The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-02-20 00:00:00

WEYMOUTH.
THE °WHORE.

MeserA. W. Roberta and Co., have written the
6.ll,Aving reepecting the barque ()more :
Weytnouth' 15t11 February, 1i77,

Tho Ogni..r..

"In order to satisfy the public, who have so deeply
interested themselves in obtaining the release of the
sailors whn were conmitted to prison for refusing to obey
orders on board thit vemel whilst lying at a silo
anchnrage, we shall feel obliged by your insertion in your
next issue of the accompanying report of the head ship-
wright surveyor to the Ward of Trade, receive! this
morning by the collector of 11.31. customs and handed by
him to Captain Shemerd, representing the owner. From
t this it will le seen that the plea of unseiworthiness,
advanced by he% was totally unfounded!, the vessel being
pronounced to Es in good trim and the cargo properly
stowed. Dennis., one of the prisoner., accompanied Mr.
Clark, Bean! of Trade surveyor, on his survey, but did
not say anything as to the spars being defective, nor was
this knowe to either owner, master, or men, until after
wards; or they would have well renewed without any
interference pit the part of the Roard of Trade. The
vessel is detained on account of her spars being defeetive
and not for any charges tuasle by the released prisoners.
—Yore faithfully, W. RODERTS and Co., agents for the
ves.el."

Ti•
e enbeequent remarkA were hroiLfht to our Ake
by an eeteetuol film! on Thumlay 1;84; hut it heing
too late for the Tdcgrom of that day, we were obliged
t decline Mein at that titno;

'!ltvtaark4.

......
"Cope M, 2103.
"The Ogtnore was built at Sunderland in Deceml.r,
1854, of hard wool material, collier fastental, and
originally classed ten years Al, at present she is c1a...e.1
Al for seven year!, from 1074 as per certificate attacliwl.
She has a raised retorter deck, or break extending front
the stern to the after part of the waist, from thenee
forward to the stern she is flushed ; is laden with 530 lons
.4 railway iron, I.und to the Carte of ti nt Hope, draws
lift. forward and Pitt 3in. aft., and has a clean tide of
lit. The slicer is slightly de1...0wl in way of the fore
ridging, otherdia. it is fairly gunt, mid the clear aide shows
her to be in good trim. Front an entry in the logbook it
appears that on Sonday, 311 t Ihweinber, whilst ..n •
voyage from Newcastle to the Cape of flood I lope, it blew
a very heavy •Inall of wind f . WSW., lawon.l a further
tint the pumps had 10011 e irefully attended
• no ether re...m.1 VIM ...Me, so that it in LOIIIII,IO.Ithat all
went well, and baring now Imple A candid eta ... i.. talon
of the hull throughout the .tWel,ll Ilerkc over the oncee
hr,evlside, awl i 6 the lower hold, where practical.' I
!OlVt:1 to state that I found the bendingo to b firm and
showing no indications of having worked, awl the material
.ind fastenings in gaol roinlition. The iron Cargo is Placed
in the main sly if the vessel—namely, it extends from
the fonooort ta the mite., toast, .tiol the lower tier la 1,4
a platform or inner bottom, which 'tools ahollt
• .;i.. . above the ceilin•. These heavy weighty are well
clear from the extremenes of the vessel, ale locked on
their upper tiers, and shored to skid pieces from side to
side, awl also to the dock and hope beano.. Between the
top ol the cargo awl Upper end of each, beam there I, a
clear spice Of throe feet. I have made a careful exstiti-
!lntl m from end to end it the cargo, the result being that
there are na signs of it having worked during the voyage
front Shields to Weymouth, and I am of opinion that
(roil the manner in which it is stowed it would not cum
the vessel to he uneasy when in in sea way, and would
therefore respectfully observe that she is not overholen
neither is her cargo improperly stowed.--Signed, W.
TURNER, 11th February, MT, the Assistaat Secretary.
Marine Department, Hoard of Trade."
In the Mouse Of Cotutnans, on Tuewlay, in reply to
'in. Plimsoll, Sir C. A.blerley said though the (lard
of Fradle had no
.power woupensata the crew 1 the
Ownore for their imp i,mntneat in I )orchest
they could obtain compensation from the owner.

On Saturday:, at noon. boron, the Mayor (Mr. Lotelic).
Mr. J. Milledge. Dr. Wew, Mr. J. Itohertaon, Mr. IS.
II ipkins, and Mr. W. Tall. It.
Mihal o,llin.s. Will.aui B. ColPman., A nyout Pr
and Ginranni Paaliarati. 14,1111211, were brought up for
being guilty of wilful and continued diadre.lience on board
the barque Q.,•onore.
Mr. Ifoward appoared for the proaecotion, and said that.
although he ,rEd not a cli to take up the titre of the Bench,
he shoold like to whir,' them in reference to thiA MSC.
Z; • .; • . .

-The Mayor soil there-h-ail been shout this ships great
ilent of feeling shoan outside, not only in thin town, but
elsewhere ; Will, not only for the satisfaction ot themselves,
but also for the sake of the Secretary of State he would
ask Mr. Howard to go into the ease at some length.
Mr. Howard thanked the Beni+ awl said that he would
do no. One of the most sacred things in the world was
human life, awl he would not prosectite in a Co.: where a
vessel is unseaworthy; hut he still was under the inipres-
sion that the last case did net come before them as a case
whether the vesoil was tit to go to sea or not. If A lawyer
misled the Bench he NOM not worthy of his position
his object was to put the case fairly before them, lie
sail this was an instance where the men ilistibeyed while
the vessel was at anchor, and it was entirely different
front where they refuse,' to go to sea Immune she was un-
seaworthy. Both here awl at the comity Bench the
sreatest attention was psid to human life, where the
question RAS fairly rained : but if men were allowed to
leave off work just because they chose, no tradesmen in
this town, no professional man, no other !sermon who keeps
servants would he safe. They could nut allow the
principle of that kind, otherwise the toasters hal latter
be servants and the servants manters. The intt,, of the
vessel had ste.l up iti that court and sail, " I advised the
men to go to work ;" and the sentence ois the last leen
was because they refused to go to work while the vesnel
woo at nnehor ; and there were no wrounils for the views
which people scented to have taken, and behevel parties
could not have been in court and been acquainted with the
merits of the ea.. Under the 243rd auction of the Act of
Parliament, whenever any seamen has been lawfully
engaged at sea service, and eundults any of the following
off emcee, Ile shall Ise liable to he punished summarily ; for
wilful disobedience he shall be liable to be imprisoned
with hard labour for any period not exceeding four weeks,
anil if there be continued disobedience,. he sts II be liable
to imprisonment for any period not exceeding 12 weeks.
The Act of Parlianient meets sailors very fairly, it has
nhelteresl the sailor beeause the law hint empower.' them
to turn round awl nay to the captain " I wish to IN, taken
un shore to Mee a magistrate." if he hiss real ejWk, for
complaint. But t11:41, 4loe, Hot justify the sailor in -ayieer
"I shallnot .lo ordinary work. " If a XerVAOLgleeN
tO kWh, her work, she must still on With her work till
her nett., hoe expired. If a sailor says" L shall not heave
the anchor," that would Ite a jtuitilialole refuted, if the ship
were unseaworthy ; I.ut if the sailor mays - .1. no
work at all, but be simply a gentlemau at large—if that
was to be laid tIOWO as law, and be oupported by the
Bench, then every one who has a sovereign in • vowel has
no protection for his property. It MN neither right,
justice, nor law, between employer and employed. A
master employing a gardener fur instance, may receive
notice : but if the gas-diner stops his work before the
notice is up, the master says No, the contract is not
yet put an end to." Was the servant to walk upend down
the garden, and do nothing for a week That wee con-
trary to Englinh law, or law in any country. Hem were
men brought here to this ship, the owuers are doing
what is wanted, and the ship in undergoing certain repairs.
The men were ithipped before the proper shipping master,
they entered into proper articles, and they are simply
told day by day to clo their duty ; they were asked to ilo
their simple work on board the vuesel, and were they to
refs.° to do that I Supposing it was a paaseuger ship, and
the men were all cooks, were they to refuse to do their
ditty NI de the vessel WAS 4,01 A to Keil The Bench hed
nothing to ilo situ false sympathy on one heed or the
other; but there they had the case of men walking up
awl down awl doing nothing. If the Bench could justify
that, they were laying down • monstrosity. He Ind
already shown them that he did not appear to ask these
men to go in a vessel that is not seaworthy ; he asked
them to do their ordinary duty to the ship, and for
refusing that was what they were there for. Whether
they were foreigners or Englishmen, or if they
had beers his mot brothers, he should say the
same by refusing their ordinary duty they ren-
dered themselves liable to 12 weeks imprisonment, and
if the Bench should not punish these men, they were
holding out as a matter of nght to every servant, whether
tea house or in a ship, that they could walk up and down
.ling nothing, and were perfectly right to disobey their
employer. But In reality there wa, no such law, or the
position of master and servant would be done away with.
Many a poor sailor, he admitted, had lost his life, by going
to sea in an unseaworthy vessel, and men are appointed by
Government to examine vessels most carefully before
they go to sea, so that sailors' lives shall not be risked. In
this vessel the Board of Trade surveyor, not only the
ordinary one, but the chief of them all, had made a most
perfect examination, and everything the crew had made
occasion to complain of had been proved to lee thoroughly
' cwurt7nliiroughy eald the
c,arriatadthweorfkedirrarrawtasit hash
sufficient ; but the chief of the Board of Trade surveyors,
than whom there could be none higher, had made a report,
showing that all this was untrue. Mr. Howard than
proceeded to read Mr. Turner's report as above.
Mr. Anleu said that report could not be taken as
evidence.

the magistrates clerk wax very
anxious to get off the men.
Mr. Arden said the men had no one present to defend
them.
Mr. Howard said his impremion was that both the
magistrates and Mr. Arden would leen to Ow side of