The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-07-21 00:00:00

CNARGZ OF MURDER.

A Charge of Nl.Arder against Captain %Menu.
or the ship Croptiov, rmployed iu the Slava Trade
to Charleston, in South Carolina. has bra lately
before the Privy Council. and occupied much of
their attention.

The circumstances of the case, that have trans-
pired, are, that the .Cee.vdow unwed et Charleston
in the month • f Nivember last. under the com-
mand of Captain Williams. Attu twee vessel was
safely moored, Nichols, sae of the MVOS and ten
or Oren-petty-officers. went no shore. mad did not
return to the ship that night. For this name
Capt. Williants had them all appri heeded and
im-
prisoned for 51 days. On the day previous to that
on which the Croydon was to sail from Charleston.
Capt. Williams sent to the Prisoners. desiring that
Nichols. the mate, and the rest of the Petry 0!-
Ecers, might be released, and sent on onaru the
Grests'ire, whieftwas accordingly done. ,Csis thefni.
lowing day. when the ship was about in sail. it is
charged, that Captain Williams ordered Nichols and
the rest of the officers to assist in manning the
windlass, w,:ich they refused to do, until Captain
William's paid 'hem a month's wages in advance.
according to their articles, which the Captain de-
clined to do, and olOvr., $ them alai* to assist in
manning the trin.llA-, ; the officers refusing to
do it. Captain William. let the deck, went into
his eabbin, and returned e•qh a pistol in each
hand, and ordered the offi:or: again to assist
in manning the windlass. : h they again re-
fused. unless they were paid ; In consequen-e.
Captain Williams discharged mw of the pistol. at
them. The snot went through he le': shoulder of
Nichols. the Mate t and through .ck of one
of the others ; they both fell. mid we r taken to an
Hospital en Shore, where the officer who received
the wound in his back died in consequence, the fol.
lowing evening. Nichols recovered in a short
time.
Capt. Williams, learning that the charge against
him had been preferred before the Privy Council.
made his escape fawn &islands but dispatches
have been sent after him to tiovermnent 05cers
to send him back to England, and there is very little
doubt of their success.

The warrants for carrying the Training Mk into
immediate exeention have been received by the
Vice-Lieutenants of the several counties..

The Gannet !loop of war. with the .lilries. C* V
/40%, and a first from Lisboa. arm arrived off
Portsmouth. _ .

What will the public think of a later, of which
the following is a Copy, (omitting only the names),
having been addressed at this momentous crisis to
a volunteer of a carps in this ridintettwleress.se crme
consisted in having delivered a few papers.
&e. for a Committee et Lord bist.soe, daring the
late Ekeion:— _ .

(COPY.)
" ate ditest-d by the a aCquairt
" that It you don't iminethstely deliver up to to. your .1 ~
Clothing, and Amoutremente. briongiag to dee
" V,luntoma. that. Mr enter. In comusesee as Action tar
" the same. Your's,
" sedt. Oren. ems),"
" N.B. lam very sorry Mit I should oil the bearer this
" orJer, Sat I silt nuns yes. it is i.s power to Indio
" it."—(Cesar: Mercury )
We noticed yesterday the diabolical conspiracy
lately discovered in the Sikh Regiment of Foot, to
produce temporary !blindness. for the perpose of pro.
curing a discharge aad pension.--It appears that
die ointment far the purpose was used by nearly
300 men, are of whims mimed witness again.t his
dastardly maspanions.—He stated. that some caw
ed both eyes so be affoand. and othets thosgbt it
sufficient to became blind in the firelock eye only.
TM witassa also stated. that on a certain morning
after ens of Ws comrades had abed the pssaicioes
I aistnamw, be ram hies. and said, si How do you do.
1 —4. " BY i—s, charmingly. (said be), fur I am
qtake blind ass eye, sad devil a awe& ma I see
wick the oda."

s-

.......r""•••••••••• • •••••• no- -•

L.IIV INTELLIGENCE.

CJURT OF CII%NiCFRY-I.tmcoties INN, Jut.r 20

TEE LORD BISHOP OF DUNHAM, V. COLONEL

BEAtibIONT.

This cause came on for a re-hearing upon the
e.:tition of the Plaintiff, and a cross-petition on a
petition of .appeal, presented by the Defendant.
Ihe cbjea in view, on the Plaintiff's part, is to he
relieved from an agreement entered into by him
with the Defendant, Cot. Beaumont, who is mar-
ried to the daughter of the late Sir Thomas Blacker,
of Durham, the late proprietor of the lead mines
in question in this cause, as his predecessors were,
under the successive Bishops of that See, for a long
time. past.
The leading fans of the case are, that a compo-
sition wes enterro rit.) or agree] upon, to be paid
to the present Bishop, in 1791, on the death of his
pr,doc,•sso. Bis'aop l'huslow, in lieu of one-ninth
part of the lead use produced from the mines in
questi ,n. The con.posision was by the last agree-
ment raised from auol. per aontim, as paid to Bishop
l'hurlow, to 9251 a-year. Bishop Egerton, the
predecessor of Bishop Thurlow, having received
only g5Ol. a year as such coloposition. The pre-
sent Bishop, by his bill in this cruse, charges, that
by the misrepresentations of Mr. John Erasmus
Blacket, the agent and relative of the Defendant's
%vile, and of her lather Sir Thomas Blacket, he
has been deprived, fur 11 years last past, of a sum ex-
ceediag 40(101. per annum, under the composition
in issue between the parties; for that the mines
had yielded on an average in all that time above
45,0001. a year, and some part of that time 19,0001.
each year.
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY objeded to the issue di-
relied by Lord Erskine in this cause, as there ap-
peared sufficient evidence in the cause to satify the
conscience of the Court that rite composition to the
Plaintiff should be at least 5.0901. per annum all
the tiro. He did not impute any thing like base
design or dishonour to Mr. Blacket ; hut it was
alni,st to be wetted, from the natural ties of blood
i.•l long service, as the family agent of Sir Morita,
Blacket's family, that when the Bishop had trusted
and re,tel his assent to the agreement in question.
upon his honour,.he would wish to make a profitable
bargain for toe Defendant.
Sir ernes PIGGOTT, Mr. Postai swam and
others, supported the Defendant's case with great
force and ability, in combating the above statement.
It would be impossible, within our limits, to de.
tail fully this great cause, which occupied on the
re-hearing three whole days. We must therefore
content ourselves with adding the leading grounds
of the Lou) CH ANCLI.LOR'S Judgment, given this
morning in the space of no less than two hours.—
He said he never felt more pain in his judicial ca.
pacify than on the present occasion, since he was
well acquainted with both the parties in this cause.
He did not hesitate to state, that his conviction ac-
corded with that of his Noble Predecessor, Lord
Erskine, so far as to think the weight of evidence
at present appeared to him to be rather in favour of
the Plaintiff ; but since Mr. Blacket's letters on the
matter of the agreement were susceptible of divers
construairms, according to the stria rules of that
Court, as inducing a• suspicion of what is fraud
here, hut not without those walls, there must be
trial at law as to those doubtful parts of the evi-
dence—the Defendant undertaking to give no un-
necessary delay whatever to the trial; and in cue
richer of the two aged Witnesses should die before
their examination, on the issue to be direaed, the
gr.nting of such issue is not to be considered as
necessary to the justice of the cause, or the opinion
of his L rdship's mind upon the whole merits as
at present before him. His Lordship dieted an
issue.

s
F