The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-30 00:00:00

STEEL V. JONES.

In this action the plaintiff, a tailor in Lombard-street,
sought to recover from the defendant, a publican, 191. 175.,
for various articles of clothing supplied to him.
Verdict for the plaintiff.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
MANSION-HOUSE.

William Read and William Simpson were re-examined
upon the charge of having conspired to sink the Colina.
Brady; the owner of the smack Sarah, stated that he
saw the Colina go down. Simpson and the rest of the
crew were in his vessel at the time, and, when Simpson
saw her sink, he said, " Thank God for that. I think,
now, we shan't be able to do anything with her." I said,
"No, its all over with us now; we shan't be able to do
anything with her now ;" and he then said he would
have let her gone the voyage, only his wife was on
board, and the weather was so bad that he was afraid,
and therefore he put into some port in the west, the
name of which I do not remember. He said she was
not a vessel fit for their trade. She was too sharp, and
didn't carry lading enough. He didn't mention any-
thing that was to happen to him if she was lost, but he
said he dared say he should have a better vessel. When
the vessel hove down she sank about twenty feet in half
an hour. She went down head first. He told me that
they had a bran new sixteen foot boat on the deck, and
he hoisted ber out of the long boat on to the scupper,
but she was not lashed at all. The boat was sucked
down by the ship, and we never saw any more of
her. When it sank he said it was a nice little
boat, and it would have answered our purpose
very well. He said he expected the boat would have
floated, as she was not fastened. I had the boat that
was saved, and the captain told me I might keep the
boat and every thing belonging to the ship, as he did not
want to hear any more about them. The clothes were
not much for a voyage, for I put them all in a bread-
bag. If the vessel had had proper signals at dawn of
day, we could have saved her. There was sixteen
fathoms of water •, it was a nice moderate breeze. It
was abottt W.S.W. or S.W. by. W. When the captain
and I were parting, he asked me if I should ever talk
about it. I said no ; I dared say he never would hear
more of it 'from me. He asked what I thought of my
partners ? I said I dared say they would never trouble
their heads about it. The John Bull steamer came in
sight that day, and I put the captain and crew on board
of her. I had one letter from the captain a fortnight or
three weeks after, which I think is lost.
ii
Mr. Humphreys, the solicitor for Simpson, asked a
few questions of the witness, but his answers did not
affect the case.
Mr. J. C. Smith, who is in the employment of the
Shipowners' Towing Company, was in the smack, and
confirmed the statement of the last witness. In conse-
quence of what he saw, his suspicions were excited,
very much. He had ascertained who the owner was,
and he considered it to be his duty to write to Mr.
Read, and he received an answer. He never was called
upon by Mr. Read, or on his account, to give any further
account of what he had heard or seen. If they had seen
the brig as early as three o'clock, by the united exertions
of all the vessels, he had no doubt, they could have got
her into the Texel. Removing the lining and taking out
a butt would most decidedly contribute to the foundering.
The vessel was about thirty. five miles from the coast.
Mr. George Gardener, whose evidence was partly
given on the first examination, made the following re-
markable statement :—I have for many years been clerk
to Messrs. Read and Page, of Ipswich, the owners of
the brig Colina. I remember a time policy being effected
upon her in 1840. I remember her sailing from Ipswich.
Simpson was master of her. She went to the north for
coals, and I heard shortly afterwards that she was lost.
In June, last year, I saw Simpson, and had some con-
versation with him about the loss of the Colina. It was
on the road between the ship-yard and my cottage.
I think it was on the 6th- of June. Simpson said
he was very unhappy, and expressed his regret
that he had ever entered Read's service. lie then spoke
of the loss of the Colina, and said that he was very un-
happy about it, that it was a wilful loss, and that he had
a great mind to go and tell the facts to Mr. Alexander,
the agent of the Alliance Company. He said Mr. Read
and he had agreed she should be lost, and he showed me
the spot on the road where the agreement was made.
After detailing the particulars, which were represented
on the first examination, the witness said,- after the loss
of the brig, there was a letter came to Read and Page
from Barking. I saw it ; but did not read it. Read

saw and read it, I believe, in my presence, so that I could
hear the contents. It purported to come from a person
named Smith. Ido not recollect the particulars, only
that it informed him that the vessel was wilfully lost,
and he bad better make some inquiries into it. I don't
know that Read just then made any particular comment
upon it. After that letter, I saw Simpson in the count-
ing-house with Read, talking about the loss of the brig,
they appeared on good terms. Read spoke of the. letter,
and said it was a very serious thing, and asked how he
conducted himself to the men on board the smack ;
whether he had said anything to them to commit him-
self in any way. Simpson replied that he had not.
Mr. George Pooley, clerk in the bankin-house of
Mr. Alexander, at Ipswich, stated that the prkoner and
his partners kept an account there in 1841. Mr. R. D.
Alexander. a retired partner of the firm, kept an account
there, and acted as agent to the Alliance Marine As-
surance Company. Witness received a direction froth
Mr. R. D. Alexander, on the 3d of August, 1841, and
transferred from his name to the names of Read and
Page, the sum of 1,2481. Bs. 6d., which was entered to
their credit in their pass-book.
R. Parker, the master of the Royal George smack,
gave. evidence similar to that given by the other fisher-
man, whO witnessed the sinking of the Colina.
Mr. Clarkson then stated that circumstances had

transpired to induce him to request that the prioners
should not be formally committed for trial till Monday
next.

Mr. Wontner and Mr. Humphrey, as the delay was
not to be extended beyond Monday, offered no ob-
jection, and the former intimated that it was his inten-

lion to apply to a Judge to take bail for Mr. Read.
The witnesses were then bound over to appear_ at the
Central Criminal Court on the Bth of April, to give
evidence against the.prisoners.
The Lord Mayor acknowledged the receipt of 5/. from
a retired Bengal officer, to be applied to the service of
the lady from India, for whom his Lotdship was receiv-
ing subscriptions, provided she was the daughter of a
medical gentleman who had been known to the contri-
butor. As she was not the party referred to, his Lord-
ship stated that the note would be returned to the officer
upon application at the Mansion-house.