The Sun.
London, England, 1818-11-27 00:00:00

ruiPrs v.rtuLir.

T-TEAT;D stated that the bill in this case was
filed. and the prayer of it was, that the Court
would compel the defendant to perform a specific
contract into which be had entered. A person
of the name lit Addis 'Was employed by the de-
fendant to purchase u certain tenement in Berke-
ley-square,. ‘thiCii was, by the will of Lady
Nary Fitzgerald, directed to be sold by auction.
Addis accordingly pnrcliased the mansion, but the
defendant eefused to wake good the contract on
the ground of a deed drawn out 'in 17:38 being
lost, though fot three years be ball consented to
waive tie objection. A. second objection was the
want of power in the devisor to will the property
for gllch pornoses, and the loss of a subsequent
deed in Thisl777. T, obi must
hull, as she had by a deed in 1786 revoked
all former deeds
1111. SuGoRN followed on the same side.
Mr Beet., for the defendant-, said, that the
Lidy was highly in favour with some of the
branches at the Royal Family, from whom she
received very valuable presents at tie time of her
rnatriage. Sine unquestionably had a power to
oi,pteo. of her property as she choose ; but be con-
tended, thA the production of the deed of 1777
was necessary, as it might contain regtdotions re-
specting testamentary beqnests, which might inva-
lidate the plaititifi's title. Sic conld dispose of
the property by deed, but she could not do so by,
a will.
The VICE CIIANCPIA.nR was of opinion, that
the Lady had the power of revoking any deed,
Hod she certainly had in I 7Si exercised that power.
Ile therefore thought the production of the deed
not necessary. end that the contract should be
carried into effect. His Honout.gave no derision
as to costs.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Nov. 26.

CiIARGE OF MURDER.

KIN V. TIioINIAS DRAKE.

On a former day Mr. BOLLAND obtained a Writ
of Habeas Corpui, directed to the Keeper of
Maidstone gaol, commanding him to bring up
the body of Captain Thomas Drake, Commander
of the Chapman convict ship, who was committed
by the Justices of Kent to the county gaol on .a
elearae of_murder, in order to be -admitted to bail
until the next Admiralty Sessions. In obedience
to the above-mentioned Writ, and to a Certiorari
moved at the same time, the defendant was now
brought into Court, together with the depositions
taken before the Justices, upon which the coin-
mit ment wAs founded.
From the depositions•on the part of the Crown '
(which were vet y voluminous,- being almost -en-
tirely those of convict felons), it appeared that in
the month of January 1817, the defendant sailed,
front the port of Cork, as Commander of the
Chapman, on board of which•there were two hun-
dred convicts, destined for New South Wales.
About the month of April the 3114) arrived at, St.
Sago, its South- America, and during the previous
part of the voyage it was represented that the
Captain had • behaved towards' the convicts with
great kinduesa and humanity, but that after the
vessel had left St. Jago, he .had observed a totally
different conduct, in consequence of a report
having been circulated in the ship that a mutiny
was projected amongst the convicts: The depo-
sitions denied that there was in fact any ground
for this report, but they admitted that about 20
of the convicts had succeeded in sawing off their
irons, which discovery was made about the 17th
of June, when the Captain ordered the Com-
mander of the marines to fire upon the convicts,
of whom, on that occasion, there were three
killed, and a great many others severely wounded.
The depositions further stated, that on asubse-
qoent occasion, in the month of August follow-
ing, another attack was made on the convicts, in
consequence of some supposed disturbance on
their part, its which two more persons were killed,
and several others wounded. Upon the arrival of
theship at Botany Bay, the Captain's conduct
was inquired into, and in the result he was sent
home to England, in order that the charges
might be more thoroughly investigated ; and ac-
cordingly informations being laid before the Ma-
gistrates for the County of Kent, they committed
him on a charge of murder, alleged to have been
committed-on the.high seas. irt conrequence of
which 'abe present application was made.
The affidavits produced on the part of the de-
fendant, cOnsisting•of his own and Iwo officers of
his
,ship, gave a very different account of the.
transactions. It appeared from those, that the
crew of the vessel was only in the proportion of
one-third to the number of convicts on board ;
that after the'-ship sailed from St. Sago, a deep-
laid conspiracy was discovered to have been laid
on the part of the convicts, in which two of the
crew had joined, toimorder the Captain and all
the rest of the crew,' except the chief mate, and
carry off the vessel, for-whieh7porpoae the mate
'Was to be preserved, in order to navigate the ship
to a port of security ; that no less than 100 of
the convicts had succeeded in ,satviog off their
irons, which object they bad effected by means of
saws and files whicli'were found in their posses-
sion ; that wills- re pect to .the supposed crimina-
lity of tise,c,:kifitain,,he was actually in bed at the
tittle the•fintsg comMenced in June, and hatl,nei-
titer directly nor indirectly -given any orders for
slloll.prO.W.ding'S,; ;Irk,; on the contrary, ife was
ignorant- of wliat had-passed.tuttil awoke
t he-, discharge of musketry that then he used
every exertion in his pongee to restrain the crew,
who u' zeal for the safety of the ship had
proCeeifed., unknown to the Captain, to execute
itoriegeppon ;the offenders on the first discovery of
the eoffspiracy and that some of the convicts had
succeeded in ridding_theinselves of their
NVi4 respect, to the subsequent proceedings in
Aagust, the affidavits further went On to-excur-'
Oat eihe.Captaiit from any blame in that transic•
tit u, by sheaving that the unfortunate result

r.
attendea that aittit atribiitie to the
zeal of the crew, who Could liot be reorained
front repressing the mutiny which again broke
out, and threatened the safety of their lives and
that of the ship. -Berme the affidavits for. the de-
fendattt were entirely read,
Tim CHIF7 .31iSTit'S interposed, lint) asked the,
Attorney-General, who attended for the 'Crown,
whether he did4ot think enough had been laid
before the 'Conk to justify the -motion for ad-
mitting the.defendatit to bail until the period ar-
rived when the affair might be inquired -of by the
cOnntry ?
The ATToRNE`ir-GeNEIfAL said, tha't whatever
the Court should suggest he would readily accede
to. It their Loidships thought that the affidavits
were sufficient to justify thil proceedirig, he would
most cheerfully acquiesce in it.
The defendant was then ordered to enter into
securities,ltimselt in 14)001. and fourito%”ekeepers
in !TOOL eat It, to appear to take his trial at the
nt xt Admir4liy Sessions ; and having forthwith
given the required securities, he was discharged
oet of custody.