The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-04 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HOUSE.—In consequence of a represen-
tation made to the Lord Mayor by the secretary to the
Hudson's Bay Company, that a native of the Sandwich
Isles, who had been engaged, together with fourteen
others, inhabitants of Honolulu, to navigate the ship
called the Pekin home to England, had been killed on the
passage, an inquiry was actively instituted. Mr. May-
nard, of the firm of Crowder and Maynard, appeared to
take part in the investigation, and Mr. Mullen, of the
firm of Bush and Mullens, attended for Thomas Golden
Valle, mate of the vessel, the person charged upon suspi-
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had been during a considerable period a missionary at
those islands, the statements made by the natives who
witnessed the transaction on board were laid before the
Lord Mayor, who was during the day occupied exclusively
in examining the witnesses.
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the foundation of an application for a warrant against
the mate, in order that they might be used as evidence
to sanction the remand of the accused. The following is
the substance of the testimony, which was given without
the slightest hesitation by the black crew.
Each of the islanders, upon being questioned by the
Lord Mayor as to his knowledge of the nature of an
oath, said, "A man who tells a lie will have nothing
but pain hereafter (pointing to the fire.) The spirit of a
good man will leave his body and go to heaven. The
truth is always told when the heart is warm (purely
directed.) God is Jehovah in heaven. The body dies
—goes to dust. The soul lives after death. It never
dies. The oath I take is like a prayer calling upon God
to look and see that what I say is true."
Tom, a native of the Sandwich Island Oahu, said—l
was on board the Pekin as a sailor. There were fifteen
of us natives on board. I know the man named Doyle.
He was one of our number, and I recollect his dying on
board. I saw the mate (Mr. Vaile) hit him on the
back of the neck. The blow was struck about eleven
o'clock in the day. Doyle did not die at that time. He
died at four grogs (four o'clock) in the night after.
Doyle was down on the deck, but was going up
into the rigging. I was up in the rigging at the time.
The mate struck him four times, and Doyle fell down. He
lay down on the deck, and I did not hear him speak after
-that. I never heard him ask for some water after that.
He died at four o'clock, down below. None of the
natives beat Doyle. The mate beat him with big wood
(a large piece of firewood), about the size of my arm. I
was in the middle rigging, and Doyle was behind me.
He was a little way up, and the mate was on the deck,
and went up after him and struck him, and Doyle fell
down on the deck, and then the mate struck him again,
and Doyle never spoke afterwards.
Joe, a native of Oahu, said—l knew Doyle. I think
his name was Macaulie. I recollect his dying in the
ship. I have not seen anybody do anything to him be-
fore he died, except the mate, who beat him. I was in
the maintopsail. I was down on deck. The mate beat
him with a stick, or wood, or rope, or something or
other across the back of the neck. He beat him once,
then Doyle fell, and was going to get up, but could not
rise. He fell down, and was like sleep, and he lay down.
That's all. I did not hear him speak. No one else beat
him. He was taken forward. He had nothing to eat
after that. I spoke to him, but he could not speak. I
helped to carry him down, and he did so [here the wit-
ness turned up his eyes and drew his breath in imitation of
a person in the last agonies]. The mate was Mr. "Wale!'
Doyle was not sick before, He was black in the neck
and eye—one eye when I sewed him up. He was also
black on the side. The mate struck him two or three
times after the first time, and he could not get up again,
and I think he died from that. I was in the maintop.
Doyle was ordered to go up, but he had a large foot and
could not, and that was the cause of the mate's striking
him. The mate struck him on the ribs as well as the
neck, and struck him on the eye too, and made that bad.
I told the captain in the morning the man was dead, and
the captain told me to sew the dead man up. We all
went to tell the captain.
The forlov,ing are the statements made by the captain
and second mate of the vessel :
Capt. George Whitby said—l was master of the ship
Pekin, which belongs to Messrs. Smith, of London and
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on a voyage from Columbia River,
Oregon Territory, to Honolulu, in the Sandwich Isles, and
from thence to England. We left Columbia River on the
26th of July, 1852, and arrived at Honolulu at the end of
August. I had at that time only three able seamen in ad-
dition to myself, two officers, and three apprentices, to na-
vigate the ship. As I could not find any Europeans there
whom I could engage to assist in navigating the vessel,
I engaged at Honoluhu l 5 natives to helpme in so doing.
We left Honoluhu on the 2d of September, and on the
25th or 26th December one of the men, whom we nick-
named Doyle, died suddenly on board whilst we were
about a day's sail from the Western Islands. About
eight o'clock on the morning, the chief mate, Thomas
Golden Vaile, came to, the door of the cuddy, and said
that Doyle was dead, and that the cook had told him so.
The weather at that time was so boisterous that I had
not an opportunity of examining the body until two
o'clock in the afternoon, but I then found no appear-
ances indicating that any violence had been committed,
nor was I aware, nor am I now aware, of any violence
having been committed upon him. On the day before
the death all hands were ordered aloft to reef the main-
topsail, and the deceased was the last to go up. He
had gone about half way up the rigging, but could not
go up higher. I believe lie was then in proper
health. The chief mate, seeing that he would not
go up, went up to him, and told him to go up, and
he refused. The mate then took a rope and tied
if round his body once, and tied him to the rigging for
about one minute. I ordered the mate to let the man
come down, as it was no use to punish him. No persona
violence was used by the mate beyond the tying the mar
round the body. I saw Doyle afterwards during the day.
He made no complaint, but he asked for a little water,
which was not given to him. He did not appear ill.
There had been a great deal of quarreling between the
deceased and the other natives during the voyage. The
other natives had refused to allow him to go into the
forecastle off Cape Horn. I saw no difference in the
state of Doyle's health after he came down from the
rigging. When he come down he lay upon the deck,
and the mate ordered hire to be carried below, but the
other natives carried him under the forecastle, and did
not take him below. I afterwards ordered him to be
taken down below, and he was accordingly carried down.
I did not see him again till he was dead. It was so
much the custom of the natives to lie about the deck that
I did not consider his doing so anything unusual.
Francis Saarsfield Comyn, second mate on board the
Pekin, said I remember the death of the native named
Doyle. I was not aware of his having been ill or sick,
nor did I hear him complain of sickness. I did not see
the mate strike Doyle the day before the man died. I
saw him going to strike him with a piece of old lead line,
but I told him not to do so, and he did not. After
Doyle was dead his face and lips were swollen. Doyle
was standing on deck when the.mate was going to strike
him. I saw Doyle lie down. Vaile did not knock him
down. I did not see the mate or any other person use
violence to the deceased. I believe the death of Doyle
to have been natural. I saw him in the rigging the day
before. I did not see him tied there. He might have
been there perhaps half an hour. I had seen him at
work well enough four hours before that time. I was

not aware that he was ill till after he was dead. I think
it was between eleven and twelve o'clock when I saw
the mate going to strike him ; but I know that the mate
did not strike him. I never heard of any complaint
being made about the deceased having been subjected to
any ill-treatment.

Mr. Mullens said that his client had left Newcastle-
upon-Tyne for the purpose of coming to London, to face
the inquiry the moment he heard of the accusation, and
was ready to give bail to any amount to appear and an-
swer the charge in its future stages.
The Lord Mayor said he would accept bail ; and, un-
exceptionable securities having been offered and taken,
the case was adjourned for further examination.

GUILDHALL.—Mr. John Chuck, a broker, in Shoe-
lane, was summoned before Sir James Duke and Alder-
man Copeland, to answer a complaint for making other
charges in respect to a distress for rates than are per-
mitted to be made in the schedule of such charges in the
act for regulating distresses,

John Ifichards, a coffee-house keeper, of 14, London-
wall, said the defendant distrained his goods three weeks
before Christmas for 15s, the consolidated rate, and 10s.
the sewers rate. The goods were taken away, sold by
public auction for 3/. 6s. 6d., and the expenses with the
rates amounted to 3/. 9s. 3d.; neither a copy of the dis-
tress warrant, inventory, or any other paper was left by
the defendant at the time of the seizure.
Alderman Copeland asked for the warrant, and on re-
ceiving it expressed his astonishment at perceiving that
it contained the names of several other parties, whose
goods had also been distrained. The worthy alderman
inquired if it was customary to include the names of
twenty persons in one warrant ?

Mr: 'Wood, the chief clerk, said that such was the
universal practice with regard to rates.

Alderin;,n Copeland then asked if every person named
in the warrant was charged the expense of it ?
Mr. Wood said it was so.

Alderman Copeland said if that was the case the prac-
tice ought to be altered, and the sooner it was brought
before the Court of Sewers the better, for such a prac-
tice ought not to be allowed to exist in the city of
London.

Sir James Duke inquired if the defendant seized all
,e furniture in the place for 255.

The defendant said he had done so.

Alderman Copeland asked if it was the practice to
seize all the furniture in the house for rates over and
above the amount.of the claim ?

The defendant said he generally took what was .
suffi-
cient to cover the rates, ' and sometimes he did not seize
enough, and when he took more than would meet the
claim lie returned the overplus.
Alderman Copeland said he did not consider, with re-
gard to the goods, that there had been a bona fide sale,
and he also thought that the complainant had not been
fairly dealt by in the matter. However, he would ad-
journ the case until Tuesday next, and in the meantime
see Mr. Deputy Peacock upon the subject, in order that
the Court of Sewers might be held at an earlier hour,
to enable him to give his decision in the case before him.
The papers and documents were then impounded by
the Court, and the summons was adjourned.

WESTMINSTER.— Wm. Potter, a cab-driver, was
charged with the following disgraceful conduct :
Benjamin Williams, servant in the establishment of
Mr. R. Martin, 21, Eaton-square, stated that defendant
drove home a lady to his master's house at a little be•
fore one on the morning of the 26th ult. She gave him
a shilling for his fare and came into the hall, when wit-
ness was about to close the door, but defendant pro.
vented him, and thrusting the door open followed the