The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-02-05 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUESTS.

MANSLAUGHTER.—An inquest was taken last week, before
JAMES AsPINALL, Esqr., one of the Bailiffs arid Coroners for
this Borough, touching the death of John Light.—The de-
ceased, the son of a poor widow, living in Zuill's Court, Cros-
bie-street, was twenty-two years of age. He had not been
brought up to any sort of business or regular work, but went
one voyage only to the West Indies, in a vessel called the Hall,
a few years ago. About twelve months since he left home.
and after he had been some time away, his mother received ,
a letter from him, dated New Orleans, stating that he
had stowed himself away on board the Nimrod, at her de-
parture from Liverpool. He seems to have remained
knocking about at New Orleans, where, in October list,
he was pointed out to Captain Samuel Neale, of the bi g
Caraboo, of this port, who was then in want of a cook, but
rL-
fused to Alp him in that capacity. On the 14th of October,
about half an hour before the Caraboo sailed from New Or-
leans, that vessel being one man short of her compliment, Capt.
Neale called to the deceased who was lying drunk on board of
a brig called the Eliza, then alongside, and asked him to come •
on hoard the Caraboo, to which he agreed, and they sailed for
Laguna. He was destitute of clothing, except the few things
he had on, and the mate and some of the crew furnished him
with an old jacket or two, a pair of trousers, and some few other
trifles. He, of course, knew nothing of a seaman's duty, and
he was in bad health, and some others 'of the crew appear to
have been not the most effective of seamen; and, to add to their
discomfort, they were ou very short allowance of provisions.
Under these circumstances, perhaps, it was scarcely to be ex-
pected that much of good humour or .kindness should have
prevailed amongst them; but, such inhuman barbarity to a
fellow-creature, as the treatment of this poor fellow, according
to the evidence, displays, surely falls to the lot of but few of
the unhappy wretches who, in a state of infirmity, are doomed
to experience the tender mercies of an inadequate crew of an
ill found merchant vessel. Two or three days after their arrival
at Laguna, the mate commenced beating him with his fist; -
shortly afterwards he proceeded to use a rope's end in beating •
him, and continued that practice ei ery day. On the 29th 'Nov.
they sailed from Laguna for Liverpool; and during the voy- -
age home the ill-usage which the poor fellow received seems
to have daily increased, until at length nearly all hands on
board, from the mate down to the youngest apprentice, seem to
have regarded him as the legitimate object of kicks and blows,
and whatever other treatment the, humour of the moment ,
prompted them to bestow upon him—the apparent motive being,
the general belief that his incapacity increased their quantity of
work, while lie was also grudged the exceedingly scanty portion
of provisions doled out to him. One night about the imddle of
last month, the deceased craviLid below and lay upon the log-
wood in the hold, unable from sickness and sores on his legs to a
remain on deck. The next morning the mate went down
to him and ordered him to go on deck, and on his an- •
swering that he was not able, said he was skulking, and '
then passed a rope round his neck, by which, with the as:
sistance of the carpenter and one of the boys, lie hauled him .
upon deck, and then, with the same rope, gave him upwards of
forty strokes on the body, head, shoulders, and any part, in
fact, on which he could make a blow tell. On a subsequent day
he struck him repeatedly with a handspike, and also with a
knotted rope. The deceased used to sleep, or some time, in
the long-boat, covered over by the jolly-boat, with canvas to lie
on and canvas also to cover him. On the 23rd and 24th of Ja-
nuary he was severely beaten by the mate with a rope's end,
and on the 25th he was carried below in consequence of his
alarming ill state of health, and the captain, "as he ap-
peared to be chilled," sent him down some rum. On Sunday
morning the 27th of January, the vessel being then eoff the
Skerries, he was found dead. One of the apprentices deposed,
that on Friday night preceding, the deceased went forward
to coil up the forebraces, and, the vessel lolling heavily at the
time, he fell down forward, striking his head -with great vio-
lence against the spars. On Monday, the 28th of January,
the vessel arrived at this port, and in consequence of the repre-
sentations made at the Police office, by some of the crew, an
investigation was ordered. Mr. Lockwood, the surgeon, by •
the Coroner's directions, examined the body, and found boils
on the legs and thighs, the back very much bruised,
and marks of ropes distinctly to be seen thereon,—two or
three of them almost in a state of mortification ;—and there
was also the mark of a rope about the neck. The face
and head were swollen and the former much bruised. "On
cutting through the scalp, he found effusion amongst the
cellular membrane and ecchymosis in several places. On re-
moving the skull-cap and the dura mater, extravasation of
blood appeared on the posterior part of the cerebrum and left
side of the cerebellum, forming pressure on the brain, which
would cause the death of the deceased; and on opening the
lateral venticles of the brain there was effusion of water into
both cavities, caused by inflammation; the vessels of the brain
were also gorged with Mood." He was of opinion that the de-
ceased came to his death from the extravasation of blood on the
brain, which had been caused either by a blow or a fall on the
head. There were several marks of blows or falls, on the
head.—After hearing the evidence, in which these circum-
stances were detailed with great minuteness, the jury re-
turned a verdict of Manslaughter, against Thomas Keswick, mate
of the brig Caraboo, who was, in consequence, committed, under
the coroner's warrant, for trial at the next Admiralty Sessions.
Yesterday, an inquest was held on view of the body of a fe-
male, picked up floating in the river on Sunday afternoon.—lt
proved to be the body of an elderly woman, who left her son's
house in Gibraltar-row, one evening about three weeks ago, to
return to her home in Barton-street North, and had not been
heard of since.—Verdict—finmd drowned.
MANSLAUGHTER.—Last Saturday week, an inquest vtas held
at Prescot, before Williani Pemberton, Esq., coroner, on the
body of Richard Holt, watch-tool-maker, Eccleston-street,
The following is a summary of the evidence :—At twelve o'clock
on Friday night Holt and his wife left her mother's, who keeps
a public-house in the same street where he resided: they both
went to bed and quarrelled ; at half-past one o'clock they both
went down stairs with only their night-clothes On; a scuffle
ensued, and he received a stab in the jugular vein on the right
side of the neck : he immediately ran out of the house, bleed-
ing profusely all the way, and returned to his mother-in-law's,
his wife following him, and screaming dreadfully. The door
was scarcely opened when he fell, and. (lied instantly. Not
more than five minutes elapsed between the fatal blow being
given and his death. After an investigation, which lasted
nearly five hours, the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter
against Margaret Holt, the wife of the deceased. She is com-
mitted to Lancaster Castle, to take her trial at the next assizes,