The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-12 00:00:00

SEAMEN IN AMERICAN SHIPS.

The following letter from a friend of the Rev.
Mr. Fielden, of Bebbington, on the above subject,
will be read with interest. The gentleman who
wrote the letter is at present in the United
States

TO THE REY. R. M. EIEEOEN, MAGISTRATE, RIHRENETAD

POLICE COURT.

New York, Feb. 16, 1857.
Sir,— Allow me, as a traveller and merchant, making
frequent trips across the Atlantic, in the dkfferent Liver-
pool packet-ships, to corroborate, in some particulars, the
brutal and tyrannical treatment of the crews (as lately
set forth in the case of the James 1,. Bogart), by nearly
all the officers engaged in that traffic. Indeed, so -.shame-
na has the cruelty on board become, that :in this port of
New York, it is not without the utmost difficulty they can
procure crews to man the ships sailing between here
anal Liverpool. Every artifice is resorted to by the agents
to tlecoy men on board ; and but too often the betrayed
ones, particularly if young and inexperienced, on pro-
ceeding to sea, pay for their temerity with their lives.
will only relate to you one instance out of the many that
have come under my notice, and I should not presume, as
a stranger to you, to take that liberty, but I view with
alarm the increasing" tyrannical and blood-thirsty dispo-
sition of these petty officers of the packet ships to all
whose unlucky stars place them within their power.
went home in the summer of 1856 on board the American
ship —, Captain —, and we had not been one day at
sea before the chief mate struck a fatal blow, with a
marling spike, on the head of a sailor for going
into the second cabin amongst the passengers, where
he had been sent by the second mate, and alleged
against him by the first, that he went thither to rob.
Another man was kicked in the stomach and side, in a
savage manner by the third mate, for some trifling neglect,
which had the effect of breaking a rib, besides rupturing
the intestines, placing him, for the remainder of the voyage,
under the hands of the surgeon. Numerous and sickening
were the maulings and assaultings of the men all the voy-
age over, aslif really for sport and pastime, till one humane
passenger attempted to remonstrate with the captain,
when he was quickly silenced by a threat to place
him in irons ! When we arrived in the Mersey,
there were in the forecastle, unfit for anything
but the hospital, four poor wretches more or less
mutilated for: life. I hope and trust in God, that the
magistrates of Liverpool will punish to the utmost extent
that the law allows, every crime of this nature that comes
under their cognisance, ; for it is a monstrous incongruity
that a nation like the Americans, professing so much
philanthropy, and boasting of their equality and liberty,
should be the acknowledged tyrants and scoundrels of the
universe. Be assured that all those serious cases that
have been resigned into the hands of the American Consul
at Liverpool, and sent home here for adjudication, have
ended in a profound farce and acquittal of the delinquents.
—Yours, faithfully and obediently,

Merchant, Nassau street.

(Per Europa ]

EXTILAORDINARY CASE. —On Tuesday night a person,
whose came was net stated, stole a quantity of cloth from
a draper's shop door at Wavertree, with which he got away.
He sold some of it, and got drunk on part of the money.
He went into a privy with the remainder of the cloth, and,
it appears, he fell asleep, as he was intoxicated. It seems
he fell into the pit beneath, where he was found dead yester-
day mornieg, with the cloth lying by him.
STANLEY VILLAGE LECTURES.—On Tuesday evening
Mr. F. P. Marratt delivered a lecture in St. Anne's National
Scilo-,1-room, on " Geology and Mineralogy," to illustrate
which, numerous diagrams and specimens were introduced.
Mr. Marrat commenced by remarking that the business of
the true geologist or naturalist was to trace the wonders
of the sciences. To this view the lecture would be confined,
as it was not his intention to enter upon any philological
disquisition regarding the hypothesis of scientific men, or
their conflicting opinions. The construction and strata of
the earth were commented upon, a full description being
added of granite, felspar, quartz, &c., &c. The lecturer
' gave an account of submarine wonders, calling particular
attention to coral islands, and their immense size, some being
300 to 400 miles in length. Specimens from the vegetable
world were next introduced, comprising mosses, seaweed, &c.
Coal fossils were also remarked upon, together with other
mineral productions. 1 n conclusion, Mr. Marrat made some
very practical remarks describing the heartfelt delight of a
naturalist in his walks and rambles, during which every
flower was welcomed and the very stones seemed to speak.
While dwelling upon this theme, the lecturer recommended
his audience to study any branch of natural history their
tastes suggested, as a means of impressing upon them the
wonders connected therewith, and at the same time improv-
ing their minds on and so much more desirable than follow-
ing some of the frivolous propensities or evil habits of
humanity. A vote of thanks- was proposed to Mr. Marrat,
and carried unanimous'''. The Rev. I'. Gardiner presided.
On Tuesday next, Mr. Swan lectures on astronomy,illustrated
by dissolving views and diagrams. It is decided shortly to
conclude the present series of lectures, the original intention
I having been to continue them only during the winter
months.