The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-12 00:00:00

THE BUILDERS' STRIKE.

Reports
daily received by the Masons'
the various country jobs,
that the men have ceased working,. in compliance
Strike
with the instructions of their executive council, and
ocrtosmamreitbteeiengfrom
delegates are still occupied in visiting the larger
and more distant jobs, to see that the resolution is
properly carried out. They report that the whole
of them will be stopped by Saturday next. The
masters, in the meantime, have not been idle, and
agents have been despatched round the country to
see the men, and induce them to remain at work.
Mr. Myers personally visited his works at Netley
Hospital on Saturday last, and having called the
masons together addressed them at great length,
offering them, if they would remain at work, and
leave the society, a two years' engagement, 6d. per
day extra, and the privilege of leaving work at one
o'clock on Saturday. The men said they would go
on as usual if he would withdraw the hour system
from the London men, but on no other condition.
On Tuesday Mr. Joseph Myers visited the men,
and declined to ratify the offer made. by N r. Myers,
sen., on the ground that, if it, was given to
masons the other workmen would require it. The
result was, that the whole of the masons, 70 in
number, with but one or two exceptions, left the
works and removed their tools.
At the 13')x works of Myers also, where the soft
stone used by the firm in London and elsewhere is
cut and prepared, every man has ceased to work.
At Mr. Trollope's job at Kenilworth, employing
about 20 masons, Mr. Bennett, an agent of the
firm, visited the men, offering them extra pay and
other privileges to remain at work, but the men
all left, saying, " When Mr. Trollope had arranged
with his London masons, they would resume work
on the same terms on which they had been em-
ployed.
The Bristol Executive Council have informed
the London committee that it is their determination
to defeat the hour system at any amount of pecu-
niary cost. A levy will, if necessary, be placed on
all members working, which it is calculated, will
produce about £3OO per week, and this, it is ex-
pected, with the strike pay and grants of money
promised by other societies, will yield funds amply
sufficient to provide for all the men withdrawn from
work for some months to come. The bricklayers
are also about to throw their weight into the scale
in favour of the masons, and their strike committee
are about concentrating their efforts upon three of
the largest jobs in London, where the withdrawal
of these men will necessitate the stoppage of the
masons who have been obtained by the employers
in place of the men on strike. Unless therefore some
conciliatory measures are adopted at the meeting
of the master builders, to be held this day, there is
every prospect of this protracted struggle continu-
ing for some time longer, and accompanied by a
greater irritation of feeling than has yet existed.

THE TRAGEDY ON BOARD THE
BARQUE CZARINA.

The Boston (U.S.) Traveller has the following
account of the fearful tragedy enacted on board the
ship Czarina, while on a recent voyage from Cron-
stadt to that port :
" The captain hired at Queenstown, on his out-
ward voyage, an Irishman named John Crotter,
as first mate. This man was reprimanded by
Captain Dwyer, on the 15th of July last, for the
bad condition of the vessel. After that no more
trouble of consequence occurred until two days

before the murder, when a dispute took place
in the cabin, resulting in the throwing of a plate

at the captain by Crater, which inflicted a wound
upon his head. On the night of July 30 Crotter
was seen to go down into the captain's cabin.
It afterwards appeared that he had murdered
the captain with an axe as he was sleeping in
his berth. He then put on some of the captain's
clothes, and took his money, went on deck again at
4-a.m. and murdered the second mate, probably with
the same weapon. During the day the crew, finding
Crotter was a murderer, agreed to kill him. Giving

a pledge each to each to-stand by the other, they
commenced the attack on the next day, July 31.
Crotter, however, was not in the humour to submit,
and as the crew came around he produced a pair of
revolvers. The attack and defence which followed
were of the most desperate character. The carpenter,
who mado a pass at Crotter, was shot and thrown
overboard by him. The boy at the wheel threw the
carpenter a rope, which he caught, but Crotter, upon
perceiving it, cut it, and the carpenter soon after
sank. Another man then approached, who was
shot at by Crotter, but at the moment the former
jumped up suddenly, and the ball lodged in the
shoulder of a Russian passenger, Mr. Alexander
Treskefsky. At this time one of the crew, who had
an adze in his hand for self-defence, struck Crotter
a severe blow in the shoulder, which somewhat
cowed the murderer. It soon appeared that this
wound was mortal, and he was placed in a boat on
deck, where after several hours of horrible raving he
died. The mate, after killing the captain, destroyed
all the papers. Crotter had been on the coast of Cali-
fornia, and he often bragged of the murders he had
committed among the Chinamen there. His design
probably was to take the vessel close to the shore at
some appropriate place, set it on fire, and abandon it.
With this view he had loaded a boat on deck with the
captain's valuables and other property." The state-
ment of one of the crew, an Indian, is still more
extraordinary. It is as follows :—" On the 30th
July I went to the wheel at four in the morning.
Saw soon after the second mate drunk. Saw the,
mate with bottle and cup. He got the second mate
drunk, so thilt he was speechless. Afterwards he
was quiet. Soon after the mate called a man named
John to come aft. Heard John singing out. Looked
overboard, and saw him, with a cut on his head,
swimming. I sang out to the men, A man over-
board,' and threw the spanker sheet to John,
and he got hold of it. He cut the spanker sheet
with a hatchet, saying to the man, Go to
with the captain.' The man swam behind twenty
minutes. The mate, with a revolver in hand,
ordered the carpenter and a Swede to throw
overboard the second mate, who was on the deck
bleeding. He swam about 15 minutes. The mate
stood on the house laughing at him. The vessel was
going about two miles an hour. He then looked
at me and told me not to be afraid, as he was not
going to hurt me yet. The remainder of the watch
were on deck at the time. He cut at one, and he
escaped ; he cut at another, and struck him on the
hack. Told the carpenter he did not want to hurt
him then. The carpenter went forward. He
told all hands to get down on deck the
largest boat. Got chains up for ballast. He
told me he was going to leave the ship and
set her on fire ; said the crew might go to
with her ; told me he was going to take me, the
steward, and two men; told another man that he
should not take me and steward. In the morning
he called all hands, and said he was captain of the
ship, and that the first man who disobeyed his orders
he would immediately put a ball through. He told
me to go to work. We worked upon the boat. At
two o'clock told us to throw the captain overboard.
He lay in berth, with head out and brains protrud-
ing. I sewed him up in bed-clothes, and we threw
him overboard. In the evening he called all hands
aft, and put us in irons. Left one man to look after
the vessel. Let out men at different times, two at
a time, to relieve the watch. On the morning of the
31st'saw a vessel coming up to us ; he ordered all
hands to make sail to get away, we made sail and got
out of sight of her. That afternoon, at two o'clock,
saw the mate running forward, the carpenter hav-
ing struck him with a top-maul. He shot at the
carpenter, who ran forward and jumped over the
bow, and hung upon the chains. He shoved. his
e
head up and the mate shot at him ; he t_ hhtene
wentmen
overboard. The mate ran aft, and one of
he wheel down
He lived till seven o'clock. I puttot
see
him.
struck him on the head with a hammer or adze.
Just
before he was struck with
to save the carpenter, but could t
the adzen he shot the pas-
senger, a Russian.
and g studs belong-
He fired thewe
old revolverrs ihxi
mtimes.
When we buried the mate
found in.heiosapptoacikne.! money

POISONING TNVO FEMALES.—Ayoung man named
Levortus, 23 years of age, belonging to a respectable family
of Aube, has just been tried at the Court of Assizes of that
department, for attempting to poison his aunt and cousin,
by putting arsenic into a quantity of soup. The evidence
was most conclusive against the prisoner, and the jury hav-
ing brought in a verdict of guilty with extenuating circum-
stances, the Court ,e toned hira to 35 years' hard labour.