The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-02-27

prou seyn Gender souls at the mention the friends
they hoped Sc soon to see Why the writer Of w nsut
could not have assembled audience more
attentive and impossible. The wreched Spencer the
hardened mutineer" who said to have been prepared
to murder the whole Of his officers, and throw their
overheard VINO had proposed to capture all the
snd 1oa the with his face buried in his
cloak his eyes, whenever he raised them, suused with
prosraton of his ply steal energies IL nnocent-wth
crew melted to tears by his oratory and body of tried
does this Mackenzie do why, unfit as his wretched
victims are to die and without the pretext of trial how
and shortest man of the crew to be hanged from the
yard arm, with only 10 minutes preparation and they
are accordingly sent "unsnelei before their Maker
whou even the tyrants plea Of necessity for their
der Had the disposition OF the been really such
II has been described what prevented them from rescung
and his trustworthy witnesses That they would have
done So had the charges against Spencer been welound
ed would appear to be beyond doubt But what the
chief reason assigned by Captain Mckenzie for this i'm
promptu massacre 2" The circumstance Of Spencer
being the of officer high in the government which
made him more DESTROYS to get rid Of him." He feared
moreover that M he had brought him home for trial. he
would have got clear, for that in America with
money and influential friends would always be cleared"
But another, and still cogent, motive for desiring
to get rid" OF the wretched boy, appears ike the
scrptum OF ladys letter. in the last and important
paragraph Of his cantng narrative He wanted spencers
well acquainted with the hivsrous honor and almost
dous taste of British naval officers anticipate from
inform them that in his narrative penn ed he fellow
practised seaawyer having written book which suf
of the most elaborate and disgusting hypocrisy in which
he recouns the execution without the shadow Of nqui
the purser of spencer and his pretended accompices the
assassin for such he il the reign of America
not wholly at end actually demands the appontmentof
his principal victim for his nephew not forgetting
as may be anticipated to make the prompude of his sup
Of pretended mutiny the excuse for demanding
promotion for himself and his Witnesses or the char
acter and value of the testimony Of Wales the principal
witness, the evidence the Court Of Enquiry now in
prsgres at New York. affords Satisfactory proof His
story of the intended murder of all the officers had
OF course, its due effect The infamous manner
thrown upon on cross-examination has satisfied us
that 1t is not entitled to particle of credit Gansevoor
W ; appears 70 nave oeen me nist wnom
bound, he communicated to his captain. The statement
that plan had been formed to capture the ship and muir
der all Its ofcers does not to have Capt
Mckenzie in the least He received it with great deal
fcoonsss remarking that the ship in good disc
pine and telling MIR. Gansevoort to keep good look
out; who having seen upon the youths counenance"
NEST internal expression became satisfied his guilt!'
Oiths complexion is nearly the whole Of the evidence
adduced against the prisoner As for the poor wreches
who kept him company the yard arm and who
average height Of the the talles and shortest
among them( there was even less preext for hanging
either money or high connections at home would not
have benefited by the notions of eattributedb Nc
ta 20 MS But they could have told
nors appointment!
We cannot undertake to pronounce the guilt in
the conduct Of captan Mackenzie is concerned
Had he arr essd one of them of mutiny
been found for him the mutneers in safe Gus.
tody and having fully satisfied himself any notion
mutny had been contemplated it had not extended to
the he has been guilty of murder in thus taking
the law in his hands and had he been the captain OF
British ship Of war, he would have been hanged for his
pains British law makes great crime to slaughter
aperson suspected Of murder to murder a person
against whom imputation ever existed nor Lynch
law"' as the Naval and Military Gazette has Justly charsc.
erned Nackenzies atrocious MURDERS permitted in
naval other services under any possible
The rules of the British naval service forbid the execu.
t,n, without trial OF mutneer, unless slain in the
mission of tie offence and any British officer (Which is
imPossble) who were to take upon himself to hang
mids'hpman and two ofhis without trial. for
tiny which had not exploded would be liable the
veresf penalty which British law inhct In the
ofthe Somers we believe the execution Of Spencer and
his pretended accompces to have been the result Of the
The proceedings of three days Of the enquiry this
frightfu transaction have already reached and fully
We trust however that the examination Of
will not be limited to Captain Mckenzie and his abettors
nation but that will be extended to every intelligent
member of the crew.
GERS on this affair and great as is their horror of the
crime OF which Spencer stood charged there hut
fish commander having anticipated the mutiny, IL any
mutnylwas contemplated which is very doubful) would
to which Mckenzie pretends to have been subjected
than have violated the laws OF his country and every
dictate OF humanity las that person has done. He had
ms prisoners double ironed and closely watched and
ne had directed them to be informed that the first sign
OF mutiny or disobedience on the part of the crew
impended them in the event of their being found
in communication with each other What more could
the captain want, and by what motive could he have
been Influenced in hanging Spencer and his assocates
after all retext OF muny at at end instead OF bring
tried in t,eir country He has h%se told Us h
aras that spencers high connections and his pecu
rs heyr3 Ca hmm iunpN
dence cor ceve much more assert, the possibility Of
British avail officer. whose duty may rendered
execution Of ayoung man Of highly respectable
tons imperative. being guilty ofthe monstrous audacy
and bad ue of asking for the post the slaughtered mid
God such thing would be utterly impossible in the
British navy In the in point, however, such
necessity existed yet did the American captain
place his own nephew in the murdered mdshipman's
shoes
These only specimens of what the English and
French press say in relation to the affair In the
expression of the opinion Of the British press, we of
expect to find some tinges Of national preju
dice and i'll will free institutions. This is all
natural. But no admixtSre of this characteristic
dislike can, in the sober judgment of reasonable
minds, neutralize the effect of this decided and I'M
hesitating expression of condemnation. These az
cles speak the language of truth and justice. They
the utterance OF that common feeling Of humanity
and love of equity,twhich exist in the same degree
amongst the enlightened men of all civilized coun-
tries. All the abuse of republican America, which
the press Of Europe may mngle with their denuncia-
ton of wrong and injustice, cannot turn aside that
verdic; which they, in common with all disnterest-
ed men in this country, have pronounced in this
fearful case.
Of the competency OF such men as the conduc-
tors of the United Service Journal to pronounce a
righteous judgment in this oase, can insinuate
Iat.hf a4Gxt H. IL
sented by the principal party himself, was before
them. The evidence of his witnesses was before
them. And freed altogether from prejudice, fear or