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Southland Times, Issue 702, 26 July 1867, Page 3

Information ha 3 been received that His Excel-, lency the Governor has sent home copies of all the addresses presented to him during hi 3 visit to Otago and Southland. Writing on the Bth April, from Wellington, to the Earl of Carnarvon, then Secretary of Stato for the Colonies, Sir George "' Grey said, "I have the honor to transmit, for your Excellency's information, . copies of various addresses I received whilst visitine the Provinces of Otago and Southland. ' T feel sure that your Lordship will be gratified at finding that throughout these prosperous and thriving possessions of Her Majesty, such, a universal feeling of happiness, of conteutment, and of devoted; loyalty to the Throne and Person, of the Qmeen prevails amongst all classes of persons. I trust Her Majesty will graciously receive the numerous and devoted expressions of loyalty and love to which hei* subjects in these Provinces have given utterance.,' If your Lordship should see fit to advise Her Majesty to notice the prosperity, contentment, and loyalty of her subjects who have given expression to these feelings, I am sure that such an act on the part of the Queen will be received with extreme pleasure and lasting grati-.. tude." • ■'„_ It is asserted that a photographer,' who has: been employed by the Dutch Government to take,, views of the most. beautiful. points in. the .Island. of Java, has, discovered an : -. entire rcity buried . r beneath the lava of a. volcano -close by, which haa been extinct for several centuries,

MURDER OF MRTTBTENI^TTIV'HrTEYiND AN ARAWA NEAR OPOTIEI. DREADFUL " MUTILATION CF THEIR BODIES. ■; REMAINS OF MOORE AND BEGGS FOUND. /Abridged from. the "Southern Cross," July 12.) , On Friday, June 28, Mr Bennett: "White, and the nativewho carries' "the; mail between Tauranga and Opotiki, j were murdered at the Waiotahi stream, j. about "half-way between Ohiwa and jj Opotiki. The details that.haye reached *us of this., horrible affair are meagre enough, bnt there is not the least doubt ofthe fact. Immediately on receiving the news, Major St. John called out the Militia, and sent a strong party to the scene. Close by the Waiptahi stream, but, as far as we can gather j7 on. that side nearest jOpotiki tliere were lying on the beach the bodies of Mr. White and the native, both having been decapitated. A . short distance away was the head of Mr White, the eyes having been gouged ont. The native who was murdered, and who , was carrying the mail to Opotiki from Tauranga, was named Wi Popata. As might have been expected, there was a great stir in Maketu when the news reached that place, and the Arawas were anxious, to be. sent- out to- scour- thedistrict where the men who have committed the murders live. A party at once left to bring in the body of Wi Popata, who ia an Arawa, and connected with the Maketu, people. Besides the murder of Mr. White and Popata, there is an Opotiki settler, named Lawson, missing, and great anxiety is felt on his account. The beach road between Whakatane and Opotiki has been known to be unsafe for some time past, and Mr. Clarke, Civil Commissoner at Tauranga, has always warned parties going that they did so at their peril. It will be remembered that Mr. Bennett White was onJboard the Kate at the time when Mr. James Pulloon and the crew of that vessel were murdered. Mr. White's life was saved oh that occasion, apparently more -because the muskets presented at him wPuld not go off than from anything else. Since the capture of the-murderers,- and the-execution of some of them and the incarceration of the others,. we believe that- a strong feeling existed against Mx: White amongst their relatives, he having been responsible, in a Maori .point, of view, for bringing the cutter Kate across the Aukati, and causing all the succeeding troubles. Whether this feeling has had anything to do with his murder we cannot say. It is extremely unlikely that the murders were committed without a Maori motive, but except the one mentioned above, we are not aware of any in existence. It is probable Tit was committed by some -of the men whp have ,been hunted from place to place, and who are -. homeless and lawless. Mr. White was one of our oldest native traders, and had escaped : many dangers in the course of his long residence amongst the Maories.