Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-07 00:00:00

hey come here, and made up to the same story, so that
hey may all tell the same thing when they come into this
court ; and yet, sir, you hare seen how they prevaricated
and differed, even after that process. Let us consider
the facts of this case, and see how they present themselves
to the calm and dispassionate view that you will take of
it before you put those men on trial for their lives. No
doubt the case is a serious and important one, and, there-
fore, will have full consideration from you. such as you
invariably pay to every case that comes before yon for
adjudication. The captain joins the ship with a crew of
twenty-one, a short numb r, and even then. most of. the
men were sick and not able to do much, if any, work It
has been fully proved that Rederigo was not only sick,
but that he was very dirty; he tied, but from what cause
must now ever remain unknown, other men died, also, on
the voyage, of scurvy, and I venture to say that when the
• ship arrived off the coast of Ireland, that there was not a
matt on board who had any other thought in his mind,
but that Roderigo, like the others, had died of scurvy.
You have heard the evidence of the first witness, and I
boldly proclaim that he is at the bottom of the whole case,
as he was obliged to admit to me, when I cross-examined
him. Look at his objects and his motives. What brings
line here from Cork, or wherever he was, and where he
might have shipped ? He had a doubhs object
in coming here; first, he intended to possess himself of
the wages of two deceased men, under the colour of trans-
mitting the money to their friends, but, in reality, if he
got it, to keep it himself. Finding that the captain
had lodged the money in the Sailors' Home,
and that he was foiled in his intention to get
hold of the money, what does he next at-
tempt? Meeting the Captain in the street, the first
thing In asked about is the money, and, as I have said,
finding himself foiled in that, he has recounts to the second
object that brought him, and that was to extort money
from the Captain by threats. He says to the Captain, as
you have lodged the money, if you do not give me £5, I
will charge you with an offence; t.nd, as ho said himself, if
he had got the £5, he would let some one else track the
blood. Had the Captain complied, and given him the £5,
we would never have had this case here, for that man has
got up the whole of it. Did the Captain act like a man who
knew he bad committed murder, and that be was in the
hands of that msu ? No ; f.,r he said, I will not give you
five pounds, nor fivepence, and told him to be gone. He
did go, and where do we find him next? Why with
Inspector Kehoe, and he told that officer such a pack of
falsehoods, that the officer, crediting him, soon put the
matter in motion, and we know the result. lam not here,
sir, to say that the man was not kicked, but I am here to
deny that death was the result of the kicking. Indeed
the man may have died from the effects of cold, or from
several other causes. Amon gist the great mass of evidence
that has been taken in this case, there are not two of the
witnesses who. agree upon any one particular point, and
the chief parts of the evidence given have not been spoken
from actual observation, but from what one man told
another, and so on. Look at the great dsscrepancy in the
evidence, and the prevarication of the witnesses in all the
material points and features of the case, and I am sure
you cannot say it is a case of murder. If you come to the
conclusion that it is not murder, the case reduces itself
into one of assault. The Captain had held the command of
many vessels, with credit, and had certificates to that effect,
and also that he was a quiet and inoffensive man. Tho
only thing that could be alleged against him was, that
sometimes he indulged in a little drink, but that was no
reason why he should be charged with murder. Even on
the point of drink, ti. ere was a vast deal of difference, for
one of the witnesses said he was drunk nearly all the
voyage, while another swore that he did not drink at all.
What reliance, then, could be placed on such testimony as
that, where a man's life was at stake ? I am, sue, sir,
from the attention you have paid to this case, that you will
feel it your duty to commit the prisoners, but I am also of
opinion that you cannot commit my client for murder,
viewing the whole of the evidence.

Mr. Tyndall : I was under, the impression, when Mr.
Snowball tendered the certificate of character, that he did
so on behalf of the captain ; but I find it was on behalf of
the mate, and I therefore beg leave to withdraw the
observations I made respecting it.
Mr. Mansfield said the case had necessarily taken up a
long time, but properly so, for the satisfaction of all parties
concerned. It was a case by no means free from diffi-
culties, such as were sure to occur in all cases of
that description. The medical gentlemen could not
tell the cause of death with any definite certainty,
indeed no one could tell that except by actual examination
of the body, so that must remain for ever closed up.
There was, no doubt, great discrepancies in parts of the
evidence, but it must be remembered that the parties
alluded to had different modes and degrees of observation,
and, therefore, were not confined to one story. Taking the
general bearing of the evidence, the deceased came on board
in a healthy state. His Worship then took a short review
of the evidence, and said, from the course the case had
taken during the investigation, he had reason to alter the
opinion he had first formed on it, and, therefore, he would
,Ji j 2,4
or, in other words, for manslaughter, and the mate he would
c)mmit for the assault, and, of course, the charges would be
properly investigated by a higher tribunal.
Mr. Black : Is it possible to have them tried at the pre-
sent assizes ?

Mr. Mansfield : It is, if the grand jury are not dis-
charged ?
Mr. Tyndall : It is impossible that we could be ready,
and I understand -the grand jury will be discharged to-
day.

Mr. Snowball : I suppose you will take bail for the
mate ?

Mr. Mansfield: Yes, two sureties in £5O, .and himself
in £lOO.

The depositions having been read over, the prisoners,
after the usual caution, were asked whether they had any-
thing to Fay.

Ciptain 'Christie replied in the negative.
The mate, James Mallard, said : Instead of having to
keep the look out, the man was to have gone to the wheel
at the time that I assaulted him. I went to the forecastle
to see what was the reason the helm was not relieved. I
lefc the second mate on the poop in charge. I went to
the forecastle door, and found Roderigo in bed. I asked
him what was the reason he did not relieve the helm?
Ho said nobody called Lim. I waited outside until he

came cut on deck, and then swore at him. I gave him a
bhove with my hand on the back of the neck, and it being
so dark that he could not Eee when I gave him the shove,
he stumbled over the " pit." He want aft to the wheel
on the port side, and I went on the starboard side. He
relieved the helm, and I then gave the orders to the second
mate, and went to bet I heard nothing more of the
matter until I came to Liverpool, when I was arrested by
the police officer.

Captain Christie was then removed in custody ; but
Millird, his sureie3 being present, was discharged on bail,
himself in £lOO, and his two sureties in £5O each.