Sentence:  ‘... who is to hunt up my witnesses? All of them are sailors, drafted off to other ships, except those whose evidence would go for very little, as they took part, or <WSD>sympathised</WSD> in the affair. ...' 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To support, favour, have sympathy ("with" a political cause or movement, a side in a conflict / "in" an action).