40 men.

crew, to enforce his commands. When he first boarded us, he drew his cutlass. The schooner was at this time close alongside of us. We went on board the schooner, and was ordered before the person who had the command of it. He was on the quarter deck. The schooner had North American colours flying all the time. She was armed with one long gun, a mid-ship, on a swivel, and three or four others aft. Her crew consisted of 35 or It was about one in the afternoon, when we got on board. I saw the prisoner come on board from the Victoria in the evening, with my boat-cloak on him. He walked about in it, and said it fitted him exactly. He then took a watch of mine out of his pocket, gave it to the captain of the schooner, and said, that there were more on board, but he brought only that one. He gave it in charge, along with some other property, to a person named Antonio, a Spaniard, one of the schooner's crew. Prisoner then ordered us to go below, and I went along with our captain and some more of the crew. A guard was placed over the hatches. I did not see any more of our crew till morning. About midnight, the captain of the schooner came to the fore hatchway, and ordered one of the "prisoners" to come up.

In the morning, I saw the prisoner on the main deck. I did not then see the captain, whom I saw the night before. The crew (of the schooner) seemed to hold a council of war amongst themselves, after which I saw one of them take a cutlass by the point, and deliver it to the prisoner. After this the prisoner gave orders, and appeared to act as captain.

William Septimus Hearne, the commander of the Victoria, corroborated the account given by the last witness, and

George Lewis, a seaman, deposed in substance to the same facts.

On

The prisoner then proceeded to read his defence, which was to this effect:-He was on his return home from Jamaica to England, when he was forcibly taken from the brig Zephyr by the captain of the pirate, because he was skilled in seamanship, and might be useful to him in writing. When on board, he was threatened with death in every shape. Swords were held over him, and pistols presented at him, whenever he showed the least disinclination to do any thing which the pirates ordered. one occasion, when a strange sail hove in sight of the schooner, he was brought on deck and tied to the mast. Several cartridges of powder were then brought and put about his feet. He was told he should be blown to pieces, if he for a moment hesitated to take an active part in the proceedings of the crew. They then laid a train to the powder, and set fire to it, by which both prisoner's legs were dreadfully scorched. He had had an example before him of the little mercy which the pirates were inclined to show those, upon whose services they thought they could not depend. One man, who was thus circumstanced, he saw killed before his face. He was dreadfully wounded, then stripped naked, exposed to the sun, the mosquitos, and sand flies, and in that state left to perish. begged of the jury to consider, that he himself had no interest in joining the pirate's crew. He never shared any of their spoil. All the time he was with them, he

He

was endeavouring to make his escape, but without success, until one night, when the captain was ill of a fever, he got away in his shirt, and without any part of the property, in which, had he remained, he would have been entitled to a share. With respect to firing the musket among the crew of the Victoria (the prisoner went on to read), I did not fire it. It was fired by one of the Spaniards, who went on board with me. I saw the Spaniards were irritated with the crew, and that they would in all probability have put some of them to death. I therefore said to them, leave him (the man at the helm, who, it was thought, was not steering properly), leave him to me, and I shall punish him. I then struck at him with the flat of the cutlass, and if I cut him, it was what I did not intend; but I knew, that if I did not appear to treat him severely, the Spaniards, who accompanied me, would have taken it in hand. It was from the same motive, that I fired the pistols. My object was, to let the Spaniards see that I was 'severe, and also to frighten the crew, that they might do what ordered without exposing themselves to greater danger from the pirates. If my intention had been cruel, I might have blown out the brains of the men with the same ease; but I had no such intention. As to my face being black, it is true it was, but it was not done with a view to disguise myself. I had been employed that day in making up cartridges, which I was forced to do in the small magazine. The heat of the place was very great, and I perspired much, and frequently put my hand to my face to wipe off the perspiration. It was from this cause

was

alone, that my face appeared black."

The prisoner here concluded, and his counsel called the witnesses for the defence.

John Webster.-I was on board the Zephyr in the year 1822, when she was boarded by a schooner privateer, about the month of May or June. Prisoner was taken from on board with captain Lumsden and captain Campyre, a passenger. Cross-examined. Captains Lumsden and Campyre came on board that night from the pirate. The Zephyr lay at anchor all that night alongside the schooner. Next day she was allowed to proceed on her voyage.

Thomas Merrick. - I was on board the Zephyr, when she sailed from Jamaica. Prisoner was on

board, till he, captain Lumsden, captain Campyre, and four others, were taken out by the pirates. He was taken about four o'clock on the Saturday afternoon, and remained in the pirate vessel till Sunday af ternoon. He came back again on that day. He was again taken out on the Sunday by the pirate. ! heard the captain of the pirate tell prisoner, that he must go with him; that he wanted him to write for him, and also guide the ship. The captain said also, that I and Cook should go, but prisoner interfered, and said, that there were seven children on board, and that I had to take care of them; I was allowed to remain.

By Judge Best.-You say, the prisoner asked that you should be left. Did he ask to be left himself?

The witness answered, he did not that I heard.

Mr. Boast, a surgeon, proved, that prisoner's legs appeared as if at one time much injured by an explosion of gunpowder.

Sophia Knight and the brother of the prisoner proved, that they expected him in England last year, and that he would marry and give up the sea. Prisoner had money in the funds.

A great number of respectable witnesses gave the prisoner a most excellent character for probity and humanity. Some of them had known him from his infancy.

John M'Kinlay. I was steward of the brig Industry, when she was captured by the pirate schooner. Prisoner was one of the party which came on board. There were five or six in the party. I did not see the prisoner give any command or order. He appeared to be acting under the others :-that was my impression. I saw the captain of the pirate, when we went alongside. Our captain (Cooke) went on board, and we all followed. The captain of the pirate used our captain in a very harsh manner. He took his cutlass out, and threatened to kill him, and it was through the intercession of the prisoner, that he did not put his threat into execution. From the whole of what I saw, the prisoner appeared to me to be under compulsion.

Captain Cooke was called to contradict the evidence of M'Kinlay. He swore, that Smith appeared to command; and he did not interfere, when the pirate captain threatened to shoot witness. Indeed, he believed he dared not, the captain was so ferocious. Witness did not sup with the pirate or

that I was an active agent against them, was, that, as I was the only person on board the pirate vessel, except the captain, who could speak English, I was almost necessarily put forward on an occasion when the parties they had captured spoke no other language. I de clare, however, that I never acted willingly against my countrymen. I bore as much as I could bear, in order to avoid the task assigned me. I was stripped, tied to the mast, cut with a sword, shot at; and my clothes were burnt by gunpowder, and I endured it all rather than act against my country; but I had not strength to endure a repetition of this savage treatment; and at last my fortitude gave way. I beg, gentlemen, you will consider the situation in which I was placed. On the one hand were my countrymen, looking to me for protection, and blaming me for aiding foreigners in acting against them; on the other, the foreigners were accusing me of being favourable to my countrymen, and threatening me in consequence. I was thus, gentlemen, obliged to assume an appearance of harshness to save myself and others from that which must have followed, had I appeared to favour those whom I really wished to protect. I beg, gentlemen, you will also consider, what inducement could I have to join the pirates against my country.-I had property in the ship, from which they took me. I had property in the country, to which I was going, and from which they detained me. joining the pirates I must have lost all; but I must have lost more than property; in being deprived of my country, I lost what was dearer to me there than life itself; I was coming home to M

In

own anger, or to save yourself?I found myself attacked on every side; I fired for my own safety.

What was then passing on the terrace ?-The persons on the terrace came close upon me, and tried to throw me down.

Why did you not try to give notice to the guard?-I cried, seven or eight times, "Aux Armes," but no one came to support me. I think they could not have heard me.

M. Bedoch, licentiate in law, stated, that wishing to scale the wall of the terrace to see the prince, he was rudely pushed back by the sentinel, who ran towards him, and threw him upon the pavement. Irritated by this violence, the crowd called the sentinel a brute and a scoundrel (butor.) Then the sentinel levelled his piece, and, some moments after, he heard the report. He knew nothing of the circumstances which preceded the murder.

M. Jaen was at the distance of six paces from the victim; heard Honein tell the sentinel he was a brute, and that it was not his countersign.

M. Leroux, compositor, said, that, at the moment when the sentinel threw M. Bedoch on the pavement, the crowd cried out against him, and insulted him. The sentinel then levelled his piece, after having loaded it, shouldered it again, and continued to march about; he came back in an instant after, levelled his piece again, and fired at Honein, who fell close to the witness. Some drops of the victim's blood fell on Leroux's boots; it was against witness, that the sentinel levelled his piece the first time.

The President.-What did Honein say before the sentinel fired?

-He called him a brute, and told him it was not his countersign.

Did he say nothing more?This was all I heard, and I was close to the young man.

The witness added, that Honein fell at a distance of eight feet from the wall, and that he made no attempt to scale the wall.

M. Delhomme, corporal of the national guard, heard none of the expressions addressed by Honein to the centinel. He admitted that such was his state of excitement, that, if his musket had been loaded, he would have discharged it at the sentinel. The witness added the following circumstances :-A physician, who happened to be on the spot, approached the body of the victim, and wished to feel his heart, to ascertain whether there were still any signs of life. Witness told him, it was of no use, that, unfortunately, the case was hopeless. The physician, however, begged him to remove the hair which was still dripping with blood, in order to expose the wound. At this moment several soldiers of the royal guard who were on the wall, leaned forward towards the body, and one of them said to the corporal of the national guard, "corporal, he is asleep; give him a fillip on the nose, and he will awake." The physician indignant at this conduct, raised his head, and exclaimed, "Blackguards!" (canaille).

The advocate of Simon wished the physician himself to be examined as to the expressions attributed to the royal guard.

The President thought this unnecessary. It was not credible, he observed, that such an expression had been used.

The Sieur Roissan corroborated the declaration of the witness