The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-02 00:00:00

ELECTION PETITIONS.

DUBLIN.—The Inquiry into the Dublin election petition
still excites the greatest interest. The evidence on behalf of
Sir A. Guinness has closed, and the court has taken every
precaution that the affair shall be thoroughly sifted. The
statements that have been made by the witnesses for the
respondent entirely contradict the petitioner's evidence. Sir
A. Guinness was examined, and disclaimed all knowledge
of undue practices. He declared that he only paid the
certified expenses. He gave instructions to Mr. Sutton,
his agent, that he should transmit to subordinates an order
that there should be no promising or bribery at this elec-
tion in any way, and so far as his knowledge
extended, those instructions were fully carried out. He
added that he was not aware of any such transactions as
those in Capel street. Mr. Sutton was also examined,
and declared that he had issued instructions to the various
ward committees to the effect that no bribery was to be
carried on, and he denied all knowledge of the house in
Capel-street, and stated that no case of bribery or immo-
derate conduct came under his notice. Mr. Johnston was
recalled and subjected to a severe ordeal. He stated that
he was suffering from illness when he was first examined,
and hardly knew what answer he was giving. He ad-
mitted that he opened the box in the morning after he
was examined, and took some papers out, but put them
back again.

BRADFORD.—The trial of the petition against the return
of Mr. Forster for Bradford has been resumed. The ev:-
dence on behalf of the sitting member has been concluded,
and Mr. Serjeant Ballantine has summed up the case and
addressed the court in his defence.

STRANGE STORY OF PIRACY .AND
MURDER.

Captain Hamilton, of the whaler Sea Breeze, called last
June at Crag Island, one of the most distant points of the
North Pacific, and took off a native of Barcelona, named
Codina. This Spaniard said that he was formerly
one of the crew of an American vessel called the
Cayalti, which sailed from Callao on the 18th January,
with a crew of ten men. There were, in addition, forty-five
Chinese coolies on board, and the sequel shews that the
latter soon became acquainted with the circumstance
that there were 30,000 dollars were in the cargo. Codina's
narrative is thus told :—" On the second morning out of
port, between four and five o'clock, being about day-
light, the steward having just turned out to prepare
breakfast, the Chinese rose, seized and bound him to
the foremast ; killed the second mate, who had
charge of the deck, and threw his body overboard ;
struck the man at the wheel with the cook's
axe, severing his left arm from his body, and left him
lying on deck in a helpless condition, but not dead. The
other two men comprising the watch, being aloft, escaped
for the time being, but to share a worse fate. The
captain and mate being aroused by the noise on deck,
and the cries of mortal agony of the poor man at the
wheel, tore up the seats from the cabin table, and with
them jumped through the cabin windows into the sea,
no doubt thinking they might possibly reach the
shore, which was about eighteen miles distant, and plainly
visible ; but the murderers lowered a boat, and with
repeated blows, totally disregarding their supplications,
killed them in the water in full view of Mr. Codina, who
was alone in the cabin. On the return of the boat, they
seized the remainder of the crew, took them into the
waist, tied their hands behind their hacks, lashed them to
a hawser, made fast a kedge anchor of about 400 pounds,
and threw them into the sea, six in number, the wounded
man included. One of the crew, a coolie of Mr.
Codina's, joined the pirates, and was not included
in the massacre. He was the cause of the trouble,
having seen and helped to p!ace the money on
board, and informed the Chinamen of its being there, and no
doubt connived with them in regard to the piracy."
Codina escaped massacre by telling where the treasure
was. After the murder, the pirates fell into the difficulty
of been unable to navigate the vessel, and bad been at
sea 118 days when they touched at Crag Island, where
Codina got on shore, and refused to return.

OIISCELLANEOUS NEWS.