The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-02 00:00:00

Prosecution under the Foreign Enlistment

Act.

Yesterday afternoon, at the Bow-street police.
court, .Tohn Seymour, of 32, Weliclose-square,
Whitechapel, was placed at the bar before Mr
Henry, to answer the charge of having unlawfully
attempted to hire one Robert Sadd and others to
serve by sea "in the employment of certain persons
assuming to exercise the powers of Government in
a foreign country."

The prisoner, who appeared to be about 45 years
of ege, was described in the charge-sheet as a
boarding-house keeper, and a native of Cephalonia
in Greece.

He was defended by Mr G. Lewis, sen., of Ely
place.

Mr Gifford, instructed by Mr Pollard of the Trea-
sury, conducted the prosecution, a.O stated that the
facts of the case had been taken so carefully and
minutely by Mr Burnaby, the chief clerk, that he
thought it would be sufficient to request that the
depositions of the ♦arious witnesses might be for-
mally read over.

Mr Giffard stated that the warrant against the
prisoner had been obtained by direction of the
Crown under the 59th Geo. 111., chap. 69, an act
which was passed for the purpose of preventing the
enlistment of men or the fitting out of vessels in
the service of a foreign country without the licence
of the Crown. It appeared from the evidence which
he was about to lay before the Court that there was
a vessel now lying in Calais harbour, called the
Rappahannock, for the purpose of collecting men to
serve under the flag of the Confederate States of
America, and the charge against the prisoner was
that he had been engaged in hiring several persons
to assist in warlike operations against a country
with which we were on peaceful relations. He had,
in fact, bargained with a number of men to go on
board the Rappahannock on certain terms and for
a certain period of service, in express atfiance of
the law of this country, with which ho must
have been to some event acquainted. It had been
always held to be a punishable offence to engage
recruits for foreign service, and •thus to embroil us
probably with nations with which we were at
peace; but, in order that the matter might be ren-
dered more imperative upon us, the Act of George
111. was passed to make the offence a penal one.
Now, it was quite clear that the prisoner knew he
was performing an illegal act, because his move.
merits were conducted in secrecy, and he had Lhown
a constant disposition to avoid the observations
especially of the officers of justice in all his trans-
actions with the witnesses. It would be very diffi-
cult, therefore, to resist the conclusion that he had
been duly cautioned and informed of the probable
results if his operations became known. At any
rate, it was desirable that the illegality of the pri-
soner's proceedings should be well understood ;
and, if the facts he had stated were proved in evi•
deuce, he should ask the magistrate to commit the
prisoner for trial.

The depositions of the witnesses were then read,
as follows

Robert Sidd, examined—l live at 16, Baker's-
row, West Ham, Essex, when I am on shore. I
am a fireman, at present on board the East Anglian
steamer, trading between Liverpool and London.
Oa the 7th of April last I saw a man (the prisoner
at the bar) at his house in Wellclose-square. I
asked him if he wanted a fireman. He said he bad
got too many, and asked me to call the next day. I
went again the next morning (April 8), and he was
there. He said he was just going out, and asked
me to call at three o'clock. 1 returned to him at
three, and then he asked me if I had got a new
dit.charge, as be wanted me. I replied "Yes," and
I gave a new one and an old one also. He
told me that he was going to take them to an
office in the city, but he did not say where. He
said he would return them to me at five o'clock.
I went back to bim at 5, and he gave me the die-
charges, and said he wanted me to join a ship at
Calais as fireman. I asked him what my wages
were to be. He replied 4s a day and my victuals
while the ship lay in dock, and when she sailed I
was to have £5 16s a montfi and £lO bounty, and a
day's liberty after being three days aboard. The
bounty money and wages were to be paid by a check
upon a Liverpool bank, so that I might send it home
to my friends. 1 asked him how I was to get to
Calais. He said, " My man will lend you the money,
and I will pay him again, for I must not be seen in
the job." I was to meet him at his house on Satur-
day morning, the 9,h of April. I went there at
half-past ono o'clock after midnight, and I saw a
friend of mine, and from what he said to me I re-
fused to go to Calais. I saw all the three witnesses
now present—Connell, Smith, and Gr.ce—at the
prisoner's house two or three times. Th:y are all
firemen.

Edward Smith, examined—l am a fireman, and
live at 21, King-street, Rotherhithe. I am on board
a steam vessel when lam in employment. I went
to the prisoner's house on the 7th of April last. The
prisoner is a boarding-house keeper, and he ships
men for vessels going abroad. He asked me if I
would go to Calais to work on board the Rappahan-
nook for 4s a day and my board and lodging. I
said I would. Connell, Grace, and many others were
there. He asked them all for their discharges, and
they were given to him. He selected six from among
them, and mine was one of them. He told us to
meet him at his house at a quarter before 6 o'clock,
to go to London-bridge, and take the train for Dover,
and thence proceed by boat to Calais. The next
moraing I accordingly went to his house, and met
the 5 men there, and we all proceeded to London-
bridge station together. The prisoner said he had not
got enough money to pay for us all down, it being
an express train ; but he had enough to
pay for four
of us, and he wanted the other two to go by the boat.
We refused to be separated, and then he desired es
to wait till the 9 o'clock train next morning. We
went to the station as again proposed, and Sey-
mour's man met us in a cart and drove us all to the
prisoner's house. We saw him, and it was arranged
for us all to go by the Hanover steamer from Lon-
don-bridge at 12 o'clock at night. He produced a
written agreement to go to Calais and work on board
the Rappahannock at 4s. a day, with board and
lodging, and all expenses to be paid. We all signed
the agreement, and at night we sailed for Calais,
arriving there at half-past 1 O'clock the following
afternoon. On getting there we found a steam ves-
sel called the Rappahannock in the harbour, with,
the Confederate flag. I met am, of the officers of
that ship, and he asked who had sent Me there. I
told him John Seymour (the prisoner). He asked
me what grounds I came upon. I told him I came
to work on board the Rappahannock at 49. per day
and my board, &e. He said he knew nothing about
4s. a day, and he desired me to go on board and see
the first lieutenant. I went on board and saw that
officer, and he asked me similar questions, and I
gave the same ans were, but he would not have any-
thing to do with us, more than to sign on board the
ship for three years at £5 16s. a month, and £lO
bounty. I refused to join on these terms, and, after
being there till Monday, my passage was paid back
to London by the first-lieutenant. When I returned
to London I called several times at the prisoner's
honse, but was unable to see him, till the expiration
of eight or nine days, when I asked for the discharge
I had left with him before going to leis. He said
he had not got it. I asked him who was to pay for
my lost time. He said I must see him at 12 o'clock
the next day, and in the meantime be would see a
gentleman in the city about it. I asked him why
he had not told me that the Rappahan-
nock was a privateer at first. He laughed, and
said I was a fool that I did not join her, as I should
have had £lO bounty, The day after I went again,
and he paid me 15s. for my loss of time.
James Grace corroborated the evidence of the
two preceding witnesses. The prisoner had also
called him a fool for not joining the Rappahannock,
as he would have had the £lO bounty and prize
money besides.• '

James Connell, another fireman, gave precisely
similar evidence, and Inspector Clarke, of the
Thames police, deposed to apprehending prisoner.
Mr, Giffard said the case for the proseention was
now cicsnd.

Mr. Lewis presumed that his worship, whatever
might fall frcm him, had made up his mind to send
the case before another tribunal, and if ea, he should
prefer to reserve the prisoner's defence.
Mr, Henry—lt is my present intention to send