A COFFIN SHIP.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 293, 4 November 1875, Page 2

A COFFIN SHIP.

Fifteen Beamen, all Englishmen, were on Monday, ihe 2nd August, marched in custody through Plymouth, charged with refusing to proceed in the ship Sunbeam, of Soutli !Sbietn> Captain JotrtjDdznl. They pleaded that the was unsay, and that tiey were af.aid to crou^he Atlantic in her. To * demonstrate their unreasjnsbleoess a survey Wfti-maie by the Bo ird at Trade surveyor, win reported to the magistrates, oa Tuea iay, that she was so unsound, rottea, and unsafe in the psrfcj, he had examine! that he had stopped the survey, and should detain tae vessel as hopelessly nriaaaworthy. The eeamen have been released from the lock-up. The following is the report of the Board of Trade surveyor : —•• The jibboom is rotte*C the planks uuier the top rail by the port caihe\d is rotten, aod the uauikiag bad; tha bits lor the mainstays, and main tup-mast stays on the port side are completely pone, to the great danger of the mainmast The deck-home for the crew is in a bad condition; the mizanmaat his been properly tongued, but not being wedged in, the partners are very unsafe; the caulking around ihe *tarooard bow is bad; the running rigging is bad; and there is only a small quantity of spars and rope on board. The sails a r e old and require overhauling; (he boats are badly found." The men state! that there was no carpenter on board, and tbat if they ha<i beeu willing to go to sea tue captain would have gone, although there was a tesftun short. The Sunbeam is a ship of 068 tons register, and ie registered as belonging to south bhields, with Mr Alfred Dobtll, of Georgia, Unite! States, as owner. Mr Uobail has offices and a business ia Liverpool. The ship was built in 1845, and had recently arrived in England from Quebec, fur which yore sue was to have sai'eJ.