The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-14 00:00:00

1' H E

NEW ZEALAND.

(From ti7n

WAN GAN 111.

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, Our readers will perceive by Colonel M'Cleverty's
dispatch, in another portion of our columns, that a
rencontre has recently taken place at Wanganui be-
tween the troops and the natives. If we were dis-
posed to play the part of the elide, we might say
some very severe things about this dispatch ; but we
merely remark, that as all the sciences have their own
peculiar technical expressions and terms of art, which
Serve the purpose of mystifying the mode of commu-
nication, the sons of Mars, we presume, must be
allowed to give their narrations of events connected
with the art of war in their own style. 13ut as corn-
tnon minds may not appreciate the force and beauty
of such compositions, we think it proper to give the
natural history of the same affair. It seems that the
natives have Leen in the habit of coming down
pretty regularly to the stockade, grimacing, dancing,
and making use of some rather equivocal gesticu-
lations, in order to draw the soldiers out; and
that in these
,excursions if anything desirable
offered, a pig, a stray cow, or what not, they
quietly walked off with the prize in the sight of
their formidable foes. On the morning in question
they must have been unusually provoking and insult-
ing, for the soldiers did come out; and it would ap-
pear by the dispatch that a masterly disposition of
several detachments had nearly effected the capture of
the two toes, who were in advance. A desultory
fight followed, lasting nearly the whole of the day.
The adiantages were so nearly balanced that neither
party could claim the victory. Indeed, it would
appear as though it leaned towards the natives, as
they carried off not only their own dead and wounded,
but the remains of one of their enemies.
To their honour be it known, that the last sad rites
were performed for private 'Weller with as much
care and propriety as if he had been one of them-
selves. Ile was decently interred, and the burial
service in the Maori language read ;over his grave.
How savage ! Really, the question involuntarily
arises in; our mind, would the same respect have been
shown to one of them, had a slain warrior fallen into
our hands ? It is high time that England should
know the. character of the men against whom she is
contending, and that she should be well assured of the
cause for which she is fighting. At an early opportu-
nity we shall recur to this subject, and publish—what
we had long prepared—a history of the Wanganui
land.question, as we think that it is high time that
this unholy war should be concluded. Our brave
troops have been long enough exposed to hardships
and dangers, and we cannot, bear to hear of the loss of
their valuable lives in a cause so unjust as that which
led to the-Wanganui war. •It has been said that his
Excellency is endeavouring to get up a party of na-
tives under our northern hero, Thomas Waka, to go
down to I'Vanganui, but we sincerely hope this is not
true. It would indeed be worthy of the barbarous
ages for England to further her own designs by set-
ting one native chief against another. Waka's inter-
ference has hitherto been the spontaneous movement
of his loyal heart, and it would be an eternal stain
upon us if we were now to take advantage of his dis•
interested and noble conduct by urging him to expose
himself and his people to still greater dangers in fight-
ing 'our battles.

Camp, Wanganui, July 20, 1847.
Sir,—l have the honour to report to your Excel-
lency the proceedings of the force under my command,
in action with the enemy yesterday afternoon, ex-
tending from our position to St. John's Wood.
I acquainted yonr Excellency, in letters dated sth,
10th, and 17th inst., dispatched by the'Racehorse, of
the daring manner in which the enemy penetrated
into our own earthen outworks on more than one
occasion; I, therefore, decided on at once checking
this custom, should an opportunity offer.
Yesterday, about twelve o'clock, they approached,
evidently with an intention to draw the troops out of
the stockade, and two, more daring than the rest, in
hopes to cut eff a settler and some cattle, were pursued
by two parties of the 58th, under Lieutenant Pedder,
and 65th, under Ensign Thelwall; and joined by a
further reinforcement of the 58th Regiment, under
Ensign Middleton, the whole under my orders; these
two men narrowly escaped capture, and fled by the
ravine and entrenchments towards Mr. Harrison's, at
the back of St. John's Wood, where a body of the
rebels lay concealed.
This brought on an action with the, enemy, and,
sending back for reinforcements, I indulged a hopa
that they might be induced to fight on our ground,
in front of and towards our position. After four
hours' fighting, the enemy declined advancing beyond
the cover of their own breastwork, on the face of the
hill, which your Excellency will remember, at St. John's
Wood, and which have been multiplied and extended.
A gallant charge was here made with the bayonet,
fifteen yards' distant-, and the enemy broke and fled,
on hearing the cheer by detachments of the 58th and
65th Regiments, under the command of -Captain.
Wolf, of the latter corps. Lieutenant Balneavis com-
manded • that of the 58th Regiment. Lieutenant
Page, 58th Regiment, and Barnard, of the 65th
Regiment, though previously- wounded in the head,
and Ensign Middleton, 58th, • and Thelwall, 65th
Regiment; were present at this charge, made at the
distance of fifteen yards. The latter officer narrowly
escaped being tomahawked by one of the enemy, who
was shot by a soldier of; the .58th Regiment. Some
of the enemy were here bayoneted.
We had 400 men• engaged, the enemy about the
same number ; but owing to the.difficult, broken, and
swampy state of the ground which extends from the
right of our position to St. John's Wood, I' was of
necessity obliged to place junior officers in command
of detachments in extension, under the general
superintendence of the seniors, and thus protecting
our flanks.

Captain Henderson, Royal Artillery,. with the
assistance of Lieutenant the Hon. -W.
•Yelverton,
pushed forward a brass .3-pounder and a 421:5th inch
field howitzer, to cannonade the enemy's position, and
I cannot help drawing attention to the devoted gal-
lantry of this small body, whO, from the 'nature of
their service were exposed to the most galling fire,
.by which they had one man mortally and another
severely wounded. In the mean time I had detached
Lieutenant Hay, 58th Regiment, in command of a
party.of the 58th and 65th Regiments, the latter
commanded by Lieutenant IPCoy, and some of the
armed police, to endeavour to outflank the enemy
by the left, by which means the, enemy's fire was
partially diverted from our advanced body ; and they
were obliged to detach a body against this party,
who had pushed across a swamp of some extent,
above their knees in water. ' Lieutenant Hay was
now supported by Captain Hardy, 58th Regiment, _
who, as next in command, I had left in charge of
the past, witlediscretionary powers. Captain:O'Con-
nell, '6sth Regiment, a Peninsular officer, though in
the sicic report from a severe sprain of the ankle,'
then volunteered to take command' of the stockade,
having Lieutenant Trafford, 65th Regiment, to assist
him; the party -under Lieutenant Hay joined Cap-'
tain Hardy without loss, and took up A commanding
position under cover, and prevented the enemy from
showing themselves on our left flank.
At the commencement, unseen by the enemy, I
had thrown Lieutenant Pedder, with 20 men, into a
breastwork on the right, and below the upper
stockade, and lieutenant Holmes, R. N., of her
Majesty's ship Calliope, - who had with the same
alacrity which he has so often evinced, detached some
men to assist in dragging the guns, and with the
remainder, and Mr. Carnegie, midshipman, of her
Majesty's ship Calliope, he manned his gun-boat,
and pushed others forward to the first -creek, 150
yards from the lower stockade, and opened a fire of
musketry, and from the 12-pound carronade, which
checked a party, who, under Mamuko, were ethane-
ing by the banks of the river. This completed the
chain of posts that protected our right flank, and
they suffered no loss. .
The fighting. continued with the main' body, and
I determined, if possible, to draw the enemy down,
and with this view took up a new poSition with the
guns. The enemy, with great intrepidity, came
dowd to withih 15 yards of the advance, when the
charge alluded to took place. At this time our prin.:
deal loss occurred ; one man of . the 58th Regiment
(Weller), and another of the 65th Regiment (Spray),
Were shot dead in the:high fenn; the body of the
former 'was not recovered.. The artillery here suf-
foereedvnthoerty
lossal of c; the services of two of their men-- (Connolly), and' the other slightly
wounded, and the other gallant ' men sere here
wounded, of the 58th and 65th Regiments. With
this Advance Lieutenant Servantes, 96th Foot, inter-
preter to the forces, was present with our three
Ngatitoa allies, one of whom vies Wounded in the leg
while gallantly fighting.
The enemy now seemed disinclined- to advance be-
yon the point where they' were charged. The fire
in their front was heavy 'from the artillery and .mus-
ketry, and also on their right from the musketry of
Captain Hardy's party, and as evening was coming
on I !returned to the camp. _.
, Though I have to deplore the. loss of three gallant
soldiers, and the tempora!deprtvationoftl moreser
services
of eight others, the enemy
,have suffered
sere ..Iy. We know of three killed and ten wounded,
by tl eir own admission ; the former are To
tweKoapfistura,
Paor te. Hotite, and Te Tere 'Pereth ;
chief amongst the wounded are Jaime, the native
teed r, who 'pursued Mr. Macgregor on the Ist of.
'Tilly down from - Shakspere's Cliff, Wiretnu "Wan-
gam' Whetnu te Waruite, and Ngatinmanspote,
who es wounded in front cif Lieutenant Holmes' and
Lieu want • Pedder's ',parties. I have no doubt that
their loss far exceeds that of present information,
whit la limited to accidental knowledge, but more
it
than hree were killied in the cheap alone, shatr.-or,
' bayoneted---the natives having an anxiety to conceal
their loss. Their women were heard last night
lamenting their loss at Mr. Harrison's. l'aora te