The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-11 00:00:00

New Zealand.

(From the Melbourne Argus of Sept. 25).
Major-General Chute left Sydney on Sept. 22, to
assume the command of her Majesty's forces in New
Zealand. Pending his arrival, there has been no
movement of the troops to record. Tonnage, how-
ever, has been secured at Auckland for the 65th
Regiment, and four other Regiments, it is an-
nounced, will at once follow this corps home.
The Legislature is still in session. Mr. J. E. Fitz-
gerald, the new Native Minister, a gentleman of well
known pro-Maori tendencies, has declared distinctly
the Ministerial policy in reference to the native dif-
ficulty. The Government propose to issue a pro-
clamation bringing the war to an absolute conclu-
sion, and granting a full amnesty for everything
that has passed, excepting certain great and noto-
rious murders. At the same time, the natives will
be informed that future outrages will be repressed
and prevented, no matter what the cost, and a bill
has been introduced, which provides that
whenever a crime shall be committed ill any
district, and the chiefs and residents refuse to
aid in the arrest of the perpetrators, the dis-
trict shall come under the operation of the act, and
confiscation, according to the degree of guilt, will
follow. Another bill declares that the Maories
shall be deemed to be natural-born subjects of her
Majesty, and declares also that the jurisdiction of
the law courts extends over all her Majesty's
subjects in the island. These measures are sure to
be passed by the Legislature, but the real ques-
tion is, will the Government be able to enforce
them ? Ministers speak with confidence on this
point, and still propose to rely entirely on colonial
troops.

As an earnest of their intentions, Ministers have
despatched a force of 800 of the local troops

to occupy Opotiki and the adjacent country
on the east coast, where the. Rev. Mr. Volkner, and
more recently Mr. Falloon and the crew of the Kate,
were brutally murdered by the Pai Marire or
Hauhau fanatics, as they are now called. News from
this expedition is daily expected. In the mean-
time, a small colonial force, stationed at Warapu,
and commanded by Captain Fraser, has already
severely punished the fanatics, and the friendly
natives, under the chief, Morgan, are reported
to have defeated them in a pitched battle, in which
the Hauhaus are said to have lost 300 men. Details,
however, are not to hand, and in native rumours
facts are more than slightly enlarged. The spread
of the Hauhau fanaticism is the great difficulty of
the situation. Mr. Fitzgerald frankly admits that
he does not understand the movement, nor can he
find any man who does.

A petition from William Thompson, the Waikato
chief, justifying his conduct during the war, and not
alluding to his submission, has been presented to
the House of Assembly by Mr. Fitzgerald. Some
discussion was excited by the tone of the petition,
but ultimately it was received.
The compensation awards to the Auckland settlers
for losses sustained during the war have been pub-
lished. The European settlers claimed £136,000,
and were awarded £71,000 ; and certain Maories
claimed £7,400, and were awarded £2,400.