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

CHARGE OF MUTINY.

Nine seamen, named Aneas Dunkin, Anthony Thomp-
son, John Bull, William Cornish, Hugh Mulholland,
Samuel Armstrong, James Shields, James Linard, and
John Weakling, were brought before Mr. Ballantine, at
the Thames Police-office, charged under the 6th section
of the Merchant Seamen's • Act, with refusing
i to pro-
ceed to sea in the ship Katherine, on her intended
voyage to the East Indies, after signing the articles of
agreement.

The seamen came up from Gravesend voluntarily,
with Mr. Barnard Robert Matthews, the Master of the
Katherine, for the purpose of obtaining the magistrate's
opinion on their alleged grievances, but he refused to go
into the case, unless it was regularly put before him.
The men were then given into toe custody of Inspector
Horn of the K division, and their names entered on the
pollee charge sheet.
Captain Matthews then stated that all the prisoners
had signed the ship's articles and received an advance
note for two months' wages, which each man got cashed.
On Thursday afternoon the ship was below Gravesend,
off Leigh, in Essex, and he gave orders for all hands to
heave the anchor and get the vessel ready for sea. To
his great surprise the prisoners refused to do any duty,
and said they would not sail in the vessel. He was
therefore compelled to bring the seamen to London and
detain the ship.
Theseamen, in reply to the charge, objected to proceed
to sea on three grounds:—The first was, that the ship
was a leaky one and not seaworthy; secondly, that the
provisions were bad, and the bread like bricks and
mortar baked together; and, lastly, that the full com •
plement of hands had not been shipped.
The Magistrate inquired the tonnage of the ship, and
the seamen declared she-was 900 tons burden, and that
fact was marked on the combings of the hatchway.
Captain Matthews, however, declared she was only
753 tons by the new measurement.
The seamen said the crew, including the captain, only
consisted of twenty-eight hands, and she ought to have
at least thirty _

Captain Matthews, in reply, said the ship was per.
fectly sea-worthy, and had recently come out of Fletcher's
dock, where she had been copper bottomed and repaired.
Titr provisions were good, and he had brought some as
a specimen. He contended that the ship was ►►ot short•
handed.

Mr. Ballantine thought she was, and that the master
ought, for a vessel of the Katherine's toturage, according
to 'the Act 3d and 4th William IV., cap. 54, at least to
carry thirty men.
The men insisted the ship was leaky, and that they
had had a good many spells at the pumps already.
Captain Matthews said the ship did not leak much,
and that,trom her construction, all the water ran into
the well, where there might be a few inches of water,
while the rest of the hold was dry. He. wished the
magistrate to examine the provisions.
Mr. Ballantine declined doing so, and asked the cap-
tain if he was disposed to take the men back, and ship
two additional hands.

Captain Matthews said there were two men whose
conduct had been so very bad that he could not avail
himself of their services. If he did they would foment
disturbances. He afterwards said he would rather not
go to sea with any of the prisoners.
Mr. Ballantine—What, after advancing them two
months' wages?
Captain Matthews—Yes, Sir. The advanced notes
for which the men have obtained cash will not be paid,
Mr. Ballantine said the master could request him,
instead of committing the seamen, to cause them to be
conveyed to the ship again ; but as he would not do so,
he did not think it necessary in this case to send them to
gaol, because it did appear the vessel was short handed.
He would discharge the seamen, and the master could
discharge them too, and take care to forward their re-
gister tickets to the proper officer of Customs. He also
recommended the captain to make up the number of
his crew to thirty at least, and thought he was bound to
do so. _ _

-Captain Matthews said he would act on the magis-
trate's uggestion.
The seamen asked the magistrate to order the restora-
tion of their clothes, chests, and hammocks, now on board
the ship.
..

Mr. ballantine—l shall make no order about that.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT.-011 Tuesday afternoon,
about three o'clock, a melancholy occurrence, attended
with loss of life, took place at Mersey-mills, Stockport,
belonging to Messrs. Kershaw and Co. A young me-
chanic, named Bracegirdle, had been working in a well
iet ele' ascendedteoe
eumtuinpi
it
about thirty feet deep, for the purpose of loosening a
valve connected with the gasometer pit; he remainedodthen
down the first time about a quarter of an hour, and
few
came to the top to breathe more freely.hould not be
minutes he descended again, and as
shouted
thx7radmaitt,hwerorkm,eaenhdaarieet,urniaero-dendo
Hanosrwtoear,wneßeH called to the
come being.nedtnot whd aie s
swainsnsand
foreman of the mechanics, Leech,
who, without hesnHitoaHrtlinnt.ooW
found him senseless et the bohttomto.
necame faint and found
assist-
ance,
act of pushing behind ho had get Bracegirdle
on his shoulder,
theilt ee 'o r two
his
senses
going'd n a which becoming
when
i n;ompeed. entaegled
alone and threw
ladder which
instantly did. In
and bring the end
go
af i thean elai
glrlhoi
calling,
egr;‘,aNhsi
et hlroahwniemfroe,
rdb furtheru
intot retcheei
assist-
ance;vvini
i andnalaioftetetaafterwards
ann w
onw
explosion edrpps returning,hoa sefi Leecht
coeanrl atelodewoa k:luepstdhl taeoocuel Leech
course
rcTshhehi timsoo fs
o
that no one durst descend. Dr. Rayner was sent for,
and arrived in ten minutes; no one would venture to
descend, so he fastened a rope round his body, and went
down about twenty feet Finding that the air was not
so impure but that it could be respired for a short time,
he ascended, when a man named Wood volunteered,
under the direction of Dr. Rayner, to go to the bottom.
A rope was fastened round him, and he was ordered to
shout " Right" every time he felt a check at the rope..
He succeeded in laying hold of one of the bodies, but.
had not strength lo bring it up, so be came to the
top, and, after breathing the fresh air for_
_ll.-
few minutes, took courage, got to the b bottom
lino,
as speedily as possible, laid hold of Bracegirdleexhibi clog.
both were pulled to the surface. The latletrn
icto
to
no signs of life. Le was immediatelyh
the chest and cold water dashed
lin 1 i
open air, his wet clothes removed,
)• and by perseverance
bevan to move and breathe
gently, and
unconscious
for some time was restored,
was sent down the pit as
for some hours. manAnotherrohthe -weteaet7 har shlic6.)rdtlt;
out, but the air had bee( me
soon as possible to
more impure, apdgi
A lamp was put down, which was
pulled up sense] getri theli courme of two minutes he wa
eabeing repeated a slight explosion
°en] red the air somewhat, when a
d Sternly, volunteered to go down. He
man, name ,
third
succeeded in putting a rope round the toot of Leech,
the second descent round the other, and thus be
and at
taken out ; but though every means were tried, he
tookexti" extinguished,
d Tahnid;
did not exhibit any sien of lite ; his mouth was lull of
sand and small stones, so that he had, doubtless, been
first rendered senseless by the gas, and then drowned by
the rush of water from the gasumet r pipe. Be has lett
a wife and two child'en, the yeungest about a month
old. He was a man very highly respected by Lis -em-
ployers and fellow workmen. It is probable that Leech
leid died before Bracegirdle waegoeou; ; the latter was
sitting uprig-ht, the former lying down. Bracegirdle
was in about three.quarters of an hour, Leech about an
hour and a quarter. Had Leech been first taken out,
most heel) both lives would have been aller4, and
"6" .
IBracegirdle was slightly scorched about the f
hands hy the first explcsion,