Polynesian., 1856-12-20
No. 33
Scene in the United State. Grand Jury Room.

scene nm the I nited States Grand Jury Room.
The United States Grand Jury (New York; IS
generally more reputable body than those attach
ed to our State Courts. Before it. come speealites
persons charged with counterfeitng coin, robbinc
the post Office, getting up slavers in ports mu
tiny and piracy on the high Before tie
I. ,. Grand Juries appear the poor sailors, Gen
orally acting as defendants, rarely complainants
Having no local interests to appeal to while on
shore, they are made the sport Of fortune, and
are probably the worst treated, and most abused
men we have among US, claiming to be American
citizens Hard eases are continually presented
where poor Jack is shown to be beaten manacled
starved, and tOrmented through a long VOYAGE
yet there is scarcely en- instance where the guilty
parties punished. little delay takes the
witnesses % off on another voyage" dali the sat
isfaction poor Jack obtains, is a long confinement
in the TOmbs, some other prison, that he
may be on hand = to prosecute" On the recent
sitting of the Grand Jury, the usual number Of
substantial citizens, solid men,, came together,
and when organized, the Hon ex-Mayor James
Harper was duly elected foreman. His honor
is OvcrhOwing with the milk of human kind
ness, and he has great love for the humorous,
joined with a stern sense Of justice so he was just
the man for the place, and while doing lis duty
maHagcd to dispense justice with mercy. Among
the incidents occurring in the course Of the Z" ju
Gicial investigations" was the one happily
ed for our columns. 1t seems that a sal! Hnder
the influence of passion, ard bad iiquo, :.l 4 un-
qualified abuse, had struck his Captain, and in
turn was assaulted by the combined officers and Of
course got the worst Of it. On his arrival in New
York, he was put in prison, and finally brought
before the Grand Jury, to give an account of him
self. The examination was made as follows -
Foreman. . You say, sir, that YOU are not gull
ty of mutinyl"
Sailor. &" Guilty Of mutiny, ycr honor; what
may that be I'm an old sailor f1r thirty years,
and never been in that port in my iie Yer honor"
Foreman. Did You not endeayor to create an
outbreak, or keep your brother sailors from obey
ing ordcrs!'
Sailor. a. No yer honor; was shipped us io'
castle hand, and did my duty like Il parson, at
grub time"
Foreman. Did you not make an assault on the
captain Of the ship!"
Sailor. Assault yer honor, No, sir. You
see, the skipper took dislike to me, because |
called his ship bloody old bubher hunter, and
when he came bearing down on me, run out fen
ders to keep him off yer honor"
Foreman. g Is it usual for sea captains to come
bearing down. as YOU term 1T, sailors, for
calling their ships bloody blubber hunters ."
Sailor. . Not bit of it, yer honor; for what
is fellow to do if he can't blow a bit Of squal
without getting rulles his fore sweeps, and his
hatchways stove in to say nothing of his toplights
and sky scrapers
Ex-Mayor Harper, (rather puzzIed.) How did
the difficulties bappenl"
Sailor. :. There was no difficulty, yer honor.
You see happened to square off in a neutral port
when under peace orders, and happened to come
foul of a heavy craft besides being run into by
the mate and doctor yer honor, the skipper came
down with a handspike, and bringing it athwart
my scuttle-butt, carried away my jIb-sheets, and
went down starn lormOst. yer honor, and that was
the whole of it"
One of the jurors. with marked doubt on his
Elce0 - Am L TO understand that even the doc
tor Of the ship assaulted you Remember, sir,
you are under oath
Sailor g Yes sir, the doctor was in the galley,
getting up the slush, and he had the grub in the
starboard copper; he's a niger yer honor, with "a
fgure-head as hard a mIsSonary's heart, and
underpns as crooked as rope spliced round the
main-mast.
Another Juror, Go querist.) g jack means tho
cook, and not an NJ. D.
Sailor (gaining confidence } Yer honor. after
we got our rigging foul, and | struck my colors,
you see, the skipper run me down the hold, put
me on short allowance, and stopped my grog, yer
honor, which you know is bad. (llere Jack look
ed eduivocalv at the ex-Mayor, ard the jurors
Joined in Il general smile Jack Judging his re-
marks were popular, continued } You see, yer
honor, a man without his grOg, Is high and dry,
sure enough yer honor for what would yer hon
or do without splicing the main brace OCCASIONALLY
(Another general smile among the jurors, IN con-
sideratiOn of the ex-NIayOrs temperance prlncl-
ples) But what's the use of putting my hull in
to a Jug! What chance can l have, yer honor,
among the quicksands in port, running afoul, on
every tack Of Iand-sharks in the shape Of flawyers,
and getting robbed by piratical crafts under false
colors, and (Here his honor had few words
with his fellow jurors, and with benign smile,
bid Jack depart, with the admo..Itlon; Not to
drink any more. and never getintU trouble again.)
It's yer ionors health I'll drink, good luck to ye,
and wish you may never want shot IN your
locker, nor a snug port to lie by in-shlver my
toplights if don" " and with this general bless
ing, Jack sailed out of sight. .''-Lesle's Hustra-
ted Paper.