Star.
London, England, 1808-01-12 00:00:00

•
continued arts of ill usage on his part towards his
ship's Company, (ended to irritate their thinds against
him, which shortly evinced itself on the approach of
the ship towards Doininica, where she was tb discharge
her cargo of slaves. In that port the Crew became
very dissatisfied with their Captain, whose cruelty
could not be disarmed by the most studious attention
to their duty • in consequence of which the majority
of them entered into secret cabals, which became very
alarming to the Captain, who, upon discovering his
most perilous situation, hailed a King's ship in the.port,
the Captain of which came on board the Apollo, and
threatened the crew that he would resort to coercive

measures to quell their mutinous disposition, if they did
not quietly return to their duty. They, on heir parts,
expressed their readiness to meet him on those terms,
and boasted of their ability to contend with him for
victory, having arms and ammunition to exchange on
board. Fortunately, however, they did not evince
their turbulent disposition by any act of personal out-
rage to the Captain, who shortly afterwards sent most
of the crew on shore, adding with a threat, that if
they did -not do so, he would poison them all, by in-
fusing some *deleterious substance in the water.—
They accordingly went on shore, but would not re-
turn again to the ship till the Captain had given each
of them his promissory note.for the wages due to them.
These terms being complied with, they went on board,
when the ship sailed for Montserrat, where the re-
mainder of the cargo was discharged. Mr. Scott,
the surgeon, who had hitherto suppressed his indig-
nat;on at the insults which had been offered to him

by the Captain, now embraced the opportunity of
punishing the Captain, and of avenging his own
wrongs. He accordingly went on shore at Montser-
rat, and lodged a charge of murder against the Cap-
tain, with a magistrate of that Island named Kerbert.
Measures were Immediately taken to examine wit-
uesses ; the crew were examined, who had been spec-
tators of the barbarities of the prisoner towards Ro-
. .

bert Dunn. Their depositions were taken down in
writing, and the Captain was taken into custody, and
sent for England on hoard the Hazard gun-brig.
Mr. S.cott, the surgeon of the Apollo, was the first
witness. The crew of that ship consisted of twenty-
five men, including the Captain and himself. The de-
ceased was a boy of about seventem or eighteen years
old when he came on hoard—he was a near relation

of Mr. Bray, one of the owners of the ship. When he
came on board, he had every appearance of a good
state of health, except a nervous tremor in his hands.

On the outward bound voyage the Captain used to
beat him and flog him now and then, but not with
such severity as to endanger his life. The vessel,
however, lay near five months off the coast, and dur-
ing that time the Captain treated the deceased with
the utmostcruelty and barbarity : he had seen himgive
him five dozen of lashes at one time for the most tri-

fling offence, and afterwards beat and bruise him
about the head with the handle of the cat. The
beatings the boy thus received produced a great de-
gree of stupidity and debility. This course of seve-
rity began after the arrival of the ship off the coast—
bat the cruelty of the Captain was not carried to its
highest pitch until the latter end of January, • when
lArm, jSmith, the gunner (of whom the Captain was
somewhat in awe) was dead. He had heard the
Captain say, " that the boy had been sent out as a
spy on his conduct; but if they could not get quit of
him at home, he knew how to get quit of him ; it was •
such as him that brought a bad name and disgrace
upon the trade." From the commencement of the
severe treatment on the part of the Captain, the boy's
health was gradually impaired, and he became ema-
ciated and stupid, which stupidity he supposed •to
proceed from the blows which he had received. He
had known the Captain frequently order the deceased
to be hung up by the heels, with his hands barely
touching the deck, and leave him in that situation for
three or four hours. He knew him once to be tied
up in this manner at about eight o'clock in the even-
ing, and was not taken down till between eleven and
twelve, when his howlings and cries disturbed the
Captain's sleep, and he ordered. him to be taken down.
This punishment reduced the deceased toa state nearly
of frenzy for the moment; and produced an imme-
diate numbness and want of circulation of blood in•

his limbs. He was also:frequently hung up by the
wrist, with his toes barely touching the deck, which
produced a similar numbness in his arms. He had
known the deceased to be kept a whole day naked:
exposed To the full influence of an African sun. In
addition to this, half his head was shaved, and the
greater fart of his body either painted or smeared
with tar : and in this situation the slaves were called
up to look and_laUgh at him. It was he himself who
had shaved his head by the Captain's orders, which
he durst not disobey. The boy was latterly employed
principally in cleaning out the slave tubs ; and hav-
ing accidentally spilt part of the contents of one of
them on the deck, the prisoner knocked him down
with a handspike, and continued beating him for a
considerable time, and jumped upon him when he
was down. He afterwards called for a marling spike
to open his mouth, and absolutely forced him to
swallow some of the ordure which had been spilt, and.,
obliged him to take salt water after it to wash it,4
down. He added, at the same time, " you are not
the first I have forced to do this." This witness
confessed that he paid but little attention to the boy's
wounds—he did not see any thing that he could do
for him, as the deceased was every minute liable to a
fresh beatint, from the Captain. It was about a week
before he died that the Captain knocked him down
with a haddspike, and cut his head very much. His
face was swelled to twice its ordinary size before his
death, his forehead was also puffed up like a sponge,
and his eyes partook so much of this general swelling
that for three or four days before he died he could
scarcely see through them. As to food, the deceased
was not allowed the ship's allowance for many months
before his death. The Captain would allow him no
meat, and only about a pound of yam a day—he
also was stinted in water to an allowance of about
three half pints a day. Although he could not Say
liow loog human life might be sustained on such
scanty allowance, yet he was convinced it must bane
very much increased that debility, which. together
vith the cruel treatment and beatings which the pri.'
soner gave to the deceased, occasioned his death. He
had no doubt in his mind, but that the severe treat-
ment given to the deceased was the sole cause of his.'
death.
The witness was then examined as to the difference
between the account he now gave, and the journal
which byiklinLgiParliament he was hound to keep,