Greenock Stowaways
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The Greenock stowaways, or ''Arran'' stowaways, were six boys (Hugh McEwan, 11; John Paul, 12; Peter Currie, 12; Hugh McGinnes, 12; David Brand, 16; James Bryson, 16) and one young man, Bernard Reilly, 22, who, in April 1868, stowed away at Victoria Dock in
Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
, Scotland, on a cargo ship, the ''Arran'', bound for
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. They were dressed in thin and ragged clothing totally unsuitable for the bitterly cold North Atlantic weather encountered on the voyage; two of the boys (John Paul and Hugh McGinnes) lacked any shoes. On board ship they were lashed, beaten, starved, sometimes stripped naked or near-naked, had ice-cold sea water thrown over them, were generally ill-treated and, on occasion, handcuffed. All the stowaways were regularly beaten except Peter Currie, whose father was a friend of first mate James Kerr. James Bryson was subjected to torture. When, after a little over one month at sea, their vessel became trapped in sea-ice off the west coast of
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, the captain ordered that six of them should be put overboard and told to make their way to shore across the ice. The seventh stowaway, Peter Currie, was allowed to remain on board. For the poorly nourished boys in flimsy clothing the trek across the ice was likely to result in their deaths, especially so for the two 12-year-old boys who were forced to walk over the ice in their bare feet. In fact two of the boys, McGinness and McEwan, died on the ice; the remaining four stowaways survived because they were, by chance, spotted by a woman on the shoreline (Catherine Ann Gillis-MacInnis) and rescued by local Newfoundland men. All four were snow-blinded, taking almost a week to fully recover their sight. John Paul, who had to walk on the ice in bare feet, survived the trek, but his badly lacerated feet needed almost a month to heal. When news of these events reached home, a national scandal resulted. On its return to port, the ''Arran'' was met by an angry crowd; the captain of the ship, Robert Watt, and his first mate, James Kerr, had to be escorted off the ship by police. Watt and Kerr were tried in November 1868 at the
High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...
in Edinburgh, Scotland's highest criminal court. Watt was acquitted of assault, but convicted of
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and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment; Kerr, who had pleaded guilty to assault, was sentenced to four months, effectively time served. Watt and Kerr both returned to the sea after completing their sentences, but never sailed with each other again. David Brand founded a marine engineering company in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, Australia, where he died in 1897. James Bryson became a tram conductor in the United States. Peter Currie, the stowaway who was not put overboard, returned to Scotland on board the ''Arran'', and died of
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
two years later. John Paul married at age 19 and had 12 children. He became a foreman in the Greenock shipyards; after his wife's death he moved to
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. Bernard Reilly found work on the railways in
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.


Background

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
, on Scotland's west coast, about west of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, was a mid sized fishing town in the late nineteenth century. The ''Arran'' was a mid sized, three-masted, bulk-cargo sail ship of owned by Ferguson and Hendry of Greenock.


Stowaways

It appears that nine people, eight of them children, stowed away on the ''Arran'', but two were found and returned to port. Seven others ranging in age from 11 to 22 remained undiscovered. All from very different social backgrounds, they were: Hugh McEwan, (who had taken advantage of his mother sending him into Greenock on an errand to stowaway instead), John Paul, Hugh McGinnes, Peter Currie, James Bryson, David Jolly Brand and Bernard (or Barney) Reilly who, as an adult, lodged on his own in the town. McEwan lived with his widowed mother in Glasgow High Street, although they originated from Greenock where the others all lived. They hid belowdecks in various discrete parts of the hold. Reilly appears to have been attempting to
emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
in search of work, but it is unknown what motivated the younger children to come with him. At least one considered it an opportunity for a
pleasure cruise ''Pleasure Cruise'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by Guy Bolton. The film stars Genevieve Tobin, Roland Young, Ralph Forbes, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin and Minna Gombell. The film was released o ...
, and another the chance to become a sailor. Stowaways were not an uncommon phenomenon often being motivated by adventure and the chance to escape the poverty of the time. Ships were regularly searched on departure, and any stowaways found would be sent back to port on a tugboat, as the ''Arran'' had already done with two children.


Voyage

The ''Arran'' was captained by Captain Robert Watt (occasionally Warr), aged 28, from
Saltcoats Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages al ...
,
Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
. He was assisted by his brother-in-law, first mate James Kerr, aged 31, of
Lochranza Lochranza ( gd, Loch Raonasa) is a village located on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people. Geography Lochranza is the northernmost of Arran's villages and is located in t ...
, on the
Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...
as
first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...
with a crew of twenty-two men. The ship sailed from Greenock's Victoria Harbour on 7 April 1868 bound for
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, transporting coal and
oakum Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibre used to seal gaps. Its main traditional applications were in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships; in plumbing, for s ...
. Captain Watt has been described, before the voyage at least, as being of a "weak but not naturally ill-disposed" personality, whereas his first mate was a dominant, even "ferocious", character. They have both been described as "large, bearded men who had never raised families and had neither the inclination nor the time to provide childcare". Once the ship had been released by the tugs well out into the
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, but just before the carpenter
batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...
ed down the hatches, the stowaways emerged one by one. First to come out were McEwan and Paul, who may have already been friends on land. It was too late for the ship to return to Greenock, and Captain Watt sent the boys to the cook for a meal.
William Roughead William Roughead (pronounced ''Ruff-head'') (1870–1952) was a well-known Scottish lawyer and amateur criminologist, as well as an editor and essayist on "matters criminous". He was an important early practitioner of the modern "true crime" ...
, one of the first twentieth-century
criminologists Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
to return to the case, has suggested that since the vessel was stocked with plenty of provisions, enough for the next four months, there was sufficient food for the stowaways, and the elder ones at least could work for their berth.


Ill treatment

Their first night at sea the boys slept in a sail locker. They were given menial work to do as
deckhand An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
s. It was not long before the ship sailed into rough weather, and the younger boys were repeatedly
sea sick Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include de ...
. Their sickness induced them to vomit up the valuable meat rations they had received. Kerr, hearing of this, declared that the boys would henceforth get "the ground of their stomachs before they get any more", and ordered an immediate cessation to the meat ration. Their rations were gradually reduced to sea biscuits, sometimes one each, and sometimes one between them. The ship's cook, however, occasionally supplied them with "surreptitious scraps", and they also scavenged potato and turnip peelings. The stowaways had boarded the ship wearing only thin clothing. By the time it had entered the
North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
, the weather had become bitterly cold. The stowaways had been put to work scrubbing the decks, which formed with ice; they had no shoes between them and only thin coats against the weather. A member of the crew later wrote home that the weather was so bitter that "the men could hardly stand it", let alone the stowaways. The cold weather exacerbated existing problems: since some of the boys had no shoes or other means of protecting their feet, they were unable to perform deck duty and stayed below decks. In turn, Kerr then "went with a rope's end in hand and ordered them out, and as soon as they came out gave them a walloping, and pretty often severely". Roughead notes the captain never interfered with his first mate's disciplinary measures. Kerr appears to have had a particular issue with James Bryson who suffered Kerr's "full fury", being repeatedly thrashed by both the captain and the first mate. He may have been singled out by them because not only the crew but also his fellow stowaways complained about his lack of cleanliness. As a result, he was stripped of his clothing, made to lie on the deck and repeatedly doused with buckets of icy water; Bryson may have acknowledged that he was responsible for the "mess of filth in the hold", as Donald calls it, for he says that Bryson himself blamed it on having a bowel complaint. The filthier the children became sleeping below decks, the more they were beaten for being filthy. When they stole food to eat, they were then beaten for their thievery. As the ship neared
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, a barrel of grain was found to have burst open, and the stowaways were accused of breaking it. They, in turn, blamed members of the crew; Donald notes that a quantity of meal was subsequently discovered in the forecastle, "for which no one could, or would, account". In any case, the stowaways were punished, put in
leg irons Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foot ...
and handcuffed together for the rest of the day with no food. The ill-treatment of the stowaways continued as the ship sailed around the southern Newfoundland coast. On 10 May the ''Arran'', which had been fighting its way through
ice packs An ice pack or gel pack is a portable bag filled with water, refrigerant gel, or liquid, meant to provide cooling. They can be divided into the reusable type, which works as a thermal mass and requires freezing, or the instant type, which cools ...
for some time, finally became stuck in an
ice field An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...
near St. George's Bay, at
Cape Anguille Cape Anguille ( ) is a headland and the westernmost point in Newfoundland, reaching into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is the southern edge of St. George's Bay. Its name is derived from the French word ''anguille'', which means eel. Close to t ...
in southwestern Newfoundland. Other ships had been similarly caught. The weather was poor and visibility worse because of fog and sleet. Watt and Kerr left the ship to examine the ice field. The boys took advantage of their absence to forage for food in the hold. When Watt and Kerr returned to the ship and discovered what the children had been doing, they were beaten again.


Arrival and marooning in Newfoundland

Eventually, Watt and Kerr put the remaining five stowaways off the ship at Bay St. George, near
Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...
, on 15 May, between 8:00 am or 9:00 am. An anonymous crew member, who later wrote home from Quebec, reported "succinctly in a dozen words" that, "The stowaways got a biscuit apiece, and were ordered to go ashore". These biscuits were thrown overboard for the boys to gather up from the ice after they had been ejected. Roughead says land "was not visible to the naked eye" from the ship, but Watt "alleged he could see it by means of his spyglass". The captain told them personally that there were plenty of occupied dwellings "not so far away", or there was another ship also stranded in the ice within reasonable distance to which they could make their way. In the meantime, Watt said there was insufficient food left on the ''Arran'' to provide for them any longer. No one actually knew with certainty how far the ship was from land; various reckonings were made which suggested a distance of between ; "the mate, taking a rosier view of the boys' prospects, put it at five" (8 km). According to the boys' testimony at the later trial, McGinnes asked Watt how he was meant to cope on the ice flow with bare feet. He replied that "it would be as well for him to die upon the ice as he would get no more food there". At least one crew member believed that it was unlikely "that those without shoes would ever reach the land". Of the six boys, Reilly and Bryson were keen to leave at Bay St George. Reilly was eager to seek work, and Bryson felt "nothing worse could happen than he had suffered on the ship". John Paul, Hugh McEwan and Hugh McGinnes followed, but Paul Currie did not. Apparently, he had been asked to remain on the ship and had consented. McEwan, by now, had been
coughing up blood Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus from the bronchi, larynx, trachea, or lungs. In other words, it is the airway bleeding. This can occur with lung cancer, infections such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, or pneumonia, a ...
for some time and asked the captain to change his mind. Watt replied that he "might as well die on the ice as on the ship".


Journey to land

The stowaways later related the harsh conditions they travelled in. Bryson said the first day they walked twelve hours, with the ice getting thinner the closer they got to the shore. The ice was breaking up with the warmer spring tides, and they were all subject to regular slips, falls and drenchings on route. This, in turn, caused their thin clothes to freeze "as hard as boards" onto them. It was in the course of falling through the ice that they lost McEwan, who was the youngest and the weakest physically; he fell in most often. He had been spitting blood for some time. Bryson related: McEwan died about midday. McGinnes was also left behind. Wearing only ragged frozen clothes, a few hours after McEwan's death, by now about from shore, he sat down and said he could go no longer: David Brand
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that it was impossible for them to help McGinnes—the ice was too treacherous and prevented them from trying to carry him. The captain may have expressed concern for the boys after they left the ship. Donald reports that he posted a regular
watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
to look out for them and even took the duty himself; he suggested to Kerr that they send out a party to bring them back, but the first mate replied they would doubtless be back by dinnertime. The stowaways had given up trying to find the ''Myrtle'' and had been making for shore. About a mile from land the ice ended. Using chunks of ice as makeshift canoes, and paddling with pieces of wood, they made their way slowly towards the shore, where they could now see the light of dwellings. They shouted for help, but it is unlikely they were heard. They were eventually spotted—at some distance, and in the dusk with the light behind them—by Catherine Anne Gillis MacInnis, with the aid of some old
opera glasses Opera glasses, also known as theater binoculars or Galilean binoculars, are compact, low-power optical magnification devices, usually used at performance events, whose name is derived from traditional use of binoculars at opera performances. Mag ...
. A resident of
Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...
and one whose house could be seen from the ''Arran'', she summoned help. A boat, crewed by her husband and other local men, was dispatched to pick them up and ferry them in. The boat had to be carried over the ice before it could be launched. Making their way out into the ice flow, the men picked up the "strange voyager", as ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' later referred to the boys' craft. This was merely a large lump of ice. Brand was picked up first, then Reilly, and lastly Bryson and Paul who were at the other side of the ice flow. Further, the paper reported that the Newfoundlanders, "being informed that McGinnes had been left on the ice, proceeded back some distance, in hopes that they might find him. But no trace could be had of him". The boys were taken to Catherine MacInnis' fisher-farmhouse to recuperate.


Return and legal proceedings

The same night the children were picked up in St George's Bay, the ice shifted and the ''Arran'' was released; she arrived in Quebec in early June 1868. At this point officers and crew learned that the story of the stowaways was by then generally known. They heard from the crew of the ''Myrtle'' that at least two of their stowaways had died on the ice. Also, on 10 June, a crew member wrote to his family in Greenock from Quebec and described the boys' journey and the behaviour of the officers. Greenock then was a "small closely knit port town", and when the letter arrived it caused "great consternation". Facts were unclear, and rumours as to the boys' fate abounded, including that they had all died.


Return of the ''Arran''

The populace of Greenock was angry and remained so until the return of the ''Arran'' on Thursday, 30 July 1868 when news spread of its arrival in the
Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
. A hostile reception awaited the ship, and after she moored, some local men managed to board her. The officers may have escaped a
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
by locking themselves in the
captain's cabin A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse. Sailing ships In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wou ...
and defending themselves with their pistols. The
harbourmaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operat ...
, one Captain Millar, reported the riot to police, who arrived under the command of a Lieutenant Burrell. They were unable to disperse the crowd until nearly midnight. The next day, Watt and Kerr were transported to the courthouse in a taxi. It was followed by a still-angry crowd, who were "hooting, yelling and pelting the vehicle with stones". They were charged before the
Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
with "cruelly and maliciously compelling one or more of her Majesty's lieges to leave a ship";
bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...
was refused. At this point it was not yet known in Scotland that two further children had died since being put ashore. These charges were probably holding charges intended to justify the officers' detention while preliminary enquiries were made. In the meantime, the procurator fiscal contacted the Newfoundland police. They informed him that, to their knowledge, five children had reached the shore, four of whom were still with Catherine MacInnis. Of the others, Reilly had moved on to
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, and joined the railways, while the two youngest had died. As a result of this new information, the two officers were also charged with murder. This count was subsequently dropped. As well as the charge of evicting a ship's passengers, they were also accused of assault and "barbarous usage".


Return of the surviving stowaways

The four children who had survived were unable to do anything in St George's Bay for at least a week, as they had all suffered from
snow blindness Photokeratitis or ultraviolet keratitis is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected eyes to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from either natural (e.g. intense sunlight) or artificial (e.g. the electric arc during welding) ...
from the glare of the ice, and those such as John Paul who had been shoeless had severely lacerated soles which took some weeks to heal. John Paul, at least, also lost fingers and toes through frostbite; he had been so badly injured that his rescuers had had to carry him up to the house. At one point they worked at fishing and farming in Sandy Point, on the other side of the Bay but later split up to travel around Newfoundland for work. One of them, who is unknown, wrote a letter home to Greenock reporting on their rescue by the Innes of
Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...
. The boys were required as witnesses in Scotland, however, and so were regrouped by the Newfoundland police and taken to St. John's where they were transported in a
brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...
owned by Greenock's provost and member of parliament called the ''Hannah and Bennie''. He also provided for their clothing and provisioning from his company's own stores, recorded ''The Scotsman''. They arrived on the Clyde on 1 October 1868, exactly six months since they had left. When asked what had motivated him to stow away in the first place, John Paul stated that: ''The Scotsman'' described their arrival in Greenock on Thursday, 1 October 1868, saying they were met by a "great crowd" of locals. The following day town officials began legally questioning them as to their experiences with Watt and Kerr, which, the paper suggested, dovetailed with the accounts of the ''Arran'''s crew. There had been a confusion over the names of the survivors in the telegrams to and from Newfoundland, however, and it was originally reported that Hugh McGinnes had survived and was returning to Greenock. As such, his widowed mother went to the docks to meet the returning children, only to discover that it was not the case; a local paper reported how she They reported on the "very painful scene" that occurred when she found out that he had died on the ice. It had been John Paul who had been reported as lost; he had, however, survived.


Trial of Watt and Kerr

Captain Watt and first mate Kerr were tried at the
High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...
. They appeared before
Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...
George Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
in Edinburgh on 23 November. The trial was to last three days; they had already spent four months in custody. The charge of forcing the boys to leave the ship to their own endangerment was objected to by the defence on the grounds of being innominate in law, but after much debate and deliberation the Judge allowed it to stand and the trial proceeded. Members of the ''Arran''s crew testified for both the defence and the prosecution. For the former, the steward and
boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...
appeared, while for the latter, six seamen and the cook took the stand.


Prosecution

The stowaways were the main witnesses summoned by the prosecution. First to testify was James Bryson, who told the court how, after they left Glasgow, they remained hidden "for a day and a night", only emerging when they saw the hatches about to be nailed. From that point on, he said he was often sick, for which he was repeatedly "scrubbed and flogged" with the lead line. Other punishments included dousings with ice-cold salt water and the public removal of his clothes after which he would be forced to stand on the
forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...
for hours at a time or scrub the decks naked. He said as a result, "I suffered very much from exposure". Bryson testified that throughout this the Captain was a silent observer, and on occasion flogged Bryson himself. On other occasions, the boys were made to scrub each other at the direction of the first mate. John Paul, who "was so small he had to be mounted on a stool in the witness box so he could be seen", reported how he had been unable to make himself a pair of trousers because the canvas he was trying to use was taken away. He also related how the first mate beat him with a
belaying pin Properly securing a line to a belaying pin starts by leading the line under and behind the base of the pin to begin the figure-8 pattern left, Lines coiled and secured by belaying pins A belaying pin is a solid metal or wooden device used on tr ...
. The crewmembers who testified for the prosecution, "sought to minimize the cruelty with which the stowaways were treated throughout the voyage". For example, the exchange between one George Henry under
cross-examination In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examination-in-chief) and m ...
by the jury demonstrates this. Having been asked, "If the master or mate had been going to murder the boys, would you have interfered?" He answered, "There was a chance of their reaching the shore, and some of them did reach it". The ship's cook, meanwhile, attested to the fact that, contrary to the captain's assertion in Canada, the ship had plenty of provisions to get them all to Quebec. Captain Watt averred that, in fact, he had merely told the children that they could have fun playing on the ice. When he pointed out the houses on the shore, it was merely to suggest they could have "a fine run" there. Either way, Watt admitted he did enquire after their well-being following their departure; first mate Kerr bluntly denied ever harming Bryson, by either scrubbings or beatings. One crewmember, James Hardy, testified as to the condition of Bryson's skin after one of his beatings describing it as looking like red and white
tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...
. Although Kerr pleaded not guilty to
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular j ...
from the start, he subsequently changed his plea to being guilty of assault alone. This plea was accepted by the prosecution.


Defence

The main witness for the defence was twelve-year-old Peter Currie, who had returned on the ''Arran'' with Watt and Kerr. He testified that when the other boys had left the ship, he had heard Kerr tell other members of the crew that "he would wager any man on board £20 that they would be back to their dinner", but Currie also described how the captain both ordered the boys to leave and assisted them in doing so, with them "'greeting' eepingall the time". He also stated that he believed they had a half biscuit each at about 8:00 am, which was the first thing they had eaten since noon the previous day. Other members of the crew praised the captain for being a "kind, quiet man, who seldom interfered with the discipline of a ship", which, they said, was in the purview of the first mate. One crew member said that he thought grown men could probably have successfully made the journey to land, "but not for boys so clad". The
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
of the local Seaman's Friend Society stated on oath that he believed Watts to be of such a kind disposition, "especially to boys", that they would often stowaway on his ship for that very reason. The parish minister of nearby
Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...
also testified to the captain's good character. "The case", noted the Solicitor General, "was one of considerable importance", hinging as it did on the extent and breadth of a sea captain's authority on his own ship, which "might be used for good or evil". He put it to the jury that the boys were clearly compelled to leave the ship against their will; that the journey was bound to be extremely dangerous whoever made it; and that the consequences of the journey were far from being unforeseeable. Overall, he said, the ship's captain was directly responsible for all these things. The defence, however, submitted it was incredible to suggest that 22 professional sailors would stand by watching such alleged abuses take place with no one saying anything, let alone doing nothing. The defence also noted that the charges of assault were the least heinous. If anything, a number of the stowaways may have deserved a form of corporal punishment since, by their own admission, they had stolen food both before and after their discovery on the vessel. As to the most serious charge, that of putting the boys ashore and inciting their certain deaths, defence counsel suggested that the true course of events was somewhat different to that presented by the prosecution. The captain, he said, had originally put them on the surrounding ice a couple of days previously "for the purpose of giving them a fright", but had subsequently taken them back aboard. Reilly and Bryson, said the defence, decided to go out again taking the smaller children with them; for this, it was suggested, the captain could not be blamed. He believed that they would all return when they realised the dangers. At least one contemporary source reports that this line of argument was refuted by the judge himself. The defence maintained that the deaths, while tragic, could not be laid on the culpability of the captain—especially since no bodies had been found. Indeed counsel proposed, "it would surprise no-one if both McEwan and McGinnes were to turn up alive and well". The jury retired at 3:30 pm on 27 November 1868. Their
deliberation Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and reason as opposed to power-struggle, creativity, or dialogue. Group decisions are generally made after deliberation ...
s lasted 35 minutes. They found Captain Watt not guilty on the charges of assault, but guilty of culpable homicide and putting ashore the Queen's subjects from a British vessel. On account of his previous good character, the jury made a recommendation of mercy. The first mate was already guilty of assault by his own plea. Both men received prison sentences. Captain Watt received 18 months, and his first mate four. For Kerr this amounted to
time served In criminal law, time served is an informal term that describes the duration of pretrial detention (remand), the time period between when a defendant is arrested and when they are convicted. Time served does not include time served on bail but ...
. "The astounding lightness of the sentence" was met by the packed public gallery "with loud hisses". In London, ''The Spectator'' took advantage of the soft treatment of the two officers to indulge in some casual racism at the Scots' expense, describing it as indicative of a "callousness
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
might, in this instance, be set down to that latent 'hardness,' diamond-heartedness, as Queen Mary called it, which is the one defect Scotchmen admit in themselves". The paper did, however, lambast the ability of ships' captains to get away with the mistreatment of their crews in a manner that would never be tolerated on dry land. The newspaper compared it to a mistress who struck her maid: "It is difficult for the police to protect her from popular vengeance; but a merchant officer may do anything, yet scarcely stir the sympathies of the jury".


Aftermath

Following the trial, Bryson emigrated to America with his father and became a
streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
conductor. Reilly had already ended up in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, and does not seem to have ever returned to Scotland. Peter Currie only survived the trial by two years, dying of
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
. John Paul married and had twelve children. When his wife died, he moved to the south coast of England, to Itchen, near Southampton. There he became a
rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
er and eventually a
foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...
, and remarried. He died in 1913 and was buried in an unmarked grave in
St Mary Extra Peartree Green is an open space on high ground on the east bank of the River Itchen in Southampton. A 16/17th century building, Peartree House, still stands, though is today concealed by private housing. The house and the green take their name ...
churchyard. David Brand emigrated, to
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
, Australia, and built a successful engineering firm; he died in 1897. Watt and Kerr returned to the sea after finishing their sentences, although they never sailed with each other again. It appears that Watt died in
Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
, a few years later, but Kerr continued to have a long career on the sea, eventually rising to the rank of captain himself. The ''Arran'' ended its life in 1886 as a shipwreck on
Sand Island A sand island is an island that is largely made of sand. The largest sand island in the world is Fraser Island, Australia. Other examples of large sand islands are Moreton Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (183 ...
, off the coast of Alabama, en route from Greenock to
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
.


Media coverage

Contemporaries considered the case a ''
cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
'' and a national scandal. In Scotland, apart from ''The Scotsman'', the stowaways' stories were also covered by '' The Dundee Courier & Argus'' and especially ''
The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
''. There was extensive coverage in English newspapers too, including: the ''
London Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'', the ''Cheshire Observer'', ''
Liverpool Mercury The ''Liverpool Mercury'' was an English newspaper that originated in Liverpool, England. As well as focusing on local news, the paper also reported on both national and international news allowing it to circulate in Lancashire, Wales, Isle of Man ...
'', ''
Royal Cornwall Gazette The media in Cornwall has a long and distinct history. The county has a wide range of different types and quality of media. History Timeline Background Cornwall's geography, a long, narrowing peninsula, pointing into the Atlantic, made travel ...
'', '' Manchester Weekly Times'', '' The Leicester Chronicle and Mercury'', and ''The Huddersfield Chronicle and West Yorkshire Advertiser''. The case remained of international interest into the next year: In Australia ''The Brisbane Courier'' reproduced the ''Scotsman''s coverage of the case. In the US even local papers such as the ''Rockland County Messenger'' wrote extensively about it. Over the following years the legal profession did treat it as a case study in
sentencing disparity Sentencing disparity is defined as "a form of unequal treatment in criminal punishment that is often of unexplained cause and is at least incongruous, unfair and disadvantaging in consequence". In the United States men are most adversely affected ...
. ''The Spectator'' led a campaign against "'cruel or unusual' punishment, like that of keeping a lad naked on deck in Arctic cold" which the paper believed was prevalent throughout the merchant service.


Modern significance

John Donald, who wrote early enough to have been able to interview some of the stowaways' elderly contemporaries, has compared Captain Watt's "general disposition (amply testified as being amiable) and his actual behaviour on the voyage". Even if he was to some extent influenced against his will by his brother-in-law, says Donald, this "certainly does not exonerate him from guilt". William Roughead questioned the role of the mate in the eviction of the stowaways. On the one hand, he says, it was most likely his diabolic treatment of them that inspired the captain to do so; yet, on the other, he seems to have effaced himself from the proceedings. According to John Paul's testimony, when Paul asked that he be kept on board, the mate answered that "he would have nothing to do with putting
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
ashore on the ice". Perhaps, comments Roughead, "in view of the possible consequences...he wished, ostensibly, to have no hand in it so that he might hold himself free from innocent blood". He also considered the crew's behaviour in a similar fashion: there were 22 men who looked on and did nothing. They later claimed to both consider that the ice was far too dangerous for such young children, but also maintain they had no right to interfere with the captain's running of his ship. The
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
's Maritime History Archive notes that Watt had "made no mention of the stowaways in his log, and if it hadn't been for the ensuing court case and the accompanying press coverage, the identities of these boys and their stories would likely not have come to light". Descendants of the stowaways eventually ended up around the world "and at least one" was found in Australia. An annual commemoration of the stowaways' rescue was organised by the Bay St. George Historical Society and the Bay St. George South Local Service District to be held on the third Sunday of May. A commemorative site with Interpretative kiosks, and a plaque commemorating the event was placed on Catherine MacInnes' grave.


In literature

The story of the ''Arran'' stowaways has been told regularly ever since and fictionalised several times. In 1928 John Donald depicted it in his ''The Stowaways and other Sketches.'' One hundred and fifty years later, this was rewritten as a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
by Magic Torch Comics in association with a local primary school, Ardgowan, in Greenock, retitled ''The Boys on the Ice''. In 2002, John Paul's great-grandson, Tony Paul, told the tale in his ''The Brats'', and in 2015, Patrick J. Collins fictionalised the story in his ''Forsaken Children''.


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1868 crimes in the United Kingdom 1868 in Scotland Greenock Newfoundland (island) Scottish children Scottish criminal law Stowaways