John Stein and Charles Aldride, stood indicted for aiding and abetting one William Powers, a prisoner of the crown, in Van Diemen's Land, under transportation for seven years, knowing him to be a prisoner of the crown, in the brig Adelaide, in April, 1834, to escape from the colony.

William Bunn, Superintendent of the Prisoners' Barracks at Hobart Town, deposed, that he knew the prisoner Powers to be a convict under sentence of transportation for seven years; he was a prisoner in the first instance, and he was afterwards convicted there a second time.

Captain Roach, of the Revenue Cutter, deposed, he brought away Powers from Howe's Island; he was ordered there by Government to look for any persons that might be runaways.

The carpenter of the Adelaide, John Evans, deposed, that he was left on Howe's Island with Powers; we spent our time there in eating, and drinking, and fishing; I was told the captain would call for us again; I am not captain of the vessel; I don't know what he was left there for; I am perfectly sober.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stephen - I was one of the men who refused to do duty; the captain told me when we got to Howe's Island if I would go ashore there he would not prosecute me for my bad conduct; I was sent there to catch as many birds, and salt as many fish as I could; there was a boy who ran away from the ship who stopped on the Island with us; Powers stopped there; I don't think there was any of the men capable of doing their duty on board the Adelaide; they had not sufficient provisions; I can't say any of the men were ill in health; I was not ill myself; we took some provisions on shore with us.

Joseph Johnson sworn - I am a constable; I came up lately from Van Diemen's Land; I know a prisoner named William Powers; he was convicted in Van Diemen's Land, and sentenced to transportation for seven years; that is the man now in Court; he was convicted October, 1811; he was convicted for stealing a pig; he was a prisoner at Maria Island ten years ago, and received another sentence in Van Diemen's Land on the 10th October, 1831.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stephen - I remember from memory of my own the day the prisoner received his second sentence; I was in Court and heard the sentence passed on him.

James Cootes sworn - I am a seaman of a whaler; in April, 1834, I was a seaman on board the Adelaide; I knew the defts, Stein and Aldride; Stein was captain, and Aldride was mate, I remember the day the vessel sailed; in the course of that day I went ashore; I saw the captain there talking to William Powers, a man whom I had seen six or seven years before, after which the captain told me to bring Powers on board the Adelaide; I took him on board between eight and nine o'clock at night, at which time the vessel was under weigh, eight or nine miles up the river; when the man was on board, in a conversation I had with him, he told me he was a prisoner, upon which I went and informed the captain he was a prisoner; the captain's answer to me was, ``Well, its all right;" the vessel was by this time at anchor, about four miles from the shore; the next morning we weighed anchor again, and proceeded on the voyage; when we had got a little way, the man Powers was called aft and put into a watch, and as ordered to pull the after oar in the mate's boat; he was not entered on the ship's books as a seaman; when the vessel was under weigh, the captain said, ``We're off now, and I defy all the Custom-house officers to catch me;" we had a stiff breeze and fair; on passing through Bass's Straits we fell in with a gale, and shipped a sea, which carried away the bulwarks on the starboard side; we put into Jarvis's Bay to repair the bulwarks, and from thence to Howe's Island, where the captain went on shore with Powers and left him there; there was some provisions left there with them; I did not hear the captain say any thing about calling for them again; from Howe's Island we came to Sydney.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stephen - I left the Adelaide when she came to Sydney; the captain told me and two others to go ashore; all of us were sick with the scurvy when we were told to go ashore; I never had any quarrel with the captain; I never knew of any mutiny on board the vessel in the course of the voyage; I did not refuse to go after whales during the voyage; I was too sick; there were several men on board the ship who could not work, and I refused to do so; I never threatened to ill-use or commit violence on any man; I was kept a prisoner on board ship the latter part of the voyage; for the last month we were on a biscuit, a pint and a half of rice, and half a pound of beef a day; myself, the stewart, and the cook of the vessel made a charge against the captain for attempting to take a prisoner of the crown away; the captain made a charge against me first, or else I shouldn't have made this charge against him; I was a prisoner at Macquarie Harbour for eighteen months; I do not remember having seen Powers there; I was up the country all the time I was there, at George's River, but I was at the settlement three or four times; it was six or seven years ago since I was there; it was six or seven years ago since I saw the prisoner Powers, but I was not alluding to having seen the prisoner Powers there; I think I saw him up the country in Van Diemen's Land.

After this witness had finished his evidence, he was ordered to be removed by the Judge, and given in custody, his evidence being so prevaricating.

Several other witnesses were put in the box, and in the course of the evidence it was clearly proved, that the witness, Coombes, brought Powers on board, without any command from the captain; but nevertheless the captain was aware Powers was a prisoner of the crown, and consequently left him on Howe's Island on his return to port.

This closed the case for the prosecution.

Mr. Stephens rose and said he was of opinion the indictment was informal, and there was not sufficient evidence, that the sentence of Powers was, that he should be transported beyond the seas for the period of seven years instead of which he had never been sent from the Colony of V. D. Land.

His Honor over-ruled the objections, when

Mr. Stephen addressed the Jury on the merits of the case.

His Honor then summed up the evidence and put the case to the Jury, who returned a verdict of Not Guilty.