The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-20 00:00:00

MURDERS ON BOARD THE AMERICAN

SHIP ANNA.

(FROG[ A CORRNSPONDENT,)

Why is no inquiry held on the captain ?

Z he American Consul from Southampton, Mr. Thompson,
has been for the last two days employed, at the office of the
agent of the captain, taking depositions, and holding an
inquiry on the charges against the mates, and has now left,
taking with him the steward of the ship.
If the case had been allowed to proceed before the magis-

Crates, it would have been proved by John Thomas, on; of

the two surviving negroes, that in the early part of Decem-
ber, he being below, between three and four o'clock in the
morning, heard something being dragged heavily along the
deck ; that he peeped put of the poop hatch, and saw the
captain and second mate dragging Pomeroy, a coloured
seaman, along the deck, and that they then hove him down
the cockpit, and there loft him, and that as they hove him
otf, the second mate struck him on the back of the head with
a belaying pin; that at four o'clock the same morning,
when Thomas went to the wheel, he saw Pomeroy still lay-
ing in the cockpit bleeding at the back of the head. About
two hours after Thomas assisted Pomeroy between decks ;
he then appeared to be dying, and when Thomas got him
between decks he died in his arms. After he was dead
Thomas examined the body, and found Pomeroy had a bad
wound at the back of his head, where there was a great
quantity of clotted blood.
Again—as to the death of William Johnson, another of
the murdered men, who was cruelly ill-used by the second
mate during the day, it would have been proved that at
eight on the same evening that the injuries were inflicted
on him, he was found dead, in the captain's cabin, laying
on his face with thick clots of blood running out of his
mouth.

Can it be believed that five murders, with violence, could
have been committed on board a ship of 450 tons without
the knowledge of the captain ?

Ought it not to be enquired how the captain, who kept
the logbook himself instead of the mate, as is customary,
accounts for the death of these men. Poor Jack Tuthill
was knocked on the head by the second mate with a be-
laying pin and murdered outright, say on the 15th De-
cember. We expect some such entry as this will be found
on 13th December—" Jack Tuthill sickening. 14th. Poor
Jack Tuthill getting worse. 15th. Poor Jack Tuthill died,"
and so on with the others.

But we may suppose, what must have been the case,
that he did know that the murders had been committed ;
and to put the most charitable construction on his conduct,
we will suppose he was a weak-minded nonentity in the
hands of two hardened villains, and afraid to act ; but even
then, what was the reason that ho did not call in the aid of
the civil power when he came into Cowes ? Why did ho
not call in his consul P why did he not divulge the facts to
the vice-consul, who is his shipping agent, and with whom
he was in daily, nay, hourly communication? No; not a
word was uttered by him ; and but for the steward, who
managed to get ashore a few lines to the police, informing
them of what had been done, the ship would have left the
port without the horrible murders that were committed
on board ever having come to light.
Ought not an inquiry to be held into the conduct of this
captain, instead of his being examined as a witness in favour
of the mates ?

We make those observations that justice may be done ;
for, though true it is that these men are Americans, the
crimes they have committed are of such a horrible nature
that every human being has a natural right to bring the;
monstrous murderers to the punishment they deserve
and if Englishmen have no legal right to interfere because
the criminals are Americans, at any rate it is to their in-
terest to see that such villains are not let loose on English
soil.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.-MILITARY LEGGINGS.-

The —.Alestirs. Spill, of the Government contract works,
Stepney, are issuing an illustrated circular of the different
kinds of leggings and gaiters, now in so much request for
the use of the Army and the Volunteer Corps. Something
of this kind was certainly wanted to exhibit practically the
superiority of this material over loather, and its singular
capabilities of receiving and retaining the best possible
model. Besides the Military legging adopted by several
of the Volunteer Corps are drawings of ankle craiters, knee
pad leggings, and a handsome covering for the leg when
riding, the simplicity of the fastenings of which are espe-
cially worthy of remark.
MORE Loss OF LIFE BY FlRE.—Yesterday morn-
ing an accident of the most heartrending nature occurred at
the residence of Mr. West, Gravel-land, Nouthwark, which
unhappily ended in the death of Anno West, aged three
years. It appeared that the mother. left the deceased in a
room while she went downstairs fur a moment. On her
return she found the room in flames, and deceased lying on
the ground enveloped in one mass of fire. An alarm being
given the neighbours rushed in and extinguished the flames.
The child was removed to St. Thomas's Hospital, where it
shortly afterwards expired,