The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-08-22 00:00:00

the last-named sum, signed in the usual form by t

members of the finance committee

". the progress

Duriur,

of that year, as well as of the preceding one, dissatisfaction
had been felt by the directors at a seeming dilatoriness
on the part of the prisoner, in producing vouchers for
the application of the sums of money which had passed
through his hands ; but as he continually alleged the
1 pressure of business as an excuse for not producing the
vouchers, no particular suspicion was excited. On the
28th of July he transmitted to the secretary of the com-
pany various vouchers, and amongst them were seven
documents, which purported to be copies of the account-
ant-general's certificates. On the 30th July a meeting of
the Finance Committee was held, and two members were
appointed to examine the vouchers

committee can:

[er was

these seven certificates were only copies, they, being igno-
rant of the course of business in Chancery, asked what
was the reason why the originals were not produced. The
prisoner then explained, and truly, that the originals were
not issued from the accountant-general's office, but filed
there, and that copies only were furnished. Some slight
hesitation was expressed by them, but the prisoner seemed
indignant at their not receiving his explanation at once,
and told them that, if they applied to the Court of Chan-
cery, they would find it correct. It was never conceived
by the directors that their attorney was palming off a
forgery upon them. On the 28th November, 1852, there
was another resolution of the board, requiring vouchers
to be produced for the sums advanced since July ; and the
prisoner, with a note of the 3d or 4th of January, in last
year, handed over to the secretary certain other vouchers,
containing three similar certificates, with which, however,
this indictment had nothing to do. Some little time
afterwards, the directors began to feel dissatisfaction with
the mode in which the prisoner was conducting their
business, though they did not suspect any want of inte-
grity ; and therefore. about August, 1853, he was dismissed,
but not with any dishonour. Mr. Guy, the present soli-
citor to the company, was appointed in his stead ; but as
the prisoner remained, with his family, at Manchester, till
the end of September or the beginning of October, he
attended at the office from time to time, and rendered to
his successor what information and assists.]
Prisoner then left Manchester, and went a

occupied by the
the suspicion of

the beginning of the present year some par
vered by Mr. Guy in the office formerly
prisoner in Ducie-place, which led to 1
something wrong ; search was made at
general's office, and it was found out that

,s were disco-

the accountant-

!ged to have

certificates which he had delivered in as vouc
amongst them this, of the £1,222 15s. 6d., a
been paid to Mr. Smith, rourix•rted to b

s of docn-

-er exist&
rued

ments of which no originals had
legal objections were raised by the lea. _ ,ounsel for the
prisoner. The objections having been replied to and set
aside, no other defence was offered, and the prism-
found guilty at once. The prisoner, wile, • '

indictor

slit up I

THE LIVERPOOL STANDXRD,

s a with the fist, and w
had I divided into three ti

siderable sums of 1 and

to detectiye officer, who never, till before the
mentioned what had passed at the eating-

a-i;-ci-ii7e I

ibsequently, by the'direction of

Four an.

he was again beaten by the mate
o'clock he was at the wheel, and in consequence

evidence

_ .
. - .....a Aaaatic ,a b LICK amout twenty-six inches long, with
I—, money for the bill thongs, knotted at the end, fastened to it. This instru-
.umming up, his lordship alluded ment, both the thongs and the but end, was used by both
reprehension to the irregularity in the pro- captain and mate. Sometimes, also, Paraiso was punched
about the head and body, and the result was that he was
considerably weakened before the injury was inflicted
which more directly resulted'in his death
of March he had been seriously beaten
both by the captain and mate. He had 1
rigging, but forgetting' o do something-
and beat him severely.
forgetting a marlins

during the da,

;n sent up tfie

ie mate followed
He was sent up afterwards, but
e, and coming down to obtain one,

of some defect in Paraiso's-steering of the vessel,-the mizen

,
"jibed." The captain, who was below, came immediately
upon deck, went to the deseased, and struck him with his

fist several times in the face. Paraiso seemed so weak that
he could hardly hold the wheel, and after the captain's
blows his face was covered with blood ; he was thrown down
upon the deck, and kicked by the captain several times.
He was then told to go forward, and he did so with a stag-
gering gait, evidently suffering very much. The mate was
told by the captain to bring him back, and he did bring him
to the foot of the ladder leading to the quarter-deck. He
was holding by the rail, and the captain, who had a pair of
heavy shoes on, kicked Paraiso in the face several times,
and then Paraiso fell heavily upon the deck. The cap-
tain still requested him to be brought upon the quarter-
deck, and the mate accordingly supported him there, and
he was thrown down before the wheel. The captain in-
sisted upon his going to the wheel. He did so, and en-
deavoured to steer, but being unable to hold himself up,
he fell against the grating. His face was bleeding
very much ; and the captain told them to wipe him with a

and break his head. The mate took the cat and beat
Pedro severely with it, and endeavoured to make him go

forward. The deceased endeavoured to do so, but fell
down again and again. The mate struck him several
times, and he fell down several times on the deck. The

result was that Paraiso was assisted to the forecastle by
two sailors, and there he remained until the following
morning. After he had been taken to the forecastle, the
persons engaged in this violence became somewhat
alarmed at the apparrent results of their conduct, and the
mate brought Paraiso some tea, which he endeavoured to
take, but could not. He remained nearly insensible until
the following morning, and then he died. In the course
of the day the body was thrown into the sea. The body
was buried on the 30th March, and in the course of that
night the ship sighted Tuscar Light, and arrived in Liver-
pool on the 4th April. The day before the vessel arrived
in Liverpool the cat, which was hanging in the companion
way, where it was generally kept, was thrown overboard
by the captain.
_ _

A very lengthened course of evidence was gone into ;
the witnesses being Daniel Gilman Lowe, an American,
who acted as carpenter on board the Mangerstein ; John
Phillips, the cook ; Robert Gonsalvez, a Portuguese sea-
man ; John Goodridge, another seaman ; Robert Evans,
the steward; and one or two coloured seamen. Most of
these witnesses were examined and cross-examined at
great length ; and, from their testimony, it was elicited
that the deceased had been treated with much severity,
and had been, in numerous instances, beaten by both the
prisoners; by the mate at the instance of the captain. It
was also evident that the deceased, in common with the
other Manillamen, were very imperfectly clothed, and
suffered much from the coldness of the weather. It like-
wise appeared that the whole crew were short of provi-
sions, including biscuit, beef, and water, most part of the
voyage; and that, from the combined operation of all
these causes, the deceased became so weak as to be unable
to do his duty in the ship. To ensure the performance of
that duty, he was frequently and severely beaten, and died
almost at the time of undergoing the severe treatment to
which he was subjected.
Mr. Sergeant Witarnis My lord, it seems to me that
this case has been over hours ago.
His LORDSHIP inquired if the prosecution had any sur-
geon who could give an opinion, founded upon the evidence,
with regard to the cause of death?
Mr. Ruin replied that they had not; and that, as an
actual examination was impossible, the body having been
put into the sea, it was rather a case for the jury them-
selves.

Baron PLATT : They are not medical men ; they cannot
tell what kind of blows are likely to produce death ; it
requires scientific and medical knowledge. I cannot see
that you have a case without it. You have no evidence
that any reasonable man could apply to show that these
men have caused the death of Paraiso.

Mr. Thomas Rowlands, surgeon of the North Dispen-
sary, was then requested to come forward as a witness by
Mr. Blair. He did so ; but, as he confessed that from the
position he had been placed in court, as well as from the
fact that he had been frequently out of court altogether,
the greater portion of the case had been lost upon him, he
was informed that his testimony would not be of the
slightest value.

His LORDSHIP remarked, with some warmth, that a
more clumsily got up case than the present he had never
before met with. There was certainly a difficulty in a case
of this kind, where an inspection of the body was impos-
sible, but not an insuperable one ; for if scientific men had
been in attendance to hear the evidence, they might have
given their opinion as to the probable effect of the treat-
ment which had been described.

Mr. Bianr..—The course I adopted seemed to me the
proper one.

Baron PLATT.—I am not addressing you personally ; I
am speaking of the case itself. It has been most clumsily
got up. It is a most important case ; because, if these
men have been guilty of producing death by their cruelty,
they ought to be brought to justice in order to preserve
subordination on board ships hereafter ; because, if sea-
men are not protected from the excess of that rough treat-
ment, which is necessary more or less on board ship, you
have nothing but insubordination, because their rights
will never

be respected. On the other hand, by deciding
a case of this kind without proper scientific assistance,
you would do equal mischief, and just as much increase
insubordination • inasmuch as an insubordinate crew could
bring a charge of this kind in this look manner before a
court of justice, without having any medical witnesses in
order to assist the jury to find a verdict, and what a dread-
ful thing would it be to give a victory to such men as these.

Mr. i3LAirt.—lt seemed, my lord, to me to be one of
those cases in which medical evidence could not assist us ;
and that it would not be proper to get an opinion from a
medical man in the first place, but to leave him to form
his opinion, unbiassed, upon the evidence merely. With
that view the medical gentlemen were here for the pur-
pose of being examined if the court thought proper. Mr.
Blair then informed his lordship that there was another
gentleman of the medical profession in court who had
heard most, if not the whole, of the case.
His LORDSHIP having desired that he should be called,
Mr. P. W. LBILTHER was then placed in the box. He
was a surgeon, and had paid great attention to the evidence
adduced. The opinion he had formed as to the cause of
death was that, if the evidence was to be depended upon,
the man had died from the ill-treatment which he had
received. The ill-treatment would operate to produce
death from exhaustion. He attributed the exhaustion to
the repetition of beating and insufficiency of food.

To a JIIROII.—I have been in court during the greatest
portion of the day.
Mr. Sergeant Wxmcnva said he was ready to address
the jury if they desired to hear him; but he himself
thought it would be highly improper and unfair to jeopardize
the lives of two of his fellow-creatures by entering further
into the case. Each of the witnesses had contradicted the
other as to the time, the place, and the instrument of the
violence which had been used.

The learned JIIDGE.—I cannot say there is not some

The FORBMAN.—We all agree not to call upon the
learned counsel for the defence.

Baron PLATT.—Then you pronounce a verdict of not

The FOREMAN.—Yes, my lord.
Ijis LORDSHIP, in rather an indistinct tone, then
made some observations as to the danger to commerce if

the captain of a merchant vessel were to go to sea every
voyage with a halter about his neck. In the hands
of a mutinous crew no man would be safe.

Mr. Sergeant WILKINS remarked that in the other
cases against the prisoners the witnesses were precisel
the same, and intimated that it was now unnec
go ou with them

;sary to

Baron PLATT replied that it was not for him (the
learned judge) to withdraw any prosecution. He had read
the depositions in the three cases, (about a hundred-
weight of papers,) and each had produced upon him

precisely the same impression.
Mr. BLAIR : if your lordship expresses any opinion in
the matter, I have no wish to press it against your lord-
ship's opinion.
Baron PLATT : You have a right to prosecute : all I can
say is, that these three cases have made upon my mind
precisely the same impression.
Ultimately, the learned Judge having expressed his
readiness to go through the papers again in the interval
between the rising of the court and Monday morning, in
order to see if a re-examination of the documents might
change his opinion of the case, Mr. Blair consented to
leave the matter in his lordship's hands.
The court rose on Saturday about six o'clock, the trial
of Horner and Chadderton having occupied the entire day.

YESTERDAY.
The Court sat at ten o'clock.
THB FRAUDULENT BANKRUPTCY OF PEVERELLE

Joseph Peverelle, 25, dealer in cutlery, was indicted on
several counts, the two first of which charged him that
he, being a bankrupt, did, upon a certain examination
upon oath, at Liverpool, on the 3d day of October last,
wilfully and corruptly give false evidence. On the other
counts he was further charged with inducing a person to
make certain false entries in a certain book of account,
with intent to defraud his creditors. Mr. Bliss, Q.C.,
and Mr. Aspinall, instructed by Mr. John Yates, jun.
prosecuted; and Mr. James, Q.C., instructed by Messrs.
Neal and Martin, defended the prisoner.
Mr. Buss stated that there were two charges made
against the prisoner: the first of perjury committed by
him at the court of bankruptcy; the second of an attempt
to commit fraud by inducing a person to misrepresent the
amount of his debt. The two offences were so mixed up
and joined together, that it was necessary to state them
both at the same time. The prisoner was proceeded
against on the charge of perjury, under the 254th section
of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, and under the
252 d section of the same act on the charge of fraud. The
perjury was this : on the 3d of October, 1853, when the
prisoner was examined in the court of bankruptcy, he
stated that he owed his uncle, Louis Peverelle, a debt of
£4Ol, when the fact was he only owed him £BB odd. The
fraud consisted in inducing his uncle, Louis Peverelle, to
alter his books so as to make the debt appear the larger
sum. In pursuance of this fraud, the prisoner stated his
uncle's debt to be the sum stated. This was a summary
and outline of the whole case, but it would be necessary
to point out certain minor circumstances to show how
the perjury and fraud were committed and concealed.
Previous to 1852 the prisoner was in business in Bristol,
in connexion with his uncle, Louis Peverelle, a hardware
and toy dealer in Birmingham, In the early part of that
year he came to Liverpool, and formq,d a connexion with
Mary Poncia, who kept a shop in the same line in
Paradise-street. In April, 1852, he married Mary Poncia,
but that marriage was kept a secret, Alter taking poe'