The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-09 00:00:00

innocent until he is proved guilty, the owners of
the Alexandra are deemed guilty, until every court
of jurisdiction has been appealed to, in order to
gain time for the plaintiffs. By this indirect mode
of aiding the Federals, Earl RUSSELL may flatter
himself that he is doing a clever thing, whereas
he pleases nobody, and brings England into general
contempt. The weak and timorous policy of the
ABERDEEN Ministry involved us in the Crimean
War, and it is not unlikely that the vacillating and
pusillanimous conduct of our present Foreign policy
may bring about a similar catastrophe.

gloomy, low, damp.looking place, situated on an
island in the Hudson, and described as the very ideal
of a State prison. By -some means' or another Mr.
Rooke induce the Marshal to permit him to call at
an hotel on the road. There he found two officers
of the Artillery, one of whom provided him with
money and the other accompanied Mr. Rooke to his
destination. These two kept the Marshal in good
humour during the short journey, by continually
stopping to administer drinks to him. Arrived at
the shore opposite Fdrt Lafayette, Mr.
Rooke was handed over to the commandant,
who very gruffly refused to permit his companions
to view the prison. Mr. Rooke, however, in
subsequent communications has informed him
that he has nothing particular to complain of in his
treatment. Lord Lyons, the British Consul at
New York, and Col. Rowan, R.A., have all been
exerting themselves. The first pressed Mr. Seward
to order an immediate investigation, but of this
there seems no chance. Mr. Seward informed Lord
Lyons that it was a very serious matter, that he
had every reason to think Mr. Rooke was connected
with an organised system of correspondence with
the Southern States, and that a communication
would be made to the British Government on the
subject. Lord Lyons answered that he thought
this most unlikely on account of the youth
of the prisoner. Mr. Seward subsequently
but, according to the
drewlatest accountsinalittle,
Mr. Rooke was likely to wait
for justice for some time, and to find, from bitter
experience, that " Civis Romanus sum" was no
longer a talisman. Mr. Rooke asserts that he had
to intentions hostile to the Federals, and that he
was ignorant of the nature of the packet entrusted
to him. The climax of this tale of insolence and
oppression is to be found in the fact that the autho-
rities have actuslly permitted the newspapers to
publish extracts from Mr. Rooke's private journal,
which was taken possession of at the same time as
the letters.

Although the busier and more important scenes
of European warfare have unhappily been so near
us during the last few weeks as to distract our
thoughts from the troubles of the colonies, yet the
intelligence from the seat of war in New Zealand
has been looked for with considerable interest.
Those whose friends or relatives are engaged in
that struggle for supremacy at the antipodes must
naturally await full tidings with painful anxiety,
but to all Englishmen the result of the struggle
must be of some importance. There can happily
be no doubt of its eventual issue, but on that
struggle hangs the future of the colony. It is evi-
dent that the Maories must be forced to feel and
acknowledge our superiority ; since every attempt
at conciliation has failed to avert treachery and
hatred, it is manifest that they must be taught
respect. Let them have a full right to every privi-
lege belonging to British subjects, let them have
full protection from the laws, and any advantage
they may choose to claim, but it is high time that
they should learn that murder are no venial offences
in the English decalogae. The news received by
the last mail left the troops in pursuit of the
Maories, who had evacuated their stronghold at
Mere-mere, and had retreated to another strong
position at a spot called " Kangiriri," or Angry
Heavens, situated on the Waikato river. The
name proved to them a fitting augury, for the skies
were unpropitious, and after twenty-four hours
fighting they were disloged from their position.
This long and stubborn fight proves the mettle of
the natives, and the list of casualties show that
they are no contemptible adversaries in the way of
inflicting damage, although of course, like other
savage nations, totally destitute of any chance of
success against disciplined troops. According to
the telegram received from Alexandria, the affair
was most conclusive, resulting in a decisive defeat
of the natives, not merely a simple dislodgement
from their position, as before, at Mere-mere. 183
prisoners, including many chiefs, were captured,
and of course heavy losses inflicted on the
enemy, although, unfortunately, we have on
our own side to deplore many brave men
killed and wounded. No less than 4 officers
killed, 11 wounded, 37 non-commissioned officers
and privates killed and 80 wounded, testify to the
severity of the struggle, but we may reasonably
hope that their blood has not been shed in vain.
After so complete a rout, which is by far the greatest
reverse they have yet met with, the Maories
must be completely discouraged. They must be
fully convinced of the hopelessness of meeting
British troops in open fight, while the establish-
ment of the flying columns which scour the bush
will deprive them of their last stronghold, and put
an effectual stop to that barbarous :system of gue-
rilla warfare which delights in murdering in cold
blood men; women, and children, whether as stray
travellers or as residents on an outlying station.
The frequency and cruelty of these massacres showed
the savage nature of the war, and the determina-
tion of the natives to prosecute it a routrance, and
we cannot wonder that the settlers unanimously
insisted on vigorous measures being taken for the
defence of their hearths and settlements. They
were ready enough to come forward with all the
assistance which a Government could demand, but
they felt it was no time for child's play; no smooth
words and hesitating half measures would do. Sir
GEORGE GREY fully concurred in this view,
although his earlier inclinations, as we know, were
on the side of leniency and caneiliation. It is worth
noticing, as a sign of the unanimous feeling of the
colony, that many of the warmest advocates of peace
and friendship with the natives were foremost in
declaring that the present crisis demanded stronger
measures. It is no sign of harshness, injustice, or
oppression towards a weaker race that our colonists
should meet treachery, vindictiveness, and obstinate
antagonism with the sword. It is a lamentable re-
sult of the advantages which the Maoris have de-
rived from nature, and the opportunities of civilisa-
tion and culture that have been placed in their
way. The colonial authorities will have a trouble-
some task before them when the actual warfare is
over, and the various questions respecting the occu-
pation of the disputed lands and other compli-
cated questions have to be settled. We cannot
doubt that, as representatives at once of English
principle and power, they will combine justice and
mercy in their dealings with the natives, having
regard alike to the claims of the native race and to
what is due to our peaceable and industrious
settlers.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

LREITTER'S TELEGRAMS.]

CALCUTTA, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIAN

MAILS,

MALTA, FEB. 8.

The Masailia, with the Marseilles portion of the
above mails, left Malta at 8 p.m. yesterday (7th).

The Ripon, with the heavy portion of the same
mails, leaves at 8 a.m. this day (Bth). She may be
expected at Southampton on the 17th inst.
The Carnalee brought the mails to Suez, arriving
there on the lst inst. (two days early).

The Mauritius mail has not arrived.
OUTWARD BOMBAY MAIL OF 27TH
JANUARY AND 3D FEBRUARY.

The Poonah reached Malta at 8 p.m. on the sth
and the Vectis at 10 p.m. on the 7th inst.

FRANCE.

BOURSE, Feb. B.—The market has been rather
animated, and the business done shows an improve-
ment on Saturday's quotations. Threes, for the
Account, after having been done at 66f. 60c., are
now firm at 66f. 50c. Mobilier have advanced to
1,020 f. Not much doing in Railway Shares, with
prices showing bat little variation. The market
closed as follows :

41 per Cents . . 95 30
Do. end month....

Italian Loan 6B 25
Do. end month 6B 30
New ditto 67
Do. end month —
Russian
Austrian

3 per Cents
Do. end month 66 55
Credit Mobilier 1012 50
Do, end month 1020
Bank Shares 3280
Credit Foncier 1240
Roman

Spank,la Threes 50 50
Home Debt .. —
Deferred
rAYS.

SSIL

Cash. Account.
1000 25 .. 1000
950 .. 950

Orleans
Northern
New ditto —
Lyons and Mediterranean 930 .. 935
New ditto
Southern
Western
Eastern - • • --
Sardinian 385 385
Austrian
Lotr bard

North of Spain
Saragossa .. 571 25 .. 571 25
Ditto to Barcelona .... 290 295

The following is an addition to the numerous
kicks which the British Lion has been in the habit
of receiving from his free and enlightened cousins
in America. The particulars may be relied on, as
they have been communicated by one who recently
saw and conversed with the victim of Lord Rus-
sell's "rest and be thankful" policy. A young
lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, quartered at Ber-
muda, recently obtained leave of absence for the
purpose of visiting the Federal states. After spend-
ing some time there be became desirous of visiting
in its turn the Southern Confederacy, and with
that view embarked on board a blockade-runner,
sailing from one of the Northern ports. The ship
was captured by a cruiser, bat Mr. Rooke being
merely a passenger, and not the bearer of any cor-
respondence, was at once set at liberty. He then
went to Baltimore, where he stopped till the expira-
tion of his leave was approaching, when he took his
passage on board the regular steamer plying be-
tween New York and Bermuda. Some Baltimore
young ladies of Southern feelings, with whom Mr.
Rooke had become very intimate during his stay in
that town, asked him to take charge of a letter and
deliver it to a certain address at Bermuda. Know-
ing nothing of the contents of the letter entrusted
to him, of the person to whom it was addressed, or
of the object with which it was so addressed, he
willingly consented to take charge of it. The
moment of departure came, and Mr, Rooke was
already on board the steamer, when the Yankee
City Marshal, notwithstanding that the ship
was bound direct to a British pert, made his ap-
pearance and searched all the luggage, espionage
and searching being now Republican institutions.
Mr. Rooke, probably because of the politics of the
ladies of whose letter he was the bearer, very
foolishly hid it under his bed. In this very pal-
pable place of concealment it was soon found, and,
of course, unscrupulously opened and read. The
consequence was, that Mr. Rooke was arrested and
taken off to the city jail, where he was kept for 48
hours, during which time he was treated with the
greatest malignity, being made to sweep his cell out
and perform all other menial offices, just as if he
had been a convicted malefactor, instead of a sus-
pected political offender. At the end of 48 hours
it was decided that he should be given up. Inside
the large letter were found several others addressed
to persons in the Southern States, and which were
to have been posted for that destination by the in-
dividual to whom the covering letter was to have
been given. The City Marshal was accordingly
sent off in a ear with him to Fort Lafayette, a

THh SUN. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 9, 1864.