The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-06-01 00:00:00

JACK TARS IN A FRENCH GAOL.

When the depot was first established, distinction of rank or
character was unknown ; all were confined together in the
grand souter ain. Then, indeed, it deserved the name of the
Place of Tears," for, by what I heard of it was a pandemonium.
lithe sailors, and those confined with them, had been tameable
animals, and would have studied their own welfare, they might
have been comfortable; but they were indomitable, being. a
terror to their guards, who dreaded coming in contact with them.
11 their liberty had depended upon overpowering the seventeen
gendarmes and one hundred veterans, (which composed the
garrison,) they would soon have liberated themselves. I shall
here relate one of their teats, as it was generally reported, in
order to elucidate their character. Amonithe prisoners, there
was an Englishman detained, suspected of being a spy, bearing
a colonel's commission in the Russian service. He was a great
favourite with the sailors; and, having cotmnitted some offence
was being conducted to the eachut when they liberated hint.
The whole garrison was turned out; which the men observing,
tan below arming themselves, some with billets of wood, and
others will' pieces of the guard-bed, which they tore up for the
purpose, came op again and bade defiance to their guard, He
that assumed the leadership said to.the others, "Let us not be
the attacking party; let us wait till we see. blood drawn from
any of us; and then we will fall upon them, and murder the
whole." The commandant and the general, seeing their attitude
so imposing and their determination so visible, gave up the
point; and the men. returned to theirusual obedience, which at
the best was little more than a state of mutiny. The standing
order was, that all light should be put out at eight o'clock ; but
ashen there was any new arrival, any rejoicing-night, or any
snique (a cheap spirit distilled frorri potatoes) stilling, the order
became a dead letter. When it was first issued, the gendarmes
would venture down to put them out ; but often as they eutered
the smiler On away flew hats and shoes at their lantern, and,
When that iris demolished, anything that could be laid hold of
flew after them, which cased a hasty retreat. They met with
no other reception if ever they went down to suppress their
rows. They were horrified at a regular. stand-up fight; and
-Were anxious to separate the combatants, fearing they might kill
each other. At length the gendarmes had such a dread of going
among them, that they had to be accompanied by the veterans;
and the commandant, finding the inutility of interfering, told
his men to 'leave them to themselves ; and, if they chose to kill
each other, they were at liberty to do so: for his pat t, be would
listen to no more complaints, nor give the injured redress; and
that, henceforward, they must govern themselves. They took
him at his word; and, when thefts were committed, or any crime
that was thought worthy of public ioquiry, a court-martial was
held, and the accused brought before the, accuser; when, if
foetid guilty, he was sentenced to so many stripes, which were
immediately inflicted, with such severity as would bare surprised
those who set their faces against corporeal punishment under
any 'circumstance. Here were seamen flogging their fellow
seamen; and for what reason ? . Because they could devise no
other punishment equally effective to keep each other's vices in
some sort of check. After the punishment bad been administered,
the cat was given into the custody calla brigadier of the foil.—
Elliwa!* Prison Scenes.

CEDAR TREE.—The largest and oldest Cedar tree in this
kingdom, we believe the county of Leicester can boast of. It
is now growing in the park, at Quenby Hall, and from its thick-
ness and height, judges in such matters say that it is at least
tour hundred years old. Historical Ira hands it down to
upwards of 300 years.— Leicester
WoNDERFuL IF Taux.—The ex-member for Middlesex, in
writing to one of his Radical compati iots nn thesubject of some
scheme that has miscarried, says:—" I have been at the expense
of circulating a letter all over the country, and as yet not a
tition has appeared." the i,itimation respecting the lack of
petitions is credible enough, but that that patriotic gentleman
should have " forked out" a single "Joey" to have saved the
nation, or his own seat in parliament, exceeds all reasonable he-
, lief.

m riße Ar tto ;that: As
ship
rEari t
sla, whhai
cs h
eesns e
ls tlaattel,
athrtaitvethdeactoZi
s
port from the Malay coast, brought out a shield, which bad been
captured from the savages in Torres' Straits '[he shield is in
.the shape of a tortoise, and in it are set, in a state of preserva-
tion, the heads of a captain of a ship, which belonged to this
port, and which was lost some time since, and seventeen of her
crew and passengers. The heads bear all the scars of wounds
which were inflicted on them. The captain's bead is put in the
place representing the head of the tortoise, and ahoy's is at the
tail, and either of the crew's on each side. A fac simile of the
horrid shield, as drawn from the original, is in the possession of
Messrs. Sheldon & Co.—Benyal Berkaru.