The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-04 00:00:00

THAMES.

IMPORTANT CONVICTION. A DISCLOSURE. George
Ligon, formerly a waterman, afterwards a thief, and lat-
terly employed in the conveyance of paupers from England
to Ireland, was brought before Mr. Paget on remand,
charged with going on board a steam-vessel at the South
Devon Wharf, near St. Katharine's Wharf, before she was
properly moored, and without the consent of the captain
and officers. He was also charged with assaulting George
Bennett, an inspector of the Thames Police, in th e execu
tion of his duty.
The prisoner is a most desperate and lawless ruffian, and
his violence was so great on Monday afternoon, when he
was first brought before the magistrate, that it was found
necessary to handcuff him and to keep him in irons
during the examination. The Collingwood, a steamer
trading between London and North Shields, was coming
into the South Devon Wharf on Monday last, when the
prisoner came on board before she was moored, and an-
noyed and bothered the passengers with his importunities.
Captain Thomas Green, the master, repeatedly ordered
him to leave the ship, which he refused to do, and he put
the authority of the master and Mr. Robert Davidson, the
second officer, at defiance. Inspector Bennett, who was on
board with a warrant and looking out for another person,
took the prisoner into custody. Ho was removing him
from the ship, and the prisoner throw him with great
violence from th e bulwarks to the deck. The bulwarks
are four feet high. The inspector was much hurt. The
prisoner then conducted himself with so much violence
that it was found necessary to put him in irons.
The case was fully made out against the prisoner, who
endeavoured to make it appear that he went on board the
Collingwood on legitimate business, but the magistrate
said to prevent disorder, confusion, and robberies on board
ships on their arrival in port, it was very wisely enacted
that no person •should be permitted to go on board any
vessel without the consent of the captain and officers until
the vessel was safely moored, and even then the authority
of the master and officers did not cease.

The inspector believed the object of the prisoner in
going on board the Collingwood was robbery, and Roche,
the gaoler of the court, said the prisoner was convicted five
years ago for stealing speltre and sentence d to six months'
imprisonment and hard labour, and that since then ho had
been engaged in removing Irish paupers from London to
Ireland, and left one party at Dublin instead of Cork, for
which he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment
and hard labour on the other side of St. George's Channel.
Tho prisoner had brought disgrace on the administrators
of the poor laws by his base conduct.
Mr. Paget said that some inquiry ought to bo made re-
specting the matter spoken to by Roche, and how such a
man as the prisoner came to be employed in the removal
of paupers from England to Ireland. The disclosure had
come upon him by surprise. lie should convict the pri-
soner for the assault on the inspector, which was clearly
made out, and sentence him to be imprisoned for two
months and kept to hard labour.

How THE LONDON WAS LOST.-- -We could now
see that we had more than the dangers of a gale to con-
tend with. It was quite evident our ship was deeply, if
not over laden. She was a ship built for speed, of great
length for breadth—belonging to a class of ships that can-
not be loaded with safety in proportion to her tonnage,
like those of the old style. She was, perhaps, safe enough
when properly leaded, with less top-hamper, not so heavily
sparred, and properly equipped. And, besides, it was the
prevailing opinion on board that she was not prepared for
a gale. It appeared as if she had been forced to sea in
a hurry, and there was confusion above deck as well
as below, Work was always ahead. The sailors were
continually at work, and yet the ship was never "snugged,"
as the saying is at sea. The crow had not got used to the
ship; and, another difficulty, many were foreigners, and
did not understand English. Once I saw Mr. Angel, one
of the officers, directing a man to do something; the poor
fellow was anxious to do it right, but every attempt was
wrong ; at last I discovered that he did not understand a
word that was said to him. I also noticed a want of regu-
larity and discipline in the ship. I make this observation
with no desire to throw discredit on anyone or insinuate that
the loss of the ship was in any way attributable to this; but
I think it will all tend to show that there was not that suffi-
cient preparation, or that proper regard to life, at the out-
set, and in the despatching of the ship, that there ought
to have been ; yet I feel fully convinced as I now write
this, that had the same gale overtaken us two months after,
on the last week of our voyage, the London would not
have succumbed to it as she did. I believe sho was a
good, strong, well-built ship ; but that is net where the
fault rests; it's in the cramming her so full of goods that
even the space allotted to the passengers was encroached
on. This interfered with the working of the ship when
trouble overtook us.—" Cornhill Magazine" for July.