On the return of peace, however, if a system of watchful energy is not maintained, these miscreants must be expected, as on former occasions on the termination of wars, to renew their iniquitous depredations in great force, as numbers of depraved characters may then be expected to be discharged from the army and navy. Golquhoun.

Many examples of desperate pirates will be found in our preceding volumes; we shall therefore only add here an abstract of the trial, before the high court of admiralty in England, February, 1767, of JOHN WINN, otherwise Power.

Samuel Wells, being sworn, deposed-That he belonged to the Albany, a merchant-vessel, and was sent on board the Polly, with six others, at Bassan, on the coast of Africa, to lend a hand to work her down to Anamaboe in April last; that John Fox was master of the Polly, and the prisoner, John Winn, a foremast-man of the same. That, as they were going to Anamaboe, they stopped at Cape Apollonia, after sailing two days, where they staid only one night. That Captain Fox going on shore, Wells, the deponent, Robert Fitzgerald, William Hughes, and John Tomlin, had the watch upon deck, between eight and nine in the evening, the prisoner being then below; but that the prisoner soon after coming up upon the quarter-deck to him, and asking, if he saw a canoe coming? to which he answered, No. He then took hold of his nose, and said, Upon pain of your life, don't speak a word. That then, going down into the cabin, he handed up some pistols to William Hughes, which Hughes carried to the main-deck, and that the prisoner, coming up again, ordered him, the deponent, to go and loose the sails, which he did. That he, the deponent, then went down

upon

upon the main-deck, and, hearing a pistol go off, soon learned that the mate was shot through the shoulder; that the prisoner and others were armed all night, and that he came forward to Peter Jourdan, and threatened to blow his brains out, if he did not do as he ordered him. That he ordered him, Jourdan, to go and fetch some grog, that is, rum and water, and that they kept drinking heartily all night; that in the morning they called all hands up, to swear to be true to Capt. Power of the Bravo, the prisoner having called himself Capt. Power, and altered the ship's name to that of the Bravo; and that the prisoner having put a pistol into Peter Jourdan's mouth, and threatened to blow out his brains, he then, seconded by John Potts, William Hughes, Robert Fitzgerald, and John Tomlin, ordered them aft.

Being asked, whether Tomlin was armed; he answered, he was not at first; and further said, that when they went aft, William Hughes had got a prayer-book belonging to the prisoner, to swear them all, and that Potts and all that were concerned together required them to take an oath, the prisoner then standing at the table with a brace of pistols in his hands.

Being desired by the court to repeat the words made use of, when they were required to swear, he said it was, to swear to be true to Captain Power of the Bravo, and to one another, and to obey his comipand. He also related a circumstance, whilst they were swearing, of the prisoner's shooting Adam Mercer through the cheek, when he was just come up upon deck; but he did not know whether the pistol went off by accident or not. It was, however, not attended with any fatal consequences. Wells being next examined in regard to the mur

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der

der of the negro-man, deposed, That this negro was a freeman belonging to Bassan, and, in two or three days after they were out at sea, going a pirating to the windward, was employed in splitting some wood forward. That Robert Fitzgerald having observed the negro making motions to the slaves, and to throw something overboard, went and told the prisoner of it; whereupon the prisoner, coming down from the quarter-deck, lashed him up to the rail by his hands, and his feet to a hand-spike, and taking a cat-o'-nine-tails, flogged him three or four minutes; but not having patience to flog him Jonger, he took a cutlass from out of the boat, and fell to cutting him all round the body, and cut him downright, and wounded him much.

Being asked how many cuts he gave him, and where himself, the deponent, was at the time, he answered, That he could not be positive to the number of the cuts, and that he was then aft under the awning, about three or four yards from the prisoner, who calling for another cutlass, saying the one he had was not good enough, ordered him, the deponent, to go and get another. That, having brought him up another, he fell to cutting him again about the head and round the body, and did not mind where he cut him. That the prisoner then ordered Fitzgerald to give him a cut or two, and he gave him two or three cuts; and that, having repeated the same orders to Potts, to cut him, he did so also; all with the second cutlass. That the black bled mightily about the head and body before those two cut him, being almost dead when Fitzgerald came, though life was in him, but he could not speak. That Potts, without any one bidding him, took a carpenter's broad axe, and cut the negro's head off, as he continued tied, and then threw the head and body overboard.

Being

Being asked, on his cross-examination, the condition of the negro when the prisoner left him to Fitzgerald, whether he was not alive, and might have lived, he answered, that he could not live after he was cut to that degree; that he was cut all round about his sides and his head; and that he had been quite mad, and cried out very much, but was almost dead before Fitzgerald cut him.

Being asked again, how many of the seven that came from the Albany were engaged in the mutiny, he said there were five of them; viz. Richard Tho mas, Thomas Hughes, John Potts, Robert Fitzgerald, and Charles Day; and that Adam Mercer was the other that came from the Albany, but was not engaged with them, as was not himself, the deponent.

Peter Jourdan, being sworn, related all the circumstances that Wells did, concerning the murder of the negro, who was a freeman, and a pledge aboard the ship for two slaves, and whose offence seemed to be nothing more than heaving a chip overboard, as he was cutting some wood in the af. ternoon on the deck. The circumstances of the behaviour of Winn and his associates, in regard to the mutiny and piracy, were also the same, except a few particulars, concerning a design of killing him, the deponent Jourdan, Adam Mercer, and the chief mate, the two last of which were shot at ; the chief mate, whose name was Jenkins, by the prisoner, whom he had called out of the cabin, and firing at, wounded him in the shoulder; and Adam Mercer by the prisoner also, three slugs having passed through his cheek and two lodged in his neck, which he, the deponent Jourdan, cut afterwards out with his lancet,

In regard to himself and Jenkins, the deponent Jourdan

Jourdan said, that their lives were partly saved by the interposition of Tomlin, who said to the prisoner, "What signifies killing one another? we'll make them work the vessel for us." So there was nothing done to them; though afterwards the prisoner had threatened to take away the deponent's life, by clapping a pistol, loaded and cocked into his mouth, and shortly after had snapped a pistol five times at one W. Aiusworth.

Some appeared to the prisoner's character; but, being found guilty of death, he received sentence immediately, to be executed on the Monday following, being the 2d of March, at Execution-Dock, and his body to be dissected; but was respited till Tuesday the 10th, when he suffered according to his sentence.

And, as justice had been done to the country by the example of Winn, the ringleader, and some circumstances appeared on that trial in the prisoner Tomlin's favour, as to his not being armed when the others were, and his preventing the others when they were proceeding to kill one or two of the men, his majesty's attorney-general did not produce any evidence against him, and he was acquitted.

PLUNDERERS, NIGHTLY, ON THE RIVER.

These were composed chiefly of the most depraved class of watermen, who associated together in gangs of four or five in number, for the purpose of committing depredations on the cargoes of lighters and other craft eniployed in conveying goods to the quays and wharfs. Their practice was, to associate themselves with one or more of the watchmen who were employed to guard these lighters while cargoes were on board, and by the connivance of

these