The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-25 00:00:00

CHARGE. OF MURDER O! THE

HIGH SEAS.

LAST week we gave a detailed report of the inquiry into
the charges of murder against Captain Wm. Henderson
Honor, Thomas Henry Chadderton (first' mate), and
John Barthe (second mate), of the ship Mongasteen, so
far as the investigation had then gone. The inquiry was
resumed on Tuesday, when Mr. Mansfield was occupied
five hours in hearing evidence. John Phillips,. the cook
on board the vessel, deposed generally to the ill-usage of
the men by the prisoners. He saw the captain beat
Valparaiso at six o'clock in the evening before his•death.
On the afternoon before Valparaiso died, the witness saw
his left eye much swollen as if from blows : in the morn-
ing it was not hart at all, and he then appeared in good
health. John Rey, a Chilian, deposed to the general ill-
usage of Valparaiso, and stated that on the night before
his death the captain thrust him under the jaws with the
butt end of a cat. Later on he pushed him off the poop
on to the main deck, after having thrashed him, and
whilst on the main deck insensible the captain struck I
him several blows. Valparaiso complained that night
that he was battered and powdered all over. Whilst the
deceased was naked the captain struck him once on the
lower part of his body with part of the fore topgallant
sheet. Mauuel Olaves and Francisco Manuel deposed to
the general ill-treatment of the men by the captain.
Candido Lorenzo, a Manillaman, was called, but, being
found to be an idiot, he was not examined. The evidence
having been read over to the witnesses, the case was
adjourned till Thursday.

IThe adjourned hearing of the case took place before Mr.
Mansfield, at one o'clock on Thursday. One important
witness was out of the way, therefore the court proceeded
to hear the charge against the prisoners for the murder of
Henry Fisher, or Foster. Daniel Gillman Lowe, the car-
penter of the vessel, was the first witness called ; and he
stated that the deceased, who was 18 years of age, shipped
at Singapore on board the Mongasteen, in the month of
November last. After they had been at sea a fortnight, the
captain ill-used the deceased, and continued to do so until
the month of february,after which his treatment amounted
to brutality. He used to strike him while at the wheel,
over any part of the body—the head or any part—with a
bucket-rope, which was converted into a cat, or a piece of
the mainbrace. After the beatings, Foster's body was
covered with sores. Punishment was also frequently in-
flicted on the deceased by stopping his beef and pork, and
giving him only a part of a biscuit and some- tea for the
whole day's allowance. On the 21st of March, the captain
maltreated the deceased, who hid himself, and, on being
found, was again thrashed. The following night he
received similar treatment, and was also sent aloft,
whe he remained two hours by the captain's orders
—tbveather being cold and rainy. On coming down
he was sent below until twelve o'clock, when he was
called to Isis watch ; but, as he did not come, the mate
went and found him in the forecastle, and, bringing him
aft, placed him at the wheel. Subsequently he was again
ordered aloft, but he did not go. He went into the house
forward, where he was found in the sail-locker by the
second mate, who brought him on deck to the captain, by
whom he was ordered to the wheel. As he was going,
the captain seized him by the collar, shook him violently
two or three times, threw him on the deck, and kicked
him heavily in the back several times. The deceased
begged the captain, "for God's sake to have mercy upon
him ;" but the captain only made use of a rough expres-
sion and ordered him to the wheel. He went and took

hold. of the wheel, but could not steer. He therefore went
forward, but fell on the deck as he proceeded. The cap=
tain ordered one of the men to drag him forward, which
was done, and hi? died that night, shortly after twelve
o'clock. A few hours before the deceased died the mate
called witness down to see him. He went down, and saw
that his legs and hands and arms were full of sores, and
there were marks of beatings.—Robert Evans, the steward
of the vessel, gave similar evidence to the last witness,
but added, that the deceased told' the captain he went
down into the sail-locker because he was so miserable and
wanted to die. At the captain's request witness took some
sago and wine down into the forecastle to the deceased,
but he could not swallow it. The deceased groaned, and
was as motionless as a corpse. One Sunday the captain
gave the deceased several cuts with his cat, and then set
five or six men to scrub his arms and legs—which were
a mass of sores—with a hard brush.—John Phillips, the
cook on board the iiiongasteen, said the deceased was in
good health when he joined the ship at Singapore. The
deceased had frequently been ill-used by the captain. The
witness deposed to the, same facts as the two preceding
ones. The evidence having been read over to the wit-
nesses, the court adjourned at five o'clock.
On Friday the examination of the witnesses concerning
the death of Henry Foster was resumed.—John Rey, who
was examined through au interpreter, stated that he re-
membered the deceased, Henry Foster, whom he had often
seen beaten by the captain, after lie had been stripped to,
receive punishment. There were no marks, sores, or
wounds on his body before the captain beat him, but after-
wards there were many wounds—his shoulders were in
pieces, and there were pieces of flesh whipped out of his
back, breast, and face. He (witness) knew that this was
the result of beating, for the deceased was in the same
watch with him, and after he had been whipped by the
captain, he was in the habit of coming forward and show-
ing (witness) his bleeding wounds. About a month
before the deceased died, the first mate ordered witness to
take a bucket of water forward to wash him. Deceased
stripped, and the mate ordered witness to scrub him all
over with a hard brush, used generally to clean paintwork
with. Deceased's bOdy, at that time, was covered with
sores, and he used to draw back his body as soon as ever
the brush was applied to him—for it rubbed off the scabs,
and the blood commenced to flow copiously. He told wit-
ness, in a low tone, not to rub so hard, but the mate, as
soon as he saw the blood flow, said to witness, " Scrub on,
if you don't scrub him hard, me give you ginger too."
Recollected Foster, four or five days before his death,
being set to varnish the capstan-bars. He was then al-
ready so weak that he could hardly walk. He, however,
did part of the work, and then went below to get some
more varnish. Whilst he was away, the captain came on
deck, and asked, "Where is Harry ?" The mate said he
was forward, and called out for him ; but lie did not
answer ; therefore he (the mate) went and found him

in the topgallant-forecastle. The mate, having found
the deceased, commenced beating him with a rope's-end,
driving him in the direction of the poop. When
the deceased reached the poop, the captain asked
him what he had been doing forward. He answered
that, by orders from the chief mate, he had been varnish-
ing the capstan-bars, forward ; but the mate said it was
untrue. The captain told him to 'remain on the poop, and
gave him some brass-work to clean. About half-an-hour
later the captain beat him with a cat, but what for the
witness was at a loss to understand. Every blow the de-
ceased received, he begged the captain, " For God's sake,
to let him go." On the night before Foster died, he was
on his watch four hours—from Bto 12. At 12, when his
watch was over, the captain would not let him go below ;
but, whilst the captain was off the deck, he went down
secretly and threw himself on the floor of the forecastle,
where he remained until daybreak. The chief mate, in the
morning, went down to see after the deceased, who, witness
told the mate, was lying on the floor, and had been in that
position ever since he came off his watch. Foster never
went on deck again. The captain ordered some sago and
wine to be given to deceased, but he could not swallow it.
By order of the mate, who said the deceased had got the
fever, his feet were bathed in water, and his head was
raised a little. Foster died before twelve o'clock at noon
that day, The deceased was beaten several times on the
night before his death, because he would not obey the or-
ders which were given him. Foster had not his full allow-
ance of food—he had short allowance of meat and bread,
and often times the captain would make him stand by and
look on whilst the others were eating. The deceased had
sago, instead of meat, in the evening. The cook once beat
a Manilla man with a stick for stealing the fat. The man
stole it because he was hungered ; he had not enough to eat.
This evidence having been read over to the witness, the
case was again adjourned to yesterday.