THE LENNIE MUTINY AND MURDERS.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 120, 3 June 1876, Page 2

THE LENNIE MUTINY AND MURDERS.

We recently gave the particulars of this tragedy as detailed by the steward. By late English papers we have an abstract of the first Police Court hearing, when the prisoners were brought up, as follows:—On Saturday the nine men charged with mutiny and the murder of the captain (Stanley Hadfield), first mate (Joseph Wortley), and second mate Richard Macdonald), of the British ship Leimie, were again brought heft r; Sir Thomas Henry, at Bow-street —Petersen, the Dane, was cross-examined by Mr Woolf. He said : I was on the main deck the whole time of the disturbance. I saw the mate come down the fore buntlines after he had been shot at by Lips. That was while I was on the look out. I did not stick the first mate five times. It is not true that -vj went down to the cabin when all *Uie others did. I did not rub out the log the steward tried to keep. When the boatswain told me he could not save the mate’s life he did not give any reason. He did not tell me lie himself was afraid. 1 first made a statement in France, about six or eight days after I was taken prisoner. I next made my statement to Inspector Wootton and to Mr Thomas, of the Treasury, in England. It was at my own request, through the interpreter, that I saw Inspector Wootton. Ho did not tell me that if I told all I knew I should be called as a witness. When I made the statement I expected to be called as a witness, for I knew I had not done anything. —By Mr Board :Lips was not present when Little George told me that he (Lips) had gone up the rigging after the mate. Little George told methatß ig Harry pulled the mate on deck, but Big Harry was hot there when he told me.—On Renken being asked whether he desired to cross-examine the witness, he said “ No.” He has told the truth, and so have I; but I should like to say a word about what I heard this morning from Big Harry before leaving the House of Detention.’’ On Big Harry being appealed to ho said that he had not made any statement to Renken, but he might say what he liked.—Rcnkcn ; This morning, sir, I said to him “ It is very hard that I should bo kept in prison ail this time, when I did nothing; why don’t you confess that you have committed the murder. You know you are guilty ?” Big Harry then said, “ Yes, we have done it;” and lie mentioned the names of French Peter, Joe the cook, Nicholas, and Lips. “We have committed the murder, and I will.speak the truth by-and-by, but I won’t do so now.” 1 said, I have been in prison now for five months, and it is hard I should be kept any longer imprisoned.” He then repeated that he would speak the truth by-and-by, but that lie would not speak it now. He spoke in as plain English as ho could.— Lips hero broke out into a flood of Turkish or Greek, which the interpreter said was to the eif ct that the boatswain had said to them that it was the truth’that they five had committed the crime, and if they told the truth the others would be let off. —The boatswain denied this, and said the conversation was with Charley Renken.— Renken again affirmed the truth ol his statement, an;l that it was he who had appealed to Big Harry.—French Peter now broke in with a statement in Greek, which,the Ottoman interpreter said was a declaration that when the time came they would speak more dourly, there was plenty ot untruth iu the statements that had been made.-—Sir Thomas Henry: Explain to them that there will be an opportunity, when the evidence k closed, for them to mako any statements they please.—This was done by riho interpreters. —The hearing was then further adjourned.—Portions of bodies, supposed to be parts of those of the murdered officers of the Lennie, have picked up on the sands near Rochefort, whore the six mutineers landed. The parts washed ashore consisted of three heads and a naked, headless body. The coastmen, who found the parts, buried them in. the sands, thinking to preserve them from further decomposition while the authorities were communicated with. Unfortunately, however, for the ends of justice, the sea having been rough, the uands have been so washed away that when they went to look for the heads again where they buried them they could not be found. The body, however, 'vas preserved, but could .not be recognised.