A SENSATIONAL VOYAGE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81878, 31 October 1906, Page 4

A SENSATIONAL VOYAGE.

MURDER AND PIRACY tIIREATENED. The voyage of the littlj baiquentine Mary Isabel, of jo; t-.n* i>uichased some time ago by Capiain J. Reade for the coal and I lubcr trade !A'.wicn Sydney, Ncwcas If, and N '\v /ha.and poiK promise- .0 be one t.f he m ,st i x ":11 r,f'-r very many year:' i>-st. Oligi.iil.'y »hc sailed in com mand of i.i-r mvtvj. f.nm Gr.msby bound for Sydn y, but wa- r> nl.j.bd to put into A g a Bty, South Africa- - here a rema.kable ta!o of t'ic *«t as imfoliec', "xvo'virg allcgati' its "h ch amounted to practically th:cat» ■; murder and piia- y. Advices ;;«i\cd in Sydney la>

-«k sia <;d that six of j.cr sail. rs ; Grimsby m.n, were charged at Po:t izabcUi with refusing to obey tic lawful cimmaiids of the commander 1 the si p. The c\ fcn'.' int- were : I'/Jgar Cunningham, Edward Sl' ar.e ,:ihn Jam 'Carrick, Edw n Clailc-. (icorge Mi'her. an.l Sydney Haggar. Accord n>; to the statement of Captain James Reade, the mas;er of tinvessel, the s : x men signed ar icles foi a period of tinei* tyears. On arrival at Algoa Bay they refused duty, and, being prevented from going ashore, they leapt 011 board the tug ivhich was going to tow the baniuentne out to sea. By instruc'ions t.u' men were then landed and given in--0 custody. Subsequently he was informed that the defendants had threatened to take his life, and that information made him nervous as to taking them to sea again. Sensational allegations were made Oswald Wat;, the chief oi'ticer. who asserted that while on the voyage Miller told hint that they (the six defendant") intended to do away with •he captain and seize the ship. All the way out they had complained of

tiie work and the food, and had given considerable trouble. Haggar, one of the accused, sa d Jiat repeated complaints were made 1 s to the food, which was half cooked ,ind unfit to eai. Although promised I'mejuice they did not get it. There were other matters of which tliey ccmpaini'd. So dissatisfied were ihev wiiii the cond Won uf things' aboard that at Port Elizabeth tlu'y icked the captain to pay tlictn off. and he teplied that the provisions of ihe Immigration Act prevented them landing. Then they asked to see 1 magisttale, and, on the r request Ir.'ing refused, they struck work. It was untiue that anyone's life was threatened, or that there was a plot to seize the ship. Mr Arthur Turpie, the local immigration officer at Algoa Bay, said the men, not bi' : ng undesirables, would not have been prevented from landing. and that Captain Reade did not communicate with him 011 the subject. The magistrate said he was satisfied the ship was badly managed, and that the men had a perfect right

to strike. They would accordingly be discharged, and without an order compelling them to return to the ship. The Mary Isabel, with a new crew, eventually resumed her voyage from Algoa Bay on July 28, but it is evident that further trouble was experienced with (he crew, for a piivate cable message rot e v.-d in Sydney stated that the vessel put into Mauritius on August 23 to engage additional sailors. The Mary I-abel, after a sta'y of four weeks ai Mauritius, once more irsumed her voyage to Sydney on September 20, and her artival there is naturally being awaited with some amount of anxiety.