The Sun.
London, England, 1837-09-15 00:00:00

LAMBETH-STREET.

Yesterday Mr. J. Braithwaite, the engineer to the Eas-
tern Counties Railway Company, appeared before Messrs.
HARDWICK and COMBES, on a warrant, charging him with
violently horse-whipping Mr. Lees, a surveyor and agent to
Mr. Manby, a gentleman residing at Stratford.
After Counsel had been heard on both sides,
Mr. HARDWICK observed that they, the Magistrates,
had heard quite enough of the case to satisfy them as to the
decision they would give, and which would be quite distinct
from the question of legal right. Mr. Lees had certainly,
from his own showing,', assumed the right—the point at is-
sue----by stopping the horse of Mr. Braithwaite ; and the
question was, whether his doing so was sufficient to justify
such violence as that sworn to. In his (Mr. Hardwick's)
opinion it was not ; yet, at the same time, they could
not shut their eyes to the fact, that the seizing the
bridle of the horse was assuming a right, and if the defen-
dant had only done that which was merely necessary to get
rid of such an obstacle, they might consider it a justifica-
tion. The question, therefore, was the excess of punish-
ment, and to persons in the station of life as the parties
in the case the infliction of even the highest penalty they
(the Magistrates) could inflict (W.) would be a mere
mockery to anything like justice. They would not, there-
fore, decide the matter in that way, but would call on the
defendant to find bail to keep the peace towards the com-
plainant—a course which would not preclude the parties
from any other proceedings they might think proper, but
was merely for the preservation of the peace.
Mr. COMBES perfectly concurred in all that dropped from
his brother Magistrate, and begged that it might be dis-
tinctly understood that they did not offer any opinion what-
ever as to the right of road or the question of property ; all
they had to do with was the preservation of the public peace.
Mr. Braithwaite entered into the required sureties ; but
before the parties left the office Mr. Bodkin observed that,
notwithstanding what had taken place on that day, the com-
pany would continue to retain the use of the new road, and
uphold it by force if necessary.
Mr. Lees, on the contrary, declared that they should not
)aye it ; so that the matter Is not likely to terminate here.

THE CREW of the STIRLING CASTLE

AND THE SAVAGgB

ftfllewing account, which was a few days ego re-
ceived by the family bf Lieutenant Otter, who is officially
employed at Moreton Bay, and tratigttlit!cd by the Lieute-
nant's cousin to the Lord Mayor yesterday, iti!l be read
with much interest by all who have perused the extratifdiz
nary adventures of the crew of the Stirling Castle amongst
OaVagcs t-

" Moreton Bay, Sept., 183 G.
" I got a week's leave of absence to go down to the bay
for the Piirpose of amusing myself with catching tertle.
The wind proVed feveurnble fur the sport, when we had got
t• the pilot's station ; and effer remaining a few days there
I thought I would take a day's shoseiess at a place called
braisilYe 'eland, which is situated on the north side of the
bay. I accorilintfey i7eeeeeded to that place, and whilst
out with my gun, fell in with the, men, whom I took to be
natives. When they came up, howeeee, they addressed me
to ray esteniehment, in English, and told rue dig they were
part-of the crew of a eissel called the Stirling Castle, sehieh
had sailed from Sydney to risineapore about three mouths
preeieesly, and had been wrecked on 000 fthe Bornean reefs
near the entrai:ec of Torres Straits. The whole of the crew,
with the captain (Fraser') hie wife, and two mates, bad 54-it
away frorn'the wreck after a fortnight's dreadful suffering.
One of the boats in which were the above-mentioned per-
sons and some sailors, eleven in all, had been forced to
beach a little below Sandy Cape, about 200 miles to the
northward of this. The other boat had parted from them
a few days before, and they saw no more of it. They went
on to say that soon after their landing the natives came
down and took away everything from them that they had
saved, stripped them all perfectly naked, forced them to
fetch wood and water, and treated them with the most savage
cruelty. They themselves, with another who had been
obliged from weakness to stop about 25 miles behind, had
managed to get aerate to the main-land, for they had run
the boat ashore on an island. After travelling for six
weeks along the coast, in which journey they suffered un-
consmon hardships from the cruelty of the different tribes
they fell in with, they most providentially arrived at
I3raisby's Island just in time to meet with me. They had
crossed the narrow channel which separates this island from
the main-land the day before I arrived, and as I was to
leave it the next morning, it would have been long before
they would have been seen or heard of, as the island is
hardly ever visited, and they did not know themselves
where they were or how far from the settlement. I im-
mediately despatched two men after the unfortunate father,
who had been left behind, and he was brought to me
naked, and black as the two others. After that I
started for the settlement (Moreton Bay). On reporting
the circumstance to the Commandant, Captain Fyars, two
whale-boats were got ready, and being provisioned for three
weeks, the command of the squadron was given to me, for
the purpose of endeavouring to rescue the remainder of the
crew, particularly the unfortunately lady, who was treated
with as much cruelty as any of the rest, the savages
having no regard for the beau Jew. We were provided
with soups, wine, clothes, &c., for the men ; and I was
furnished by two of the ladies of the settlement with fe-
male attire for Mrs. Frazer. A prisoner accompanied me
as an interpreter, and proved of the greatest service, as he
had previously been a run-away, and had resided nearly six
years amongst the natives, with whose language he was well
acquainted.
" We lost no time in getting out to sea, and in two days
after leaving the pilot station we put into a river, about
seventy miles to the northward, as we expected intelligence
from some of the natives. After some trouble Graham,
our interpreter, heard of two white men being in the native
camp, and by promising hatchets to the savages, he induced
them to bring the white men in. The poor fellows were
wild with joy at seeing us, and could hardly believe their
senses, as they never expected to be liberated. They told
us that the captain and first mate had sunk under their suf-
ferings ; that Mrs. Frazer was alive when they last saw
her at a place about forty miles off, but undergoing every
hardship and that two of the crew were drowned in en-
deavouring to swim the channel. I now sent one boat round
the next point, about forty or fifty miles distant, whilst I
started off on foot with three others, armed only with pis-
tols, for fear of alarming the blacks, who are much afraid of
a gun. When we had proceeded about six miles, the
treacherous wretches attacked us with clubs, and forced
us back to the boats, as we were hardly able to keep them
off with our pistols, which they had but little fear of. We
were obliged to fire at them several times in our own de-
fence, although much against my will, as I was afraid of
their retaliating upon the unhappy people in their power.
We now embarked and followed the former boat round the
aforesaid point into a wide bay which we reached before
night. About two days afterwards we got the second
mate, and such a miserable skeleton I never beheld, quite
black and naked. The account of his sufferings was hor-
rible, as he had been tortured in a variety of ways, be-
cause he was too weak to drag the heavy logs of fire-wood
in obedience to the wishes of the savages. We learnt to our
mortification that Mrs. Frazer, who had been some time
alone among the savages, had only a few days before passed
the very spot where we were, but that she had been car-
ried off by a large party of blacks who were going to fight
another tribe about some forty miles distant, and Graham
told me ha knew the very spot where she was. I sent him
eff directly to the place, he having previously stripped him-
self, the only way of escaping ill usage from these brutes,
and I followed the next morning along the beach to sup-
port him if it should be requisite, accompanied by three
men, well armed with muskets this time.
After we had gone about thirty miles we came to a
mark in the sand, the signal agreed upon for us to stop, and
wait for him. We had not been there half an hour when
he appeared, with four natives, on the top of the cliff above
us. When he came down the hill the blacks, on seeing us
armed, attempted to run away, but he persuaded them by
promises of hatchets to turn back. I went up to meet him,
and you may conceive my joy and satisfaction when he told
me Mrs. Frazer was waiting on the top of the hill until I
sent her a cloak. I immediately gave him a cloak and pet-
ticoat, and shortly afterwards she appeared. You never saw
such an object. Although only thirty-eight years of age
she looked like an old woman of seventy, perfectly black,
and dreadfully crippled from the sufferings she had under-
gone. I went to meet her, and she caught my hand, burst
into tears, and sunk down quite exhausted. She was a mere
skeleton, the skin literally hanging upon her bones, whilst
her legs were a mass of sores, where the savages had tor-
tured her with firebrands. Notwithstanding her miserable
plight, it was absolutely necessary for us to start homeward,
though she had already come nine or ten miles, as there were
about 300 natives in the camp, who Graham said would
most likely attack us in the night, for many of them had
been unwilling to give her up. He had fortunately met
with one of his former friends, a kind of chief, through
whose influence lie had succeeded. So treacherous are the
natives, that it is impossible to trust them for a moment.
" After having given the poor woman some port wine,
which I had brought with roe in a flask, and sonic tea,
I which she thought was nectar from Heaven, she insisted
upon immediately setting out, though we had nearly thin,-
miles to walk. On the road she gave me a dismal account
of her hardships and privations, interrupting herself with
bursts of gratitude which it was painful to listen to. The
husband had been speared before her face about a month
back, and had gradually pined until his death, totally ne-
glected. Any attempt of her's to approach him was followed
by blows on the head. W hen he died they dragged the
body away by the heels, and buried it in the sand. The
unfortunate first mate suffered still more. They burnt his
legs with firebrands to such a degree, that, on his crawling
into the water, the flesh all dropped off from the hones,
which were laid bare up to the knees, and in this state he
lay helpless, and was starved to death. On one occasion,
when he attempted to take him a few cockles, they knocked
her down with a club, and dragged her through a pond by
the arms and legs,

When we met her she had been two days without
food, and had subsisted the most part of the time on, a
kind of fern root, which is found in the swamps. Now
and then she would get the tail or fin of a fish, when
the savages had a superabundance. This she was
obliged to earn by dragging heavy logs of wood, and
fetching water, and she was not allowed to enter their huts ;
but, destitute of all covering as she was, she was obliged
to lie out the whole night, even in the heaviest rains.
This is but a slight sketch of what she went through. A
detailed account would fill a quire of paper. When we
had got about half way to our boats, we were obliged to
carry her in turns. We did not arrive until the next
morning, when, after taking some rest, she begged I would
send her sonic hot water to her tent, as she was anxious
to restore her face and person to their natural colour. J
suspect she found it no easy task, as, besides her exposure
to the snow and wind, the natives, in order to bring her
as near as possible to their own complexion, had rubbed
her every day with charcoal and hit. Our only anxiety
was to get away, as we had accomplished our errand, and
the blacks were keeping us constantly on the watch. We
were detained by contrary winds for four days, during which
one of our men had a spear sent through. his thigh. At
length we had a fair breeze, and reached the settlement in
two days and a night.
.. Since our arrival Mrs. Frazer has been suffering very
much from the effects of her hardships, which showed them-
selves in pains in her limbs and joints. She is now com-
ing fast round, and I dare say will be soon quite well."

Typhus fever of a very violent character is now
raging to an alarming extent in the parish of Bethnal-
green and its neighbourhood. The parish authorities have
acted in a very humane and judicious manner, by affording
medical and other relief to sufferers at their own homes, or
sending them to the Fever Hospital, by which means the
devastating malady has been kept out of the workhoUse.