The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-17 00:00:00

- - iamehet-eau
eqher of the royal troops or of the net tivest c°ll-
ducted as they have been in a country a and- It
unfamiliar as the interior of New Zeal,
may, however, suffice to say that the MaoT7iB have
a river
taken up a strong position on the bank of
o entirely
ad that
thickly covered with scrub and underwood, en
river,
these
he
the front of their position, looking towards t 11, or
iteprotected by a number of rifle pits. A hi
Alaori pab, as it is termed, raises itself behind ,e,e.n
01°1
pits, and on the side looking from the river I
':
tional defensive works of considerable stret net,
have been constructed. At every available 130
ifle
both around this eminence and on its ridges , r
pits have been sunk, and " whares" raised fo.
protection of the natives engaged in defending t
Together with these works, in themselves
ts
ciently formidable, the Maoris have of ohst ra p
.T.
strong pallisades. Such is the nature
tion occupied by what may be termed the he,
quarters of the native army, at a place called Me, t_
Mere, on the Waiteko River. The encamps
the British troops is within cannon-range ca
Maori rifle pits. The proximity to the river of tne-
position occupied by the natives has afforded a/1i
opportunity to Commander Sullivan of not 011.19,
ent.,
making reconnaisance with the Avon,
gun-boat, but of inflicting na little damage
on the Maoris with a twelve-pounder Arin:
.strong gun with which the Avon is armed k 50a
in the event of General Camertan conceivinb
g
pal himself in a position to carry the Maori
assault he will be enabled to command tem coop
ration of this gunboat. The next mail will probablsy
acquainti us with the issue of the recent o erste:inv.,
a not
The force of the regular troops at present In Ne
Zealand is comparatively unimportant, hilt theret
can. be no doubt that the Governor will ha ve ,tl,•
his disposal a considerable number of volunt
The colonists are alive to the necessity of striX ltne7,
sach a blow on the present occasion as will dO "
,
the Maoris in future from attempting to rata t
Large numbers of volunteers were daily arriving 1^
Auckland when the mail left. They came not onli
from the New Zealand settlements but from Ater'
tralaa. Measures have been taken for their unpin'
&ate organisation, and many have been already ern'
he several
in maintaining the communications between,
the several towns in the colony. Independently e"
i the mmense assistance given by these volunteers t°
the Government, their attitude cannot but have One
effect of convincing the natives of the madness ro•
the enterprise which they have undertaken. TO
calculations of William Singi, Rewi, Tbompsoer
and the other chiefs were based, doubtless, upon
the comparative insignificance in point of ITUrabers
of the troops at the disposal of the Gover ninon!'
But when they find that every ablebodied null! in
IFtY,
the colony is up in arms they will, see the pror
lin
of desisting from an unequal struggle. It was' s
possible for the colonists to submit to the outrili!e,
committed, without the slightest provocation, PI
1
the natives, and the result of the pre,sent war it
be that such outrages will not be ct.‘mmitted 1,!1
future. The natives have no cause for compleln;
nor can they advance the slightest pretext for
present attempt to subvert the Colonial GoVari,g
went. The entire tendency of British policy la I`.'e
Zealand for some years past has been to place "-ho
colonial and the aboriginal populations upon the
same footing. Every inducement has been held elt-0
to the natives to accept the British sway, and ;0
participate in the benefits which are incidental „`,
it. For some time sanguine expectations were el.
tertained that our policy would be crowned dap,
success. But those expectations have been (I°4
pointed... Again and again the savage nature aid,
Maori displays itself, and convinces us of the an
culty of the task we have undertaken. B11`,;,
persuasion fails, force must be employed. We bal'ho
afterimmense labour, effected a settlement in —it
colony of New Zealand. We cannot now le
1'
simply. because a race of barbarians is unWilll
that we should remain.