The Sun.
London, England, 1825-07-09 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, JULY 8.

( London L'atings before Lord Chief Justice BEST and a
Special Jury.)
CASE OF ASSAULT.—BEDELL V. RUSSELL.

This was an action brought by the plaintiff' who was a sea-
man on board the South Sea trader the Emily, against the Cap-
tain of that ship, for an assault in causing hun to he shot at by
some Dutch soldiers at the island of Ternate, by which he was
severely wounded in the neck. There was a previous count for
a common assault, by the defendant's striking the plaintiff'
twice before the period to which the other count alluded. The
defendant pleaded—to the first count for the common assault,
" Not Guilty ;" and to the assault by the firing of the troops,
he pleaded a justification, on the ground, that at the time, the
Emily's crew, and the plaintiff among the number, were in a
state of muting. On these pleas issue was joined.
Mr. Sergeant WiLns.:, who with Mr. PoLLocivas for the
defendant, claimed the right of entering upon his event's case,
and proving his plea, before the plaintiff's case was gone into ;
and cited some cases at Nisi Prius, in which that course had
been allowed by Mr. Justice Bayley and Mr. Baron Wood.
Lord Chief Justice BEST felt, that the course proposed was
a novel one, but he would yield to the precedents cited.
Mr. Sergeant WILDE then opened his case to the Jury, as
far as applied to the plea of mutiny. The defendant was in
command of the Emily in 1821, while that ship was at 'foliate,
in die Malacca passage. Some of his crew had gone on shore,
and remained on shore all night, contrary to Ins orders. He
remonstrated with them on their return, and received very
abusive language. Bedell, the plaintiff, went on shore the next
day, and remained all night. On his arrival, the Captain re-
proached him and some others for a violation of their duty, and
struck Neagle, one of them. On this Neagle said, that if he
were struck again, he would knock him (the Captain) down the
main hatchway. Some others of the crew jumped out of the
rigging, called out to Neagle, and said, " That's right, give it
to him well." At this time there appeared a disposition among
the crew generally (with the exception of the apprentices) to
resist the Captain's authority, and to enter into open mutiny
against him. The defendant called to the men to return to
their duty, but they still continued refractory. The Captain
then ordered his boat, went on shore, and returned, bringing
with him a Dutch military officer and some soldiers. Several
of the crew, on seeing them approach the ship, armed them-
selves with harpoon poles, and said they would not allow them-
selves, or any of them, to be taken on shore to be flogged by
the Dutch. The Captain called to them several times to return
to their duty, to lay down their harpoon poles, and to submit to
his authority. The crew, still continuing in their state of iusu-

PRICE SttrtNPENet.

bordination, and striking their poles on the deck in defiance,
the military were ordered by the officer to fire,'by which the
plaintiff; among others, was wdunded. If these facts were Kt.•
tisfactorily proved, the Jury, he had no doubt, would state, by
their verdict, that the defendant was perfectly justified in the
muse he had adopted.
The Learned Sergeant then called two young men, who were
apprentices On board at the time, who detailed several acts of
insubordination on the part of the crew: One of them swore
that he had head some of the crew say to others, " Unless he
• goes to flog here, it is better not to begin it here, but wait till
we get to sea, when he will have no -Mitch soldiers to assist
• him." The Captain called, to the crew several times to submit,
and they refused. . The military then fired, but no damage was
done by the first discharge. After a short pause, a second dis-,
charge' was Made The crew were at this time standing toge-
ther near the foremast. The soldiers were aft. At the second
fire three of the crew fell. Plaintiff was one of them. lie was
wounded in the neck. The two others died in a short time after.
One of them was shot thrbugh th 2 body, and the other through
the groin. The rest of the crew their ran below, but were
soon ordered on deck, and seteral of them taken on shore td
prison. The soldiers consisted of Blacks (Malays) and a few
white Men. • The ship was at this time at anchor in the bay',
about half a mile from shore-

Mr. Serjeant VaucataN, ftir the plaintiff, contended, that
insubordiniitiyn did not exist to the extent of mutiny among
the crew—that even if it did exist in a slight degree (which lie
maintained, was all that was proved by the defendant's wit-
' nesses), it did not call for such murderous punishment as that of
bringing a troop of aoldicrs, and ordering them to fire on a set
of unarmed men, killing two, and severely wounding a third.--,
If the jury believed that the conduct of the crew was such as
not to call for so severe a chastisement, they must flnd for the
plaintiff. -
Examinations and interrogatories of several of the crew were
then put in and read. They all denied any insubordination ;
and added, that the remaining on shore was matter df accident.
They only objected to go on shore, lest they should be flogged
by the Dutch authorities. There was some variance in the ex-
aminations. Some of the parties interrogated said, that the.
Captain gaVe the order to the soldiers to fire. While other's said
that it was given by the military officer. The Captain, it was
stated by one of the men, expressed his sorrow for what had
passed when the wounded men were taken on shore.
Mr. Serjeant WI tAJE replied to this evidence, and contended
that nothing had.been proved to negative his charge of mutiny,
Lord Chief Justice BEST, in summing up to the Jury, ob-,
served that this was a most important case. Our greatness as
a nation had arisen out of the sea, and it was of the utmost con,.
sequence that the laws by which oar maritime discipline was
regulated should be clearly defined and well understood. The
Jury, in forming their judgment of the case, would consider
what were the difficulties and dangers by which the defendant
was surrounded, and what would be their feelings if they Were
similarly circumstanced. Ile remembered in a case of a
Captain of a ship which came before a Noble and Learned
Judge in the Court of King's Bench, that that Learned Judge
asked an Admiral, who sat on the belch near him, what
was opinion of the conduct attributed to the Captain ? Never
should he (the Lord Chief Justice) forget the in.?res.,
sion which the answer of the Gallant Adrairal, on that ac,,
casion, had made on him. lie said—" Sitting here on the
bench, alongside of your Lordship, I should be inclined ta -
say- that the Captain acted wrong; but if 1 were on board
sidp, -with the wind whistling through the shrouds, and the
waves beating over the deck, I cannot say that I should
not have acted •as be did."—The Jury would bear this
in mind, and•judge of the defendant by what they thought
must be the feelings of a person circumstanced as he was.—
lie could • assure the jury that lie had 'given this case his
most earnest and anxious attention, " and to guard" (conti-
nued his Lordship) as far as possible against any mistake or
misrepresentation (for a mistake as to the law on either side of
this case might be productive of the most serious consequences),
I have, during the address of the „
opini‘nt D€.. hp .I.u, olnifen. • 'lt is, that a mas-
ter of a ship has a right to correct a seaman, if that seaman
misconducts himself. If the master, therefore, strike the sea.

man a blow, the seaman must not resist, unless the Captain
attempt to use farther violence, when resistance will be justi-
fiable if the original assault of the Captain was wrong. This
is the law of nature and the law of England on this point. If
a mutiny take place, a master of a ship may use every force
necessary to put it down, and will be justified, even though the
use of such force should occasion death. lam happy to think'
that in this doctrine I am supported by the very able opinion
of Lord Chief Justice Abbott, to whose opinion of the law .•
lam willing on all occasions to defer. In one of the most va-
luable books ever published on the subject of shipping, his Lord- • - -
ship, in referring to this point, says, " In case of actual and
open mutiny of the crew or an v part of them, the resistance of the
master is to be considered as in self-defence, and in all its con-

sequences it must be viewed in that light." Ilis Lordship (C. J.
Best) then proceeded to observe, that from the evidence of the
plaintiff, he was of opinion that the plaintiff had been in actual
mutiny, by putting himself in a fighting posture when the Cap- •
fain struck another of the seamen. The rest of the crew were ,
also, in his opinion, in a state of mutiny, by the resistance they
offered to the Captain, by their arming themselves with har-
poon poles, by refusing to submit, and their menacing conduct
when the armed force was brought on board to take some of
them on shore for trial by the laws of that country on the coast
of which their offences had been committed ; and that there-
fore the master was justified in resorting to force for the purpose
of reducing them
_to obedience. He was confirmed in this opi-
nion by the conduct of some of the crew, who, when Neagle
threatened to strike the. Captain, jumped from the shrouds and
cried, " That's right, give it him well ;" and also by the decla•
ration of some others of them, that they would. no longer bear
flogging, but that unless the Captain renewed it in the port,
they had better wait till he went to sea, *hen he could not have
Dutch soldiers to assist him. These facts satisfied his mind
that the justification of mutiny was fully proved. Then came
the question for the consideration of the Jury, whether the .
amount of force used was necessary ? If the mutiny could be
quelled without firing, undoubtedly the Captain should not
have fired, (for he took the acts of the Dutch troops as those
of the Captain who brought, them on board), but have got
a superior tome to overawe the crew. If the Captain were in
an English port, or alongside an English man-of-war, his -
Lordship added, he should have no hesitation in saying that
such force could be easily obtained, but it might be a very
different case in a Dutch port. Of that, however, under all the
circumstances, the the Jury would decide. As to the count for the
assault committed by the Captain some time before, by striking
the plaintiff twice, he thought the plaintiff was entitled to a
verdict. It was important that seamen should know that there
was no justifiable cause for taking the law into their own hands.
When they felt themselves aggrieved they should bear it, for
there were ample means of obtaining legal redress in this coati-
try, and Juries were always willing to aford it. On the count
for the first assault the plaintiff was clearly entitled to a verdict,
and it would to for the Jury to say to what amount of damages
he was entitled. On the count for the assault by the firing of
the troops, he did not think lie was entitled to a verdict at all ;
but that would be for the Jury. They would . first say whether
there was mutiny, and, in point of law, he was bound to tell
them there was; and next they would consider Whether the
the amount of force used was necessary. They would consider,
on the one hand, that there was a Dutch brig of war within
two or three ships' lengths, and it might be a matter for the
Captain to consider what assistance he could expect from that
quarter. On the other hand, they would take into considera.
tion the facts-that the ship was half a mile from shore, and that
there were 29 or 30 British seamen in a state of mutiny, op-
posed by only eight or ten soldiers, half of whom were Malays,
(and he should tremble for the British nation, if, under any
circumstances seven or eight Malays, or even Dutchmen, were
found to be an over-match for that of our seamen.) If the Jury
should find for the plaintiff on the second count, it would be
for them to consider what amount of damages they' would give,
for undoubtedly the damages would be different in' the two
cases. Ile was anxious that they should inform him bs' their
verdict whether they believed the existence of mutiny ; and if
so, whether they believed that the force used to quell it was
more than was necessary.
The Jury, after a few moments' deliberation, returned a •:er.'
diet for the plaintiff, on the count for the common. assault—
Damages, 501. ; and for the defendant on the counts allegin o "
the assault by the firing of the troops. One of the Jury added,"
that they found the ,fact of mutiny of the crew, and that too
much three was not itsed to quell it.

The first of July pissed otf at Cork without
anything particular occurring p,tnt at Bandon, a procession of
Orangemen took place, and was soon dispersed by the Au-
thorities.

QT'ARREI, at PAVIA between the ITAMAN STU-
DENTS a:-,d t 11.2 AU6TR.IIN TROOPS.

(From the G0'771(771 Papers.)
PANT A, Ju !•1 F 25.—( Private Correspondence.)—
A rery fatal event has taken place in this city.
The day before yesterday we saw eight Students
brought into this city, conducted by soldiers and
z,vnd'armes, who had their sabres drawn, and
• dragged these young men along as if they were
malefactors. This sight drew together a great
crowd of Citizens and Students. The eight
persons were led to the Police 'Office, before
which a multitude of Students assembled to learn
the cause of this arrest. The tumult and disputes
which ensued served only to increase the number
of the curious. They learned at length that the
eight young men had been arrested for ha-
Ning bathed and swam in a prohibited place.
The trifling nature of the offence, and the seve-
rity of the Police, excited general indignation.—
Clies of " Let them go, let them go ! Down with
the wretches !" •were heard on every side. The
Corps de Garde of the.-Police, the Gens d'armes,
and the Police-officers placed themselves at the
entrance of the office ; their presence and threats
only increased the tumult, and the •cries •of the
. Professors and Officers of the -.University were
linable to appease the indignation of the young
men. The day was drawing to a close, the mul-
titude in the silt-tare was increasing, when the
soldiers loaded their muskets in the sight of the
• crowd. Some persons fled, hut the incensed stu-
dent., instead of being intimidated, advanced
against the guard. The latter opened itself a
way with its sabres and bayonots. The students
attacked it with large stones and with the benches ,
from the neighbouring coffee-houses, which fell
aeon the guard like hail. One of the Officers of
the Police ordered the soldiers to fire. Two
rnuUtets were discharged, and the people think-
ing they had been charged with powder only.
-Other shots were fired, and a student was seen
to fall dead. Immediately the soldiers retreated
into the office, and shut the door, leaving it, how.
ever, a little a-jar to fire their pieces at the stu-
dents, who, though without arms, did not retreat.
At the end, the soldiers fired from the windows
of the Police Office. A great number of persons
were wounded, and several killed : among the
latter were three students. No Swiss student
was either .killed or wounded.

PROCEEDINGS or Tun BIBLE SOCIETY AT BERNE.

BERNE, Jusu 27.—The Annual Meeting of
the Bible Association of Berne took place on the 22d June in
the Church of Nydeck. A great concourse of company, both
from the country and the town, and of persons of both sexes
and alj ages and classes, proved the increasing interest taken
in this salutary institution. The solemnity was the more
af!'ecting, as the President of the Society, the Reverend M.
Wyttenbach, celebrates this year the 50th anniversary of his
exercising his sacred office. .Passing In review the important
period which coincides with the duration of his exemplary career,
I e observed it was filled with great events, with institutions
destroyed or established, and among the rest pointed out the
Bible Societies-as a type of the- spirit which characterises the
age in which we live. The connections-of England with all
other countries, and especially with Switzerland, in the benefi-
cent worst of aistributmg the Bible, then called his attention.

from England an Scotland first shew the light of the Gospel to
the barbarians of Helvetia. In our days we have seen a
Steinkopf and an Owen, worthy successors of those an-
cient benefactcrs of our country, arrive from the same
island to revive the spirit of 'Christianity, by propagat-
ing among all classes its Divine light. Great. success has
attended these pious exertions; citizens, chiefly artisans, have
united tosubscribe for the purchase of New Testaments, which
are given by a Clergyman to prisoners who are restored to
liberty. There are numerous. Associations in the country to
distribute Bibles and other useful books among the children at
the Schools. 'The Society at Berne has received from the Lon-
don Society a present of 1,000 copies of the New Testament in
German, and 200 in French. The. English Society, at
the request of the Berne Committee, has sent also a suffi-
cient number of Bibles and books of devotion to tho Swiss
Colony of New.Friburg, in Brazil. The Government of Berne
has given 1600 francs to the Society for the purchase of Bibles,
&c. The accounts of the Society are satisfactory. During the
last 20 years it has received as presents, or purchased, 16,445 .
Bibles, and. 16,410 Sew Testaments. It has sold or given
away 8324 of the first, and 1.306 of the second. The Tract
Society has distributed since 1;90, 27;93 volumes of books of
devotion.—(Le Nouvellistl Vatiddis, July 1.)

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS AT HAMBURGH.

The new laws of England, giving facilities to
trade, appear, by the following articleTrom -Ham-
burgh, to have a corresponding effect on the Con-
tinept :
A new law for the better regulation of brokerage on goods
has been lately published by our Government, and put in force.
It is thereby prohibited, by penalty, to the merchant as well as
to the broker, either to allow or to take a higher rate of broker-
age than that stipulated in the tariff annexed to the said law
By these means, our. trade wit, be-freed of overcharges in this
regard; and in order to acquaint foreign merchants, who are in
the habit of consigning goods to Elamblrgh, of the present legal
rate, an abstract of the present tariff of brokerage on the prin-
. cipal articles of importation -is herewith transmitted. Brokerage
is exclusively paid by the seller, and amounts-to_.:_
Five-sixths per cent. on cotton, cotton-twist, cocoa, cochineal,
copper, hides, indigo, manufactured goods, nankeens, sugar,
and tea*.
One per cent. on annatto, camphire, cinnamon, cardamums*,
cassia*, cloves*, drugs not denominated*, deer skins, dyewoods,
ginger*, jalap*, mace*, nutmegs', pepper, pimento, potashes,
Peruvian bark, Quercitron bark, rice*, saltpetre, sarsaparilla
shellac", tarnarands*, tobacco in leaves",• and tobacco stt.fis*
of the growth of the United States- of America, whale oil*,
vinelloes".

N.B.—Tobacco stems• of all other origin, Rogan, and other
manufactured tobacco, pay two per cent. ; all other leaf and
roll tobacco* one and a half per cent.
One and a half per cent. on wine, brandy, rum, and arrack,
if sold in parcels amounting to 3,000 marks banco and upwards.
Two per cent on ditto, for sales of and under 3;000 marks
banco.

In auction, the selling broker is entitled to one and a half
per ceTit., and the purchasing broker to two per cent., -without
regard to the amount.
LAII articles marked C') pay the brokerage before mentidned,
if the quantity sold amounts to marks 600 banco or higher ; for
smaller lots of less than marks 600 banco, and down to marks
150 banco, the brokerage is paid, with the addition of one half,
and under marks 150 banco, the double is allowed. All other
merchandises pay IA per cent- at least for sales not exceeding
marks 150 banco. It is, however, to be observed that all aug-
mentations, in proportion to the amount sold, are only to be ,
understood for sales by private contract, and not for those by '
auction ; and even not for such private sales, where a broker
has made the purchase of a larger quantity of goods above the
said amount of 600 marks banco, and has afterwards divided it
, into smaller lots.]