The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-08-12 00:00:00

THE 'LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1851.

SEIZURE OF A MERCHANT VESSEL BY
MILITARY PASSENGERS.

On Thursday. the 29th of May, the barque Levenside
arrived at St. Helena under peculiar and altogether un-
precedented circumstances; she had' been, in fact, forcibly
seized during the voyage by Captain Vesey, a passenger
in charge of a small detachment of the Royal Artillery
destined for this place. The captain of the vessel was a
prisoner in the hold—in chains-; with a sentinel over him
to prevent communication with the crew.
On the 15th May, in the evening, while the Levenside
was on the hign seas, Captain'D. Campbell, the master,
ordered the booby-hatch to be closed. This was done,
and immediately afterwards-Captain Vesey summoned the
troops under his charge to take off the hatch, in defiance
of the master's order, which was immediately carried into
effect.

On the 17th, two days after this occurrence, a squabble
appears to have taken place between one of the soldiers
and the ship's carpenter. Captain Vesey insisted that
the carpenter should be punished; but upon investigating
the case, Captain Campbell, the master, could not see
very clearly that his man was more to blame than the
the soldier, and we believe did not in any way punish
the man.

It being dark and past eight O'clock at night, the captain
ordered the booby-hatch to be put on, but no sooner was
the order given, than Captain 'Vesey, in charge of the
troops, said it should not be dune; Captain Campbell
then pulled out a pistol, and told Captain Vesey that if he
attempted to interfere with him, and prevent any of the
crew obeying his orders, he would shoot him through the
heart. Upon this qualified threat being uttered, Capt.
Vesey immediately called his men to fall in round the
hatchway, and ordered the bombardier to go below for
arms. This order was instantly obeyed, and as soon as
Capt. Campbell saw the arms being handed up the hatch.
way, he went forward, seized hold of one of the muskets,
and commanded the soldier to give it up, saying, " put
that down, it does not belong to you—it belongs to the
ship." The soldier refused, whereupon a struggle took
place for the gun, when some one calledout " seize him,"
on which several soldiers seized the captain, threw him
against a boat, wrenched the pistol out of his hand, as
well as the musket he attempted to take from the soldier.
No sooner was Capt. Campbell seised than Capt. Vesey
ordered his hands to be lashed behind his back, and it
appears, at the instigation, of Capt. Neill, he was hurried
into the hold, and secured to a stanchion—and kept for
sixteen hours in that position without either water or any-
thing else being given him, as far as we can gather from
the evidence. The next morning he was unlashed from
the stanchion, and had strong chains fastened to his
wrists by padlocks ; in this position he was kept in the
hold for twelve days and nights, with an armed sentinel
keeping watch over him. He was not allowed to commu-
nicate with the crew during this time, nor was he released
from this extraordinary captivity, even on the arrival of
the vessel in the roads, till the police went on board and
caused him to be unchained.

After four days' investigation, Capt. Campbell was com-
mitted for trial, on the charge of an assault, with intent
to murder. Information was then laid by Capt. Camp-
bell against Capt. Vesey and the others of his passengers,
for piracy, and illegal seizure of the ship ; which informa-
tion was taken and signed by the magistrates. The
following correspondence has arisen out of this very
singular circumstance :