Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-08-19 00:00:00

bronfrht

• Lilt; U V ciaiaB Vl
night of the day, the 9th March' they were accompanied
by armed soldiers on board the defendant's ship. The
defendant, who had before agreed to take them, and
who was perfectly well aware of their situation and the
restraint under which they were placed, was on board
his ship with his crew, and had -made ormarntinn.

receive them. crew were stationed about, two of
them at his cabin door. When the_ gentlemen were
brought on board his ship, some time was allowNl thAm

tions to resist to the utmost if any attempt was
rtmde to escape. It is very true that ,the gentle-
men were lodged in the ra:hin, that they were
allowed to walk about the deck, that :no violence or
further restraint was put upon them, other than the
restraint and imprisonment which -consists in being put
on board a ship contrary to their will, and being carried
further and further every moment -from their homes,

And where they wisheiirie 713 e. This continued until
they arrived at Liverpool, and when they arrived there,
;the captain objected to their :lauding until he could take
them to the Chilian consul, for a reason you will
presently hear. An attempt .was iciade when they did

.iving- a

ress to 't

bat, knowing the privilege ,of liherty, when under her
Majesty's protection, -they 'insisted on7being taken to the
Adelphi Hotel, and they then Found :means of making
their wrongs known. Beim :the magistrates, the
captain made no dispute qiftthe Teets alleged against him,
and the magistrate preperly lthoiAght it involved a

question which ought incestigated by a higher
tribunal than his„an,dl hesteordiltly sent it to be tried

captain of this ship to imprison these men on the high
seas, or `.ring them from their own country against their
will. There is no law of any country that could autho-
rise that, and it is most contrary to the laws of this
country. I think you will agree with me that the mas-
ter of a British ship ought to conceive that, with the flag
that is committed to his charge, there is also entrusted to
him some fragment of the authority of the laws of Eng-
. ,• -

Tana; that some portion of that flag is entrusted to his eus-
tody and go©d behaviour ; and that to make it wave over
a prison,liouse of British subieets—who_ the mompnf thirty

are on board a British ship on the high seas, under the
British flag,- are entitled to the protectionsof British
laws—is doing a diseredit,and a disgrace to the British
flag, and to a British ship, of winch he ought to be
ashamed. I do not know, nor do I pretend to say,
that there is any other degree of inhumanity charged
against this captain, than that of having done
this serious act of imprisonment, continued for
a serious length of time, and which might have been
attended with very serious consequences, had these gen-
tlemen resorted to u-hat they would, perhaps, have been
justified in doing—violence, to retrieve themselves from
the unjust restraint imposed upon them. I apprehend
we shall be able to prove these facts beyond all doubt ;
the question of law you will receive from my lord. I
am not aware that there is any doubt upon the law of
the case ; however, if any should be raised, his lordship
will direct you.
His Lordship.—ls there any disagreement as to the
facts of the ease ? .

The Attorney-General.—I believe not, my lo.rd.
His Lordship said he had in his own mind prepared
himself for this case. If the facts were ada:" -
was no doubt what the question was for consic
It was the legality of a British captain making

1, there

tract with the civil

from home,

lese men

urtlitgllG tnem to Liverpool,
and during the time of the voyage they had no power
to escape from his dominion. This being so, it was a
question of law entirely. He intended to reserve it for
the opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeal. This
being a misdemeanour, he would take the facts Ts they
appeared on the depositions, which seemed to be as
much in favour of one side as the other. If this
suggestion met with approval, he would state a case
which would incorporate all the facts. He would direct
the jury to find the prisoner guilty, and discharge him
upon his own bail until the question was decided in the
Court of Criminal Appeal, which would
December or January next

Mr. Overend said the ship was ready to sail.
His Lordship replied that if the captain was absent
from the country it would be a sufficient excuse for not
appearing, and he would give him time.. •He believcd
that this prosecution was not carried on in any vindic-
tive spirit against the defendant. He could not suppose
that it was necessary that he should be deprived of the
means of his daily bread while the question was pending.
The Attorney-General said that, so far as the gentle-
men themselves were concerned, they were men of
fortune, and they had refrained from-sec
tion for their wrongs by a pecuniary
were, however, anxious that i
British shipmaster was not ti

Ign captive

a dray going up Park-lane, when, in consequence of
attempting to pass a coal cart, he came into collision
with a ginger-beer shandry. The result was, that the*
deceased and a boy were thrown out of the shandry.
The skull of the deceased was fractured; he was taken
to the Southern Hospital, and died soon afterwards.

The prisoner bore a good character, and had been in
the same employ fo

fteen years

The jury acquitted the prisoner

ASSAULT . WITH INTENT TO DO BODILY HARM.
John Widwell, aged 40, was indicted for having,
at Liverpool, •on the 12th July last, assaulted James
Cooper, with intent to do bodily harm.

They had a quarrel, and the prosecutor was about to
strike the prisoner with a jug, when the prisoner aimed
a blow at the Tace of the prosecutor and broke his jaw.
The jury found a verdict of guilty. Sentence deferred.

STABBING AT LIVERPOOL.
Martin Cannon, aged 30, was indicted for having, at
Liverpool, on 14th July last, feloniously stabbed John
Fegan. The offence arose out of a quarrel between the
prosecutor and the prisoner at St. John's Market on the
14th July last. The jury returned a verdict of guilty

of a continua assault.

Sentence deferred

li' u vua I 111.:411 IJualey na,
done this in Chili,
.-ander the' superior- force and
coercion of the 'Milian government, and had
been constrained to kflo 'would have been
a question of public wrong, 'to :bc !publicly vindicated
by our government and the Chilian,government ; or if
the captain had beendectiivell, or had supposed that these
men came voluntarily ton 'board, •and had been utterly
ignorant of any violence liming used 'by government, or
any restraint imposed 'upon them, it must have been
thought that it was liis misfortune and not his crime.
But we shall show you!that the captain was an accom,
plice—a party to the whole proceeding. He knew
before the condition. of these .men ; he made a con-
tract—a written contract—with the Chilian govern-
GREENEP AND ANOTHER V. PHILLIPSON.
meat. to bring five 'passengers _away, and he bound
himself under a penalty to ,bring them to England. In this ease Mr. James, QC., and Mr. Jones ap-
He was required breontractio produce a certificate from peared for the plaintiffs, and Mr. Serjeaut Atkinson and
the Chili= consul 'in_ !Liverpool Mr. Brett for the defendant.
or in England that he
had landed them here. The action was to recover the value of a mare well
He saw them brought down by
known in sporting circles, named Blythe. The plain-
soldiers—he'Saw armed• force' that :accompanied and
tiffs, Mr. Thomas Grecnep and 3fr. Thomas Wagstaff,
conveyed them, that ;came. on board his ship with them;
Mr. who
and, after they hail 'gone down into the cabin, an armed
are the executors of
beim, Bryan Holmes,
at the time the oeno,,;m•died on the
steamer took them 'ant to Ren Nn.rf). • 9th of May last, he

♦
NISI PRIUS COURT

-YESTERDAY

[Before Mr. Justice HILL.]
His Lorship entered the court at nine o'clock,

ECE V. PEEL

IN this case, which was an action to recover the value
of certain gas fittings furnished for a new Methodist
Chapel at Ackworth, near Pontefract,

• ..-
which me published yesterday, the jury returned a ver-
dict for the plaintiff, damages £64 10s. 2d.

A HORSE CASE

, ,
proprietor of the Bush Vaults, Liverpool ; and •
likewise
Isith; when out at sea, on the impropriety-of his conduct,
the proprietor of the Tiger Vaults, in the same neigh-
and was' requested to land them. He confessed that he
bourhood, which, at the time of his decease, were occu-
For bringing these gentlemen from Chili he got £6OO, hall done it fora reward,. andthis reward was a mere bribe.
pied by Mr. James Phillipson and Mr. Robert Ireland.
The fast-trotting mare Blythe, the value of which
the ordinary passage-money for each gentleman being
was now' sought to be recovered, was bred by Mr.
from £3O to t4O. It was for the sordid motive of an
Bryan Homes, out of a mare which he had, and was
extra sum of money he did it, and made himself an
accomplice to all the restraint and all the violence im-
about six years old. About Christmas last, the mare was
sent by Mr. Holmes from the Bush stables to the Tiger
posed ?yen these men. From the moment they touched
stables, to be attended by the groom there. Mr. Phil-
his ship they were under the jurisdiction of the Admiralty
Epson,' who kept the Tiger vaults, was brother-in-law to
of England; and when they got to sea, they were M be-
yond
all doubt under their jurisdiction, and the master
rem Holmes, having married his sisr,er. The mare
of the the ship and everybody else was liable for any offence remained fourteen or fifteen weeks, and then
committed on on board the ship, in the same manner as if returned to the Bush stables about a fortnight
it was committed on shore. The originof their imprison- weeks before Chester races, which took place
week in May. It was sent there in order to be in good ment becomes, therefore, an important matter in this
condition •to be taken to Chester. . Mr. Holmes,
enquiry. I believe, in point of fact, that the
proceedings on the part of the officials of the Chilian however, was taken seriously ill, did not go to Chester,
. on May.
government was not authorised by the laws of Chili, but
and died
Tiger the 9th of
stables, to which it The horse was then
with that I apprehend we have nothing to do. There
~ had been removed.
at the
fintingrori r..-- at. - •
is no law of Chili whiph on„ ....,....--1 ,-, '' It

the first

—,,,c11 gave way, the latter part of
last year, the two. families were somewhat estranged,
but when he saw his health was so declining, '-
wished for a reconciliation, and sext for th-
fendant. At that time, being
he was in want of some person to
and the defendant went nearly every night to sit up with
Mr. Holmes over and over again expressed '
,tent"— .l'-

corpulent man;

in. ion never to se,. MS mare, or part with her, but
that so long as she lived she should remain in the family ;
he would either give her to his nenhew. Henry Tro-

land, or to his brother-in-law, James Phillipson. The
defendant's kindness to him, during his last illness,
induced him to make the gift to him at mid-day on the
28th of April, about a week before his death. Mr.
Holmes said to Mr. Phillipson, who was in his bedroom,
" James, I will give you my mare." Phillipson replied,
" Very well, Bryan, I will behave well to her." Mr.
_

account, and the defendant promised to introduce the
plaintiffs to Mr. Powell. Subsequently, about the -end
of February, the defendant said that he had seen Mr.
Powell, who said that he declined to transfer the busi-
ness to plaintiffs ;_but that, in the event of the defendant
giving up business, he should transfer the business to his
aunt. On this the plaintiffs said the bargain was then
off, and they must have the money which they had paid
on account returned, as the agreement was for the trans-
fer of the business. This the defendant refused to do,
and hence the present action was brought. The jury were
instructed to enter a verdict for the plaintiff, subject to

LIVERPOOL POLICE COURT

[Before Messr

ABSCONDING FROM

WEDNESDAY.

AIKIN and DixoN.l

HE SCHOOL-FRIGATE

)NWAY

—Patric Leslie was brought upon a charge of having
deserted the frigate Conway, and taking with him £5.
Captain Powell, commander of the Conway, stated that

kuu prISOUCT was a pensioner, anti had been taken on
board more for charity than anything else. • He was by
trade a joiner, and could make himself very useful on

roweu) unu
given him £5 to puicha7se tools, so that he might be of
service to the frigate. He did not hear of him for
some time after he had givenlim the money, and then
felt it his duty to report the case to the police. He had
no desire to prosecute the prisoner, as be attributed his
ill-conduct to having taken drink. He never found
anything against him before to complain of, and he
f I should wish him to go on board qnd return to his duty ;

for, if he (Captain Powell) did prosecute the prisoner,
the result would be that he would lose his pension.
—Mr. Aikin (addressing the prisoner) : Captain Powell
has evinced great leniency towards you, for which you
you should feel very grateful. As he does not
wish .to press the charge, I shall direct that you be
taken on board by a police-officer, and you are to bring
the tools with you. Let this be a warning to you ; for
should you again be brought here, you will be severely
punished. The prisoner was then discharged.

naa been charged with embezzlement, was called,
when Mr. Bluck stated that the money had been re-
funded, and there was no desire to prosecute the case
further. Discharged.
A YOUNG THIEF.—John Henry Kirby, a youth of
thirteen years of age, was brought up fo
watch from Mrs. Coventry, of 70, Roscoe-s

;reet, w

he pledged with Mr. Fishwick, in Tithebar"n-street.
It appeared that the lad was living in a situa-
tion with a Mr,. Williams, and had been sent a
message by his mistrcs3 to Mrs. Coventry's house, on
which- occasion he abstracted the watch in question,
which he pledged for 153. in the pawn-office referred to.

r3,..1 a position. „it was grievous t 9
see young boys beginning life so badly. He would re-
mand the prisoner generally, that his parents might
knew of An

kN UNGRATEFUL SON.—Michael Lynch, a rough and
--1-looking customer, was charged with beatir

harden
and

verN

him to pay a fine of £.5, or to be im

prisoned for two months

- CHARGE or FORGERY.—George Clarke surrendered
to his bail, on a charge of. forgery, inasmuch as he
signed the name ,of John De Silva, a seaman, to an
allotment note, purporting to allot to Clarke a portion
of De Silva's wages. The facts were given on the
M
first hearing of the case. r. Cobb appeared on
the

Cobb sai

and Mr. Black fi
was not a felony, but only a misdemeanour

However,

o Clarke's

;her rust

the notice of the Watch Committee ; and he would
recommend the board to refer it to the Watch Com-

mittee, who

he .was sure, would &

)orterage, in vio-

was given by

a consequence I

HEALTH COMMITTEE.

This committee held a weekly meeting yesterday, in
the council-room of the Town Hall, Mr. Alderman.
Dover presiding ; and there were also present, Messrs.
Beckwith, Shiel, Crosthwaite, Gladstone, Anthony,
Haydock, Avison, Bowring, Stitt, Crellin, and Barton.
The Borough Engineer, Building Surveyor, and In-
snector of Luis,..---

t..,......arivucs particulars of the
operations in their several departments during the week,
from which it appeared that 122 nuisances complained
of by inhabitants had been inspected and ini-an in

remedy them ; 942 houses in the unhealthiest districts,
containing 2,839 apartments and 568. cellars, had been
put under examination with the view of improving their
sanitary condition ; and 225 lodging-houses had also
been examined and reported upon.
The Medical Officer of Health reported that, in the.
week en:lino. Saturday last, the deaths were 235, beim,-

1, ULU Lau, uemb
10 fewer than in the previous week, and 37 less than
the corrected average of the same week of the preced-
ing nine years—one-third of the entire mortality ; 78
deaths occurred in the out-townships. The deaths.
ascribed to zymotic diseases were 83 • comprising 52:
from diarrhoea, 11 from hooping-cough, 6 from scar-
latina, 3 from erysipelas, 2 from dysentery, 2 from
English cholera, 1 from croup, 1 from diphtheria, and
1 from thrush. During the ten weeks only two deaths
were registered from typhus, and one case of smallpox
proved fatal ; a lower mortality than in any similar
period since the Sanitary Act came into operation..
From diseases of the lungs the deaths were 42, in-
cluding 22 from consumption. . Delirium tremenB proved

fatal to a man thirty-four years of age.
The CHAIRMAN said he had seen a paragraph in the
papers which stated that a woman had been poisoned
by eating the seed of the potato, and he wished to
know if that Were poison.
Dr. DUNCAN stated that there was a plant which:
grows in this country, vulgarly named the potatoe apple,.
that was well known to be a strong narcotic poison.
Mr. ANTHONY said he always heard that it was poison..
Mr. STITT said he had mentioned some time ago that
Molyneux, of West Derby, had complained of a.
I near his premises, as being a
since, when he again.

cattle treagh,

erectec

made the same complaint
Mr. CROSTHWAITE said he was aware that it was no

nuisance,

Mr. STITT said that-it was stated by Mr. 3folyneux
that the corporation had erected the trough on ground

The CHAIRMAN said the matter had been referred to,
the Public Convenience Committee, and no report had
been received from them.

The matter then dropped

LODOIXG-HOUSES

The CHAIRMAN said he would trespass on their time
a few minutes, as he could not pass over in silence'

a letter which
Mr. Rathbone.
well intentionec

appeared in a contemporary, signed by
He believed Mr. Rathbone to be very-
1, but, like many other gentlemen, he
was inclined to push matters too far. What he com-
plained of in his letter was, the state of the common
lodging-houses in Liverpool. They had no proof that
the lodging-houses of Liverpool, over which the coin-
Inca iroin wora,.Desiaes doing thittee had control, were in the disgraceful state which
much injury to the interests of the shipping of the port. he had depicted them in his letter, and, therefore, his
The memorial prayed the interference of the board for remarks did not apply to lodg,ing-houses with which
the suppression of this practice. they could deal. The whole subject turned on the-
The CHAIRMAN said the practice complained of, all construction of the 125th section of the Health Act,
members of the board would agree, was very injurious, the. words of which were—" That, whereas the-
and they were called upon to remedy it as far as in their keepers of lodging-houSes of every description for the
power. He was afraid, however, that they had no. accommodation of mendicants, strangers,' and others, for
power. The subject was one which must come under

on to say,
Tint tl,on

V MILLIE snort, penoo." And the act went
, that they would have a jurisdiction with such.
nagistrates said the committee had no jurisdic-

prevent a -- -- (-ma over loaging-nouses where apartments
were let by
Mr. GR
the week ; and that, in fact, their power only extended
practice most injurious to the port.
AVES suggested that it would be better first to to houses occupied by mendicants. This was really
could do with it.
refer it to the 'Marine Committee, to see what they meant, so to speak, of people who might be occasionally
•
. lodging for the night in passing through the town. He
Mr. Foawoon considered it was a matter of police, had known cases where the police had interfered with
and that they had no power over the men in the river. parties who let weekly lodgings; and it was only the other
Mr. BUSHELL said there was no question that the day, when speaking on that subject in the Council, Mr.
matter had become a crying evil, and although they Beckwith had-mentioned three cases that were brought
might have no jurisdiction, it was perfectly clear tkat before the magistrates in Liverpool, and two were fined,
they were deeply interested' in the morals of the seamen but the third said he did not take in lodgers for the
in the port ; and if these men should set ships on fire night, and that he only accommodated weekly lodgers,
through their drunkenness, he thought they would be and the fine was returned. In a conversation which he-
greatly to blame if they were negligent in a matter. of himself had with the magistrate's clerk, he learned that
this kind. He thought Mr. Graves's suggestion a very that was the construction which had been applied by one.
the magistrates to that section of the act; and he could
The memorial was referred to the Marine Committee. not see the use of going to court with cases if the.
A letter was read from Messrs. Cavafy and Co., com- magistrates would not take them up. On application
plaining that Messrs. Bibby, Sons, and Co. refused to being made to the officers of health to register lodging—
grant the usual allowance ibr mn.f..” ---L- houses, they went to inspect the houses, and then Run,

;tween the

alterations