Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1871-04-29 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

FEARFUL NIGHT SCENE ON A SHIP. On Thursday, at the Liverpool Police court a coloured seaman, named James Broom, was pla d before Mr Raffle, on remand, upon the charge of having been concerned in mutiny and murder n board the ship Lizzie Fennell, on the night of e Ist of January last, while on a voyage fr in Havannah to Mobile. Captain Denis Mahon y, the master of the Lizzie Fennell, was called, a cl stated that about ten o'clock on the night of the st of January last, when the vessel was on the w y from Havannah to Mobile, and about 20 miles fr in land, while he was sitting on a house on deck, e heard Peter Carr, the first mate, call out, " , oh," as if he was hurt. On going out a part of t e crew, who had hold of Carr, turned upon himse f. Aaron Cromarty struck him on the head with a slingshot, rendering him insensible. He afterwar discovered that Francis Main, the second ma , was missing, and acting upon the statements whi 11 were made to him he put the prisoner in irons. Peter Carr told him that the prisoner struck hi 1 with a bolt. The prisoner, while in irons, an d that he was one of the five men who were pick: d out to heave him (the captain) over, but that : e did nothing. He also said some matches we e given to him by some of the seamen to set fire o the ship. Four of the men, named James Brow ) Oscar Smallwood, James Austin and Aar 1:i Cromarty, were afterwards missed from the shi ~ It appeared from further evidence that the mist • neers threw the second mate overboard. Pet r Carr, the mate, deserted the vessel at Mobil , probably from fear of his life. ,The entry whi was made in the log by the mate was then put i 1, and read by Mr Davies. The scene was tht s recorded :—'Ten p.m. The captain being on dec , I called two men to heave the log., Jas. Broon ( ) and A. Cromarty came aft and tool hold of in : , and did all they could to heave me overboard. i ran for the cabin. I saw Aaron Cromarty stri .• the captain with an iron bolt. When I got to t cab'n door four or five of them did all they con to put me overboard. When on the cabin stai four men held me, and Oscar Smallwood told to e man Aaron to knock my brains out for a son of —. He did strike me on the head with an iron bolt. I got into my room and took out nil.), pistol, and fired. They all ran into the forecastle, and fastened themselves in. The steward and I went to the carpenter's and second mate's roo , and found the carpenter lying insensible and t e second mate nowhere to be found. The carpente s head was all smashed. The captain and I, t e steward and his wife, kept watch till morning, f r we were in danger of our lives. At seven o'clo k a.m. called the men out, and found the following men missing :—James Brown, Oscar Smallwood, James Austin, and Aaron Cromarty. We were told they had jumped overboard after murdering Francis Main and heaving him overboard. Th y said to the rest of the men that if they would sy anything they would murder them. Reub n Ricltardson saw these men heave Francis Main overboard. I do no know what this is for, th e being no occasion for it, as there had been ho quarrels aboard the ship. Put James Brown in irons, he being one of the five men that strove to heave me overboard when at the cabin door." Tie prisoner was remanded for a week. I