E—No. Iα

1 FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO In communication with the gentlemen of the Native Department, I brought into town the bodies of the three principal Chiefs for proper interment, the other Waikatos killed were interred in a pit on the field. We have taken six prisoners and a considerable number of very fine arms, rifles and double-barrelled guns. I shall be obliged by the " Victoria" being sent back without delay, as I have discharged the " Wonga Wonga." I have, &c., T. S. Pratt, Major-General Commanding. To His Excellency Col. Gore Browne, C.8., Governor and Commander-in-Chief, New Zealand. Enclosure in No. 1. Pukekohe, November Ist, 1860. To Mr. Paeris : Friend, —I have heard your word —come to fight me, that is very good; come inland, and let us meet each other. Fish fight at sea—come inland and stand on our feet; make haste, make haste, don't prolong it. That is all I have to say to you—make haste. From Wetini Taipoeutu, From Poeokoeu, From all the Chiefs of Ngatihaua and Waikato. (True Copy.) R. Caeey, Lieut.-Colonel, D.A.G.

No. 2. COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM major-general peatt, c b., to goveenoe goee BEOWNE, c.b. Head Quarters, Camp Waitara, 31st December, 1860. Sir, — I have the honor to report for the information of your Excellency and the Members of the Government, that the excessive rains having ceased, I was enabled to move out from New Plymouth on the 28th instant, in order to attack a large body of the Waikatos, who had occupied a very strong position at Matarikoriko on the left bank of the Waitara and not far from Huirangi. My force, after being joined by parties from the Waitara Camp and the other positions, amounted to 900 rank and file of all arms —which was all I could muster after leaving the Town and other posts in security, and required some assistance from H.M.S. "Cordelia," and H.M.C.S. " Victoria," and I note this in consequence of the great mis-statements which are circulated regarding the amount of force at my disposal for aggressive operations. Having halted at the Waitara Camp, now my base of operation, I marched from thence at half-past three o'clock on the morning of the 29th, and reached Kairau, opposite Matarikoriko mound and pah and 900 yards distant fron it, at half-past six a. m., and proceeded to throw up an entrenched camp for the security of the Troops during the subsequent operations: this was done without molestation, until about nine o'clock, when a very heavy fire was opened upon us from a line of rifle pits extending for 600 yards, just 100 paces from us, and running along the edge of a deep ravine between us and the pah, having very precipitous banks, and at the bottom of which was a dense forest and deep swamp, firing was opened upon us also from skirmishers in the high fern nearly all round the entrenchments, this was promptly returned by our skirmishers, the troops and howitzers, and heavy firing was kept up on both sides until six o'clock in the evening by which time the Redoubt, which had been carried on the whole time, being completed, it was garrisoned and a portion of the Force returned to Camp. Next morning, 30th December, at daylight, on my troops reaching the Redoubt, I found that the enemy had kept up a constant fire during the night, which was as promptly returned. They had a white flag on the pah, and line of rifle pits, and the Redoubt was heightened and strengthened during the day without a shot being fired on either side. On the 31st, at half-past three o'clock a.m., I again marched out, but from the information which reached mo on the road (hat the enemy was leaving the rifle pits and retiring from the pah, and that it was not unlikely that it might be occnpied by another party of the enemy who were known to be coming up from the North, I at once sent an order to Colonel Wyatt, commanding the entrenchment, to ascertain whether the rifle pits and pah were occupied, and if not to take possession of both without a moment's delay, this was immediately done by a party of 200 men of the 65th and Naval Brigade under Colonel Wyatt and Commodore Seymour, and on our force sighting the pah we had the satisfaction of seeing the British flag floating over it. The result of these three days has been that the proud Waikatos who had threatened to drive us into the sea, have instead been themselves driven from one of the most formidable positions I ever saw, chosen by themselves, and that too with singular sagacity, into the dense bush, and we occupy positions to keep them there.