Star.
London, England, 1821-01-09 00:00:00

ADMIIIALTY SESSIONS;

; :

' Yesterday, the Sessions for the purpose of
offences committed within this jurisdiction weir 1
as the Sessions House, in the Old Bailey, be-m.l s.
WILLIAtti SCOTT, the LORD CHIRP JUSTICE (t
Common Pleas, the LORD CmE BARON of the Ed
chequer, and a Belch of Civilians.
The Commission for holding the Sessions havis
been read, the Grand Jury was called over. A greL
number were fined 100 s. for non-attendance. Twent,
three Gentlemen having at length been sworn,
Charles Stetiiart and William Godwin were cap.'
tally indicted on the I Ith And 1261 of William ur.
c. 7, for feloniously and piratically making a
on board . the Good Czar, a British merchant ve,.;

•, ,e;
Daniel Mum o mast.r, about three miles feoro
Island of Bornholin, in the Baltic, on the 9Dthci
October last.
It appeared in evidence that the Good tzar „.1
bound on a voyage from Cronstadt to St. Pcte-:.
burgh, and thence to Lonch,n. Her crew consi:;ed
of thirteen, men and boys, the Captain and the Mo..
Before the ship sailed, in consequence of the il;rets
of two of the crew, the Captain was obliged to
the two prisoners, as able-bodied seamen. Beforer:l
day mentioned in the indictment they had been pay.
of mutinous conduct, which subjected them to rem.
hension and punishment, but in consequence of their
contrition and asking forgiveness, they were permit,
ted to resume their duties. On the 20th of October, .1
however, their mutinous disposition again broke out,
and they complained, without any just cause, ei
shortness of provisions. The Captain remonstrate!
with them upon their conduct, but they became std
more outrageous in their language and threats. ll*
conduct became so alarming, that the Captain pro
railed upon the Captains of two ships, in whosecors.,;
pang he sailed, to come on board, in order to slei4l
with him what was best to be done. Whil,t tity
were on board, one of the prisoners began fightine
with another of the crew. The Captain interpoi4
and said he would have no fighting in the ship; upee
which both the prisoners threatened to murder az
Captain arid the other Officers of the ship, and used
the most insulting and insubordinate language. TI!
Captain retired to his cabin and armed himself
a musket and a pistol, and on his return he feud ,
the prisoners had prepared themselves for a hos:1:e
combat, by arming themselves ‘i ith a handspike,
mallet, and a clasp knife, and they advanced re.
wards the Captain with threats of destroying him,
One of them made a blow at his bea..l, which was

caught by the Mate, and the other struck at hinted
a bayonet, which he seized, from the' musket dick
the Captain held in hisis
hand. The Captain, in h
own defence, knocked Stewart down with the handle
of an adze. For half an hour afterwards both pi.
soners continued to abuse the Captain, and avowed
their intention of murdering him, and denvar.del
muskets, pistols, and citatsses, with which they al.
fered to fight it out. The Captain piped all hands
on deck for the purpose of securing theprisonerszni
confining them, but all the sailors refused to °Ley,.
Shortly afterwards .the vessel arrived at Elsinar;
when the Captain complained of the prisoners' cow
duct to the British Consul, who ordered them or
shore, put them into irons, •and sent them home a
England for trial.
The prisoners put in written defences, alleging, as
their excuse, drunkenness, shortness of provisionsond
general ill-treatment ; but they called no witness;
stating, as a reason, that their witnesses had gone toses.
The Jury deliberated for a considerable time, ad
returned a special verdict—That the prisoners was
guilty of a revolt, but not piratically.
The COURT informed them, that they must find a
general verdict of Guilty, or Not Guilty.
The Jury again deliberated for about half an hour,
and returned a verdict of—Not Guilty.
The prisoners were then ordered, on the motion of
Counsel, to be detained for the assault and mii.
demeanour.

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Alexaftder Wood and William Lill, two seamen, I
who were convicted at the last Admiralty Sessions,ot
plundering a wreck ..n the coast of Kent, were then
put to the bar to receive the awful sentence of death.
Sir Wzmast SCOTT addressed the prisonersin ,1
usual impressive manlier. They had, he said, bees
convicted of plundering a ship in distress, on the 1
shores of this country ; and it was Much to be la-
mented that there were Englishmen to be found so j
lost to the feelings of humanity, as to make to thaw
selves a harvest upon the distresses of their fellow-
creatures. The magnitude of the offence was much
increased, when it was considered that the prisoners. •
if they had acted as men and as Christians, vita.
have assisted in the preservation of the lives and pro.
perty of the individuals whom they had thus basely I
plundered. At the time that the offence was cow j
mined, it was by the law a capital felony; but by
subsequent Act of Parliament, it was no longer pit-
nishat•le with death : the Act, however, could net
operate retrospectively, and the sentence of death
must be passed upon them. He felt some degree
pleasure in stating, that there were circumstances Is
the case of the prisoners of a favourable character,
which would, in all probability, operate in mitigauos
-of the punishment which the law awarded. it KJ- i
peared that they were not the leaders to tl.e plunder, I
but the followers of others who were more guilty. If,
these had been taken, the law must have had its;
'Course; but in the case of the prisoners, the favour-
able circumstances he alluded to would be repro-
seated in the proper quarter, and he had little doubt
that their lives would be spared. As, however, they
had been convicted, he must perform his duty, un-
pleasant as it was, of passing the sentence of the law
upon them. The Learned Judge then passed the
sentence of Death, in the usual form, and the priso-
ners were removed.—The Sessions then adjourned.

rtIA
rt!ces
Aug'
Ling

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TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.
Silt—l am sure you will give me the opportnerti
afforded by your Paper, to beg the Public to sus-
pend their judgment on the charge which has late)/'
been made against me, and which, conscious of Inr
innocence, I um most anxious to meet, and doubt or*
bat I shall be able to refute the accusation.
I am,\ Sir, your obedient servant,
FueunicK Accus.
Compton-strect, Soho, January f, 18. A.

HI G H- WATER at LON UON ism InTli TO-401t Ito A.
- 14 minutes after 6
A ftt moan - ix 6

LUk UUN PrutteJ dui piihtvilted by Liven. KIN/, l'Althfi•
Place, Tcriple-Bar