The Murder of Moffatt.

Auckland Star, Volume XI, Issue 3218, 12 November 1880, Page 2

The Murder of Moffatt.

» ■■ i .. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDBBT.]

WANGANUL. this day. :> Further particulars of the tragedy at' Tub.ua are to band. Moffatt, in company with Henare, left Taupo for a jourieyi down the Waugauui river, giving M j^' reason that ho wanted to recover some property and money ho had left in the Tuhua district, The two travelled' 'to gctherwithoutinterruptionuntilthey arrived* on. Sunday last at tho native village of Matatinea, within a few mileaof Taumaruni Taumaruni is situated at the spot where the; northern branch of the Wanganui joins the' Pome stream. From the natives of Matskin a Motfatt and his companion received no welcome. Tho Maoris appeared sullen, and told the travellers that they had no right there, that the laud was tapued to whita men. The same night the Maoris sent a message to Taurraruni to inform theinhabi. tants of the pah of the arrival of Moffatt' and Henry. The chiefs at Taumaruni; at once held a meeting, at which it was decided that Moffatt should be shot, and they sent out an armed party of seven men tinder the leadershipof Ngatai, Manuka's nephew to carry the sentence into effect; ■•:*;/ THE AMBUSCADE. „ ',;,'/; The murderers formed an ambuscade in the fern by the side of the Maoif 'track' along which Moffatt and Henry would have to pass. On Monday the travellers resumed their journey, and when they came' within about ten yards of the split,'the war party rose up, and one of them immediately iircd at Moffatt and wounded him. .He staggered forward, crying out, "K&ti, kati"("Stop, stop,") when a second shot was fired at him, and he fell in the track a dead man. ; THE NATIVE SPARED. Then his companion, Henry, called on tho party to shoot him also, " kill me as well as my white friend," but they would not do it,'. as they knew him well, and he was a "Wan- I ganui native. Henry came onto Taumann, I but though he received no violence he met with no welcome. Be asked for a canoe to take him down the river, and at length I a lad volunteered to go with him. They. at once started on their journey, saw' Mamaku, who did not know what had happened, and appeared much grieved at 1 the news. They also saw Kemp at Pan- I kino, and by him were told to hasten-down I to Wanganui and Inform theautborities, and this they did without loss of lime'