THE NOTORIOUS DR.MURRAY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1341, 15 November 1872, Page 3

THE NOTORIOUS DR. MURRAY.

[southland news.]

Some of our readers may remember a Dr Murray, who, about nine years ago, held the position of Resident Surgeon at the InvercargiJl Hospital. He was a goodlooking, dandified young man, gifted with any amount of modest assurance, and a suave manner (when it suited his purpose) that «i variably extorted the admiration of ladies. After a timo he disappeared from the scene, not, however, if we are rightly informed, before giving some.of his patronesses reason to suspect that -their protege was scarcely the exemplary character thoy had giveu him credit for .being. Not long afterwards Dr. Murray was heard of in Melbourne, where he bad, thanks to his peculiar tactics, so far ingratiated himself with the ladies as to induce them to assigr him the position of surgeon of the Leichardt search expedition fitted put under their auspices. How he abased tho trust reposed in him, drank - the " medical comforts," and ignobly deserted his comrades in their dire extremity it is almost needless to repeat here ; there are few grown-up people in the colonies to whom the episode is not familiar. For a long timo nothing more was heard of the " nice young man " further than that he had contrived to reinstate himself in the good graces of the ladies, and through their influence to obtain a snug appointment. Tired of the monotony of official life, it seems the doctor some time ago resolved to exchange it for the moro exciting pursuit of . "blackrbird catching." He chartered a vessel, trapped a number of South - Sea Islanders, and had they behaved well, would., no doubt, have sold them honorably to some honest planter. Unfortunately the miserable wretches obi jected to their enforced emigration. They * tried io escape, and the tender-hearted doctor was under the painful necessity of allowing his men to slaughter about 70 of them. The circumstances by some means reached the ears of the authorities, and Dr Murray, who seems to have come out of the adventure with less profit than he expected, felt it to be duty to turn Queen's evidence against the master and some of the crew, whose trial at Sydney for murder was recently reported. That he should be allowed so to escape the consequences seems to have gone sorely against the grain of the majority of the Mell)Ott?ne jottxna}*, which have, with singular unanimity, denounced the informer as more culpable than those under trial. There is, however, according to the correspondent of the Otogo Times, one exception, a religious newspaper, the Independent, having taken upon itself to say "that the heart of Dr Murray has been touched, and. that his eyes have been opened to the impropriety of his conduct." This pious periodical goes on to recommend thai the services of the penitent should be engaged in the work of suppressing the South Sea slave trade ! Comment is needless, but we should like to point onfc out that on the same principh sujlivan; pf Maungatapn notoriety, who once <( assisted " at a little massacre and betrayed his accomplices, ought now to be Chief Commissioner of Police for the Colony of New Zealand.