The Sun. — 1860-01-20 (London, England)

MURDERS ON BOARD THE AMERICAN  SHIP ANNA.  (FROG[ A CORRNSPONDENT,)  Why is no inquiry held on the captain ?  Z he American Consul from Southampton, Mr. Thompson, has been for the last two days employed, at the office of the agent of the captain, taking depositions, and holding an inquiry on the charges against the mates, and has now left, taking with him the steward of the ship. If the case had been allowed to proceed before the magis Crates, it would have been proved by John Thomas, on; of  the two surviving negroes, that in the early part of December, he being below, between three and four o'clock in the morning, heard something being dragged heavily along the deck ; that he peeped put of the poop hatch, and saw the captain and second mate dragging Pomeroy, a coloured seaman, along the deck, and that they then hove him down the cockpit, and there loft him, and that as they hove him otf, the second mate struck him on the back of the head with a belaying pin; that at four o'clock the same morning, when Thomas went to the wheel, he saw Pomeroy still laying in the cockpit bleeding at the back of the head. About two hours after Thomas assisted Pomeroy between decks ; he then appeared to be dying, and when Thomas got him between decks he died in his arms. After he was dead Thomas examined the body, and found Pomeroy had a bad wound at the back of his head, where there was a great quantity of clotted blood. Again—as to the death of William Johnson, another of the murdered men, who was cruelly ill-used by the second mate during the day, it would have been proved that at eight on the same evening that the injuries were inflicted on him, he was found dead, in the captain's cabin, laying on his face with thick clots of blood running out of his mouth.  Can it be believed that five murders, with violence, could have been committed on board a ship of 450 tons without the knowledge of the captain ?  Ought it not to be enquired how the captain, who kept the logbook himself instead of the mate, as is customary, accounts for the death of these men. Poor Jack Tuthill was knocked on the head by the second mate with a belaying pin and murdered outright, say on the 15th December. We expect some such entry as this will be found on 13th December—" Jack Tuthill sickening. 14th. Poor Jack Tuthill getting worse. 15th. Poor Jack Tuthill died," and so on with the others.  But we may suppose, what must have been the case, that he did know that the murders had been committed ; and to put the most charitable construction on his conduct, we will suppose he was a weak-minded nonentity in the hands of two hardened villains, and afraid to act ; but even then, what was the reason that ho did not call in the aid of the civil power when he came into Cowes ? Why did ho not call in his consul P why did he not divulge the facts to the vice-consul, who is his shipping agent, and with whom he was in daily, nay, hourly communication? No; not a word was uttered by him ; and but for the steward, who managed to get ashore a few lines to the police, informing them of what had been done, the ship would have left the port without the horrible murders that were committed on board ever having come to light. Ought not an inquiry to be held into the conduct of this captain, instead of his being examined as a witness in favour of the mates ?  We make those observations that justice may be done ; for, though true it is that these men are Americans, the crimes they have committed are of such a horrible nature that every human being has a natural right to bring the; monstrous murderers to the punishment they deserve and if Englishmen have no legal right to interfere because the criminals are Americans, at any rate it is to their interest to see that such villains are not let loose on English soil.