The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-08 00:00:00

William Naylor, a boy aged twelve years, said,
I am a heckler, in the employ of Mr. Mark Walker,
flaxdresser, in the Leylands. Have been in his
employ three or four years. Knew the deceased
three or four years, who worked at Mr. Walker's,
and who came soon after him. He was employed
as a sere wer till about twenty-nine weeks ago. The
machine had broke at which the deceased was em-
ployed in the mill. About a fortnight before he
left Mr. Walker's the heckles had broken at his
machine. The deceased then went to fetch a
ladder to get some new heckles which were in a
cupboard some yards from the floor, and by accident
he pulled some of them down with his smock. The
overlooker, Joseph Radcliffe, who was at the ma-
chine, then went arid tock !he ladder (which was a
light one) and struck the deceased at the back of
the neck with it; he fell on the floor. The deceased
looked up to the o‘erlooker so that he might not
strike him any more. He got up in a few minutes,
and went to his work at the machine, and continued
to work all the day. On another occasion the over-
looker took some flax out of his holder, and told him
it was not screwed tight enough. The long brush
was near him ; he took it up and struck him
over the head and shoulders with the shaft. The
deceased had said nor done anything before he was
struck, The witness could see the overlooker pull
it out, anti he said he should screw the holder tighter.
He then struck him three or four times very heavy
blows ; he cried out, and the more he cried out he
laid on heavier. I was in the privy in the shop, a
distance of seven yards. Could see them ; there
was no door on. The brush shaft was nearly as
thick as my shackle. He continued to work all that
day. Did not see him struck any more that day.
Saw him struck two or three days after. The de-
ceased and myself and some of the boys were play-
ing in a shed in the yard in the morning whilst the
bell rung, and we pulled some mats down. The
everlooker inquired about the mats. We told him
we had been playing. He then payed us with the
rope over the back. Knew the rope, because I
had been payed before with it. We went to
our work, but the deceased stopped with the over-
looker.—(The witness here produced a rope about
a yard and a half long, which he had brought from
the shop.)—The overlooker put the noose, made to
slip, round the neck of the deceased ; lie threw the
other over the steam-pipe, drew the deceased up,
and let him hang there for three or four minutes
with his feet about two or three feet from the
ground, and his body about two feet from the pipe;
he then let him fall on the floor with the rope
round his neck, took it off, and struck him on the
back, and then sent him to his work. Worked all
the day. I heard him complain of his neck being
stiff that day. He came to his work after that two
or three days, but never came again. He came to
his work about a fortnight after from the time he
was struck with the ladder and the brush-handle.
After that he left for good, now about twenty-nine
weeks since. Saw him several times struck with
the rope over his head by the same overlooker be-
fore he was struck with the ladder. First heard
him complain of the pain in his neck that day he
was hung by the neck, The weight of his body
hung by the rope. The rope is kept on purpose to
beat us with.

The following is the most important part of the
evidence given on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday,
before the magistrates in the present inquiry :
The Rev. Mr. Holloway, clergyman of l3rancaster,
stated that about half-past nine o'clock on Sunday
morning, the Ist of September, he first heard of the
stranding of a vessel on the shore near that town.
He was informed by his servant that a person of
the name of Cutting, who keeps the Ship Inn, had
applied for the loan of a horse, to bring up pas-
sengers from the vessel. He saw Cutting, and told
him that he should not only have his horses but also
his men. He then went immediately over to the
inn to see that preparations were made, fires lit,
beds prepared, and every necessary accommodation
for the reception of the passengers. At the same
time he told the landlady whatever conveniences
she wanted for that purpose should be supplied
from his house. He then ordered his horse, and
was going down to the vessel, when he was told that
the passeagers were coming up : he returned :o the
inn, and found that some passengers had just arrived.
He saw two gentlemen standing by the fire in the
kitchen ; they were not insensible, but were shiver-
! ing with the cold; he subsequently learned they
were a Mr. Logan and Mr. A. Horsburg. Observing
the fire very large,he requested that it might be nearly
extinguished. At that moment some person brought
in some rum or brandy, which he immediately
threw under the grate, under the impression that in
their then state it would be injurious to them. He
strongly recommended them to go to bed, which they
declined, saying that they should soon recover. He
then insisted on their being hand-rubbed to promote
! circulation, which being done, he went to inquire
after the crew, whom he found in art adjoining
room. He asked them if they were exhausted;
they replied that they were not, and said that they
only required some coffee, which he ordered from his
own house, and they obtained coffee and other comforts
from Mr. Bowles, &c. Having understood that there
were some female passengers on board, he inquired
where they were. One of the crew replied that
the three girls had gone to bed, and one man had
gone to Davy's locker. This answer referred to the
females who had been saved. He did not then
know the real circumstances of the case. He asked
the landlady of the inn were any of the female
passengers in bed ? she told him that there was one,
and there was also a man who was very bad ; he
immediately went to visit him, and found two
women endeavouring to hold him, Judging from
his appearance that there was no time to be lost, he
instantly got him rubbed by two men, and had hot
bricks applied to his feet. After half an hour the
man was recovered. In about two hours afterwards
he inquired for the Captain, whom he saw. He asked
him (the Captain) how he found himself ? The Cap-
tain replied, " Very well," or words to that effect.
Observing his jacket wet, he advised him to change
it ; he said " No, I shall have my breakfast first,"
which was then before him. At that instant be was
called out to speak to Mr. Horsburg, who, on ob-
serving him, exclaimed, " Oa 1 the poor ladies."
He ( witness) replied that there was no cause for
alarm, as they were in bed and fast asleep. Some
person present observed, that he (Mr. Horsburg)
meant the ladies in the cabin; this was the first
intimation that he had of any ladies being drowned.
lie immediately returned to the Captain, and asked
him if it was true t hat he had lost any passengers;
he replied that " he had a few." He (witness) de-
sired him to explain himself. The Captain, in reply,
said that he did not know what the witness meant
by explain. He then said to the Captain, " Do
you intend by saying you have lost a few that some
persons are drowned ?" The Captain replied in
the affirmative. He then asked the Captain " had
he ever heard of a British sailor eating his breakfast
with the coolness and collectedness of a bu.cher
under such circumstances ?" He inquired where
the ladies were; the Captain said that he had left

George Mortimer, aged 12, Henry Smith, aged
14, three other boys, and Mrs. Hannah Turner,
gave similar evidence of the ill treatment of the de-
ceased.

At this stage of the proceedings the inquiry was
postponed till Thursday evening, when the follow-
additional evidence was adduced :
Samuel Smith, Esq., said—l am senior sur-
geon to the Leeds General Infirmary. I first saw
the deceased many weeks ago; he was a patient in
theinfirmary under the care of Mr. Hey. My at-
tention was called to him as a case of most serious
injury produced by blows. I examined and found
him in a state of hopeless palsy. I saw him a few
weeks afterward.; ; he was in a more emaciated con-
dition at that time than before. I inquired into the
cause of his complaint, and he told me something.
He was then perfectly sensible. I had not said any
thing to him as to his chance of recovery. I made
inquiries of him and ascertained that he had had a
blow. I found a trifling swelling at the back part of the
neck below the setting on of the head; that was the
whole of the external appearance. The patient
being under Mr. Hey's care, I did not particularly
examine him. I saw no more of him till Tuesday
last. I was visiting a patient at the Burmandtofts,
and two women who were going about begging
linen for him asked me if I would call and see him,
and I called as I returned home at his father's house.
I found him in a state of total insensibilily,and he was
dying. His hands were cold. He was dreadfully ema-
ciated and sunk. I saw him no more
He died the following morning. I have since his
death examined him, in conjunction with Mr. Wil-
liam Hey. We did not open the body ; we exa-

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9, 26,
1-6-"0-rereeid /1-4-6?-1e
.02 62-774) them in the cabin, which v.-ffi lot water. UnrK's
ge
staryling that the vessel was on dry land, he asked . •
C 7-- s the Captain " how could that be ?" He replied
that a sea had struck the vessel about eight o'clock,
carried away the skylights, and filled the cabin with
water. He then asked him if that was true, or
es,
whether he was mad. The Captain coolly replie
that it was true; the ladies were drowned. He then
asked him if he had made any attempt to recover
them. The Captain said " No, it was of no use;
they had been dead nearly four hours." He ob-
served to him (the Captain) that it appeared,
from his own statement, that it was impossible ;
for he had been up some time, and it was now
half-past 11 o'clock only. The Captain observed
that he supposed what was meant by the word re-
cover, was whether any person attempted to rescue
t hem : he said that no such attempt could be made,
far when the accident occurred no sailor could stand
on the deck. He replied, how could he know that,
when no attempt was made to do so ? He (the
witness) then said to the captain, " It appears that
the ladies were drowned at eight o'clock, and no
attempt was made to rescue them; and you and your
rrew coolly come on shore without even inquiring
whether they were dead or not; is that true ? ' The
captain said " It is too true; I have already told you
the ladies are drowned." He then, under great
excitement, exclaimed, " Was it possible that such
a brute could exist in the shape of a British sea-
man ?" He (witness) then mounted his horse arid
rode towards the beach, but returned to ask the
captain to whom he had given charge of the vessel;
he replied that he had given it to a Mr. Green. He
asked him if he was one of the coast guard. He
(the captain) replied " Yes." He then went im-
mediately to the beach, where he observed a waggon
just moving from the vessel. He inquired if it con-
tained the bodies :he was informed that it did. He
bserved about 100 persons on board. He asked
what they were doing, aad was told that they were
saving the cargo. He said that it appeared that there
was very little sympathy for the sufferers. He
turned round his horse to observe the state of the
vessel. He did so, and then inquired had all the
bodies been taken out, and he was informed that
they had. He asked how many, and was told there
were 10. He then said "Is this what the fellow
calls a few ?" The man replied, that if they had
only battened down the skylights, they would
have been all alive. He had previously given
instructions for the reception of the bodies in the
church. He then went to the captain, and told
him that, so far from his ship being protected, it was
being plundered. The captain replied that he had
given it up, and had nothing further to do with it.
He told him that he thought he should be held re.
sponsible for the loss of any property. The mate
heard the observation, and said how could the crew
go down without clothes. He replied that he
would procure him (the mate) clothes, which he did,
and he believed that he went down to the vessel to
assist the coat-guard in protecting the property on
board. He then went to the church, and finding
that they were all females, ordered some linen to be
procured, which being done, he placed his clerk at
the door with strict injunctions to prevent the en-
trance of any person. He told the women who
were about the bodies that he expected the strictest
honesty, and that the smallest trifle they found on
any of-the bodies must be brought to him, and they
should he rewarded. He was then informed that
they had been already stripped and searched. The
women then proceeded to do what was necessary,
which occupied them till nearly 5 o'clock. At this
period he entered the church, and one of the women
informed him that the body of the little boy (Master
Retch) was quite warm. He put his lewd upon
his cheek, and found it so. He felt the other bodies,
and they were also warm. How deep was the re-
gie he then felt that an attempt had not been made
in the first instant to rec over the bodies statutes, and
that means of reanimatian had not been tried! At this
petit' Mr. Reeve and Mr.B esker entered the church,
tied having looked at the bodie-, Mr. Reeve told
witness that he had found a reticule, which he opened,
arid took from it a letter which was addressed to
" Mrs. William Pyne, St. George's-terrace, Bays-
water." He observed that was a good clue to find
out the relatives of the unfortunate sufferers. (The
Rev. Gentleman then went on to state the manner
he adopted to apprise the relatives of this 1 rmentable
occurrence.) He then went to the Ship Inn, in the
yard of which, amongst other things, he perceived
a green bag, which he opened, and found to contain
a mahogany writing-desk, with the name of Captain
M Queen upon it. He, in the presence of Mr.
Horsburg (a passenger), and another gentleman,
opened the desk to find out to whom, it belonged,
and on examination he ascertained that it belonged
to Mrs. Pyne, Captain M'Queen being her first hus-
band. He then went in search of the Captain of
the Wenwss, and was informed that he had gone to
Docking to the Rev. Mr. Hare, the Magistrate. He
subsequently saw him in the afternoon of that day,
and stated to him how insecure he considered the
luggage of the passengers to he. The Captain re-
plied that he had appointed a Mr. Mingay as an
agent, and he had nothing further to do with it, To
show him (the Captain) how insecure the property
was, he (the witness) told him he had taken a
writing-desk from the yard of the Inn without any
person's knowledge, and he felt it his duty to apply
to the i\lsgistrates upon the subject, upon which he
(the Captain) said he would take them to Mr. Srms's
storehouse, over which Mr. Mingay had appointed one
of the coast-guard. He (the witness) r, plied that be
felt that he and the crew conducted themselves with
great neglect,and the matter would doubtless undergo
an investigation. This was on Monday, the 2,1
of September. On Tuesday, the 3d of September,
the Coroner came to hold the inquest. He (the
Coroner) wished the bodies to be publicly viewed,
to which he objected. The Coroner's Jury were
permitted to view them. He was not examined
as a witness. He understood that a Mr.
M‘Naughten, agent to the Leith Company, had
arrived. He (witness) went over to see him. He
found him in conversation with the Captain's mate
and steward, and from some words he overheard,
he was induced to form an opinion that they were
concocting a case. The words he overheat(' were
(though he could not fix them on any particular
person of the three)—" You must mind and stick
Ito that." He immediately called the Coroner out,
cud told him from what he had heard he was satis-
fied that he ought to give those gentlemen a severe
And separate examination. He had previously said
to the Coroner that he thought it was a pity that
,he inquest was to be held so soon. He oh served
that he thought there ought to be some person
on the part of the relatives present. The Co-
lones replied that he understood that Mr. Ha-
milton had arrived. He (witness) replied that he
had, but that he was not in a fit state of mind to
examine persons who would naturally put the best
face on the matter. The Coroner then went into
the Jury-room. Witness then had a conversation
with the Captain (Nesbit), who told him that it
would be a convenience to him to go down to the
vessel with Mr. M•Naughten. Witness observed
that he thought Mr. Mingay's going would answer
as well. He (the Captain) then informed him that
he had not been to the vessel since the occurrence.
Witness said to him, "Is it possible that it is
the first time since Sunday ? or do you mean to say
that you have not been to
your vessel since the
accident ?" The Captain replied, that he had been
indisposed. He expressed his surprise at that, for
he had been at Docking since the accident, and ap-
peared to be in good health. In consequence of
something he had heard he questioned him as to the
state of his sails ; he (the Captthaeins)ks)allidghtot:, him,
" they were not seaworthy, andlsusifeyrifiogril
ing
He (witness) asked him it he was
nothing
e Captainto do it r‘evpithhe.d hart
badness of them when he left London ? He said
that 12/. worth of work had been done to thorn.
positionresPc the sh p, any pas-
aware of the
hownd
He then e‘rivasa,skfieodin him
the k
filled lseeda thestr" ccakb ii:reri;diiire:aahr'rivralidlieendde instant. n'vta.y He asked him it it
that the skylights were not covered over;
h:ee' dltgotelusencion: that