The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1855-07-10 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY AT SEA.  I ABOUT eight o'clock on Friday morning the brig Her I Majesty arrived at Queenstown, and cast anchor opposite the barracks. Shortly after her arrival rumours began to spread of a most dreadful tragedy having been enacted on board, and these were confirmed by the fact of a seaman, badly wounded, having been borne to the hospital. Her Majesty is a brig of 221 tons, belonging to Mr. John Rickenson, of Whitby, and sailed from Salonica, a Mediterranean port, about the beginning of May, with a cargo of Indian corn consigned to 6 London, and bound to Queenstown for orders. Includino. the captain, Wm. Wright, of Whitby, and the mate, Samuel Cole, the crew amounted in all to about nine. Amongst the crew was James Veale, a native of Ireland, who had been very badly conducted on the voyage, and against whom the captain [ had several entries in the log-book. On the 28th of Juno, ' while in lat. 44 deg. N., long. 14 deg. 46 min. W., the captain came on deck about midnight, and found that Veale was not, as he should have been, on deck, it being his watch. He found him lying asleep in the galley, and he got a bucket of water, [ and threw it over him. Veale awoke in a rage, and started up. The captain walked towards the cabin, and Veale ran round, at the other side of the mast, drew out a large case L knife, and stabbed him in several places. The man at the wheel, George Bald, a native of Fifeshire, observing the transaction, called out to another man, "take the wheel till Igo and call the mate." Veale hearing this, ran down the companion and got into the state-room of the mate, and stabbed him three several times, exclaiming " there, there." The mate struggled faintly with him, but had only strength to extricate himselt from his berth, and crawl up the companion, when he fell upon the deck. 'While the murderer was engaged upon the attack of the mate, Bald, an old man, went down the companion and into the state-room of the captain to look for fire-arms. 'While they were there, they shut the state-room door, and only barely in time, for Veale, after completing his terrible work in the cabin of the mate, rushed over, and drove the knife through the panel of the door they had shut, in an *Tort to break it in. Foiled in his design here, he went again upon deck, and it is supposed while passing he threw overboard the bodies of the mate and captain, as they were never seen again. He then went forward to the forecastle, where two men were sleeping, and stabbed them both savagely, killing one of them, the cook, Samuel Weekes, and inflicted upon the other, George Bald, the man who was taken to the hospital, no less than six wounds: In the meantime, the two men in the captain's state-room remained in a dreadful state of alarm and anxiety, until, at length, hearing everything silent, George Bald stole up the companion with a pair of loaded pistols, which he had got in the state-room of the captain. As he got near the head of the companion, his head being in a bent posture, he was met by Veale, returning from his work of blood in the forecastle, and received two stabs, one in the back and one in the shoulder. He fell down the ladder. and one of the pistols went off in the fall. Bald got into the state-room and secured himself there, and remained there for some time preparing a musket. After a little he heard the noise as if scuttling the vessel, which Veale was attempting with an axe, and he came up with a musket which he fired at Veal, and wounded him in the leg. This, in all probability, saved the vessel, as there were found afterwards in the deck and in the side of the vessel, holes from about eight inches to a foot square. Veale then retreated to the forecastle, and Bald then came after him and secured the scuttle. He then, it is said, broke the bull's eye, and fired another shot at Veale, but this did not hit him. While Veale was below Bald and the other man hoisted signals of distress, which were answered by the Isabella, of Liverpool, bound for Bristol, and the mate, James C. Howe, and two men came on board. Howe went to the forecastle, and Veale called out from within, begging of Howe to shoot him. Howe replied that he would do no such thing; that he would bring him to justice. He then went back on board his own vessel to procure more assistance, and, on his return, the whole body went forward to the forecastle. They then waited for a while, but on looking down through the bull's eye, they saw his legs hanging down. They opened the hatch and went down, and found that he had ended his misdeeds by suicide. He was taken out, and it was then ascertained that the shot fired by Bald from the head of the companion had taken efiect on him. The body, and that of the cook, who lived twenty-four hours after he received his wound, were thrown overboard. While this transaction was taking place a nephew of the owner, a little boy, who was on board, got into the fore-top, and so escaped uninjured.  CONFESSIONS of