The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-29 00:00:00

THE CAPTURE OF THE SAXON.

Among the many cases of seizure or detention of
British vessels by Federal cruisers, on suspicion of
being engaged in the contraband trade to the ports
of the Southern Confederacy, the capture of the
Saxon has excited an unusual degree of feeling, in
consequence of the murder of the mate of that ship
by one of the American officers. The correspond-
ence relating to this case has, therefore, been pub
lished separately and laid before Parliament. It
extends from the 22d of December last to the 25th
of February, and from the official letters and depo-
sitions of witnesses a full account of a very melan-
choly incident of the blockade may be collected.
The Saxon was a colonial vessel, owned by
Messrs. Anderson and Co., of Cape Town. She had
been employed in conveying cattle from the West
Coast of Africa to Ascension, and on the 30th of
October was at Angra Pequina taking in a cargo of
wool. On that day the Federal war steamer Van-
derbilt arrived at Pt quine, and immediately sent a
brief's crew on board the Saxon and took possession
of her, alleging that the wool she was shipping had
been previously part of the freight of the Tusce-
louse, one of the prizes made by the Southern
cruiser, the Alabama. Thecrew of the Saxon were
forwarded to Cape Town, and the vessel itself sent
to New York. It appears from the deposition
of the master of the Saxon, Captain Sheppard, that
he had finished loading his cargo of skins and
wool on the 30th of October, and was getting ready
to put to sea when the Vanderbilt rounded Angra
Point, and having anchored off Penguin Island sent
an armed boat's crew and two officers on board the
Saxon. The mister, after a few questions had
been asked him, was ordered to produce his papers,
which with some reluctance he gave up. The officer
said ho must take the papers to Captain Baldwin,
the Commander of the Vanderbilt, and would leave
orders for a signal to be made to the steamer in
cise the Saxon should attempt to put to sea. Cap-
tain Sheppard told him that " papers or no papers,"
he would sail and carry with him any one left on
board. The officer replied "he had better try it, the
steamer could go faster than he could." No attempt
of the kind was made, and at the moment the Van-
derbilt's boat pushed off a second boat from the
steamer was approaching the Saxon, with another
officer and crew. They boarded the vessel, stationed
armed men all round her, and drove the Saxon's.
crew below. Some altercation took place between
Capt. Sheppard and the officer in charge, terminat-
ing in a threat to shoot the master of the Saxon if
he did not go down quietly. He was finally taken
below, and a sentry placed over him. In about 10
minutes afterwards he heard the report of a pistol,
and rushing on deck again saw the mate, James
Gray, lying dead. He raised the body in his arms,
and asked the officer in charge why he had shot the
man He replied, " Poor fellow, lam sorry for him,
but I must obey orders." Other witnesses state that
the officer said," He must," not " I must." On this
point the evidence is conflicting. The name of the
officer is also differently given in depositions, as
Donogboe and Doneghan. After the fatal occur-
rence the Saxon was anchored abreast of Penguin
Island, and Capt. Baldwin, of the Vanderbilt, in-
formed the master that his papers were not satisfac-
tory ; he was sure that his cargo had been landed
by the Confederates and was American property.
He therefore made a prize of the Saxon, put a crew
on board her, and sent her to New York.
The deposition of Horace Carrew, a sailor, who
saw the shot fired, will be repeated viva voce
at the trial of the case in Boston, the witness
having been despatched to America to give his
evidence. He states that when the mate, Gray,
heard that his master had been ordered below, he
went aft to speak to him. As Gray was going up a
short ladder of three steps, leading from the deck
to the poop, the officer, Doneghan, was standing on
the poop, above him, and ordered him to " go
down." Gray looked up, as if not understanding
what was meant, and the order was repeated, " Go
down, or I'll shoot you." But, the witness states,
"he didn't give the mate time to go down or
do anything; he spoke so quick it was all done in
a moment; there was no attempt to resist or go on ;
there wasn't time. He put his left hand on Gray
and pushed him. Mr. Gray fell back, wheeling
round to save himself as he fell ; and, turning his
face towards Doneghan, who lifted his revolver and
shot him, and the poor man fell back dead, and
never moved an eye. The bullet had entered above,
and a little behind, the left ear, and went down-
ward ; he lay right on his back." The rest of the
deposition does not bear directly on the death of
Gray, but Earl Russell, in transmitting it to Lord
Lyons, observes that Carrew's statement, " in the
opinion of the law officers of the Crown, has on the
face of it evident signs of truthfulness, and thows
more light on this unhappy transaction than any of
the statements previously in the possession of her
Majesty's Government," Lord Lyons has been in.
structed to express to the Government of the United
States the opinion of her Majesty's Government,
-' that, if the facts deposed to are true, the officer
who killed the mate of the Saxon has been guilty
of wilful murder, and should be brought to trial
without delay." Lord Lyons has been further in-
structed to apply to the Federal Government for a
pecuniary compensation to the widow of Mr. Gray,
and to express the confidence of her Majesty's
Government that full compensation will also he
made for the loss the owners have sustained by the
seizure of the vessel.