At the time of the dispute which led to these operations there was but one British battalion in the islands, and so critical was the situation that the city of Auckland was practically besieged by the natives. Urgent messages were sent to Australia and to Tasmania, where at that time we had garrisons, and the 12th (Suffolks) and 40th (North Lancashires) arrived very shortly from Sydney and Melbourne respectively. At the same time, on the news reaching England, the 68th (Durham Light Infantry) was ordered from Burmah, the 57th (Middlesex) and 70th (East Surrey) from India, and the 2nd Battalion of the 14th, a newly-raised corps, from the Curragh. General Pratt, who had arrived from Australia, took command of the operations, but some dissatisfaction was expressed at his strategy, and in March, 1863, he was superseded by Sir Duncan Cameron, an officer who had done good service in the Crimea.
The New Zealanders—or rather the Maori—showed themselves most gallant foes. Their pahs, or stockades, were constructed with much skill, and until these had been thoroughly searched out with artillery fire we found them almost impossible to carry.
It was generally conceded that the war was one which, with a little exercise of forbearance on the part of the Colonial Government, might have been avoided, and there was a good deal of friction between the civilian and military elements in consequence, many of the soldiers openly expressing an opinion that their foes had not been fairly dealt with. In the spring of 1861 a hollow truce was patched up. Our casualties during the operations, so far as the regular troops were concerned, had not been heavy, except in the case of the 40th (North Lancashires) and 65th (York and Lancasters).
| Regiments. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| K. | W. | K. | W. | |
| Royal Artillery | 1 | - | 2 | 12 |
| Roy. Engineers | - | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 12th Suffolks | - | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 14th West Yorks | - | - | - | 2 |
| 40th N. Lancs | 2 | 3 | 38 | 58 |
| 57th Middlesex | - | - | - | 6 |
| 65th York and Lancaster | 1 | 1 | 5 | 38 |
| Naval Brigade | - | 2 | 5 | 20 |
New Zealand, 1863-1866.
The regiments which were present during the operations, which lasted for nearly three years, are the
Suffolks.
West Yorkshire.
Royal Irish.
North Lancashire.
Oxford Light Infantry.
Royal West Kent.
Middlesex.
York and Lancaster.
Durham Light Infantry.
The same causes which led to the war in 1860 were once more the origin of armed resistance to the Government. The natives considered that they were not being dealt fairly with in the matter of the sale of their lands, and, as I have said before, there was a very strong party in the Colony who sympathized with them. At the same time, it was felt that the Government must be supported until peace had been restored, and that then, but not till then, could the cause of the disturbance be removed. The troops, which included all the regiments named above, were under the command of Sir Duncan Cameron, and he had on his staff a number of exceptionally good men—men who came to the fore in our later wars—amongst them being Sir George Greaves and Sir Thomas Baker, both of whom became Adjutant-General in India. With them were Sir Henry Havelock and Sir John MacNeill, the latter of whom obtained the Victoria Cross in the campaign.
Casualties in New Zealand, 1864.