Northern Times. — 1860-01-13 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

ATROCIOUS  AT SEA.  barque- Thof Near v YlTiai of the o rkv e been Americanbroi tg ht this week before the magistrates for the Isle of' Wight, on the information of John Thomas and Abraham Rock, seamen on board the vessel, on a charge of having murdered John Turtle and several other seamen during the voyage from Legona to England. The information of the dreadful circumstances was communicated to the police on the vessel arriving at Cowes. The names of the mates are Edmund Lane and George  Hires. Newl York to It consisting of eight men besides the captain and officers, and they included John Turtle, a man appears that the tn 'vesseljune filarsstt, withsailed a from crew known on board as Frank ; Wm. Johnson, David Pagins, Jas. Armstrong, and Wm. Pomeroy, who are now dead. At Mobile, Lane struck Armstrong on the right eye with a mallet, felled him from the forecastle on to the main deck, and knocked out his eye. He was sent by Hires to do something to an " ear-ring" under the bowsprit, but being unable to do so, he was dragged along in the water, until Abraham Rock went to his assistance, when Lane exclaimed, " Don't haul that nigger in ; cut the- ear-ring and let him go !" In two minutes after Armstrong let go his hold and was lost. The ship sailed from Mobile to Legona, in South America, and from thence to Cowes. On the voyage Hires accused Turtle of stealing rum from him in his cabin, and as he was obeying one of the mates' orders, Hires caught him by his head, hauled him down upon the deck, stamped OW his head, and kicked him with hig heavy sea-boats. Turtle's head and eyes were observed to be bleeding, and he went to his berth. Hires said to a seaman, " Thomas tell him, if he don't come out and get on to the pumps, I'll murder r him." The unfortunate man's reply was, " I can't get up, if they kill me." Hires went to him, pulled him out of the bunk by the ears, threw him down in the forecastle, and stamped upon him heavily. He was laid by Thomas in the forecastle. In a few minutes Hires said, " Tom, is that old nigger dead yet ?" He was then 1 dying, and expired the same night. His body was sewn up and thrown overboard two days t h centre. sail-roomd o down afterwards. While he was being sewn up it was seen that the bone of the forehead was broken in the n Theon t; etmteool morning proved to b chest,with ai tHsci urbefflost e both nnadasidgs to h heard in Johnson i throat, choking him. There was blood issuing from his mouth, and he died at six o'clock the same day. He said, previously to his death, " Jack, I feel very bad, and am dying—the mate has choked me to death." His tongue was hanging out of his mouth. Frank died about seven days before the arrival of the ship at Cowes, after having been severely beaten by the chief mate, who said, while the man was at the wheel, " If you go a quarter of a point off your course, I'll murder you." Directly after hole struck him on the head with a belaying pin. This took place off the Start Point. The man cried "Murder " twice, said " Oh, God!" several times, and called once for the captain. The unfortunate men who fell victims to the brutality of their officers were men of colour. The prisoners have been remanded.  A