The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-29 00:00:00

stab
tbdet .aluenybmctoeeeshapoasi thumwehdel
llwt eass from
sure
thatth e
enough to the deceased to
he en only
died. five
minutes
He could see the wrestling,
blood was so clotted tha
under the shoulder; thte
the wound was ; he fancied the blood came from
other
Irwe
ozwmna cswoaae tssenp t aast
was
Nichols.
:d;
blackbhn :tetB:rt.
man ; they hailed the brig G of Ar-
broath, fur assistance, but noneern'
three guns as signals.
There came.
They fired
within hail, but they did not send, man-of-war
he body lay
on the deck all night, covered up, and
shore next morning. Nichols came was taken on
in the
cabin after the death of Phillips -he waswnn quite
sober. Witness said to him, "Joe, you seent w.hat
you have done ?" and he said, in a half-crying
manner, "No, Mr. Brooks, I have not done It I've
had nothing to do with it." The •
prisoner's right
arm was covered with blood when he came down
into the cabin ; also some on his blue shirt.
Witness felt the blood at the back of deceased's
shirt. [There were two wounds, one in the
neck, and one under the shoulder.] Witness sent the
prisoner on deck, and followed him as far as the com-
panion. Witness and the captain and the second mate
sat up all night. The next morning the captain and
crew went before the captain of the port. The pri-
soner was put in prison, and the witness went to the
British consul's, and was examined in the absence of
the prisoner. The priioner was not searched on
board after the accident, and when he was taken to
the prison he was not searched.
_The captain brought
two knives off frogs_ tha,,-asiasitiVs. When he left
Thomas in charge otthe vessel he was a little drunk,
and so were all the sailors. He was not so himself.
They had been discharing a cargo of 3,000 demijohns
of gin, but he did not think the men got any of it.
They probably had rum from on shore. He did not
know what they had. The crew were all discharged
except the second mate. Witness and a boy named
Rose were sent home with the prisoner by the British
Consul. The deceased was a native of Jamaica. He
never spoke after the words before-mentioned.
John Rose, a boy on trial before becoming an ap-
prentice on board the brig, and acting as cabin-boy,
deposed to being in bed at near eleven o'clock on the
21st of July. He heard a noise, and the captain
went on deck; he followed him, and saw the prisoner
and Phillips come from before the windlass
struggling, but he could not see distinctly. The
captain and he went as far back as the companion,
and saw them both fall. Phillips got up and said,
" Oh, Mr. Brooks, I'm stabbed." Mr. Brooks
took hold of him and led him as far as the
quarter-deck, and there Phillips fell and died.
Mr. Brooks said, " Oh, Joe, you've done this."
The prisoner was close to the deceased at the time.
Joe said, " No, I have not, Mr. Brooks." The crew
had been drinking. The next morning he saw the
deceased had a cut right across the front of his hand.
There was a gore of blood coming through the clothes
from the left shoulder. He said to the captain,
" You had better not go nearer," lest he might get
hurt, for he heard some one call for his knife. The
captain went back to the companion and got a
musket. He fired three times for assistance, but none
came. Witness saw ;two knives taken from the men
when in the guard-boat next morning, but not from
the prisoner. They found an adze on board next
morning belonging to the prisoner, but it had nothing
on it.

The room was cleared for the bench to deliberate.
The case is very peculiar. From the information
in the magistrates' hands, it appears that the deposi-
tions were taken in the absence of the prisoner, and
copies only of them sent home. The witnesses are
totally without money, and have only had 103.6 d. from
the relieving officer, and if it had not been for the
mayor's interference, both parties, the mate who is a
respectable man, and the boy a very intelligent lad,
would have been taken into the workhouse or
assistance refused. Then how are the witnesses,
when bound over, to maintain themselves, so as to be
in attendance punctually at the assizes ? There was
much consideration of the subject, and the case is full
of difficulties, to say nothing of the great expense to
the town, which has nothing to do with the parties.
Finally, the prisoner was brought in, and in answer
to the usual question, said, " I know nothing more
about it than the child unborn."
He was then fully committed for trial at the March
assizes.