20 OCTOBER 1860, Page 14

lab MAORI WAR.

aced by Colonel Geld is bearing a plentiful harvest in the unfortunate settlemeut.of Taranaki and its adjacent lands. All our worst anticipations are confirmed by the contents of the last mail. For more than a month, with a line force at his dis- posal, with the best spirit among the Europeans, Colonel Gold had submitted to be bearded by the chief insurgent, William Kingi, without striking a single ;blow. Throughout July, the Maoris were permitted to do pretty much as they pleased, and what they pleased to do was to assume the offensive, waylay and murder settlers and soldiers, drive off eattlerburn.down homesteads,. place .deetnietive ambuscades on our line of communications, and :finally -with consummate audacity, •fully warranted by the eir- Samstances, to march within a mile of Taranaki, and place its ,defenders ,and,inhabitants ilia state of consternation. Moreover, the teeth of our forces, posted within ;cannon shot of the rebel :stockade at Piiketakautre, the rebets were daily adding to its -strength, and _taking in more _ground. On the South side of .Taranaki, at. Taitararnaika, the Maoris had built several-new paps. The only item of warlike intelligeuee on ourside tells of theoccasional pitching of shells into the pah at Puketakauere, and the gradual -accumulation of our :force. This is a splendid month's work ! The Maoris have grown far stronger, recruits coming in every ..day, and their spirits were- elated with the victories Colonel Gold had allowed them to win.

On the other hand, General Pratt had arrived from Melbourne. He landed on the 3d of August, the day before the packet sailed, -so that we have not an inkling of his projects for the recovery of our authority. It is some consolation to find that the elder chiefs and the bulk of the Waikatoshad not joined William Kingi, but the number of this powerful tribe in his camp -was estimated at three hundred.

There are some gleams of light,in the dark picture. Governor Browne had summoned .9.- meeting of chiefs, and a large number :met near Auckland. 'This is a hopeful sign. They were called -Ripon to discuss the Taranaki war or the land question, and they 7-showed their-sood eenee and shrewdness by taking up the latter.

From their talk,as reported, we infer that they not unwilling -'to listen to reason. In the course of the incidental discussion,";

amp the New Zealander, "It transpired that they were all fully -aware that the Taranaki natives had long, made pp their minds to -dispossess the European settlers of their lands—that William; dfiugi's opposition to the sale of the Waitara land was a mere pre- text of quarrel—and -that some of -the speakers were anxious to me such an overwhelming military force sent into the country as -should effectually put a stop to pretenders, like Hjingi again so dis- turbing the friendly.relations of the two races." But hopeful as this symptom is,-it-was-counteracted by another—by the general' reticence of the .chiefs on the question of the war at Taranaki. If, besides affording. the Government the Opportunity of fully :expounding its own views on the land question, and of show- ling the Maoris hely they might profit by the sale of :their surplus land, the Goieniiiient Natliirn chiefs from joining in a War of rage, the experiment at Auck- land will have been a great benefit. When we shall have persuaded the Maoris -to cultivate-the sail for the profits of ex- change, and to enter on a career of competition in politics, agricul- ture and commerce, with the Queen's European, subjects, these little wars will have come to an end. In the mee.ntuue,_it. is a great humiliation that a handful of savages, without a single piece of cannon, should.have been allowed to keep her Majesty's regi m 020- and the local Volunteers at bay for .three months. It is, ahne commentary on the regimental system which places the hies and properties of whole settlements and the honour of our arms at the mercy of men whose sole claim to exercise command is that they have bought all the steps that lead to command. But it wilitake a great many more Colonel Golds, we are afraid, before our mili- tary, authorities have the courage of their professions and strike out of the list of marketable places in a regiment the rank of

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