March, the vessel sailed from here, being chartered by one Daniel Simmons, an oyster merchant of this place, living at Keyport, and one Edward Barnes, living at Keyport, to go to Virginia for a cargo of oysters; that it went out for a cargo as I have described, and that the captain had a large quantity of money in his possession to purchase oysters. The vessel went that week to Keyport, lay there some time, and in the last part of the week ran to Coney Island, and lay in Gravesend bay, waiting for a favorable tide and wind till Tuesday afternoon. During the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday that the vessel lay there, the captain, crew, and others went on shore at different times, and one of the Watts boys had gone to Brooklyn on Monday or Tuesday, and returned on Tuesday, and on his return the vessel immediately proceeded to sea. The vessel had waited with its sails up, if I remember correctly, for the arrival of young Watts. He was taken off the beach in a yawl boat which was on board the vessel, and then she proceeded on her Virginia voyage. It was watched by persons who belonged to Coney Island, and also by two vessels lying at anchor at the same time, some distance from Coney Island. This was the close of the day—Tuesday about six or seven o’clock, if I remember rightly. From that time until the next morning only one thing is known of that vessel, and that by a connection of peculiar circumstances. What was done upon that vessel during the night no mortal man save the prisoner knows. Oliver Watts and Smith Watts have never since that been seen in life. What became of them we can only judge by those circumstances which are thrown around by the appearance of the vessel and by the conduct of the prisoner, and other circumstances connected with him. Whether their bodies be in the sands of the lower bay, or floated out to sea, and are tossed by the waves there, we do not know. The prisoner fails to give an account of them, and we can only suppose that they were murdered by him and thrown into the sea. Next morning, Wednesday, the 21st, the prisoner appeared upon Staten Island, with the yawl boat of this sloop. Except, as I say, by implication, nothing is known in the meantime. The circumstances to which I refer are these: The schooner J. R. Mather, Captain Nickerson, was going from this city to Philadelphia, clearing from here March 20, and running down the bay. Some time during the night, between twelve and two o’clock, the vessel, then being down off Coney Island, had a collision with a vessel coming in. It appeared that the vessel going out saw this sloop coming in, and on going within three or four hundred feet, the course of that other vessel was changed, and she run down directly to this schooner, as if to run across its bow. That seemed to fail, and the course of that vessel was again changed; but instead of running across the bow of the schooner Mather, it seemed to fail, and struck the bow itself, cutting it down