The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1844-08-27 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

EXTRAORDINARY CASE.  On Saturday William Laidler, who stated that he had been a seaman on board the ship John Campbell, of Liverpool, a vessel of 600 tons, in the palm-oil trade, appeared before Sir J. Pirie, at the Mansion-house Policeoffice, London, for the purpose of making a declaration relative to a mutiny on board that vessel, and a series of cruelties which, he stated, had been crowned with murder. After some hesitation from Sir John Pirie as to the possibility of the complaint being founded on facts, the seaman solemnly pledged himself to the truth of the statement, which was to the following effect:—The ship John Campbell left the Liverpool Docks on the 21st of October last, bound for Old Calabar, on the African coast, in the palm-oil trade. Two weeks after the ship sailed the skip. per (Robert Nelson) died off Madeira; when the supercargo assumed the command, as is alleged wrongfully. About a month after our skipper died, the supercargo reduced our daily rations to a very serious extent. We had now gained our destination, working hard under an African sun unloading the ship, but finding ourselves oppressed with heat, and languishing for the want of food, we con ulted, went aft, and respectfully complained to the proper officer, the first mate, that in consequence of the reduction of our rations we felt weak and unable to do our work. The officer referred us to the supercargo. We then addressed ourselves to that personage, who also refused our request, on the ground that the ship's provisions were short, and should be reserved for the homeward passage. The application was denied, and the supercargo went on shore, and a messenger soon after announced that we might look to ourselves, as the war canoes were nrenaritn: to come off. Shortly afterwards we saw about 50 armed war canoes put ofl, with from 18 to 20 natives in each, chanting their war songs of blood and slaughter, with the supercargo at their head. They soon drew up in a circle round the ship, and swept her decks with vollies of shot and poisoned arrow.- Being astonished at such an extraordinary attack, and shuddering at the idea of instant death, we stood on the defensive with such weapons as came to hand; but becoming weak from wounds and loss of blood, the ship was easily boarded, and nine of us tied with cords, and thrown, covered with gore, into the canoes, and taken ashore and paraded through King Yambo's town, where every species of cruelty and insult was also inflicted upon us. The natives turned upon the supercargo, and plundered the vessel of her gear, and every moveable article upon which they could lay their hands." The paper of the applicant, after some particular details of severities alleged to have been practised by the supercargo, states, " On the 10th of May the French brig-of-war Alloinella arrived, when we were all put on board of her, and landed at Gambia on the 11th of June, and lodged in gaol, but were instantly liberated as soon as the magistrates had examined the case, no crime being recorded." The statement concludes with the expression of a determination to bring the supercargo to public justice upon the arrival of the other injured parties, and gives the names of the men who were ironed (being eight) and of those murdered, (being two.) The statement, which is dated " Gambia, Ist July, 1844," is signed by William Laidler and William Hall. Sir John Pirie, who appeared to doubt the truth of the statement throughout. stated that he should write to the owner, Sir Joseph Sharp, in Liverpool, and in the mean time sent the seamen to a place of refuge. We feel bound to add that we know of no such name in Liverpool, although the John Campbell is well known. [Since the above was in type we have learned that the owner of this vessel is Mr. William Sharp, of Drury-lane.]