : foot in some places — laughed at in others j and 'William King of Waitara said, "That bait contains a hook for me," — at the same time- telling his fighting general Hapurona to order off tlie : Governor's messenger, and warn him and all others never to return with a similar message. William Thompson has joined the Pai Mairire fanatics. -He has been circulating the tract of the Taranaki votaries of this new sectinhis ownneighbourhood."