The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-17 00:00:00

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER

AGAINST AN AFRICAN CAPTAIN.
Captain Witt, of the Swiftsure, belonging to Thomas
Tobin, Esq., was brought up before ..dr. Rushton,
charged with having caused the death of a seaman,
named Alfred Boland, by knocking him down and kick-
ing him, on the Bth of January last, whilst lying in
Bonny River, Africa, from which ill-treatment he
lingered until the 16th of that month, when he expired.
James Anw ell, a seaman, stated that he shipped in
Liverpool on board the Swiftsure, bound for Bunny
River. On their arrival out, on the Bth of January,o
Alfred Roland, a Swede, and himself, were orderedat _
" shackle the chains," and Boland taking the wronge dthe captain struck him and knocked him dtowtp,ao
went
shame-
fully kicking him when down. The deceeacsheihyh
the cap-
below, but was immediately ordered on d
The captain
effects of the ill-usage he had received.hWas
very much dis-
coloured. He died on the 16wthhicifi
the surgeon of the Princes
.that month. They
river—who attended Bo-
land in the same rive .
washad saensutrgfoero—n
monr.boTautedk,of the
.SI
the Princess
.
Royal, then lying
Witness arrived in this port on
land until his death.
last,. and thes because the captain was out of
w reason why he had not given in-
formationThursy
wa da
earlier
n. Deceased was never well after he was first struck
taond kicked on the Bth January.
The prisoner said he was quite unprepared kr any de
fence at present, but he wished to have the evidence of
the log-book, from the entries in which it would be found
that the statement made by the witness Would not agree
in reference to the medical officer who attended the de-
ceasedm ag i s
witht ra t e
tthoe an
al 1
eo
rw.
him
tim;
eatnod obtain,he l i k
ce
owui snes
ewl sahnedd
ttoh the
consult
c hi‘ainrt.s o
Rushtonw hom tandemSi
twt
ei fdt s u
ther e belongs,
prisoner to bail in two
sureties of 504 each, to appear to answer the charge.—
Liverpool Courier.
D-

—EATH OF SIR WALTER, BLUNT BART.—This
youthful. baronet expired unexpectedly on Tuesday last,
at his seat, Heathfield, Sussex, agednl butd 21f. It appears
that about twelve months since'
com-
plaint manifested themselves, butensoeeimsmo immediate danger
was apprehended. On Monday last, while driving in his
park, one of the horses plunged, and the shock, which
under ordinary circumstances might have been compara-
tively harmless, had a fatal effect. lie was immediately
conveyed to the mansion, where death ensued next
morning.
DEATH OF ANDREW HENNY LYNCH, ESQ.—This
gentleman, for many years e!
Memb fr the town of
nd on the
ofG a IMw aa syte ra Cwhhal uy
rpy t
13th St Wournay, France, after lengthened
ato a
therec eEnntgpl
iesrhi obda, orfi, ldeide
dthe

AYLeLstcEr2yEaDu exptrEaortTilafiry, special meeting EoifNsTfiz3
eof Visitors" of the barre Couney-Lunatio
As)lum was held in the board room Yof the as‘luni.%a
inquire into the cause of the death of James Burden a
lunatic, whose decease was alleged to have been caused
by violcrice received whilst an inmate of that institution.
The chairman, Mr. Kemble. M.P., stated that no ono
was charged with any specific offence.
Mr. Bridgeland, the steward, said that on Monday,
June the 14th, Mr. Holland, the medical officer, report,ed
to him that the deceased had had a pain in his side f 0,.•
five days past. He visited the patient, who said that he
was very unwell during the night, and about ten or
eleven o'clock he knocked bard at his door to be let out,
and on the door being opened he received a severe blow
in his side from some man with a long pole. The force
of the blow drove him back against the wall with mat
violence. Since that time, which was three days before,
he had suffered much pain, and had great difficulty in
breathing. During this interview deceased appeared
quite rational.
Mr. Joseph Holland, resident surgeon of the institi.a.
tion, stated that on Sunday, the 10th, he found deceased
suffering from diarrhoea, and in a state of great exhaus-
tion. He treated him accordingly, but at eight o'clock
in the evening he found him breathing with great diffi-
culty; his pulse was quick, and skin hot. Witsess
was about to ask the deceased some questions, when
the attendant, John Steel, remarked that he bad made
a strange complaint to Sir Alexander Morrison, to the
effect that he had been ill-used by him, Steel. He
examined the deeeased, and discovered that be had a
broken rib on the right side; there were two contusions
on the right side of the body. Deceased gradually sank,
showedanddiedthoant
thet e
eighth 2 d nit.rib
aw' The post
fractured,m or a
t e examination
that a
t
injury
was theoacenakudesdhed ueop in
was then
He found deceased, on
hthisenroionmatmillostl;hy state,
between tena. and
eolneev enc. coa'sciloonc
John Logan Steel said deceased had complained of a
st
pain in his side from the time he was admitted, De-
ceased had told him that he had quarrelled with Roberts,
another patient, who had kicked him in the side. He
told Sir Alexander Morrison that he was kicked. He
had also told witness he had been violently assaulted in
Brixton gaol.
James Burden, the son of the deceased, said that his
father bad told him, his wife, and his mother, that his teeth
had been knocked out, his eyes blackened, his head
knocked against the wall, and he had been violently
thrown against the side of the bedstead, which had hurt
his ribs. Deceased told his mother he had been struck
with a piece of the bedstead. The keeper Steel appeared
to be attentive to deceased. Steel turned the conversa-
tion on two or three eccasions when deceased was about
to speak. _ _ _

The committee consulted for a few minutes, and ex•
pressed their opinion on the case in a resolution that
" the committee are not enabled to decide whether the
injury from which the deceased died was occasioned by
a blow received on or about the Ist of June, in a scuffle
which took place between him and a lunatic of the name
of Roberts; whether it was from the injury received in
a fall which he got in attempting to get through the
ventilator over the door of his ward; or from the blow
stated by him to have been inflicted by some of the at-.
tendants. They regret the unsatisfactory manner of
this conclusion, but they feel that it would be unjust
to the attendants to throw upon them, or any one of
them, a stigaia which is not borne out by the evidence."