The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-01 00:00:00

THAMES POLICE.

George Wakehma, a tall man, chief mate of the
schooner Alligator, from Constantinople, who was not
apprehended until four o'clock yesterday (Saturday)
afternoon, was brought before Mr. Ballantine, charged
with the wilful murder of William Sayo, an apprentice
belonging to the vessel.
James Stirling, the second mate of the vessel, who
first applied to Mr. Ballantine, and stated that the boy
had died from ill-usage he had received from the cap-
tain and mate, and John Cox. were examined at length,
and from their statements it appeared that the Alli-
gator had been on a voyage from Liverpool to Con-
stantinople, and thence to London. The deceased
lad was ill-used on the outward voyage, which
induced him to desert the ship at Constantinople the
morning after she arrived there, and before the hands
were turned up. He was ashore a month, and was part of
the time in the hospital and part of the time roaming
about the streets of Constantinople. He was brought
on board by the port-master the day the ship sailed, and
was then labouring under illness arising from tumours
and sores in his legs, and was in a very filthy state. He
was not allowed to sleep or take his meals in the fore-
castle, but was thrust into the long-boat on deck, and a
blanket only allowed to cover him. He was compelled
to take his regular watches and perform the usual duty,
and the captain and mate gave orders to another boy
always to rouse him up by striking the tarpaulin over
the boat, and to beat him with a rope's-end and hand-
spikes if he did not get up, and one day he came out
with a severe black eye, caused by a blow he received.
In the Channel, the boy suffered so dreadfully from the •
cold that he was put into the forecastle ; but the men
complaining of his filthy condition, and that the effluvium
front his person was very nauseous, he was forced into a
coal.hole in the run of the ship. Here he remained se.
veral days while the ship was performing quarantine in
Stangate Creek, and, although a medical officer came
On board daily, the captain and In rte iovariabiy
reported all well. One day the lad was on the wea-
ther side of the deck, and the prisoner drove hint to the
lee-side, and threw a bucket of water over him, and
said he ought to have as much more thrown over him.
On Thursday the 21st, Stirling found the lad in his berth
quite naked, and in a dying state. The clothes had been
taken off the boy by the captain's orders, and given to the
cook to be washed. At 5 p.m. the captain was told the lad
was dying, and that something ought to be done for him.
He was then taken into the cabin, and died in about an
hour and a half afterwards. The witnesses attributed
the lad's death to ill usage, neglect, and exposure to the
cold, particularly during the frosty weather, when the
ship was in Stangate Creek, where he was compAed to
walk on deck all day, without sufficient cavering to
shield him from the inclemency of the weather. He
had been compelled to work when he was in a very 'bad
state, and not the least care was taken of him. Stirling
mentioned that the lad suffered dreadfully front being
forced among the wet coals.
The prisoner, in defence, said the deceased was not
ill used by hint, but he was very dirty and offensive, and
was forced out of the forecastle by the men. S:irling
was one of the first to drive him out. The crew had a
great objection to the lad, on account of his offensive
condition, and treated him badly., front a supposition
that an outrage had been committed upon him by the
Turks at Constantinople.
Mr. BALLANTINE said it was the duty of the pri-
soner, as chief mate, to protect a boy who appeared to
be quite helpless from the ill-humour of the men.
The prisoner declared he was not aware that the boy
was in the coal-hole, and that he only flung a small
quantity of water over the lad.
Mr. BALLANTINE said the deceased had been dreae-
fully ill-used, and the case must be further investigated.
Any other personS implicated in the harsh usage of the
lad must be taken into custody. He remanded the
prisoner until Thursday.
Valentine and Fox proceeded immediately afterwards
to the residence of Captain Cook, the master of the
Alligator, to take him into custody.

PURLOINING A CHURCH-RATE

BOOK.

The parish officers of St. Chad's, in this town, for
the present and past years, assembled yesterday in the
vestry, to sign a " declaration," in the nature of as
oath, that they had not purloined the Church-rate
book, nor did they know who had stolen it, nor where
it was. W. Stokes, Esq., was voted to the
Chair. The Mayor attended to take the " decla-
rations." After considerable debate the officers
nroceeded to sign the declaration, with the excep-
tion of two, who said they would not sign it till a
similar oath was taken by the inferior servants of the
parish. Whilst a duplicate of the oath was being
written for this purpose, Mr. Jobson proceeded to the
residence of the late senior warden, who was unable to
attend, and having ascertained that he did not object to
sign the declaration, Mr. Jobson and Mr. Blakethoro
attached their signatures : the other dissentient did not
sign it. The meeting then broke up, their proceedings
being ordered to be laid before the Committee of Church
Trustees, to guide them in their future investigations in
this extraordinary transaction. Wu purposely ab-
stained from stating a single word of the painful dis-
closures and recriminations that have arisen since we
first gave publicity to the fact, that the Church-rate
Book of this extensive parish had been stolen, and all
arrears of rates thereby cancelled :—and our motive
was, to put no impediment in the way of the Book
being returned, and the honest and respectable part of
the parish thereby saved the infliction of paying a
church rate three or four times oven—Shrewsbury Chro-
nicle.

WAGES OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.-
It appears that the custom of boroughs maintaining their
Representatives in Parliament had not ceased in the
early portion of Lot century. Hall, whose collections
were brought down to about 1739, speaking of 11e1-
stone sa:s, " This place and others in Cornwall, are not
able to maintain their burgesses in London during the S,s-
sions at their own proper costs and charges (as of old was
accustomed) in any tolerable post or grandeur; but have
found that profitable expedient (as many others) of making
country gentlemen free of their town, who bear the bur-
den and heat of the day for the honour of their cor-
porations, distress their paternal estates to exalt the
reputation and perpetuate the privileges of a petty so-
ciety, made up of mechanics, tradesmen, and inferior
practioners of the law." The same author states that
" Padstow, Lelent, and Marazion, formerly sent Members
to Parliament. but were excused upon their petition on the
score of poverty,"