Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1865-07-08 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

HORRIBLE MURDER OF A MISSIONARY IN NEW ZEALAND. At Opotike, on the east coast on New Zealand, there resided at the latter end of February last a clergyman of the Church of England, named Carl Sylvius Volkner, a really good and pious man, who had laboured for the natives with heart and hand for many years, and who, it was supposed, had secured their fullest confidence and esteem. He not only (attended to their spiritual wants, but he alleviated their distresses during the raging of a recent epidemic which carried off many of the tribe. He established, with the assistance of Mrs Volkner, a school for their children, and, in fact, he acted towards them all as a kind father would have done to his own offspring; but notwithstanding all his benevolent labours, they brutally murdered him, cut off his head, plucked but his eyes, drank his blood, and left his body to be torn by the dogs. The tale ;is almost too horrible to be told, but it is, unfortunately, WAN' a matter of history, and cannot, therefore, be obliterated from its pages. Another clergyman of the Church of England, the Rev. Mr Grace, was also taken prisoner by the natives, and, out for the fortunate circumstance of his having been subsequently rescued by Captain Levy, the master of the trading schooner Eclipse,' he would most undoubtedly have shared a like fate to poor Volkner. Captain Levy has since published a narrative of the sad event, from which the following is extracted: "About 800 natives had now assembled, and Mr Volkner was marched under the tree. The natives took off his coat, vest, and shirt, which the principal chief put on, being quite pleased with the watch and chain, This chief was Kereope, of Meketu, who was travelling with the Taranakis, and a main cause of all the evil. Poor Volkner had only his flannel and trousers left to cover his nakedness. Ha manifested the great-at calmness throughout, and shook hands with many of the natives whilst they were tying his handkerchief over his eyes and hauling him up to the fatal branch. The natives marvelled greatly at the tears running from Mr Volkner'e eyes. They did not pinion either arms or lea's, but left him to dangle for nearly an hour in the air, whilst come of the natives were hauling as his legs to get off his boots and trousers, sharing what was in his pockets whilst he hung over them. One of the natives also put on the trousers in the dying man's presence. After letting the body hang about half an hour, it was lowered and taken to the church, near which they fenced in a place, spread the body out in the form of a cross, and proceeded to cut off the head, the body being still warm, and symptoms of life being yet apparent. The inhuman fellows next carefully cut the flesh round the chest and back, and chopped off the neck with an old axe. The natives then formed themselves into a line, and prepared to taste the blood as it ran out of the head and body. Amongst the women there was a fearful scramble as to who should have the most. What blood dropped on the ground they painted their faces with. The chief Kereope took out the eyes with his fingers, and ate them before the crowd, in order to show them an example. The flesh of the neck was then stripped off, and given to the dogs, a large number of whom were around the place. A fight arose amongst the dogs, and the natives threw the body to them. After it had been gnawed some time by the dogs, the natives took it up and threw it down a water-closet close at band." Were the event above described, and as it is, a solitary one, we might fain believe that, by destroying the actors of it, we should at the same time get rid of the evil; but such would not be the case; for the poison of Pal Marireism pervades nearly all the tribes in this island. Intelligence was received only yesterday from Poverty Bay that the natives in that locality had become converts to its blood-stained tenets ; and the consequence has been that a number of the settlers there have just arrived in Auckland for their personal safety. The natives have with them the head of a soldier of the 70th regiment, which they keep with them for the purpose of practising their fanatical rites.