The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-04-05 00:00:00

PIRACY ON THE HIGH SEAS.

At the Assizes held at Ipswich, George Barrett was tn-
dieted for piracy on the high seas on the 14th of June, 1871.
The mae created great interest. In the summer of 1871, the
Fereign Office received an Intimation from the Dutch
Government that complaints hail been made of depredations
committed by English fishermen upon Dutch subjects
peaceably following their calling of fishermen off the coast
of Holland. The inquiries thereupon made by the Board of
Trade led to the apprehension of the prisoner.
Mr. O'Malley, Q U, and Mr. Merewether prosecuted; Mr.
Simms Reeve defended the prisoner.

I ft appeared that on th; /4th of June, 1871, Cornelis
Alvers luck, Derck Jong, and Peter Wyker, inhabi-
tants of Egmont, put out to sea in a small vessel. They
were joined by another Dutchman, named Arystom in
a similar craft, and at about midday they anchored
nine miles off Camperdown, and ran a basket up to the
masthead of Arystom's vosseL This meant that the
Dutchman had gin and tobacco on board to exchange
for fieh with the English fishermen. Five English
cutters were riding becalmed at some distance, and
when they had drifted to within about three-quarters
of a mile of the Dutchmen a boat put out from the
cutter and came alongside. There were three men in
her, of whom the prisoner was one. They bought eight
bottles of gin for 10e., and went peaceably back to the
cutters. Tide was from four to live o'clock in the
afternoon. About an hour and a half after the
boat made for the Dutchmen again. This time
there were seven or eight men in her, among whom
was the prisoner, who was drunk. Arystom could
speak a little English, aid the prisoner called for more
gin for himself and his companions. Blok gave
him two bottles. The prisoner and another English-
man then got on board Bloke boat, and another Eng-
li.hman got into Arystora's. The rest a the English-
men remained in the English boat, the bows of whidi
they had lobed to the bowsprit of Arystones. The
prisoner demanded more bottles of gin, and Blok gave
him two more, and two more after that. Here, how-
ever, the Dutchman made a stand, upon which the pri.
simer sprang from the bows into the stern, and struck
Blok on the mouth with his fist. After this the prisoner
reeled over and fell into the water. Blok took him by
the legs and hauled him on board again. The pris
soner then took up a hammer from the deck and struck
the lid of the locker with such foros that the hammer
broke and the lock sprang open. Blok then threw up
the lid and said "Do what you will." Prisoner said,
"I'll rove you von everyting." The Englishman
then cleared out the locker, which contained cigars,
aniseed, and eau de cologne to the value of £3 or £4,
besides some stone jars of gin, one a which the
prisoner used to knock down one of the Dutchman as
he was handing it to his companions in tile next boat.
The Englishmen then unlashed their boat, struck up
an air upon an accordion, and rowed back to their
cutters. Night came on soon after. The Dutchmen,
however, had observed the letters L. T. (Lowestoft)
and large figures upon the sails and bows of the cutters,
and the prisoner himself, upon being taunted by the
Dutchmen "as only a boy," had early in the afternoon
pointed out cutter No. 195, as being under his charge.
The Dutchmen gave their evidence very well, with
the intervention, of cures, of an int rpreter, and the
identity of the prisoner together with the violence used
by him was put beyond all doubt by the evidence re-
luctantly given by some of the crew of the cutter, who
had seen, but not taken part in, the transaction.
On his Lordship saying that drunkenness would be
no answer to a charge of this nature, the counsel for
the defence, being unable to contest the above facts,
advised the prisoner to withdraw his plea, and plead
" Guilty."
The jury, after hearing witnesses to character, recom-
mended the prisoner to mercy.
His Lordship said that lawless acts of this kind
affected the reputation of British sailors, a class of
whom England was justly proud. Such acts also
tended to impair the good feeling which this country
strove to maintain between herself and States wich
which she was on tense of peace.
The prisoner was sentenced to 15 months' imprison-
ment.