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was a marine on board the ship. Af ter having sailed from St Jago, on the night of the 17th of April, a contest took place. He was not certain of the day, as he was not allow ed to keep a log-book. Any con vict with writing in his possession, he said, was immediately brought upon deck and put to death. On the 17th of April, several of the irons of the convicts were broken, and witness's among the rest. On this day there was a great contest; and on the 27th or 28th of April following, another firing took place. The greater part of the convicts were confined between decks. Before the firing commenced on the 27th of April, he was in his birth, close to the deck on the starboard side, when he heard Baxter (one of the officers of the ship) say to Clements, "Are you there?" Clements said, "I am." Baxter then said, "Raise a false alarm, and we will kill every bl-dy one of them." Clements said, "We will; but it is too soon yet. Wait till the gentle men go to bed, and then we will have more time." Baxter replied, "It is a very good time now; the gentle. men are all in their cabins ; and when you begin, don't be commanded by Captain, Doctor, or Officers, and I'll be accountable." He then heard a sound, which he supposed to be the drawing of a ramrod. Witness lay in his birth, under the starboard forescuttle. He heard Clements use some expression about the Irish, and said, "I will let go." He then put the muzzle of his gun down the scuttle, and fired his piece. The firing then became general, and it lasted nearly an hour and a half. Witness continued in his birth all the time, and never left it. Some time after the firing had ceased, Baxter, accompanied with soldiers, came among the convicts, and he there saw

his messmate, John M'Ardle, dead in his birth. He appeared to have been killed by a bullet fired from some piece. The ball entered at the bottom of his stomach, and remain.. ed in his body. He believed the shot which killed this man had come from the soldiers' apartment.

Cross-examined by Mr CommonSergeant.-He never was in any gaol before the larceny for which he had been transported. He knew a man of the name of Crawley, a sailor on board the Chapman, who was put in irons for giving instruments to the convicts to break their irons. Witness himself broke his middle iron with a broom stick, and he saw seven or eight other convicts with their irons broken. Witness broke his irons before he arrived at St Jago, and before the 17th of April he had a new iron put on. He swore that before the 27th of April there were not one hundred and twenty convicts with their irons broken. He recol. lected a lever, and a piece of tin in the shape of a knife, being found in the birth of himself and his messmate. He was flogged for this offence, and received double punishment for speaking Latin to the Doctor. The Doctor said, "You are a good scholar, but a d-d rascal, and shall receive double punishment for it." The convicts made pieces of tin into knives to cut their meat, not being allowed knives. There was a Bible in the convict prison, but he never heard any oath administered. Dr Dewar and Michael Collins had said, that oaths had been taken by the convicts to be true to themselves, and to take the ship. Collins was a convict himself. There was a convict also of the name of Francis Murphy. Witness never heard Murphy say that it was his intention to murder all the crew. Baxter, the officer,

died on the voyage home. After the firing of the 17th he never saw any attempt to force the prison door. The door was perforated in many places, and he supposed one of the bullets must have hit one of the hinges, as next morning he saw the door hanging on one hinge.

Examined by the Bench.-He was designed by his father for the Church of Rome. The Bible found was not his property, but that of a Mr MacCoster. The muzzles of the muskets were fixed between the gratings of the hatchway. He did not see Clement fire down into the prison, and only imagined he had done so by what he had said. To the best of his belief there were about twenty irons found broken. The soldiers had frequently ill used the convicts, and witness had refused to go on deck to get his allowance of wine in consequence of it. Until the 17th of April the convicts had nothing to complain of. Witness lay in a birth next to the deck.

Thomas Kelly was next called, and stated that he was also a convict on board the Chapman in March 1817. On the 27th of April, about 8 o'clock at night, he lay in the upper birth of the starboard fore-scuttle. While in this situation he heard Clements ask who was that talking Irish below? One of the convicts answered that there was no one talking Irish. Clements then said, "If you do not keep quiet, I will let go." He immediately fired his musket. Witness saw the flash, but not the muzzle, of the gun. Witness had been wounded in the contest of the 17th of April. The general firing commenced a minute or two after the first gun was fired, and continued for about two hours. The convicts cried out for mercy. John M'Ardle was killed in his birth, and

witness's brother, Bryan Kelly, also received a mortal wound.

Cross-examined. When on board the ship, he never saw any one sworn to murder the crew or to do any thing else.

Examined by the Bench.-Witness slept in the upper birth, and Terence Kiernan slept under him in the lower birth. There were two tiers of births in the ship. Witness, although he lay so near the deck, heard no conversation between Baxter and Clements.

Michael Wood, also a convict, was on board the Chapman. On the night of the 27th of April, he was in his birth, and heard Clements ask what noise there was below? A convict of the name of Murray said, that there was no noise. Clements repeated twice that he would let go, and then fired his musket. The firing then commenced from the fore, after, and main hatchways. It lasted for more than an hour. There were six wounded in this affair of the 28th of April. The chain cable was so placed as to prevent persons below from coming on deck. The anchor was placed on the scuttle.

Cross-examined. He heard no conversation on deck. He heard no threat among the convicts to throw the soldiery overboard, nor did he see any locks picked. He saw no convict with his irons broken. Dr Dewar had the irons taken off about.thirty-five convicts because they were poorly. He never said to Jesse Warburton that there was a conspiracy among the convicts to seize the ship, murder the officers and crew, and carry the vessel to America.

John Brown, one of the marines on board the Chapman, was placed on guard on the 28th April. He was in the cabin when the firing com

menced. He heard a rushing down below. He came out, and heard it said that the convicts had got upon deck. It was quite dark, and he heard a great noise. He heard no orders given by Capt. Drake. The firing continued about ten minutes. After the firing had ceased, he saw Captain Drake on the quarter-deck.

Cross-examined.-The soldiers, and himself among them, slept upon their arms for six weeks, for fear of being murdered by the prisoners. As soon as the ship had passed St Jago, all the crew thought their lives in danger. It was the intention of the convicts to take the ship, and murder all the crew. After the firing on the 28th, witness went down into the prison among the convicts with Mr Baxter, and one of the convicts addressing Baxter said, "You may thank Corporal Brown (witness) for being present, or we would blanket you;" and witness understood this expression as an intimation that they would smother him.

George Cook was another marine on board the Chapman. On the night of the 28th of April, the first thing he heard was a report of a musket.

The firing lasted for almost ten minutes. He did not know by whose orders the firing commenced, and did not see Captain Drake till after the firing was over.

Cross-examined. He believed if the firing had not commenced, the ship would have been taken, and the crew murdered. He heard the convicts say, "Fire away, fire away; your ammunition will soon be gone, and we will take the ship." He heard a rush of the convicts in a body against the prison-door, and it was forced off the hinges. They had then only to break through the bulk-head to get possession of the magazine of arms and ammunition. Collins, one of the convicts, stated,

that the day after the ship left St Jago, it was their intention to take the ship, had not the Northumberland seventy-four gun-ship hove in sight. It was intended (Collins added) to throw the sentinels down the hatchway, to fasten the officers down in the cabin, and to seize the arms. Between the nights of the 17th and 28th of April several gun-flints and locks had been taken from the guns of the sentinels, and ten rounds of cartridges were abstracted. Collins also said that a feint attack was intended to be made, and the main body was to follow and take the ship. This closed the evidence for the prosecution.

Mr Justice Park said, that as no evidence had been adduced affecting Captain Drake, he should not call upon him for his defence.

The Attorney-General suggested, whether it would not be proper, with respect to Clements, to ask the opinion of the jury whether the story told against him was believed.

Mr. Justice Best.-Which of the stories do you mean, Mr Attorney, for they all contradict each other?

The jury declared their opinion, that there was no occasion to put either of the prisoners upon their defence, and they were consequently acquitted.

CHARGE OF MURDER On Board a CONVICT SHIP.

Admiralty Sessions, Tuesday,
January 12.

John Drake, Alexander Dewar, and Christopher Bustead, were indicted for the wilful murder of Daniel M'Cormick, on board the convict ship Chapman, on the 17th of April 1817, being then on the High Seas.

Sir Christopher Robinson stated the case to the jury at considerable length, but we will not follow him in the detail, nor do we think it necessary to go minutely into the evidence, it being nearly the same as that given in the preceding trial, the case having grown out of similar circumstances, though not applying to the same individuals. The prisoner Drake, the Captain, was, as our readers will observe, acquitted of the murder of M'Ardle. Mr Dewar was the surgeon of the Chapman; and Mr Bustead was the officer who commanded the troops on board.

Patrick Smith was a prisoner on board the Chapman in April 1817. There were about 200 persons on board altogether. He remembered the 17th of April. He was in bed about 9 o'clock on the night of that day, and was alarmed by the report of a gun; after that he had heard several more: it appeared as if proceeding down the main hatch. He heard the soldiers run over the deck, and the cry was raised of "Mind the fore hatch," "Mind the main hatch," &c., and then the firing continued very briskly for nearly two hours. He did not remember any particular remarks made at the time by the soldiers, but about the close of it he heard the prisoner, Captain Drake, give orders to cease firing. He heard not the least noise among the prisoners before the firing commenced. He was not amongst the prisoners; being allowed to act as surgeon's mate, he was permitted to sleep in the sick-bay. After the firing had nearly ceased, he heard the convicts cry out, "Mercy," "Mercy," several times. He heard nothing but moans after that for the night. In the morning, he saw Maccormick with two other persons brought in; M'Cormick was dead. The prisoner Dewar came down in

the morning earlier than usual. Witness heard him say to the convicts, "You brought it upon yourselves."

Cross-examined by the Common Sergeant.-Did not hear the convicts confess that they had brought it upon themselves. They made no answer to the charge of having brought it upon themselves. He always heard the convicts say they were innocent. He persisted in saying that there was no rush of the prisoners before the firing commenced. There was none near the part where he was; and if there had been any, he must have heard it. In the morning, he saw the door of the bulk-head somewhat damaged, but that was caused by the firing. One ball had struck the box into which the bolt shot, and broke it; and two others struck the hinge, so that the door fell open. He never heard that the guard was turned up twice on the night of the 12th, five days before the present transaction. He knew Hoyle, one of the convicts, and heard him complain of having been severely used by his fellowprisoners. This was before the 17th. He did not hear him say that this ill usage was caused by his having refused to take an oath. He heard the convicts charged with administering oaths to each other, but he knew of no such oaths.

By the Court. He never heard of any disturbance before the 17th. He knew that several of the convicts had got off their irons. There were less that 80 in that situation. There were some men punished before the 17th, but he did not recollect that it was for breaking their irons.

John Fagan examined by Mr Gaselee.-Was a convict on board the Chapman, and was in the habit of occasionally assisting the Doctor in the hospital. His account of the firing and of the conduct of the con

victs was nearly similar to that given by the last witness.

In his cross-examination, he said, he did not know of any misconduct on the part of the convicts. About five days before the 17th he heard an alarm on deck, and a shot fired, but could not say what was the

cause.

Francis Murphy examined by Mr Reynolds. Witness was a convict on board the Chapman, on the 17th of April. There was a muster of the prisoners that morning, but it was not to examine their irons. He went to bed about seven o'clock. Not many of the convicts then remained up. A bout nine he heard a running on deck, and soon after that a firing down the main hatchway. Baxter, the third mate, thrust a cutlass down the scuttle, and cried out, " You d-d convicted villains, are you coming on deck? but we are ready for you." Witness heard Lieutenant Bustead say, "Fire away;" and Captain Drake said, "You d-d convicted villains, we shall soon be between decks with you; we'll fire amongst you and scatter you." The convicts cried out for mercy several times. There had been no noise among them more than usual, on the early part of that night. Cross-examined by Mr Alley.He had been in three gaols in Ireland, and was bred up in the victual ling line, but was never a doctor. He did not know that he was to be doc tor when the ship was taken and the crew murdered. Dr Dewar charged him with such an intention, but it was not the case. He never confessed to any person that he was to be doctor, or that the guard and crew were to be murdered. He was called upon deck the day after the firing, placed upon his knees, and a blunderbuss presented to his head by Baxter, who told him he would blow his brains out, unless he confessed.

He was then asked, whether he did not know that a plan had been laid to take the ship, and murder the crew. He never said to several persons on that occasion, " It was God's truth, that it was the intention of the convicts to murder the officers and guard." He was certain he never said any thing like it to any body. He never went round for the pur. pose of administering an oath, and never saw or heard of one being administered. On the 16th, there was a muster for examining the irons. There were only six or seven persons with their irons filed off. He did not hear Captain Drake say, "Soldiers, cease firing, and we shall see whether we cannot make them quiet by going below."

Peter Allen, a man of colour, (examined by Sir C. Robinson,) was also a convict on board the Chapman. He remembered the 17th of April. On the night of that day he heard one of the soldiers call out to Captain Drake that there were some men at the hatchway; to which the Captain replied, "Fire away." The fir ing then commenced, and continued till he was wounded. After that he could not tell what passed, having been rendered speechless and insensible by the shot. There had been no previous disturbance among the prisoners. The next morning he was called upon deck by Captain Drake, and told to confess who were the ringleaders of the mutiny, but he said he knew nothing of it. He was then told to prepare for death, but was afterwards sent below.

Cross-examined by the Common Sergeant.--He had heard of the guard being called up a few evenings before the 17th. There was a row, which he heard was caused by some of the convicts attempting to get on deck by the cable scuttle. He never saw any person attempt to get up.

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