Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-02-24
NAVAL COURT CONTINUED.
CONTINUED from page ~

/ pleaded guilty of using insulting Ian
guage; been ashore six or eight times
| here. never been arrested: made no
complaint to consul because he had
hoped to go home quietly in the ship
/ To his family In England; they did
make complaint when the consul
came aboard; II he had reported the
captains misconduct at
ed It would have made a good deal of
trouble.
to prove the captains misconduct on
December IA. He denied to the court
that he, Caspersen. swore at the green
sailor or struck him when aloft, and
admitted that the loss of the man was
an accident with no blame attaching to
the captain.
Mr.. Humphreys called the captain to
read the log entry of the accident
which showed that Harry Miller broke
his neck and some limbs in falling,
then tumbled overheard. In answer to
questions, Capt. Peattie said he was
not drunk on December IA. and never
was drunk at sea in his "a years as
master
First officer Clark, second officer
Ross and third officer Waddell each
testified he never saw Captain Pea tie
drunk on board the ship.
Mr.. Humphreys called attention to
the evidence that the British consul
was with the captain half an hour after
sailors said he was intoxicated on Feb
ruary 70. The consul and his col
leagues of the court could therefore
I'D ~ ha ~ he, 81,
Mr.. Davis, the case being now all
in, objected TO any of the testimony
going to England because none of the
witnesses had been sworn on the BIZ
BILE according to the British practice.
Captain Jones replied that the prac-
tice in England was to give the oath
on the Prayer Book.
Mr.. Humphreys said he could pro-
duce authorities to show that the mode
was immaterial. A Chinaman could
be sworn in British court on a be-
headed chicken.
ADDRESS FOR DEFENDANTS.
Mr.. Davis, In opening his closing ad-
dress for the defendants, mentioned
the unavoidable absence of naval OFF,
Ger in the composition of the court.
With the exception of the president all
Of the members were masters OF mer-
chant vessels, but he wished to &C.
knowledge the kindness and considera-
ton shown him by the Judges through
out the trial. He presumed that some
themselves and had to work their way
up. He had known judges sometimes
to forget that they were lawyers, but
few men who had arisen from humble
beginnings forgot the trials and trihu-
lations they had encountered. The
ship 1nverness-shire was in the har-
Dor of Honolulu, but through no fault
Of these men she dragged her anchor.
Ten minutes after the ship dragged her
anchor these men were asked to turn
to and save the ship, which they did.
II was the evidence Of the prosecution
that when the vessel was drifting at
sea the captain refused the assistance
OF these men. No continuous refusal Of
duty was there. Were they not to take
these matters into consideration and
give these men the benefit Of the doubt
Captain Peattie's refusal OF their as
| sistance was wrong act which should
not have been done on British or any
other vessel. The liberty Of these men
was in their hands as much as tho
property of rich shipowners. One man
In England spent his life to better the
condition Of sailors. No amount of
eloquence on the part Of his learned
friend could do away with the testi-
mony of Captain Sanders, who was
the prosecutions own Witness that the
captain refused the services of these
men. The speaker believed that the
captain did strike the sail maker. He
/ imprisoned him and struck him with
out justification. Was not the object
of the British Parliament, in provid-
Ing for court of inquiry in foreign
country, the redress of the grievances
OF the sailors as well as to enforce the
lawful commands of the captain. The
captain violated the law when he
struck that man and when he impris-
soned him, and he neglected his duty
when he refused the services of these
men when offered. Not one man in a
hundred who drinks, but It gets The
best of him sometimes. Captain Peat
tie Is no more angel than anybody else.
If he did not drink he could not get
drunk. l believe he was drunk, per-
haps not more than once There was
no proof that these men were influence
ed on shore. If the captain threatened
to shoot, or IL he struck any man on
that ship, under the British law they
could not be held. If the evidence of
Sanders was believed they must dis
| charge the men, because he was wit
ness for the prosecution. II the men
were convicted their Imprisonment. IL
on land would be through the courte ~
of the Hawaiian Government, and IL
on the ship under the custody of the
captain. They should not be given The
maximum penalty. If they had erred
1t was because the captain was injudi-
cious. The liberty of a British subject
! WAC AZ sncrad In Tho QUO ~ Ab< In ..r 4, a