the storming party—a fact which seems to have been wilfully ignored by his assailants at home, who have unjustly accused him of recklessly sacrificing the lives of his officers and men by commanding them to mount an impracticable breach, when his proper course would have been a mine or a distant cannonade. All that could be done by a distant cannonade was already effected; the breach was there staring them in the face; the storming party had only to enter in and take possession. The wanton sacrifice of human life is the last charge that would be brought against General Cameron by those who have taken part in this campaign; in this respect he resembles his friend and countryman Lord Clyde, who never exposed his men to unnecessary danger. If human skill could always command success, he had a right to count upon victory; but we need not anticipate. At four o’clock in the afternoon the storming party, consisting of the Naval Brigade and the 43rd Regiment, were formed into line, while the covering party advanced within a hundred yards of the pa, and opened fire. The enemy showed themselves on the walls, and briskly replied. The storming party, led by Commander Hay, of the _Harrier_, now advanced swiftly in column; the men were in the highest spirits, and rushed forward with a ringing cheer. Nothing could withstand the impetuosity of their attack; in a moment they had cleared the ditch, scaled the embankment, and plunged through the breach into the redoubt. The reserve party thought that the day was won; for a time no sound was heard save a straggling shot or an occasional cheer. But this silence was not to last; it was only the treacherous lull that precedes the storm. That storm soon burst forth with the greatest fury; all at once the pa, the supposed grave of its Maori defenders, became instinct with life; volley succeeded volley in rapid succession; in the intervals might be heard savage yells such as never issued from any British throat. It was a moment of intense interest to the spectator, who for a time could see nothing but the clouds of smoke that rose from the pa after each volley; enough, however, soon became visible to show that our arms had met with a sudden reverse. Soldiers and sailors, mixed up in confusion, came thronging through the breach, plunged into the ditch, and rushed forward in the wildest disorder; some sudden panic had seized them, but there might still be sufficient time to turn the tide of war and retrieve the honour of the day. General Cameron at once ordered the supports to advance; a braver officer than Captain Hamilton, of the _Esk_, could not have been found to lead them on. If a single arm could have changed the fortune of the war, the disaster of the Gate Pa would never have occurred; but the supports came too late. The gallant Hamilton sprang upon the embankment, waved his sword in the air, and shouted, “Follow me, men!” Scarcely had the words passed his lips when a bullet struck