The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-20 00:00:00

THE AMERICAN MERCHANT SERVICE.

India •

shdrt it

On Friday evening last considerable excitement
was occasioned in the fishmarket at Hastings, in
consequence of a sailor being landed by a Ramsgate
fishing lugger, which had picked him up about nine
miles at sea, just after he sprang from a packet ship
steering up the Channel. The account he gave of
the cause of thus deserting the packet is a most ex-
traordinary one, and requires the strictest in-
vestigation. Ho said his name was James
Freeland, and that he was a native of London-
derry, Ireland. When taken before the Mayor
of Hastings at the Town-hall, on the following
morning, he made the following statement :—He
said he had lately been at New York, and on
the 23c1 of July last he was staying at a boarding-
house in that city, which was established for the
accommodation of seamen. On the evening of that
day the master of the boarding-house, whose name
was John White, asked him take a glass of grog.
He accepted the offer and received a glass of liquor.
Shortly after he had drunk it he fell asleep, and
continued in that state until the next morning,
when, on awaking, he found himself on board a
ship that was steering under full sail out of the
harbour. He afterwards found that it was a packet-
ship, laden with oilcake, and bound from New
York to London. When he awoke he received
orders to begin work, when he said lie had not
shipped onboard the vessel, and therefore he wished
to return to the shore. The reply he received was
that the master of the lodging-house had brought
him on board, and had received 17 doll. in advance
upon him. He was then ordered to loose the
" main royal," which, after some hesitation, he pro-
ceeded to do as fast as he could. He did not, how-
ever, perform this task quick enough fdr the mate,
who struck him on the side of the face and told him
to do it quicker. He then went on to perform
other work with the men, who were all entire stran-
gers to each other, but the captain and mate were
constantly beating and ill-using him. There was
not a day since he left New York that ho had not
been beaten and ill-used either by the captain or
the third mate. On the previous day (Friday) the
ship was in the Channel, and 9 miles off Hastings,
and because he could not do his work quick enough
for the third mate, he came andbegan tokick himand
abuse him. He got that work done, and began to
coil the ropes up, when the third mate kicked him
again, and struck him on the head, saying that he
-would have satisfaction from himn now, for he
sprained his finger by hitting him the day before
After continuing his ill-treatment for some time the
third mate said, as they were standing at the side
of the ship, "Jump, you son of a —, or I
will take your life before you get to. London."
Upon this he immediately jumped into the water
in order to escape further ill-treatment. He
was a good swimmer, and as be swam by the
ship's " quarter," some one threw out the lifebuoy,
and the captain said, "If you care anything for your
life you can pick up the buoy ;" but he replied
that he would rather be drowned than return to the
ship and be ilttreated. The captain then said,
" Drown, then, you son of a ' and they were
the last words thatl he heard from them. After being
in the water about 10 minutes he was picked up by
the crew of a fishing-smack named the Mary and
Ann, of Ramßga'e, and brought into Hastings.
Another of the crew had jumped overboard since
they left New York, but was picked up again.
He alio saw a man kicked overboard from the
forecliains, and after he bad been in the water about
10 minutes a boat was put out, but it was then
too late, and he was drowned. The man that was
picked up was severely beaten when taken on
board. At the request of the Mayor the poor fel-
low then described the food he had taken since he
left New York. He said it had been very deficient
in quantity. They bad been supplied with molasses
and water, and at dinner they had beans boiled up,
with a small piece of beef, that was about enough
for three men. Biscuits and bread were also
allowed them. Of the latter they, had quite enough,
and that was the only article of which they received
a sufficiency. He had no money in his possession,
and had not received any from the captain of the
ship. He only owed the maser of the boarding-
house 9 dollars for a fortnight's board, so that if he
had rec Ave 1 17 dollars from the captain he t ook- 8
too many. In concluding his statement he added it
was his intentien to lay a complaint before the proper
authorities in London, buthe thought they wou'd
not believe his story if he did not bring the ma ter
before this court when he landed. When he was
taken into the Mary and Ann he begged and prayed
that they would not take him back to the ship, and
said he would rather be drowned than,go on board
the ship, for he had received such ill-treatment. He
complained of his back, and saidhe had been knocked
about with a handspike. The crew took him into the
cabin of their boat, when he could scarcely move.
One of them examined his back, and it appeared very
much discoloured, as if he had received a severe
blow. He hid also a mark near his left eye. They
landed him at Hastings. The Mayor after making
some further inquiries, ordered Inspector Glenister
to provide the unfirtunate man with what refresh-
ments he required, and forward him to London,
that he might have an opportunity of lodging his
complaint at the City Police-court on Monday
morning, his Worship kindly undertaking to pay
whatever expenses were incurred in doing the same.

MARKET NEWS.—(Tiais Day.)

CORN EXCHANGE.

GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN
For the week ended Aug. 20, 1857, made up from the Re-
turns of the Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in
England and Wales, per Imperial Quarter.
i
wuz.e.r 1 BARLEY OATS RYE BEANS PEAS
59s 2d 40s Od 27s 8d 40s 5d _ 47s ld 40s 10d
THE SIX WEE S' AVERAGES.
WHEAT BARLEY OATS , RYE I BEANS I PEAS
61s 3d 38s 6d 27s 10d 40s 6d 1 46s 2d 42s 11

HAP{)T PUN

't; t e

have

T 0,41crT7

relieved. from tile incutus of a censor-
vas the act of Lord Metcalfe, during his
ire of the office of Governor• General, and
was never pardoned by the Court of Directors, in
opposition to whose views it was done. It was,
however, a concession worthy of that upright
statesman, and a graceful inauguration of the new
policy forced on the-East India Company by the
Charter Act of 1833. Previous to that year a

native political paper did not exist. Several sprang
immediately into existence, for a short time flou-
rished, and then vanished away. -At the present
time, the entire native political press of Bengal
comprises two daily papers with a circulation
of 1,200 copies ; two issued twice, and two
thrice a week, each issue consisting of 500 copies ;
and four weekly papers, with a circulation only of
330 copies. Ten thousand copies a-week will
cover the entire circulation of these native papers,
among the 35,000,000 of inhabitants of Bcngal.
Unfortunately, as a means of political instruction,
the native press is worthless. It is violent, lying,
filthy, and treasonable. It misrepresents every
act of the general government, and is bitterly anti-
English. It has, in every way, pandered to the
worst passions of the multitude, excited to rebel-
lion, and done its best to render good government
impossible. At an early stage of the present
mutiny, the general commanding at Barrackpore
informed Lord Canning that to repress the revolt
was impossible while these papers were permitted
to be read in the ranks of the army. The editor of
one of the daily papers is said to hive been the
first person to join the mutineers at Delhi, and to
have assisted in the elevation of the Great Mogul
to the ancient throne of Hindostan.

Under such circumstances it is not to be much
wondered at that Lord Canning should seek to put a
check on the native press. Events have shown that
its power is not to be despised.. The Governor in
Council baq, therefore, reverted to the machinery of
license and monition. An'act was in one day passed
through the Legislative Council, conferring despotic
powers on the Governor-General, and the press of

India lies at his feet.
To a considerable extent the character of the na.
tive press justifies this proceeding. But the case is
totally different with the English press. Throughout
the revolt it has been unmistakeably loyal. It has
given the most strenuous aid to Government. Yet
it also has been laid under ban. It would have
been a graceful acknowledgment of the service
the English press has rendered to have exempted
it from the operation of .the act. Its exemption
would have emphatically expressed to the native
mind the resolution of Government to repress a
mischievous spirit wherever it exists. The effect
has been what any one might have anticipated.
The unofficial English residents in India are irri-
tated. Distrust everywhere prevails. Gagging
the press is truly regarded as a sign of weakness.
The candour and approbation which Lord Can-
ning's acts have hitherto met' with are exchanged
for dissatisfaction and smothered discontent, only
the more dangerous from the absence of its na-
tural means of expression.
The first exercise of the power vested in Lord
Canning by the Act of the Legislative Council by
no means tends to allay the excitement. The Friend
of India has been warned, the only Indian paper
which deals worthily with the great subject of
Indian Government. . This is the more surprising,
inasmuch as the Friend of India has ever been the
defender of the Government, and, at the commence-
ment of the muting, received the distinct approval
of Lord Canning himself for the ability with which
it sustained the measures he saw fit to adopt. But
now, in a few brief weeks, this advocate of
English supremacy in the East, and of the vigo-
rous steps taken by the authorities, is declared in
the judgment of the Governor-Genera+ in Council
to utter sentiments "fraught with mischief, and
calculated, at the present time, to spread disaffec-
tion towards the British Government, both among
its native subjects, and among dependent and allied
states." Strangely enough, this charge is founded
on an article on the centenary of the battle of
Plassey. It is a spirited defence of the extension
and benefits of English rule in India. It viudicae es
the policy of elevating the native population,
though it be effected at the cost of deposing in-
capable kings, and even the ruin of India's aristo-
cracy. Had princes and rajah's in Hindostan been
worthcensuring," says the writer, "they would have
retained their titles and power. The class speedily
dies out in the natural course of mortality, and it
is not for the benefit of society that it should not
be renewed." If, however, the families of kings
and princes lose the means and power of indulging
in vices and crimes disgraceful to humanity, the
middle classes gain security, and commerce enriches
every grade of society. Surely the most rigid cen-
sor cannot discover aught to reprove in the hope
expressed in the closing sentence of the essay, that
" the secoud centenary of Plassey may be cele-
brated in Bengal by a respected government and
a Christian population." Yet these are the senti-
ments which Lord Canning condemns, and which
are said to be fraught with danger to the stability
of our empire in the East !
'I he freedom of the press in India is a question
of the greatest moment in England. It is our con-
cern mere even than the concern of our friends
resident in that country. " To a certain extent, the
Government of India must be despotic in its cha-
racter, or at least exempt from many of those con-
stitutional checks familiar to the inhabitants of the
British isles. So much the greater reason is there
for the vigilant eye of the "able editor." Officialism
is never very scrupulous as to the truth of its repre-
sentations ; and the officialism of the Honourable
Company's servants is not free from this reproach.
It is only by the newspaper press that the people
of England can learn the true condition of its
Eastern empire, and never was its freedom more
necessary than in such a time as this,
when every effort will be made to relieve
the Government of the blame of the fearful
revolt, the atrocities of which make every man's
blood congeal with horror, and to mislead the pub-
lic mind as to its true cause. It is with infinite
regret that we• find the son of Canning, the liberator
of oppressed peoples, foremost in this Work. The
fetters are indeed, imposed for a year only ; but
his lordship's speech, in proposing the measure,
not obscurely hints that, when the time for its re-
consideration shall have come, the freedom hitherto
enjoyed will need some limitation. Let the people
of England look to it, that it does not lose this great
safeguard to the liberties of both Europeans and
natives resident in India, this powerful check on
the vagaries of irrespon-ible power.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER Ai POLICE-

CONSTABLE.

Yesterday afternoon great excitement was created in
the immediate neighbourhood of Drury-lane, in conse-
quence of an attempt having been made by an aban-
doned woman to murder a police -officer, wbile in the
execution of his duty, by stabbing him. From the par-
ticulars obtained it appears that a boy had been given
into the custody of Police-constable Gymer' No. 54, of
the F division, for some offence, and when he had suc-
ceeded in getting the boy near Endell-street, a woman
named Sullivan, who has frequently been in custody
for assaulting the police, came up to the officer and
endeavoured to rescue the prisoner. The constable
finding that remonstrance with the woman was useless,
and that she was collecting a crowd around him, made
an attempt to take her into custody, and as he was so
trying the infuriated woman turned upon Lim and
drew a sharp-pointed knife from some part of her dress,
and plunged the weapon into his face and body. Blood
in copious streams flowed from each wound, and the
injured officer was placed in a cab and forthwith re.
moved to Charing Cross Hospital, where he at present
remains in a very precarious condition.

EXAMINATION T
-S
WOF HE PRISONER AT
BOTREET.

This morning the prisoner was placed at the bar before
Mr. Hall when she said her name was Ann Donavan,
and that she resided in Neal's-passage, Seven Dials.
She appeared to be about 20 years of age and to belong
to the low class of persons who abound in St. Giles's.
William Saunders, living in Mercer-strset, Long
Acre, said, about ball-past three o'clock yesterday after-
noon I saw a policeman running after a boy in
Bilden-street, whom he caught and took into the
workhouse. The prisoner was close to the work-
house door when ,the policeman passed in, and
after the door closed she sat down on the steps and
waited until he left the horise.. She followed him into
Short's-garden a and I there saw her attack the constable
with a knife (a common pocket knife), and shortly after-
wards I saw blood ffewiog from his head and face. She
stabbed him once in the cheek, and three times in other
parts of his body. Assistance arrived and the prisoner
was secured.
William Buckfield, 16,
Town, said about ten minutes
ai
I was at the corner of Short's-gardens, when I serwr
se
Op sageutl
s3t e street
yesterday f
tSae or
nmote9rnso
prisoner struggling 'with a policeman. I saw
t!
her hand and strike the constable in the face with some
sharp in4trurnent. I ran across the road and seized her
band, and found the knife produced firmly clenched
in
it. I tried to take the knife from her, but shortly after-
ground. She threatened to
wards she thrsw it to the
serve me the same as she haa done the constable.
Police-constable 95-1 saw the prisoner struggling
with the constable, and I also saw that she had a knife
in her hand. I went to the assistance of the officer. I
secured the prisoner and conveyed her to the station-
house. The wounded policeman was taken to King's
College Hospital, where he at present remains in a very
dangerous state.
Mr. Han—Have you seen the wounded man this
morning
Witness—Yes, sir. He is in a very bad state, and
will not he able to leave the place for some t'ree.
Mr. Hall—l shall remand the prisoner for a week.
The prisoner, who appeared to treat the matter with
the greatest iudifferenep, was then looked up.