The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-29 00:00:00

THAMES POLICE.

EXTRAORDINARY INVESTIGATION.-Thursday Thornas
Henry, the mate, and John Wood, the carpenter, of the
brig Matchless, of Aberdeen, now lying in the St. Ka-
tharine Dock, and which has lately arrived from Bahia
with a cargo of sugar and coffee, attended before Mr.
BALLANTINE, to explain the circumstances connected
with the sudden disappearance of Captain Nicholls, the
master of the vessel, at sea. The inquiry originated out
of an application made by a Gentleman to the Magistrate
on Wednesday evening, who stated that the Captain and
a boy bad disappeared during the voyage; that the ship
had been brought home in charge of the mate; and that,
from the fact of the crew having left the vessel directly
she arrived in the port of London, and other suspicious
circumstances, it was strongly suspected that the Captain
and boy had been murdered. Mr. Nicholls, the brother
of the deceased Captain, and several Gentlemen, his
friends, were present during the investigation.
Mr. BALLANTINE read the journal from the 27th of
November to the 4th of December la-t, when the Captain
was missing, from which it appeared that he displayed
evident symptoms of insanity during that time, and be-
haved in such a strange way as to endanger the lives of all
hands on board. He laboured under a delusion that the
crew "ere mutinous and wou'd not obey his lawful com-
m ends, though they always did their duty with alacrity.
One day he asked the mate to take charge of the ship. and
bring her through the Straits of Messina; hut on his
refusal to do so, and telling him that be bad the com-
mand, he confined the mate below. He subsequently
veered the ship in contrary direction, at one time standing
for Corfu, and at another making for Messina. He swore
that it was a day later than it really was, and on the mate
refusing to alter the dates in the log-book, he compelled
the carpenter to nail it to the companion. Many other
strange acts were mentioned in the log-book, such as his
ordering the cook to he bound land and foot, asking the
crew to put him ashore at Calabria, throwing a piece of
wood overboard, and swearing lie would go ashore upon
it, and speaking to the Captain of an American ship to
supply him with fresh hands. On the morning of the
4th of December, when the ship was within a few miles
of Messina, he came below, and borrowed pen and ink of
the mate. Soon afterwards, and while a portion of the
ship's company were at breakfast, he took the
helm from the carpenter, and sent him below,
and ordered a boy named Jefferies to take it. After the
carpenter was gone he sent time boy forward and took the
helm from him. On the return of the carpenter be found
no one at the helm, and asked the hoy what had become of
the Captain. The boy replied, " I don't know; is be not
below ?" The carpenter said he was not. An instant
search was made, but he was not again seen. Al hands
w, re immediately called on deck, anti they at once con-
cluded the Captain had committed suicide. The Captain's
hat, handkerchief, and sea jacket were found att, hut on
further search the deep-sea lead was missing. Subse
quently a note in the Captain's hand-writing was found
behind the looking-glass. It was to the following effect :

Mr. BA LLANTINE saw no reason for suspecting that the
Captain had met with hie death unfairly. There could
he no doubt he had committed suicide, and that from tl,e
time the ship left Bahia he was in a state of insanity. The
British Consul had already investigated the circumstance,
and if he had seen any grounds of suspicion he would have
given notice to the authorities here.
The mate said the boy was missing during the Captain's
lifetime, and while the ship was at Gibraltar.