SEA WAGES.—THE CHARIOT OF FAME.

West Coast Times, Issue 282, 18 August 1866, Page 2

SEA WAGES.— THE CHARIOT OF FAME.

(*rom Mitchell's maritime register, mat 26.) At Thames police court, on May 25th, Captain Hugh Clarke, the master of the ship Chariot of Fame, was summoned before Mr Paget to ans\vcr two summonses taken out by Edward Hagan, the steward, and Isaac Mocn, cook, for balance of wages. Mr Young appeared for the complainants ; Mir Smith for the defendant. The payment of the wages had been "esistofl on the ground of incapacity. Both eociplataftut* shipped fou £6 per month,

and in the accounts rendered by tho dui'endant he deducted LI 6b 8d from the cook, and L 9 13s 8d from tho steward.

Mr Smith said, in the case of tho steward, who was reduced for incompctenoy, ho could not sustain the wages account, inasmuch as tho defendant had sent for tho complainant to do duty aga'iu, and thoroforo ho wotdd abandon the defence. Mr Young — An«l submit to an order for the payment ,of L4O, and one guinea costs ? Mr Smith— Yes. Now I come to the case of Moon. Ho had a heart disease of considerable standing, and ho was thoroughly incompetent to do the duty for which he shipped. Mr Young — The only heart disease he had was a palpitation of tho heart, caused by his cooking sixteen houi's per day continually. I wonder ho is alive. Mr Smith. — I shall ask a question of the complainant. Did you not neglect the duties you had to perform ? The Complainant — No, sir ; I did not. I was attending to two furnaces for sixteen hours per day continually for six weeks, and the labor imposed upon me, and the heat, brought on palpitation of tho heart. I was laid up four days. Mr Pftget — I should think you were if you had to cook sixteen hours per day. It was too much for one nian. The Complainant — It was impossible to satisfy, tho captain. He was continually drunk, I have mado him six breakfasts in one morning, and he could not eat them, and served him with nine cups of good strong tea iv succession, and he could not touch one of them, ho was bo knocked up with intoxication. Mr Young — I am sorry the defendant is not here. If he was I should have something to say.to him, Mr ilcnry Scoones, the chief officer of the of Fame, said ho had. occasionally, once or twice, to complain of Moon's cooking. The cook was examined by the doctor of tho ship by order 'of tho captain. Ho wa9 reported to me by the doctor to be suffering under severe heart disease. Th p doctor said ho was physically incompetent to discharge his duties properly. , Mr Young asked if Ike doctor was in court. Was it intended to call him ; and on being answered in the negative, objected that what the doctor said on board to the chief mate was not evidence. Mr Paget allowed the objection. The log-book was then put into tho magistrate's hands, and the first entry read by him was, " Served up tea and coffee unfit for use," but that turned out to refer to the steward. Mr Paget read several othCi* entries referring to the steward, cook, and a female attendant on tho lady passengers, which he pronounced to be very frivolous. Th» most important against the cook were — " Improperly toasting bread;" "for serving up potatoes unfit for cabiiivtable." Mr Paget thought the entries rather illogical — " for what ?" What was the meaning of the monosyllable " for ?" Mr Smith — For acting wrongly — for that thing stated. Mr Paget — " For not keeping saucepans clean^." The sentence is not finished. Mr Smith thought enough had been stated to justify the deduction. Mr Paget shook his head several times, and asked — How am Ito act on such entries ? It was ridiculous. All I can say is that people are more fortunate at sea thau on land, if perfection in cookery is expected from a cook who was worked sixteen hours per day. Let the man have his full wages (Ll6) and a guinea costs.

"Wreck of the Schooner Eagle on North Heap. — This vessel, the^property of Mr Francis Cook, of this city, was totally lost -yesterday morning on ihff North Head. * She is insured in Messrs J. B. Mctcalfe~and Co.'s office for L6OO, out we are informed that this will only cover one half of her value. She left Sydney bound to Wollongong on Friday night, at 6 o'clock, and on Saturday she put into Broken Bay through stress of weather ; resumed her voyage on Sunday, and when close to B )llambi it came on to blow a sti'ong gale from the S.W., with a fearful heavy sea, in .consequence of which the captain deemed it prudent to return to Sydney. At 6.30 p.m. on Sunday she made Sydney light, bearing West ; stood over to the North Head, the wind holding from W.S.W., with a very heavy sea ; she missed stays ; filled on her again, and tried it a second time, but. without siiocess, and as there was no room to wear her, .both anchors were let go with forty-five fathoms of chain. The sea was setting very strongly <from the southward, and thinking it would go down about midnight, the captain, with the crew, left her, and proceeded in the boat to the schooner Lurline, which was lying close at hand, for the purpose of procuring some hawsers and more men, to try and kedge her up to windward ; but on their return to the vessel they were unable to get on board, in consequence of the heavy sea. At about 5 a.m. yesterday morning, Bhe began to drag her anchors, and went on to the North Head, close to tho outer point, where she immediately went tc pieces. The crew saved all thoir 1 clothes, having put them into the boat when they left her, but the captain has lost all; being fully confident of saving the vessel 1 he did not take the same precautions as the crew. — " Sydney Morning Herald," July '31. Murder at Sea. — The British ship Commodore Perry, from Callao, arrived in Queenstown Harbor on the 18th, bringing intelligence of a murder having been commmitted on board tho British ship Mary E. Campbell, on tho Ist of September, 1865, while on her voyage from Cardiff to Callao, by an Italian named Antonio Boscolo, one of the crew, the victim being Henry Miller, the boatswain of the ship. The Mary, Campbell left Cardiff for Callao in the beginning of August last year, and when the ship was off the Western Islands the accused waß aloft ," stowing sail" for a short ime, and was observed to go on deck ■without speaking to any- ■ body, and without orders. He was there a minute or so, whan the .boatswain walked up to him and told him to go aloft again, which Boicolo refused to do, whereupon Miller struck him under the eye. The accused took his knife out of his bolt? and made an attempt to stab Miller ; but the latter ran a few paces forward, escaping injury. The mate of the ship then interfered, and took tho knife from Boscolo, and threw it overboard. It does not appear, however, that the accusod was put in irons for this offence, for ho is next said to have again gone aloft and completed his work, afrer which he went to dinner. During this meal he did not converse with any other meinbovs of the crew, and, when finished, was observed for a few minutes to remain in deep thought. He then rose from the table, wont to his chest, took out a bowie knife, and left the forecastle. A few minutes after Miller was heard to cry out " I am stabbed." One of the crew, hearing the voice, went to see what was the matter, and met Boscolo with a knife in his hand, from which blood was dropping. Miller was taken into the captain's cabin, and was found bleeding profusely from the left side, in tho region of this heart. Ho died at four o'clock on that day from the wound, and and in the presence of the prisoner. Boscolo was then put iv irons, and remained so until January 20, 1866, when the vessel got to her destination, Callao. Captain Maurice then reported the circumstances to Mr John Barton, the British Consul, who hold an inquiry on board the Mary E. Campbell, the result of which- was that he issued a warrant for the removal of tho prisoner to Qweenstown, it being the nearest British port, to answev the

cliar»o. Tho Commodore Perry being about to leave Callao a few days after the inquiry, the Coiißid put tho prisoner and live of tho crow, who ho thought coidd give tho most matorial ovidonco, on board. Ho also gave the captain a warrant, to bo given Co tho police authorities, upon which tho prisoner was to be arrested. On the arrival of tho ship the captain sent tho warrant immediately on shore, and a body of police went out to tho ship, arrested Boscolo, and brought tho fivo witnesses ashore, Boscolo has been committed for trial — " European Times," May 26. The Fastest Steamer in the World. — The Egyptian paddlowhcel steam yacht Maliroussa, Captain Fredrigo Boy, built under the superintendence of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, by Messrs Samuda Brothers,- of London, for tho Viceroy of Egypt, arrived here on Saturday, the 12th May, at 6.30 p.m., having performed tho voyage from Southampton in the unprecedented short time of 157 hours. When" under full steam she consumes seven tons of coals an hour, and is, without exception, tho fastest vtssel afloat. At the measured mile in Stokes Bay her average speed was upwards of 18 # 4 knots an hour, which is equal to about 20£ statute miles. After replenishing fuel she proceeded on the 16th May, ■for Constantinople, to meet his Highness the Viceroy, who, it is reported, intends paying a visit to England in her this summer This splendid vessel is of 1800 tons, and is fitted with machinery of 800 horse-power. Her interior fittings are of extraordinary magnificence. Her cost is said to have been-L166,000.— " Malta Times." '