The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1851-08-12 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE 'LIVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1851.  SEIZURE OF A MERCHANT VESSEL BY MILITARY PASSENGERS.  On Thursday. the 29th of May, the barque Levenside arrived at St. Helena under peculiar and altogether unprecedented circumstances; she had' been, in fact, forcibly seized during the voyage by Captain Vesey, a passenger in charge of a small detachment of the Royal Artillery destined for this place. The captain of the vessel was a prisoner in the hold—in chains-; with a sentinel over him to prevent communication with the crew. On the 15th May, in the evening, while the Levenside was on the hign seas, Captain'D. Campbell, the master, ordered the booby-hatch to be closed. This was done, and immediately afterwards-Captain Vesey summoned the troops under his charge to take off the hatch, in defiance of the master's order, which was immediately carried into effect.  On the 17th, two days after this occurrence, a squabble appears to have taken place between one of the soldiers and the ship's carpenter. Captain Vesey insisted that the carpenter should be punished; but upon investigating the case, Captain Campbell, the master, could not see very clearly that his man was more to blame than the the soldier, and we believe did not in any way punish the man.  It being dark and past eight O'clock at night, the captain ordered the booby-hatch to be put on, but no sooner was the order given, than Captain 'Vesey, in charge of the troops, said it should not be dune; Captain Campbell then pulled out a pistol, and told Captain Vesey that if he attempted to interfere with him, and prevent any of the crew obeying his orders, he would shoot him through the heart. Upon this qualified threat being uttered, Capt. Vesey immediately called his men to fall in round the hatchway, and ordered the bombardier to go below for arms. This order was instantly obeyed, and as soon as Capt. Campbell saw the arms being handed up the hatch. way, he went forward, seized hold of one of the muskets, and commanded the soldier to give it up, saying, " put that down, it does not belong to you—it belongs to the ship." The soldier refused, whereupon a struggle took place for the gun, when some one calledout " seize him," on which several soldiers seized the captain, threw him against a boat, wrenched the pistol out of his hand, as well as the musket he attempted to take from the soldier. No sooner was Capt. Campbell seised than Capt. Vesey ordered his hands to be lashed behind his back, and it appears, at the instigation, of Capt. Neill, he was hurried into the hold, and secured to a stanchion—and kept for sixteen hours in that position without either water or anything else being given him, as far as we can gather from the evidence. The next morning he was unlashed from the stanchion, and had strong chains fastened to his wrists by padlocks ; in this position he was kept in the hold for twelve days and nights, with an armed sentinel keeping watch over him. He was not allowed to communicate with the crew during this time, nor was he released from this extraordinary captivity, even on the arrival of the vessel in the roads, till the police went on board and caused him to be unchained.  After four days' investigation, Capt. Campbell was committed for trial, on the charge of an assault, with intent to murder. Information was then laid by Capt. Campbell against Capt. Vesey and the others of his passengers, for piracy, and illegal seizure of the ship ; which information was taken and signed by the magistrates. The following correspondence has arisen out of this very singular circumstance :