The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-05-11 00:00:00

POLICI'.

M A NSIO.CI- HOUSE.
Yesterday Capt. Phialpir, of the ship lontion, trading to Ba.
tats, was charged with having committco tarnms assaults upon a
Mulatto. named Tyson.
The complainant went out with defendant as steward of the
ship. When they arrived at Batavia the cook and four hand* were
put on shore. The Captain ordered witness to cook, but he ob.
Jetted, as it was not in his agreement that he should perform such
work. The Captain then best the complainant three or four
times. He had a pistol in his berth, which had been loaded by
some one else, but it had no flint in it. Onre lie expressed to
a shipmate his determination to put an end to his own existence,
and not bear rarch cruelty. Somehow or other his ptssession of
the pistol came to the knowledge of the Captain. who charged him
with intending to shoot hint (the Captain), and took the pistol
from him. lie beat the cnrriplainant cruelly on other occa.
sions. At length he ordered hu box na deck, and having over-
hauled it, claimed and seized as his own a number of shirts,
which the complaftiont declared Its had bought and paid for. He
then took from tin, complainant • girdle, in which he put his
money, and which cm:Pei:sad upwards of 20 dollars. As soon
as the Captain found rho it contained money, he claimed it as
part of a sum which hail been stolen (tarn hint. Ile got a cat.
o'-nine.taila an.? ordered the complainant to lot tied upend flogged;
but the crew resisted is, t•A he enntenteil himself with beating
the complainant severely The lan* managed to get on above,
with the view of tibotining punka, but was unsuceensful, and was
sent back. The Caplinn, in Ito •[same., seized all his things, and
sold them. On his Reston he we. put in 1111,114.
H. Pion, a sermon, stairs!. that :e'en the Captain found the
dollars he claimed them u his own. The complainant said nothing
when the money was taken Item bier—he appeared frightened.
The Captain wee going to flog him with the cat, when the crew
told kim that Mrs would Dot stop aft while it was done ; and
he must take the CullseqUeDCsl it he did it, as it was contrary to

ill rule to use a cat in the merchant service. The Captain then
beat him. His things were sold because he went on shore without
leave. All the crew had terribly bad usage during the voyage.
W. Oxley, a seaman, gave evidence much to the time effect.
Both these witnesses acknowledged that the Captain had com-
plained, before the seizure of the belt, that money had been stolen
front hint.
A. Finlayson, the second mate, said the complainant, when the
belt was taken from Min, acknowledged that the money belonged
to the Captain. He had been punished often, but he deserved it.
Witness had also been punished, and, as lie acknowledged, not
without deserving it. There were marks on the linen found in the
complainant's chest, which satisfied the witness that it was the
Captain's.
The complainant protested that this witness was perjured, and
asked him whether he did not know that he (the complainant) had
money in his possession before the Captain said a word about his
having • tat any ?—The witness said he was aware that the com-
plainant had money, but he did not know how much.
The Captain, in his defence, declared that the complainant had
stolen the money. The fact wan, he (the Captain) had got a shame-
ful set of fellows for his crew, and was obliged to resort to strict
measures. He produced his logbook, front which it appeared that
he had had contests with nearly the whole of them, and had sus-
pended Wichita officer. As to the sale of the clothes, he was per-
fectly justified in that step by the Navigation Law, which declared
the clothes of a seaman to be forfeited, even if lie absented himself
for one hour without leave.
The LORD MAYOR said he was ready to acquit the Captain of
having improperly seized the money and the shirts; but justice
appeared to be administered in an exceedingly rough and precipitate
manner on the high seam. His Lordship did not see the necessity
of the immediate sale of the man's clothes. He told the complain-
ant that he might, if he drought proper, indict the Captain at the
Admiralty Sessions.

BOW-STREET.
On Tuesday evening. Lieut. Blurton, R.N., residing at Fenton's
Hotel, the proprietor of which is his brother-In-law, was brought
before Sir R. Bimie, by the constables of Covent-garden Theatre,
to whom he had been given in charge by George Dawson, Esq., of
Sloane-street, for committing an assault. The defendant is appa-
rently about 27 years of age and robust ; the complainant seemed
to be put 60.
Mr. Dawson, who was strongly agitated while giving his evi-
dence, was accompanied by a female between 30 and 40 years of
age. lie stated that he was going to the pit of Covent-garden
Theatre that evening, with the lady who then stood by him land a
most respectable woman, he begged to assure the Magistrate, she
was), and while waiting for the opening of the doors, the lady re-
quested him to put the price of her admission into her own hand,
so that each might be ready with their own money, to prevent con-
fusion, as they were not used to going into the pit. Ile did so,
and soon after, when the doors opened. and the crowd, which was
not great, was moving forward, the lady complained that a man
WAS behaving with great rudeness to her, and immediately she was I
pushed, as she said, by the same person, (witness could not himself
say who that person was) with some violence forward, and part of
the money was jerked out of her hand. She stooped to pick it up,
but the defendant, whom witness then first saw, put his arm across
her neck and pushed her aside, at the same time calling her " a
woman of the town." His conduct, and particularly the disgrace.
ful appellation which he had bestowod upon this lady, continued
Mr. Passion, with great • ehemenee, " so roused my feelings, that
old MAII as I am, I could not restrain myself, and I seized him by
the collar, and there I admit I was guilty of the first breach of the
peace, demanding to know who he was. We struggled a little,
and he then gave me a blow in the mouth, upon which I gave him
in charge to the officers."
The lady (her name was not mentioned) was sworn, and stated,
that as they were going into the pit, the defendant pressed against
her, and made very indelicate (or indecent, we could not distinguish
which word the witness used) advances ; and upon her remonstrat-
ing, pushed rudely against her, and jerked the money from her
hand. Site stooped to pick it up, and he endeavoured to push her
aside, to get his own friends in before her. She said " Pray let me
pick up my money ;'• but he pushed by her with his party, and as
he passed exclaimed, " This woman —," adding something
which she could not distinctly hear.
111 r. Dawson said he was quite positive that " woman of the
town" was the expression, and that it was repeated.
Lieut. Blurton being called upon for his defence, was commenc-
ing, when
Mr. Dawson said—First of all, Bir Richard Birnie, let us know
who he is. Who is he what is he?
Lieut. Blurton said he wished it to be known who and what he
was ; and having given his name and address, he stated that he
took some female relations (three la ies, we understood) to the
Theatre, and while waiting to enter,their ears were shocked by lan-
guage the most obscene and disgusting—language that would dis-
grace a common street-walker—coming from the woman now before
the bench.

At this declaration Mr. Dawson lifted his hands and eyes, and
exclaimed "Oh, good God ! was there ever any thing so base ?"
His female companion also raised her hands, and said it was false.
cruelly false; she never uttered a phrase in her life that a delicate
woman could be ashamed of.

Lieut. Bhutan said, that notwithstanding these exclamations, he
persisted in saying that the most obscene language was uttered, and
by that woman, who, he would answer for It, if the truth were
known, was not the complainant's wife.
Mr. Dawson—And pray, Sir, what has that to do with the
matter ? She is a respectable woman, Sir, and was under my
protection.

Lieutenant Murton continued—ln consequence of her language,
one of the ladies with him begged him to prevent her from com.
ing In contact with •• that woman," and he did certainly put his
arm across, and got his party past her, observing that they should
have got in very well but for that woman; upon which Mr.
Dawson rushed upon him, and he retreated, first into one corner,
and then into another, in order, if possible, to avoid coming in
contact with a man of his age ; but it was of no usc, and he was
obliged at last to act on the offensive as well as on the defensive.

Sir R. Dr arrit said. there appeared to have been a great deal
of irritation on both sides, and ,an assault, it was acknowledged,
had been committed by each party. lie should not, theretbre,
hold either of them to bail, but leave them to their remedy at the
Sessions, if they thought it worth while to go there.
The came wse dismissed.
Mr. Dawson said lie should certainly indict the defendant at the
Sessions.