which connects the peninsula of Te Papa with the mainland. This isthmus is the gate which commands the entrance to the whole district; hence the pa erected on it was known as the Gate Pa. On either side was a swamp extending to the water, so that it was impossible for our men to force their entrance into the interior without dislodging the enemy from their stronghold. An order had been issued for the 43rd Regiment to proceed to Auckland, but Colonel Greer, in the exercise of a wise discretion, retained them at Tauranga, in the belief that their services would soon be required. On the night of Thursday, the 28th of April, General Cameron, who had arrived at Tauranga with his staff some days before, commenced his preparations for attack. The forces under his command seemed to be amply sufficient for securing success: they consisted of the 68th Light Infantry, the 43rd, the Flying Column, made up of detachments from the 14th, 65th, and 70th Regiments, and the Naval Brigade, consisting of more than two hundred sailors from the different men-of-war stationed there. The attacking party were strong in artillery, having with them eleven Armstrong guns, besides two howitzers and six mortars. The only arms possessed by the enemy, whose numbers did not exceed six hundred men, were their rifles and tomahawks; but this inferiority was compensated for by the advantage of fighting behind the walls of the pa. The general’s object was to intercept the enemy in the rear, and thus cut off their retreat. Under cover of the night, the 68th Regiment and thirty men of the Naval Brigade forced their way through the swamp, and took up their position in the rear of the pa, without attracting the notice of the insurgents. April is one of the brightest and sunniest months in New Zealand, but the morning of the 28th was dark and lowering; heavy rains began to fall, and the rays of the sun were obscured by the murky atmosphere. By the imperfect light of dawn the 68th could be seen extended in skirmishing order behind the pa, so that the enemy were completely hemmed in. They might hold out for a time, but it was only a question of time; the general’s arrangements were perfect, and no doubt was entertained of our ultimate success. At half-past seven o’clock the cannonade began; the artillery, officers and men, displayed the greatest courage and skill in working the guns; shot and shell continued to be poured upon and into the redoubt without intermission till four o’clock in the afternoon. The few natives who had appeared in the rifle-pits at the commencement of the attack were soon dislodged, and retreated into the pa by a hole not larger than an ordinary covered drain. During the cannonade they seldom returned our fire; the general impression was, that the shot and shell had done their deadly work so effectually as to leave few of them alive. The general, however, delayed his attack till a breach had been effected in the walls sufficiently large to admit