The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1879-06-28 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

ALLEGED MURDER ON THE  HIGH SEAS.  ON Tuesday, at the Borough Police Court, before Mr. Preston, the stipendiary magistrate. and Dr. Stephenson, a young man named James Hayes, said to belong to London, and described as a seaman on board the sailing ship Charles 11. Marshall, now lying in the East Float, was charged with the wilful murder of James Hanlon, a seaman on the same vessel.—Mr. Moore prosecuted. The American Vice-Consul stated that the alleged murder was committed during the passage of the vessel from San Francisco to Liverpool; and having detailed the circumstances under which Hayes came into the custody of the police, asked the magistrate if he thought he had jurisdiction to take what steps he considered proper in the case. Mr. Moore: They are both British subjects, but it was committed on the high seas and in an American  ship. Charles Hutchinson' captain of the Charles H. Marshall, stated that the occurrence took place on the 30th of May, in latitude 21 north and longitude 36 20 west, in the North Atlantic. The prisoner was a foremast hand, and signed articles at San Francisco for a voyage to any port in Europe and back to any port in the United States. Mr. Moore had been looking into the question of jurisprudence. The 24th and 26th Victoria, chapter 100, section 9, provided that "where any murder or manslaughter shall be committed on land out of the United Kingdom, whether within the Queen's dominions or not, and whether the person killed was a subject of her Majesty or not, every offence committed by any subject of her Majesty may be dealt I with, tried, determined, and punished in England or I Ireland, where such person shall be apprehended. Mr. Preston: I don't see that I have jurisdiction to deal with the case here. . . .  The Vice-Consul: He is in the custody of the captain of the vessel. The American statutes, I think, provide for cases of this kind, to enable courts to take possession of the prisoners and witnesses as well, if they cannot find bail. It seems to me a question whether the case would come under the Extradition Act.  The magistrates' clerk (Mr. Bell) : You have him in your custody on board your ship, and we have nothing to do with the extradition act. Mr. Moore: I very much doubt that as a principle of law. Here is a British subject, and he must be detained in England only by some process of warrant. The captain, when coming into port, has no light to detain a British subject, unless he has some authority for so doing. Mr. Bell: You could, perhaps, issue a habeas corpus. Mr. Preston: That is.not a question for discussion here.  Mr. Moore: The only ground on which they can detain him is by virtue of a warrant. Mr. Bell: We have nothing to do with that. Mr. Preston: The question is whether I can detain this man. I don't see that I've any jurisdiction for an offence committed on the high seas, the prisoner being a British subject on board an American ship. The Vice-Consul: The police can take him back to the ship. Mr. Preston having dismissed the prisoner, Hayes was rearrested by the river police, and taken back to the Charles H. Marshall.