In the Court of Requests, on Thursday, Mr. Rawlins, the
Tory agent and solicitor, appeared to show cause against the order obtained last week by Soames the carpenter for payment of compensation for three days' loss of time in attending the Revising Barristers' Courts to answer an objection to his vote, preferred, but afterwards withdrawn, by Rawlins. The Commissioners ruled, by 11 to 5, that they had jurisdiction in this matter,—although Mr. Rawlins said they might as well decide an action for crim. con. ; and the order on Soames was confirmed. There will doubtless be many similar applications to the Court.
At the Thames Police Office, on Monday, William Allen, Captain of the Royal Adelaide, a Scotch steam-vessel, and Richard Clarke, pilot of the same, were examined on a charge of running down the Fawn, an oyster-smack, off Woolwich, on the 29th of October, and causing the death of Richard Baker, owner of the smack, and of ano- man, a passenger in the smack, whose name was not known. The principal witness was Henry Baker, aged fifteen, son of the deceased. His evidence was as follows.
About four o'clock he was at the helm, in the upper part of the Galleons, off Woolwich ; when he saw the lights of a steamer above the ballast-engine, hearing towards the smack. She appeared as if she would go to northward of the smack, and he put about to stand to the southward. The steamer was imme- diately afterwards distinguished ; and she ported her helm and ran right aboard of the smack, which was struck just before the tackle-plate, and she instantly began to fill. Witness let go the helm and got on the boat that was on deck, and by that means laid hold of a cross-piece that supports the figure-head of the steamer, and climed on the deck. lie could see no one in the steamer but the Than on the paddle-box, and there was no one in the bows keeping a look-out. He hallooed for the men, but could make no one hear ; and then walked as far as the foremast, and saw the men sitting in a place that was built before the paddle-box, where there was a fire. He went forward with them ; and they threw a rope over the ship's side towards George Hoult, a boy who worked with them, and who was on the deck of the Fawn ; but he could not reach it. his father, who had got on the figure-head of the steamer, on seeing this jumped back to his own vessel, lifted the boy to the rope, and then ran to get hold of the steamer again ; but before he could do so, the wheels were reversed, and the steamer backed astern. His father was left sinking in his vessel, which went down immediately after the steamer's bowsprit had cleared her. He saw his father floating out of the vessel as she went down, and observed him strug- gling in the water for a few seconds, when be disappeared. There was no boat near enough to tender him any assistance; but the waterman's man on board the steamer went off, but returned and said he could not find him. Hoult, the other boy, confirmed this testimony. The passenger in the smack seems to have been drowned almost immediately. John Jones, a Greenwich waterman, employed by the pilot, said that he came on deck just before the collision happened, and that be saw the Captain and the pilot standing on the bridge between the two paddle- boxes.
He saw the fishing-smack coming close to the steamer. She was on the larboard tack. Before he could get abaft, the vessel struck. When he got aft, be found one of the steamer's people in his boat astern ; and he got into it and rowed forward on the starboard side of the Royal Adelaide, and found the smack had gone down.
The night was very dark ; and the pilot told one of the Thames
surveyors, that he saw nothing of the smack till they strurk her : he was not a Trinity House pilot, but one employed by the Steam-boat Company.
Both the prisoners were remanded, on a charge of manslaughter. Oa Tuesday they again appeared before the Magistrates ; when it was stated, that john Jones had a material addition to make to his evidence. On being asked who was on deck besides the Captain and pilot, who were standing on the bridge, he said— There was one man forward, another at the break of the quarter-deck to pa.sa the word to the man at the helm ; the Captain and pilot were on the bridge between the paddle.boxes, and there were two men at the helm when he came up after hearing the shouting. The smack was about twice her length from the steamer when he came on deck.
Mr. Combe—" How came you to omit stating that on Saturday, when yea gave your evidence?" Jones—" Why, because I was not asked the question. If I had been asked the question, I should have said so." Mr. Combe said the witness was sworn to tell the whole truth, and he was directed to relate all he saw and heard. Ile understood him on Saturday to say that he did not come on deck until the steamer had struck the smack, and that he saw no one on deck when he Caine up. Ile was inclined to believe that was the case, because, in the deposition just read, it was stated that the witness went aft, jumped into his boat, and rowed alongside the steamer, at the momeut the smack was sunk.
Some discussion occurred as to whether the Magistrates would take bail. They declined ; mid the prisoners were committed to Netvgate. On Wednesday, Mr. Bodkin applied to Justice Littledale in the Bail Court for a writ of certiorari for production of the depositions taken before the Magistrates, a writ of habeas for the production of the prisoners, and a rule to show cause why bail should not be accepted for their appearance. Mr. Justice Littledide consented; and said he would hear the matter at chambers when the parties were ready. The next day the parties were brought up and held to bail. On Wednesday, the Thames Street Magistrates were informed by a surveyor of the Thames Police, that the Monarch, steam-towing ves- sel, ran down a boat belonging to the Jane of Newcastle on Monday evening, and drowned a boy who was the only person in it. The body had been found, and the boat turned bottom-upwards. An inquest was held on the body on Thursday; and a verdict of " Manslaughter" returned against the Captain of the Monarch.
Previous page
