The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-02 00:00:00

IMPORTANT TO SHIPMASTERS.

A CAPTAIN CONVICTED OF ASSAULTING ONE
(It Ms OFFICEItS.
'Yesterday, at the Police-coUrt, before Messrs. Shell
and Castellain, a case that caused much, attention came
on for hearing. It was as follows :
John H. Mitchell, a respectable looking young man,
the second mate of the ship Elena, summoned Captain
Thomas Hedger, the master of the ship, for having
assaulted him on the high seas. Mr. John H. Mitchell,
attorney, from Halifax, (the father of the complainant,)
appeared for the prosecution, and stated the case at
some length, from which it appeared that his son; who
was intended fbr th 6 churell, took a liking for the sea,
and some four years ago, he was bound to the captain
and the ship, at Newcastle, and the defendant got a
handsome premium with him. He was the second
mate of the ship on her last voyage to Trinidad, but it
was a very disagreeable one for the pang man, for the
conduct of the captain was most brutal to him.
The Captain objected to have such observations used
to him.

Mr. Mitchell said he would repeat the observation,
and would prove it. On the 13th May, on the voyage
home from Trinidad, the complainant found that one of
the pdor boys on beard the Chip Ntas slmdst iii a state of
nudity, add he gave hini a trousers out of his chest.
This scented to annoy the captain. whin had refused to
give the boy any clothes, and had forbidden any to be
given to him. That night, the binnacle lamp west out,
and the complainant, in order to save the ship, ran
down to trim it, and after that the man Hedger.
The captain objected to be called "the man Hedger."
Mr. Mitchell went on to state, that the brutish man
Hedger struck the young man seven or eight blows with
a rope, and so violent was one of the blows, that he fell
himself on the deck, with the force of it. At eight the
next morning, the man hedger caught the young man by
the hair of the head, And pilled it out, until the blood
gushed out from his head copiously; and not satisfied
with that, ho took a belaying pin and struck his on the
eye, on the forehead, and split it open, so that he bled
most profusely, and became quite exhausted. All this
from an English captain. If such things were done by a
Russian, he could almost understand it, but such vile
conduct on the part of an English mercantile captain
was disgraceful. The young mail, after this treatment,
got very ill, when he *as ordered to the forecastle, and
there he lay for about eighty hours, and although he
sent the steward to the captain for some medicine and
plaster for his head, the captain refused to send him
any, telling him he might get such where he could. He
(Mr. Mitchell) would remind the bench that this was
Christianity No. 1, as the captain was a great Wesleyan
preacher. The young man was fed by the sailors in the
forecastle, as the captain refused to give him either food
or medicine until he returned to his duty, which he was
not able to do, and although he was to board in the
cabin he was treated worse than any one on board. The
captain told the mate to bring irons and nut the Young
man into them, but the mate refused as he had not done
anything to deserve such abominable treatment. Mr.
Mitchell then dwelt with great severity on the conduct
of the captain, who professed to be very religious, and
said he would prove his statement, and much more, and
then he would call on the magistrates to send the
defendant for trial, as he had disgraced himself and the
name of the British mercantile navy by his conduct,
although he professed such religious sentiments. After
some further observations--
He then called the complainant, who said--I am 18
years of age, and although originally intended for the
church, I took a liking to the sea some four years ago,
and was apprenticed and gave a premium, and was to
have boarded with the captain. The last voyage I was
second mate, bnt the voyage was not an agreeable one.
On Sunday, the 13th May, there was a boy naked and
I gave him a pair of trousers, and the captain was
angry. At two in the morning the ship was running 9
knots an hour before the wind, when the binnacle lamp
went out, and I ran to trim it, for fear the ship would
broach to and sweep her decks. The captain then
came and said, you scoundrel, why did you do so ? and
I said it was better to do that, than let the ship broach
to and sweep her decks. He then said, you could have
sent one of the boys to do it, and thee he struck me
with such force that he fell himself. The witness then
went on to corroborate the statement of his father, and
fully bore it ciut, for he swore he had received most
brutal treatment ; that he was 80 hours in the forecastle
in an awful state, and that he was refued food or medi-
cine by the captain until he returned to his duty, which
he was not able to do in consequence of the beating he
got. He was supported by the men, who stinted them-
selves of their food to give him something. Mr.
Mitchell said the steward of the ship was gone away,
but he could prove all the facts by other witnesses.
The complainant was then cross-examined by the
defendant. I was put into the forecastle before, but
never acknowledged having embezzled any of the cargo.
Were you not expelled from two bible meetings held
weekly on board my ship ?—No ; but I refused to attend
such hypocritical meetings. I apologised to you before,
for another affair, but ynu made me do so, as you would
not give me any food or a bed to lie on until I did so.
Did yea make faces at me ?—Never. I never tripped
You up on the deck. Had you a short black pipe, such
as blackguards smoke ?—(Laughter.)—l had a black
pipe. Did you ever get leave from me to go to church,
but instead of that you spent the time in the company of
a black prostitute ?—Never, on my oath.
Robert Morris, an apprentice on board the ship, was
examined, and he corroborated the evidence of the
complainant. He said the latter did not give the least
provocation to the captain. .He saw the captain pull his
hair out, and cut him a gash over the eye with a pin.
He said the captain had dismissed him since he heard
that he had told what evidence he was to give. The
captain cross-examined this witness, but his evidence
was not shaken.
Charles Knight Gene, the chief mate of the ship, was
examined, and stated that the young man was every.
thing he could wish, and was most obedient, and as
good a second mate as ever he saw. He swore the cap-
tain struck complainant, pulled him by the hair, and beat
him badly. He might have killed him. He wanted
witness to bring the irons, but he refused, as the youth
had not done anything. He was kept in the forecastle
without food or medicine, until he turned to work again.
the captain proceeded to cross-examine the witness about
some irrelevant matter, but was stopped by the bench.
A sailor was called, and fully bore out the statement of
complainant, and said the conduct of the young man
was always that of a gentleman. This was the case for
the prosecution, when the captain made a long state-
ment, which was not exactly in point to the assault,
and at last the magistrate told bim to confine himself
to the matter of the charge. He admitted having hit
the complainant six times with a rope, but he was
exasperated by the conduct of the young man, and he
said, " I did give him a tremendous shaking." He
called a boy, named Buyasne Hardy, who was on
board, and he said he saw the captain beating Mitchell
with a rope—in fact, he proved the case in place of
disproving it. Captain: Were you present- when he
was expelled from the bible-class ? (Loud laughter.) The
magistrates said that had nothing to do with the case.
Mr. Mitchell : Had you any conversation this-morning
with the captain? No.—The Captain : Yes, you had.
(Great laughter.)—Witness : He told me to tell the
truth.—Thomas Laws, another boy, was called, hut he
did not mend the case by his evidence. Mr. Mitchell
then called on the lsench to send the captain for trial.
The Captain : I will abide by the decision here.
Mr. Castellain said they could deal with the case.
The assault was clearly proved by the captain's own
witnesses, and even if the complainant had given pro-
vocatinit, the captain should not have taken the law into
his o7n hatiels, and therefore they would inflict the full
penalty of £5 on the captain for the, assault. The fine
*as'paid.

The Florence journals speak -Of the approaching
'retirement of Baron Ricasoli.. He will, it is thought,
be replaced in the Government of Tuscany by M. Pouza
do San Martino.