The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-05 00:00:00

EXCIIEQUER.-(THIS_ DAY).

(Sittings at Nisi Prius, in Westminster, after Term, before
the LORD CHIEF BARON and a ConAmon Jury.)
JOYCE V. ROBSON.

This was action of debt, brought to recover 160/. for golds
sold and delivered, and board and lodging provided on the
defendant's account, for one John Hopkinson, to which the
defendant had pleaded that he never was indebted.
Mr. Atkinson appeared for ti.e plaintiff and Mr. Knowles
for the defendant.

The plaintiff was a tailor, carrying on business in
the City, and the defendant was the well-known sporting
character who was connected with the Running Rein affair,
in which he came off a loser of considerable sums of money.
It would appear from the evidence that some time ago the
defendant was staying at the White Horse Inn, Fetter-lane,
with a friend named Hopkinson, from whom he borrowed
200/., and, as a return for the loan, it was agreed that Hop-
kinson should board and lodge with, as well as obtain clothes
from, the plaintiff for a specified period, at the defendant's
expense. Hopkinson accordingly lived with the plaintiff fur
two years, and was amply provided with food and clothing,
and supplied with pocket-money at the rate of Bs. per week,
end the present action was brought to compel the defendant
to reimburse the plaintiff, in accordance with the terms of
the agreement made two years ago.
Mr. KNOWLES, fur the defence, contended that the case
involved a very improbable story, which it was impossible for
any twelve men of common sense to credit for a single mo-
ment. One would imagine that Hopkinson was a helpless
lad, unable to Like care of either himself or his money, and
that commiseration for his helpless state moved the defendant
to superintend the disbursement of his money, and see that
be was properly lodged, fed, and clothed. But the fact was
not so; Hopkinson was a full-grown man of thirty years of
age, and just as capable of taking care of himself and his
money as the defendant. At all events, he denied that de-
fendant was liable for the money and clothes supplied to
Hopkinson, although he was ready to admit that he ought
to pay for the board and lodging. And this he lied done to
the fullest extent, for he had paid the plaintiff 43/., which
was more than the bill made the board and lodging come to.
The LORD Cur BARON', in summing up, remarked that
there was an exceedingly wholesome statute in existence,
-namely, the Statute of Frauds, which required that when a
party undertook to pay money for another, the agreement
should be in writing, and even at the risk
of sacrificing a desire to do justice to a man who was money
out of pocket, he thoaght it would be better fur them to be
guided by the strict letter of this law.
The jury then retired, and after a rather long consulta-
tion, returned into Court with a verdict for the plaintiff—
Damages, 68!.

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.]
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Wir.u.ors and Mr. Justice CnEsswELL.
ALLEGED MURDERS ON BOARD THE TORY.

Geo-ge Johnstone, formerly captain of the ship Tory, whose
case has excited such extraordinary interest, was this day
placed at the bar on an indictment charging him with the
wilful murder of Thomas Reason. There were other indict-
ments, but the charge, in the first instance, was confined to
the murder of Reason.
The Attorney-General, Mr. Bodkin, and Mr. Clerk, were
for the prosecution ; Mr. Jervis, Q.C., and Mr. Huddlestone,
appeared for the defence.
The prisoner, who seemed in a better state of health than
when he appeared before the magistrate at the Thames
Police-court, was accommodated with a chair, and seemed
during the proceedings to pay particular attention to the
evidence, more especially where it seemed to go against
himself. He is not by any means a man of unprepossessing
appearance.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL rose to state the case. He said
—My Lords and Gentlemen of the Jury, in an important
and serious case of this description, involving as it does the
death of a fellow-creature, and on the issue of which the life of
another person depends,l am sure it will be unnecessary for me
to intreat your careful consideration and most patient atten-
tion. It is possible that many of the circumstances, which
have already been communicated to the public, have reached
your ears ; but you will not be required to be told by me to
distrust these statements, and to act on the present occasion
entirely on the facts which will be sworn to by the witnesses.
In disposing of the anxious and painful duty which is cast
upon me, I have found it extremely difficult, in considering the
proper way to introduce the case to you, to extricate from a
variety of facts and circumstances that portion of the witnesses'
statement which applies to the case immediately before the
Court, without wandering into other and less important particu-
lars. I have reflected over and over Beain as to the proper course
that I ought to take, and. with the deepest feelings of the
responsibility which attaches to me, I trust that in giving
you a sort of connected narration of the whole of the proceed-
ings, so as to enable you to form a correct
judgment on the subject, I shall not omit to
mention anything which in justice ought to form
part of the case; at the same time I trust that I shall intro-
duce nothing irrelevant to prejudice the prisoner in your
estimation. We have selected as the first case to be ex-
amined into the serious charge against the prisoner of the
wilful murder of Thomas Reason. The circumstance took
place on board of a vessel named the Tory, in which the pri-
soner was captain, on her homeward voyage. She had, it
appeared, sailed from Liverpool in 1844. for Bombay and
China. Reason joined at Singapore, on her homeward voyage.
She was a vessel of some 608 tons and had a crew of 26 men.
She had sailed from Hong-Kong in the beginning of May,
1845, with a valuable cargo. The vessel was worth (both
ship and cargo) somewhere about 80,0001.—such a charge
would naturally make any man anxious to whose care it was
entrusted, and this circumstance must be taken into consi-
deration in weighing the case. When the vessel left Hong-
Kong she passed the Cape of Good Hope without touching
there, but after doubling it the provisions And water began to
fail. The men were put on an allowance of a quart a day of
water, instead of a gallon, which was the usual quantity
served out. They naturally, under these circumstances,
expressed some discontent and dissatisfaction. The captain
had intended to touch at St. Helena, but, in consequence of
NOM accident to his chronometers, he was out in his longi-
tude, and therefore missed the island. He afterwards ex-
pressed his intention to touch at the Island of Ascension,
which might bo five to six days' run from St. Helens, and
the provisions and water began to fail more and mere.
On the 18th of September it was supposed by the captain
that they were near the Island of Ascension, and he hove to
and remained there during the whole of the night. In the
course of that evening Reason, the deceased, in talking to
some of the men, said that if they did not make the island
in the morning the captain should no longer be Captain
Johnstone. I believe that from someting that will appear in
the course of the trial it will be seen that these expressions
conveyed no intimation either against the life of the captain
or against his command in the ship. The Learned Attorney-
General then proceeded to detail the facts of the case (facts
which have already frequently appeared in our columns, and
which will be better understood by the evidence), from the
time that the Tory passed the Island of Ascension, the in •
creasing dissatisfaction of the men, the falling in with a
French barque and the reception from her of some provisions
and water and .a cask of wine, the prisoner's increasing par-
tiality for intoxicating spirits, the chasing Rambert, the chief
mate, and two other men with a cutlass across the deck, and the
chief mate's going overboard, to the death of Reason, from
wounds inflicted by the captain in the cabin, on the night of
the 24th October. The Learned Gentleman thencooufl concluded,
tdh, etdoealatyh
" heave endeavonred, as dispassionately as
all:the circumstances of the case befor yu
of Reason no doubt can be entertained,, no.
r r the causes
which led to it. It is impossible for me to anticipate
the defence of the prisoner may be, nor will liwhat
attempt to
create a prejudice or prepossession in your minds
wfiat course may possibly be taken on the presentggestisu ng
go before you in the plainest
I wish that all the facts should
and simplest way, in order that you may be enabled to
a dispassionate judgment upon them. I therefcre wish no
.portion of the grounds on which the prisoner may rest his
defence to be occupied by any remarks on my part. I have
endeavoured to discharge my duty faithfully, and at the same
time fairley. I will call witnesses to prove the circumstances
I have detailed, and without further observation or reason on
the facts, I shall leave the case to your consideration and
judgment." The Learned Attorney-General then sat down.:
Arthur Gilmore Spence was the first witness called, and
was :examined by Mr. BODRIN,--I was on board the ship
Tory on her voyage from Hong-Kong to England. She be-
longed to Liverpool, and I was apprentice on board. The
prisoner was captain cf her, and the crew consisted, on an
average, of 27. No. unpleasantness arose on the outward
voyage. We left Hong• Kong for England in May,
1845. We had a man named Reason, an able seaman,
us at Singapore. The mate.; were
who joined
Willim Henry Rambert:and William Mars. The cargo was
valuable, consisting for the most part of tea. When we
had r
passed the Cape thewind was favourable, and we made
for St. Helena. The captain assigned as a reason for passing
the island, that his chronometer were wrong, and that he was,
therefore, out of his longitude. He asked the crew if they
were favourable to a run for scensi on p
, anrodyitshioeynssawidertehevy- were. ,
This/might be a run of six days. The
aquagratilon. Thee I
eras
usual.
and the allowance
allowance is from of
watpeCitswastoa
laid up at the time, aßnidx
did not hear much murmuring
among the crew; but they seemed to think that the captain
had some private reason for i
passing the island of Madeira.
After missing the. island of Ascension, the mates were called
down into the cabin, and, after a consultation, it ws -
mined to proceed on the homeward voyage. I find by the
logbosk that this was on the 20th Sept. The allowance of
water was, after that, further diminished to a pint a day, and
the bread
tecLtalf a pound a day, till it was altogether cone
deter-in-Inca to was very soon after the captain had
a French make for home. We fell in with
barque at eight on the morning of the 23d.
I miler:o,er the fact of
eltebert's jumping overboard,
although I did not myself s
we went on pretty comfortablymtlo s°.
raTal, at Ave o'clock on the 22d Oclultivh The captain went
we gat
But from that day
made the island Of
asliore, and I accompanied him.
Henry Thompson, Slack, and the othe°rll' -David Johnstone,
the boat's crew. I speak to the best of manyall,nr:ner
rtelizeudeg,
e.werieloef
captain retarnedon board the same day,
At this time the harbour-master was on board, in returned also
galip. The Am Wm I Hum apps

to have been drinking slightly. He always appeared given
more to drinking after the death of Rambert. On that oc-
casion he was rather the worse for drink when he went
ashore, and he was with the English Consul for nearly an '
hour and half alone, but whether he was drinking then I
cannot say. On the day on which Reason died I was in the
captain's cabin. It was late in the evening, nearly bed-
time. The captain desired me to stop in the cabin. A
charge was brought against the deceased Reason by a
man named Morris. The deceased had said "that he
would have law when he came to England," or words to
that effect. The captain then desired Reason to be sent for.
He came down then. Barry Yelverton and William Dunn,
the cook, were in the cabin, as well as a foreigner, Jules Cor-
diavello. The Captain was more than half drunk. He had
been taking brandy and water before. I did not remain ,in
the cabin till Reason's death. To the best of my knowledge
the captain took hold of him and shook him on the sofa,
where he desired him to sit. He struck him over the side
with the point of the bayonet. I can recollect that he
spoke :some words to him first. I think he said
you are a d- mutineer, sir. Reason did not answer.
I did not see the captain do anything more
while I was there. There were bayonets always about the
cabin. He had not a bayonet in bis hand when Morris first
spoke to him, but he took it into his hand when RCE.2olltirst
came down. There was a boy on board named Glover, and
soon after I left he came and called me. I went down to
the cabin again, and saw the captr.in end Dunn there. Rea-
son was lying down alongside the sofa, and the ccok in-
formed me that he was dead. I disbelieved it, but after-
wards found that he was dead. The captain looked as if
he were more in possession of his senses than before I left
the cabin, and he appeared calm and unmoved. The body
was carried out and buried ot! the following morning. I read
the burial service over him. I find an entry in the log on
the 24th Octcber, signed by the captain. J made that entry
by the captain's desire, Ile told me that Reason had died

in a fit, and Dunn told me so also. I had a conversation
with the captain before, and he desired me to say that he had
died in A fit. I entered in the log-book what he desired

me to enter, although I guessed how the man had died. I
think that the other names were signed after Mars died.
In general cases the captain and the two chief officers sign
the log, but no others.
Cross-examined by Mr. JERVIS—This voyage was the first
long voyage I made under Captain Johnstone. Nothing
particular occurred in the outward voyage. Rambert was a
new hand. I cannot say how many new hands were shipped.
I cannot say that any of the hands had shipped under false
names, or that they had left their ships at Hong-Kong.
Rambert leaped overboard on the 25th of September. I did
not hear some days before that that there was to be a mu-
tiny. Rambert was in the habit of treating the men un-
kindly,.but the captain was not. Ile seemed very attentive
to the interests of the owners, and before this time was very
quiet. The men were at this time grumbling because they
were on short allowance. Yelverton and French made some
communication to the captain, that the crew, or part of the
crew,lhad sharpened their knives with the intention of taking
the captain's 11'e. French accused the cook with a design on
the captain's life. This communication added to the captain's
excitement. A man named Cole informed him, also, that the
crew intended, after taking his life, to sail with the ship to
the Continent. Dunn told the captain, in about an hour
after the previous statements, that French had sharpened his
knife on both sides, and said that he would be one of the first
to t,ke his life. He also heard the foreigner tell the
captain that Gair, a seaman, had come to him,
and pointing a marlinespike at his breast, threat-
ened to run it into him if he would not assist
to kill the captain.. The crew generally were in
the habit of carrying tales to the captain of the intention of
other persons. The way this was done was, the captain
would call down one of the crew, and holding a cutlass over
bins, would threaten to cut hies if he would not reveal some-
thing about some of the other men, and to save himself the
man did so. Barry Yelverton, French, and Dunn's commu-
nications were voluntary ones. After Rambert's death and
the arrival of the Tory at Fayal she was boarded by the cap-
tain of an English vessel, who remained for about an hour and
a half, having free access to the ship, and free com-
munication with the crew of the Tory. After leaving
Fayal, French made another voluntary communication to the
captain. When the boy Glover called for me the captain
was more than half drunk, and he had been in this excited
state for some time before. When Reasen was called down
the captain struck him on the side e ith the bayonet.
Re-examined by Mr. BODKIN—I wrote the false entries
because I knew the captain would put an end to auy one's
existence who refused to obey him. He said to me " that if
I disobeyed him, I should not have long to live.
Julian Cordiavello, examined by Mr. CeEnnt—Joined the
ship at Liverpool for the outward and home voyage. He
recollected the death of Reason some three days after the
ship left Fayal on her return. He remembered his being in
the cabin at about midnight with others. 'When Reason came
in the captain told him to sit down ou the sofa; he had then a
cutlass in his hand. He said, then you want law, l'll give
you English law, and he struck him on the forehead with
the cutlass. He then seized Reason by the collar, and shoved
him from side to side. The captain then threw the cutlass
on the floor, and called the boy Jenning to bring the bayonet.
He struck him: twice with it, and the man died immediately.
Mr. Justice WILLIAMS—Where did he strike him ? Wit-
ness—On the breast. He called Dunn, and the man was dis-
covered to be dead. The body of Reason was thrown over-
board.
Cross-examined—He knew a Frenchman on board
of the name of Morris. He was shipped at
Hong-Kong. He (the witness) did not know that Morris
had been on board the ship William the Fourth, or that
he had been accused of mutiny. Witness had never heard
Reason threaten the captain's life. The captain in his con-
duct was very violent, very much like a wild animal. He
often exclaimed, "this is the arm that slew the Boyne at
the battle cf Bannockburn."
Barry Yelverton was next examined, and said he was an
apprentice on beard the Tory, and was in her on the voyage
from Hong-Kong. He recollected the ship falling short of
water and provisions before the ship reached Ascension.
The night on which they expected to make Ascension,
he asked Reason if he thought they would reach land before
the next morning? His answer was, lie did not know; but
if they did so, lie would put a blue shirt on the forearm, so
that some man-of-war's men would come on board and learn
how the men had been treated on the voya,s eby Captain
Johnstone. That was all that witness heard' Reason say.
Witness told this to the captain after the Tory fell in with
the French barque, from which they obtained provisions.
He believed that he told the captain the day after
leaving the French barque. The captain called
witness into the cabin then, and said that, judg-
ing from the mate's appearance, he concluded all
was not right, and asked him if he had heard anything.
The captain had a cutlass inihis hands, and said, " Tell me at
once, did you hear any one threaten my life ?" The captain
then sent for French, and said to him, • French, did you not
hear Reason say, that if the ship did not make the Island of
Ascension before morning he would have my life ? '
French said he bad, and that the witness also
had heard the same. Witness then told all he
had heard, which he had already stated in evidence.
French also said he had seen the men sharpening their knives
on the grindstone. About an hour after witness went on
deck, and saw the captain and several other of the officers
armed. The men were all aft, and the captain was cutting
at them. Among the men aft were Reason, Lee, and Cone,
and these were the men the captain was cutting. at then.
They were in irons at the time at the break of the poop.
They were cut on the head, and witness saw all the three
bleeding. The smile night the three were hauled into the tops,
but before this they had an anchor shackle placed on the necks of
each. They were hauled into the tops by ropes. Shortly
after this Rambert jumped overboard. Ile recollected the
ship being off Fayal, and the captain going on shore to the
British Consul's. Witness went with him, but remained on
shore by the boat till the captain's return. The captain ap-
peared to be rather intoxicated when he came back, and said
something about the crew, but the words he did not recollect.
About two days after he recollected Reason, who was now
first mate, being sent for into the cabin. At this time the cap-
tain appeared to be very intoxicated. Morris was sent for a
little before, and asked if he had heard of any plot against his
( the captain's) life. He answered all that he had heard
.Reason, Cone, and Lee say was, that on arriving in London
they would have law for him for what he had done to them.
The captain, on Reason coming into the cabin, said he would
have his law now, and cut the latter several times on the
head. Reason was rent on deck after this, and again sent
for about four hours after, and cut at in a singular manner.
He also pitched him about with his bands. Reason asked
the captain several times to spare him, but he paid no
attention to it, and shouted out the expression about the
battle of Bannockburn. The captain also stabbed Reason
in the left breast twice. About ten minutes after Reason
died. The dead body was afterwards placed at the foot of the
cabin, when the captain thrust the cutlass into it at the
shoulder, saying he would serve the whole of them in the
same way. The most of the crew were by at the time, hav-
ing come down to see the body. Witness the following night
heard the captain say he would make the crew walk the
plank. The captain drank much more after falling in with
the French barque than before. The witness, in con-
tinuation, repeated in substance the evidence about the entries
which he made in the log-book, made, as witness declared, at
the dictation of the captain, and the particulars of which
were given fully at the time of the examination before the
magistrates. Ile made the deposition he then did, because
the captain threatened the crew, if they did not do so, he
would have their life's blood.
The witness was cross-examined at some length, but no-
thing was elicited that materially affected his evidence in
chief.

David Johnson called and examined—Said he was a sea-
man on board the Tory. He joined the ship at Hong-Kong.
He remembered the death of Reason. On the evening be-
fore Reason died the deceased came to witness's berth and
said that the captain had called him. He saw a cut across
his forehead and the blood was upon it. Reason was called
by Julian and went away. After that witness never saw
Reason alive, but next day he saw the dead body about 8
o'clock, when he saw four of the ship's company carrying
it along the deck. Witness saw the body bare and noticed
several stabs.
Franklin Tucker was next examined, and deposed as to
Reason. The last time he saw him alive was on the morning
of the day of his death ; he was going down into the cabin,
and he had several cuts on his head. The next time he saw
him was about two hours after, when he saw him brought up
on deck dead. Witness afterwards examined the body, and
it was much cut on the head and body, apparently with a
cutlass.
There was nothing elicited in the cross-examination of
this witness.
Wm. Dunn, the cook of the ship, was next examined—He
deposed to the main features of the evidence already given,
respecting the scarcity of provisions when expecting to reach
Ascension. The witness, in addition, said the crew were very
discontented, the captain having refused to run for a sail that
was in sight. French he recollected coming to him in the
poop with his knife sharpened, and said if the captain
touched him he would run it into him. Witness pro-
posed that the captain should be taken and
confined till they reached an English port. Reason,
in reply to French, said they conld manage it without
murdering the captain. The next day they fell in with the
French barque. He told the captain what passed on the
23d, because witness heard that French had informed the
captain that he (the witness) intended shutting him in the
poop and murdering him. The witness then went on in cor-
roboration of Reason, Lee, and Cone, being subsequently put
in irons, the particulars of the death of the former, 'and as to
having signed the log-book, stating that Reason had diedin a
fit. He signed the log-book entirelyfromthethreats of the cap.
tain. The witness was cross-examined at some length with
the object of showing that the witness had freely stated that
Reason bad died in a fit, and that he had heard the crew
threaten the captain's life. On these heads no material
point was elicited, otherwise than already given, though he
stated he had some words with the captain respecting a
woman on board, whom the latter accused him of living with.
James Glover, the steward,followed in examination, and
deposed as to the cutting and stabbing of Reason on the
night in question. His evidence was mainly in confirmation
of that of Yelverfon and Julian.
into the
Henry Slack was next called,e whoah i
cabin
h
brieflyyth e captain on
deposed to
hav-
ing heard Reason called the
evening before his death.
boy, the son of the female
Henry James Stephen, a -
passenger, Mrs. Thompson,,:
was examined as to the captain
threatenin when in Fay-al to "kill them all," and also as to
g
the death of Reason. He did not see Reason struck, but
saw hini after his death. Lie had two rvulds Ou his ,

James Sinclair, the carpenter, was called, but counsel for
the Crown declining to put any question to him,
Mr. JERVIS examined him at sonic length. His evidence,
which in substance was the same as that given be-
fore the magistrate, was to the effect—that the
men were very discontented, and had threatened
among themselves to do some bodily harm to the
captain, and that Reason and a man named Curteis were
going to take the ship to America. The captain, on hearing
the.e reports, became very excited, and on the same even-
ing he chased several of those whom he suspected round the
deck.

Cross-examined—Witness did not hear the parties referred
to threaten the captain ; he only heard French and Yelver-
ton tell the captain that these threats had been held out. '
Witness put Reason, Lee, and Cone in irons, and shackles on
their neck, by the order of the captain. They were much
cut and bleeding at the time.
Peter Curteis was called, and denied that he had ever
threatened the captain's life, or heard the crew say that
they would take the ship to America, as had been alleged.
He saw Reason go dawn into the cabin on the night before
his death, and he was one that helped to bring the body up
next morning. On going down to fetch it, be saw the cap-
tain standing over the body with the point of his cutlass in
the body.
Cross-examined—Witness never told the captain that
Rambcrt wanted the men to go aft and take his life. What
he told him wm, that Rambcrt wanted the men to go aft
and make the captain fast.
This closed the case for the prosecution.
After some consultation, it was arranged that Mr. Jervis
should address the jury in the morning, on the opening of the
Court.
One of the officers of the Court was then sworn to take
charge of the jury till the morning, and the Court adjourned

TATTERSALL'S—THIS EVENING.
Six o'CLOCK.

CHESTER cur.
20 to 1 agst Best Bower
22 to 1 agst 'Millstone
25 to 1 agst Sweetmeat
35 to 1 agst Intrepid
40 to 1 agst Salopian
40 to 1 agst Mermaid—taken
40 to 1 agst Cataract
40 to 1 agst Discord
DERBY.
9 to 2 agst Sting
15 to 1 agst Brocardo
22 to 1 agst Ingo
25 to 1 agst Spithead
30 to 1 agst,Malcolm
40 to 1 agst Tibthorpe
40 to 1 atilt Humdrum

RAILWAY COM IT TEES.

(THIS DAY.)

Sub-Committee No. 1.

LIVERPOOL, MANCHESTER, AND NEW-

CASTLE-UPON-TYNE RAILWAY.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)

Some other allegations of a similar character were also
made out, to the satisfaction of the Committee, and it was
ultimately decided that the standing orders had not been
complied with.
MANCHESTER. AND r. =Mir GRAM
RAILWAY.
• The next petition called on was that of the Manchester
and Birmingham Railway Company, for leave to bring in a
Bill authorising the construction of four important branches
from their main line. The branches were respectively desig-
nated as the Killington blanch, the Macclesfield deviation,
the Prestbury branch, and the Northwich branch.
The customary proofs having been put in, the Committee
declared that the standing orders had been complied with.

NORTH STArrOILIDSIIIRE (CHUHNET VAL-
LEY) RAILWAY.

The Committee took the formal proofs in this line, but the
leafing of the allegations of a number of petitions opposed to
,be project was postponed till to-morrow.
The Committee adjourned at Four o'clock.

Sub-Committee No. 2,
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)

DEZFAST AND COUNTY DOWN 11,AILWAT.
In the case of this Bill the Committee declared the stand-
ing orders to have been complied with.
TETE 33LACZDURN, CHOTMEY, AND IXVZIZT