The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-22 00:00:00

EVENING, SEPTEMBER 22, 1847.

London, with having deserted from his vessel at
Chatham on the 4th inst.

Mr. Coleman attended with the register tickets of
the prisoners from the office of the Registrar-General.
The captain deposed that he was master of the
Prince Albert, and that the prisoners signed the
ship articles in London on a voyage to Cronstadt
and " back to the United Kingdom to her final port
of discharge," and that he delivered part of his cargo
at Chatham, and during his absence the crew left
their work, but returned to the vessel on the
following day, when, however, they refused to work,
considering that they had arrived at their destina-
tion. Having Government stores on board which
required to be immediately delivered, he, together
with the owner of the vessel, remonstrated with the
seamen and pointed out their error, but could not
convince them that they were at all in the wrong,
until they summoned him before the magistrates at
Chatham for the balance of their wages, for which
the bench refused to make an order, they not yet
having arrived at their " final port of discharge."
Upon the announcement of that decision, the men
consulted together, and would then have returned to
their duty, but in consequence of the necessity
of the immediate delivery of the Government
stores it had been necessary to engage a steamer,
with other hands, to tow the vessel to London, to ac-
complish that object within the stipulated time, and
the extra expense incurred by the obligation to do so
amounted to 251.
The LORD MAYOR—HOW much was due to the
seamen at the time ? Witness—About 41. to each.

In answer to the charge Marriott, who stood for•
ward as spokesman for all the defendants, denied
altogether the imputation of desertion as applied to
them, but admitted their refusal to work at Chatham,
which refusal they grounded upon the reasoning that
their agreement terminated at the first port at which
they discharged any of their cargo. He added, that
when it was explained to them by the Chatham ma-
gistrates that they were wrong in the construction of'
the Act, they returned to the vessel, but the master
refused to receive them.

The LORD MAYOR, having examined the ship's
articles, and consulted Mr. Goodman, the chief clerk,
said the seamen might have thought their voyage
terminated at Chatham, and that the charge of deser-
tion had not been made out, but the Act of Parliament
made a distinction between " desertion " and " refusal
to perform duty," an offence of which the prisoners
had been guilty, and as the master had power to
deduct the extra expenses incurred by their conduct
from the wages due to them, he should recommend
that some arrangement should be made between them
and the master and owner.

The parties having retired, it was found that, after
the deduction of the extra expenses, the sum of ss.
was due to each, and the men expressed their willing-
ness to receive that amount.

The LORD MAYOR having been informed of the
arrangement effected, advised the defendants against
the repetition of such conduct, and assured them that
if the charge of " desertion" had been proved against
them he should, as he had done in every other case,
have inflicted the full term of imprisonment (30 days),
and he trusted that the loss of nearly 4/. per man
would operate as an adequate punishment on the
present occasion.
Mr. Goodman stated the amount of fines inflicted
by the Lord Mayor under the provisions of the Act,
since the 30th of June, to be 91/., and the number
of summonses granted at the Mansion-house to be
198, and these cases were independent of the pro-
secutions to support which sufficient evidence was
obtained.