The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-05-31 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

SUMMONS FOR THE WAGES OF THREE EROOMEN.
Messrs. Hamilton, Jackson, mid Co., merchants, engaged
in the African trade, in• this town, appeared on Tuesday, by
their solicitor, Mr. Mallaby, before William Brown, Esq.,
John Holmes, Esq., and. Crawford Logan, Esq., three of her
Majesty's justices of the peace for this borough, having been
summoned to show cause why they refused to pay wages al.
leged to he due from them to three Kroomen, for services
performed on board the ships Albatros and Daedalus. The
information set forth, that on or about the month of June, in
the year 1837, the three applicants, Torn Peter, Tom Jones,
and Tom Roberts, were hired by Reuben Hemmingway, and
subsequently by Capt. Scott, to serve as ordinary seamen in
the ships above-mentioned, on a voyage from the coast of
Africa to Liverpool, and back to Africa, at the wages of 245.
per month ; and that they (the Kroomen above named) hav-
ing duly performed the voyage, the said Hamilton, Jackson,
and Co. refused to pay the wages claimed, namely, £2O to
each man.

Reuben Hemmingway stated, that in the year 1837 he was
in England. In the January of that year he sailed as captain
of the Albatross, in the employ of Messrs. Hamilton, Jack-
son, and Co. He had instructions to engage Kroomen, at
Africa, on the Kroo coast, to work in the salt, in Bonny
river, in the boats, in order that his crew might not be ex-
posed. He went to Bonny river, and arrived on the 26th or
27th March. The three complainants, Tom Jones, Tom
Roberts, and Tom Peter, were engaged by him at so many
bars per month, to work on board the ship as lumpers and
boat-boys. They received two months' payment in advance.
They were, he (Captain Hemmingway) thought, paid in
powder, a gun, and an iron bar. The Albatross left Bonny
for England on the 10th October. he (witness) thought. He
remained. He had another ship called the Daedalus. He
took these men, knowing them to be good ordinary seamen
on board the Daedalus, as she had lost three of her crew, and
was short manned. He could not answer correctly whether
they signed articles. Such a thing was never heard of on the
coast. It was quite unusual there. The Kroomen knew
nothing about it. He (Captain Hemmingway) had made ten
voyages out of Liverpool, and always had employed Kroo-
men. They never signed articles. He took the complainants
on board the Daedalus, and on the 29th November left Bonny
to come to England. He brought them with him to this
country. When he joined the Daedalus she had five or six
Kroomen, but not thinking them so good as these, he dis-
charged them, and paid them in powder, guns, and cloth, and
sent them to their own country. He arrived in Liverpool,
he believed, on the 15th February, 1838. The three com-
plainants acted as seamen on the voyage home, and rendered
very essential service. They could do anything but steer.
He (Capt. Hemmingway) entered into a bond at the Custom-
house, that these men should return to their own country,
and not become chargeable to any European settlement ; and
in March they were sent out in the Daedalus, by Messrs.
Hamilton, Jackson, and Co. Witness left the service of
Messrs. Hamilton, Jackson, and Co. at that time. The men
were here three weeks or a month. He (witness) quitted
their service immediately on the arrival of the ship here. If
he had gone out again in the Daedalus he would have left
them in their own country. He paid them in guns, powder,
and cloth. The next time he saw them was on the 26th
January, at Fernando Po. He did not, of his own know-
ledge, know how they got there. They were at Fernando
Po, about nine hundred or eleven hundred miles from their
own home, where he shipped them. They claimed upon him
(Captain Hemmingway) for wages, and relied upon him to
return them to their native country. They told him they
had been left there destitute. He took four Kroomen out
for Mr. Bold. They had guns, cloth, and beads : money is
no use to them. He took them home. Mr. Bold paid him
for the passage of these men.
Cross-examined by Mr. Mallaby.—The log-book was pro-
duced, and Captain Hemmingway identified it. Referring
to a particular entry which was pointed out to him, he said—
he did not know that there were eleven men. He had great
doubt that this entry of the eleven men had been altered.
The account produced was an account of receipts and pay-
ments. There were eleven men entered there. A barrel of
powder, at Bonny, was forty bars. The value in bars at
another place would be very different. They varied all over
the country. His agreement was to pay them in goods.
These men did not comprehend the value of bars as well as
he (Captain Hemmingway) did. The ordinary mode of pay-
ment was in powder, goods, and cloth, according to their be-
haviour. The mode was not to compute by bars. He always
paid them according to their behaviour. He knew nothing
of the usage of other captains. He was there to speak only
of his own usage. He paid the Kroomen for their services.
He always paid them, and he always took them home—he
did not land them destitute in a strange place—this was a
most inhuman case. Fifty bars of tobacco meant so many
heads of tobacco. (A book produced.) That was the book
which he rendered to Messrs. Hamilton, Jackson, and Co.,
to show how he disposed of their goods for African produce.
The accounts in that book were made up by a clerk named
Jackson. It was copied from the trade-book, or log. Ano-
ther clerk kept the trade-book. The following entry witness
stated to be two months' pay for eleven Kroomen ;-7 quar-
ter-barrels of gunpowder, 13 pieces of cloth, 5 guns, 10 ion
pots, 12 iron bars, 50 bars of tobacco. The book was writ-
ten partly by him, and the upper part by the surgeon, Mr.
Kirkley. who was aboard at the time. Witness was here
examined, touching certain entries of clothes purchased at
Cork for the Kroomen, which purchases, he stated, were ab-
solutely necessary. Another book was produced, which, he
said, was in the hand-writing of Mr. Kemp. He believed
Mr. Kemp went out in the Daedalus, which vessel witness
afterwards took command of. This was his hand-writing.
It was a statement of the accounts of these men. It was
computed in bars. These men he could not say that they
had worked on their passage home with him. They did not
work as his other men did. They did not work as his Kroo-
men did.

Mr. Mallaby : " Did they work? You can answer that
question."
Captain liemmingway : " I have, already. They did not
work, as Kroomen or any other men work, for me. They
did not work as my men."
Mr. Mallaby : ' Did they work ? I want an answer."
Captain Hemmingway And I have given you one.
They did not work for me. They might pull at a rope I
cannot sav that they did not pull at a rope once or twice,-1
dare say .they did."
Mr, Mallaby : " Have you not agreed to pay them wages,
sir ?"

Witness : " No, I have not agreed to pay them any
wages."
Mr. Mallaby : " Are they not to pay you anything, in the
event of this application being successful ?"
Captain Hemmingway (indignantly) : " No, sir, I should
be very sorry—
Mr. Mallaby.: " Are they not to pay you any thing if they
recover wages?"

Captain ilemmingway " No, sir; I have proceeded with
this matter from motives of humanity alone."
The replies to the remainder of the cross-examination
were as follows : " They were told, when in the Dmdarus,
that they should be paid ordinary seamen's wages, if they
came home. I have no entry, in any book whatever, of that.
There was no employment whatever at Fernando Po. If an
agreement were made at the Kroo coast, they were left there,
undoubtedly, but not otherwise."
It being desirable to swear one of the Kroomen, Captain
Hemingway was asked ;f he knew any form of oath which
they considered binding on their consciences. Captain Hem-
mingway said he did not. Mr. Butterworth asked Captain
Hemingway what notions they had of God. The Captain
said, he had not had much opportunity of inquiring on these
subjects, but he believed they worshipped a God above ; they
also seemed to pay great attention to the sun. He, however,
did not know much of these matters.

Mr. Shuttleworth (to Tom Jones) Who is your God?
Tom Jones.—Me hab same God. My God, your God.
Mr. Shuttleworth.—Do you know what is the consequence
if you tell a lie ?
Tom Jones.—Ees. If I tell lie, God kill. God make a
bad man die.

Captain Hemmingway said, he had uniformly found this
tribe of blacks great lovers of truth. He would sooner be-
lieve them generally than the whites ; especially many whites
with whom he had had to deal.

Tom Jones, whom Captain Hemmingway described as a
very intelligent fellow, having answered Mr. Shuttleworth's
questions satisfactorily, was sworn. • _ _

Mr. Mallaby.—l had rather hear his evidence without his
being sworn. I would much rather hear him without his
oath.

Tom Jones, however, could not very readily be unsworn,
and Mr. Shuttleworth informed Mr. Mallaby that they could
not legally receive the evidence unless the witness were on
his oath, as the act of parliament required that all evidence
should be taken on oath.

The witness deposed that he came home with Captain
Hemmingway. They were to have no wages for coming.
They were to have some clothes.
Captain Hemmingway wished to have the questions put to
the witness in a different manner, as he avowed that the wit-
ness did not understand.

Mr. Shuttleworth.—How did you go.back?
Tom Jones.—ln de sameahip.
Mr. Shuttleworth.—How.kag were you here ?
Witness.—Three days.
Captain Hemmingway.—l told you he did not understand.
Captain Hemmingway was about to put the question his
way, when Mr. Mallaby interfered. At length Mr: Hem-
mingway proceeded. It appeared that Mr. Shuttleworth's
elegant English was unfamiliar to their ears, as they at once
understood and answered Captain Hemmingway. All three
pricked up their ears and looked delighted when Captain
Hemmingway framed the question as follows:
" Tom Jones ! Look here. Dat time you came to dis
place in my ship wid me. How long time you stop heaa be-
fore you set sail to go back to you own country ?"
Witness (promptly) Tree week and tree day, massa!
The remaining evidence of this witness was as follows :
Went to de office heaa an' dey say,'What dat black fellow
want ? Get long ; go way ! Dat was Hamilton office. Dey
gib me no clothes heaa.
After some consultation the magistrates dismissed the
complaint, alleging as the ground of their decision, that they
had no means of ascertaining the value of the wages, even if
it had been proved that they were earned. Capt. Hemming.
way expressed his regret that the law would not reach the
case, which he regarded as one of extreme cruelty and hard-
ship. Captain Hemmingway made some warm observations
on the subject, to which Mr. Mallaby replied.
4 UNWHOLESOME MEAT.

The following complaints were substantiated by Holden,
the inspectOr of meat. James Clark was charged with hav-
ing in possession 149 lbs. of measled pork, which he was
offering for sale on the 25th instant, in St. James's Market.
The meat was described as very bad. The defendant was
described as very poor, with a family of ten children. No-
thing was offered in defence. He was fined is. 6d. and costs.
'George Brhlthaw was charged with having, on the 23d inst.,
{exposed for sale in St. John's Market, 38 lbs. of veal, unfit
for food: Fined is. 6d. and costs. Joseph Stubbs was
charged with having, in St. Martin's Market, on the 25th
instant, offered for sale 7 lbs. of unwholesome lamb. The
abimal had been smothered. The remainder bad been sold.
Fined is. 6d. and costs. The defendants in each of the
above cases were given to understand, that if ever they were
again summoned for a similar offence, they would be most
severely dealt with.

A BENEFIT-SOCIETY SQUABBLE.
Edmund Williams, a Welshman, appeared as plaintiff,
and Daniel Brady, an Irishman, the steward of a benefit
society, as defendant. The complainant stood stroking his
head, and looking the picture of self-satisfaction. The small
Hibernian face of the defendant was puckered up into a most
determined expression of self-importance. He looked as if
he deemed Daniel Brady infallible.
The Welshman explained, that he had bin two'yeears
a quarter in the club, an' nevar cot on the box till lately/
Not long since, howevar, he fall seek—an' then he want to
traw some money in corse—but they won't pay him. He
had now come far chustice from the matches-tratc 'far the
sum of sefenteen an' sixpence tat tey ho hur.
Daniel Brady.—l'm a shtoord, an' I objict, 'case o' dhe
sicond rule, whareby it is declared, an' inacted, an' made
manifist, that if any mimber will join in any odher siety, he
shall forfeit all binifit o' dhis here one. Now, mind what I
say, he's jind dhe hodd fellows—therefore he's forfitted all
right and tittle to be benefited by our funds.
The complainant and deponent here simultaneously pulled
each from his pocket a small blue bdok, shockingly soiled,
and so doubled together from constantly abiding in the
pockets, that it was with difficulty_ they could be opened. It
was found that the second rule did pot at all protect the
club from the payment.
Mr. Brown ordered that the money should be paid.
Daniel Brady.—Not by no manner of manes we shan't,
'case o' the second rule.

-31 r. Ellis explained that the second rule did not contain
anything that would bear out their plea ; the money must
be paid ; the club must pay 19s. 6d.
Brady.--Not at oil, 'ease he is fined tin shilling.
Mr. Ellis.—What (dr?

Brady.—'Cage he wint out, without laving word where be
had gone to. _
Mr. Ellis.—When was he fined?

Brady.—Och ! faith I'm a shtoord, and I'll fine him now.
Mr. Ellis said that could not be ; the complainant must be
fined in a proper manner. The money must be paid, or the
goods would be levied upon.
The defendant went away grumbling, and declaring that
the money should not be paid.
YESTERDAY.
(Before W. BROWN, Esq.),
THEFT FROM A HOUSE.—An old woman, whose name we
could not learn, was charged with having entered the dwelling_
house of a Mr. Whalley, and having thence carried off out of
the kitchen a shirt and a pair of boots. The articles were
recovered. This was not the prisoner's first offence, and
she was committed for three months to the Borough House
of Correction.

ASSAULT.—A very stout man, named Jackson, a reputed
pugilist, was placed at the bar charged by a publican, named
John Watson, with a violent assault upon him. The com-
plainant, who keeps the " Cock Robin Hall," in Richmond-
street, stated, on the previous afternoon the defendant came
to his house, and called for a glass of ale, which, as he knew
him to be a violent character, and drunk at the time, he
would not give him. Defendant then became very outrage-
ous, said the house was as much his as it was witness's, and,
after asking for a glass to fetch himself something to drink
from elsewhere, he struck the complainant, dragged him vio-
lently about, and would have killed him but for the inter-
ference of a man who came to his assistance. Jackson, in
his defence, said that the complainant had struck him, and
that the reason he was brought there merely was because
complainant's wife had said that it was a shame to use him
(defendant) in such a manner. One of the constables, how-
ever, saw Jackson dragging the complainant about. The
bench decided that he should pay 10s. and costs, or be com-
mitted to gaol for 10 days.

COMPLAINT OF ASSAULT DISMISSED.
A man named Thomas Mathews complained that another
named Connolly. had on Saturday night, violently assaulted
him, by first throwing a glass at him, and afterwards striking
him on the pate with a quart bottle, by which last a wound
was inflicted. Witnesses were called on both sides, and it
appeared that the parties had met (after a recent difference)
at a public-house at a late hour, where the quarrel was re-
newed by the complainant, first using some provoking lan-
image to the defendant's relative to their former disagree-
ment, and then pulling his nose ! As this was admitted (so
far at least as the language, and "'a touch" of that sensitive
organ alluded to), the Magistrate said the plaintiff was the
original transgressor, and the case must therefore be dis-
missed.