Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-08-31

To the Editor 0T Ne IFtooHe'
SrR. I am an American and have been IN
the habit of visiting Liverpool at dlnereht
periods for more than thirty years ana am
familiar by NV occupation and calling with
the general history of American commerciai
men who have in any way had business III
this port and city during that period
crave q liberal space in your columns while
I give narrative OF some personal events
long gone by, bur which are revived OF late
in consequence of a political struggle In one
of the States of the Union. learned re-
Gently, partly through information acquired
at the American Consulate and partly through
the channels of the professional detective,
that an attempt is being made to fasten odlunl
upon a most worthy man. an acquaintance oi
mine when he was boy, and later COM
rade in the United States Naval service dur
ing the war of the Rebellion where so many
men of the mercantile marine OF the United
States attested their loyalty to the flag
refer to Charles A. Boutelle. now running
for Congress in Maine. l learned IN short
that his political enemies were seeking to use
against him some malicious charges pre-
ferred bv some sailors who wanted 10 force
their discharge from his fathers ship in or
der to claim extra pay for being discharged
in a foreign port. The detectives have
boasted here rather imprudently that they
were well paid by their American employers
and that they were going to send them some
of the reckless affidavits made by the sailors,
that had been subsequently, contradicted and
shown to be false As was familiar with
the whole case at the time it occurred here.
I hav taIt II Huf IN write n leading
paper like your own about the facts, which |
shall now proceed to do.
THE STORY OF THE SHIP CoNoUERoR.
In the summer of 1859 the American ship
Conaueror arrived here from Mobile. with
colored crew who had been shipped in Havre,
France The ship was commanded by Capt.
Charles Boutelle, of Brunswick, Maine, one
of the best-known and most highly respected
of American masters, and his eldest son,
Charles A. Boutelle, then about twenty years
of age, was chief mate on the ship. At that
time the anti-slavery feeling in England was
so extreme that all colored men were petted
in the most remarkable manner. while all
white Americans were looked upon as slave
drivers and prosecutors of the negro. There
fore, i'm all Quarrels or controversies between
colored seamen and officers of American
vessels the public sympathy in Liverpool was
sure to be fercely in favor of the former.
On the arrival of the Conqueror her colOred
crew, who were not entitled under their cou-
tract to a discharge in any foreign port, de-
manded that they should be discharged. and
threatened the captain that they would force
him to pay them off. They at first rcsorted
to concocting and filing complaints at the
Consurs office. and charging ill-treatment at
the hands of this or that officer; but failing
,l,n tl,, 81.
sorted to a more desperate measure. One of
the crew, named Peter Antonio, had come on
board in IIavre sick, and had performed no
work until the vessel arrived in Mobile.
when he was put at light work, at which he
continued until some weeks before the ves-
sci arrived when he again went off duty,
complaining of sickness and numbness in the
legs. Some of the crew still insisted that
he was shamming. and they drove him out of
the forecastle. bu; the mate Charles A. Bou-
telle. had him put back again, and ordered
these same men to help take care of him.
DETAILS OF THE CoNspIRACY
On arriving in Liverpool the sick man was
taken to the Northern Hospital, and the rest
of the crew began to try to force the captain
to pay them off, but he steadily maintained
they mus. return to the ship. While making
their daily complaints at the Consulate they
put in charge that the sick man had been
beaten by the mate. The United States Con-
sui at that time was the Hon. Beverly Tucker
of Virginia who happened to be absent, and
matters were largely in the hands of his dep
uty, an Englishman named Wlding. with
whom the Boutelles, father and son. had a
sharp conti oyersy when last in that port.
when the deputy had threatened that he would
yet show that he had power. Encouraging
q n hp ha e Il.
employees to take down statement from the
sick man. and it purported to be a charge bv
him that the mate had badly used him and
beaten him. On seeing this statement entered
at the Consulate the mate took Young man
named Hayden with him and went directly to
the sick mans room at the hospital. The in
valid shook hands with the mate and was
glad to see him, though very ILL., When told
that statement purporting to be such charc
es by him was on file at the Consul's the sick
man expressed surprise. said he had not made
any such statement and that he had no feel
ing against the mate, who, he said had
treated him kindly and kept others from
abusing him.. The mate remarked that he
would come next day with notary and take
regular deposition. That night the man
Antonio died. Mr. Hugh Granger Earnsbaw
young hospital surgeon at once made
post mortem, and discovered that there was
an old fracture of several ribs that had caused
aneurism of the great aorta, the distension
and bursting of which had caused death. But
Mr. Earnshaw, with his egotism and anti
American prejudice, strained all points to in.
innate belief that the injuries had resulted
from physical violence. A coroner's inonest
was held, at which all parties were examined
and while the local prejudice was very mark
ed, there was evidently no case against any,
body, and the coroner so instructed.
A TRIUMPHANT AcouITrAL.
But the Deputy Consul did not give up his
purpose then, but preparing his own state.
ment OF the case to the American Minister.
Mr. Dallas, he procured an order for the ar
raignment Of young Boutelle before a Liver
pool magistrate under the extradition treaty. |
so that he should be sent home for trial If
there proved TO be any tangible evidence
against him. On the examination before |
James Aiken. esq. most worthy man. who
he'd been large shipowner and was familiar |
with sailors. and their tendencies. il was at |
once shown that the man received his in. |
Juries two years before, when his ribs were
broken by the smashing of the boat in |
which he was by a whale. Also that he |
added to his injury by falling out of his bunk |
and that he had told his shipmates so. DIR.
Bicker'on, very eminent surgeon. rebuked
steTnly the hinpant and baselass concI,.;o..