THE GLENBROOK MURDERS.

Evening Star, Issue 10212, 14 January 1897, Page 3

THE GLENBROOK MURDERS.

Commenting on the speaking of the Swanhilda by tho Ta\ipo, the Sydney ' Herald' says: "As stated, widely divergent opinions are held with regard to the latest development of' the mountain tragedy. That it intensifies pub'.ic interest is unquestionable. Like some of the police officials, a few seafaring men hold to the opinion that the action taken by Captain M'Beth in communicating with the ship waa a mistake. The opinion is not largely shared by shipmasters. On the contrary, after making many inquiries amongst them, it is found that a strong feeling is held that it was the absolute duty of any shipmaster cognisant of the allegation that a human tiger was on board a -passing ship, in the interest not only of justice, but of the lives of those who wero unsuspectingly mating with such a man, to spare no trouble to put the captain on his guard. Indeed, it would have been little short of a crime to have parsed such a ship while knovviug of tho crow'd peril. An island-trading shipmaster of many years' experience put the position thus to our reporter: 'The ship was, from her position when spoken, evidently making the voyage through the itlands to San Francisco, not, as some do, run the longitude in the high latitudes until pretty well clear, of the reef and island region, and then run the latitude down. The Swanhilda, when spoken, was making exactly the course that would suit such a murderer's plans—that is, assuming he was on board. No one will make me believe, if Butler left Newcastle in tho Swanhilda, that the man did so with the purpose of landing at San Francisco. The risk of the discovery of his crime 3 in the meantime was too great for that, and the certainty of the cables working was too probable. ffueh a man's game would be murder and plunder while on the voyage, when near (perhaps in sight of) one of the hundreds of islands that lie in the direct track the Swanhilda was on. If it be true also, as reported, lhatßtitler interested himself in inducing five other members of the Swanhilda's present crew to j< in at Newcastle, that would but strengthen this view of his purpose. It is easy to pick a quarrel with an officer at sea, or with the captain for the matter of chat, and his cunning and deceit would stand him in good stead for that business. He would be the sea-lawyer of the forecastle. lb is all nonsense to think that some of .the crew would not take side with him. You see ho had two loidtd revolvers—that much seems to be known ; but what did the carpet bag contain which he grabbed so eagerly when it f.-U into the water? Why should there nob be half a dizen revolvers in it? Then, is it stretching one's imagination beyond precedent to suggest mutiny on the hvj,h sea?, the murder of the captain, officer?, and perhaps some o r the crew, and the subsequent wrecking of the ship and landirg of the 'distressed survivors' on somcislau+? Are there no precedents? Unfortunately there are. Less than five- years ago an American-owned vessel—l forget her name —left Newcastle with a coal freight for San Frauckco precisely as the Swanhilda did, r.ud when off the Society Islands a mutiny, which it was {.fterwards shown had bven steadily hatching before the ship left port, came to a head one night. The game was to steal the vessel, and on the night of the attack two of the sailors, who were looked upon as doubtful by the mutineer?, wero first knocked on the heid or stabbed or thrown overboard, and then the attack was made af*. The captaia had his wife on board, a bravo woman, who fought with her husband for life, and with the assistance of the officers and steward, armed with their American revolvers, they drove the murderers forward, and kept guard over them until the ship was navigated into Tahiti, where they were safely ironed, and were carried on in the same vessel to San Francisco, where they were tried. Tha ringleaders were hanged, and the others received terms of imrrisonment. Also, only about three years before that the ' Herald' had an account of an island vessel hailing out of Tahiti (I think) being stolen by the crew, the master and officers, including a supercargo, killed, their bodies thrown overboard, and the vessel, with her name changed and her rig altered a bit, successfully sailed to some of the line island ports by the mutineers. Certainly the affair leaked out in the end, one of the participators becoming informer, and the men were arrested and sent to the Philippine Islands for trial, where they were probably executed. No, sir, it is but too true, I fear, that in the South Seas many a ship has been disposed of in this way. Supposing the man who has shipped in the name of L?e Weller to be Butler, that would be his game, and he has been forestalled,' only just in time, for in a oouplo more weeks they would have been down about the Sooiety Islands, on the soene of the very tragedy £ have just referred to, and from that timeout the thousand if lands of the coral seas were within their reßch."

Wby.it has been asked, it being possible for a boat from the steamer to be sent off, did not the captain ef the steamer endeavor to take Butler off the ship a prisoner? It would have been a smart pi ce of work, certainly—onn of which any shipmaster might be proud. On putting this phase of the case to a steamship master of some experience, the reply was that it would have been a foolish thing to have attempted it. That the ship and the steamer would be from a quarter to half a mile apart i<» most likely, and with a prisoner of the Butler stamp in a small boat the chances are that a capsiz? would happen, and possibly loss of life. Besides, alarm had to be considered. To alarm an ugly customer of his calibre by attempting a precipitous arrest would be a mistake. All that was necessary for the boat to do was, after the ship had backed her yards in answer to the steamer's signals " Have important letters for you," to take the despatches off and return to the steamer. Butler might be on deck at the time—was pcrhap3 amongst those who were looking over the ship's rail watching the approach of the boat—but the mere delivery on board of a letter and papers, followed by the prompt return of the boat, ne*ed not have aroused any serious apprehension in his mind. No dotibt the men would remark " Wonder what's the news 'the old man' got from the steamboat?" or something of that kind, as the ship squared away and Btood on her course. For the matter of that it might be Butler's watch below, and that he had turned in for a spell.