The Express.
London, England, 1864-01-06 00:00:00

MR. BRIGHT AND A IMMINGHAM PIRATE.

Those of our readers who remember the bank-
ruptcy of Mr. J. Bribery will no doubt remember also that
Mr. J. Rubery had • brother, younger than himself, who
being sent out to New York to " settle aooounts" with a
Mr. Hill wandered off to California with, it was stated, cer-
tain moneys in his possession. The young man was the
subject of a great deal of discussion and evidence in the
Bankruptcy Court, and if we remember rightly the case was
adjourned once. or more than once, for his production as a
witness. He came ; but, in his place, Hill made his
appearance, remarking, whets asked what brought him here,
• The steamship Europa." Hill, if our recollection
serves us as it should do, stated that youog Rubery
had called on him, settled accounts, and set out for Cali-
, torahs, As to the " settling accounts," we know nothing ;
but it was agreed on all hands that California was the
destination of Mr. J. Rubery's brother. It now turns
out that the young man has, through the influence of Mr.
Bright, M.P., narrowly escaped hanging. So far as
we can make out, Bubery (of California), getting money
somewhere, became part proprietor of • steam ship, which
set out from New York with, as was supposed, supplies
for California. At all events, whether part proprietor or
nut, he was supercargo; and the "cargo " of which be
wu " super " seems to have consisted chiefly of arms and
ammunition, with a good deal of quicksilver, thrown in as
" a blind." The real object of the journey, however,
seems to have been • piratical one, the plan being to lie
off San Francisco until en outward-bound gold vessel
should fall into the clutches of the crew of the
"supply' steamer, in which case there is little doubt that
the crew of the gold vessel would have been murdered and
their cargo stolen. Two of Rubery's sailors, however, got
ashore, and divulged the whole business, whereupon the
supply ship was seised, and Rubery and his companions
I were not already sentenced—we do not know how this
was. This, however, is pretty certain—Rubery wrote
home explaising that he had an objection to being
hanged, but stating that he did not care much for a
term of imprisonment his apartments at the gaol being
the most comfortable he had occupied fur some time past.
As was natural, his friends here were greatly conoareed,
and feeling that Mr. Bright and Mr. Cobden were about
the only pumas in this country who had influence enough
in America to get • commutation of the young scapegrace's
sentence, they applied to the friend of both gentlemen, Mr.
Charles Sturge, el-mayor of Birmingham. Mr. Sturm •
strong advocate for the abolition of capital punishment, at
once wrote to Mr. Bright, sad Mr. Bright at once communi-
cated with the Federal government at Washington. The
Iresult was a commutation of Rubery's sentence to ten years'
imprisonment and a fine of ten thousand dollars. Here
Mr. Sturgis efforts ended. The crime of which Rubery
was convicted was, as he took it, a eery serious one, and the
only ground on which be had been induced to interest him-
self in the young sun's behalf was his belief that capital
, punishment was simply judicial murder. Mrs. Joseph
I Sturge, however, together with certain members of the
Society of Friends in Birmingham, looking at the young
man's youth, his previous good conduct, and the influences
by which he was surrounded, moved Mr. Bright to obtain,
,if possible, a full pardon. Mr. Bright, it would
I seem, complied with the request, and by the
last mail received a letter from • high authority
in Washington—at all events such a letter has been oom-
. municated to Rubery's friends—containing the following
1 puma : " Bubery's pardon will issue as soon as the
papers can be prepared. There is much feeling in California
sgaiost the crime of Rubery and his associates ; but the
! judge who tried him, and both senatote, say that everybody
will be satisfied if it he known that Mr. Bright, the good
friedof our country, desired the pardon." We trust that
Mr. Rubery will not again invest his money in • gallows, for
even Mr. Bright's influence, if not his benevolence may fail
who submitted to the ordeal of • second asertion—Bir-
i saingliara Daily Post.

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