INFAMOUS OUTRAGES ON BOARD ENGLISH SHIPS.

Southland Times, Issue 1531, 30 January 1872, Page 2

INFAMOUS OUTRAGES ON BOARD ENGLISH SHIPS.

Captain Sergent, of the ship Artist, which has arrived at Calcutta from Liverpool, has just published a statement which will go far to show how the destruction of many a noble ship, accompanied with loss of life, is attributable to the mutinous conduct of some of the crew, Captain Sergent states that:— On the voyage out from Liverpool to Calcutta, and when in lat. 41 ° 6' S., long. 57 ° 15' E-, on the 29th April, the chief officer reported that the fore, upper, and lower topsail braces and lee crossjaek braces had been cut. On examination it was found that the spare bower anchor lashings had been cut, and the anchor set adrift ; and the pump handles, winch handles, and the cat block missing. All hands were called aft and questioned, but denied any knowledge of how the mischief had been done, and I offered a reward of £10 to anyone who would give me information on the subject, bat without effect. At the time of discovering the damage to the ship, we were expecting bad weather, there being every appearance of one of those severe hurricanes which traverse the Indian Ocean, and the barometer had fallen from 30 30 deg. to 28 96 deg., and two days afterwards very heavy weather was encountered. Had the mischief not been discovered in good time, it is probable we should have lost Borne of our spars and our crew overboard. On going up the mizzen rigging a few days previous to inspect some of the carpenters' work in the top, I afterwards went on the mizzen topsailyard, where I found the footsteps cut through, evidently by a knife. Although it bore my weight, that of any additional man would, I feel confident, have been sufficient to break it. About ten days afterwards, from information obtained from the crew, I bad three men — James Murphy, Dennis Sweeney, and another — put in irons, and afterwards the two former made voluntary confessions in the presence of several witnesses, their shipmates, stating that they had done the mischief. On arriving at Calcutta, I handed them over to the police, and the case was tried. The two men named were sentenced to only eight weeks' imprisonment, and a fine of £1. I may mention that the man Murphy boasted that when on board the Bhips Candahar and Zuleika he had caused considerable damage to the rigging.