The National Register.
London, England, 1821-01-14 00:00:00

ADMIRALTY SESSIONS:

MONDAY, JAN. 8.
These Sessions were held this murning, for the pur-
pose of taking cognizance of all offences committed on
the nigh Seas.
The Commission for holding the Sessions having
been read, the Grand Jury was called ore, : a great
number were fined 100 shillings for non-attendance.—
Twenty-three gentlemen having at length been rworn,
Sir William Scott delivered his charge.
The Jury then retired to the Grand Jury Room to
deliberate on such business as may be brought before
them. . .

........
Charles Stewart and William Goodwin were tried
npota an indictment, charging them with being seamen
on board the ship Good Czar, and feloniously and pira-
tically making a revolt on board the said ship. A second
count charged them with endeavouring to cause a revolt.
Mr. Adolphus and Mr. Dowling conducted the pro-
secution.
Daniel Munro stated, that on the 20th of October
last, he was master of the Good Germ, a merchant vessel,
and on that day he anchored about three miles from
liornholm, on their way to Elsinore. She was bound
on a voyage front Antwerp to St. Petersburgh, and back
to Loudon. While on the voyage he took the two
prisoners on board as able stamen, but in a short time
their conduct was such as to render it necessary to place
them in confinement. After a lapse of two or three
days they were released, on a promise of behaving; better.
The allowances of provisions to the crew were very
ample, each man being allowed two pounds—one pound
and a half of fresh and half a pound of salt meat per
day, with a proportionate quantity of bread, potatoes,
&c. besides coffee and molasses. . .

On the morning of the day stated in the indictment,
the prisoner Stewart came shaft on the quarter deck, and
demanded from the witness more meat for breakfast.
Ile told the prisoner that the allowance %1111‘ sufficient,
and that he had as much as any other man on board.
The prisoner then went forward, and witness went
below to breakfast. When he returned upon deck, the
prisoner Stewart came again to him, and said, " I)—n
ye, you are near a port, get some fresh supplies." Wit-
ness took hilt, by the arm, and led hint forward to the
starboard gangway, desiring him to go to his proper
station in the ship. Instead of doing so, however, he
turned upon witness, and putting hiuncll in au attitude
to fight, said, " D—n ye, are yc up?" meaning, as
witness understood, was he ready to fight.—Witness
succeeded with sonic difficulty in quieting him, and he
went forward again. Witness being desirous of having
the conduct of Stewart investigated, sent for the Cap-
tains of three other ships lying near him, and they came
un board. Aleut three o'chsck in the aften.oon,
lie and Ole other Captains were dining below, a'uoisc was
heard upon deck, and witness haste ii tt g up to learn the
found the prisoner Stewart fighting, near the
hireeastle, with another man, and Goodwill acting as
his s,conti. lle desired them todesist, and encleaVoured
to separate Ilsein, but Goodwin aimed a blow at him,
and said, " D—n your eyes, what is it to you 1" Find-
ing it impossible to reduce them to obedience by mild
means, he went to his cabin, and armed himself with a
niii,ket and a pair of pistols ; hut, upon his return upon
deck, :le li:111111 the prisoners coming abaft, armed with
a han.spike and a serving mallet each, and Stewart had
CIJSP•k nifc open. Ile then lad down his fire-arms
and o.ok up a carpenter's adze, and at that moment
Goodwin ran at him, and aimed a blow at his head with
a handspike. The mate of the ship canOt the blow on
his arm, and a scale ensued between witness 111:d his
first mate and tile two prisoners, in the course of wisielt
winless a:at Stewart fell together on the clerk. Aber a
scuffle of some duration they separated, and witness
ordered the mate to charge the prisoners with the bayonet
and drive them (inward. Tile mate did so, but Stewart
contrived to get possession of the bayonet by twisting it
from the musket, and he, and the -other prisoner, kept
calling Out that they would have their lives. At length
they were overpowered, and driven forward, but there
they renewed the threats, and Stewart said, " Give its a
pistol, a musket, or a cutlass a piece, and we will light
you, you b—y —I" Witness titer touted tip the
whole crew, and desired them to assist iu securing mime
prisoners, but they hung back, and nue of them said,
" I shan't interfere, for I ant for peace and quietness."
The prisoners, howeser, were finally seem, d and taken
on shore, at Elsinore, whence, by (nth,- of the British
Consul, they wen: brought to this conini; or trial.

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Captain Anderson, of the BlitabetA Anne, one of the
Captains called on board by the last witness, was next
called, and corroborated his statement as to the latter
part of the transaction.
The prisoners, in their defence, complained of being
kept upon short allowance, and of general ill-treatment,
and Stewart complained of having been severely wound- -
ed by Captain Munro in the affray.
The Jury, after half an hour's consultation, found
both the prisoners Not Guilty.
On the motion of Mr. Dowling, they were ordered to
be detained far trial for the assault.
Alexander Wood and William Lill, two seaman who
were convicted at the last Admiralty Sessions of plunder-
ing a wreck on the coast of Kent, were then put to the
bar to receive the awful sentence of death.
Sir IV.Scott addressed the prisoners in his usual im-
pressive manner. They had, he said, been convicted of
plundering, a ship n distress en the shores of this country,
and it was much to be lamented that there were En-
glishmen to be found so lost to the feelings of humanity
as to make to themselves a harvest upon the distresses of
their fellow-creatures. The magnitude of the offence
was much increased, when it was considered that the
prisoners, if they had acted as men and as Christians,
would have assisted in the preservation of the lives and
property of the individuals, whom they had thus basely
plundered. At the time that the offence was committed,
it was by the law a capital felony, hut a subsequent Act
of Parliament it was no longer punishable with death.
The Act, however, could not operate retrospectively.
and the sentence of death must be passed upon them.
He felt some degree of pleasure in stating, that there
were circumstances in the case of the prisoners of a fa-
vourable character, which would, in all probability,
operate in mitigation of the punishment which the law
awarded.

It appeared that they were not the leaders in the plun•
I der, but the followers of others who were more guilty.
If these had been taken, the law must have had its
course, but in the ease of the prisoners the favourable
circumstances he alluded to would be represented in the
proper quarter, and he had little doubt that their lies
would be spared. As, however, they had been convict.
ed, he must perform the duty, unpleasant as it was, of
passing the sentence of the law upon them, The Judge
then passed the sentence of death in the usual form, and
the prisoners were removed. The Sessions then ad.
journed.

Tuesday night a lady had her pocket picked in the
pit of Drury Lane theatre, in a remarkable man-
ner: her upper petticoat was cut through, and both
corners of her pocket cut off: She felt something
about her feet in the time of the performance, which
she took to be a dog, but, now supposes it to have
been a little boy under the bench, who cut her
pocket, and stole two half-crowns, three shillings, a
silver thimble, and other articles.
The last year was remarkable for numher of the
deaths of distinguished personages, particularly of
royal houses, but not so when compared with those
of the fifteen months between October, 1.558, and
January, 1560—in which period an Emperor, a
Pope, two Kings of France, a King of England, a
King of Portugal, a King of Denmark, a Dowager
Queen of Poland, a Queen of England, two Queens
of Hungary, the Doge and Patriarch of Venice, the
Duke of Perara, thirteen Cardinals, and many other
eminent personages paid the debt of nature.
On Wednesday evening, about eight o'clock, a
young man of rather genteel appearance, called at
the house of Mr. Wallace, No. 3, Sidmouth•street,
with a note signed Jane Clark, James-street, Co-
vent Garden, addressed Mrs. Spencer, and whilst
the servant was gone up stairs to deliver it, he
went off with three great coats which were hang-
ing up in the passage ; two of them were blue cloth
lined with silk, and hlack velvet collars ; the other
was blue cloth with collar of the same and lined
with sill:.

We are happy to learn, that with a view to the
relief of the hap planters, the Lord's of the Trea-
sury have taken into consideration the propriety of
granting a drawback of the duty upon the exami-
nation of hops to foreign countries, and that the
Board of Excise have been instructed to take into
their immediate consideration such regulations as
may be best adapted for the security of the revenue,
n the px-ment of the drawback.

We hate not, for many years past witnnsed such a
heave fall of ,note attended with boisterous winds, as
wit:tio the I.t,t two days at ‘Veymittli, on the sth inst.
to consetpiettee t I the depth Of snow la RVCCII this iONn
and the Bath and London roads.ottr two Cniati coacher,
the Wellington Aid JOila Bull, together with the Royal
Nlaii Coach, are detained here, the mail being dui-
'welted on horseback. The IVellingtoil coach, from
Bth, arrived lasi e%ening, being the fireatest part of the
day travelling front Revel's Inn, a distance of 26 miles.
The high road being impassable, :Mr. Toms was obliged
to take a circuitous route by thc way of Cerne, Nli-terne„
and bye places; driving the coach With six troves, and
tell men employe:l with ropes to guard againq its up-
setting. It Will full of passengers, and heavily laden
with luggage, and nothing but the greatest caution and
perseverance on the part of Mr. Toms prevented dan.
geroris consequences. The coach arrived here in safety,
to the great joy of the passengers. A 111111 and horse
were dispatched on Wednesday from Revel's Inn, to
warn the ccachman of the John 8011, of the b.ttl state
of the roads, and they have tint beets heard of slime its
retorti Iron) Dorchester the sante day. It is, Iliere:One,
much to be dreaded that both liar tte• rahetl ior tilt: snow.

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