The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-17 00:00:00

DEFEAT OF THE REBELS.

Later intelligence in the Melbourne Argus chews that
these disasters on the west coast were rapidly followed up
by active measures on the part of the colonial forces. The
Argus says :—" On the 13 h March Colonel Whitmore,
with a force of about 400 men, attacked the
camp of Tito Kowaru, the leader of the insur•
rection on that side of the island, and, after a
sharp fight, completely routed the enemy. The attack
was commenced in the early morning, under cover of a
dense fog, and the firing at one of their sentries was the
first warning the Maories had. About 400 of them, in a
state of nudity, and carrying nothing but their
guns and pouches, rushed into the open ground,
but were met with such a tremendous fire that
they dropped down as quickly as they could into a steep
wooded gully. A terrific close fire was then kept up for
an hour, at the end of which time the mist rose. The
men then fairly took to the bush, and fought from tree to
tree with a valour never surpassed. For three long hours
furious fighting was kept up in this way. The
Hau-haus tried to climb the trees, but were quickly
brought down, the women in the mean time carrying off
the dead in the midst of the heaviest fire, their cries being
terrible. There was r.o shrinking among our men. At
the end of four hours the Hau-baus had retreated through
the dense undergrowth, leaving the bush fairly in our
bands. All the hlaori clothing was captured, as well
as guns, tomahawks, revolvers, money, tents,
axes, spades, and shovels—in fact, the whole of
the enemy's baggage. Seven dead Hau-baus were
found, and two women were made prisoners. The attack
was planned with consummate skill, and carried out
without a single mistake, the men being thoroughly under
command during the whole of the engagement. On the
side of the attacking force one man was killed and thirteen
wounded. Colonel Whitmore is in active pursuit of the
fugitives, with the view of preventing their escape into
the fastnesses of the interior."

A Church Conference between the clergy and the
laity of Slit Meld is to b. held on Monday and Tuesday, the
24th and 25th inst.

As a comment on the fear that now exists of a war
hetween this country and America, it is stated that on the
day that Mr. Sumner's speech was delivered the American
army was reduced by 30,000 men.

The collery owners of South Yorkshire having met
together to cons Per the advisability of forming boards of
cot.cilliation and arbitration, have rejected the proposed
means of settling the many disputes in their districts be-
tween masters and men.

TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE TOWN OF BONNY.-
The screw steamer lloquelle, Captain John Griffiths,
belonging to the British and African Steam Navigation
Company, which has just arrived in the Mersey from the
West Coast of Africa, brought intelligence of the total
destruction by fire of the town of Bonny, on the morning
of the Bth of April. The disaster has laid the whole town
in ruins, and rendered many thousand persons utterly
homeless and helpless.

THE PROGRESS OF THE IRON AND STEEL MANU-
FACTURE. - The qualities of this invaluable metal have not
only greatly improved, but the mysteries of its organisa•
tion and inner nature are daily becoming more clearly
revealed. Castings in soft steel can now be made in
contradiction of all past assertions, whilst the simple
but most marvellous discovery by Mr. Saxby, of the
application of magnetic tests as a means of -discover.
lag unsuspected flaws in manufactured iron, pro
raises to add a most important safeguard to the use of
material which is now so largely increasing. The Bes-
semer process of the conversion of iron ore into steel by a
comparatively cheap and reliable process has, it is well
known, introduced a new element into the manufacture
of this metal, whilst the costly and long•continued experi
meats of Go Vernment have given to the world facts
which engineers and practical men have not been slow t )
take advantage of. The result is tha' we l av-2 now a supi'y
of iron equal in its qualities to all the demands that the
nature of its use may make upon it. There is at present a
warm controversy on the respective merits of iron and steel
for mechanical purposes ; but, perhaps, the true and simple
view of the quest•on may be founa in the opinion of Mr.
Zerah Colburn. " Steel," says he, "is only iron in its
best and most valuable form." Steel is, in fact, no more
a different material from iron than are wrought iron or
cast iron from each other. The time may come when the
distinctive name of " steel" wit be disused altogether,
and the generic name " iron," w:th some mineral or other
distinctive prefix to mark its special quality, will express
yetl,er what is meant.—guilder.