The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1840-06-19 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

NGULAR CAPTURE OF THREE BUSHRANGERS.—Some time since the brig Scamander, Captain William Rogers, came to an anchor in the vicinity of Port Stephens, for the purpose of obtaining supplies, and while laying there, the vessel was hailed by three men from the shore ; the boat was immediately dispatched in charge of the second officer, to inquire the nature of their business, and upon nearing the shore, the boats' crew put the question, " what do you want ?" and the answer was, " we are in a starving state, and want something to eat, and a passage across to the other side—we have been searching for cattle for our master, and have no provisions." The second officer informed them that he was not authorised to comply with their request, but that he would return to the ship, and inform the captain or chief officer of the nature of their business in hailing the vessel, and that he had no doubt their wishes would be complied with. The boat immediately returned to the brig, and the second officer communicated his suspicion that the men were bushrangers ; this was confirmed by the chief officer, having seen with his spyglass the fellows wading their way towards the residence of Mrs. C., a widow lady, residing in the neighbourhood, it was therefore instantly arranged that a boats' crew should arm themselves, and with all haste prcceed on shore, and endeavour to capture the fellows, following in the track they were seen to take—they soon arrived at the residence of the lady referred to, to whom they communicated the object of their visit ; they had not been more: than a quarter of an hour in the house, when Mrs. C.'s servant, (an old man, and the only person about the premises) came in with the intelligence that three men were approaching the house under suspicious circumstances. The tars immediately proceeded in the direction pointed out by the servant, and in a thick scrub not far distant, captured two of the fellows, whom they immediately recognised as being two of those who hailed the brig. One of the desperadoes made some resistance, but the pistol of the second officer placed to the fellow's head, soon made him quiet, the other came forward, and delivered himself up, saying " d—n me, if you take them, you may as well take me likewise." They were then marched by the tars to the house of Mrs. C., who gave them something to eat, and afterwards to the beach, where they were put into the boat, two of them being made to pull, while the other was narrowly watched by the crew, and were shortly afterwards delivered up to the authorities at Port Stephen, when they were found to be runaways from Newcastle, where they stole a boat in which they set sail, and subsequently ran her on shore at Long Beach, where she was lost. Thus these British tars, with the second officer (a native of the colony) at their head, captured and placed in custody three ruffians, who would have perhaps in a very few minutes have murdered the lady we have referred to, if they had not been so opportunely secured. Surely such conduct on the part of the sailors deserves to be represented to the Governor, who would no doubt order them to be rewarded for their heroic conduct, but strange to say, there has not been the slightest notice taken of the matter in the public prints.