THE VOLUNTEERS IN NEW ZEALAND.
[We take the following from an interesting letter dated Auckland, New Zealand, 5th October, 1863, which gives a striking picture of the great exertions the colonists are making, and of their fixed resolve to make this war final in the question of supremacy. We trust General Cameron may by this time be in command of almost as many troops as our correspondent wishes for, or at least of 7,000 men.—En. Spectator.] To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."
SIR,—The state of stagnation to which business has necessarily been reduced by the present condition of things has induced the Government here to take the step, which will, I have no doubt, expose us to still greater misrepresentation in England, of offering fifty acres of land, to be taken from the Maoris in rebellion, to all immigrants of good character, able and willing to become military settlers on certain specified conditions, the chief being that of residing for three years on the conquered territory. We expect to hear that we are stigmatized as covetous and inhuman colonists for this act ; but to those on the spot it is evident that the only hope for the natives as well as the Europeans lies in its being well and extensively carried out. The native race is perishing, not so much from war as from a demi-civilization beyond which they refuse to advance, and beyond which we cannot force them, unless by preventing them from isolating themselves, and by so placing them that they must work. Taking away the enormous surplus of their lands, which isolate them and do away with the need of work, the race, many persons are of opinion, may yet be saved, otherwise it is doomed in a very few years. Idleness -and semi-barbarism have resulted in a state of moral depravity which is absolutely shocking, and whether in their social life or their physical perfection, the race is a much degenerated one since the days so forcibly described by the able and trustworthy author of "Old New Zealand."
The offer to which I have referred above has been made in the Australian Colonies, and has resulted in the enrolment of about 2,000 men for the purpose. This is a good beginning, but 10,000 men will not be enough to jostle, as it were, the natives into civilization and the restraints of law and order, to which they have the unconquerable aversion which might be expected from a bar- barous and wild people. Efforts are going to be made by the Government to extend this offer to England, and, probably, to Prussia, and if the same care is taken to secure men of good charac- ter that has been taken in those colonies, the result will be one over which New Zealand, both European and native, will have cause to rejoice. There has been a great deal of rather desultory fighting going on during the last month, the greater part of which has fallen upon the citizen soldiers of the colony. The effect has been excellent. In all the engagements, of which not less than a dozen have taken place, between parties of from 50 to 300 men, the natives have been systematically beaten, and with considerable loss. Not a foot of the frontier ground has been conceded to them, and in one case they have been driven out of an extensive piece of forest and across the Waikato river almost solely by the exertions of a body of colonial troops,. who hunted them through the dense forest day and night, until tired out and with great loss of life they have fairly left the district. One corps of volunteers, so boyish in their ap- pearance as to excite the ridicule of the Maoris, who sent them a taunting message not to think that they, children, could fight men, sallied out of their redoubt and attacked the native position in the forest, killing ten men and wounding many more. After burning the place they retired, leaving a feeling of shame as well as rage in the minds of their native antagonists. I calculate from the re- ports of the various engagements that the Maori loss during the last month has amounted toilet less than 209 men, while our own may be put down at twenty-five men. This startling result may be traced in a great measure to the fact that in action the natives get so excited that they never put their guns to the shoulder in firing, whilst all our men are more or less practised shots, and many first-rate marksmen. No conclusion can be hoped for to the war until the General can take possession of the whole Waikato country. This he is about to set about in a week or two now, as the weather is greatly improving, and the gunboat for the Wai- kato river is due from Australia, where she was built. The troops at General Cameron's command are not by any means so nume- rous as they appear. We have ;is regiments here, but scarcely one of them numbers more than about 600 effective men, while two at least fall below that standard. It would be cheaper for the Imperial Government in the end to furnish the General with 10,000 men at once, and so get the war over (as he certainly would) in six months, than to linger on for years with a small force. The natives to the north of Auckland are quite friendly, indeed, if Government wished it, would be willing to enlist for our defence (for pay, of course). This is a new phase of their feeling in the matter, and arises from the fact that they begin to see that, as they term it, "The pakeha is to be strong." They are quite able to appreciate reasoning of this kind, and will act upon it, so that the numerous settlers to the north of Auckland are from this time forth as safe in all human probability as those in Australia. Reverses might, of course, change the aspect of affairs, but there seems little danger of that from the wisdom and prudence mani- fested by General Cameron, and the universal spirit of devotion to the cause shown by the settlers, from the richest to the poorest, who may be daily seen digging trenches or keeping guards side by side on any of the posts along the frontier line. The Curacoa has arrived here, and brought 250 soldiers of the 12th Regiment from the Australian Colonies.
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