Star.
London, England, 1810-01-20 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.,

COURT OF RING'S BENCH, JAN. 17.
FINN O. WILLIAMSON.
The ArroaNay GENERAL stated, that the plaintiff
was a mariner on hoard the Ocean East Indiaman,
of which the defendant was Captain. The action
was brought for an assault committed by the defen-
dant on the plaintiff, and for that which he hoped
would appear to the Jury, as it did to him upon his
instructions, to be most inhuman treatment ; for ter-
tatnlyit was so if those instructions were true. The
plaintiff was a joiner on board this vessel, when this
outrage was committed on him. In answer to this
charge made upon the Captain, for this inhuman
treatment, he stated upon the record, that this plain-
tiff was a mariner on board this ship under his coin•
mand, and behaved himself in an impertinent and
improper manner towards him, the defendant ; and
that be *as guilty of disobedience to the order of
the defendant, which order was given for the safety
of the ship ; whereupon he the defendant chastised
him moderately—moderately for his misconduct.—
Now, the Attorney General said, he should state to
the Jury, what the pretended cause of his chastise-
ment was, and what the chastisement itself was, to
which this Captain chose to apply the term " mode-
rate." The plaintiff was employed about his busi-
ness as a joiner, in making a vane below deck. The
boatswain came to him to borrow his tools, which he
refused to lend ; for he knew that if others got hold
of his tools, they would most probably be spoiled,
and would become unfit for his use. The boatswain
then went upon deck, and related to the Captain
something. What passed between them did not ap.
pear ; but it was found that the Captain called up
the plaintiff, and asked him, " What he was about P'
To which he answered most respecfully and submis-
sively, ic That he was about making a vane foi the
ship, below ; according to orders." The Captain
told him to go about his work. As soon as he was
gone as far as the main hatch-way, the Captain called
him back—he obeyed. The Captain bid him fetch
up his tools—he obeyed. Then the Captain ordered
two men to come forward, one of the name of Ro-
berts, the other Smith, a black man—who was called
black Smith'—they came. The Captain ordered them
to take the plaintiff, the one by one hand, the other
by the other—they did so. Then the Captain or-
dered the boatswain to come forward—he did so-,-
ordered him to take a rope—he believed a two and
an half inch rope to beat the plaintiff. The boatswain
did so—until the Captain ordered him to desist,
which the Captain was not in haste to do ; but told
the boatswain to strike harder, assuring the boat-
swain, if he did not inflict severer chastisement, on'
the plaintiff, by striking harder, he should have the
same chastisement himself. The punishment was
therefore inflicted on the plaintiff according to the
Captain's desire ; and as to the manner in which that
was done, the Attorney General said, he had rather
the July should have the particulars from the wit-
nesses than from him. After this punishment had
been inflicted on the plaintiff, by the boatswain, by
order of the Captain, the Captain himself, not satis-
fied with the punishment which had been inflicted by
the hand of the boatswain, took a rope himself, and
inflicted further and still more severe chastisement on
the plaintiff ; and spared no part of his person ; his
head, back, sides, loins and face, and at last gave
him a blow on the temple, which was the last, and
which brought him down, and while he lay upon the
deck, kicked and stamped upon him violently, from
which he suffered as much as from the blow, and by
which he was disabled from doing his duty for a long
time, and he bore the marks of violence about him
to this very hour, for there was now upon his fore-
head the scar of the wound upon his temple. This
was what the Captain was pleased to call " mode-
rate chastisement, for disobedience to his orders,
given as they were for the safety of the ship ;" but
that was all a pretence, for that, in reality, there was
no disobedience to his orders, and therefore, the
Captain was without excuse, and this was a case for
exemplary damages. He knew, he said, how dan-
gerous it was to propagate opinions, that Captains
of East Indiamen, or of any other vessels, were to be
liable to large damages for the chastisement they in-
flicted, (although it might be in some measure de-
served) if they went a little further than they ought
to do ; that is, if they should in their zeal for neces-
sary discipline, go beyond the proper bounds. He
knew how dangerous it was, not only to our East-
India, but to every other shipping service, to propa-1
rate such a doctrine, many ships might have been
in danger ; perhaps some lost, by propagating a doc-
trine, and giving too much encouragement to actions
of this sort, which were not brought so much for the
benefit of those in whose names they were commen-
ced, as for that of those who brought them, but this
was not an action of that nature ; the reverse. For
the plaintiff was an obedient mariner, on board a ves-
sel, cruelly treated by a tyrant, and who therefore,
for the protection of ships, as well as for the protec-
tion of obedient sailors on board them, the defendant

ettgiit tb tie Ade tt ply enfisitletaltie &image& Ife
had stated the case to the Jury, is it lad been stated
to him.: He had not endeavoured to exaggerate any
part of it, and. if proved, he thought the*Tury would
make an am pliconipensation to t& plaintiff, for the
injury he had received, and whiCh was wantonly in-
flicted on him -by this defendant.
George Taylor said, I was a fore mast Man in the
Vessel called-the Ocean, the defendant was the Cap-
tain. Lawrence Finn, the plaintiff, wat the joiner :
he messed with me, I saw him at work on the day of
this aftairt I cannot say exactly what day It was, but
it was hi the month of May, 1808. The plaintiff was
making a vane for the foremiast-headi He was below
on the gun-deck. The boatswain came down and
asked him to lend some of his tools, he refused to do
it, he told hint he lent his tools before and they spoil-
ed them, *id that he would not lend his tools any
more. If there was any thing to do he would do it
himself, but he would not lend his tools. The boats-
wain went aft, and away, and then came down again
and told him to go to the Captain the plaintiff went
immediately, and I followed up after him The
plaintiff said to the Captain=" hour Hotiour, did
you want me ?—The Captain said) " loiner, what
are you about ?"—" Making a vane for the mast-
head," said he • " Go below, and do what you were
about," said the Captain. On which the plaintiff
went away, in order to go below, and got as • far as
the main hatchway, when the Captain hallooed—
" 3 oiner, come here"—All the men almost were then
upon deck, but the boatswain was forward. The plain-
tiff came back, and the Captain said—" Go and fetch
all the tools you have got up here."—" Yes, your
Honour," he says, and went and fetched them ; he
brought them in a basket. As soon as he brought the
tools up, the Captain told him to put them down ; he
did so. Then the Captain called the Quarter-master,'
whose name is Roberts, and he came—" Catch that

old rascal by the arm," said the Captain • he did so.
Then the Captain said to a man of the name of
Smith, a black, who was on that account called black
Smith—a Catch hold of the other arm," he did so.

The Captain then called the boatswain aft, and said,
" Give the old rascal a d—d good :tartly." The
boatswain then took up a rope and hit the plaintiff,
as the Captain thought too lightly, by the blow ; on
which the Captain said, " Strike harder"—=and he
said, if he did not strike harder, he should serve him

the same as he had done the plaintiff ; and then the
boatswain beat the plaintiff on the back ; I Cannot
say how many blows he gave him ; he might get
near twenty or more. The Captain was then stand-
ing on the poop, about ten yards from where the
plaintiff stood. Atter the boatswain had done beat-
ing him, the plaintiff turned round and asked the
Captain what he got that cruel usage for ? He said,
he had worked for the first noblemen in England,
and that he had never had a blow nor a black eye
before ; and that he should like to know what this
was for, for that he was not deserving of it—itpon
which the Captain ran from the poop where he then
stood, and caught hold of a rope, and then beat him
as hard as he could, until he could not beat him any
longer—he was out of breath ; it was ariciut a two
inch and a quarter rope ; he did not care where he
hit him, and as he was striking him, he at last hit
,him on the temple, and the man fell with the blow)
and as he fell, he Captain stamped on his right side
as hard as he could; he also gave him a kick. After
that, the Captain told the boatswain to start the
old rascal arm on the deck ; on which the boats-
wain gave him three blows more as he was walking
along. I cannot say what part of the voyage this
was, but it was on the other side of the Cape. That
plaintiff, after this, never could go about the deck,
without laying hold of something to guide him along.
He appeared to me to be always lame afterwards
during the rest of the voyage. I used to help him in
and out of his hammock ; he never wanted help before
that happened ; be was not stripped ; he had his shirt
and a light jacket on, and I have them here ; the
clothes which he had on at the time, and here is-the
blood upon them now, the blood which was occa-
sioned by the wounds which he received on that oc-
casion. He and I messed together. He had the
things upon him, and he stripped and sheaved his
messmates his back, which was bruised, and the blood
starting in a kind of a jelly.
Cross.examined by Mr. GARROW.—He said, that
they had had their boom carried away in a storm,
and that the boatswain wanted the plaintiff's tools for
a young man on board, who was the assistant of the
carpenter, who was then on board the Elphinstone
East Indianian, which vessel had also lost her mast
by the gale, and it was necessary that another boom
thould be fastened to some irons, for which the plain-
tiff's tools were wanted ; the plaintiff refused to give
his tools, saying that whatever there was to do, he
would do it himself.
Re-examined.—The witness said, that the plaintiff
was not in the least degree uncivil to the Captain ;
never saying a word to him, without “ your honour." ,
The witness said, he had no action against the Cap-
tain, nor did he know how many there were.
Three other witnesses, sailors on board, one of
whom had obtained a verdict for selso against the
Captain, but had not yet got the money, gave an ac-
count to the same effect as this witness, and added
some further particulars, such as, that the Captain
stamped on the hip of the plaintiff as he was down,
and again kicked him as he was endeavouring to rise,
and also, that he was several days unable to do any
duty,th; he applied to the surgeon for assistance,who
would not give him any, saying that his back would
heal of itself, &c. They all agreed, that the Plain-
tiff never offered an uncivil word to the Captain be-
fore this beating.
Mr. Gwaitow addressed the Jury for the defendant,
whom he extolled for his general humanity; conten-
ded that the whole of this truth did not appear from
the testimony of these witnesses, nor could the whole
of it appear on this trial ; for most of those who could
have given the most material evidence for the defen-
dant were_now with him at sea, on their voyage to
the East Indies • and therefore he was in a great
measure at the mercy of these sailors, who were
leagued against him, as was evident by their telling
'this tale precisely in the same manner, which ;hew-
ed that they had been rehearsing it. Captains of In-
diamen were men of education, and gentlemen, were
received as such into the best societies in England,
and welcomed as fit partaken of their elegant pas-
time ; not like the Captains in the African trade, who
had, too often, been guilty of cruelty ; but here the
aceotint had been exaggerated; for the truth' was, that

.

&VOW!! izteniled claw tor **it orillvi44,
and he had of the plaintiff' to lend his tools for
that purpose to the carpentet's assistant, the carpe vet
hithself having gone on board the Elphinstone to help
to repair a mast, and the plaintiff had refused to lend
these tools. As to the refusal of the surgeon to as-
sist the plaintiff to dress him, it was because he w
ed nothing 1 nor Was it probable that a surgeon sho ild •
refuse assistance to one who wanted it ; that was an
inhumanity which could not without extraordlna
evidence' be believed. •He had the boatswain, the
cooper, and the surgeon here, and they should prove
that the account here given by the witnesses for the
plaintiff was etaggerated ; and although he did not
expect that they would give such an account of th..,
transaction as to make out the justification on the re-
cord, yet they would reduce the damages to a very
moderate price.
MK-George Canney, the surgeon, said he examined
the plaintiff's back ; it vtas not bloody; the skin was
not broken; there was froth silt to twelve livid Marks
upon it; but he had seen many persons' backs who
had been started, much worse than this, who had not
asked surgical aid. As to this matter, he cons'dered
that the plaintiffapplied for his help, more with a vie*
to get rid of his duty by being put on the sick list,
than having any medical assistance—He saw no wo d
on his temple —He thought that if he had been
wounded there he must have seen it.

John Williamson, the boatswain, gave an account
of the manner in which he had beat the 'plaintiff, by
order of the Captain, which was that of a regular start-
ing; a much milder punishment than that of fizzing:
He did not recollect that the Captain ordered him to
hit harder, but he would not swear he did not: He
did not see him kick the plaintiff, but would not-swear
he did not. The Captain bade him go to the plaintiff
for his tools to prepare a boom, and the plaintiff refus-
ed to give them, on which he reported him to the Cap-
tain. The rope's end with which the plaintiff was
beat was about half an inch thick.