A Cabinet Meeting of the Victorian Government was held on the 9th May, and on the following morning the opinion of the Attorney-General was published as follows:—
“The Government of Victoria seized the Ferret, which entered this port (Melbourne) as the India, in the interests of the rightful owners, domiciled apparently in Great Britain. At the present time no one in Victoria is in a position to show this Government such a title to the Ferret as would clear the Government from possible liability. It appears to me that the Hon. the Commissioner of Trade and Customs should hold the Ferret till proper papers are produced in Melbourne by a legally authorised agent of the actual owners, whose title should be clearly proved by the needful papers from England. This being done, and delivery charges paid, the ship should be delivered. If it is deemed desirable to expedite delivery of the ship, this Government is entitled to require that the Board of Trade of London should give a certificate as to the owners. Such certificate, along with an indemnity to pay all costs, and an indemnity by the owners, should be deposited with the Agent-General for Victoria, London, who should telegraph any instructions the owners may wish to give as to the way they desire the ship to be dealt with, and this Government should then act accordingly. At the same time it would be well to learn whether the Imperial Government wished to take proceedings against any of the offenders, and if so, what course it intended to take. All necessary documents and evidence should be transmitted without delay. The master, also the person who represents himself as the owner, and another person are charged here with forging the register of the ship, that offence having been committed with a view to a fraudulent sale.”
Eventually the three criminals arrested, viz.:—Smith (alias Henderson, alias Benard), Wright (alias Carlyon) and Walker (alias Wallace), were indicted on three counts:—
1st. Conspiracy to defraud the owners of the Ferret, the Highland Railway Co.
2nd. Conspiracy to defraud intending purchasers of the Ferret in Melbourne; and
3rd. Conspiracy to deceive the Commissioner of Trade and Customs, by entering the vessel in a false name, and to obtain a certificate of sale under which the vessel could have been sold in that port.
They were all acquitted on the first count, but convicted on the second and third. Smith and Walker were each sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude, and Wright to three and a half years. This result is most remarkable. No mention is made of the frauds perpetrated at Glasgow, Cardiff and St. Vincent, C.V.; nor of the steps taken (if any) to secure the confederates on shore.
As for the unfortunate crew, who had received no wages, they obtained a temporary refuge in the Melbourne Sailors’ Home. The after history of the Ferret is briefly told. She was purchased in 1885 by the Adelaide Steamship Company, Currie Street, Adelaide, South Australia, and is at the present date employed by that company in the Australian coasting service.
Chapter XXIII.
Anglo-Canadian Steamship Companies.—Allan Line.—Canadian Pacific Railway Co.—Dominion Line.