The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-18 00:00:00

THAMES.

BOARDING SHIPS BY CRIMPS.—Henry Hollis, a tall,
powerful man, a sailors' boardinghouse-keeper, was brought
before Mr. Selfe, charged with committing a violent assault
upon Henry Payne, a constable in the employ of the East
and West India Dock Company, and with going on board
the ship Hotspur without the leave of the commander and
his officers, and in contravention of the Merchant Shipping
Act.

Mr. C. Young defended the prisoner.
Payne stated that the ship Hotspur was being hauled
into the, East India Dock yesterday afternoon, and a large
concourse of people, as usual, assembled, consisting of
Jews, crimps, touters, boardinghouse-keepers, and others,
to solicit the custom of the sailors, and take them
away to their lodging-houses and shops. He re-
ceived orders not to allow any one to go on board,
and he had much difficulty in keeping back the crowd, who
made repeated attempts to board the ship. The prisoner
eluded his vigilance, and got into the ship as she was being
hauled into the basin, through the bow port. About 20
minutes afterwards he went on board, and found the pri-
soner in the forecastle, and ordered him to come out. The
prisoner refused to do so, and was dragged upon deck and
taken into custody. He took the prisoner 200 yards along
the quay, when a mob of crimps, and others, hustled him,
and the prisoner made a violent resistance, which continued
for five minutes, and then made his escape. Before the pri-
soner got away he kicked witness on the leg, and disabled
him for some time. The prisoner was afterwards captured
in a public-house in Blackwall.

Mr. Frederick Smith said ho was ship's husband of the
Hotspur, and that very great inconvenience was caused by
persons boarding ships as they were being hauled into or
out of the dOcks. Sometimes vessels had got into danger
in bad weather by the practice. The sailors' duties wore
also interfered with, and the greatest confusion took place.
Mr. Young said that his client went on board the Hot-
spur to fetch a sailor's chest and hammock, and that he was
engaged for the job several days ago.
Mr. Selfe said he was determined to put the Act of Par-
liament into operation in all cases that might be brought
before him. It was a most abominable system to board
ships before they were properly moored, and solicit custom
of the sailors. He fined the prisoner £5, and in default of
payment one month's imprisonment.

ADDRESS AND PRESENTATION TO ADMIRAL
SEYMOUR.—We noticed in a recent number that the mer-
chants and residents of Hong Kong had determined on
presenting Admiral Seymour with a testimonial, as an ap-
propriate appreciation of his services during his command
of the China station. Accordingly, on March 18, the sub-
scriptiens having reached the sum of 2,000 guineas, it was
arranged that an address should be presented to the admi-
ral, together with the testimonial; but, through some
blonde), no notice was given of the time the ceremonial
would come off, and consequently but few of the
subscribers were present. On the same evening, the de-
parture of the admiral was signalled by a grand ball at the
club-house. The address, after alluding to the fact of the
naval force under the admiral having destroyed
every stronghold upon the Canton River in 1856, and end-
ing with the capture of the Peiho fortresses in 1858, and
which materially conduced to those concessions which had
been hailed with such enthusiasm by the western world.
The address then alludes to the promptness with which
ships had been succoured by the force under the admiral,
and piracy put down, and that, in order to mark their sense
of these great services, they requested the acceptance of a
service of plate, " commemorative of the benefits you have
conferred on foreign interests, and the lustre you have shed
on British arms in China." For that purpose they had
therefore remitted to a committee in London the sum of
2,000 guineas, with instructions to defer entirely to the
admiral the selection of he memorial,—China Telegraph.