The Sun. — 1854-01-03 (London, England)

WESTMINSTER.—Jeremiah O'Brien, an old Irishman, was charg,d with attempting to cut Mary Egan's throat. The prosecutrix, observing the prisoner's son intoxicated in the street, and inclined to quarrel, was induced, from a wish to prevent his getting into trouble, to see him home to his father's house. As she was about to leave, the prisoner rushed upon her with a table-knife, and putting one arm round her neck, made a thrust at her with the knife. She threw up her hands and shawl to save her throat, which was slightly wounded, and made a grasp at the knife, by which her fingers were cut. She then got away from the prisoner, and subsequently gave him into custody. The prisoner was committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court. Jeremiah O'Brien, the younger, son of the former, and the person so kindly seen home by the prosecutrix, was then charged with having threatened to murder her if she appeared against his father, and with having so ter. i."4' rified her that she was afraid to come forward when the case was first called on. The threat having been clearly proved, the defendant • was ordered to find good bail to keep the peace towards A poor woman app/ied t ) Mr. Arnold for relief. She tthtat she had been wandering about the streets for /274/e as bree or four nights without shelter, and that 14 I \\<;. she had applied at St. Margaret's and St. John's workhouse on Sunday night, but that after remaining from half-past seveu till midnight the authorities refused to  The case of William Thomas was first taken, and a prima facie case having been established on his behalf, Mr. Pelham, who appeared for Captain Baker, said the seamen did perform, from time to time, meritorious services, but a more mutinous, disorderly, and insubordinate crew had never sailed in a ship, and they had endeavoured to make a revolt, and had committed an offence which in law was deemed to be piracy. Instead of giving the men into custody for mutiny and piracy, as the captain might have done, he had adopted the more lenient course of seeking to punish them by an abatement of their wages. With that view the case had been submitted to the magistrate's consideration. Mr. Smith said the acts of the seamen had been condoned by the captain. The misconduct of the crew extended over a period of seven or eight hours only, and their subsequent services continued for a period of about six months afterwards. Mr. Pelham admitted the condonation of the mutiny, but the subsequent conduct of the crew was not in accordance with the terms of the contract. The captain had made a promise, or at least a conditional one, while under duresse, and it was not binding. Captain Baker was then sworn and examined at great length. He read the following entry in the official logbook :—"July 23, 1853, Saturday, 9 a.m., lat. 36.23 south, long. 82.44 west. While at breakfast this day, Captain Baker was informed that the crew wished to see him. Upon admitting them they stated it to be their intention not to proceed any further in the ship, but that she must put back to be surveyed. Upon asking them their reasons for such conduct, John Thompson, Parker Bigsby, and Andrew Storrs, were the principal spokesmen, and stated that the ship was not in a fit state to go to sea, for several reasons, and the principal appeared to be that the ratlines were out of order, some of the running gear was bad, that the end of the topsail halyard's fall had broken, that the main tack was bad, that ship rolled so much (a heavy beam sea on) they could not stand, and several other trivial remarks. They stated their determination not to do any more work, and that they would at once knock off, stating their minds were made up, and particularly Thompson, Storrs, and Bigsby, the latter leaving the cabin and calling upon the other men to follow, saying it was no use to stand there talking ; their minds were made up. Captain Baker remonstrated ;with them on the course they were pursuing, explaining to them that an illegal combination at sea would, upon inquiry, probably bring down upon them a sentence of transportation, and stated that nothing would induce him to put back, when he was  [