The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-12-15


ksfikkssakees "a Espps-gsesss. Nzsesr, s-l
Assr, hzls, Il tie Eaa~siI~ss sag .hslSa~
Lle~l m Rrse.avss. for damages frosa az
assault and battery ~ the Mate. aud abusive
trvstEsut ey TIE Master, Llo<l sled Dee
l. lSs;a, and Ca 6lieS larstory caution aud de-
Pssis Of costs foe pree~ss and ose hearing.
the respondents were cited 70 sppsar
Dec- s and make sworn answer, Or show
esrss way they should rot u,&ke such sn-
swer to the libel he aeswsr aanils none
ef the alleged excessive punishment aud
seass- No replbeatioe Was Sled Ca the
rssurs Gsy, the He<iisrtss proctor moved Tor
Continuance sntii the next DAY, 70 consider
the answer, The eopti5paree was graptsa,
the heslhznt 10 pay costs thereby ieearre1
The nSxt day. the proctor for the reSpend-
eats moved that replication be alrG. bat
the Coart rulsd that under the STATUTES aud
practice none Sss required. aud that the
cause WAS at issue on the 6lirg Of the an-
sSsr, Thsrvapon, the te<timooy in the
cause was given, aud recorded BY the
Clerk. and upoa the Sse Of December the
Court rsnderst its opiuiou. As followSs
There are certain sllegstious, both in the
hosl and il the answer, 10 support which
there IS no evtdenee. There Is conflicting
evidence Of the severity and circumstances
Of the imprisonment inflicted upon the IL
esllant, and OF the blows struck hy the
mate, bet upon u1eoutrsdiesed testimony,
or uPoe the respondents admissions in their
are true oa the Horsiug Of Feb. -, lSe9
the Hawaiian whalsship .J,1lsssS. Of which the
respondents are master and mate, and the
heelsrt. common seaman, Was cruising near
the Line, the heellaut and the ress OF his
watch were on deck cleaning old eatla<seS
and iron whaling Implements, the mate
told the hbsliant 10 20 to work cleaning the
irors, to which the IheIl4nt replied that be
bad 10 knife, whersHpon the mate told him
to 20 sud get kuife, and upon the Hoel-
hnt's delay 10 comply with this order, the
ulate seized bin BY the collar and pulled him
aft, and. uear the hatch, struck him repeat
edly With er0omstiek ard with bis 6st.
aud kicked aim several times; uesr the try
works, the mate seized an iron Implement
known a. Gresner iro1 or whaling lance, the
the hoellanE went into the store where be
had been ordered to get knife to clean the
irons, and while in there the msts punched
him, first with the blunt end Of the lauee.
and then attempted 10 punch him with the
sharp sni. bat the hbsliSut seized the
instrument, on their way 70 the try-wor&s,
the neeIIsnt tried to ward OF the blows. but
did not strike the mate; be called out for
the crew to help. and they cane towards him
with the cutlAsses and irons in their hands,
as if to release him, but the mate got the
Hbelant below, where the Captain vas, and
Afterwards had him iroued, and tied up TO
the mizzen-mast part Of the time, and con-
fined, first, in the round-hou<s, and then in
released There was no evidence that the
hbeIlant had been in any previous difficulty.
The maritime law gives the master CT 8
ship power over the liberty Of persons, which
is unparalleled On the land, except in the
military service.
The interests Of commerce and uAvi-
gztioo, and the lives Of passengers and Of
the ships company, require that all lawful
orders on zhipbOzrd receive prompt obedi-
enee, and that discipline ard good order be
sustained To this end, large Discretionary
power i given to the master He i in
trusted with interests Of the highest magui-
tgte- In times Of emergency. be must
often rely upon his Own unaided Judgment,
steady eye, and stro1S arm Impressed, as
he must sl~ays Dc, with the absolute nsces-
sity Of maintaining discipline, ne may Offen
take measures on the spur Of the moment,
or eve1 after anxious deIiberzfiou, which,
for their s1eEse, require Us 10 place ourselves
in his position, and 10 reflect that bis action
nay have been Influenced, E0t merely By the
single at which appears 10 us 10 call il forth,
bat By course Of bad eOudact on the part
Of the SEAMAN, or ey Indications ofiH feeling
in the crew, which can not be put in evidence,
bat which were all the more 20 be guarded
against because they were hard TO place
finger On do nOt, therefore, regard il ss
NY duty, sitting here in Judgment upon the
eorduet Of master and maize, to require Of
them the same moderate and consistent
course towards seameu which would Be ex-
acted Of persons on land; nor, O0 the other
hand, Woald forget the position Of the sea
nan, dependant upon the master for bis
comforts. il be have any, for his rights. and
even for life Itself EIc1se< are often to be
supplied the SEAMAN, for aetz done BY him
while un1er intO1iezfion, or tor words used
towards his officers which may have BEEN
well meant, althouzh ro1gh, and not such Ss
andsz.ea EoGld term respectful
Making Allowances Of this kind for the ne
esszifie< Of ships, and for the situation both
Of officers and sezmen, the rules OF maritime
law are clear, that unnecessary cruelty and
severity u9zt not Be used that although
seaman De knocked down, tied up and Ironed,
lie ( not to be ass4iled With weapons, the
usual effect Of which i death, or extreme
bodily injury, UHless there i actual mariBy,
or An emergency from which there i reazOu-
Abe rarzE- 10 suu-rksrd fHs- . r-uff-w rra~