Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-08-02 00:00:00

)11N JACKSON AND J. B. CAS

.—Adam Davis,
second mate of the ship Ellen Foster, was brought up by
detective officer Carlyle, on a charge of having committed
severe assaults on four of the, crew belonging to that ship,
named respectively 'Antonio Ferric, .Nicholas Yoki, Natli
Nicholas, and John.Lithgow. C Jr

3SAULT ONBOARD THE ELLEN FOSTER

. Jne of the complainants,
Nicholas Yoki was- supposed:to have• been drowned while
attempting to swim ashore' from, the ship, hut it was found
that-a ship had picked him up In the river, and he appeared
against the prisoner. Mr. C. Aspinall prosecuted ;- Mr.
Cobb defended. Mr- Aspinall said :, In this ease,- the ,ship
Ellen Foster is an American
,ship,..aud outward-bound. ,
am here to proceed in. the.prosecatiori, and, as it has already
been intimated, it was brought first before Mr. Mansfield,- at
Liverpool, and Mr. Cobb diverted the'streani, anitbrought
it 'td this side, of the. water.. It appear& that the F.lien Fos-
ter had a number of Austrian seameni on board;• and on
Monday last, the second mate came on boas dfor the fit time.
The captain was not on board, and, consequently, the. second
mate was in charge of the ship, Up to Monday, • the 25th
ultimo, all went, on well on board the ship, but it is not my
intention to say what took place on that day or since; as the
men are here themselves to teltyou what occurred. You arc
aware that. it has be , c-ery 'Atli I
with respect to-the antain:s dut

.4 very often laid down -what the lair is

)11. shipboard

awny from any, por
this, ountry--,-thA g

antllority ob correct.tite

A.- •
and : within• the ,juris-
--
diction of the law of the land, the captain ,bas :no
authority. farther. than to . maintain disciplina-• on board.
his vessel. You. are aware thatent.of port the-first officer
nor the second officer has no right whatever--that, in fact,
no person, can, administer corporeal: punishment except the
captain. How much less right, then, has the second mate
to administer such punishment within ,the jurisdiction of
the magistrates It appears to me,, from the manner in
which those Americans conduct themselves, that the fewer
of their ships that visit this port, except for commercial
parposes, the. better. Ho then went:on to say that,_ under
the circumstances, when the evidence was heard,
.he thought
the magistrates. would commit the prisoner to the assizes;
and as the Chester assizes were but a few days off, it would
be well to have. error there,, in order, that he might receive
such punishment as his • conduct merited, and as . would
teach other Americans a lesson, if it were possible,•ta, teach
them at all.. The witnesses were then ordered out of court.
Antonio Ferri was; examined through: an ..interproter,. and
stated that he was =able seaman on board the Ellen Foster,
and joined her on Thursday, the ,21st instant.• The ship
was lying on the ,Cheshire side of the: river. On Monday
last he was doing something on the famtop, and.the second •
mate threw some lumps of coal at : The mate appeared
to be cursing and- swearing, at least he- thought. so. by the,.
noise he was making. • The coals were. about the size of
his fist. , None of .. the .coals struck, him.: About Half-past
six o'clock on the. same evening the prisoner struck him
'with •the shaft 70 a broom two or' three times with all his
might. The,reason was that.the. prisoner ordered the wit-
nesS to, brush down the side of the ship, and he did not '
understand; but began to hrush. the...deck. was struck ,
with the soft part of the- broom on-the back of. the head.
.On the Tuesday following, the prisonm,struek him with his
hands two or. three times- very hard on the back. Wit-
ness was. working at -the backstairs,and the prisoner
wanted him. to do his. .work : faster.. On ...Wednesday
night about eleven o'clock, it was the witness's watch on
deck. A boat came alongside, anti the prisoner said if the.
witness attempted .to run away.,he would shoot him. He
had a pistol in his hand, and there was another lying on the
Capstan. About an hour and a half after the pistol was
presented. ataim, he jumped overboard. He thought it was ;
better to he drowned than killed.on board: To Mr. Cobb.:
J had got my advance-note. I had been on board two or
three days when the second mate came on. board. I did, not
complain to the„-first mate. I did not cry out ; but when
the pistol was presented I. cried out. I. took time to con-
sider before I jumped overboard. 'When I was. truck I did
not fall down„but took hold. of the rigging.. The first mate
saw him struck, and said to the prisoner that was enough.
I would not take anything to 'go in • an. American ship.- I
have been an able .seaman for. three :years. and,a half.. To
Aspinall,: ~I,,ltatohed my opportunity. to, jump, over-
board'as soon as the scowl mate went aft. 'Nicholas. Yoki
said : I was an. able seaman on board the Ellen
Foster. • I recollect Monday, last. I saw: the second 'mate
strike the last witness with a broom on- the back of. .the
head. He struck hiM very hard. ' I did 'not see' p.nythinc,
else. Ferri:then went to sweep down the deek. On the
same day the prisoner struck me, and twisted mi neck. . I
was knocked down: on the'deek, and from the fall I bled from
the ,nse and the mouth, and from the left ear. On Tuesday
I Was rolling a bariel, and. the prisoner' lifted a'
,rope's end
:and struck me on the back of the neck, and. on the hand.
The.rope Was about three inches thick. I 'think it was the :
fore-topsail hatilyards. On Wednesday I was. wringing a
mop, and the.pri.soner kicked me on the side' and took hold
of my head'and twisted ray neck: I jumped overboard at
the same time as Ferri. The 'mate and the 'second mate of'
the English ship Mamelon saved *me. Mr. Cobb cross-
examined the witness, but nothing of consequence was elicited.
Natli. Nicholas.: I was on board the ship Ellen Foster
as a seaman, and 'on • Monday last ,the 'Second mate struck
me and knocked me down on the deck,: and gave pie a
black eye. I gave a boat that was coming alongside the
wrong rope, and that was the reason. lle called me. aft
afterwards, and struck me -and kicked me several times, and
struck mee-With an iron spade. The next day the priSoner
struck me with a piece of Wood, about a yard long
,and three
inches broad. He struck' me on the small of the back: ,I
saw,the prisoner strike Ferri with a broom, and the first
mate said that was enough. I did not see him strike- Yoki.
To Mr. Cobb: "have known Yoki and Ferri since I cane
to Liverpool. I had not got the blank eye in ii,fight on
shore., The-mate gave me that black eye,. and I could not
see.for three days after. John Lithgow, another. complainant,
was called and said : . was an able seaman -On board the
Ellen Foster, going on the voyage from LiVerpeol tO Cal-
cutta and. Boston. I, remember , last, 316nday, and on
that day, the prisoner said to me, ," You dog, yon
Must move along, or I will throw you overboard." e Were
*Corking at shifting the salt. Ile said when we, would go to
sea he would. Mike me pay for it.. On.tberTueiday he took
hold of me by the'neek, and shoved me Off the poop and
punched me with his foot five or six times. On Wednesday
hestrak me in the faCe with his fist. I was 'gang
.aloft to
unfurl the sails, and he told me if, I would not go
,up he
wofild take my. life; that was after he Struck me. 1 saw
the mate strike Ferri with the broom. Ire struck him with
the handlecif the broom, and hot with the other soft end of
the broom. was put handcuffs, because the officer
wanted me to
soothe ashore.' John. Hill said:' On TueSday
he saw•the second mate strike NicholaS with a brooin. The
first mate took the broom out of his hand, and' said he would
have none of hat. The prisoner struck Nicholas on the eye.
I saw the prisoner Strike Yoki on the jaw, and Pull' hira
about. saw him chuck Ferri on the neck.. To Mr.
Cobb:. I' went on board on' , the Monday. morning,
at the same time as the second mates and I' saw. nothing
improper on that day. Mr. Cobb, for the defence, addressed
the bench, and stated that lie did not think it.at all neces-
sary that witnesses should be called, as the Witnesses for the
prosecution had told such very different stories, that hewas
sure the magistrates put no more "faith :in what they 'had
sworn to than he did, and that was 'none at all. Ile ad..
mitted 'that his client had given one of the men a slight
blow with the broom when he would. not •do as he was
desired, but he •had not treated them at all,haoh, and, no
one could for a moment' believe, after the evidence that,had
been given, that he had ill-used them. '.Tlie, fact wasi, the
complainants had made 'up their minds to run. away from
the ship when they' had got their advance notes, and this
was merely 'a .storyclibbut get up .aa a.plea for
their conduct, and to prevent
,the4augolitrig,
and that
in thesbhlips.ch•Heitet
sulmnitted that it was a trifling
had
lajq
cisatani rdne
enfit
de ons
ee
tohn
Tebeyt beenhi
s.
reconvinced
i'nn ioinecreoadkl
sum
ud ta
benchen,
ot
t; and
exceeding
oi under
treat
t stit as c rese
um-
fine' 404. and. OOsts,,*l4ld,', tho
American Consul was to grraoge whpther the inen;shenld
go back to the ship:- ,!%:,_:;—)