The Sun.
London, England, 1835-10-27 00:00:00

MASSACRE OF TILE NATIVES IN

NEW ZEALAND.

(From the Hobart Town Courier, Dec. 12, 1834.)
Towards the end of the month of August, an individual,
named John Guard, made an affidavit before the Governor
of New South Wales in Council, to the effect that the brig
Harriet, belonging to him, had been wrecked on the western
coast of New Zealand, so long ago as April last ; that all
the cargo which he and his crew had succeeded in saving
from the sea was seized upon by the native tribes, who,
within a fortnight after the wreck, attacked him in consi-
derable numbers, slew several of his little party, took his
wife and two children prisoners, and forced him to seek in

flight for safety.
That having effected, with ten of his men, a retreat, after
a journey of some length, they fell in with another tribe, to
whom they surrendered themselves prisoners, and were sent
under an escort to Miitaroa, the pah belonging to the Na-
tiawa tribe, and whence Mr. Guard and three of the na-
tives, finally departed for Cloudy bay, he promising to pro-
cure ransom from Sydney for the remainder of the crew.
From this statement it also appeared, that great barba-
rities had been exercised towards him and his crew by the
natives—and in consequence a resolution was come to by
the Sydney Government, to send an expedition to New
Zealand for the purpose of effecting the rescue of all the
captives—and a company of his Majesty's 50th Regiment
having been ordered to embark far this purpose on board
the colonial schooner Isabella, the co-operation of Captain
Lambert, R.N., in his Majesty's ship under his command,
was requested. A detachment of the 50th Regiment was
received on board under Lieutenant Gunton—Capt. John-
son, Assistant Surgeon Stewart, and Ensign Wright, ac-
companying the Alligator in the colonial schooner.
On the 31st of August bos.ll vessels sailed from Port
Jackson, on the I I th of the following month arrived off
Cape Egmont, and the next morning were landed two per-
sons who had been put on board to act, the one as an in-
terpreter, the other as a pilot. They were instructed to
state the reason of our visit, to :remand the female and chil-
dren, and to promise that if given up peaceably, we should
depart in peace, but at the same time to assure the natives
that force was at hand sufficient to compel them to yield up
their prisoners if needful.
The same evening the Alligator came to an anchor off
Waimate and Rangetuapeka, the paps of two contiguous
and closely allied tribes, by one of whom, the Natirnanuhi
people, Mrs. Guard and her infant were detained, while
those of the other tribe, Taranaki, held in custody a second
child. The attempt to negotiate the matter with these
natives failed at this time, and both vessels proceeded to a
harbour in the south island to which Captain Lambert gave
the name of Gore, in compliment to the naval commander-
in-chief of India. While there, it was as carefully surveyed
as the time would permit, by acting Lieutenant Moore,
assisted by Mr. N. C. Phillips, second master .of the Alli-
gator. On the 17th, the interpreters were received on
hoard, they had been unmolested by the natives, but took
alarm the night of their landing, and fled from the pah—
nor had their fears of personal danger allowed them to
reach the two palls above-mentioned, so that on their re-
turn, it appeared as if the object of their landing had been
but partially accomplished, all they had gained having been
a promise on the part of the natives to bring down their
prisoners, and restore them on payment of ransom, and in
the expectation unjustifiably held out to them by one of the
interpreters, of the ships trafficking with them afterwards.
Standing off again from their coast, we ran for another
harbour in the south island, hitherto unnoticed by naviga•
tors, and to which the name of Port Hardy has been given
in honour of the gallant Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, Lord
Nelson's flag Captain at Trafalgar. Messrs. Moore and
Philips surveyed this capacious and excellent harbour,
charts have been made by those gentlemen, which it is
oped may prove useful to those engaged in South Sea

vogaging. .
On the 21st, anchored under the lee of one of the Sugar-
loaf islands, off Miitaroa, demanded and received the male
prisoners, eight in number, whose appearance was haggard
and wild in the extreme, but their report of the treatment
they had experienced from the Natiawa tribe, as favourable
as it could be, they had shared with them portions of all
they themselves possessed—had never injured nor so much
as threatened them with injury.
On the 28th, a party of seamen and marines with a few
soldiers, landed near the Numa, a pah belonging to the Na-
tirnanuhi tribe, a number of when were ;gathered to witness
the disembarkation, on the margin of the cliff under which
the landing was effected. They were met by a chief, Oto-
hite, and one other companion, the former rubbed noses
with J. Guard, in token of amity, and said he had come
down to receive the promised payment for the women and
her child, who were at the Numa in readiness to be given
up. He was made a prisoner of immediately, put into a
boat manned by some of the late crew of the Harriet, and
ordered on board the Alligator, in charge of Guard. At-
tempting to make his escape, he was fired upon while in
the water, having jumped overboard, and again captured,
one of the balls having entered his leg. During the pas-
sage off, he was cut and wounded in a most shameful way
by Mr. Guard and his men, whose only apology for such
unwarranted and unwarrantable barbarity, is to be found
in the recollection of the injuries they had themselves sus,
tained on a former occasion. It is a cause of thankful-
ness, however, that in this act of cruelty neither military
nor naval man had any part ; and the attentions and kind-
ness which Otohite received on board his Majesty's ship,
from her Captain and others, appeared to have completely
assured him that to his capture only they were consenting,
and in no wise to the ill treatment he had experienced.
The party then proceeded to the Numa, which they found
empty of inhabitants, while the lighted fires in the native
cowtas (kitchens), and the food in process of being cooked,
indicated how inapprehensive the tribe in reality was of our
intention being hostile when we first landed.
Reports of natives being seen in the bush, and of those
on the height having fired down upon the men in charge of
the boats, and subsequently plundered them, reached the
commanding officer at the same time, who proceeded to
plant a piquet on the cliff for the protection of the latter ;
Lieutenant Thomas, R.N. going in search of the natives—
and in the afternoon a second party was sent out in charge
of Mr. M'Murdo, mate of the Alligator, to pursue them
in another direction—the former failed to track their flight,
but the latter came up with them in a small wood, but so
terrified were the New Zealanders that they fled precipi-
tately, dropping every thing on the way, by which their
flight was encumbered.
That night was spent in the Pah, the following day re-
port was m#de of several natives in sight, and the com-
manding officer, accompanied by an officer of the Alligator,
as interpreter, and four of the sailors of that ship set off to
communicate with them if practicable ; two of the party did
communicate accordingly, but to no purpose, the natives
alledged that they had seen their chief murdered, and
would kill the woman as payment ; affecting to despise the
force brought against them, they declared it to be the in-
tention of the Natirnanuhi people to come down the next
day and fight.
On returning to Captain Johnson, who, anticipating
treachery, had not advanced near enough to speak to the
natives himself, and making the above known to him, the
order was given to return. On the way a party of soldiers
.met them, brought forward by Mr. Tottenham, mate of the
Alligator, the officer of the picquet, who seeing the num-
bers of natives in the neighbourhood, had deemed it expe-
dient to provide increased power of resistance, lest the ap-
proach of those New Zealanders should be for the purpose
of attack.
At noon the same day, the pah was set fire to and utterly
razed to the ground. The party re-embarked, and in the
evening the ships made sail for the other pahs. A detach-
ment had gone out, under the command of Lieut. Thomas,
in the morning to search for some huts, where it was sup-
posed the female and child would have passed the night,
but they could not be found.
On the 30th negotiations were attempted for the boats,
but in vain. On the Ist of October Otohite was sent in
one of the boats and harangued his tribe, whose joy at see-
ing him was excessive. 114 rs. Guard and her child were
brought down to the beach, a canoe was launched to con-
vey them through the surf, and Mr. M'Murdo in the first
gig backed in to relieve them, and in a few minutes more,

it was that gentleman's happiness to convey them to tl-13

Alligator.
The chief was then landed highly satisfied with the treat-
ment he had experienced, and almost smothered under the
marks of kindness which had been shown, being apparelled
in a large blanket in addition to a suit of sailor's clothing,
and it was confidently expected that his influence would be
expected to secure the release of the remaining prisoner, for
whom boat after boat was sent in, until at length, the child
was brought out, held up to view, and a party of natives
commenced their war dance on the top of the pah, after
which they began to descend, when a stray musket-ball
whizzed over the boat in which was the senior Lieutenant
of the Alligator, who came on board immediately to report
the fact, which being deemed an unequivocal demonstra-
tion of hostility, the order was given "beat to quarters!"
—and a canonading was opened upon the Waimate
and prolonged for nearly three hours, during which some of
their canoes were destroyed, and much injury must have
been done to the houses in the pah ; whether any loss of
life was the consequence, could not be ascertained.
On the 7th instant, Captain Lambert proposed to land
the troops, &c., at a short distance from Waimate, under
cover of the pinnace, and the following morning the sol-
diers of the 50th, and their officers, went on shore, pre-
ceded by a party of seamen under Mr. M'Murdo, with a
six-pounder carronade, and some boxes of grape-shot and
canister ; and the Royal Marines, under Lieutenan;
Clarke, who gained the height unmolested, and with Lieu-
tenant Gunton, 50th Regiment, drew up the men in readi-
ness for further orders, the rest of the troops were shortly
after assembled there also. Some natives were already
there, who tried to dissuade our party from fighting—pro-
mising that the child should be brought, which, after a halt
of more than an hour, took place.
The chief was seen approaching with the youngster on
his shoulders, and a small body guard, about half a dozen
armed natives, a very considerable number being grouped in
different places along the beach ; Mr. M'Murdo advanced
to meet him, and relieve the prisoner, but found the boy
tied to the chief's back, on which a seaman and another
person went forward to separate him (the chief demanding
the payment that had been promised him, and wanting to
go off to the ship for it), in doing which they appeared to
have alarmed him, arid he made a precipitate retreat, which
he did not effect until the child had fallen from his back,
but before this, it being feared, lest chief and captive should
both escape, the order was given to fire, the natives ac-
companying him levelling their muskets at the same time.
The effect was electrical, for almost every hand that held a
musket on the beach below, or of the heights above, level-
led it and fired upon the wretched savages, several of whom
fell, six dead, and others wounded. Mr. M'Murdo had
thus the good fortune to complete the rescue of all the pri-
soners, having brought the men from the Miitaroa, the
woman and child from Rangetuapeka, and now secured
possession of the last captive.
Such was the impetuosity of the troops, that consider-
able difficulty was experienced in putting a stop to their
firing ; and when that was effected, as though the New
Zealanders lay under a doom of destruction, a fire was open-
ed on their parts upon the detachments, who were then or-
dered to advance and fire. The natives continued an irre-
gular fire, and retreated at the same time, pursued by us,
until coming to a deep ravine, it was considered by Captain
Johnson to be impassable with the carronade, and the party
halted, when Mr. M'Murdo came up and assured that offi-
cer, that with a few additional hands he would convey the
gun across, at the same time entreating him to advance.
The perseverance of this gentleman succeeded, and in less
than half an hour the whole party, with arms and ammu-
nition, were on the opposite height, and with the gun ad-
vanced on the two palls, which were now close at hand.
The carronade was planted in a position to rake both.pahs,
one of which, however, appeared to be wholly evacuated,
and the other nearly so. The intrepid chieftain of the
latter, Wai-ari-ari, maintained the unequal conflict single-
handed ; at last an advance party under Lieutenant Gunton,
having silenced a fire from the bush below the pah, at
last Wai-ari-ari disappeared over the hill, firing his solitary
musket to the last moment, until ,hid from our sight, and
safe from our fire also.
Both palls were immediately entered, and occupied tem-
porarily, until on the 11th the surf admitted of our return
on ship board—before which, however, fire was set to both
places, and they, like the Numa, were burned to the ground.
In the Waimate pah there were upwards of 150 houses
destroyed, to say nothing of the stock of provision in all,
three places, consumed or removed.
In reviewing the preceding narrative, the loss of life and
destruction cf property will excite a natural regret, that the
expedition was sent forth by the Sydney Government with
an interpreter confessedly ignorant of the language, as a
language, haying only that degree of acquaintance with it
which served him to discharge his former office of a spirit
seller and billiard-marker, on Korrarika beach.
It may and will be made a political question, how far
that government can be borne out in directiog a hostile ex-
Pedition against the New Zealanders, altogether without re-
ference to the British Resident with that people, which
thougli a people of demi-barbarians, have been, I conceive
formally recognised by the King of England as an inde-
pendent nation, in the triple act of sending them a repre-
sentative—presenting them with a national flag—and,
finally doing that flag, on its being first hoisted, the honour
of a royal salute.
Except to indicate the line of future duty, it is, perhaps
vain to complain, and might seem harsh to condemn ; but
waiving complaint, and abstaining from censure, how much
better it would have been had the expedition been ordered
to the Bay of Islands—there to have taken on board the
Resident, himself a complete linguist in the New Zealand
tongue, and if deemed expedient, a Missionary, whose
moral influence over the native mind en masse, is undoubted
even by the most sceptical. With that functionary, to have
proceeded to the places mentioned in the narrative, and only
when negotiation failed between them and the natives to
have resorted to that last, worst argument, in any contro-
versy between either individuals or nations.
Of the manner in which the execution of the measure
was accomplished, it may not become me to speak, but it
will be obvious that Captain Lambert was in no wise hasty
to make a descent in vengeance upon those unhappy
savages. And the efficiency of his measures admits of no
better proof than that the object entrusted to him was fully
accomplished.
It may be interesting to your readers to know also, in
what way the recent attack upon the Resident's house .had
been explained and compensated for. It proved to have
been a case of simple burglary, committed by a petty thief
with the sole object of enriching himself by the plunder of
Mr. Bushby's house ; being discovered and resisted, he and
his companions fired. For several months the affair was
involved in obscurity, and no clue could be obtained to the
party or his object. The day before the Alligator arrived
in the Bay of Islands, the whole affair was brought to light.
Many of the most influential chiefs readily consented to
meet and deliberate on the business, and the result was,
that three proposals should be sent to the Government of
New South Wales for his approbation-
-Ist. The offender and his tribe are proposed to be ba-
nished from the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands.
2d. His patrimonial territory to be taken from him.
3d. That territory to become the property of the King of
England.
If the Government of New South Wales approve of this
settlement of the affair, they, the Chiefs of New Zealand,
undertake to carry that settlement into execution.

MR. ST. JOHN'S NEW ORIENTAL ROMANCE.
—" Nothing can surpass the brilliant fancy, the prodigal
invention, the marvels, and the mysteries of Oriental ro-
mance. Mr. St. John's 'Tales of the Ramad'han' is the most
elaborate, varied, and perfect, of all those European fictions
written in accordance with the style of Arabian or Turkish
lore ; and this is not surprising when, in addition to the
known genius of the author, the fact of his being the only
English novelist who has long resided in the countries
wherein his scenes are laid are taken into account. Hence
the truth and freshness of his allusions, the accuracy of his
costume, the beauty of his local descriptions, and the per-
fect verisimilitude spread over all his stories."—Naval and
Military Gazette.
- -

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—III a drain lately
made, just opposite the farm of Grassmillside, on the roan
between Kilmarnock and Stewarton, were found on the
afternoon of Tuesday last, the greater part of a woman's
dress, consisting of a cotton gown, a spotted Indian silk
napkin, a pair of black kidskin gloves, and a pair of black
worsted stockings, the whole of which were torn to shreds.
They seemed to have been perfectly new and little worn.
The fashion of the gown was low bodied, full in the breast,
and clasped in front ; its colour chocolate, with a small
white spot and flower. The stockings are white in the toes,
and welted and closed with red worsted. Along with these
pieces of dress were found the fragments of a letter, also
torn to pieces, on one of which was distinctly written the
date of the letter, " Kilmarnock, 13th October, 1835," and
on others the name " William" is twice written, and the
expressions " person and affections," " dutiful wife," &c. &c.
Nothing, however, has yet transpired to lead to a dis-
covery of the cause of so strange an occurrence. At the
instance of the Magistrates of Kilmaurs, two miners were
employed to ransack tue sewer, which is covered over about
twenty falls, and they succeeded in obtaining some addi-
tional fragments of the gown, gloves, and stockings, but
saw nothing else to excite a suspicion that bodily injury bad
been sustained by any one. Some of the lieges in the
neighbourhood, however, who visited the place are of opi-
nion from the appearance of the ground near to the mouth
of the drain, that some violent struggling had taken place,
which, of course, is conjectured to have taken place at the
time when the clothes were torn and deposited in the drain.
The affair has caused much stir and excitement in the
neighbourhood.