The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-07-02
Ship William VilsOm-The Captains State-
MlenG.

Mr.. EDITOR On my arrival here on Thursday,
the 22nd inst, I was much surprised to find a state
ment in the .4lta California of June Z, which had
arrived by steamer ahead of me, to the effect that my
ship, the William Wilson, had been seized in the
harbor of San Francisco on the eve Of my departure
from that place, by the order of Judge Hoffman, of
the U. S. District Court ; that I forcibly resisted the
seizure, and defed the law that my mate and crew
had brutally assaulted and ~ill-treated the U. s.
officer who served the warrant, and forcibly carried
him out to sea, to be sent ashore in the tug which
took out the ship and lastly, in this remarkable
letter, which, from its sensational character, would
have done credit to a .Vew York Herald criminal
reporter, that the United States revenue cutter, Lin
coin, had slipped out in pursuit of my ship.
These are grave charges, and it does not seem as
if they should have been left unanswered, to work
what harm they may to the interests of the WitLiam
Wilson and its owners, as well as to those more d-
rectly charged with being participants in the report
ed outrages. I, therefore, ask for room in your
paper for a simple statement of facts in relation to
the circumstances of my leaving San Francisco.
l had been lying in port a month or more, and q
number of my crew had deserted the ship, in regard
to whom I had made the proper memoranda in my
ship log book, which had been certified by the Brit
ish Consul at that place. One OF the deserters was q
minor at the time he was shipped, and on Saturday
afternoon of the 4th of June, when L was on the eve
of sailing, he made asclaim on me, through Sullivan,
a lawyer, for his wages. As the man was a deserter
1 refused this claim, at least till L could advise with
the British Consul, who had that forenoon gone out
of town. Sullivan said he would stop my ship, which
1 regarded as a threat for the sake of getting his fees.
AT about quarter past ten on the evening OF the same
day, 1 left Greenwich Dock Wharf, with my family,
in the ships boat of the ship Niagara, which the
captain kindly lent US, (not in q Whitehall boat;)
for my ship which lay at anchor in the stream. Two
custom officers were on the wharf as we left. When
we reached the ship at about eleven O'Clock, my mate
handed me a document and said that u man claiming
to be q sheriff was ON board, evidently in a state of
intoxication. The warrant did not appear to me to
be properly made out; one of the blanks for che sig
natures not being filled. The man had not read the
warrant to my mate, nor did he read it to me, and
he made no attempt to stop the ship after l came on
board. While the captain Of the steam tug was in
my cabin filling out his bill previous to taking out
the ship; Marshal Balk, as he is called, was present,
anu never made any order against the ships sailing,
or even mentioned that he was a United States officer,
though 1 am sure had he mentioned this, and that
he was there to stop the ship, to the captain of the
tug, the latter never would have taken her out.
While Balk was stopping on board, L treated him
to drinks of different kinds, of which he drank an
quantity, watering Scotch whiskey with
gin, and turning off glass after glass till he was too
to know much about what was going on.
After we were under weigh, he came down into
the cabin where l was writing, and said that my
had been treating him badly, and had struck
him; and he showed me the back of one of his hands
'hAOA VS. SOh OA@AA~A "SAN N
mate and some of the men aft, and inquired Of
them into the matter. They told me that they had
done nothing of the kind; that Balk went on to the
with an evident intention to wave his hand
kerchief, and, in trying to do so, had fallen over the
spritsail yard, and would have gone overheard, had
it not been for the mate who was at hand, and caught
him: it is probable that his hand was hurt in this ac-
He then went down into the cabin, and
asked for some more grog. On its being suggested
he had had enough, said he really needed u lit
tie, as the excitement had made him thirsty. During
the time that he was on board he was inclined to be
very chummy, discovered that he was from the same
of England as myself, told his own history, how
he had been for thirty years in the United States
army, and had only got to be sheriff, and wanted to
away some photographs to remember us by.
When he went away, / gave him a 70 dollar piece,
or which he thanked me, and said that he was bet
er paid than he would have been had he stopped the
ship He gave Us an affectionate farewell, and ex-
pressed his thanks for the gentlemanly treatment he
lad received. . z.Eae 1v
The story of bad usage on board my ship is not
false, but preposterous, as the man made no re-
istance whatever, and no interference. If he had
my of his teeth knocked out, it was the result of This
all on the forecastle, or occurred afterwards, when
le slipped across the chain cable, as they were get
ing it in, and it was muddy and slippery.
In regard to preventing his return to shore in the
I kept the boat to take some letters that I was
writing after getting on board.
AS to the revenue cutter, if she came out after US,
is strange that she did not find US, as we were be-
outside for several days, and on the 9th, four
ays after sailing, were In sight of Point Bonita, and
be same night made the Farrallones. The Ethan
fHen, which sailed from San Francisco on the 4th,
7as IN sight of the Farrolanes on the 9Th.
l have the written evidence of my officers and crew
these facts, and refuting the statement
Thich appeared in the Alta.
AS to the Marshal being confined to his bed from
he injuries he received. it is very clear to me that
ne amount of liquor he drank would have been
nough to have laid him ON his back for some days,
ithout the aid of other causes.
1t Is with great reluctance that I publish these de-
Ills; and nothing but the charges referred to, so
rave and yet so false, affecting my character and
lie character of others, as men, could have induced
TO give this statement to the public. gt4S
sis Very truly yours,
CHARLES MILBURN, +
% 50 Captain of ship Wi1iam Wilson.
Honolulu, June 25, 1870. I.