KEY POINTS:
A voyage to New Zealand in 1843 proved costly for a ship's captain who returned to England leaving one of his crew behind in Nelson.
Hew Burn was indicted at London's Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, on December 16, 1844, for unlawfully leaving one George Robert Rowe in New Zealand before the completion of the voyage for which he was engaged.
The case of Burn is one of the thousands now available free online - the transcripts of every case before the Old Bailey from 1674 to 1913.
"People from all over the world can visit the site for free and get a valuable insight into a diverse range of crimes, from pickpocketing and robbery to abduction and murder," said Professor Robert Shoemaker, a co-director of the project.
The website, published by the Humanities Research Institute, is a collaboration by the universities of Sheffield and Hertfordshire and the Open University.
A quick search on the word Zealand throws up some interesting cases, including that of Burn and of an elderly pickpocket named Barnard Tyman whose plea of mitigation included that he was an old soldier who had borne arms for the English Crown for 42 years, had served in New Zealand for 20 years, had a pension of nine pence a day and "I am as innocent of this as the babe unborn".
Tyman's plaintive plea failed and he was jailed for 18 months.
In the case of Burn, he was found guilty but with a strong recommendation for mercy, and fined £20.
Burn was brought before the court by Rowe's father, who had had a communication from his 19-year-old son who had sailed on the ship Himalaya to New Zealand on August 25, 1843.
Richard Rowe, an engraver, said he went with his solicitor to the ship Himalaya on November 20, 1844, and enquired of the captain regarding his son.
"He stated that he had left him behind at Port Nelson, New Zealand, because he was a drunkard, a thief and an obstinate fellow," Mr Rowe told the court.
"I asked about his wages. He said they were forfeited; he did not say why. He said his clothes were forfeited also."
Burn also refused to show the solicitor the ship's articles or log.
Various witnesses appeared and gave evidence that Rowe had been troublesome on board. The Himalaya's first mate, Alexander Lock, told the court how stores that Rowe was in charge of were missing and how Rowe had gone absent without leave for four days in New Plymouth.
He described him as being very disorderly. "I could not keep him to his duty as everybody else on board the ship was."
In Nelson, Rowe was taken before a magistrate and charged with stealing bottles of porter beer from among the cargo. He was imprisoned for a week.
Witnesses told the court that when he was returned to the beach to board the Himalaya, he refused.
"I will be damned if I go on board that bloody ship again," he was quoted as saying.
Eventually, the Himalaya sailed without Rowe and Burn ended up in the Old Bailey.
Despite witnesses giving him excellent character references - "I think him too kind" said one - the court found Burn guilty and fined him.
- NZPA
