Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-11-30 00:00:00

THE CHARGE OF MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS

FIRST EXAMINATION OF CAPT. JOHN ANDER-
SON CHRISM AND JAMES MILLARD, OF THE
BARQUE "ELIZABETH," OF LIVERPOOL.

On Saturday, the first examination of these persons,
charged with the wilful murde.l. of Francisco Roderigo, on
the high seas, took place, before Mr. Mansfield, at the
Police Court. The court was crowded to excess, and
amongst several well-dressed females, who seemed to take
a deep interest in the proceedings, was pointed out the
widow of the late Captain Rogers. Mr. Tyndall appeared,
on behalf of the Treasury, to prosecute; Mr. Bluck was for
the captain, and Mr. Snowball for the mate.

The prisoners appeared flushed, and very anxious about
the case, and paid the greatest attention to everything, as
the evidence proceeded. Both prisoners frequently com-
municated with the learned advocates, and there was no
mistake that they felt the importance of the position in
which they stood.
Mr. Tyndall said : I appear on behalf of the Solicitor of
the Treasury, who has ben instructed by Sir George Grey,
to undertake the prosecution of the prisoners in this case.
I shall not trouble the court with any lengthy statement
on the facts of this painful and very important case,
as the statement of the case has been already
opened to you by Mr. Inspector Kehoei and
so recently last week, that it must be quite fresh in the
recollection of the Court, so I need not repeat or go through
it again. I shall simply state that the prisoners are
charged with the murder of Francisco Rodorigo, a
Spaniard. and who was a sailor on board the barque,
of this port, on the high seas. The evidence,
upon which the charge is founded, is exceedingly long,
ani cannot possibly be taken to-day, so that af;e: hearing
a portion I shall have to ask for an adjournment to
another day. In the evidence that I propose to lay before
you, I think I shall be able to show you that the prisoners
were instrumental in killing Roderigo on the voyage of
the vessel home from Old Calabar to Liverpool. I shall.
therefore, proceed with the evidence at once, and this wili
put the whole case before the Court, and I think it will
bring the case home clearly to the Captain and also to the
Mate.

Henry Renshaw was the first witness : I was a seaman
on board the barque Elizabeth; sailed in her from
Liverpool about the 27th or 28th of January
last, for New Calabar, coast of Africa. Captain
Pickering was the master on the out passage ; whoa
we arrived at Calabar theta was some misunderstanding
,with the trading master, and Captain Pickering and the
Latter was sent home, and Captain Christie was made

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master. The transfer of captains took place in July, and
I think we sailed some time in August for Liverpool.
Mr. Block : It was the 24th of August they left—the
log will show it.
Witne,s : Captain Christie brought three men from the
ship Faith with him to the Elizabeth ; their names were
Joseph Mitchel, 'Francisco Roderigo, (the deceased,) and
another. Tile deceased and the other were able seamen.
The three completed the crew, which consisted of twenty-
one souls, when the ship sailed. We left for England with
the mon named on board her. At the time Roderigo came
on board, ho was in good health, stout, and robust, and
very good tempered and good humoured ; he was, not
labearing under any disease or accident that I am aware
of ; he was about 27 years old, and he told me he was a.
native of Malaga, in Spaic, and had his mother llaSng
there. I never heard him complain when he came on
board; he done his work willingly and cheerfully. I
did not notice anything particular until we were from 40
to 50 or 60 days at sea, and then, one evening, from 6th
to Bth Oct , I saw the captain seize him by
the neck, and throw him with violence on the deck,
with his face down. He kicked him repeatedly over vari-
ous parts of the b dy—head, breast, and right thigh—
using diabolical language, and saying, " You worthless
scoundrel and lazy blackguard, you shall never live to see
Liverpool. I will kill or murder you." Deceased was
calling for mercy to God and the Virgin at the time. I
saw the captain lift his foot, and kick it down heavily on
the small of the man's back. (Here ho described by action
how it was done.) Deceased was the most inoffensive man
in the ship, and he begged of the captain, for the sake of
God and the Virgin, not to kill him. Ho spoke half Span-
ish and half English. I understand enough of Spanish to
know what he said. The captain's exclamation was, " God
d you, you worthless blackguard, I will kill you."
Deceased came forward, partly crawling and partly walk-
ing. Deceased said, "I think I am all broke; I can't
straighten my back ; something brcke there ; I wish (to
witness) you would look at it." His words were, as well
I remember, Ah, my God! Captain Christie want to kill
me ; I think something broke." He was moaning all that
night. He never walked or stood upright after that.
He never went aloft, or done any laborious work, after,
I examined his body that night, and he said, " Oh ! Harry,
my back sore." I subbed it at his request, and he said,
"Harry, rub easy, you hurt me too much." I found one
of the joints of the spine sticking out through the back
like a finger joint—this way (showing his finger). The
marks of the kicking were all over his body and right
thigh. He complained of being unable to turn out next
morning. He to'd us all in the forecastle. Either on
that or the day following the captain came forward and
sung out, " You Russian, what are you doing there? Come
out of that or I'll clap a watch-tackle on you, and bouce
you out." " Russian" was the nickname deceased went
by on board. He then came out on to she deck in a very
feeble, lame, and stooping state. His face was disfigured,
but not to any great extent. He complained of his teeth
being loose by a kick, either at that time or some time
after. He was spitting blood the previous night after the
kicking Not to my knowiete did he spit blood previous
to the kicking, but he did after. Captain told the second
mate to put him to work, and ho gave him some light work
The captain said, " You lazy rascal, if I catch you iu the
forecastle during your watch on deck, I will serve you as
I did before." The second mate then gave him some
aeneit to make. He took his wheel after that, but com-
plained of being unable to do to Scarcely a day after
that, that he did not get a rope's ending during the twenty-
four hours from the captain ; and I frequently heard him
cry out when he was beaten. His expressions were pretty
much the same as this always, " for God's sake." and "for
God's mother's sake not to kill him." The captain replied
always in the same strain as this--" G d— you, I
will kill you ; you will never see Liverpool." These were
the common words in his mouth. Probably about a fort-
night after the first kicking, the captain had another
disturbance with him whilst lie was at the wheel. The
captain was walking back and forward on the poop from
four to nix, it was not yet dark, however, and he stopped
and said. "G— d— you, why don't you keep the
ship steady ?" but deceased made no reply. The captain
continued walking and then spoke to him again, and said,
" if I have to speak to you again, by God I will give you
a little more of what you got the other night." After
a few more toms he came in front of deceased
and said, " G-- d— you, you will have it, then:"
and he raised his foot to kick the mar, and the man stooped
to see where he was to kick him, and he kicked him twice
in the feet. I can't say if he had boots or slippers on.
His (deceased's) lips were swollen, and ono of his eyes
was disfigured, but I cannot say more He used the usual
prayer, " For God's sake not to kill him." I cannot say
I saw the captain ill use him that day again. I recollect
the chief mate, the prisoner Millard, coming to the fore-
castle about ten days or so after that. He came to the
forecastle door at twelve o'clock at night, when he was
relieved by the second mate. He enquired if the look-out
was relieved yet. He was answered "No." He asked
whose look-out it was, and some person answered it was
the " Russian's." The mate then said to the "Russian,"
" G—d d—n you, why have you not relieved the look-out ?"
The man said. ‘• Me no able to look out," when the mate
seized him by the neck, and flung him on the deck with
great violence, and kicked him thirteen times, apparently
with all his force. Deceased kept exclaiming for God's
sake not to kill him, or, if he (the mate) wanted to do so,
to take a hatchet and cut his head off at once. The
mate said, " G—d d—n you, I will kill you if you don't
keep the look-out." After the mate was tired kicking him,
he said " G—d d—n you, now go and keep the look out."
He crawled up the forecastle ladder, on his Lands and
knees, groaning all the time He was not able to stand.
I was a bit of a " chummy" of his, and took an interest in
him, and went to him, when he said, "Ohl Harry, I no
can see, for the blood all in my eyes —run the blood all my
eyes, Harry." The first time I went up, he was sitting in
the bit head, and I went up twice again, and found him
half lying and half reclining on his side, and he was
groaning all the time. I said, "If the mate comes, he
will give you more kicking," when he said, " Oh ! Harry,
I fall down two times ;I no can see—my head go round,
round." He never stood upright after that. To the best
of my belief, he stopped until relieved at four bells, and I
helped him down the forecastle ladder into his berth. 7 He
said, " All the time I spit, blood come ; all my inside
broke this lime ; me never live to eee Liverpool —I die."
He was moaning all night, and was not able to turn out
next morning. The captain came to him either that or
the fallowing day, I can't say which ; he was than in his
berth. The captain used the same language as before.
He ( leceased) crawled out, bast as he could, and
sat down on some spars on the deck. The
Captain said, "If I catch you in that fore-
castle again, I will give you some more," and he then
gave the second mate orders to give him some work, and
to keep him on the look out, if he could do nothing else ;
he wee scarcely able to move, only to dr ,g himself along ;
ho never took the wheel after that. To the best of my
remembrance, the captain did not strike him for ten or
fifteen days after that, but heard him tell him to move
quicker, though he was not able to do so. A. fortnight
after I was at the wheel one morning, from six to eight,
and Roderigo was on the deck, employed, with the second
ma e and another man, heaving the lead, and after it was
hove, and the lino reeled up again by deceased, he was
taking the reel across the deck on one arm, and was pulling
himself along with the other, in a very weak and feeble state,
and the captain was on the quarter-deck, and said, " God
d— you do you come on my quarter-deck to act ? Move
along quicker, or I will help you," and he then caught hol
of him by the back of the head and flung him on the deck
and kicked him.

Could ho have moved quicker ? Quite impossible, sir,
for the man was in a dying state then. Ho was kicked all
over the body. I was relieved at the wheel, and the captain
was st 11 kicking him, when I left and .sent into the forecastle.
I saw deceased in ten minutes after. He was crawling
along on his hands and knees, and every now and then he
would f',ll down flat. He crawled into the foreastle, tried
to sit on a chest, but fell down immediately. Some one
said, " Ah, poor fellow, you have been catching it again."
and he said, " Ah, my God ! captain kick me more this
tipee ; he kill me." He was helped into his berth, and
never moved out of it after, only as he was helped. Ere
was spitting blood at that time; large lumps of blood came
from his mouth, and ha moaned all day and night. He
died some five or six or eight or ten days after. He called
me one Saturday evening, and said, g. Henry, ms Catholic,
you Catholic too, and my mother live in Malaga--poor
woman ! father died—l think I die ; please, when you go
to Liverpool, go to Spanish Consul, get my money, send it
poor mother, to Marie Roderigo, Malaga ; I never no live
to tee Live pool—for Jesus Christ anl the Virgin Mother's
sake have justice." I told him I would ; and he told me
to put my hand on my heart and promise before
God to do so. [Here the witness became very
much affected I did as he requested I
then to cheer him up, when he said '• Oh Harry
look at my back"—l did, and it was ail a mass of bruises
right thigh was as big as two thighs, it pained him
dreadfully; I used to rub him with ointment, and he cJna-
plained of pain very much ; the skin was not broken but
bruised black and blue. He died sometime that night, for
we found him dead after we went from the morning watch.
We buried him on Sunday morning, and on Monday
afternoon made land on some part of the Irish coast
about 4 o'clock. I mentioned in the forecastle his dying
request to me, and in three or four days after I was at the
wheel between four and eight in the morning, when the
captain came to me very drunk, stumbling on the quarter
deck three or four times, and then he leaned np against this
poop and said " Ab,*G—d----- you, you are a lawyer

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