The Express.
London, England, 1858-04-02 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY C. 18.1 OP Merrill? AND

BURDEN Oh THE HIGH 8148.

The Sydney papers received this morning contain
accounts of an extraordinary act of piracy and murder. The
fillowing particulars are from the Sydney Empire and from
the Sydney Herald, of Feb. 10 :
"Considerable excitement IWII.I causal by the amval, on
the llth January, of the American whale ship Junior, of
New Belford, in charge of her first officer, who reported
that a mutiny had broken out on board the vessel on
Christmas Day, which had resulted in the murder of the
captain and the third mate, and the desertion of the
ship by the mutineers. The information received was
enbetantially as follows —On the night of the 25th, the
ship at that time being hove to on whaling ground a few
dare sail from this coast, everything appeared as usual; the
captain arid officers were all in their berths when the cabin
wee attacked. The captain was fired at by Cyrus Plumer,
one of the boatstrerers, with a whale gun loaded with three
balls, which passed under his ribs and entered the side of the
ship, after which Pliuuer seized the captain by the hair
of the head and cut him several times with a hatchet,
until he fell on the floor. The first officer was at the erne
time shot by John Hall, another of the crew, but managed
to escape into the lower hold, end to conceal himself for
five days, where, deprived of food, and suffering from a
wound in the shoulder, his sufferings were fearful. The
third mate was at the same time stabbed by one Cornelius
Burns, and the second mate wounded by Richard Cribs,
who fired at him with a pocket pistol. After this the muti-
neers took possession of the ship with the intention of taking
her some distant port and selling her, but were unable to du
so from their ignorance of navigation. On the fifth day after
the mutiny, the retreat of the first officer was discovered, and
his life, although in danger from the violence of Cartha,
who appears to have entniained a bitter enmity sgainst him
for previous ill-treatment, was spared on condition that he
would take the ship into the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. It
appears that they made land on the Ist January, up to
which time the vessel was in the poesession of the despera-
does, the second officer being in irons, and the first officer
under the strict surveillance of his captors, who paraded the
deck with arms in their hands, Plumer at their head, and
forced a compliance with their orders from the rest of the
crew. The gang now came to the resolution of abaraioning
the vessel. Previous to this, the following statement wee
uttered in the log-book, and signed by the five principal
actors in the tragedy :
• Ship Junior, N. Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.,
" ' Friday, December 25, 1857.
" ' Latitude 37 degrees 68 minutes South, longitude 66
degree 67 mantes Ear.
" This is to certify that we, Cyrus Palmer, John Hall,
Richard Cartha, Cornelius Burns, and William Herbert did,
on the night of the 25th of December last, take the ship
Junior, and that all others in the ship are quite innocent of
the deed. The captain and third mats were killed, and the
second mate was wounded and taken prisoner at the time.
The mate was wounded in the shoulder with balls from a
whaling gun, and at the time we fired we set his bed on fire,
and he was obliged, for fear of suffocation, to take the lower
hold, where he remained until Wednesday fibroma. We
could not find hint before, but we undertook a strict search
and found him there. We promised him his lih and the ship,
if he would come out and surrender without any trouble, and
AO be came out. Since he has been in the ship be has been a
good officer, and has kept his place. We agreed to
leave him the greater part of the crew, and we have put him
under oath not to attempt to follow us, but to go straight
away and not molest us. We shall watch around here for
sometime and if he attempts to follow us or stay around
here, we 'shall core on board sad sink the ship. If we had
not round Mr. Nelson the ship would have been lost. We
have taken two boats and ten men, and everything that we
wanted. We did not put Mr. Nelson in Irons on amount of
his being wounded, but we kept a strict watch over him all
the time. We particularly wish to may that all others in the
ship but we five aforesaid men are quite innocent of any part
to the affair.

(Signed)" CYRUS Purina,
"Willman • Mato Names "Jona HALL,
Pinyon., noon DEW, "Rion. CANTHA,
Hanwe L. Loan, Han- "Coe. Huang,
NAN GNAT." ‘WX. HUNIULT.

They left the ship in the vicinity of Caps Howe in two
whale-hosts, taking with them everything of mine which
they could lay their hands upon. They attempted to pene-
trate the interior from Ninety-mile beech, but found it
more difficult than they expected, as this is a pert
where, from • soarcity of water, even the aboriginies
field it scarcely possible to travel. Six of them, how-
ever, forming the crew of one host, have persevered in the
attempt, and it is thought most likely they have perished
in it. If not, they can scarcely escape capture. The
other four w®t to Twofold Bay, where they gave themselves
out as Americans on a voyage from Melbourne to Sydney.
But the singularity of such a voyage being taken in a whale-
boat, their arms and the nature and value of the property
they had with them, excited suspicions. A force was gathered
together, and they wen ,treated ; but al there was no tang-
ible evidence against them they were discherged again,
although the boat was detained. They made themselves
however, as far as outward appearances went, pretty
comfortable, wearing fine clothes and living a reckless life.
Plimer, who called himself Captain Wilson, became quite •
ladles' man, and was even, it is sold, upon the eve of mar-
ridge when he was arrested. When the men left the ship
they imposed an oath upon the chief mate to take the 'hip on
to New Zealand. Had he done this they would have had a
considerable time before them to provide for their own safety.
Bat of course he regarded the oath thus forced upon him se
imposing no moral obligation, and he determined upon mak-
ing towards the nearest port at which he could get assistance
for the ship, and invoke the arm of justice to pursue
the mutineers. Ile at first shaped his course towards
Hobart Town, but meeting with an intercelonial trader, he
was advised to bear op for Sydney, end did so. The excite-
ment here on hearing of Ibis mutiny, as well as the
public sympathy with its victims, was very great. Soon
afterward, word was brought of some of the men
having been seen at Gabo Wand, and the steamer Ills-
warm was at once despatched in search of them, with
in armed party of police. The pAmer followed the
men to Twofoldßay, but ere her arrival an account of the
mutiny bed been received through another channel, and the
local authorities had secured three of them. The fourth
(Cartha) escaped into the bush, but he has since been
captured. This was apparently the meet desperate man of
the party. After his apprehension be managed to conceal a
small tile from the searching eyes of the police, and had
nearly severed his irons ere this was discovered.
" As the four men now to custody are American subjects,
it has been questioned whether they be considered amenable
to MIT laws, or whether the Consul for the United States
will demand them from our authorities and send them with
• copy of the depositions taken here to their own country
Ice trial. In the latter event the case will be resumed next
week by the examination of several fresh witnesses from the
ship's cowpony, in order to elicit every winkle of evidence
bearing upon the affair. Pending this decision, the investi-
gation is adjourned ant il Monday next.
"The following is a description of the prisoners at prevent
in custody here :—Plumer, the sllcxed ringleader of the
party, is a stout well-favoured man, with rather an intelli-
gent look, and appears to be about thirty years of age. He
has a Garman met of countenance, with light hair end
beard, the latter woes fall. In these characteristics be
bon a striking similarity to Jacob Ryche, who is about
the a
age, and has
other exactly the saute style of counter
imues. Staaley, the prisoner, ie a little fellow, with
dark lair and eyes, and looks like a Spaniard. Carib* is
as Aserican, quite a young man, no: more than 33 or 23
peeve of age. He Is of the averw,.. height, rather slightly
made, has dark, but not black hair, with blue eyes, and In
hie mood' and hardier face there is a striking dissimilar-
ity to the other prieonies. A particularly carder expremion
et eannsonmat is hi. prevailing oharaoonialo. We look in
vein %either of the Is., primmest, for Here phrenological
developmenee whisk acarelinee mark the perpetrates of
=row, sod it le mod to behold lbw men, whose awe
better Wigs, serelgsed fora crime ef es deep a dye"

ALL SAINTS', IIALGArtZT4TRICIT.--Our renders
w glad to laarn that Mr. W. Dyes, IL All Many
=with the framooes at lb. Cluarch of Saints%
ill
bor
emit, having osuipleird th. Cm:dation, with St.
John and oar Ley en either aids in the upper central com-
plement; and Ms Brame of St. Peter end St. Andrew,
ease ceoplas, an a level with the above. The effect of all
though, of west mane by tho intervention of scaffolding
—is ells oddest to giro an admirable idea of the result of
this of dationalkm. The designs an most devotional in
aindl the dot TOI be eh thee Is hoist, anus.