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Camp, in front of Kawiti's Pah, New
Zealand, 12th January, 1846.

SIR, - I have the honor to acquaint you, for the
information of His Excellency the Commander in
Chief, that, in obedience to orders from Captain
Sir Everard Home, of Her Majesty's ship North
Star, whose orders you confirmed on your arrival,
I landed with 130 seamen under my command, on
the 13th ultimo, and placed myself in communi-
cation with Colonel Despard, commanding the
land forces, at the head of the Kawakawa river,
destined to march to attack the Pah of the rebel
chief Kawiti, situated in a thick forest on a
mountain, fourteen miles inland from the head
of the river. Two thirty-two-pounders and one
eighteen pounder gun were landed from Her
Majesty's ship North Star, and a twelve-pounder
howitzer from the Honourable East India Com-
pany's ship Elphinstone.

Our whole force advanced on the 22nd ultimo
to a position about half way to the Pah; on the
23rd I received a reinforcement of 150 seamen
from the Castor, under your command, with an-
other twelve-pounder howitzer. On the 27th, the
forces advanced, and the guns were brought for-
ward, with astonishing exertion on the part of
the officers and seamen, through a most difficult
country, to a position about 900 yards from the
enemy's Pah; shells and rockets were thrown in
occasionally until the 8th instant, when another
thirty-two-pounder was brought up, and roads
having been cut through the forest by the pio-
neers, two stockades were erected by them, as-
sisted by the seamen and troops. Breaching
batteries in the stockade were erected, the one
distant 300 yards, and the other 140 yards from
the Pah. On the 10th, at eleven A.M., fire was
opened from the batteries, served by seamen, un-
der the direction of Lieutenant Maxwell Falcon,
of the Castor, Alerine Bland, of the Racehorse,
and Lieut. of the Honourable East India Com-
pany's ship Elphinstone, with the howitzer,
and Mr. John Nops, Master of the Racehorse,
with the eighteen pounder, Lieutenant Egerton,
of the North Star, directing the rockets. The fire
was continued with little intermission till nine
A.M. on the 11th; when our friendly natives
having ascertained that the two breaches were
practicable, waved us on to advance; an assault
was instantly made by the seamen under my
command, in conjunction with the land forces
and natives; we were scarcely in the Pah, when
the enemy made a desperate attempt to regain it,
when a severe action ensued, which lasted nearly
four hours; they were finally repulsed in the most
gallant manner, and retreated to the wood. I
enclose a list of the seamen and marines killed
and wounded, and regret much the loss of so
many brave men. I beg to bring before the no-
tice of His Excellency the Commander in Chief
the following officers who accompanied me to
the assault, with their respective divisions of
small arm men, and made themselves otherwise
extremely useful: Lieutenant Robert J. Otway,
First, of the Castor; Alfred J. Curtis, of the
North Star; Arthur R. Henry, of the Racehorse,
Eden and Ralph, of the Honourable East India
Company's ship Elphinstone; and Mr. Lock,
Mate of the Castor; Mr. Charles S. Fortes,
Midshipman of the North Star, attached to the
rocket party; and Mr. Grove, my Aide-de-
Camp; also Assistant Surgeon Broughton, of the
Elphinstone; and the following medical officers,
who attended to the wounded in camp; viz. Mr.
John Kidd, Surgeon of the Castor; Mr. William
M'K. Sounders, Assistant Surgeon of the North
Star; and Mr. Pritchard, Assistant Surgeon of

I cannot conclude this dispatch without ex-
pressing my admiration of the conduct of every
officer and seaman engaged, which is fully con-
firmed by the General Order of the Colonel
Commanding, of this day's date, a copy of which
I enclose.

Mr. George Don Murray, Midshipman of Her
Majesty's ship North Star (the only officer
struck), was severely wounded early in the ac-
tion, when leading his subdivision of seamen.

The arrangements of the victualling of the
naval portion of the force engaged was conducted
by Mr. Kenneth L. Sutherland, Paymaster and
Purser of Her Majesty's ship North Star, to my
perfect satisfaction. I beg to add, that I have
received the greatest assistance from Lieutenant
Otway, of the Castor, and second in command of
the naval brigade.

I have the honour to be, &c.,

(Signed) GEORGE JAS. HAY,
Commander of H. M. S. Racehorse.

List of Killed and Wounded at the Attack made
on Kawiti's Pah, at Ruapekapeka, on the 10th
and 11th of January, 1846.

Her Majesty's ship Castor—7 seamen killed; 10
seamen, 3 marines, severely wounded.

Her Majesty's ship North Star—1 marine killed;
8 seamen severely wounded; Mr. Murray,
Midshipman, included.

Her Majesty's ship Calliope—1 marine killed;
1 marine severely wounded.

Her Majesty's sloop Racehorse—1 seaman se-
verely wounded.

Honourable East India Company's sloop Elphin-
stone—1 seaman severely wounded.

H.M.S. Castor, Kawa Kawa River,
Bay of Islands, 13th January, 1846.

SIR, - I have the honour to forward to your
Excellency a copy of Commander Hay's letter to
me, descriptive of the services of the naval and
marine force under his command at the opera-
tions against the insurgent natives in this neigh-
bourhood; and, in doing so, it is my pleasant
duty further to report to your Excellency that,
although I was not present myself in the Pah at
the successful capture of it, but in one of the
batteries, still, from having been in camp
during the last three weeks advancing, and hav-
ing constantly witnessed the great exertions of
the officers, seamen, and marines of the ships
under my command, and those of the Honourable
East India Company's ship Elphinstone, in assist-
ing in getting up the guns through a very hilly
country, and other heavy work in erecting batte-
ries, conducting the firing from them in
breaching, shelling, and rocketing the Pah, &c.,
and the weather having been very wet, causing
the roads (which had to be cut through woods
and over hills in a hitherto untraversed country)
to be very difficult, also all hands having had to
live under what shelter they could contrive to
contrive out of the bush, I consider their conduct
worthy of the warmest admiration.

The unwearied zeal, exertions, and attention
to their respective departments exhibited by Cap-
tain Sir Everard Home, Bart., C.B., to whom I
appointed the duty of defending a Pah, at our
landing-place, six miles up the river, and twelve
from the Pah destroyed; also to keep up the com-
munication with the ships, which the rebels were