Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-05 00:00:00

THE CHARGE OF MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS.

FIFTH DAY'S PROCEEDINGS.

Captain Christie and James Millard, were brought up
on remand Yesterday, before Mr. Mansfield, at the police-
court, on the charge of having murdered Francisco
Roderigo, on the high seas. The public interest seems to
inorease as the case proceeds, and the Court was crowded
at an early hour. There were several well dressed
females present, who seemed to take much interest in the
case. We do not remember any case for some years past,
that seems to arrest more public attention. Captain
Christie looked very pale and careworn, and there could
be no mistake about his feelings, which, judging from his
appearance, were very acute ; however, during the
examination of the only witness produced yesterday, he
frequently exhibited much more than a smile, when he
heard passages mentioned, which he told his learned
advocate were quite untrue. The mate was much flushed
in appearance, and was very restless; he was much lass
cool than Captain Christie. Mr. Tyndall appeared for
the Crown, Mr. Black for the Captain, and Mr. Snowball
for the mate Millard.

The first witness was Jaques Meorrea, -a Frenchman.
examined through Mr. Achilles Perosse. lam an able
seaman, and was born at Oporto ; I was a sailor in the
Elizabeth, and sailed from. Breaker Island for England ;
Itoderigo joined at Calabar; he was well, and in good
health, and fat ; I was on the first mate's watch, and so
was deceased at first, and he remained so for about a
a month, and he steered the ship like any one on board.
I recollect one night he cacao to me and' said his teeth

were broken. -
Mr. Mansfield: Did he show them? No sir. I was
taken ill after that, in about fire weeks. I recollect sit.
Ling on my chest one evening in the forecastle, and heard
Roderigo sing out " Mother Mother, they are killing me."
I came out when I heard the! cry, and saw the Captain
beating Roderigo near the cabin; the deceased was lying
down with his face on the deck,
Mr. Tyndall: What was the captain doing to him ?
Roderigo said, " You want to kill me," and the captain
said, " Yes, I will kill you ;" he was kicking and beating
him with his fist, on his legs and back, and every place
he could.
Mr. Tyndall: Did you see him kick him:in the back ?
Yes, I saw him put his feet on his back.
Mr. Black: The last was quite too leading a question.
Witness : The deceased got up and was weeping, and
said the captain had killed him. He could not stand
upright, and said there was a bone broken.in his back ;
I saw his leg some days after, and it was swelled from
the knee up—not on the knee itself ; he complained of
great pain in his leg and back, and pulled his leg after
him the same as if it were broken. I remember the
second mate coming to the forecastle one night two or
three weeks before Roderigo died, and asked who was on
the look out ? and some one said it was Roderigo ; he was
at that moment on the watch on deck. I heard Roderigo
cry out on the forecastle it is not my turn to the look
out, and the mate said if you don't go to the wheel you
must to the look out. The first mate said if you are not
going to the look out I will make you stop out all night.
I heard deceased say, " Don't kill me." When he was
beaten he always cried out, " My mother, my mother."
He said the mate had kicked him, and I asked was it
for the look out, and he said " Yes." I remember de-
ceased going once for coffee. and he was very ill, and
went on his hands and feet and helped himself with the
chests along. When he left the forecastle he had nothing
to hold, and by the rolling of the ship he fell on his
back. The captain was there at the time ; Roderigo
said if he were somebody else he would get help, but as
he was, no one would help him. I saw the captain come
and say, "Stop, I will help you." •
Mr. Tyndall : Well, what did he do ? He gave him
some knocks of a rope, and he beat him until he got into
the forecastle.

Mr. Tyndall : How did he get in then ? He crawled in
on his hands and feet, and his face looked like the dead.
He had nothing to eat for two days. I did not see his
body, but he was not the same as when he came on board.
He complained of his right leg, back, and stomach; from the
knocks he had received from the captain, and his
ill-
treatment, and the way they treated him—they would not
treat a dog so. The crew got orders not to give food to
Roderigo.
Mr. Tyndall : Who told you ? All the sailors.
Mr. Black : That, of course, cannot affect the captain
here; if this be admitted, anything may be given in
evidence against my client.
Mr. Mansfield said, of course, such evidence went for
nothing.
The witness went on to say : I did not see deceased's
head shaved, but saw him after at the main hatch, and he
was shivering with cold, and complained of his head.
Saw him in the forecastle after that, crawling in like a
serpent ; he lay down on the first chest, as his bed had
been thrown overboard.

Mr. Tyndall : Do you remember when he died ? Yee,
sir ; previous to his death I saw him spit blood—some
three or four days before he died. He was in his bunk.
Tha blood was black—not real black, but like that. His
breathing was difficult. I was the first person who fonnd
him dead. He was on his right side, face to the side of
the Ship, with legs a little drawn up. His left hand was
catching the side of the bunk, and the other crawled up.
His nose and mouth were full of blood, and there was
blood on his sinklet—on the right arm. I did not examine
his body after death, but he was changed as much as day
and night.

Mr. )3luck: Of course he could not look the same when
dead as when he came on board. He was different when
dead.

Witness : I know what the scurvy is, as I have it still ;
the deceased had not the scurvy. I gave him some biscuit
some three or four days before his death. I had salt meat
to eat when I had tile scurvy, but they stopped the meat
and gave me oatmeal, and sometimes gave me bad lime
juice. Roderigo was not treated as if he had the scurvy,
but only stopped his meat when he got ill.
Cross-examined by Mr. Bluck: I was taken ill with
pain in my legs, within twenty days after we left Calabar,
and did lay up after fifteen days. I came on deck to take
fresh air. I remember the captain beating deceased. I
used to go on deck after supper to take fresh air.
Mr. Bluck : Can you see the cabin door from the fore-
castle? Yes, even from the inside we can. Saw the
captain beat him.
Mr. Bluck : When ?
The last time I saw him do so was when he was going
for the coffee.

Mr. Black : Had you not a quarrel with Roderigo the
night before he died ? None, but I had with the first mate.
The second mate had charge of the provisions, and it was
his duty to give them out by directions of the captain.
Never saw George Pollock the steward beat the deceased.
I know Alick, but never saw him strike deceased. Never
saw anybody strike him except the captain and mate.
Mr. Bluck : Did you ever hear deceased tell Henry
Renshaw to get justice done when he came to Liverpool ?
I heard him say something to that effect to some one, but
I don't know wh,-,En. Harry told me so.
Mr. Mansfield : When was that ? About a week and
a half after his head was shaved. Roderigo said to me,
" When you arrive in Liverpool, tell the first policeman
you meet on the quay the treatment I received on board.
Roderigo spoke half French and half Spanish, and was on
board a French ship before he was on board an English
vessel.

Mr. Bluck said of course Mr. Tyndall might call as
many witnesses 53 he phased. but it would be well to
close the ease now.

Mr. Snowball said it seemed almost useless to call any
more witnesses, but let the case go for trial at once, so
that the prisoners might be tried at the present assizes.
They were sailors, and their time was valuable to them,
and it would be an injustice not to let them go for trial
at the present assizes. The grand jury would not be
discharged until this day (Saturday), and there would be
plenty of time to send up the bills against there, as they
were anxious to be tried as soon as possible.
Mr. Tyndall said 'however anxious he might be to
forward the case, it would be quite impossible for him to
be ready to have the case tried at the present assizes.
In justice to the prisoners he could not be ready.
Mr. Snowball said the prisoners were anxious to be
tried at once, so that, (as he fully anticipated) after their
acquittal they might return to their employment.
Mr. Mansfield said, from facts that came within his
knowledge, he might say that neither of the prisoners
would ever again get any employment at sea, as their
certificates in any case would be totally cancelled.
Mr. Bluer: Well, at all events, its a great delay of
time to have them kept over here till April, when they
could be tried at the present assizes.
Mr. Mansfield said perhaps, so far as Mr. Snowball's
client was coneerned, the charge might merge into a
minor offence, and he might be considered entitled to
bail. But until he heard the medical evidence in the
case he could not say anything. With regard to the
expense and delay alluded to, perhaps it might be deemed
proper of the crown to have the case tried at the
Central Criminal Court, Landon, the same as other cases
had been. The case was then adjourned to ten o'clock
this morning.

A WORD FOR LORD CANNING.—One other thing we
know, that in the presence of a popular frenzy, blind to all
considerations of policy as well as of mercy, Lord Canning,
fortunately for England, retained his prudence a: ,d self-
possession, and forbore to disgrace and endanger her
dominion in the East, by confounding the prompt and
decisive repression of revolt and execution of justice with
the gratifica' ion of a ferocious and undiscriminating re-
vengo.—Lord _Robert.

As Uricruous MIRACLE.—The Lord Bishop of Brunn
has just edified the faithful in the Austrian empire by
announcing that "the oil of St. Walburgs." possesses
miraculous powers. He certifies that a girl in an institu•
tion kept by " the Daughters of Christian Charity" did on
a certain day kiss a bottle containing the aforesaid oil, and
was immediately cured of an inflamation of the eyes,
which was so violent that she was almost blind. The
bishop was so much struck by this that he ordered the
Daughters of Christian Charity forever to keep holy the
7th of November, that being the day on which "the
miracle" was performed.

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