Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-02-14 00:00:00

MU-Alp-a treadmill, but-did not_call the captain a d—d.
old —. The ship is a treadmill in consequence of the I -
work I had to do. Cried out—" oh, pull for £2 10s. a-,
month." --I had no object; nor was I. insolent -to the•
captain. Had a sheath knife all the. voyage. 7Thert,
the captain called me down, he , said he Was.
going to read the Merchant Shippipg Act, to •
see the penalty, he. said, I was subject to. The
steward was 'in the party at the time, but I don't know
if the captain knew that. To Mr. Cobb : All the men
called the ship a treadmill, because of the unnecessary
Work on board. Did not mean to insult or annoi..the
captain. Always sings on board' when hauling- in the
ropes. John Ferguson, the steward' of the ship, proved
that he saw the defendants beat the man, and ite corro-
borated the evidence of Hunter as to the assault in the
cabin by.the captain' and mate. Mr. Snowball said he
admitted that the 'Man was injured, and that he was
assaulted. Mr. Cobb said that was pleading guilty. Mr.
snowball said it was not, as the man did not do his
daty. James Reedy said he saw the -captain shake
the , complainant on the deck. Hunter was
a well-conducted man, and respected on board.
Mr.' Snowball then addressed the bench, contending that
it was necessary the captain should have control over
the men. The captain called three times to the man, but
he did not pretend to hear him, although he did, and
refused to do his duty, and then the captain shook him.
The complainant Was the most insolent in the song, and
the captain behaved' most mild' to him —(oh, oh)—he
called him to the cabin to read for him the penalty that
he was subject to, when the man drew his knife, and in
order to protect himself he called the chief mate, and
then the assaults took place on both sides the captain
being in discharge of his duty. He offered, to call the
mate, but Mr. Cobb-objected, as the mate was guilty of
an -assault, that was clearly proved against him. After some
discussion it was ruled to call the mate, as the charges were
separate, Mr. Cobb strongly objecting. The mate was
then examined, and he swore he saw a knife in Hunter's
hand, when the captain called him, saying he had a
knife. The second mate took it out of his hand. On
cross-examination by Mr. Cobb, the witness admitted he
struck Hunter on the head with a life preserver—he
struck at him without ,aiming at any particular spot.
Witness struck a man named Benjamin Brown, but he
was not then in the cabin. He caught Hunter by the
throat, and said ; You sc•mndrel, why did yon use a
knife ? The dog is a harmless one—it bit the second
mate. Mr. Cobb : And it is quite harmless, although it
bit the second mate ? Mr. Snowball :we had better.
enquire who was the dog's grandfather. Mr.
Cobb : No doubt he was a mongrel. (Laughter.)
Wilder, the second mate, 'was called to prove that the
complainant was insolent to the captain. He also proved
that he took a knife out of Hunter's hand, and passed it
to the steward. To Mr. Cobb, he admitted that the mate
flaw* water in the man's face. Hunter was confined for
ten days or a fortnight after the assault. Mr'. Snowball
said that was the case for the captain. The Bench con-
sulted for a moment, when Mr. Holt said it was clearly
proved that the knife was in Hunter's hand, 'and the cap-
tain only acted in self-defence, and therefore they would
dismiss the case against the captain. Mr. Cobb : I am
not satisfied with the decision, and I am sure
there is no one more surprised at that
decision than Mr. Snowball. Mr. Snowball: On
my soul I am not at all surprised at anything that
happens in this court. (Loud laughter.) Mr. Holt also
dismissed the ,eharge against the mate, on the graund
that he was protecting the captain. There was a second
charge against the captain and mate for an assault on a
black sailor, named. Benjamin Brown, on the 12th
January. Brown was examined; and swore that, on the
day in question, the mate beat him on 'the head with a
brown stick until he broke it on him. The captain cried
give it to him. The mate fell, and the captain struck him
several_ times with a belaying pin on the head and hand.
He did not give either of them any provocation.
The mate kicked him after, and struck him
in. . the mouth, and cut him. Mr. Snowball
cross-examined the ,witness, but the only thing
he elicited of consequence was that the witness
was " never murdered before on board au English ship."
(Great laughter.) John Anderson; one .of the sailors,,
was examined, and he proved that he saw the mate break
the stick over Brown's head, and saw the captain strike
him with a belaying pin. The man did not give any
provocation, by words or otherwise; to witness's knowing.
John Dawson And others corrobOratedßrown's statement.
The mate made a statement, but admitted the assault,
and called the captain as a witness. Mr. Cobb objected,
and trusted it would go forth to the public, that the bench
allowed these two ruffians to be called as witnesses
for each other, after having behaved with such
murderous brutality towards the men. The Bench con-
cluded that the assault on Brown was most unjustifiable,
and sentenced Lloyd to pay a fine of Lö. In defence of
the captain, in this case, Mr. Snowball called the second
mate, who said he did not see the captain use the pin
against Brown, but he saw it in his hand. He would
not swear the captain did not strike the man. The mate
was then called, but still Mr. Cobb objected. The mate
swore the captain did not strike Brown. Mr. Cobb called

witnesses to' rebut the statement, and they swore the
captain did strike the man several times, but the Bench
dismissed the case. Mr.. Cobb said, he never heard such
decisions in his life. The defendants were so conscious

of their guilt, and so sure of being sent for
trial, that they had in the morning offered any amount of
money to compromise the case, but the men were so
badly treated that they refused to take money, which
they might have got to almost any extent, and 'Mr.
Snowball knew the fact.