The Sun.
London, England, 1847-08-26 00:00:00

EVENT NG, AUGUST 26, 847.

Commander Patey's having ordered the prisoner
below in irons immediately after; he deposed,
to the excited state of thl: prisoner, but whether from
liquor or the act he had just committed he could not
say. The prisoner made some observations on going
down the ladder, which, to the bat of witness's be-
lie', e uttered distinctly, and appeared to be perfectly
aware of what he had been doing.

By the President—Did Mr. 'Burnaby, at the time
he made the report of the prisoner's conduct, corn•
plain of the prisoner having used threatening language,
besides striking him ?—I do not recollect.
Do you not recollect the boatswain's accompanying
Mr. Burnaby at the time he nixie his complaint ?—I
do not recollect.

Did you not remark Mr. Burnaby's face when he
complained to you, or did he complain of having been
struck by the prisoner in the face ?—I did remark Mr.
Burnaby's face, but to the best of my recollection he
merely spoke to the prisoner having struck him. I
saw no marks on his face.

Captain P;umridge—Did the boatswain make any
statement whatever to you P—No ; I have stated be-
fore that I du not remember the boatswain being there
at all.
-

Was the first complaint made to you or to Com-
mander Patey ?—To me.
Then, did you instantly report it to Commander
Patey ?—No ; Commander Patey overhearing the
report, ordered the prisoner below.
Did you attend, or was your attention drawn cff
to other duties, while Commander Patey made the
investigation ?—There was no investigation made at
that time.
The President—When was it made then ?—The
next day.
Captain Plumridge—Were you present then ?—I
was.

Commander Patel recalled.
The President Are you quite sure that the
boatswain was on the quarter-deck:at the same time
with the prisoner, when he (the boatswain) corrobo-
rated Mr. Burnaby's complaint ? --He followed Mr.
Burnaby along the gangway beside the prisoner. Mr.
Burnaby made the first report, but when I questioned
the boatswain about it I will not be certain that Mr.
Burnaby was within hearing.
Did the boatswain state that the prisoner had
struck Mr. Burnaby ?—Either that he had struck
him, or was about to do so, and that he had seized the
prisoner by the collar and dragged him away from Mr.
Burnaby.
Where was Lieutenant Reed at the time the boat-
swain stated this ?—About the fore part of the quar-
ter-deck on the starboard side.
Was he near where the boatswain was standing, or
was his back turned towards hitn ?—I do not particu-
larly remember, but he was there during the first
report.
Captain Plumridge—Can you state to the Court
the precise language used by the boatswain when he
corroborated the report of Mr. Burnaby ?—To the
best of my remembrance his report was, he had heard
a scuffling on the forecastle, and, on looking round,
observed the prisoner struggling with Mr. Burnaby,
and attempting to knock or throw him down, and that
he then rushed forward and seized him by the collar,
and forced hint towards the quarter-deck.
Did he (the boatswain) mention any language that
the prisoner made use of ?—He said, that the prisoner
had said Mr. Burnaby would swear his life away, and
called him a , or some other abusive and coarse
term.

Captain i'veo—During the report made by the
boatswain to you, was the officer of the watch in a po-
sition to hear any part of that report ?---I did not par-

ticularly observe. -
The court was now cleared, but was re-opened in
a minute or two, and the clerk of the Agincourt was
called to produce the ship's hooks, which were put in.
The complaint book of the ship was then referred to,
and proved the registration of the prisoner as to the
time of his entrance on board the said ship, his age

(27), rating, &c. The ship's book was also referred
to to prove Mr. Burnahy's connexion with the ship,
his position therein, &c.
The prisoner was he called upon for his defence.
He said he had none to make, but threw himself on

•
the mercy of the Court, relying on his former conduct.
and the time he had been in the service, and also
begged_the Court to consider he had a wife and child
depending on him for support.
At the recommendation of the Court the prisouer
retired with the Judge-Advocate to put into writing
what he wished to allege in his defence.
The court was then cleared, and remained closed
about twenty minutes, when it was reopened, and
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE said, as the prisoner's de-
fence, that he referred them to his good conduct
when in the Implacable, 74, a certificate of which he
produced ; he further stated he had been on the black
list for a month prior to the present charge, and had
been thereby so irritated that he got drunk on the
day in question, and if he struck Mr. Burnaby he
did not intend to do it, nor did he know that he had
struck hi►n.
The prisoner then called upon the following officers
of the Agincourt to give him a character :
Captain Johnstone—The prisoner's conduct has
been decidedly good. He has done his duty in the

foretop since I commanded the Agincourt. Ido not
recollect the prisoner having been reported for any
offence before the one under investigation.
Commander Caldwell stated that the prisoner was
generally a well behaved man ; he had known him
particularly during the last 20 months, since he (wit-
ness) had been commander of the Agincourt.
Commander Patey stated that during the time he
was commanding officer of the Agincourt (nearly 12
months) prior to Commander Cab' well's joining, he
(the prisoner) was an exceedingly well-conductedman, he only having received one trivial complaint of
him during the whole of that time, since which to
the time of the present charge his conduct, as far as
it had come under his (witness's) observation, had
been very good.
Lieutenant Reed stated he had always considered
the prisoner to be a remarkably steady, active, and
attentive seaman ; he had never had occasion to re-
port him, and, with the exception of the present
crime, he did not think he had eve: been reported to
his captain during upwards of three years that he
(witness) had been in the Agincourt.
John Smith, master-at-arms of the Agincourt,
stated that he had known the prisoner eight years an d
seven months, during which time his character had
been good, to the best of his recollection. He never
was reported on the quarter-deck, either for drunken-
ness or any other crime, during the five years and
seven months be (witness) had served in the Agin-
court. The prisoner had been reported but once to
Commander Caldwell, for being below during his
watch on deck. With this exception his character
had been good during the whole of that time.
Captain Pasco (to witness)—Has the prisoner
been kept in irons ever since the 27th of April last ?
—Yes, but he had one hour's exercise in the fore-
noon and one hour in the afternoon on the main deck,
under the sentry's charge.
This closed the trial. The court was now cleared,
and remained closed about three. quarters of an hour,
when it was re-opened, and, the members having put
on their cocked hats,
The JUDGE-ADVOCATE pronounced the following
as the finding and sentence :—" The Court is of opi-
nion that the charge hath been fully proved against
the said John Connor, and doth adjudge him to suffer
death by being hanged by the neck on board such
ship of her Majesty, and at such time, as the Com-
missioners for executing the office of Lord High
Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, or any two or
more of them for the time being, shall direct; and
the said John Connor is hereby ordered to suffer
death by being hanged by the neck as aforesaid ac-
cordingly. But, in consideration of the long previous
good character of the prisoner, the Court beg leave to
strongly recommend him to the favourable considera-
tion of the Lords Commissioners of the Ad niralty."
The prisoner (who during the whole trial appeared
but little concerned for his awful position) was then
removed in custody of the provost-marshal, to await
the decision of the Admiralty as to the execution or
remission of the sentence.
It must be borne in mind, that the Court in passing
this sentence had no discretion ; the Act recently
passed, enabling them to pass any other sentence than
death for the offence committed, not coming into ope-
ration until the Ist of January next.

Her Majesty the Queen Dowager arrived in the
Clarence-yard under the escort of Mr. Stevens, of the
South-Western Railway Company, from Gosport,
by fast train, at ten minutes to three o'clock this
afternoon, en route to Ryde, Isle of Wight. Rear-
Admiral Hyde Parker, C. 8., Acting-Commander-in-
Chief, Captain Superintendent Sir Edward Parry,
Captains Pasco, Chads, Eden, and other distinguished
officers, naval, military, and civil, received her Ma-
jesty on alighting from the train ; a guard of honour
of the 52d Regiment was also on the ground. Rear-
Admiral Parker conducted her Majesty to the Ad-
miralty barge, in which she was steered by Flag-
Lieutenant the Hon. J. W. S. Spencer to the Fire
Queen steam-yacht, Lieutenant-Commander John-
son, which conveyed the royal party to Ryde, under
salutes from the Victory, Excellent, Agincourt, and
platform; the ships with yards manned. Her Ma-
jesty will reside at the Pier Hotel. Earl Howe and
Lady, and Miss Gore, are in attendance upon her
Majesty.
His Highness the Prince Callimaki, his Excellency
Sarni Pasha, M. Zohrab, Ottoman Consul-General,
and a distinguished suite, arrived at this port this
afternoon on a visit to an establishment at Southsea,
where a number of Turkish noblemen are being
educated to fill distinguished posts in the Ottoman
empire. The illustrious party sojourn at the Rail-
way Hotel, Gosport.
The Curagoa, 24, Captain Broughton, dropped
down to St. Helen's last night, at sunset, and sailed
this morning soon after daylight for Chatham, to be
paid off.