Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

THE LATE MURDER

ON THE

HIGH SEAS.

THE EXECUTION OF CAPT. lIENRY

ROGERS.

41•••••••••••
V.
This day, at twelve o'clock, Henry Rogers, formerly the
Tauter of the ship Martha Jane, will suffer the extreme
Penalty of the law, in front of the Gaol at Kirkdale, for
ng feloniously and wilfully killed and murdered
.7aldrow Rose, a seaman on board:that vessel, on a voyage
4r°railarbadoes, where he shipped, to Liverpool. During
the last Assizes, on the 19th of August, Capt. Rogers, with
Wtiliam Miles, chief mate, and Chas. Elw. Seymour,
theb second mate, were put upon their trial before Mr.
'ar°ll Watson, ant after a patient (the trial occupying
upwards of thirteen hours) and a moat anxious and
impartial inquiry, were each, Ly a jury of their country-
ate; found guilty of the crime of wilful murder.
This ease has, from its commencement, enjoyed a more
'eau usual amount of interest, not alone amongst the
saHors of this port, but also throughout every maritime
Portia the Kingdom. Indeed, so mach importance has been
atiaceed to it—for its parallel for atrocity can scarcely
d'elound on record—that at the time the then accused were
ere the neagietrates, the court was densely crowded, a
se majority of the listeners consisting of seafaring men,
4111 a number of the respectable inhabitants of this town,
The statements of the several witnesses in this, for the
theUtil all-absorbing case, were so recently published in
Proceedings before the stipendiary magistrate, and
allbsectuently at the trial, that had it not been of the
greatest importance, we should not have considered it
necessary to have given, what we intend to do—
A FULL NARRATIVE
?
the whole affair, from its com:n.ncem nt until
its foal termination' this day, the result of which
oseat Captain Heury Rogers, the great and chief
Of lretider, will, for this offeace, suffer the extreme penalty
'the law.
magistrates
case was first brought under the cognizance of the
"Lagistrates on the lath of June, when the three accused
A „?-0
113--Henry Rogers, the captain, William Miles, chief
.-"bale, and Charles Edward S2ymour, second mate, were
r°llght up in custody of detective officers Eaton and
kpp,
ac, when they were charged with causing the death of
-"e Andrew Ro,e, who was shipped as an able
• Beaman on board that vessel at Demerara. The yes_
sailed from that port on the 11th of May, and the crew
eons,
sated of eleven able seamen, of which Rose, now dead,
aas °tie, and besides she had a ceok, carpenter, and stew-
as laid
It would seem, from the evidence which ther before the court, that the man was ra-
as e
of intellect, ani that at the time he went on
did 4ile was suffering from diarrhce a, It seemed that he
not'naL on some occasions, go to the proper water closet,
far this the captain beat him most severely with a
alicikl3' and the mates also beat him with ropes' ends, until
Da- u1:1Y became black and blue, and lacerated in several
Parts.
to It was proved that the prisoners continued
-ta -eat hint every day, from the day he vessel sailed, ura
-e
and tiled. Before he died, however, his arms, legs, feet,
holescl`°er portions of his body, broke out into frightful
1,; and running ulcers. His body was swollen, and
.ftilel'sed from head to foot, by the terrible beatings in-
elootnea him by the three prisoners. There was a fern_
fao-•"°g named Watch kept on board, and the captain
eat'aelitlY set this dog at the deceased, both when in and
or irons, and the animal used to tear mouthfuls of
hietosil fr°l:a the man, and inflicted desperate wounds on
Ara' Whch bled profusely. When the dog observed the
it :tiers beating the men, which was at least once a day,
Vain:,,4 at him and tear away flesh, leaving streams
Ite " Suing fromehe wounds. On one occasion, when
Was t;ileaint irons, and 'could not stir more than a yard, he
'rain, red in the most abominable manner by the Cap_
The
h tr
aaods otea,tnent the poor fellow had received at the
the aqui t"' Captain was thus described by one of
Itaa la "B°4 on the trial. When the deceased
the eat,, ir°ne, the Captain took a " fid" and took
Of the
,itezar3nt from the deck and put it into the mouth
oeoa .4eceasea. The same thing was done on a second
-,sel°l4 When the captain used a long stick instead of
61" `•II.l and as other witnesses stated, '• when the
;,,‘,411 Was: ferced down his throat, the deceased
eavoured to keep his mouth stela upon which the
v?tain thrust the filth up his nostrils, and when he wad
;is forced to open his mouth, put the execrement into it.
.:ter9 time the deceased tried to close his mouth, the
al,,l3,tain did the same thing." After this he was taken
a...4' Of irons, and by direction of the captain, the other
ita'is°oers unheeded a water cask, into which he was put
nude:the three pi isoners. The cask was then headed in the
WaY, and lashed down in its place. This was at
tt"ve o'clock in the day, and he was left that way until
whllive at night, with the bunghole upwards. He begged,
'l° la thas. prim, for a small quantity of wales, but the
men
n„ ere afraid to give him any, as the captain told them
•;;;:' to
ye
lilt° do ea
o.)e of the men ventured to ask the mate to
5.
a little water, when he replied, "Yes, the
I will •
some give hial some," and he took a tin pot and poured
Wasffakereer
Wat into the butigael
e. At twelve at night he
-and tram this cask, atel he got into the long boat,
to bre"ed an olcl.sail over him, which the mate ordered
this t. taken from over him.' It was proved that all
aeittloale, from the beg,;nnine to the end, the man had
In oes, stockings, trowsers, coat, or hat—walling
siert•- Shape of clothing all the time, except a flannel
011 a Sunday, whilst in irons, he commenced pray-
let ;44 after that he commenced singing a hymn—"Oh !
to g 'Yrul "—when the captain called for an iron pin
las,:a, 'Jun, and he, along with the other prisoners, put a
t 'fen Pin across his mouth, fastened some rope yarn
1: each end of it, and then tied the rope yarn behind his
fora ra' "(I left him thus for an hour. The man called out
What reY, and cried, " my God, what have I done, or
Ab5,,,1.W.111 I do? " bua no mercy was shown 'to him
the 14-"a‘w° 4a3's before the vessel arrived off Cape Clear,
castle a was taken by one of his comrades to the fore-
•ealls t7licere he got some of his tea, and next day he was
4)12 -e,ote the captain, who gave him what appeared
Itea;; see castor oil and brandy. This did not seem to
aloa„.4l)Y (fleet upon him, and the next day he got a like
the ;0 8`)Ile time after, in the morning of the same day,
boardail diA, and at twelve o'clock he was thrown over-
Wes thetist as. he was, a most frightful spectacle. That
notice manner in which the case was brought before the
these ef the public on the 13th of Jane, we d how far
(rate wets were borne out by the evidence, will be seen
hat, oil
Toe fir ows .
the i S‘ witness. one of the seamen on board the ship,
44(1N:rates. on his oath, the treatment the unfortunate
boaea Itc)se was subjected to trona the time lie went on
Peetaa•ge Martha Jane until his death a--" I sailed from
Wast .°es, on the 11th May in the ship. Andrew Rose
rath board. Ile was, from what I heard him talk,
14111. weak-nainded. Ho never disohee
befor®l ecl orders. On the
saw SeYmour (one of the prisoners) ropes' end him,
tleatdl` Was on board ten minutes. Ho was beaten the
'°ap "ay round ship by the three prisoners—the
saithe
with the whip and the other prisoners with
him o."( 13. The captain sometimes commenced beating
rst, and then the others would ropes' end him,
board
you brute,we will teach you net to go on
a
444 0 „, sill? again as an able seaman.' I saw the captain
of . dog at him several times, when he was in and out
the de' The captain beat him with the whip. I saw
off'eg ttY at him several times, and tear pieces of flesh
atia-,eeesea. On the 15th May he had irons on his feet
the - ,°°4l move above a yard only. He had nothing in
WOr
mature on him but a flannel shirt. He obeyed a cell of
orderwhen the captain called two of the men, and
"ate"
ed thorn to hold the arms of the deceased. [Here the
eke,. 9 detailed the facts, of the captain putting the
Was emen
t into the poor fellow's mouth, while he
The la irons, which we have before described.]
ove' o
aCaPtain ordered the chief mate to throw water
40 ira, which he did. He was there till next day and
he Was but his shirt. For seventeen or eighteen days
*acas allowed nothing but his shirt. The weather was
estarnit. Re had the same shirt on him when the water
Ile-,,l""vn on him. It was on him all the time till he died.
'Levergot
a anything but bread and water,- except two
1-.`44t
.he got rice, and a little soup and tea that I once

gave him. On the 16th of May he was in irons—There
were one or two buckets of water thrown over him by
the mate. His hands and arms wero all full of holes at
that time, and his body bruised all over by the whip ;
there was a cut in the head with a blow of the whip. His
feet and legs were full of holes On the 17th the deceased
was in irons. He prayed first, and then began to sing a
hymn, Oh, be joyful,' when the captain came and said
Stop that noise,' and he did so, and then the mate,
Seymour, brought au iron bolt, and the captain put it in
his mouth, and tied rope yarn to it, and gagged him. He
was kept in that state, with his mouth on a strain, for an
hour. Next thy the mates, by order of the captain,
knocked the head from a water cask, and he was put into
it by the three, and they then headed it up again as a
cask of water; they rolled it backwards and forwards
three or four times, and then pat it in its place. The
bunghole was up. That was about twelve, and he was

kept there twelve hours. He got no water then. I put

my mouth to the bunghole and said, Au lrew, how are
you?' He said, I am nearly smothered: get me some
water.' I said, 'lt is not in my power, but I will speak
to the chief mate,' and I did so. He came and poured
some water into the bun2hele; there was a great steam
out of the bunghole, and I could not b2ar it. When he
was lot out of the cask, he was in a g-eat heat, and his
body smoked. He got into the Jong boat,and pulled a piece
of an old sail over him, but Seymour took it off him. He
got worse, and was beaten round the deck as usual. I
took him into the forecastle against the Captain's orders,
and kept him there three days and gave him some bread
and tea. The third day the captain sent the steward for
him, and when he came back he told me the Captain gave
him some cas'or oil with something like brandy in it. He
got another dose the neat day, and got worse, and he lay
on the deck and the sea washed over him, and about
eleven in the morning ho turned on his belly and died.
Ho had nothing but the shirt on him when he was flung
over board,about half-past twelve. Thero was no prayers
said over him. Ono man suggested to the Captain to have
the body opened, and to hold an inquest, but he said it
was not worth the trouble. We were about 200 miles
from Cape Clear then. We arrived here on the Tuesday,.
evening,and onWeduesday I gave information to the police.''

This witness, it will b 3 seen, gave a detailed account of
the general treatment the poor fellow had to put np with,
but one great and important portion he omitted, and that
was, as to the attempt to hang the deceased, which was
thus spoken of by anothar winess on the trial.
The captain cal Led him (witness), who went up to him, when
the captain said, " come, and mike a hang nan of your•
self." The captain then got a rope, and made a timber
hitch in it. The captain then put the hitch round the
deceased's neck, the other two prisoners assisting, and
they "hitched" the deceased by the neck off the deck, and
he hung suspended to a spar fur about two minutes.
When they lowered him, he fell on the deck on his back,
and he laid like a dead man. While •he was suspended
his face became black—his eyes protruded from the
sockets—and froth carne fco:n his month ; and after he
was let down the captain was heard to say, " It'
they had kept him there half a minute longer,
he would have been a dead man."

Another witness stated that the deCeased was beaten day
after day. Tao captain beat him with a whip nearly
every day. Ha was beaten with the small end of the
whip. Can't say how olten he was beaten, but saw them
beat him every day. There was a dog on board, and
when the captain would be beating the man, the dog used
to bi eat him. Saw blood flow from the bites of the dog
in deceased's leg. Saw that twice, when the captain was
beating him. Once when the dog was going too far, the
captain told the dog to be quiet. Saw the second mate
beat him with a rope's end—that WA3 almost every day.
Saw the mite put him in irons by the captain's orders.
It was on the maindeck, starboard side. Can't say for
certain what he was put in irons for. He dirtied the deck
and that's the only thing. He was in irons sometimes
and out of irons more times, when he dirtied the deck He
was a good many times in irons. When he dirtied the
deck on one occasion, he (witness) remembered the cap-
tain take the dirt and put it in the man's mouth. When
he saw that he turned away as he could not bear it. Saw
an iron bolt in the man's mouth, across, and saw the cep-
twin laahine, it of the hook et bla vt apuu
yarn ; it was a rusty bolt ; it was on a Sunday.
The next act of cruelty described, was the putting the
deceased into the water cask, and his appearance after
death, which was as follows :—They put the head on, and
the cask was then put in its place and lashed, with the
bung-hole up. I askel the deceased at the bung-hole if it
was pretty hot? and he said it was. Can't tell how long
he was in the cask. Did not see him taken out. Saw
deceased aloft entirely naked, but dcin't know what he
was doing. Did not hear who ordered him aloft. It was
fine weather. It was in the morning. Saw him two days
in a state of nakedness. He slept, generally on the main
watch, and had anything he could lay hands on over him
—30:110 times a piece of sail, but that woull b takea off
him. Remembered when Rase died, and that was a few
days before they made Cape Clear. Saw him a short time
before he died. His hely, legs, and arms were all one
mass of sores. His hands and feet were blistered, and
his hack all cut where he had been beaten. His legs and
arms were much swollen, and he could not walk. When
he was heaved over he was Week and blue, and there
was blood on the deck where he lay. Wnen the de-
ceased was in the water cask he called to me that he
was smothering, and asked for something to eat. There
was a smell and steam coming out of the bong-hole. I
gave him some pea-soup through the bung-hole, and the
mete came forward and sai I, Who the h— has given him
the pea soup—l should like to know that ? He detailed
about the attempt made by the captain to hang the de_
ceased. He got blue in the face, his eyes glared, and froth
came out of his mouth. Ha was kept that way for two
minutes, and when he was let down he fell, and lay for five
minutee on the deck before he became sensible. He got
bread and water and rice to eat. I saw him go aloft en.
tirely naked, but can't say who ordered him. He had a
bucket of water with him, and the mite went after him
with the whip, and he flogged him three times running
until the blood ran down his back and legs. He let the
bucket fall, and fell himself into the m tinsail, and I caught
him. His neck and back were black and blue. All over
his legs and arms there were corrupted sores, and blood
running from the wounds. Oa one occasion he showed me
his leg where the dog bit him, and it. was corrupted, and I
squeezed several maggots out of it, and then my stomach
turned and I went away. He appeared a strong healthy
man—the most so on board—when he came on board.

In the foregoing narrative we have given p. full digest of
all the evidence given by the several witnesses, and they
comprised nearly the whole of the crew on board the
Martha. Jane at the time the atrocities were perpetrated.
'That investigation occupied the attention of the court
for four days ; on each occasion the accused were repre-
sented by Mr. Snowball, the attorney, snd Mr. Aspinall,
the barrister, by whsm each witness was cross-examined
at considerable length, and with great ingenuity, but their
statements remained uncontradicted, and, as the medical
gentlemen who had been is attendance to hear the evidence
gave it as their opinion that such treatment would
accelerate death, they were all committed to the assizes,
to take their trial for murder.