The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-13 00:00:00

.EXTRAORDINARY CONDUC7 OF A
MERCHANT CAP7AIN.

On Tuesday t' ere was a sitting of the Bristol Local
Marine Board, at their offices in Prince's-street, to investi-
gate a singular charge against a merchant captain, a few
particulars of which we have already placed before our
readers. The members of the committee present were Mr.
R. P. King, in the chair, Mr. Whitwill, Mr. Lucas, and Mr.
R. Rowe. Mr. H. Britten acted as legal assistant. The
charge was preferred by Messrs. T. Beynon and Co., of
Newport, against Captain Henry Mathias, and was to the
effect that he, being the master of the barque Usk, of New-
port, on an intended voyage from Newport to Caldera, in
the Brazils, was, when the vessel had arrived off Cape Horn,
guilty of a gross act of misconduct, in having, without
proper or sufficient cause or reason, neglected or omitted
further to proceed on the said voyage, and navigated the
vessel back to Newport. _ _

Captain Mathias promised to deliver up his certificate to
abide the result of the inquiry, which was then proceeded
with. He had no legal assistance, and said he wanted
none, but would conduct his own case. When asked, after
hearing the evidence against him, if he desired time to pre-
pare his defence, he replied in the negative, and expressed
his desire to enter upon it at once. He conducted his
defence and delivered his address in a cool and intelligent
manner.

The case having been proved, the captain proceeded to
address the committee on his own behalf. He spoke of the
heavy weather that prevailed, and of the confidence and
comfort he felt, nevertheless, up to a certain time. He then
went on to say that he had been a professor of religion for
17 years, and made it a practice about ten in the morning to
read a chapter and then to enter his service to his Creator.
After that had passed one day he felt a pressure on his
mind that he had not ever before f* and he asked himself
what this could mean, for he had generally felt light and
comfortable under all circumstances in life—in fact there
had only been one or two peculiar circumstances in his life,
though he had been at sea for 32 years. He repeated that
he began to inquire what was the meaning of this pressure,
and he thought he would go and make a point of prayer of
it, and be did so, when ho found that a small still voice spoke
within to return to Newport with the ship, but he strove
within him most firmly against it. The more he strove,
however, the worse it resisted him, and he found the, power
to be so strong that it was irresistible. He remained in
that state. He did not make known the state of his mind
to a soul in the ship. No one in that ship knew his mind or
feelings or anything concerning him, but if the truth were
properly spoken by each individual on board that ship that
power must be known by every person. He remained until
the afternoon and began to consider " What did it mean ?"
for the same still voice spoke audibly and distinctly within
him, "Excepting I would give up my purpose that He
would break me without remedy." Visions he saw none ;
he saw no bodily shape. He saw nothing but his own
feelings, the same as any other Christian man would
see. As he had told Captain Beynon, so he (Captain
Mathias) would now tell the board, that with regard
to returning home he said within himself " Well, 1 should
like to have a sign to know for certain that I may
not be deceived in my own heart, and deceive my own
self in the presence of my Creator," and that voice
.poke to him again, and told him " That the glass should
rise immediately if I would do, and be obedient to the
command given to me." He (Captain Mathias) implored
the Divine compassion to allow him to remain till the Sun.
day morning daylight, as the storm was terrifio, and he
held that the vessel would suffer less lying in a tropical
sea than running before such a storm—it was terrific.
He could not sleep or rest, and no doubt the mate and the
men in the cabin must have known that there was
something in the expression of his countenance that
was never seen there before. As it required so much
to change that will of his (the captain's), "which was
so deter:nined to accomplish that voyage, that he had
on two occasions commenced, he would leave them to
judge what it must be to change the wills and 'minds of
men. Eight days he suffered, and on the day he felt
more easy. He turned the ship at his Ztwn private will. No
other person had any conneotin or anything to do with the
ship, and he had not mPfkeknown his desire or anything of
the kind. He 110.' told the niae he might take the respon-
sibility ef..qte ship, but he had never applied or aimed to
tea the ship from him ; neither the mate nor the men, nor
anyone in the ship, aftor he gave the order to square the
yards and alter the vessel's course, disobeyed his orders.
Everything had been carried out according to the orders he
had given ; there was a very favourable wind, and he de-
tected the hand of Providence in the voyage home. He had
foretold the time when his ship would be in dock, though he
did not know that there would he a pilot, and the weather
was bad. Yet everything came as he had foretold. He be-
lieved the men and officers saw everything transacted in a
manner they could not account for, but he could see it and
under. tood it. Ho had given his evidence from first to hest
as he had given it to Mr. Beynon. He (Captain Mathias)
was desirous of impressing on the gentlemen not to think
he had seen any form in a bodily shape, or any vision, or
anything of the kind. Let that be banished. He had
known nothing but a Christian experimental feeling. That
still small voice had spoken to him audibly, Ile had had
the hand of God pressing him sorely previous to the voice
speaking to him.