The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-15 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 13, 1864.

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The accounts from New Z.:alarld are certainly not
encouraging. Not only is there to immediate pro-
scect of the conclusion of the war and the suspen-
sion of hostilities, but we have the mortifying in-
telligence of a decided repulse having befallen
Brhish arms. It is, perhaps, less surprissng that
this should occur in an irregular campaign like the
present than in an encounter with ordinary troops,
since it is very difficult for officers and men. to
fol-
low the tactics of the natives or to estimate correctly
their resources or their prospects in any particular
struggle. It is always a great mistake to under■
value your enemy, and this, if not the case with
General CAMERON himself, seems to be very much
the error of those subordinate to him in. authority,
as well as of the men. The hlaories eve advan-
tages not ordinarily possessed by uncivilit led nations.
They come of a race which ha i natural: ly far more

intelligence and energy than ordinary aborigines,
and is susceptible of a high degree of culture.
They possess, too, all the cunning and ingenuity
peculiar to savage tribes, and especially that know-
ledge of the .ground they fight on which always
gives such immense advantage in defensive warfare.
The swamps and tangled forests afford them easy
passage, while our men are forced to cut their way
through the thickets or to struggle, as they best
can, over a pathless moras. The Maories know
every nook and corner of the country, and the
guerilla warfare which they have thus been enabled
to carry on has been both harrassing and disastrous
to us. They are skilled in the wee of firearms,
though they do not abandon the traditional toma•
hawk of savage warfare. General CAMERON wisely
determined to meet them on their own grounds
when he organised the flying columns,
of which we have not lately heard, but
when it comes to open fighting the Maories never
have a chance against their assailants. The dia.
culty lies in besieging their " pahs" or entrench.
ments, which they are in the habit of evacuating at
the last moment, leaving our troops the barren vic-
tory of the empty pahe. it is not, however, safe to
trust general rules, and the sad affair which has cost
us many valuable lives, arose from the mistake of
thinking that the natives had decamped when they
were only concealing themselves. It used to be a
common practice in Eastern warfare to make a feint
of this sort, and many of the more notable reverses
of mediaeval history are due to Northern or Western
ignorance of such tactics. According to the old le-
gend the death of the celebrated DOUGLAS, BRUCE'S
companion in arms, was due to his having indis-
creetly pursued the flying Moors, Scottish fashion,
unaware that their seeming flight was only to lure
him to destruction. The New Zealand Maories
have tried a similar trick, with unfortunately too
much success. From the most authentic accounts,
it seems that General CAMERON'S forces besieged
an entrenchment at Tauranga, to which place the
natives had fled in discomfiture after their recent
repulse at Orakau. Taurarga is the chief abode
of the Ngpulii, a powerful tribe on the eastern coast.
Its position, which General CA3IERON was anxious
to take, was called the Gate Pah, and rested on the
summit of a hill on a small peninsula. Great pre-
parations were made for the assault, some large
Aratstrongs—ono of them an 110 pounder—being
got ashore. The description given of the place cer-
tainly does not accord with the commonly received
notions of savage warfare. It consisted, we are
told, of two palls, 1,000 yards apart, connected by
rifle-pits, and by an inner line of rail fence, masked
by branches of trees. The bombardment was main-
mined for nine hours, when a number of Maories

were seen retreating, and some of our troops were
despatched in pursuit of them through the swamp.
Meanwhile it was resolved to storm the pall in front.
Notwithstanding a heavy fire the troops carried the
breach bravely, and entered the peh to find it
almost deserted, only two or three wounded men
being visible. Thrown off their guard, the English,
it is said, dispersed and fell to plunder, though this
is a somewhat singular story. No sooner were they
scattered, however, than from every lido a mur.
derous fire from unseen guns poured upon them.
The men were panicstrickcn and fled, notwithstand-
ing the eff)rte of their officers, whose names in the
lists of killed and wounded too well attest their
resolute devotion to their duty. The 43d Regiment
lost it is said as many officers as in a pitched battle.
A reinforcement arrived to no purpose but to add
the name of its brave commander to the list of
victims, and, to make matters worse, the party
who pursued the eying 'Niceties were al,e re-
pulsed in an assault on another part of the pab.
Among the naval cfl;ers killed was Lieut. HILL,
the survivor of the iii-fated ship Orpheus, who was
wrecked on the Mannikan bar some time ago.
Both services suffered severely, and the whole
affair is as disheartening to our men as it is en-
couraging to the enemy. It has, of course, excited
great sensation throughout the colonies, and is
likely, it is feared, to lead to the prolongation of
the war. It will not do, however, to be die.
heartened by one repulse, however mortifying, and
there cannot be two opinions as to the relative
strength of the two forces when they meet fairly.
Very great care ehoz:d be used in all dealings with
the Maories to avoid the deception which they
are so skilful in practising. The men should go
into a place like the Gate Pah with all their eyes
and ears open, suspicious and watchful, not careless
and at ease, thinking only of plunder. It could
not have been actual cowardice which made the
men retreat, since they had just triumphantly
carried the breach under a heavy fire. It was
the surprise and uncertainty of the ambush
which spread the panic ; but the men
for such an office should be carefully se-
lected, since many will face an open enemy
or storm a height who will shrink from a hidden
foe. The experience gained in this painful business
will probably be turned to good account in future,
and it may suggest one or two improvements in our
mode of warfare. It is satisfactory to find that a
large body of natives have joined the British on the
eastern coast, and have proved most valuable allies;
so that it is not, as has been said, exclusively a war
of races. The second reading of the Guarantee of
Loan Bill last evening promises material assistance
to the colonists, which, it is to be hoped, they will
turn to good account. The majority was so decisive
that it is probable the Bill will pass without fur-
ther difficulty, and will, we trust, contribute to the
speedy pacification of the country.

In theatrical careers, as well as other vocations
of life, we occasionally witness some events that
break the monotony of ordinary existence, and
serve to awaken interest and impart excitement to
the occasion. Such a scene was that which took
place upon Mr. CHARLES KEAN and Mrs DEAN'S
" farewell night" in Melbourne. It was a very
brilliant affair, and the warm recepiion they met
f with must have proved very gratifying to them.
Perhaps never in the course of his prosperous career
has Mr. KEAN been better able to recognise ho w
much ho is appreciated, and altogether the cir,-
curestances of his visit to Australia must long live
in his recollection as a bright era in his life. The
brief address which he made at the conclusion of
the performances was exactly suitable to the occa-
sion, and must from the peculiar circumstances of the
case,have awakened emotions of a nature somewhat
different to ;the sensations ordinarily experienced
at similar displays at home: As the great actor took
leave of his audience he and they must have felt
convinced that it was his last appearance on their
stage, the uncertainty of which so militates against
the effect of our adieus and farewells at home. It
is always agreeable to witness a kindly feeling
spring up between the actor and his audience ; it is
right that one who contributes so greatly to the
amusement and so often encourages the taste, and
improves the refinement of his hearers, should re-
ceive some acknowledgment for his services beyond
the mere mercantile part of the transaction. There
was an attracting interest in the &.rcurastances
surrounding the farewell of Mr. LEAN, and his
hearers must have derived gratification from his
assurance that when far away from that scene in
distant years, should life be spared, they who met
with that kind welcome that night would remem-
ber with pleasure and gratitiade their visit to Aus.