The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-31 00:00:00

CROWN COURT.-SATURDAY.

Mr. Justice COLERIDGE took his place shortly before nine
o'clock, and immediately ordered that the prisoners con-
victed on the preceding day, who had not received sentence,
should be placed before him.

SENTENCES ON RETURNED CONVICTS

Charles DoWas, aged 23, was placed at the bar. The
charge against him was, that, having been convicted, about
four years ago, of burglary, at the New Bailey SessiOns,- at
Salford, and transported beyond 'the seas for the term of 14
years, he had, on the 18th of November last, appeared at
large, in the borough of Manchester, without lawful cause.
He pleaded Guilty,
His Lordship was about to pass sentence when the pri-
soner begged to be allowed to address a few words to the
Court. The prisoner's statement was of much greater length
than we have space to publish, his address having occupied
nearly an hour in the delivery. It was, in some parts, ex-
ceedingly touching, and created a powerful sensation in the
court. We should be glad if we could convey, even in print,
a notion of the impressive manner in which the prisoner de-
livered himself. His great and unaffected earnestness ren-
dered him occasionally eloquent; while, in some of the de-
tails, his language became pathetic from the excited state of
his feelings and from the emotions which he was unable to
controul communicating their colour to his thoughts and
words. He commenced by saying, that four years ago, when
he was only nineteen years of age, he was tried for burglary,
and sentenced to fourteen years' transportation. He did
not then believe, what he had since been so powerfully con-
vinced of,, that transportation was so full of misery as he had
proved it to be from experience. He could assure his lord-
ship, that it was terrible, and those who thought otherwise
were in very great error. He was first' sent to the hulks,
where he remained six months, and there, though he suffered
much hardship, which he need not describe, it was nothing
to the misery wnich he had since endured. He was, at length,
sent on board the transport that was to convey him to
Botany Bay ; and he looked forward to this change with
some satisfaction, indulging a hope that it would better his
circumstances ; but he was fearfully mistaken. The severe
regulations of the hulks were exchanged for the military rule
to which the prisoners were subjected ; and he soon found
what it was to be under the strong discipline of a convict
vessel. The prisoner described the manner in which the
several classes of convicts were taken away from the ship on
their arrival. Those who were doomed to the chain gangs for
life were first sent off to their horrible punishment, which he
described as being considered, by all convicts who knew
anything of the matter, as a thousand times worse than death
in its most dreaded form. Many thought they had a chance
of bettering their condition when transported, but they were
dreadfully mistaken. Even the gentlemen who were tran-
sported, he meant those who were well educated, and who
thought their education would prove an advantage to them,
were doomed to suffer equally with the most ignorant and
depraved, for they were ranked amongst those who were in-
firm and invalids, and were, being useless, sent to a quarter
where they were under the command of men whom they re-
garded, in all respects, as their inferiors, so that, instead of
being better, they were absolutely worse off than their fel-
lows. He was attached, he said, to what we believe, he
called the Woolaloo party, with which he continued, for a
time, working under a burning sun by day and subjected to
the most severe discipline. Every thing was under military
regulation, and on the slightest infraction of rule or orders,
the convicts were tied up to the triangles and flogged. At length
a lady and gentleman wished to take a man into their ser-
vice, and he was assigned to them. He behaved well, and
he found his circumstances as good as he could expect, or
even better, for he had done wrong and deserved punish-
ment. This lasted only about twelve months, for Mr. —,
—he would not mention the name of that gentleman in juxta-
position with his own, for, he believed, he was in London at
that moment, and, if he was not, he had a brother there,—
but he told him that he was going to England, and must turn
him over to government. This was done, and •he again expe-
rienced a renewal of the hardships to which he had at first
been subjected. But even these hardships were nothing to
what he had afterwards experienced, for the governor was
changed, and when Governor Phipps went out it was much
worse for convicts. He was now sent with others to work in
the interior of the colony, amongst the chain gangs, and here
it was that he saw transportation in its true colours. They
were miserably dealt with, indeed, forced, by the most se-
vere treatment, to work, all day, beyond their strength, be-
neath a burning sun, not daring to utter a complaint for fear
of the lash, and with scarcely food enouzli to support them,
consisting only of a wretched meal of homminy. It was out
of the power of language to describe what they endured. (The
prisoner wept at the recollection of his sufferings during this
period.) The most conspicuous object of their encampment
was the triangles, and for the most trivial error they were taken
before a military gentleman, who assigned them a flogging,
which always took place at dinner time; after which they
were taken to toil again, beneath the scorching sun.
At night they slept in huts. They had no beds, and mere-
ly a covering of a sort of stringy bark. If one word were
spoken during the hours of rest, the sentinel called out the
offender, and he was handcuffed till morning, when he was
flogged for having violated the regulations by the expression
of even a natural and involuntary complaint. Here his life
became a misery to him, and he had no consolation from the '1
reflection, that he had deserved the punishment. He assured
his lordship, that his constant, unmitigated sufferings were
unbearable, for they were treated worse than dogs, and were
looked upon as even worse than beasts. One night he awoke
from sleep. He saw before him three hundred men, each of
whom had been the author of some crime. He then felt
leftvghr which
they
ho
esyt escapeoecfrkeacdt
stockade
d together.theirtogether;
liberation.
deeply his degraded and miserable situation, and he spoke to
y
a young man named (as we understood) Carney, and they
statingahn They
yr proceeded
oe
ert merely said
emsdaeifadanrmeans
theynlt) o
lN'Viethporuits,;
the bush, and werewellnigh •
exhausted, when they discerned
a party of the aborigines, who were •
roasting a kangaroo.
His companion was afraid to venture near them, but he, being
pressed by hunger, went to them, and they gave him a piece
of a kangaroo and a piece of an opossum. The prisoner pro-
, ceeded to detail the particula •their journey till they
arrived at a small bay, which he of•d
and from which the whole district. wasal wasll called Botany Bay,
his horror at hearing footsteps wheitilica. He mentioned
suddenly awoke, from
sleep, as he would rather have died thean h
daylight they saw a vessel, which he,
having
returned. At
to the sea, knew was going out of port, frongi trieeribrought up
blue Peter at
her mast head. She was about two miles from them, and he
and his companion, after some consultation, resolved
any risk rather than remain where they were, . to run
plunged into the
water and swain to her. They contrived to get on board, and
to get into the hold, unperceived, where each agreed to con-
ceal himself as he best could. He knew not where his
com-
rade concealed himself, but he got into a water tank.
Shortly afterwards the inspector came on board and examined
the ship, and he was under inconceivable dread that they
would be taken, when, by the law of the colony, he would
have been sent to Norfolk Island for fourteen years. The
inspector did not find him, but he heard the sailors putting
on the hatches and tarpauling, and immediately his compa-
nion joined him. A new horror appeared before them. The
prisoner stated, that it was customary, when convicts were
suspected of having concealed themselves on board ships, to
smoke the hold, to force them to come forth. 1 o this opera-
tion they became convinced they were about to be subjected.
Believing themselves to be in this fearful extremity, his
panion asked him if he had any memorial which he wished
him to deliver in England, in case he survived him, and ever
reached his country. He replied, no : he had no one in the
world who cared for him, and, tharefore, no one whom he
wished to be reminded of him. His companion (the prisoner
wept at the remembrance) took out a dirty letter, and told
l him where to find his poor mother in London.. Sobbing as be

spoke, he bade his brother-convict, if ever he should reach
England, to tell her that, the last time he saw him, he was
well and prospering, and would, some time or other, come and
see her, " and that," said he,- `! will add many years to my '
poor, dear mother's life." The prisoner said, he then wetted
a pair of drawers, and swathed them round his comrade's
head. He himself got into the tank of water, when he, some
hours after, heard the order to put up the topsails, which
gave him sonic satisfaction, as he knew, by that, that the
vessel was going to sea. He knew not where she was bound
to, nor did he care, so that they got away from the miserable
place which he had quitted. He remained in the -tank.
amongst the water, twelve or fourteen days, suffering extreme
torture, and had still, and should hate to the end of his days,
a recurrence of the pains which he then endured. During
the whole time, his only food was seven biscuits. The
prisoner proceeded to 'state, that they were di.-:covered,
and described with what horror he beard the captain, Who,-
he supposed, suspected what they were, give the order to
put the ship about, and how he and his companion, being
' resolved to brave any fate rather than be-taken back, jumped
overboard when the ship was about six or seven miles from the
Feejee Islands. His comrade was on the point of sinking when
they perceived an old canoe, bottom upwards, into whiCh they,
after many attempts, managed to get. The canoe swamped
with them once or twice, but at length they reached the land in
safety. The natives soon saw them ; and, as they were known
to be cannibals, they had great dread of them. They took hold
of Carney, who foolishly resisted, upon which they forced him
away, but not before one of them inflicted a wound upon his
(Dolphin's) shoulder, which brought him to the ground. He
suffered great torture for several days, being without food or
water, and unable to help himself. He tried to eat the grass
which was within his reach, and, at length, worn out with
suffering, he became insensible. When he recovered, lie
found himself lying with his head resting against a native
woman, who was applying antidotes to the wound, which
had been inflicted by a' poisoned spear. On his recovery,
the young woman indicated to him that there was a white
man in the hush. Ile went to the spot which she pointed
out, and there found the dead body of Carney, the flesh
nearly all taken from his bones either by the natives or the
hogs. He interred him in some soft ground, an operation
which he described as having given him great satisfaction.
It turned out, however, that he had infringed upon what the
natives deemed privileged ground, and he would have been
sacrificed but for the interference of the young native woman,
who was a chieftain's sister. At" length, one day, the girl
ran to him exclaiming, " Kibooker," which meant a large
man-of-war canoe: This turned out to be a French ship,
the Angelica, of Havre de Grace, which was on a whiling
cruise. When the boat took him away, he said, the affec-
tionate young-native girl swam after him, and he was com-
pelled to take her with him._ A short time afterwards he
had an opportunity of consigning her to the care of a bene-
volent missionary, who took her back to the island which
she had left, where he wished to establish a missionary sta-
tion, and in which design her influence would be useful.
The prisoner detailed many other hardships, sufferings, and
adventures which he had undergone before he reached Eng-
land. His intention was to have entered on board one of
her Majesty's ships, where, after some years of good service,
lie was in. hopes he might have obtained his pardon. He
concluded by imploring his , lordship to be merciful to him,
and not to send him back to exile. He sobbed, in his earn-
estness, as he beg,ed that any punishment might be awarded
to him rather than this. If again transported, he should he
sent to Norfolk Island, or Goat Island, places which he
would not pollute his lordship's ears by pretending to de-
scribe. Even on board the hulks he would be chcined to

crosstrees all the day, and would not be allowed the privi-
lege of another convict; and it would be the same on hoard
the ship. He would be thankful for even the scaffold in
preference.
His LORDSHIP interrupted the prisoner. If he were ad-
dressing him in the hope, that he should prevent him from
passing sentence of transportation, he was sorry to say, he
had no option.
Prisoner (with great emotion)—Then, God help me ! I'll
not describe what I shall suffer. I would not wish to offend

your lordship's ears by telling you about Norfolk Island.
Oh ! if you would but pass sentence of death upon me, I
would summon courage to die, for then I should die like a
man ; but, if you send me back, I shall spend a few miserable
years in chains ; and, after all, I shall not die like a man, no,
not even like a dog. 1 beg, iny.lord, from my heart, that
you will rather consign me to death than again to transporta-
tion. If it be in your power to show kindness to a miserable
man like me, do my lord. I never knew what it was to re-
ceive parental instruction—indeed, my lord, I did not ; and
I have been fearfully punished for toy crime. I never was
taught what was right till I learned it from experience : I
shame to say it, but I never had any instruction but what I
received from the schoolmaster of the gaol. Do be as mer-
ciful as you can, my lord. [His lordship shook his head, as
if intimating that he had no will in the matter.] I have done
my lord.. You may consign me to misery, but it shan't be
for long. Do doom me to death, my lord, if you have the
power : all I want is a few hours preparation. I have done
my lord.
His LORDSHIP, addressing the prisoner, said, that the
statement which he had made, in the hope of obtaining a
mitigation of punishment, was one which every person in
court must have heard with a great degree of pain. If it
were true, and he had no reason for supposing that the pri-
soner had been stating what-was not true, the narrativemight
serve one very useful purpose, for it was commonly supposed
by persons who had committed crimes in this country, that,
when they were sentenced to be transported, they were about
to be sent to a land where they would not suffer, but would
improve their condition in life. Many a person had been
drawn into the commission of crime under the supposition,
that ,the punishment was one in name, and notin circum-
stance. If what the prisoner had stated were true, a great
impression ought to he made on the minds 'Of those persons.
They 9ught to know what'-was•really the fact, that, on pas-
sing tp?, this country to that.to which they were to be trans-
I:0;1e ,acountry.which had been described as rot a land for
honest men, they.went to a place, where they must suffer dis-
grace and hardship; and. where they must lose that which it
was the most painful ttchtiman being to lose,—all hope of
liberty. ..He(the prisonet)•had pleaded guilty to a charge of
haVing committed the offence 'of returning from tratisporta-
don. He had been transported for a crime which, at the
time, was a capital offence, and for which he might have suf-
fered .on the gallows; hut he was sentenced to fourteen years
transPoitation ; and; had as that sentence was, it was one to
which he ought to have submitted; and his-own statement
slao'ived, that, if he had persevered in the line of conduct
which he had observed when he became the servant of a kind
master, he • might have had the same good fortune. But he
had thought proper not to submit to his lot ; and he had that
day given an account of the hardship; which he had in con-
sequence suffered. He (the prisoner) was about to receive
sentence for returnink before the term of his sentence for

transportation had expired. . He had appealed to him (the
Judge) in mitigation of punishment; but it was fit that he
should tell him, that he had no discietion in the matter. He
(the prisoner) must be transported for life ; and, previous to
his transportation, he must suffer some term of imprison-
ment. The sentence of the Court was, that he be imprisoned
and kept to hard labour in the House of Correction, at Kirk-
dale, for three months ; and that, at the expiration of his
sentence, he be transported for the term of his natural life.
Prisoner.--That shall be a short one. Clod bless your lord-
ship—you have been as merciful as you could, I know:
The JUDGE.--Don't say that the term shall be short. You
speak as if there were nothing beyond this life, and you speak
of it as a matter of indifference. If you were, by any act of
your own, to shorten your term of existence, and thus put off
your day of repentance, the sufferings which you have endured
in this life will be nothing to the punishment which you will
suffer in the life that is to come.
__

William Edmonds, a tall, very well built man, was charged
with being an escaped convict from transportation. • He
pleaded guilty. His sentence was similar to that of the last
prisoner.