The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-25 00:00:00

7HE ALLEGED BARBAROUS MURDER

ON BOARD SJIIP.

Yesterday morning Mr. H. Raffles Walthew, the
Deputy Coroner, resumed,at the Lord Hood Tavern,
Rich-street, Limehouse, the investigation into the
circumstances of the death of Wm. Curtis, aged 19,
the steward of the ship Martha Pope, who was
alleged to have died from extreme brutality.
The court was crowded.
Mr. Lewis, of Ely-place, appeared on behalf of
Capt. Randle Stone,
Mr. Lewis asked that Dr. Giles should be recalled
for cross-examination.

Dr. Giles said—Yesterday I attended a second
and most elaborate post mortem examination of the
body of the deceased, What I saw more than con-
firmed the views I have already given in evidence.
Dr. Edmunds, Dr. Bristow, and myself made that
examination. Deceased had a pleurisy of almost a
month's duration. I consider, that it was produced
by exposure. A man might, however, live for years
with the pleurisy.

By Mr. Lewis-I could not say how many bodies
I have examined. I should say about a hundred.
The ship's. rolling about when deceased was in his
berth could not have produced the bruises on the
arms or legs. He had no fever. Throwing himself
about in fever could n'ot have produced them.
Bruises and wounds could not come on a person
without violence. Sores might 'come, and turn into
wounds perhaps. There were six or eight of the
30 wounds on deceased produced probably by scurvy.
There may be marks as if from bruises produced na-
turally ; but not when on the anterior surface. The
emaciated state of the body would not tend to pro-
duce apparent bruises, but the reverse.
Louis Lau, a Prussian, said he was mate of the
Martha Pope. That vessel left Honduras at the
end of October. Deceased was employed by the
captain as steward, but he was useless in the cabin,
lazy, and dirty, and the captain sent him forward as
an ordinary seaman. The captain had been speak-
ing about inquests since the last day the Court sat.
Witness did not remember what he said. They did
not speak about this inquest. The captain did not
offer witness money.
The Coroner said that the captain had pledged
himself in the most distinct and solemn manner not
to speak to auy of the crew about the inquest.
Witness said that lie wtys not tolcl.what to say to
the jury. He was only with the captain during
one voyage. He saw deceased punished about three
weeks after leaving Honduras.
The log-book was put in, and under the date
December 13 was an_ entry that " Shortly after
leaving land, W. Curtis had complained of feverish-
ness and pains in the chest. He was treated, and
recovered so wonderfully that he made bets with
the crew to eat large quantities of biscuits."

Witness said these was no entry about deceased's
being punished.
The Coroner remarked that the entry of the 13th
Dec. was on an otherwise blank age, and was be-
fore the entries of Dec. 9, the first of which was
that Curtis was only shamming illness.
Witness could not explain that. The entry was
made by the captain. The entries on the 11th and
13th were about Curtis being very ill. That of
the 13th (different from the entry of the 13th
previously mentioned) said—" Curtis very ill,"
fire lit in his cabin ; no medicine, as believed to be
cold from exposure."
(The entries of 14th, 15th, and 16th December
were that deceased was still very ill, and getting
worse. On the 17th of December he died coming
up the river.)
Witness resumed, and said that deceased was
punished for not working at the pump. He was
struck with a whip thicker than a pen, perhaps as
thick as a lead-line. Could not say how many
stripes he had. Should say not ten. He was on
the main-deck. Witness did not see the captain
punish him in the cabin. He was punished after
that for not pumping. Witness did not see him
punished the third time. He had been without
clothes, but he was not stripped by the captain's
orders. Witness once saw deceased's clothes dry-
ing on the forecastle, and they were blown away.
The sailors gave him some others. He several times
said he was ill when it was time to turn out. He
was shamming. Witness saw he was ill a few days
before the ship arrived—perhaps four or five days.
WitnesE only saw the captain punish him twice.
Witness punished him with a rope's-end because he
would not come on deck, Witness struck him a
few days afterwards for coming on deck without
trousers. That was without the captain's orders ;
but the captain was on deck on the time. Witness
was not sure the captain saw it. Deceased had
wounds on him at that time. He had no scurvy
that witness knew. He was shamming illnes. The
crew told witness he could eat six biscuits. He had
a bad finger, and he said that he cut it with an axe.
He had a wound on the leg. The boatswain struck
him in witness's presence several times for not
working. He was very lazy.

A Juror said that the character of deceased in the
log-book was, " Very good for ability and conduct,"
and that the captain had declined to give the mate
a character.

Witness said he never saw the entry opposite his
own name before. There was a " V.G." opposite
his name.

A Juror said that those letters had been written
in since the words "Decline to say" were entered.
"Witness said that the " V.G." for deceased were
for deceased's good conduct and seamanship.
By Mr, Lewis—The captain was kind to deceased.
He placed deceased in his own cabin when ill. That
was four or five days before he died. The captain
personally attended on him, and took the blankets
off his own bed to make him warm. Deceased never
complained of any ill-usage by the captain. The
captain said he prepared nourishing food, and gave
it to the deceased in his cabin.
The Coroner said the examination was protracted
to such a length that he was compelled to adjourn,
as there were several other juries waiting.
The Jury said that already one of the crew had
gone to Australia, and the ends of justice would be
frustrated if some of the crew were not examined
forthwith. Dr. Edmunds was also in attendance.
Mr. Lewis said he should be obliged to examine
the witnesses rs to the voyage day by day.
After a discussion with reference to the advisi-
bility of giving the party, apparently implicated,
into custody,

John Hart, a seaman, was called, and said he saw

..~ ....

PRICE-
STAMPED .;..sd.

deceased struck by the captain twice with atfiece of
rattan, made of thong, no thicker than a pen.
(Laughter.) It was as thick as a log line. The mate
and the boatswain struck him. He used, to,come
on deck without his trousers. Ffe was not struck so
as to bn injured. NO one told witness ivhat'l4 Say.
Deceased was not really ill till four days 61:4';*elie
died. He used then to"be fed like u baby. Witness
never struck deceased after he was ill. (Laughter.)
He struck him in Belize. They had a fight, and
witness got the best of it. (A laugh.)
By the Jury—The captain struck witness and
others of the crew, The captain was very kind to
the crew. - He was kind, notwithstanding that
,he
struck the crew about, for the crew were struck
when they deserved it. (A laugh.)
The Coroner then adjourned the Court for the
reasons already. stated.
Some confusion here ensued in a part of the room,
and Mr. Lewis addressed the Coroner, and said that
Captain Stone would give large bail for his attend-
ance at the next sitting of-the Court:
The Coroner—You knowcwell, Mr. Lewis, I have
no power to accept that. .

It was stated that Captair Stone was given into
the custody of a police-sergeant present by the
brother of the deceased.

This, thought not expected, caused the greatest
excitement.

The captain was then removed in custody of
Sergeant Beadon.

THE MUNDIO.RD POACHING CASE.

(From the Bnry and Norwich Post.)

A large number of our readers will be glad to
learn that the decision of the magistrate in this case
is not excluded from further investigation. Mr.
Walpole, the attorney for the defendant Fuller,
having laid all the facts connected with the decision
before the Hon. Mr. Justice Wightman, his lord-
ship has issued his summons to the Hon. F. Baring,
and the Revs. A. Sutton and J. Allan Park, the
justices before whom the case came, to wait upon
him in chambers (Rolls-gardens, Chancery-lane)
on Tuesday, the 30th inst., to show cause why they
should not state and sign a case setting forth the
facts and grounds of their decision for the lipinion
of her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench. The in-
formant, James Newland, inspector of police, is also
summoned in connection with the case.
We say a large number of our readers will be
glad—not because they are friends of the poacher
or enemies of legitimate field sports, as a contem-
porary styles those who are opposed to the preSent
mode of dealing with infringers of the game laws,
but because they are friends to justice, and enemies
to the overstraining of the rigorous enactments for
the preservation of game. Parliament, even in its
eclectic state, refused to allow the guilty possession
of game to be a matter of inference, but a bench of
justices choose to disregard the decision of Parlia-
ment, and to convict in default of proof of inno-
cence. Lovers of justice and constitutional prin-
ciple will rejoice that that conviction is to come
under.the revision of the higher judicial authorities;
and we are greatly mistaken if the judgment of the
Queen's Bench do not set aside the judgment of the
Mundford Crown Bench, even though James Allan
Park was one of the justices. Nor will the matter
terminate here, for we shall be surprised if this and
a few other like judgments do not compel
the reconsideration of the enactment of last ses-
sion, and the placing of the whole game-
law on a more satisfactory footing. It is the
feeling of the harshness of these laws and
the notoriety of their infringement by game-pre-
servers themselves when it suits their convenience,
in the matter of live game and. eggs, which creates
a public feeling of pity for the poacher, .which in
truth he does not deserve. Thus Mr. Haward, from
one of whose letteii we last week titiotea,*iektes the
following story :

" A little tradesman in a country village was gain-
ing a livelihood for himself, and supporting his wife
and family by working at his business, and hiring
a meadow, on which he kept three cows, which his
wife milked and managed their produce. On an
evil day, the sth of February, he took a walk with
one of his children and a gun in his hand, and a
partridge rising before him, shot it. The partridge
ran into a fence, and he did not seek for it, bat left
it there. The crime was witnessed by a man near
by, an information laid against him before the
magistrates, and he was fined £5 and costs, which
were paid. Immediately afterwards he was sur-
charged £Bls. Bd., being double the duty then pay-
able for a game certificate, which he also paid. He
was now summoned before the Commissioners of
Assessed Taxes for sporting without a game certi-
ficate, and fined by them £lO. He did not imme-
diately pay this last fine, and his three cows were
seized and taken away from him. He redeemed
them by paying the fine and costs, and altogether
the shooting this one partridge, which he did not
pick up, cost him £3O, and made an inveterate
poacher. He attributed these convictions to a cer-
tain great man who was a great game preserver, and
said be would have his money out of his game, and
he was for many years a sad marauder upon the
vast herds of game which the gentleman above al-
luded to was and is now in the habit of preserving."
" The simple question ia" not, as our contempo-
rary affirms, " shall game exist ?" but the question
is, how can its preservation within moderate limits
be best reconciled with the claims of occupiers and
consumers, and with the moral welfare of the com-
munity.

LIFEBOA7 I. N STI7 UTIONS DURING lIIE

PRESENT YEAR.

The following is an extract from the quarterly
report of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution :
" During the past year (1862) 316 lives have
been directly rescued by lifeboats of the National
Lifeboat Institution from a watery grave, an t 21
vessels have been safely brought into port through
the instrumentality of the lifeboats. The lifeboats
went off 43 times in reply to signals of distress
from ships in danger, but which in the meantime
had either escaped it or had had their crews saved
by other means. The lifeboats' crews had also as-
sembled on nine occasions in stormy weather for
emergencies expected to arise.

" We feel assured that no one can peruse these
accounts without expressing a satisfaction which
can better be felt than expressed. Let any one
think of the feelings of these 316 persons thus
snatched, during stormy weather, from an appa-
rently inevitable death by the lifeboats of the in-
stitution. Although such services can only be pro-
perly appreciated by the persons themselves on
whom such important benefit has been conferred in
their hour of distress, yet they are always keenly
and gratefully acknowledged by the wives and
children or parents of the men saved, who would
otherwise have become widows, orphans, or child-
less.

"The acknowledgments of the National Lifeboat
Institution are, of course, mainly due to those who
have contributed to this amount of human happi-
ness, by manning the left boats, or by subscribing
towards their establishment and support.
"Rewards amounting to £730 ls. id. have been
voted by the institution to the crews of the life-
boats for their laudable services during the past
year.
" We also refer with great pleasure to the accounts
of the service rendered by shore boats, and other
means, in saving life from wrecks on OUT shores
during the preceding year.
" Some of these services have been of the noblest
character, for it should be borne in mind that men
engaged during gales of wind in this dangerous
work undergo greater risk in open boats than
is usually incurred in life boats, which are well
adapted for the important work which they have
to perform, and which an fully equipped, includ-
ing excellent life-belts for their crews.

~ Although fully acknowledging the valuable

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