©niFir OF Prof. C. A., Kofold ys^ LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS BY ADMIRAL THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir JOHN C. DALRYMPLE HAY, Bt. K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S. EDINBURGH: DAVID DOUGLAS MDCCCXCVIII • CO* ''c" o »> .<*.,•• or • . « : -• z t' . TO Mn gear Mih god's good gift, who for fifty years in joy and sorrow has been my support AND COMFORT i dedicate this imperfect record John C. Dalrymple Hay Admi'ra/ JUBILATE m233S^G CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE Cradle to Cricket i CHAPTER II From Fresh Water to Salt ii CHAPTER III "Thalia" and "Trinculo" 25 CHAPTER IV English Channel, South America, and Pacific. 51 CHAPTER V Wars — Sulphur and Syrian 72 CHAPTER VI India and China no CHAPTER VII Flag-Lieutenant — Commander — China . . .124 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER VIII PAGE China — England i6o CHAPTER IX Sebastopol — North America and West Indies — England 191 CHAPTER X Palmerston's Last Parliament — Lord Derby's Administration 234 CHAPTER XI Retirement from the Navy 275 CHAPTER XII Sixty Years of Change 315 APPENDICES A. Genealogy B. Letter about providing for Officers' Mess . C. Population of Pitcairn Island, December 8, 1837 D. " Fortifications (Provision for Expenses) Bill " . E. " Kertch and Yenikale Prize Money " F. " Navy (Promotion and Retirement) " G. " Navy Prize Money Bill " . . . . H. " The Ashanti War " I. Prdcis of the Pope's Bull to Sir Thomas Hay- M'Neil-Caird By A 331 338 341 343 352 372 382 396 J. Letter showing Necessity for Corporal Punishment in War 399 INDEX 401 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Admiral Sir John C. Dalrymple Hay (From a Photograph by Messrs. Elliot and Fry) . . Frontispiece Craigenveoch Vignette in Title-page Cape Coast Castle, 1834 {Sir J. Alexafider) . To face page 25 Boat Attack on Tortosa .... „ 90 H.M.S. Wolverine (16 guns) . . . „ 121 H.M.S. Cozt/3f5/iV^ (16 guns) . . . „ 139 Masting of the Scout .... ,,158 Map to illustrate the Suppression of Piracy in the China Sea, 1849 • »? 160 Moonlight Attack on Chuiapoo's Fleet {E. S. Cree) „ I73 Destruction of Chuiapoo's Fleet, Bias Bay {E. S. Cree) ,,175 Attack on Shap'ngtzai's Fleet, Tonquin River {E. S. Cree) ,,183 H.M.S. Hannibal (91 guns) off Anapa {Oliver Jones) . . . . „ 191 SHIPS IN WHICH I HAVE SERVED Thalia . 42 Vol. 1st Class 1 1834 THnculo. 16 )> to Minden . 74 j> J 1836 Imogene . 26 Midshipman to 1839 Impregnable . no » ProMit^^fs . 2 »» Bellerophon Gorgon Benbow 80 6 72 Mate To 1842 Princess Charlotte . 1 10 )) Phoenix 6 » Spiteful . 6 » 1842 Clio . . . . 16 » to Cornwallis 72 » 1844 Vixen Dido Agincourt Vestal . 6 . 18 72 26 and Lieut/ 1844 to 1846 Wolverine 16 Commander 1 1 1846 ' to 1850 Columbine 16 )) . Victory . 104 Capt. lin 1 1853 Hannibal • 91 >) \ ^^ Indus . . 78 )) 1 1859 CHAPTER I CRADLE TO CRICKET I WAS born on the nth February 1821 in No. 113 Princes Street, Edinburgh, a house now absorbed in the Scottish Conservative Club. Sir James Dalrymple Hay, my father, an excellent and kind one, was born on 8th July 1788, and he married on ist September 18 19 my mother Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Lieutenant -General Sir John Shaw Heron Maxwell of Springkell ; his wife was Stuart Mary Heron of Heron, through whose mother, Lady Elizabeth Heron, my great-grand- mother, I am related to the Cochranes, which, per- haps, accounts for my going to sea. Most of the influences about me suggested the life of a soldier. My great-granduncle had been killed in battle, my great-grandfather desperately wounded, both my grandfathers had been in the army and had seen war. My father always lamented that his father and mother had declined all offers to place him in the navy o^ B « •'fc o «< o '' o t> * «> '2' * ' "' ' Z/AT^^ i^i?(9J/ MY LOG-BOOKS 1 82 1 army. Their neighbour, the Earl of Galloway, who as Lord Garlies had commanded the Lively frigate, had offered to put my father's name at an early stage on that ship's books. Colonel the Hon. William Stewart, who had acted as Lord Nelson's military attache at the battle of Copenhagen, stayed fre- quently at my grandfather's house, and insisted on giving my father a pair of colours in his own regiment. All these offers were declined. Said Colonel Stewart : " My lady, if you won't let him come and fight for the country he'll break his neck off a coach-box." My father was at Christchurch, a contemporary of Sir Robert Peel and Sir James Graham. He became an accomplished Whip, and did not fulfil Colonel Stewart's prediction. He was also a good yacht sailor. The Arrow, succeeded by the Swift, and she again by the Sappho, gave me many a cruise on the coasts of Scotland, England and Ireland, not forgetting the Isle of Man, at which — as it was then not blessed by a custom-house — we provi- sioned the yacht for her summer service. My mother having died in February 182 1, my father married a second time in 1823 Anne, eldest daughter of George Hathorn, a merchant in London, whose house. No. 40 Brunswick Square, was a hotel for all his friends and relations in Wigtonshire. He was a brother of John Hathorn of Castle wigg, who had served in the American War with my grandfather. My step- 1 82 5 CRADLE TO CRICKET 3 mother's brother, George Hathorn, was in the navy, best known there as Jerry, and was much with us when on leave. His cousin, Jack Hathorn, also the maddest of good fellows, passed much of his time at my home. They brought messmates and friends, who made up a considerable naval acquaintance. Captain Houston Stewart, who had been a mid- shipman with Lord Cochrane, was also a neighbour and friend, renting Penninghame, and his sons were my constant companions ; Sir John Ross, the Arctic navigator ; Captain Fayrer, another of Lord Cochrane's midshipmen, and bearing the marks of a wound; Captain M'Kerlie, also a wounded officer; and Willie Maitland, a scion of the house of Bal- greggan, made the navy familiar to me. But I had soldier friends and neighbours as well : General Sir Alexander Wallace of Loch Ryan was an old Waterloo officer, and so was General Hunter Blair of Dunskey, who praised their service, as did my great friend Captain Hamilton of Craighlaw, who had charged with the loth Hussars on that famous day, and constantly rode over the twelve miles which separated us, to teach me to ride my pony Bluebutton, and to fire a pistol at twelve paces at a weeping-ash tree, which long bore the marks of our duelling propensities. In 1825 and 1826 we visited London, and I was taken to see Chunee the elephant at Exeter Change, with whom I made 4 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1826-7 great friends ; he went mad soon after, and was shot by a company of the Guards, for which I was very sorry. My father drove home with his own horses all the way from London in a phaeton, in the hood of which I sat ; the nurse and groom in the dicky. His companion was Colonel Ozeta, a well- known Spanish refugee. The sun was scorching. On our return home, the corn had to be pulled, as the straw was so short that a sickle could not be used to cut it. In 1827 a naval friend had been with us, Lieutenant Johnnie D' Urban ; he had left us to join the Albion, had been at the battle of Navarin, and returned to be healed of his wound. In 1828, when I was seven years old, arrived the Rev. Charles Stewart, my first tutor. He was a gentle- man and a scholar, but his treatment was severe. I bore it for about a year, but accidentally, when lunching with an old friend of my mother's, and she had taken me into her room to wash my hands, she discovered my arms were black and blue and yellow. Her husband, the family doctor, was called in, and found that I was so ornamented from top to toe. Mr. Stewart left, and his successor, Rev. Alexander Forrester, though strict, considerably reduced the amount of chastisement. My father's relative and neighbour, Sir William Maxwell of Monreith, being obliged to go abroad for his wife's health, it was arranged that his second son, Eustace Maxwell, 1 828 CRADLE TO CRICKET 5 should be educated with me at home as a com- panion. He afterwards also went to sea. The Rev. Alexander Forrester, D.D., was then a licentiate of the Church of Scotland. He trained me for Rugby and took me there, educated two of my brothers at his manse at Garlieston, and joining the Free Church at the Disruption he eventually became the Superintendent of Education in the pro- vince of Nova Scotia. I met him frequently when serving on the station. He had taught me to know and like Greek, and I have still the pocket Greek Testament with the Scotch Psalms and Paraphrases bound in the same volume, which I had to take to church as a boy to follow the reading of that part of Scripture. In the Sappho we went to the Mersey for the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The day after Mr. Huskisson was killed, our host took us to Newton and back, which was our first experience of railway travelling. A man of the party having counted the quarter-mile posts, watch in hand, said, " I declare, we are going fifteen miles an hour ! " The first experience of cholera also came about that time, and I am reminded of it, as the mate of the Sappho was a victim. From August till April the yacht was in dock at Port William, and her crew, all but Will Hill, the skipper, found other employment. Poor M'Cubbin, 6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1832 the mate, shipped in a coasting vessel, the Eliza of Port William. I remember her arrival at Piltanton Burn foot on a Sunday in July 1832. Dr. M'Cracken, the village surgeon, had never before seen cholera. He was sent for, and when he came one sufferer had been landed and taken in a cart to Stranraer, where his home was. He and his wife, who nursed him, both died. There were two other cases on board. The doctor attended them. One was M'Cubbin; he died and was buried, and his tomb still stands on the seashore. The vessel, which contained lime, was bought by my father and set on fire, and I well remember watching her burn, and the grand conflagration which ensued when the unslaked lime was reached by the tide as it poured into the burning vessel. By this public-spirited act, the spread of cholera in Wigtonshire was stayed. There were in all six cases, of whom four died and two recovered. By the time I was twelve I had been put through a course of gymnastics, for which all the neces- sary paraphernalia were erected by Sergeant- Major Lawson, who also taught me the single-stick exercise. I had ridden my pony to harriers, owned greyhounds, shot rabbits, landed my first salmon, caught many trout, and learned to dance a reel. I was sent to Rugby in charge of my tutor, and arrived there at Easter, 1833. To get there from Wigtonshire 1 833 CRADLE TO CRICKET 7 was not the easy journey to which we are now accustomed. A coach took us to Dumfries, another to Annan- Waterfoot ; a cattle steamer took us to Whitehaven and Liverpool ; thence the railway to Manchester; the mail-coach to the Hen and Chickens Birmingham, to Coventry, and to Dunchurch. We arrived there on a Saturday at the Dun Cow. We found my stepmother's father, George Hathorn, and his sailor son, Jerry, awaiting us. On Sunday we four proceeded to Rugby School chapel, where I first heard Dr. Arnold and saw my new school- fellows. We returned to the Dun Cow, and on Monday my tutor and I were ushered into the awful presence of the headmaster. He put me through my facings, especially in Greek, detected a mispronunciation of Scottish origin, and when my tutor intervened to take the blame, saying he had taught me, gave him a bit of his mind very sharply, saying, ** Then you taught him wrong ; he will have to do here what I bid him." I was placed in the Upper Fourth under the best friend I had in the school, dear old *' Bacchus " Paulet. My house master was Algernon Grenfell, my tutor J. Prince Lee, afterwards Bishop of Manchester. There were only fourteen boys at Grenfell's. I was at first in a room with Tallents, who died early, and with Edward Lucas of Shane Castle, afterwards in the Rifle Brigade, but was soon moved to another room. 8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1833 which I shared with William C. Oswell, who became the famous African traveller and sportsman. The school bill began then with Moore, Benn, Marshall, Home, Stanley, and Vaughan, the late Deans of Westminster and Llandaff, followed. A brother of the Dean, Edwin Vaughan, afterwards a master at Harrow, was at Lee's, and my friend and ally. Our praepostor at GrenfelFs was CoUis, after- wards headmaster at Stratford -on -Avon. Ewart, Lowry Balfour, afterwards Gentleman -at -large at the Castle in Dublin, Sir William Cunlifife Brooks, and William Black were all at Grenfell's. I had a fight with a school-fellow, still living, and had the worst of it in the first three rounds, then a blow under the ear brought him down, and he could not come up to time. The death of Ashley Cooper in a fight with Lord Hillsborough at Eton was then fresh in all our memories. My opponent was laid on his bed and Dr. Bucknill sent for, and I hid myself and my black eye in bed in a mortal funk that I was to be my opponent's murderer. However, he came to, all right again, and I found at breakfast next morning that Miss Grenfell, who presided, rather considered my black eye an honourable distinction. At midsummer I found myself one of the first four in the Upper Fourth, and was moved into the Shell. Soon after joining the Upper Fourth, in the geography lesson, a question was asked. 1 833 CRADLE TO CRICKET 9 '* What city is now spoken of as the Modern Athens ? " I was near the bottom, but no one answered till it came to me, when I said ''Edinburgh." I had risen to take my place near the top, but Paulet stopped me and said it would not be fair for a Scotchman to take places over all the others here, who had not his opportunity to know the answer. I took the decision in good part. I soon, how- ever, had another opportunity. Tom Brown's Schooldays, written, as all know, by the late Judge Hughes, is a truthful account of our time at Rugby. I had only three interviews with the Doctor — generally beginning with fear and trembling, but in each case without any need. Mr. and Mrs. Hope Johnstone arrived with their eldest son Willie, and as our families were known to each other, I was sent for to show him the way about and introduce him, so that I had luncheon instead of the usual result of such an interview. A few days after, Hope Johnstone was called over for a fort- night as Viscount Johnstone, but was again reduced to the Squirearchy. The mistake had occurred in this wise. Mr. Hope Johnstone had served in the navy, and was well known to King William IV. He was a claimant of the Annandale peerage. Lord Brougham, the Chancellor, who had presided over the Committee of Privileges, was satisfied that Mr. Hope Johnstone had established his claim to lo LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1833 the earldom. He so reported to the King, who congratulated his former brother officer, and saluted his sister, who was maid of honour, as Lady Mary. When the Committee next met, the Lord Chancellor was outvoted, and all the arrangements made, due to his incaution and unauthorised report, fell to pieces, including the only Viscount at that time at Rugby. In our French history, I had shown some aptitude so far as the meagre text-book permitted, and which was all we had to study. Paulet, after lessons, said, " Have you ever read Quentin Durward?" ** No, sir," said \. ''What, a Scotchman, and not read all Sir Walter Scott's novels! Come to my house and I'll lend it you " ; so I devoured it with much avidity. I learned a little cricket and a little football, and took home two prizes — one for Greek Iambics, which I fear I could not now translate. It was a great bene- fit to me in the navy to have been at a public school, and to have been saved the disadvantage of going to a crammer. In passing for the navy, if one had not been at the Naval College, there was practically no examination. I had none for the reason to be related in the next chapter ; and a con- temporary told me that he had only to write out the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, and going into the examination room, pulled his father's coat-tail to ask how many A there were in "hallowed." CHAPTER II FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT The Scotch boys were allowed three days extra to come and three to go on the holidays. My route always varied ; I described how I went. The next time returning home the Sappho met me at Liverpool. Returning to school I came by the Manchester mail over Shap, sleeping at Carlisle. I left my purse under my pillow at the Bush, which the landlady, good Mrs. Holmes, sent after me to Man- chester by the guard of the next mail. At Christmas 1833 I came by Carlisle to my uncle's house at Springkell, where I saw Lord and Lady Napier take leave of their sons to sail for China. From thence he never returned, dying there as the Chief Superintendent of Trade in China. One of their daughters has been my good and true wife for more than fifty years. On what proved to be my last term I came to 12 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1833 Liverpool by mail, by steamer to Belfast, by coach to Donaghadee, where my father met me, and we crossed by steamer to Portpatrick and drove the eleven miles home. The discipline at Rugby was good, but I never could understand why Dr. Arnold ordered what was called *' shirking." This applied to boys who, being out of bounds, met or saw a master or praepostor, viz. one of the sixth. In that case the boy had to hide, unless the dignitary called him back ; and if he did so a hundred lines or some other punishment was awarded. As an instance. Black and I had gone over to Combe Abbey, and as we returned we met at a turn of the road the Doctor and Grenfell. We vaulted over the nearest gate, but, having been seen, were called back. On coming, however, and having told where we had been, we were commended for our interest in fine scenery and excused. Carrying a towel (presumably to bathe) excused one from being out of bounds. Dr. Arnold was him- self a fine swimmer, and I have never regretted having learned to swim in the Avon at Swift's. The Avon a little higher up, was the property of Boughton Leigh of Brownsover. Some of the boys had been fishing without leave in his preserves. He complained, and Arnold had the wholeof the boys mustered in the Big School, and exacted a promise from each individual that he would not fish in this i833 FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT 13 water. Tom Brown describes the whole scene. My share in it was that when I was called, and ascended to the desk where the Doctor and Grenfell were standing, I was asked, ** Will you promise not to fish in Mr. Boughton Leigh's preserve.'^" I readily answered ** Certainly, sir," and added, " I am no poacher." Arnold asked Grenfell, **What did he say ? " and I saw that my reason for obeying did not quite commend itself to him. I don't think that he greatly approved of the game laws. My holidays were half over when a letter came to my father from our county member and relative, Sir Andrew Agnew, saying that his brother-in- law. Captain Robert Wauchope, had been ordered to commission the Thalia of forty-two guns, which was to bear the flag of Rear -Admiral Patrick Campbell, and offering to obtain a nomination for me as volunteer of the first class on board that ship. There was some delay in replying to this offer, and meantime all the nominations were given away. Then at last I was told, and was urgent to go. Admiral Patrick Campbell was an old acquaintance of my father, and we went to town, this time by coach to Edinburgh, and thence by the James Watt steamer from Leith to London. Lord Auckland was very civil, and it was arranged that I should be appointed to the Trinculo, then on the 14 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 Cape station, in which there was about to be a vacancy for a volunteer of the first class. I was then ordered to join the Thalia for a passage to the Trinculo. My uniform and other necessaries having been obtained from a Gosport tailor, I duly joined the Thalia on the 8th August 1834. My father went home for the 12th August. Admiral Sir Thomas Williams was Commander- in-chief at Portsmouth, and then lived in Govern- ment House, opposite the George. The dockyard admiral was Admiral Sir Frederick Maitland, who knew my people. His house was then that which is now the Commander-in-chief's. He was a famous officer, and had commanded the Bellerophon when Napoleon surrendered to him after Waterloo. He died afterwards at Madras as Commander-in-chief in the East Indies. He said to me, ** You are a great fool for going to sea; go home again. There are over 4000 lieutenants and 1200 mates and midship- men, and it is impossible that you can even hope to be a lieutenant before you are thirty years of age." So desperate did the prospect then seem of any promotion in the navy. The plan of appointing a commander as second in command of line-of-battle ships and flagships had been commenced a few years before, but many old officers disapproved of two captains in one ship. The Thalia had no commander. The first lieuten- 1 834 FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT 15 ant was a smart officer, who had devoted his life to that particular form of duty. His name was Henry Joseph Puget, and Lhave every reason to be grateful to his memory for the care he took of me as a youngster. The name of his brother, William David Puget, and of Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Baldwin) Walker, Jellicoe, T. L. Massey, Jack Shepherd, and others who were known as smart first lieutenants will occur to naval officers of my age. One of them was Michael Quin, among the quaintest and most original of men. He had seen in the papers that Sir Robert Spencer, then private secretary to the First Lord and M.P., was to commission the Mada- gascar, He arrived at Spencer House at 3.30 a.m. and insisted on remaining until Sir Robert came back from the House of Commons. When Sir Robert arrived and found a stranger in the hall, he was told by the porter that the gentleman insisted on waiting to see him. Sir Robert told Mr. Quin to be off about his business and to come back at a proper time. He came back at 8 a.m. and waited till eleven. Then Sir Robert sent for him and asked him what he meant by disturbing the house at such an unreasonable hour. Quin replied he had not thought the hour unreasonable, for (as first lieutenant) he was always at work by 3.30 a.m., and hoped Sir Robert would take him in the Madagascar on 1 6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 trial. Sir Robert, much amused, at once had him appointed. Sir Robert Spencer's influence soon obtained his promotion as commander of an i8-gun brig in the Mediterranean. He was a fine seaman, but said queer things. The squadron was at Vourla, and the admiral's wife, who was on board, had made a little memo- randum of her wants from Malta, to which Captain Quin was being sent with and for letters. He had dined with the admiral, and rose early from table to start. After arriving on the quarter- deck, and while his boat was getting ready, he looked over the memoranda and saw among the items the word Salts with no specification. So he opened the cabin door and speaking across the table, said, '' I beg pardon, my lady, but is it Glauber or Epsom ?" To which the reply was, '*Oh, dear no, Captain Quin. Smelling Salts." He afterwards commanded the Raleigh, and saved her when thrown on her beam ends in a typhoon in the China Seas by splendid seamanship, and finally as a captain commanded the MindeUy a line-of-battle ship used as a hospital ship in the China War. These old lieutenants seldom rose to command, at least until age had a good deal dimmed their brilliancy. Henry Puget, however, was then in his prime, and when my father took me on board the Thalia at Spithead, stood on the quarter-deck i834 FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT 17 carrying on the duty. The ship had just come round from Chatham, where she had fitted out, and the men were getting ready to hoist out the barge and pinnace. The men on the lower yards were about to lay out with the yard tackles, when the officer of the watch brought my father and me up to the first lieutenant. Meantime the man on the foreyard had laid out without waiting for orders, and the first order I heard given in the navy was, " D — n your blood, how dare you lay out without orders ? " The boats were hoisted out, and Puget said in the blandest manner, ** You must excuse me, Sir James, but it is a new ship's company ; and so this is the youngster we are to look after. We are now going to salute the Port Admiral's flag. Can you stand fire ? " It so happened that the main-deck guns were not ready, and the salute was fired from the sixteen carronades on the quarter-deck and the forecastle guns. I confess I was a little dismayed, for I had never heard a big gun before, but I stood fire — and then Russell, the second master, was sent for, and took me down to the starboard berth and gave me my first glass of grog, and introduced me to some of my shipmates. There were three mates and an assistant- surgeon, and the schoolmaster, Moncur, to look after the midshipmen and volunteers of the first c 1 8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 class in the larboard berth. The three mates were Rowlatt, Jamieson, and Colin Yorke Campbell. The midshipmen were Frederick Campbell, Ballard, Hawkey, and Pitcairn ; the volunteers, Hill, John Agnew, Kane, MTherson, and I, with others — eighteen in all. The starboard berth had eight mates, Austen, P. Campbell, Locker, Woolridge, W. A. Fellowes, Fox, Davies, W. W. Douglas ; Russell, second master; D. Deas, assistant-surgeon ; Clow and Chapman, clerks — thirteen in all : and I may say that in the tropics the heat in these berths was stifling, for she was only 4 feet 10 inches from the lower deck to beams, with scuttles which could not be open at sea. I was forthwith installed in the larboard berth, which was to be my future mess-place. A place was found for my chest, and a marine as my servant, and I then received leave to go ashore again with my father, with whom I stayed a couple of days at the George. Those days were spent with some of my new messmates cruising about in a hired cutter at Spithead and in the harbour, and in seeing the block machinery just invented by Brunei. The manning of the navy at that time was very different to that with which we are now familiar. Boys educated for the navy and engaged to serve continuously for fifteen years become most excellent highly-disciplined seamen. In 1834, though the press-gang was not put in force, it was still what we i834 FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT 19 relied on for war. But a frigate like the Thalia was lucky if she scraped a crew together in four months' time. All the lieutenants but the first were sent away — one to Bristol, one to Towerhill, another to Liverpool, or other ports, to endeavour to collect men for service in that particular ship, and for a period not exceeding five years, after which time they could claim discharge or extra pay. The officers so employed had to lodge at a tavern, where the Union Jack was hoisted, and posters announced the advantages of the particular ship, her captain, and the station to which she was bound, and the officers had to practise all the blandishments of the recruiting sergeant. Men so collected were of very mixed character, and many knew nothing of the Royal Navy. The Thalia was fairly manned, and on the loth September we sailed from Spithead for Madeira. We had a fresh breeze down channel, and for a day or two I was left alone, being desper- ately sea-sick. Rear- Admiral Patrick Campbell, whose flag flew on board the Thalia, was an officer of more than ordinary distinction. James,^ a historian by no means ready to give undeserved praise, says, speaking of Lord Cochrane's capture of the Gamo : ** Lord Cochrane*s achievement has hitherto found in these pages but three compeers. The cutting out of the Hermione 1 Naval History^ vol. iii. pp. 145, 146. 20 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 by the boats of the Surprise under Sir Edward Hamilton ; Captain Patrick Campbell of the Dart, who sailed into Dunkirk harbour and captured and brought out the French frigate La Desirde ; and Lieutenant Jeremiah Coghlan of the Viper in his capture of Le Cerhire''; to which James adds at a later date the cutting out of the Chev7'ette by Lieutenant Keith Maxwell. These, he says, are the actions which alone can compare with the Speedy and Gamo. I may perhaps be pardoned for calling attention to the fact that all these distinguished officers, except Coghlan, who was an Irishman, who had the good luck to succeed in the above- mentioned enterprises, were Scotchmen. I heard Admiral Campbell say that none of the four deeds mentioned could compare to Lieutenant (afterwards Lord) Lyon's wonderful capture of Fort M arrack.^ It may be forgotten now that before the days of steam navigation, Scotchmen frequently returned home from London by Leith smacks. My father had embarked in one at Gravesend and found Captain Patrick Campbell his sole companion. They were detained in the North Sea by northerly gales, and were a fortnight on the passage. They became friends, and thus he, being now an admiral, took the trouble to ship me on board the Thalia. * James, vol. vi. p. 28. 1 834 FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT 21 We anchored at Funchal after being towed in by our own boats. Two East Indiamen lay near us, the Buckinghamshire and the Windsor Castle, A boat from the Buckinghamshire brought an invitation to me from Mr. and Mrs. Marshall to whom I had been commended at the Cape, and whither they were then bound. Puget took me on board in his gig in the evening, and I presented him to Mrs. Marshall. One of the things better left unsaid occurred to me on this occasion ; for I observed to Mrs. Marshall, ** Did not we make a fine row coming in?" I had not then learned that silence is the best attribute of a well-disciplined ship's company, and the first lieutenant intervened sharply, saying, " These chain cables always make a fine row in deep water." I saw that I was in the wrong box and held my tongue. Mr. Webster Gordon, a merchant and a Galloway man, was kind enough to invite me to his house, and give me dinner, bed, and breakfast. Grapes were in abundance then, for the phylloxera had not been discovered. As we clattered up the steep lanes with the horse boys holding on to the tails of the horses, rich branches overhung the roadway. I always remember my first introduction to vines in full bearing with delight, and have never seen grapes more beautifully festooned from wall or pergola. In Mr. Gordon's garden was the tank in 22 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 which poor Captain Canning, R.N., son of the Prime Minister, had plunged when heated, and never again came out alive. From Mr. Gordon I bought an octave of fine old Madeira, which I sent home to my father. When I came home again I asked if it was appreciated. Hamilton of Craighlaw, who had come to see me, said, *' Yes, it was first-rate, I am glad you are so good a judge of liquor. We finished the last bottle in drinking your health when we heard you had landed all safe from the west coast of Africa." We sailed from Funchal on the 24th September, and anchored at Santa Cruz on the 29th. Hardly any mountain in the world presents a more imposing spectacle than the Peak of Teneriffe ; while Santa Cruz Bay, the scene of Blake's capture of the Spanish galleons, and of Nelson's repulse and wound, made our visit extremely interesting. Not less so, the British flags which are hung up in the Cathedral, and which were taken on the last disastrous occasion. I cannot say I grudge the Spaniards the flags there, or at Havana, or at Buenos Ayres, the record of General Whitelocke's unfortunate expedition, all of which I have seen. We have enough and to spare ; nor do I grudge the French that picture at Versailles of the victory of the Bayonnaise, when she captured the British higSitQ AmduscadCy one of the few instances in which 1834 FROM FRESH WATER TO SALT 23 an inferior French ship succeeded in obtaining such a trophy. I saw nothing of the interior of the island, and we bore away for the Gambia on the 2nd of October. On the loth October we reached the Gambia. We found the Isis there bearing the flag of Rear- Admiral Warren, whom we had come to relieve, and also the brigantine Buzzard, commanded by an old Lieutenant, Jeremiah M'Namara, whose health had broken down on the West Coast. I here received my first lesson that one should always accept any appointment in the way of duty without picking and choosing. Lieutenant M'Namara was invalided, and went home in the Isis. The com- mand was offered to the first lieutenants of both ships, the brothers Puget, and respectfully de- clined, and then to all the lieutenants in succession. At last, no one accepting. Lieutenant Clement Mil ward, 3rd of the Thalia, was ordered to go. Within two months he had fought a gallant action with a Slaver, and was made a commander, over the heads of all those who had refused the appoint- ment to the Buzzard, The painting by Huggins of this action is now at Windsor, an historical record of Milward's gallantry and good conduct, and a print from it is on the staircase of the United Service Institution. We reached Sierra Leone on the 20th October 24 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 I tasted my first banana and thought it abominable, but I soon learned on the West Coast to appreciate that most wholesome and sustaining fruit. At that time it was absolutely unknown in England, although Kew Gardens not long afterwards suc- ceeded in growing it, and later on the banana ripened at Bicton. Now the banana is at the corner of every street, and is imported in great profusion. CHAPTER III * THALIA ' AND * TRINCULO ' Sierra Leone, the White Man's Grave, bore an unenviable notoriety for unheal thiness. It is now much improved ; the sanitary conditions then were of the worst description. On the 24th October we sailed for Cape Coast Castle, and thence to Accra and Princes Island, where we anchored in West Bay. There the ship watered, the fire-engine was landed to pump from the stream which descends in cascades from the picturesque woods which clothe the fantastic rocky hills of that beautiful island. No distilling apparatus then existed. Heavy rains came on, the stream came down in flood, and all the casks were washed out empty into the bay, and the fire-engine covered with gravel and stones. The flood ran out as rapidly as it rose, and the casks were collected from the sea, and filled with deliciously wholesome water. No scenery of that description ever impressed me so much as 26 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1834 Prince's Island, except the harbour of Rio Janeiro, which is of the same character, but on a grander scale. Thence we sailed for St. Helena. On the voyage Neptune came on board when we crossed the Line, and we had the old saturnalia. I took my shaving and ducking in good part, and was let off pretty easy by Neptune and his mates. We reached St. Helena in nineteen days. The island still contained the body of the great Napoleon. I made the usual pilgrimage to the tomb, and I also brought away some cuttings from the willow, which I bought on the spot from the old French sergeant in charge, and one of them still exists as a large tree near the Bridge of Park in Wigtonshire. Thence we ran down the Trades to Ascension. We arrived there on Christmas day, and the admiral dined with the officers under the awning abaft the mizen-mast. The warrant officers also dined, and we drank the admiral's health, Captain Wauchope's health, and that of Captain Alexander, afterwards Sir James, who (a good soldier) was on his way to travel in South Africa, and was our passenger. The governor of Ascension was Captain Bate, Royal Marines. His son, Billy Bate, was a volunteer of the first class, and a messmate of mine in the Thalia and TrinculOy having joined the Thalia from the Isis, so as to have occasional opportunities of seeing his 1 834 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 27 father. We were fast friends, until, after years of good service as a surveyor, he was killed as a cap- tain at Canton when it was taken by Sir Michael Seymour. Under his auspices I saw Ascension well both at this time and afterwards. He always secured me an invitation from his father, and we used to sleep under two blankets at the Green Mountain, and oh, intense pleasure ! hunt Dampier s goats with the governor's dogs, a sport allowed to him alone. Great turtle ponds also existed, and it used to be good fun to turn the turtle, which landed on the one sandy beach in the island, and place them in captivity in the ponds. They con- stituted the principal fresh food for the garrison, and ships arriving received one or two, according to the number of their crews. But I must say that the ship's cook seldom made much of the alderman's blessing. The state of the provisions here was abominable, and it was no wonder the ships' crews on the West Coast were not always healthy. The salt beef had been salted in 1-809, twenty-three years before, and could only be eaten, after it was boiled, by grating it with a nutmeg grater. The pork was a little better, but the biscuit was a caution. The storehouses were dry, clean, and airy, but the biscuit, baked by a contractor at the Cape of Good Hope, had been long in store and positively swarmed with weevils 28 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 and maggots. None was to be obtained to replace it, and in order to make it eatable — I will not say- palatable — the bread bags filled with this biscuit were dragged out into the great square ; on each bag was placed a fresh caught fish, the maggots came out of the bread into the fish, and the fish was then thrown into the sea. A fresh fish then replaced the one thrown away, until at last nothing more came out of the biscuit, when it was pronounced fit for food and served out to the squadron. A very large shark was caught, and when the jaws were cleaned, Billy Bate and I stood back to back, and its jaws were put over both of us. It was only 15 feet long, but the girth was unusually great. On the 29th December we left Ascension for the Cape of Good Hope. On the voyage we spoke the Lord Althorp and learned from her of the burning of the two Houses of Parliament, and later the Sherborne, which told us of the change of ministry, and that the Duke of Wellington had taken all the departments of State pending the return of Sir Robert Peel from Italy. On the 18th January 1835, we arrived at the Cape and anchored in Simon's Bay. The admiral and Mrs. Campbell and their two sons landed and occupied the house of the Commander-in-chief. Here we learned that the Amakota Kaffirs had 1835 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 29 invaded the colony, and that Sir Benjamin d' Urban, the governor, had gone to the front and taken command of the troops and burgher levies. Our friend and fellow -passenger, Captain Alexander, here left us and, as travelling was impossible, joined Sir Benjamin d'Urban's staff. The Trinculo, to which I had been appointed, sailed with the governor for Algoa Bay, where her marines were landed. She soon returned to Table Bay, and her captain, James Booth, was invalided. Lieutenant Henry Puget was appointed acting com- mander, and I joined her with him on the 17th February 1835. The Trinculo was a i6-gun brig of about 350 tons. She had originally mounted eighteen guns, but had been reduced to fourteen 32-pounder carronades, and two long 9-pound guns. There was also an 18-pound carronade for the pinnace. Her pistols and muskets had flint-locks. The muskets were the old Brown Bess pattern. The pistols were heavy, and the instruction was to fire them if you could, in boarding, knock one man down with the butt, and shy it at another. She had been nearly three years in commission. Captain Booth, who was a ''taut" hand, had left her in good disci- pline. When two men fought on the lower deck, he had their two left wrists tied together, and a reef- point fastened to each right hand. They were then desired to thrash each other with the promise that 30 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 the first to yield should have four dozen, a threat, I believe, never fulfilled. The second lieutenant, who left with the captain, was a North of Ireland man, M'Neil of Ballymiskandling. At that time orders had been issued that the officers in the night watches were to take every opportunity of establishing the ship's position by lunar and stellar observation. I fancy the usual process was to observe the star, work up the dead reckoning, and give that, with a slight variation, as the result of the observation. It must be said there was some excuse for this, for the only lights were a purser's dip in a horn lantern or the binnacle light, by neither of which was it easy to read off the angle recorded on a sextant or quadrant of those days. McNeil made an advance on this, and recorded in the log the longitude by lunar observation. Unluckily for him the moon was not then in distance with the star also noted in the log. He was sent for by Captain Booth, who addressed him and said, ** How dare you make this entry, sir.-* The moon is not even in distance." " Oh, I know that, sir," said the unabashed Irishman in a rich brogue. *' I took the distance betwixt two stars." "Well, sir, do you call that a lunar observation?" **No, sir, there's my mistake, we call it a starling." He too left us, and my friend " Bob" Tryon joined from the Thalia as second lieutenant. He lived to i835 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 31 become an admiral and to hear of the lamented death of his nephew, Sir George Tryon, on the coast of Syria in the Victoria. The first lieutenant, Roberts, was as old a hand as the captain, but saw a great deal through a pair of spectacles, in which, I believe, he slept ; old four eyes was his name on the lower deck. Our doctor's name was Wallace, lately promoted from the Isis, In the midshipman's berth was a mate who passed in 1 82 1, John Hollinworth; an assistant-surgeon, Boyd; two midshipmen, Charles Clavell, son of Nelson's first lieutenant in the Victory at Trafalgar, and B entail, who was afterwards drowned in the wreck of the Osprey ; Edward Cavell, the second master, a most accomplished mathematician and navigator, the result of that excellent place of education, Greenwich School ; Fiddes, master's assistant ; and Oswald Borland, the captain's clerk. We had generally nothing but ship's provisions, and the cockroaches were innumerable. Nevertheless, we were a very healthy ship's company, and looking back upon that cruise, I attribute the good health to the great attention paid to keeping the lower deck and the men dry. The deck below was dry holy-stoned, that is, rubbed with holy-stones and dry sand, carefully swept, and only once a week were the hatches brought on deck to be washed with water and dried in the sun ; the men themselves warmly 32 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 dressed in flannel, their clothes dried whenever wet, and they were not allowed to lie about the deck in tropical dew. Our voyage round the Cape was uneventful. On the 8th March 1835 ^he twenty marines who had been left by Captain Booth for the defence of Port Elizabeth were embarked, and Sergeant Blackford, in charge of the party, was installed in the office of teaching the midshipmen and volunteers the cutlass and gun exercise. He was an intelligent old soldier, and took great pains to instruct his pupils. He had many quaint expressions. If we were late he always said, "" Young gen'l'men, you should take time by the firelock" ; and when we had loose play, '' Now, young gen'l'men, heach of you face your Napoleon " (^. opponent). He lost his life in the attack on Djebail, on the coast of Syria, in 1840, as after- wards related, in trying to rescue the colours. When the south-east wind prevailed, a very heavy surf rolled into Algoa Bay. The work of loading or discharging was carried on in large-decked surf- boats, and even then the bay was a network of hawsers, laid out in different directions, by which they were hauled from ship to shore and from ship to ship. On i6th March we were ordered again to land for the protection of Fort Elizabeth ; Puget took command of all the few forces that there were on the spot, and we landed twenty marines 1835 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 33 and forty bluejackets. Lieutenant Brabazon, R.E., marked out a camp for us to the north of the town on the high land to the west of the Uitenhage road. Tents were provided, and one was allotted to Fiddes and me. There were horses also for the captain, for Tryon, and myself, as the captain's A.D.C. An earthwork was thrown up to the north of the camp overlooking the Uitenhage road. Three old 9-pound guns were mounted on old ship carriages and placed on a platform. The touch-holes were as large as a pipe-stem, and there were neither sights, trucks, nor tompions. Mr. Brabazon said, '' I fear. Captain Puget, they will be of little use." Some of the Trinculds 9-pound ammunition was landed, and the captain had the guns loaded. An old capstan stood in a field across the Uitenhage road. The Boer on whose field it stood seemed very doubtful of the use of the guns, and said to Puget, " Do you think now you can hit that capstan of mine ? " ** Cer- tainly," said Puget, " if you'll give me leave." Old guns had notches on the muzzle on the top of the gun, and notches on the trunnion and muzzle at the side. With handspikes from the ship we laid the gun, Puget fired it, and the capstan was knocked into a thousand splinters. This successful little display set him up in the opinion of the small force, and his A.D.C. shared in the general favour. Fiddes and I had laid our hammocks down on the dry, short D 34 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 grass inside our tent instead of hanging them up. Ahhough A.D.C., I had to take my turn of visiting the sentries and outposts at night. Sergeant Black- ford accompanied me. When we came back to the tent on one occasion, there was Fiddes sleeping the sleep of the just, and when the sergeant turned over my blanket there was a cobra in the middle of my bed. He carried a little fuzee with a steel ramrod. The snake reared its head, but the sergeant killed it with his ramrod, and then hanging it up by a rope yarn at the tent door, said, " Now then, young gen'l'man, you can turn in, for no more of 'em '11 come this way when they seez 'im." We had one good day of African sport. Captain Daniel, an old retired naval officer, had a large estate a few miles out of Port Elizabeth. He had been a great friend of Lord Edward Somerset, who had preceded Sir Benjamin D' Urban as governor. Lord Edward had a draft of seven couples of hounds from the Badminton pack, and when he went home had given them to Captain Daniel. My messmate Borland lent me his single-barrelled gun, and, mounted on my gallant grey, I rode out with Puget and Tryon one afternoon to Daniel's. Next morning early, several neighbours had come, making up, I think, eight guns ; we were stationed along a covert, and the hounds were put in. By and by we heard them giving tongue, and soon 1 83 5 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 35 deer began to break. I had the good fortune to shoot two where I stood, and to miss none ; and as the guns were wide apart, one passed between me and my neighbour out of shot of both. I was much excited, jumped on my horse, and after a gallop of a couple of miles the deer came to a stand- still, and I jumped off and shot him, resting my gun on the saddle. Soon after Puget and Tryon, who fancied I would come to grief, rode up — Tryon saying, " Why, you young rascal, do you want to break our necks as well as your own .-* we'll have to send you home to get a lesson from some master of hounds ; you'll never do for a sailor if you desert your station without leave." However, I bagged my three deer. To show the dangers of the surf, Bentall, coming ashore in the jolly-boat instead of getting into a surf- boat to land, rowed in on top of a wave. Fortunately a good many of us were on the beach, for the boat made a complete somersault, and lay bottom up, while Bentall and his men were sprawl- ing on the sand and shingle. The lookers on rushed in, and dragged up each individual, before the next wave came, as well as the boat, oars, and other con- tents. If there had not been a number of spectators, all would have been sucked back by the returning wave. We embarked again on the 23rd after a very pleasant little campaign, though we never saw any 36 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 Kaffirs, except some prisoners sent down from Grahamstown. We sailed for the Cape on the 5th April. '* Sunday sail never fail " I was told. We had three days of very heavy weather, which served me in good stead as a lesson to profit by when I became a brig-captain myself. On the loth of April we moored in Simon's Bay. The admiral then told me that the new Admiralty had disap- proved of my appointment by the late Board to be a volunteer of the first class in the TrinculOy and that I was ordered to be discharged and sent home at once in a merchant ship at my own expense. My father had been called upon to pay £\o for my victuals, and £^ for the naval instruction. The admiral, however, said he had written to remonstrate, and added if I liked to continue in the Trinculo on the chance of a reprieve I might do so, and that he would advise me to follow this course. Here was a disenchantment for a boy who had weathered the Cape of Good Hope and served a campaign against the Kaffirs. It was not for several months after, that I heard the result of the admiral's remonstrance — it was a real case of save me from my friends, for my father was a supporter of the Duke of Wellington's government ; but my county member, through whom my nomination had come, had committed the unpardonable sin of voting, though a Tory, for i835 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' ^ the Reform Bill. Nor should I now have been writing these pages of naval adventure, if Peel's government of 1834-5 had not been short-lived. When the Admiralty (who had given me the ap- pointment) came back to office, they again con- firmed my appointment, but for some reason they only gave me time from the 24th January 1835, instead of from the 8th August 1834, when I had first joined H.M.S. Thalia as a volunteer of the first class. On the 17th April we sailed from Simon's Bay for Table Bay, where we anchored next day. Very calm it was, and we had to get the sweeps out and sweep ourselves in. Here we em- barked many stores for Ascension, and sailed for St. Helena on Sunday, 19th April 1835. We touched there for a couple of days and reached Ascension on the 9th of May, and sailed on the 1 2th for our station. Commander Puget had been appointed senior officer of the vessels cruising in the Bights of Benin and Biafra for the suppression of the slave trade. Our principal rendezvous was tWest Bay, Prince's Island. This duty was very 'arduous. Our treaties with the various Powers all differed from one another. No vessel under the flag of France or of the United States of America could be searched or detained. These Powers professed to have cruisers to manage their own \ 38 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 police, but we never met any of them. Spain, Portugal, and Brazil had consented to the search of their vessels by our ships, but unless two bona- fide slaves were found on board, they passed free. They could only be captured if the cargo was on board. The Thalia on our passage out had boarded three, all fitted for slaving. In this year, however, we gave up Fernando Po to Spain, and in return Spain gave us leave to detain and capture empty ships fitted for slaving. We relieved the Pelorus, Commander Meredith, and the Pelican, Commander Brunswick Popham. Meredith had just come from watching a fine Spanish slaver awaiting her cargo in the New Calabar River. At nightfall she shipped her 600 slaves, and when the Pelorus stood in at daylight landed them again at the slave barracoons. This had gone on for several days. At last Meredith said, ''I can stand this no longer," and sent his boats in, who took the slaves from the barracoons to the slaver, when he captured her and sent her to Sierra Leone. There she was released and took her cargo to Cuba, while poor Meredith had to pay ;^i8oo for this proceeding. We also lost at this time fourteen of our best men. Smugglers, when caught, in those days were sentenced to serve, as a punishment, three years in the navy. Our smugglers were all Deal men, and well-behaved good seamen and i835 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 39 excellent boatmen. But Parliament, wisely, as I think, decided that service in the navy ought not to be a punishment, and our fine fellows, with great regret on both sides, were sent home and their places taken by Kroomen. The Buzzard ]o\xi^A us at Prince's Island on one of our visits. Poor old Jerry M'Namara, who had invalided, as before mentioned, at the Gambia, had been sent out again to command her, on the pro- motion of Milward. He did not long survive, and we buried him at sea off Prince's Island. Roberts, our first lieutenant, was appointed to the vacancy, which made my friend Bob Tryon first lieutenant. He spent a good deal of time and money in making our ship look smart as well as be smart. He had painted the hammock cloths elaborately, black the outer half and white the inner. They were hardly dry, and one very hot night, Billy Bate and I had got into the hammock nettings to sleep, against orders. When Tryon came up at 4 a.m. he found us, not only transgressing by sleeping there at all, but by having mixed the black and white paint on the hammock cloths, to which our blue serge frocks bore tell-tale witness. Bate was sent to the main- topmast-head, and I was sent to the fore until noon : the last time I was ever mast-headed. It was a punishment then common in the navy, but it was done away with by Admiralty order in 1836. 40 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1835 Our cruising ground was from the Gaboon to Cape Three Points. It was monotonous work, but done very thoroughly by Puget and his mosquito fleet, Britomart, Buzzard, Forester, Fair Rosamond, Rolla, and Lynx. We chased many vessels in the Trinculo, but we had been coppered, if I may use the expression, with zinc. This, of course, as we soon discovered, readily became foul, and we seldom could overhaul the vessels we pursued. On the 1 6th September a fine i6-gun ship, the Alerto, came out of the Bonny. We followed her all day, and just at sunset ranged up alongside. We all expected a fight. Puget sat across the hammock netting near the larboard gangway, speaking-trumpet in hand, and I stood beside him close to a carronade, the captain of the gun being James Bowden, who had fought in the Shannon. He was a fine old sailor, and I daresay under my anxious looks detected that I should be the better for some encouragement. He kept training his gun on the after- port, and said, " Don't fear nothing, sir, we'll give him as good a licking as we did the Yankee." But the slaver captain received our boat. He had been an officer in the French Navy. He gave Tryon, who boarded him, a glass of champagne, and said, "Tell your captain I would have fought him if I had been liable to capture, but I have no slaves on board. Tell him that he will find at Prince's Island the new 1836 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 41 treaty with Spain by which empty vessels may be taken." We lost no time in visiting West Bay, where we found the new orders. But meantime the Alerto had shipped her cargo of six hundred slaves and got safe away to Cuba. Various expeditions were made up the numerous rivers which we now know to be the mouths of the Niger ; one of these is worth relating. On the 15th December the pinnace and second gig were sent aw^ay under Tryon to search the Nun and Bonny. We were now in possession of orders to capture empty Spanish slavers. We ran down and anchored off the Bonny to await the return of the boats. They were picked up off the Nun and towed down to us, and again sent into the Bonny on the 19th. On the 22nd they came back, having captured the Spanish brigantine Isabella Secunda with 347 slaves on board. Hollin worth and Cavell, with eight seamen, two marines, and two Kroomen were sent with her to Sierra Leone. On the 22nd January 1836 Tryon again went in with pinnace and two gigs. In the Bonny he found four empty Spanish slavers, wait- ing for their cargoes. He boarded and carried them with the loss of only one man wounded. On the 25th January we received a message by a canoe that four war canoes of the King of Bonny had re- captured the slavers and placed Tryon and his men in the slave barracoons ; Tryon had been able to 42 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 slip this bit of paper into the hands of a canoe man, who under promise of a reward, which was at once paid, brought out the information. There are two channels into the Bonny. The Portuguese channel on the east shore has deep water, but is narrow and requires a fair wind. The south channel has a dangerous bar, on which the surf was breaking heavily. The Lynx had joined us in the night. Puget did not hesitate a moment. The Lynx was signalled alongside. Every spare spar and sail, all the provisions, cables and shot, all but four rounds, were put on board the Lynx, for she drew more water than the Trinculo. We were thus lightened to about 16 feet. The bar had only 1 5 feet on it. We ran for it, struck heavily three times, the ship quivering in every timber, and were then in smooth water inside. Running up the river we anchored close to the four slavers and recaptured them. Then on the 26th January we hauled close to the slave barracoons, and fired four blank broadsides at close range, and sent to tell the King that unless Tryon and his men were released we should burn his town. He and our men and several British merchant seamen and cap- tains were accordingly released, and on the 28th we left the Bonny by the Portuguese Channel with our four prizes. For this creditable service Puget was confirmed as a commander. 1836 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 43 We paid several visits to Cape Coast Castle. The walls of the old fort looked imposing and white. The Governor, Maclean, had formerly been an officer in the 91st, and had come to Sierra Leone as A.D.C. to Sir Neil Campbell. He was an excellent official, and with small means had improved the sanitary conditions of the town. His carriage was a long box on gun trucks on which two could sit vis-a-vis, with an awning over it. The horses were six niggers, with one to run alongside and drive and conduct. In this concern, by his kindness, I was dragged along some three miles and back on the road to Coomassie. Puget, however, allowed none of us to sleep ashore. On one visit we dined at the mess of the West India Regiment with Maclean ; on the next, four of our entertainers were dead. Maclean came to England, married Miss Landon the poetess, who under the nom de plume L. E. L. was then well known, brought her to Cape Coast Castle, where she died five months after, and is buried inside the fort. I picked up a good deal of information about Cape Coast Castle and Coomassie, which I eventually published in a book called Ashanti and the Gold Coast, 1874. The Thalia, with the admiral, joined us at Prince's Island. Tryon left us to join the Thalia. Pat Campbell, the admiral's nephew, was made 44 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 Lieutenant-commanding, into the Buzzard in old M'Namara's death vacancy. Roberts rejoined us as first Heutenant, Montagu Thomas as second lieutenant. The admiral informed me that I had been ** restored" to the navy, and parting company with him finally at Ascension, he gave me a very kind letter to my father approving my conduct while under his command. I never saw him again. He made, it was said, about ;^6o,ooo by his share of the slavers captured under his orders between 1834 and 1837, but lost it all. He died without again hoisting his flag. I have said something about the provisions at Ascension. Among the articles recently added to these supplies was lime-juice — a benevolent merchant who had witnessed the ravages of scurvy had, during his lifetime, supplied it gratuitously for the sick of the navy. At his death he had bequeathed a sum of money to the nation to perpetuate and extend his benefaction. Lime-juice, therefore, had become a recognised ration, to be served out to ships' companies who had been more than six weeks on salt provisions. This latter condition always applied on the West Coast of Africa. The lime-juice, although whole- some, was not very palatable, for in order to preserve its freshness it was mixed with sulphur. To many persons this was very nauseous. In some 1836 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULC 45 ships the men were mustered, and each individual, under the eye of the surgeon, swallowed his portion, which, having been mixed with water, was handed round in a tin with a small measure to drink from containing the allowance. This was the case (for a time at least) in the Thalia, In the Trinculo, the mixed lime-juice was added to the dinner grog, by the consent or wish of the crew. The supper grog was spared the addition. Grog, i.e. rum, with three parts of water added, was served out at 4.30 as well as at 12.30; evening quarters followed, when the men were reported by the officers, all present and sober. But a large portion of the liquor had probably been saved, and either by sale or exchange it was contrived that, in turn, one or two men in each mess could enjoy the delight of turning in drunk, in which case they awoke in a more or less muddled condition to perform the duty of helmsman or look- out. This abuse has caused the stoppage of supper grog in recent times, exceedingly to the advantage of discipline and efficiency. In the midshipman's berth no grog was served out to any one under age. A glass of rather rough Madeira was our daily portion. In connection with the bad supply of provisions at that date on the west coast, I may mention an example of the severity of the discipline then 46 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 maintained. When the Thalia and Trinculo were leaving for Ascension, early in 1836, Admiral Campbell ordered the ships' companies to be placed on two -thirds allowance — six upon four as it is called. The passage was often made in seven days, but sometimes from calms and variable winds occupied much longer. The petty officers of the Thalia came on the quarter-deck, and in a respectful manner informed the first lieutenant, Frederick Warden, that there was a wish to chance it, and they would rather have full allowance of grog as long as it lasted, and hope for a short passage. This was reported to the captain, by him to the admiral, and, of course, refused. Thereupon when next the pipe went at one bell (12.30) for the cooks of the messes to come for the grog, each cook of the mess poured the grog into the lee-scuppers and went down to his mess with the empty grog can. This was reported. The admiral said it was mutiny, and desired Captain Wauchope to flog the cooks of the messes. There were in all twenty- four. Of these five were petty officers, who were not liable to corporal punishment. The two marine cooks of the messes, true to the tradition of that royal and loyal corps, did not throw away their This left seventeen men, who were sentenced to twenty-four lashes each. The punishment began 1836 'THALIA' AND ' TRINCULO' 47 at 9 A.M. At noon fifteen had been flogged. Mr. Guthrie, the master, who had observed the meridian altitude of the sun, reported twelve o'clock, and the latitude, to Captain Wauchope, who, with the officers, was superintending the fiogging. He had to leave and report twelve and the latitude to the admiral, who acknowledged the report and said : Make it so, leave off flogging, and pipe to dinner. Fifteen- men only were flogged, and two escaped in consequence of this pithy observation. It may be interesting to record that the only currency recognised at that time on the West Coast of Africa was the pillar dollar. To change it into quarter dollars, a dollar was cut in four at the armourer's bench. So long as a portion of a pillar showed on the severed quarter, it was accepted as of full value. When the dollar therefore was cut up, the centre- piece of silver between the pillars was cut out and kept by the owner or operator; it was quite equal in weight to each of the other quarters. Very little money was required on that station ; only commissioned officers received any pay. At the end of the commission his accumulated pay was handed to each individual. The prize money was distributed after much longer delay through the ships' agents. For my valuable services I received about ;^20, from which, if I had remained in the 48 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 Thalia, ;^5 a year would have been deducted for the schoolmaster, as a naval instructor was then called. Puget, in the Trinculo, had taught his youngsters more than any naval instructor would have done, gratuitously, so I received my pay in full. At a later date I was paid ;^39 for my share in captured slavers. My father, however, laid an embargo on both sums, to recoup the ;^45 which the Admiralty had exacted from him, as already stated ; as he gave me a liberal allowance, this was quite fair. The Trinculo sailed for England with three turtle and 240 parrots. The latter learned a good deal of the English language of a particular character, and a large proportion arrived safe at home. Mine reached my father's house in Scotland and lived for more than twenty years. We touched at Sierra Leone, and cast anchor at Spithead on 14th May 1836. There one turtle only was delivered alive, and was sent forthwith to the First Lord of the Admiralty. We were ordered to Plymouth Sound, which we reached on the 17th May. Puget proceeded to London by the mail. We went into Hamoaze on the i8th, after our inspec- tion, and I found that I was appointed to the Minden (74), Captain A. R. Sharpe, one of seven sail of the line forming the Channel Squadron, under Admiral Sir Charles Paget. At Spithead we had seen some of this squadron. The Vanguard 1836 ' THALIA ' AND * TRINCULO ' 49 was lying there among others, and Jack Hathorn, her second lieutenant, was the first person to welcome me home. He rowed himself on board in the dingy, took me to the George and gave me beefsteaks and fried onions, the first fresh meat I had tasted for months, except a turtle lately deceased, which our cook had tried to make into cutlets. From him I heard that my father was on his way to Plymouth to meet me, and that I was to join the Minden until the Madagascar was com- missioned by Captain Henry W. Bruce, with whom Jack Hathorn was going as first lieutenant. The paying off at Plymouth was in those days, there, and at all the ports, a most disgraceful ex- hibition. The men who were about to be discharged had no retaining fee from the Crown. They had first to dismantle the ship, then to receive all the wages they had earned, and they spent the whole or were robbed of it the first night after landing. But on the pretext of relationship the ship was filled with women who called themselves wives or sisters of the crew, and over a hundred of these disreputable creatures stayed on board from sunset to sunrise, bringing with them spirits, and the most abominable language and manners. It was not till 1839, when Captain Hon. Richard Dundas paid o^xki^ Powerful, that any one had the courage to refuse permission for these orgies. He did it ; and after he had shown E so LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 the way, the Admiralty issued an order forbidding the admission of any stranger during the paying off. The Trinculo was no exception to this vile custom, but I must say that old Roberts sent me on shore before the row began. CHAPTER IV ENGLISH CHANNEL, SOUTH AMERICA, AND PACIFIC After six weeks* leave at home I was transferred from the Minden to the Imogene, which ship had been commissioned by Captain Bruce instead of the Madagascar, We were bound for South America and the Pacific, a popular station. We had none of the difficulties in manning which the Channel Squad- ron had experienced. The Minden had visited the Shetland Islands even, in her desire to obtain men, and had above two hundred Shetland islanders on board. They could not understand or speak English, and though good boatmen they were slovenly and slow aloft and bad men-o'-war s men. It was with great reluctance that they parted with their garments, which had served to clothe many generations, and consented to be draped in the orthodox clean frock and trousers of the navy. The Imogene was well officered and manned. Captain Bruce had been a midshipman in the Eury- 52 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 alus with Captain Blackwood, and had with him watched the battle of Trafalgar from that frigate's deck. He had been in Duckworth's action, and a lieutenant in the Belvidera in her famous escape from the United States Squadron, when he was wounded. Our first lieutenant was Jack Hathorn. His popu- larity with the fore-mast men brought many good seamen and old shipmates of his to the Imogene, and his escapades rather commended him to the lower deck. He had been a midshipman in the Alceste when she was wrecked, on her return with Lord Amherst after his mission to China. Sir Murray Maxwell, the captain, was entertaining the Ambassador in solemn state when the cabin sky- light was opened and a cock which had escaped from the hen-coop was dropped on the dinner-table. The culprit, Jack Hathorn, was discovered and was put in irons. The ship ran ashore and he was almost forgotten, but was released in time to save his life. He was forgiven, for his exertions at the time of the wreck were sufficiently conspicuous to earn his pardon. As a lieutenant in the Britannia his captain, Burdett, had also to report a singular vagary. It was then the custom for the guard to fall in when the captain came on board or left the ship. Jack was officer of the watch, and as the guard presented arms to Burdett as he left the entry port for his boat, he said, *' Mr Hathorn, I am tired 1836 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC. 53 of this guard ; don't call it again when I come back." Whereupon Jack Hathorn got together twenty after-guard and placed them on their hands and knees with swabs for tails and manes, and mizzen-topmen mounted on their backs, and himself mounted on the back of a quartermaster, all with drawn cutlasses, and this extraordinary guard received the astonished captain on his return. See- ing he was not pleased. Jack said, " I thought you said, sir, you were tired of the usual guard, and as I am an old yeomanry officer I thought you would like to be received with cavalry." For this he was reported to the admiral, Sir Pulteney Malcolm, who, knowing his good points, had been anxious to befriend him. After this, however, he gave him up, saying, ** Mr. Hathorn, you are the miserable remains of a misspent life, and I can do nothing more for you." He then passed some time ashore, and drove about the country with his two hunters tandem. Un- luckily he had a bad fall out hunting, and his head was trepanned, which did not add to the sobriety of his demeanour. He rigged the Imogene like a fiddle, and taught me much seamanship ; but even there his eccentricity was too frequently apparent, and we were all very glad when he was promoted at the Coronation, and left us at Panama. He went to England, attended Greenwich Fair, and died of a cold and inflammation in the spring of 1839. From 54 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 our midshipman's berth, singularly enough, seven rose to be flag-officers — James Paterson Bower, John Borlase, Alfred Ryder, Edward Inglefield, John Ormsby Johnson, Frederick Craufurd, and myself — a most unusual proportion — alas ! all gone on but the writer of these pages. The Imoge7ie sailed from Plymouth. After touch- ing at Madeira, Teneriffe, and Rio Janeiro, we were sent to Buenos Ayres, where the usual Civil War was going on between Los Unitarios and Los Federales. Rosas, the head of the latter faction, was then in the ascendant, and very desirous to conciliate Great Britain. One day Jack Hathorn, Bower, Borlase, Robert Cochrane, and I obtained a guide and horses to visit the Scotch colony, about forty-five miles from Buenos Ayres. We all had brought English saddles out with us, and cantered out, changing horses twice at corrals on the way, where our saddles were transferred to fresh steeds and our tired ones left in the enclosure. Some clearing-house arrangement, no doubt, at last restored the horses to their respective owners. We were very hospitably entertained, and our hostess paid very marked attention to Bower. As we were leaving, the fair Spaniard asked him his name, to which he replied, William ; and pulling a great stalk of Sweet William, handed it to her. Her Scotch husband seemed to resent this, and as we 1836 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC 55 were cantering away mounted his horse to ride with us so far, and then, guacho fashion, rode at Bower and tried to unseat him. Luckily he kept his seat, and we said good-bye to our host. Contrary to orders, we were none of us in uniform, but dressed in ponchos and sombreros. When we arrived late at the bridge of Barraccas, the long bar across the roadway was locked, and the guard would not open it for us. Jack Hathorn ordered me to get down, and with my hunting whip to wrench out the staple which held the chain and padlock. The guard had returned to the guardroom, and I was not interfered with. The elaborate chain and lock and bar (cosas dEspana) were only held by this one staple, which I wrenched out, and down fell the bar. The clatter brought out the guard, who wanted to take us into custody. They fired a few shots, no one was hurt, but my horse having been let go, I escaped through the crowd and jumped en croupe of Jack Hathorn*s horse, and off we rode without our guide across country in the starlight. After an hour's ride we reached a posada. There we enquired for quarters and food. There were only eggs and sour bread. We asked that the huevos might be cocidos ; upon which they poached the eggs in rancid oil, out of which we fished them with difficulty. I n the morning, what the fleas and mosquitoes had left of us was 56 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 taken into custody by a squadron of cavalry sent to bring us in. I must say they brought back my horse, saddle, bridle, holsters, and pistols all com- plete, and we were lodged incontinently in the gaol at Buenos Ay res. There Jack Hathorn wrote his account of the transaction to our captain. Bruce called on the Minister, Mr. Mandeville, to obtain our release. This was at once granted by Rosas, who not only apologised, but punished the un- fortunate officer of the guard for his share in the affair, which was rather hard, as we were not in uniform, and had forced his post, and it seemed to me to have been only in the course of his duty. Bower on our return to Rio Janeiro was at last promoted. He was then a man of thirty-two and an excellent officer. He had been a mate in the I sis with Admiral Warren before mentioned. The ship was at the Mauritius. Another very smart officer, Tatham, was one of his messmates. There was also another mate named Arthur, who was blind of an eye. Skylarking in the midshipman's berth, Tatham flipped a piece of biscuit which struck Arthur in his good eye and momentarily blinded him. His language was more forcible than polite. A challenge followed. Bower was Tatham s second, and Wallace, the assistant-surgeon, afterwards our surgeon in the Trinculoy attended Arthur as second, also having his instruments for the benefit of both 1836 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC. 57 parties. Arthur was killed, and Bower and Tatham were marked men, and their promotion was stopped for several years. Sir Graeme Hammond, our Com- mander-in-chief, thought this a hardship. Bower was made a lieutenant. A lo-gun brig, the Wizard, came into Rio harbour from the north coast of Spain, where she had been assisting Sir de Lacy Evans in the Carllst War. Her lieutenant was Invalided, and the admiral appointed Bower to the command. He went on board in the afternoon to read his commission. He found the ship's company rather excited, and was told that it was the anniversary of the siege of Bilbao, which they always celebrated. The sun set soon after, and the flagship Dublin and the Imogene were astonished to hear from the brig the sound of the cable being repeatedly veered to the clinch and the sound of the fife as the men hove it in again. This continued for some hours. By and by Bower turned the hands up, read his commission by a lanthorn, and said, '* My lads, so long as I command you we shall celebrate the siege of Bilbao in this manner." The discipline of the brig improved, and the admiral had every reason to be satisfied with his selection of Bower to command her. Bower went round the Horn soon after, became first lieutenant of the Samarang, which vessel, crossing the Pacific to China, took part in the attack on the Bogue 58 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1836 Forts, and Bower became a commander in less than three years. Some bruises which Bower received when in command of a ship on the Irish station, by a fall from a height, partially paralysed him, and the Queen lost the services of a good officer, who had served her faithfully. His son is Sir Graham Bower. We visited Bahia and Moro San Paulo. There the pinnace, under Jack Hathorn, was sent up the river to survey it. Borlase, Robert Cochrane, and I went with him. We had a very pleasant trip, anchoring at night, generally where some stream poured into the river, and while breakfast was being cooked, walking up the stream to bathe in some pool in its rocky bed. Walking on the grass by the side of the stream, muskets and towels in hand after our bath, we four abreast stopped to look at a bird of beautiful plumage, sitting on the stump of a tree, and paralysed with fear. Luckily we stopped, for one step more we should have trodden on a snake, intent on the bird which it had fascinated and seized. The nearest of us to the stump, broke its back with the ramrod of his musket, and we brought it in triumph to the boat, and put the snake and the bird in spirits. It was sent to the museum at Haslar afterwards by our surgeon, Dr. Wingate Johnstone. Bad though the drainage of Rio Janeiro then was, and infamous the smells, there was no yellow fever. 1837 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC. 59 That scourge did not come till 1847. Our pleasantest ride was up the mountain to the Tejuca fall, and to bathe in the pool at its foot. There was then no hotel, nor indeed any house near the water- fall, and the scenery and the air were alike refreshing. At Rio Janeiro we first saw the Royalist yacht and its owner, Mr. Brooke, on his way to Borneo, where he became so famous. On the 25th January 1837 I had served two years as a volunteer of the First Class, and my conduct being satisfactory I was promoted to be midshipman. The white patch on the collar known as the weekly account was a step very highly appreciated. We went round the Horn in the depth of winter, June 1837. We were driven down into 61° south. Bruce did a very kind service to his midshipmen. From this time forth, all through the commission, either Ryder, Inglefield, or I had charge of a watch, as a lieutenant. It was of incalculable value to us in teaching us seamanship and inuring us to respon- sibility. Valparaiso was our headquarters, but we visited Lima, Guayaquil, the Pacific Islands, and California. At Lima, to which we paid four visits, we had a pleasant time, and of course I was much interested in the scene of Lord Cochrane's famous exploit of cutting out the Esmeralda. The country was in a very disturbed state, and there was also a war with 6o LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1837 Chili. A new president had been elected in Peru. Innocent of any danger, I landed at Callao with my trout rod and basket, rode up to the first post-house, and hiring a lad for a dollar, walked to the River Rimac, and fished it down to the sea with a red hackle, and to the surprise of my attendant, landed three fish of about one pound each, which gave good play, and had whiskers, probably the first of their kind that ever saw a red hackle or a trout rod. When I returned on board, the minister, Mr. Bel- ford Wilson, was with the captain, and said to him "You must not let the boys go there, it is most dangerous. Only a few days ago I dined with Carew in the Harrier here, and riding up, was stripped at the first post-house of everything but my poncho, and had to ride to the Legation in that condition." There was no redress — so my fishing stopped in the Rimac. We, however, caught plenty of sea-fish with the seine at St. Lorenzo, and had many pleasant amusements of that kind. We were all invited by the new President to a great bull-fight in honour of his election. About 22,000 people filled the amphitheatre. A game little black bull tossed man and horse together, again pur- sued the unfortunate man in spite of the Picadors, and tossed him over the barriers. The assembled ladies cheered, viva toro. Then the plucky beast was too much for them all, and he was hamstrung 1 837 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC 6i with the luna or half-moon fixed at the end of a pole for this purpose. The wounded man was lifted on to his wounded horse and led before the President, who dropped fifty doubloons, it was said, into his som- brero. No one but our excellent surgeon paid the slightest attention to the man. Dr. Johnstone went and bound up his wounds and did what he could for him, but his patient died within two hours of the accident. One man, ten horses, and twenty-eight bulls graced the triumph of the President. During the Chilian and Peruvian War our business was to protect our commerce. The Chilian army under General Bulnez was preparing to capture Lima, in conjunction with a Chilian squadron under Commodore Postego. Our business appeared to be to prevent our merchantmen being interfered with by the rival belligerents. Admiral Ross, whose flag flew in the President, had with him \h^Samarang2Sidi Imogene. The United States Navy was represented by Commodore Ballard in the North Carolina, 92 guns, but excepting the United States, the British squadron was the most powerful present. Some information had reached Admiral Ross, to the effect that the Chilian squadron had detained a British ship for breaking the blockade. The Chilian Commodore's ship had unmoored at sunset, and seemed to be going to sea, without settling the claim. At ten at night Captain Bruce returned from dining with the admiral. 62 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1837 The anchor was weighed. Topsails and top- gallant sails and jib set, the stream cable passed through the stern port, the ship beat to quarters, and in about ten minutes the sail was shortened and the ship moored head and stern so as to be right athwart hawse of the Chilian. Our ship was literally between his buoy and his jibboom, which was over our larboard gangway. An officer came from the Commodore to expostulate, and made Captain Bruce understand that we had fouled his cable, and that he wanted to weigh his anchor. Bruce, who scarcely knew any Spanish, took him down to the main-deck, showed him the men at quarters, and the shotted guns ready to rake him, and said, " Mira aqui, Sefior. Look at this, sir." Then calling the captain's clerk M'Douall, who could speak a little Spanish, made him explain that if he attempted to weigh, we should sink him. I had the middle watch, and was desired to report if there was any move- ment on board the Chilian, but none took place. Next day the captain called on Commodore Postego, who returned the visit. The admiral came down in the President and anchored close to him, and the further settlement of the matter devolved upon the diplomatists. We saw with our spy-glasses from the tops of the Imogene the storm of Lima by the Chilians. They behaved well. Their regiment of marines, which led 1 837 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC. 63 the assault at the bridge of Rimac, it was said, had only three unwounded out of 1200 men. I have here endeavoured to epitomise the various events which were noticeable during our several visits to Lima. We sailed from Valparaiso for the Pacific Islands on the 8th August 1837. We reached the Marquesas on the 8th September, and anchored in Resolution Bay in the Island of Santa Christma. The first thing that met our astonished gaze was about 300 young damsels in a state of nature, who swam off the half mile which we lay from the shore. They made a most dreadful outcry when they found that they were not admitted on board. They jabbered, shrieked, clustered on the cables and remained floating round the ship for half an hour, when, finding Captain Bruce insensible to their charms, they left us expressing their contempt and disgust with much clamour. The King and Queen soon after visited the ship with some of the missionaries, and the latter thanked Captain Bruce for his unusual conduct in refusing admittance to our bronze admirers. Sailing on to the Sandwich Islands we entered Honolulu harbour on the 29th September. The entrance of a sailing ship into Honolulu harbour was a pretty piece of seamanship. When 250 natives (Kanakas) had been stationed in the water 64 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1837 on the reef on the east side of the harbour, a whale- boat was sent out with a line about 200 fathoms long. The frigate then ran down the coast before the N.E. trade- wind, and shortened sail at the whale- boat, which bent its line to the frigate's hawser. The Kanakas ran away with the line till the hawser reached them, and then towed the ship in. Thence on the 15th October we arrived at Kara- kakoa Bay, and during our stay there we erected a copper tablet in memory of Captain James Cook, on the stump of a cocoa-nut tree which had been shot through at the time of his death, and is 190 feet west of the spot where he fell. Except a small heap of stones put up by Captain Lord Byron of the Blonde, this was the first local memorial of our famous navigator. As we left on the 17th October we saw a fine eruption of the celebrated volcano in Owhyhee. We reached Otaheite and anchored in Papiete harbour on 1 3th November 1 837. Our first duty was to hand a commission as consul to Mr. Pritchard, who had hitherto been a missionary. Ryder and I were sent to bring him off, but he demurred to come, as he had no uniform. We returned to the ship and explained. Jack Hathorn got over the diffi- culty : he lent one epaulette, Charles Tennant another ; a sword was borrowed from one, a cocked hat from another. We took the articles on shore, the 1 837 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC 65 epaulettes, which were nearly the same size, were stitched on to the missionary's black coat. He was girt with the sword, and the cocked hat, which was too small for him, was carried in his hand, and thus adorned he was brought on board, and was duly saluted with nine guns. Not long after he nearly plunged us into war with France and opened the way for a discreditable chapter in our history, when we allowed that nation to take possession of the Society Islands, which had quartered by our directions the Union Jack of England in the upper canton of its flag. While at Otaheite, H.M.S. Conway arrived. The Imogene and Conway were two 26-gun frigates, exactly alike. Captain Bruce was senior to Captain Drinkwater Bethune, so as our time was different, we gave the Conway the benefit of two Sundays in one week. The Conway had parted company with us at Rio Janeiro, and coming round the Cape of Good Hope had arrived almost at the same time at Otaheite. She brought us the news of the death of King William IV. The sailor king was much regretted in the navy. We also heard of the acces- sion of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen. Little was known of the heiress to the throne, and none could have anticipated the glorious reign which we now are celebrating in its sixtieth year, and which we fervently pray may be much further 66 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1838 prolonged. We received quite another queen on board as our guest for a day. Queen Pomare came off in her royal robes, but as soon as she sat down to luncheon, she kicked off her shoes, to which she was unaccustomed, and this afforded much amusement. We sailed for Pitcairn's Island on the 8th of December 1838. We could not anchor. The natives swam off and enjoyed a visit to the ship. They were exceedingly well conducted, and the island produced enough for their simple wants. They were healthy, and two of the original arrivals with the Bounty were still alive. I was not very well, and unable to land, but the captain and several officers did so. We deported from the island a gentleman, a member of an English University, who, having spent all his money, had obtained a passage in an American whaler and landed about two years before. He had persuaded the islanders to maintain him and appoint him their schoolmaster, but he was not well calculated for the post, and his wants were found to be a heavy tax upon the inhabitants. On the passage to Valparaiso he regaled us with anecdotes of high life, and would seem on his own showing to have been a boon companion of Frederick, Duke of York, beginning many of his stories with *' When I was sipping my Clos Vougeot with His Royal 1838 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC 67 Highness." He landed at Valparaiso, and we saw him no more. This was some years before the removal of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island which had such unfortunate results. At the time of our visit the community was most interesting, and the simple Christianity which they professed and practised seemed to guide them in all the trans- actions of their daily life. I give the statistical account of the island at the time of our visit.^ On the 1 6th November 1838, when running in very clear fine weather from Panama to Rio Lejo, which discharges the water of Lake Nicaragua into the Pacific, as the St. John does into the Gulf of Mexico, we experienced three shocks of the great earthquake which extended to the West Indian Islands, and caused such ravages, especially in the Island of Tobago. About ten at night the Imogene heeled over to starboard and commenced to roll heavily. A noise which sounded as if the anchor had been let go, and the cable allowed to run out to the clinch, shook the ship, all through, three times, in the course of five minutes. At the second shock I turned out of my hammock, and heard the captain coming out of his cabin and ordering the hands to be turned up to shorten sail. The master sounded all round the ship — no bottom with 100 fathoms. No wonder, for I think the Ckal- 1 See Appendix C. p. 338. 68 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1838 lenger has since shown that lat. 6°*2 N., long. 82°'9 W. is one of the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean. The carpenter found no leak, so that the fear that we had run on a wreck was allayed. No one knew what had happened, and, until the morning light, there was no certain confirmation that it was an earthquake. At 6 a.m. an extra- ordinary sight presented itself. On all sides of the ship, and as far as the horizon, fish of all kinds lay in myriads on the surface of the sea, or flopped about in a dazed condition. There were no sharks. We sent the boats away and collected two days' food for the ship's company, and left more than enough for all the ship's companies in the world. Indeed, even on the 19th we picked up three turtle which had not recovered the shock. When we anchored in Rio Lejo harbour on the 25th November, we found it swarming with very large sharks. The earthquake wave had rolled in and done enormous damage. The city of Leon was reported to be destroyed, and above 30,000 people had perished. We tried to kill one of the largest sharks I have ever seen ; it was struck with three harpoons and several musket bullets, a running bow- line was slipped over it — this was done at some risk by men in a boat 28 feet long, and the fish was at least 6 feet longer. We calculated it to be 33 feet in length. But the swell rolled in heavily and the fish 1 8 39 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC. 69 slipped out, so we lost our harpoons and a splendid trophy. We left Rio Lejo for San Bias on the ist Decem- ber 1838. There we had an invitation from Mr. Barron, the Consul-General, to visit him at Tepic. I was one of the officers permitted to accept it. Captain Bruce and the others who went up, rode the sixty-three miles through forest paths during the night, and were nearly devoured by mosquitoes. It was the one occasion in my life when I really found that I, who am no smoker, had cause to regret it, for those who lighted their cigars suffered much less from the cruel sandflies and mosquitoes which attacked us. We much enjoyed our visit to Mr. Barron's house, where we were treated with most courteous and bounteous hospitality. The incidents of watering ship were in those days sometimes amusing. On New Year's day 1839 the Imogene ran down to the watering-place, and anchored as near as we could to the mouth of the river. It was a fine, clear stream with a bar, but the boats could not enter it. They had to row, about three miles, to a point on a long narrow spit of land covered with bushes and rank vegetation ; through this we had to cut a path about a quarter of a mile long ; at the other end of it ran the river over a clean gravel bed. Casks containing in all about seven tons had been tow^ed by the pinnace 70 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1839 and cutter to the landing-place and were rolled over empty and rolled back full, and again towed off to the ship. Charlie Douglas was in charge of the party, and I was the only other officer. We had a tremendous caution from Tennant, now our first lieutenant, to keep the men sober. If a man got drunk, we knew we should catch it. We had to clear the path and roll the casks over, and we espied a native with about a dozen bottles of aqua ardiente. Him, Charlie Douglas and I caught, broke all his bottles, and returned to the ship with our casks full and our men sober. We were also successful on the second day. On the 3rd we caught the native again just on the point of effecting a sale to one of our men. We were in time to pre- vent any mischief. But, the emptor having been disappointed, we determined to enforce the lesson of caveat vendor on the wretch who had so nearly got us into a scrape. We not only broke all his bottles, but having torn his clothes off his back, we tied him with the fragments to a tree, where we left him a howling prey to the sandflies and mosquitoes. We reported it, and received the verdict of "■ Sarved him right." We collected about a million dollars worth in coin and bullion as freight at San Bias, Mazatlan, and Guaymas, and sailing for Valparaiso, and thence round Cape Horn, and passing three days 1 839 ENGLISH CHANNEL, S. AMERICA, ETC. 71 among icebergs, reached Rio Janeiro on 19th Sep- tember and left on the 26th, arriving at Spithead on the 14th November 1839. Thence we were sent to Plymouth, and paid off on the 6th December 1839. I was told I was to be appointed to the Benbow (72), then in the Mediterranean, and was given six weeks' leave. The Portsmouth and Plymouth tailors as usual were about to make a harvest out of us midshipmen, but luckily a very good fellow, a captain in the army, at Portsmouth, took a passage round with us to Plymouth. From him we learned that the flowered silk waistcoats and coats and trousers of many patterns had disappeared, or were fast going out, and that a black coat, waist- coat, and trousers, with a white tie, now constituted the evening dress of a gentleman. CHAPTER V WARS SULPHUR AND SYRIAN On the 3rd of December 1839 I was transferred from the Imogene to the Impregnable, bearing the flag of Admiral Sir Graham Moore. He and Lady Moore were most civil and hospitable, and their son, John Moore, became my intimate friend. I may mention a curious circumstance. A great fire soon after broke out at Devonport Dockyard, and all the four ships in which I had hitherto served — Thalia, Trinculo, Minden, Imogene — were among those which suffered severely. I received six weeks' leave of absence, and was ordered thereafter to join the Prometheus for a passage to the Benbow. I went to town by the Quicksilver mail, or rather to Basingstoke, from which we travelled by train to Nine Elms. I was very hospitably received by my stepmother's father, Mr. George Hathorn, whose son was commander of the Benbow, and in whose house poor Jack Hathorn had recently died. The town was full of the Queen's approaching marriage. 1 839 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 73 My first visit to the House of Commons was on the night of the debate on Prince Albert's allowance. I heard Lord John Russell's motion for a grant of ^50,000. Colonel Sibthorpe, whose beard and moustache scandalised my sense of pro- priety in that clean shaven generation, moved a reduction to ;^30,ooo, at which I was also much shocked. Joe Hume then, though unable to move, suggested a reduction to ;^8ooo, as, he said, it was absolutely a sin to turn adrift a young man in London with so much loose money in his pocket, upon which up rose Daniel O'Connell. His speech treated with scorn all the suggestions for a reduction. He said his constituents, who were all Ireland, demanded ;^ 100, 000 a year for the consort of their beloved Queen. This was the only eloquent speech in the debate. Sir Robert Peel, in a speech, methodical and frigid, supported the ;^30,ooo a year, and the Government had to acquiesce. I must say I was very indignant at this treatment of the young Queen, and felt grateful to O'Connell for his good intentions. I then heard a bon mot of O'Connell from a friend of mine in the House which I have never seen in print. At the time of Lord Stanley's secession from Lord Melbourne's ministry he had been accompanied by Sir James Graham, the Duke of Richmond, and Mr. Walter of the Times. All except Mr. Walter 74 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1839 had joined Sir Robert Peel. O'Connell, apostro- phizing Mr. Walter as the sole remaining occupier of the cross bench, spoke of him as ''The last rose of summer still blooming alone," upon which my friend, sitting behind O'Connell, leaned over and complimented him on his speech, adding, " But how can you compare that old fellow to a rose ? " *'Oh," said O'Connell quite readily, and in an in- imitable brogue, '' Shure isn't he a *daug' rose? isn't he mimber for Barkshire ? " The Houses of Parliament were then rising from their ashes, and the beautiful but inconvenient Palace in which the business of the country is now con- ducted was far from completion. The members still dined at a deal table in the kitchen, and saw the beefsteaks and mutton chops cooked for their refreshment, without any attempt at the elaborate cuisine which is thought requisite for this generation. Patrick Stewart, M.P. for Lancaster, who had taken me to the House, Mr. (afterwards Sir John) M'Taggart, Fox Maule, and Grantley Berkeley were, I think, our party, and I need not say I en- joyed it immensely. There were thirty-seven ^ naval officers then members of the House. Seven sat for Scotch constituencies, and I was introduced to many people whom I was glad to know. After a few weeks among my relations in Scotland, 1 There are now only two. i84o WARS—SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 75 I came back to London. The day after my return was appointed for the Queen s marriage. As I did not imagine that I should have a chance of seeing anything of it, I left on the night before by the mail for Portsmouth. This took nine hours. I then col- lected my uniforms and other things and sent them on to Plymouth, by steamer, to the Prometheus, and returned to town in time for dinner. When dressing, I found on my table a card of admission to Queen Anne's drawing-room, kindly sent me by my old schoolfellow, George Marsh, who was then private secretary to Lord Uxbridge, the Lord Chamberlain. I have always regretted my absence on that occasion, which has now become so memorable. The Prometheus, commanded by Lieutenant Sparke, a name which lent itself to many witticisms, took us in due course to Gibraltar and Malta. There I was transferred to the Bellerophon, and thence to the Gorgon, whose gallant captain (Henderson) was a lifelong friend of mine. In her we reached Vourla on 17th March 1840, when I joined the Benbow, I was here in a new world. Captain Houston Stewart commanded her. We had a good ship and excellent officers, and the ship's company were in very high discipline. The captain, kind-hearted, jovial, and generous, ruled rather by leading than by driving. He associated freely with all the officers, dining not only on the ordinary weekly occasions in the ward- 76 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 room, but also sometimes in the gun-room. We had a very good mess, and in Hobbs a capital messman. Of course the Mediterranean was a station on which long spells of salt junk were unknown. I see that this very session, 1897, Sir Charles Cameron has asked a question in the House of Commons as to the supply of salt for the navy. That would have been quite needless when I served in the Pacific or on the West Coast of Africa. Coming home in the Trinculo in 1836, Dr. (the late Sir David) Deas was going home on promo- tion. We had been in the Thalia together. He was quite distressed to find the miserable fare on which we were existing in the midshipman's berth ; only ship's provisions drawn at Ascension, and those of the very worst kind. He was taking home some arrowroot, and brought us a box and a bottle of port-wine. This we made into a grand mess in a ship's tin, and it was the only fresh or farinaceous food we had for more than two months, except the biscuit from which weevils and maggots had been persuaded to come by the split fish at Ascension. In the B endow any of us who had horses were allowed to take them for short passages from port to port, and cricket and all other amusements were encouraged. When I joined at Vourla, Rear-Admiral Sir i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 77 John Louis, the second in command, had hoisted his flag in the Benbow, having come from Malta to relieve the Commander-in-chief, Sir Robert Stop- ford, who had gone there in the Princess Charlotte to refit. A fine French squadron also was present, commanded by Admiral Lalande. It is related of him in a recent French work that he much desired that Thiers' policy should prevail ; for, as he had one ship more than we, he believed he could have wiped out the recollections of the Nile and Trafalgar. The day I joined, all the French admirals and captains dined with Sir John Louis. Admiral La Sousse was their second in command : ours was Commodore Charles Napier. Neither Sir John Louis, who was a baronet, nor any of our captains had any ribbon or order, except the Commodore, who wore the C.B. All the French officers were covered with orders. After the last of them had been piped over the side. Captain Harvey, who commanded the Implacable, a ship captured from the French, walking with the admiral on the poop, remarked to Sir John Louis and Captain Stewart : ** If any strange visitant had looked down your sky- light and seen these fellows, he would have sup- posed them to have been victorious in the war in which we all fought ; but I command a ship we took from them, and she shall sink under me rather than they shall take it again." The storm-cloud of 78 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 a war with France blew over. Thiers resigned, and Guizot came into office to support Louis Philippe in a policy which was more friendly to Great Britain. After refitting at Malta it happened that Francis II., subsequently known as **Bomba" — then King of the Two Sicilies — had stopped the export of sulphur, our powder manufactures then depending upon a supply of that commodity from his dominions. Thereupon a blockade of Naples and Sicily by our squadron was proclaimed in April 1840. Thither Sir Robert Stopford proceeded with seven sail of the line. The Benbow was stationed to cruise off Maritimo and capture Neapolitan vessels attempt- ing to break the blockade. On the 27th we took possession of a Neapolitan brig, the Nostra Signora di buon Cammino, laden with mats, cheese, and a company of play actors and actresses. I was sent on board with Augustus Chetham and seven seamen as prize-master. We had calculated on the charming company of the troupe, but they were removed to the Benbow, much to our chagrin ; indeed, I had hoped to improve my Italian im- mensely, but was disappointed. I delivered my prize at Malta, reported myself at Admiralty House in Strada Mezzodi, and was sent on board the Princess Charlotte, whose commander, Lewis Jones, kept great order. Thence on the ist May all the prize- masters and prize crews were transferred to the i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 79 Phoenix, Commander Robert Stopford, who did his best to make us comfortable. There was no place for us to sleep but on the deck. Captain Stopford, whom I knew very well, made some sort of jocular apology. Among my prize crew was a most capital fiddler, Jem Porter. He had taken his instrument on board the prize, and I said, ''If you will let Jem Porter play, I think we can pass all night on your deck in dancing, much more agreeably than by sleeping on it." He agreed, and all night, through the Faro of Messina, were heard the merry strains of Jem Porter's violin, while the prize -masters danced reels and strathspeys and every other kind of dance possible, where there were no fair ladies as partners. I rejoined the Benbow with Augustus Chetham and the prize crew on the 2nd May, the Benbow being at anchor in the Bay of Naples. The corps drama- tique who had left my prize were still our guests, and had arranged to give a representation on board, to which all the English community were invited. It went off successfully. Among those who came off were Charles Kemble and his daughter Adelaide. She made her d^but soon after at the San Carlo, in the Beatrice di Tenda. The Kembles sent us all free passes for good seats in the pit. The first two acts passed with hardly any applause. The King and Royalties were present, and it was said that the Sulphur war had made society at Naples averse to So LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 any expression of feeling in favour of an English prima donna. We could not stand this, and by the third act the large number of British officers who were present commenced most effectually an amount of applause, which was infectious, and Adelaide Kemble had a most satisfactory debut. On a former occasion, when Sir Pulteney Malcolm was Com- mander-in-chief, he entertained Catalani at luncheon. When the party was breaking up she thanked the admiral for his hospitality, and said how much she would like to be able to return it. He said, ''You will repay me in full if you will sing 'Rule Britannia' to my ship's company." She consented. The hands were turned up and ranged on the quarter-deck, and standing beside the admiral on the break of the poop, she sang "Rule Britannia," and " God Save the King," to the infinite delight of all who heard her. We had a pleasant time at Naples — picnics, balls, and parties in abundance, and of course Pompeii and Vesuvius. I was one of those who got to the bottom of the crater, where we burnt our sticks in the lava, and with very great difficulty scrambled out again, for the fumes of the sulphur were strong. Our duties at Naples ended on the 29th July, when we returned to Malta. We arrived on the 31st July 1840, and refitted; on the loth August we were ordered off again to Mytelene. There on i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 8i the 19th we arrived, and found Admiral Sir Robert Stopford in the Princess Charlotte, with Implac- able, Daphne, Hydra and Phoenix. We anchored for an hour or two, but were at once despatched to Beyrout, for the Syrian War had begun. We arrived at Beyrout on 25th August 1 840. We had on board 5000 stand of arms for the Syrians, to enable them to resist the Egyptians. There we found the Powerful with Commodore Napier in command, and the Edinburgh, Thunderer, Ganges, Gorgon, Castor, two French corvettes, one United States corvette, and an Egyptian frigate, armed en flute, which had just been captured by the Gorgon. During our stay at Beyrout, Austria, our active ally, and Russia were also represented by small vessels of war. Two vessels were kept constantly cruising in the offing. The guard-boat duty was incessant and oc- casionally arduous. Besides the one in St. George's Bay another was stationed off its southern cape, where I passed several very unpleasant nights, blowing hard, in the first cutter, which was my boat. Her crew were very smart, and the coxswain, James Smith, is, I hope, still alive and well, as I heard from him, fresh and hearty, not very long ago. A boat at that time involved not only much attention, but a good deal of expense. The boat and oars were almost all that was provided, and the G 82 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 happy midshipman was encouraged to make her as efficient as he could in his own way. Leather for the oars, paint, and all the necessary fittings came out of his pocket, and I had spared no pains to make the first cutter as serviceable and smart as possible. On the I St of September Sir Charles Smith arrived to take the command of the land operations. He brought 150 sappers and artillerymen. He had served with distinction in the Peninsular War, especially at the defence of Tarifa, but he was very unwieldy and unfit for the active duties required of him. It was said that his medical adviser enjoined him to take a dozen of porter daily, and the supply being exhausted, so was the General. The next officer in rank was Charles Napier, the Commodore — for he was also a colonel of marines. On the 9th October Sir Robert Stopford arrived. The Com- modore was put in orders in command of sappers and artillerymen, marines, seamen, and others, who, with 5000 Turks, composed the force destined to drive Mehemet Ali out of Syria. He soon after proved his fitness for the duty by defeating the Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pacha at Korni- chovan and taking Sidon. At Sidon an opportunity was given to my old shipmate and friend Arthur Cumming — now, alas ! no more, to gain great distinction. The castle, which stands on an island, is united to Sidon by a i84o WARS—SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 83 long, low bridge without parapets, which crosses the sea to the shore. The fire of the Thunderer and the Turkish flagship, on which Sir Baldwin Walker's flag flew, had driven the Egyptians out of the castle. It and the island were occupied by Turkish troops. A battery of six guns enfiladed the bridge on the side of Sidon, and the troops hesitated to cross. There- upon was seen a very well dressed midshipman step- ping coolly out into the middle of the bridge. The six guns were fired, and the midshipman was seen taking out his white handkerchief and dusting his boots, sticking his glass in his eye, drawing his sword, and waving to the troops to come on. The action was electric, and the troops charged. The battery was carried, and Arthur Gumming was deservedly pro- moted as soon as he had passed his first examination. I may mention another occasion on which this charming officer displayed inimitable sang froid. His ship was chasing an armed Brazilian slaver ; they were out of gunshot, and it fell calm. He proceeded in a boat to capture her ; as the boat arrived alongside a light air filled the slaver's sails. He sprang on board. The boat dropped astern, as one of the slave crew had cut off the hook of the boat-hook. Sword in hand, he fought his way to the tiller, cut down the man who was steering, crammed the helm hard over, and threw the slaver's sails aback. 84 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 Leaning against the tiller he defended himself till the boat came alongside, when the vessel was taken and became a valuable prize. He saved several lives by jumping overboard, which he was always too ready to do. The Benbow was running into Suda Bay on a Sunday forenoon. Every one was dressed for divisions ; a cutter was ordered to be lowered for some purpose, and the straw hat of one of the boat's crew fell overboard. Gumming was sitting in the stern port of the ward-room. He saw the hat, and thought that its owner must be below it ; over he went, epaulettes and all, and we had a good laugh at him for the ducking he received, in his over- zealous submersion. On the 9th operations began for the capture of Bey rout. On the loth a large force was embarked in the steam vessels, with the boats of the squadron in tow, and proceeded off the southern cape of the bay, while the sailing ships hauled close into the town and opened fire. The despatch of the men in steamers to the cape was only a ruse. After some time a large number of Egyptians came down to oppose the threatened landing, and commenced entrenching themselves, while the Egyptian army near the Nahr el Kelb or Dog river marched on Beyrout to support them ; when this was sufficiently pronounced the steamers and boats went six miles off down the bay i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 85 and landed unopposed. The Egyptians on the cape, hurrying back, came under the fire of the Hne- of-battle ships and suffered severely. On the 13th we ran down to the Nahr el Kelb, anchoring in the evening. I was sent on shore to cut down some mulberry trees, or rather to open a broad lane through a mulberry grove, screening the road, by which the enemy could advance on the watering-place. This was effected, not without much lamentation from the owner, who, fearing that all was going to be cut down, made grievous com- plaints, and was overjoyed when he found that a path- way was all that it was proposed to clear. His silk- worms depended on this grove for food, so no wonder he was anxious. The Benbow was moored so as to be able to fire through the lane we had cut. The dark valley of the Nahr el Kelb was open to our view, as well as the now well-known tablet in the Rock of Thothmes the Third. The river was fordable. The bridge, said to be as ancient as the tablet, crosses the stream about a quarter of a mile from the sea, and on it was a picket, and with it one of our officers, to give notice of the approach of an enemy. On the 1 8th, after being hard at work watering ship all day, I had just turned in, when a quarter- master called me, and I was sent on immediate service. Captain Stewart had returned from the admiral, who had desired him to complete water and 86 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 be ready to sail at once for the North. Accordingly Lieutenant Blane was sent in command of forty men, with whom I went. We were ordered to land on the right bank of the Nahr el Kelb, and raft the casks when full, while the boats and ship with long warps hauled them off through the surf. The orders further said : " Should the enemy attack you, you can either swim through the surf to the boats or run to the position of General Jochmus," which was three miles off, across the river and the steep hills. The signal for the enemy's advance was to be a blue light, burned by the outpost on the brow of the hill, and, of course, with the two precarious modes of retreat, we were far from anxious to see that signal. About three in the morning the launches out- side the surf hailed us to say that the blue light was burning, and for a few moments we were rapidly con- sidering which was the better way to escape, becom- ing prisoners, for we had no arms. Luckily it was a false alarm. The morning star rising behind the hill showed blue through the brushwood, and as it rose clear and bright above it, we were relieved from our suspense and from the interruption of our duties. Meantime our marines had been sent away on an enterprise to attack Djebail, a fortified post held by the Egyptians. Captain Henry Martin of the Carysfort and Captain Horatio Austin of the Cyclops got their ships within range, and Austin, with the i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 87 marines, landed to attack the place, when a breach seemed to have been effected by the fire of the ships. The marines marched up to the walls with- out scaling ladders, found it impossible to enter, and had to retreat to the ships with five killed and eighteen wounded. Two of the killed were corporals belonging to the Benbow. Samuel Roberts had served with me in the Trinculo ; and my old in- structor Sergeant Blackford, though he did not belong to the Benbow, was also killed there with his former comrade. Our other corporal, Joy, crawled down to the beach, but bled to death for want of a tourniquet or knowledge how to improvise one. We were rather adrift in the art of war in attacking a fortified post without scaling ladders, and going into action without a doctor or the necessary appliances. The garrison evacuated the fort next morning. The Union Jack had been planted on a corner of the outer wall during the assault. Colour-Sergeant Blackford had been killed there, and the flag was left. Lieutenants Sydney Grenfell and George Giffard returned under heavy fire and brought it away, in which service the latter was severely wounded. We re-embarked our marines and sailed for the north. We summoned Ruad on the 20th, which surrendered. It was the principal island of the kingdom of Arvad mentioned in Scripture. For the next three days we were employed in 88 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 watering. In doing so we landed our marines and dislodged a party of Egyptian cavalry, taking their tents, saddles, and camp equipage. On the 23rd September 1840 the first cutter was despatched down the coast towards Tripoli to look for a better watering-place. Lieutenant Charlewood was in command, with Hon. Arthur Cochrane and a civil engineer, Mr. Brettel, who had been employed in Syria, but had taken refuge on board the Benbow on the outbreak of the war. After recon- noitring for about six miles to the southward, and having found that the cavalry did not water so far down the coast, we returned, sailing close in shore. We observed about three miles from the ship a stream coming copiously through the shingle, and we landed to examine it for a watering-place, and to gather information from some country people a little distance inland. The shingle was steep and about six feet high, and hid the boat, which was desired to wait. Each of us took a musket and began walking up the right bank of the stream. It meandered through a meadow. We crossed to the left bank, which was low, and Brettel, not caring to get his feet wet, I carried him through the water. We went up the hill, and found the landward side covered with thick brushwood. We were then about 350 yards from the boat. Charlewood and I 1840 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 89 left Brettel and Cochrane on the top of the hill, and going round the wood into the country, we advanced about 300 yards farther. We were much surprised to see the friendly peasants waving to us to go away, instead of coming to speak to us. A white pocket-handkerchief tied to a musket was called into requisition as a flag of truce, but without avail. Suddenly we heard Brettel and Cochrane calling to warn us, and we saw a troop of cavalry trotting towards us at a good round pace. If their officer had known the ground he might have cut us off from the boat, but they crossed to the other side of the river higher up. We ran for it. Brettel, who had sprained his ankle, got through all right without being carried, but Arthur Cochrane lost his shoe, so I had to hoist him up instead. We ran straight for the boat about 700 yards. The cavalry frequently came down to the meandering stream, but the bank on their side was too steep for an armed man to ride down. They constantly called on us to stop and surrender, and fired a pistol shot or two at us without effect. The officer, especially, was naturally very conspicuous. We heard he was a Pole, of whom there were a good many in Mehemet All's service. I offered to shoot him or his horse, but Charlewood would not allow it, I now think wisely. We got to the top of the shelving shingle on one side, where the brook oozed through the gravel, and 90 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 they on the other. There they reined up, on seeing the boat within a few yards of the beach and each man armed with a musket. We scrambled on board and shoved off into deep water. When the officer saw that Charlewood would not allow any firing at them he saluted, for he recognised that he was at our mercy. He sent his troops away threes about, and stayed a moment courteously to wave his adieux, which we as courteously returned. We saw him no more. The peasants then came down to the boat and gave us the information we needed. It was not very accurate, as we found to our cost, for they told us, truly, that the greater part of the garrison of Tortosa had marched away ; but they did not tell us that it had been replaced. On the previous day we had shelled an assem- blage of troops who had tried to drive us away from the watering-place, rightly imagining them to be the retiring garrison. We succeeded in watering both the Carysfort and Zebra, So on the 26th these two ships, which were anchored in the passage between Ruad and Tortosa, opened fire on Tortosa and succeeded in breaching the wall. The breach seemed practicable at i p.m. The launch, barge, pinnace, and first cutter of the Benbow, three boats of the Carysfort, the Zebras pinnace, and a considerable landing party were assembled alongside the Carys- forty where Captain Houston Stewart himself was i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 91 in command. The boats were placed under the orders of Lieutenant William Maitland, first of the B endow. On the previous day the approach to the beach had been surveyed, but the surveying officer had not discovered a reef of rocks which, hidden under smooth water, showed no sign in the calm weather which prevailed. This reef extended across the line in which the boats rowed straight from the Carysfort to the beach below the breach. Two boats only landed, the Benbows first cutter, of which I was in charge, and the jolly-boat of the Carysfort, commanded by William Houston Stewart — all the other boats stuck on the reef. Fire was opened on the stranded boats, and Stewart and I were busily engaged in ferrying the men ashore from them. In a few minutes one man was killed and four wounded in the cutter, and six killed and eighteen wounded in all. Captain Stewart came in his gig into the thick of the fire, and finding the boats immovable, desired me to go ashore and tell Maitland and Charlewood to re-embark. The fire of the enemy redoubled in energy, and the Carysfort opened over our heads on the breach and loopholes, which kept it under till we had succeeded in embark- ing all hands and the wounded, as well as in bringing away the dead. I saw a curious case of wounding. We had a piper on board the Benbow named Alexander Stewart, who 92 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 landed, but without his pipes ; he ascended the breach with Charlewood. A bullet struck his leather belt in front and came out opposite through the leather belt behind. He tumbled over like a rabbit. He was brought down to the boat insensible, and we thought he had been shot through the body, but when we got him on board it was found that the bullet had only grazed the skin and had run round his waist and come out as described through the belt behind. The surgeon said that he was saved by having eaten a good dinner before landing, for the force of the bullet, partially spent by the ornaments on his belt, was further diverted by his taut skin, which deflected it. Within six weeks he was "blowing" up his chanter. The only officer wounded was William Houston Stewart, now the distinguished admiral, so long Controller of the Navy. Three days afterwards the constant fire induced the garrison to surrender. We proceeded up the coast to the Gulf of Scan- deroon, where we were joined by the Magicienne and Zebra, Whilst there we were daily engaged in harassing the enemy. I had an agreeable change, however, for I was sent in charge of all the dingies and light boats to the Magicienne, and she took us over to the creeks at the mouth of the Issus. On the i6th, going up these, we drove numbers of hawk's-bill turtle before us, and we contrived to turn and bring on board forty-two. The next morning the turtles had taken 1840 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 93 the alarm and we only turned six. We were able to send down a good many to the squadron at Beyrout, but a ship's cook makes very poor turtle-soup, as I had already found at Ascension. We returned to Beyrout on the 25th October after capturing Latakia on the 2 1 St. There we assembled seven sail of the line, besides the Vanguard, which had brought sup- plies, but left on the 28th and so missed the battle. On Sunday, ist November, Sir Robert Stopford sailed from Beyrout with — Princess Charlotte, Captain A. Fanshawe, bearing the flag red at the main, of Admiral The Hon. Sir Robert Stopford. Powerful Edinburgh Bellerophon Thunderer Revenge Benbow Castor Carysfort Commodore Charles Napier. Captain Hastings. „ Charles Austin. „ M. F. Berkeley. „ Hon. W. Waldegrave. „ Houston Stewart. „ Edward Collier. ,, Henry Martin. Commander Mansel. Wasp . We ran down with a light fair wind for St. Jean d'Acre, and the Harrier, Commander Hon. Charles Elliot, joined from Tyre. On Monday at five o'clock we anchored off Acre. We found here — Pique, Captain Boxer; Talbot, Captain Codrington; Gorgon, Captain Henderson ; Vesuvius, Commander R. S. Robinson ; Stromboli, Commander Williams ; Phoenix, Commander R. Stopford. There was also an Austrian squadron — Medea, Guerriera and Lipsia, on board of which were the Archduke Maximilian, subsequently 94 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 the unfortunate Emperor of Mexico, and Tegethof, a midshipman, afterwards the admiral who won the battle of Lissa. The Pique and her squadron had been busy sounding and surveying, and Henry Codrington had gone in and placed buoys on the shoals which surround the fortress. Inside the shoals is deep water, and Colonel Schultz, a Pole, who was Governor, mistook the object of the buoys, as he told us afterwards when he was prisoner on board the Benbow, He did not know that there was a shoal to avoid, and as the buoys were as numerous as the ships, he thought they indicated the stations, at each of which a ship was to anchor. He accordingly laid his guns for the buoys, and filled up the embrasures below their muzzles with sandbags. When he found the ships enter the channel between the buoys and the fortification, he discovered his mistake, but the storm of bullets from the broadsides was too incessant to permit him to clear away the sandbags. The shot from his guns therefore passed about ten or twelve feet above the poops of the line- of-battle ships engaged. It was said afterwards, in reply to the question why we lost so few men at Acre, that it was because Schultz chose to fire at the boys (? buoys). The British fleet was then commanded by Sir Robert Stopford. He had served all through the great war. There is not a volume of James's Naval i84o WARS—SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 95 History in which his name does not occur as a frigate captain, or in command of line-of-battle ships, or finally as a Rear- Admiral. He was one of the captains of Nelsons fleet in 1805, but was unfortu- nately detached with Rear- Admiral Louis on the eve of Trafalgar. He commanded the Spencer in Sir Thomas Duckworth's battle off St. Domingo. His flag was hoisted as a junior admiral to Lord Gam- bier in the unfortunate attack in Basque Roads. His conduct there had not been impugned by Lord Cochrane, who respected his fine character. His charming manner, his hospitality, his long and meritorious services endeared him to all who served under him. As the attack on Acre had to be con- ducted from two sides, the south and the west, the Admiral, in order to direct the battle on each front, embarked in the Phoenix, which, as he steamed about, along the two lines, occasionally fired a shell into the fortress. At 3.30 A.M. on the 3rd November 1840 the Benbow was ready to weigh. We were to be towed into our position. For some reason unexplained, but chiefly, I believe, because there were only three steamers, it was deemed better to wait for a breeze than to send ships in singly. It may be asked how one felt at the prospect of being engaged in what promised to be a sanguinary battle. Well, after turning out of my hammock at 3 a.m., dressing 96 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 and kneeling down at my chest in the cockpit, praying for success to our squadron, impunity for the Benbow, and safety for myself (all which were mercifully granted), I went on deck, where I found Charlewood, who was engaged to be married, con- fiding his last adieux to his fiancee to the chaplain, in case he should fall. Then the Stromboli came to tow us in, but we were signalled to wait for the breeze. About 5000 Turkish troops were embarked in the fleet, of whom we had 500. They had been sent below on to the orlop deck. A report from the police of the ship stated that they insisted on smoking, which, as they were close to the hemp cables and magazines, could not, of course, be tolerated. I was sent down with the Turkish colonel to stop this dangerous performance. At his orders all pipes had been extinguished, except one. The smoker lay flat on his face on the cable tier, with his lighted pipe close to the hemp cables. I pointed him out to the Bimbashi, who seized the offender, strewing the ashes of his pipe among the cables, took his bayonet from the culprit and belaboured him with it. A bucket of water was thrown over him for fear the hemp might have caught fire from the scattered embers of his chibouk. The men had dined at 11.30; the breeze was favourable by 2 p.m. Captain Boxer of the Pique y who knew the shoals, came on board, and Captain i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 97 Houston Stewart asked permission of the Admiral by signal to lead in and engage the enemy. The ships of our division took up their berths accurately along the south front. The farthest to the east was Baldwin Walker, with his flag on a Turkish line-of-battle ship. The Wasp next, in a position which a line-of-battle ship might have envied. Then came the BenboWy Edinburgh, Pique, Castor, and the three Austrians. As the wind fell, we shortened, but did not furl sails; and with a spring on our cable, our position was excellent. Just before anchoring the hands were ordered on deck, and the captain said a few words of confidence and encouragement to the crew, who went quietly to their guns, and the action became warm. The enemy's shot passed about twelve feet over our poop. The action ceased before five o'clock, for a great catastrophe had occurred in the town. The magazine blew up and destroyed 1 200 men. In the night we were employed in our boats laying out warps to haul the Benbow and Edinburgh close to the walls to commence to breach them at daylight, but at one in the morning of the 4th we had the satisfaction of hearing that Acre had surrendered. The Benbow had fourteen shot in the hull, her forerigging much cut, the mainyard shot away in the slings, but not a man touched. If Thiers had still been in office, the French would H 98 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 have joined Mehemet Ali. Tahir Pasha had deserted with the Turkish fleet to Egypt, and the French not only outnumbered us, but we had hardly a shot left in the locker. It was some days before any transports arrived with necessary supplies, and the ships were not fully provided with powder and shot till they reached Marmorice more than two months later. I landed on the 4th with Mr. (the late Sir William) King Hall, then a messmate of mine. We walked round the ramparts. The number of killed and wounded was appalling. The traverses were all beaten down and nearly all the guns dis- mounted by the cross-fire. Turkish soldiers and marines were engaged in extinguishing the fires which were burning in the neighbourhood of a smaller magazine than that which had caused such havoc. We left, went out of the gate, and found the Commodore and our captain, who took us with them to Coeur-de-lion s Mount. As we were walk- ing the small magazine blew up, destroying many of the party we had just been talking to. A large number of shells were ignited and thrown out of the town ; many fell around us. We four all began to run for some shelter. Then the Commodore's shoes came off, and he had to stop. Whenever this happened he began calling out, ** Stewart, man, what are ye running for ? " We pulled up for him i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 99 till he could run again, and at last got out of the un- pleasant neighbourhood, in which we were in some considerable danger. We were glad to reach Coeur- de-lion's Mount, and in the light of the Talisman to think of the famous deed there performed by David Earl of Huntingdon, and also to contemplate the place where, in the fight at Ascalon, my ancestor, William Hay of Errol, and six of his sons fell in the three days' battle. From that day, to the time when Sir Sidney Smith and Djezzar Pacha turned back Napoleon, it is a place of bloody memories and great renown. The victory of the 3rd November was politically fortunate and navally successful. On returning to Bey rout, Farquhar (now Sir Arthur) of the Princess Charlotte, W. F. Day, who died a Captain, V.C., and I, obtained leave to go to Baalbec and Damascus. We had made the acquaintance of Assaad y Kayat, a Syrian gentleman educated at Cambridge, who went with us. I bought a very good chestnut horse for $28, from a man who probably had stolen it. With- out Assaad y Kayat we should have seen nothing ; but he made our journey most agreeable, knowing the route well and being very communicative. We rode from Beyrout to Zachli, and passed through an Albanian encampment. They had deserted Ibrahim about a month before, but were not to be trusted as yet, and were rusticating in the mountains until their fidelity to Abdul Medjid was more assured. loo LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 We met Colonel Bridgeman at 11.30, and half an hour later Major Elers Napier, both returning from a reconnaissance. They prevented us from going to Damascus, but said it was all safe as far as Baalbec. We slept at Zachli, and next morning cantered across the plain to Baalbec. We were as much impressed with the famous ruins as all travellers are who visit them. They are so well known now that to describe them is needless. The Emir Beschir at Zachli had sent his son to offer every hospitality, and at Baalbec the Emir Chandjar was equally friendly, and gave us pilau, roast fowl, curds, cheese and milk, and very well baked ** scones," quite Scotch in character. As the Damascus route was barred by Ibrahim's army, we returned to sleep at Zachli, and rode the following morning to Malain, saw the Patalla Zuarib ruins (said to be antediluvian), passed the convent of Menge and the village of Selma, with the handsome palace of the Emir Handsir, at that time an exile in Nubia. After passing through several groves of fir trees and some rhododendrons we stopped to dine at the convent of Mar Elias, where the superior treated us hospitably. We had a tiresome ride down the stairs cut in the rock to Mar Fagar, where we called on the Arch- bishop Benjamin of Beyrout. Snow fell and a very heavy gale was blowing, and at eight we crossed the bridge of the Dead River and returned to Beyrout i84o WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN ' i6i ' about 8.30, in the dark. We had been sixty -two hours away and forty-two in the saddle. This ended an agreeable tour, and a companion- ship which has always been a source of pleasant memories. But I still have the good fortune of counting Sir Arthur Farquhar among my friends. Whether under his pendant or his flag, he has made many more, as well as at his charming place in Aberdeenshire, where both with rod and rifle he has proved himself as good a sportsman as he is an officer. Our other fellow-traveller, W. F. Day, lived to be a captain, a V.C., and C.B. He was as excellent a fellow as ever lived, and a gentleman Jock of the first quality, as good a man on horseback as he was on the quarter-deck. When he joined Sir James Hope in China, after that distinguished admiral's splendid bravery at the Peiho, Day reported himself in proper uniform, but with miniature decorations, then come into vogue in England, but not yet sanctioned by authority. ''Pray, Commander Day,'' said the Admiral, " what are those things hanging on your coat ? " Day explained. " I find no authority for them," said the Admiral. Day took them off and put them in his pocket. ** Now we can proceed to business," said the Commander-in-chief. We were unable to return to our ships owing to the gale. The Bellerophon had slipped and gone io2 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1840 to sea, but the Princess Charlotte and Benbow were lying with topmasts struck, yards pointed to the wind and pitching bows under. Eleven sail of merchant vessels were wrecked in St. George's Bay. On the 4th December, the weather having moderated, we returned on board, and the Admiral with Princess Charlotte, Gorgon, and Prometheus left for Mar- morice. On the 6th we followed, and arrived on 4th January 1 84 1 . We found here a fine fleet of thirteen sail of the line, two corvettes, and two steam vessels and the three Austrian allies. There were three British admirals — Sir Robert Stopford, Sir John Ommanney, and Sir John Louis ; and Commo- dore Sir Charles Napier, now with a red broad pendant. The haste with which additional ships had been hurried out had left no time for adornment, and the Calcutta (84) had still the yellow sides with which she had lain in ordinary for many years. Indeed, at that time the allowance of paint was so small, that the captain or commander or first lieutenant had to pay large sums for paint to enable their ships to maintain a decent appearance. Sir John Phillimore, when commissioning a frigate not long before I joined the navy, and when the Navy Board was still in existence, painted one side of his frigate black and white, and expended the rest of the black paint by painting on the other side in large letters *' no 1 84 1 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 103 MORE PAINT." The Navy Board wrote to call his attention to the impropriety of his conduct, and signed themselves, as they did officially, ''your affectionate friends." To this Sir John replied that he could not colour the rest of his ship black and so obliterate the objectionable letters unless they gave him more paint, and to this letter he signed himself ''your affectionate friend, John Phillimore." The Navy Board then called his attention to the impro- priety of his signature, to which Sir John replied acknowledging the letter, and stating that he re- gretted that the needful paint had not been sent, and that "I am no longer your affectionate friend, John Phillimore." Whether Sir Samuel Roberts who commanded the Calcutta was influenced by any such reason, I know not, but she was as yellow as she had been when moored in port and out of commission. From her we received powder and shot and other necessary supplies. The B endow left the fleet and returned to Bey rout, as Captain Stewart was appointed senior officer on the coast of Syria. We arrived there on the 24th June. On the i8th our new commander, William Hayhurst Hall, arrived, and the news of the Acre promotions. Hathorn to be captain, Maitland and Charlewood to be commanders, O'Brien, Snow, and Stanfell to be lieutenants, and our captain C.B. The Cyclops brought us this good news, but we were I04 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1841 all much disappointed that no peerage was bestowed on Sir Robert Stopford. In February, Day, Ross, and I obtained leave to visit Jerusalem. We rode all the way with a guide and a Tesker6, giving us authority to obtain ten mounted soldiers for our protection when required. We stayed on successive nights at Sidon, Tyre, Acre, Nazareth, and Nablous, generally sleeping "sub Jove " to avoid the fleas. At Acre we were received by an old friend, Simpson of the Zebra, which had been wrecked in the great gale of the 2nd December. At one end of his quarters was the mess and at the other were the plague patients, for the crews of both the Castor zxidi of the wrecked Zebra suffered severely from that malignant disorder, losing about sixty men. Simpson met us at the door with, '' Old fellows, if you don't mind the plague, I can put you up with pleasure" ; and very hospitably he entertained us. At the Latin Convent at Nazareth we each obtained an Indulgence, seven years in advance, for almost all ordinary trans- gressions, which cost us each $ 1 8. We had intended, like the Crusaders, to dismount and give thanks when we first caught sight of the Holy City, but it was too near the time of closing the gates, and so we pushed on for our lodging in the Latin Convent, where we stayed four days. Then riding down to Jaffa, I sold my horse, and we embarked in H.M.S. Vesuvius, which took us back to the Benbow, i842 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 105 On the 17th February I was able to pass my examination in seamanship. Captains Houston Stewart, W. H. Henderson, and W. H. Hall being my examining captains — and I thus became a mate in Her Majesty's Navy. Shortly after we were relieved from the duties on the coast of Syria, by Sir James Stirling in the Indus. Our remaining time in the Mediterranean was passed in ordinary routine, which took us at intervals to Malta, Suda Bay, and Athens. There Captain Edmund Lyons was our Minister. He was most kind and hospitable to all, and presented us at Court, introduced us to all the other Legations, and dined with us in the Benbow's gun-room. We visited Thermopylae and Marathon, climbed Pentelicus and drove to Eleusis. The Prokesch d'Ostens represented Austria, the Catacazys Russia, the Linois France. Madame Prokesch d'Osten had been charged with the care of the Due de Reichstadt, son of Napoleon I. She had been much distressed by his death, and a fancied resemblance which she saw in me made her extremely friendly. M. Lintz, the secretary of the Russian Legation, and his wife were also kind, and she was most charming, vivacious, and pretty. We heard in the Piraeus of the birth of the Prince of Wales, about three weeks after the event, and in May 1842 the Benbow paid off at Sheerness, io6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1842 after a most interesting and happy commission. Then those of us who had to pass in navigation and gunnery went to Portsmouth. There was no provision made in those days for officers attending these examinations. There was then a well- known coach, Mr. Snow, whom I wrote to and engaged, as well as a lodging in George Square. I left Sheerness by a tax-cart which took me to Sitting- bourne, thence from that excellent inn the Rose, by the Dover mail to London. I found awaiting me an invitation to Beddington Park for the Derby, and went down there instead of to Portsmouth. At Beddington, Captain and Mrs. Carew entertained a very jolly party all through the race week. It was my first Derby, and I saw Attila win it. At night, however, I sat up working till two or three in the morning, with a wet towel round my head, which had been recommended as an aid to study. On the Saturday I turned up at my Portsmouth lodgings and met Mr. Snow. He said, '* Sir, you have only given me two days for preparing you. You should have been here a week ago." So I said, *'Sir, your charge is, I understand, a pound a day. I will give you a five pound note if I pass and nothing if I fail. Will you agree .^" ''Well," he said, " Let us work for an hour and see what you can do." At the end of the hour he accepted the offer. 1842 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 107 One day at the college and two days on board the Excellent completed the examination. Mr. Snow examined my answers to the questions, and was fairly satisfied each day. The Commander-in-chief was that distinguished officer, Sir Edward Codrington. Into his presence all those who had passed were ushered, and the professor proceeded to read from a document. Four names, of whom Jack Tower was the first and my messmate Alexander West another, were read out as having passed in the first class. They were most highly praised and complimented by the Admiral. Then about a dozen who had passed second, and then the third class, still more numerous, were called over and advised to do better in the future. During all this time I passed a tres mauvais quart dheure. All had gone, and I remained alone in fear and trembling. I began to think that I ought not to have gone to the Derby. The Admiral, who knew my friends, seeing me there said to the professor as he was packing up his papers, *' What is Mr. Hay here for.?" Upon which the pro- fessor, putting on his glasses and looking over his papers, said, **Oh! I beg pardon, the name of Mr. Hay is in the first class. I omitted to read it." Sir Edward Codrington then stepped forward and said, '' I hope you heard all that I said to your companions in the first class ; all that io8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1842 I said to them I would repeat to you, and I trust you will let your friends know how glad I am that you have passed with such distinction." I hope soon to see you a lieutenant. Mr. Snow received his five pound note, which I paid with extreme pleasure. I returned to London and Wigtonshire just before the Queen's first visit to Scotland. My father did not feel able to go and wait upon the Queen at Dalkeith, but desired me, as his eldest son, to do so. On inquiry, I found that a mate could not be presented, not being a commissioned officer. So I was obliged to obtain a Court dress — brown coat, tights, and a flowered waistcoat, which was rendered singular only by the fact that I wore the Acre medal which had recently been bestowed. I was duly presented by the vice- lieutenant of my county, Sir Andrew Agnew, who took me out with him to Dalkeith. With a couple of horses which I drove in tandem and occasionally hunted, and some good grouse and partridge-shooting and salmon -fishing at home, I passed the autumn, especially hospitably treated by my friend and neighbour. Stair Stewart of Physgill, whose pack of hounds gave capital sport, and whose house of Glasserton was constantly and kindly open to me. Among those of my neighbours who were also old friends and shipmates, were Captain George i842 WARS— SULPHUR AND SYRIAN 109 Hathorn and Commander William Maidand, both among the Acre promotions. On the 3rd of November we founded an Acre dinner, which the kind Sheriff M'Donel commenced and continued on that anniversary, as long as he lived. CHAPTER VI INDIA AND CHINA Towards the end of the year 1842 William Maitland was nominated to the Spiteful steamer. I asked him to have me appointed, and we sailed for China on 24th March 1843, touching at Madeira and Rio de Janeiro, and passing on thence to the Straits of Sunda. In making the passage we lost nearly all our paddles, and had hardly enough iron -work to support the floats as we steamed from Angier roads to Singapore. We had been ordered by the Admiralty to make the voyage under sail ; but, though we economised in the coal bill, the ship was not only far from efficient, but had to leave China at a critical time and go to Bombay to be repaired. We patched up at Singapore as well as we could. On the 29th August we steamed out of that port. On 3rd August the weather was oppressively sultry ; it was my forenoon watch. Suddenly about 1 843 INDIA AND CHINA iii lo A.M. a slight and at first almost imperceptible black cloud rose in the west. Sail was at once taken in, and, fortunately, watching the horizon, we saw the water thrown up in columns towards the sky, and a white ridge marked the coming storm. The sails were at once furled, but before the men were down from aloft, a tremendous squall, followed by heavy mist and blinding rain, struck the ship. She heeled over under bare poles like a jolly-boat, and the squall, which in all my experience was the heaviest and came with the least warning, after the first violence was over, blew like a well-conditioned gale of wind. The floats of our rickety paddles suffered in consequence, and at three in the after- noon we took shelter under Pulo Zapato to repair them. Many birds which had been driven by the gale to the island flocked on to the ship, but we left them and the island behind at 5.30, having patched up our paddles. Our third lieutenant, James Willcox, was, I think, the best officer with whom I ever served. An instance of his coolness may here be given. He had the first watch from 8 p.m. to midnight; at about 10.50 P.M. he observed smoke issuing from the deck amidships, and a smell of burning pervaded the ship. He sent down for me and showed me what was quite apparent, namely, that the ship was on fire. He sent me down to Maitland and ordered 112 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1843 the drummer to be called to beat to quarters. I called Maitland and explained the state of affairs. He at once came on deck. As soon as the men were at quarters, the fire bell was rung, and the firemen were ordered, as if only for drill, to go to the place where the fire was. I was sent with them, as by Willcox s coolness no one but the captain and I knew what was really the matter. We set to work in the steadiest manner, and in about twenty minutes the fire was extinguished, and only three beams were burnt through. Willcox received great praise for the admirable manner in which he had prevented any- thing like unsteadiness, which fire, above all things at night, is likely to induce in a young ship's company. On the 6th September we reached Hong-Kong, more than five months from Plymouth. We found here Admiral Sir William Parker in the Cornwallis, Rear -Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane in the Agincourty and the hospital ship Minden, Captain Michael Quin. The Cornwallis was commanded by Captain Peter Richards, and the Agincourt by Captain Henry Bruce. The Curlew, Commander G. Wellesley, and the Sapphire troopship and Proserpine were also present. The same day the Driver, Commander Hayes, arrived. At that time, I think, only one European house had been built at Hong-Kong. It was yellow, and occupied by Alexander Campbell Johnstone, then 1843 INDIA AND CHINA 113 Deputy Superintendent for trade in China. After a survey held on our defects it appeared that there was no means of making us efficient without going to Bombay. The Vixen arrived from Manilla on the 20th, and her commander, George Giffard, the same who had been wounded in saving the colours at Djebail, applied for and obtained Willcox, with the intention of eventually getting him to become first lieutenant, which post, owing to the seniority and respectable services of the First Lieutenant Newland of the Spiteful, he could not hope to obtain in her. He joined the Vixen on the 24th September. Sir William Parker came on board on the 3rd October, hoisted his flag, and we proceeded to Whampoa. Mr. Allen, going up to be master of the Dido, was ordered to act as pilot, as he had frequently been up to Canton. He had been lately appointed to the Dido, commanded by Captain Keppel. The master of the Spiteful was a little annoyed at being superseded and deprived of his pilotage, but he had his satisfaction, for Allen, though a skilful and excel- lent officer, ran us full tilt on the Brunswick Rock, and we saw great pieces of our false keel coming up alongside. The Admiral, who was standing on the paddle-box, was nearly thrown off it, and I don't think Mr. Allen's interview with him was of a very agreeable character. Mr. Elliot, still master of the I 114 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1843 DidOy whom Mr. Allen was to relieve, came down and took charge up to the head of Whampoa reach, In which were 43,000 tons of shipping, of which about 11,000 sailed under the flag of the United States. On the 5th Maitland, Mr. Farrar, the purser, and I went up in the gig to Canton, saw all that there was to be seen, dined at Cook's Hotel, and started for the ship. We lost our way by taking a wrong branch of the river, and did not get on board till 6 a.m. We took the admiral back to Hong-Kong on the 8th October, but he rejoined us on the 28th and remained on board a week, when we carried him over to Macao. The squadron at Hong-Kong was terribly sickly. Every day the numbers of sick were hoisted for the admiral's information, frequently amounting to more than half the ships' companies. Both our surgeon, Dr. Pritchett, and our assistant - surgeon, Marcus Dill, fell ill, the former going home, the latter dying ; and an assistant-surgeon, Dr. William Patrick, was sent to us from the Cornwallis, who also soon died of the prevailing fever. The healthy officers, of whom I was one, were constantly employed in burying the dead in the Lymoon Pass, and we nearly knew the burial service by heart. On the I St December 1843, with half our ship's company ill, we left for Bombay. We had again to patch up at Singapore, but the men began to revive by the change. A curious incident occurred on 1 844 INDIA AND CHINA 115 our voyage. We were running in my watch with all sail set when the ship came up in the wind. I cautioned the quartermaster and helmsman, and going close to them ordered the helm to be put hard over ; this the man tried to do, but the wheel going round more than three times, I saw that something was wrong. I turned the hands up to shorten sail, hooked the relieving tackles, and got the ship under command, but not till she had turned twice round. We found that the tee-bolt had drawn from the barrel of the wheel — a most unusual accident. It might have caused serious consequences if we had been in company with other ships, or near the land. We reached Bombay on the 27th December 1843, and were docked and berthed on board a hulk, called the Bussorah Merchant, We had a navy tent on the esplanade, and were very well treated. Among other acquaintances, William Sprott Boyd of Merton Hall was there for the races. He was then Resident at Baroda. Patrick and I, coming from the same part of Scotland, were looked after by him. His horse Amato won all the best stakes, and we had a pleasant time at the Byculla Club. But the China fever, which I had escaped in China, overtook me at Bombay, and I was laid up for two months. On the 4th February 1844, also just before this, it was my first watch, and I gave some order to the boat- swain's mate of the watch at midnight. When my ii6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1844 servant called me at six, he said : *' The cholera has been on board in the night, sir, — took seven men and three dead " ; W. Taggitt, the boatswain's mate above mentioned, being one of those who had died within the six hours. On the 14th February we were glad to leave the Bussorah Merchant, where we had lost so many men. On the 2nd April the Spiteful made her trial trip, which was satisfactory. On the 13th April, as I was too ill to embark, I was transferred to H.M.S. CliOy commanded by Commander James Fitzjames. The governor. Sir George Arthur, invited me to Parell, and his son, Captain Frederick Arthur, and his secretary, Bartle Frere — shortly to become his son-in-law, took great charge of me, and soon brought me round. Dr. M'Lennan also deserved my most grateful thanks for all his attention, for he looked after me when poor Patrick had left in the Spiteful. W. Sprott Boyd, who had been twenty-two years in India, took his first leave, and secured his passage home soon after. He ran down to Ceylon and back, and died suddenly the day he was about to embark from Bombay for England. On 24th May 1844 the Clio sailed for Trincom- alee, where we arrived on the 31st May. The Com- wallis was here with Admiral Sir William Parker, and I was transferred to her from the Clio on the 4th June. Fitzjames soon sailed for England 1 844 INDIA AND CHINA 117 and went with Franklin to the Arctic regions, from which he never returned. He was an excellent actor and mimic, and had been one of the officers who descended the Euphrates with Colonel Chesney. He was a friend of Charlewood, who had also been on that expedition. The Benbow was lying off Latakia, in 1840, when a shore boat came alongside, and two men came up who introduced themselves as missionaries ; they said they were employed by Sir Moses Montefiore in gathering in the ten tribes. They were well got up to represent their clerical character, with straight black hair divided down the middle, and full of missionary talk. It was nearly two hours before we found out that our two clerical guests were Fitzjames and Charlewood. We had a cheetah (a hunting leopard) on board the Clio, rather a dangerous companion. Fitz- james used to allow him to go loose, when the leopard would rush up the lower rigging in pursuit of some of the crew. He was in the act of doing so one day and had jumped on to the hammock netting, when Fitzjames, seeing that the lad he was chasing was seriously alarmed, laid hold of the cheetah by the tail. The creature turned upon him savagely, fixed his paws upon his shoulder, and it was not till he was beaten with an iron bar that he let go his hold. Luckily the hunting cheetah has dog's paws and not the claws of the cat. My ii8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1844 friends and shipmates in the Clio, Dr. Donnet and Lord Sidmouth, happily still alive, probably re- member the occurrence. I remained on board the Cornwallis till the 28th June. I was still very weak, and was carried on shore daily to the bungalow on Sober Island, where a coolie looked after me. One day as I was lying on a low cane chair a cobra capello came in, crawling up the steps and along the floor; my voice just reached the coolie and warned him, who, bringing in a bamboo, despatched with it the un- welcome visitant. Sir William Parker was just about to relinquish his command and sail for England. He wished me to do the same, thinking that I could not recover in the tropics. He ordered a medical board to inspect me, and they reported that I could not survive another season in China. The Admiral kindly sent Captain Richards to me to try and persuade me to consent to go home, but I was firm in desiring to remain out. I told Captain Richards that I believed the new Commander-in-chief, Sir Thomas Cochrane, might possibly look after my interests and promotion. He asked if I or my friends had any promise from him, to which I was obliged to say No, but I still persisted in resolving to remain, on which he said, ''You are a very foolish young man ; you are laying out for yourself a flower garden 1 844 INDIA AND CHINA 119 in China which can never be realised." I did not see Captain Richards again until I paid off the Columbine as a captain in 1850, nor Sir William Parker until I fitted out the Indus in 1857, under his orders, at Devonport. Both of them reminded me of this conversation, and said that my firm- ness had deserved the rapid promotion which had followed. The Vixen, to which I was now appointed, was commanded by Commander George Giffard. The first lieutenant was James Willcox. I had an old friend in Edward Dent, a mate and messmate, and I must also remember the doctor, Cree, still living, who to his excellent knowledge of his own profes- sion, added the accomplishment of being a good water-colour painter ; I possess three of his water- colours now, which I highly value as his gift, and which add to the illustrations in this volume. The ship was as smart as possible, and neither Willcox nor Giffard spared money or labour to make her perfect. We said good-bye to Sir William Parker and the Comwallis at Trincomalee on the loth July 1844, and reached Singapore on the 17th. I again resumed duty as officer of a watch and performed all the functions of a lieutenant. I soon began to recover from the fever. Curiously enough, when leaving London in 1842, I had a presentiment that I20 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1844 I should have a fever, therefore I bought a wig from Truefitt as like my own hair as two peas. This being hermetically sealed in a tin case, was in excellent order, and I astonished my shipmates by appearing with a fully-grown head of hair instead of the bald-headed and shaven scarecrow which had joined from the Cornwallis, It was most comfortable, as one could plunge one's head in cold water constantly, and in that warm climate I allowed my own hair to grow with regret ; but I had to do it, for in a few months the wig was worn out, and there was no Chinese Truefitt to renew it. Thanks to Edward Dent our mess was excellent ; and as he was a near relative of the great mercantile house of Dent and Company, we took up his uncle, Mr. Wilkinson Dent, its head, from Singapore, in our mess. He succeeded William Leslie of Wart- hill, later on member for Aberdeenshire, one of the best men who ever lived, and whose friendship I enjoyed until his death. This was a fortunate acquaintance, as it gave us free entry to that most hospitable house, both at Canton and at Hong-Kong, which we reached on the 25th July. Here we found the Agincourty but Sir Thomas Cochrane, now Com- mander-in-chief, was away. We were despatched at once to Macao, and returned next day with General d'Aguilar, commanding the troops in China. On the /V^'^:.^:^;^^- 1 844 INDIA AND CHINA 121 same day Sir Thomas Cochrane came back in my old ship, the Spiteful, attended by xh^ Alligator and my future ship the Wolverine. We now had a cruise to Chusan, and a visit on our way back to Amoy, and to Namoa, where we communicated with the Plover, surveying vessel. From Collinson, an old South American friend, and from my messmate Billy Bate, the assistant surveyor, I got much informa- tion, with sailing directions and copies of these unpublished charts, which stood me in good stead afterwards. We towed the Agincourt out of Hong-Kong on the 28th to the 29th August, eighty-two miles on her way to Chusan, and returned to Hong-Kong and Singapore. We remained there from the 7th September to the 29th. During this time we heard of the proceedings of the Dido and her gallant captain, Harry Keppel, in the suppression of piracy and in developing the territory of Sarawak, recently acquired by Mr. Brooke. My last meeting with Mr. Brooke was at Rio Janeiro in 1839, whence he sailed in the three- masted yacht Royalist for the East. He had been in the Indian Army, and having been shot through the body in action, had been invalided and retired from the service. He had succeeded to a fortune, and sailed on a career of adventure seldom enjoyed in this age. In a boat attack, Wade, the first 122 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1844 lieutenant of the Dido, was killed on the 14th August, and we carried the news up to the admiral. Our third lieutenant, Moorsom, who had just succeeded in completing his invention of bursting a shell on impact, was ordered home. He left us, and his invention proving successful, he was promoted to the rank of commander, and rewarded, as he well deserved. I bought his epaulettes, for I had heard from home that Lord Haddington intended to promote me. My old messmate in the Thalia, Colin Kane, joined here as a lieutenant, as did Lieutenant Bonham, nephew of the Governor of Singapore, Sir George Bonham, who shortly afterwards became Governor of Hong-Kong and Chief Superintendent of Trade in China — a most kindly and hospitable host. His very pleasant, easy-going manner con- cealed a shrewd diplomatist and a firm official. On the nth October we left Hong-Kong for Chusan against the N.E. monsoon; we touched at Amoy and arrived at Chusan on the 17th October. The Com- mander-in-chief was there in the Sapphire, but the Agincourt returned from a cruise on the 25th October. The vacancy caused by the death of Lieutenant Wade of the Dido had not been disposed of. All death vacancies on a station were then filled by absolute promotions at the discretion of the Com- mander-in-chief. There was much interest excited 1844 INDIA AND CHINA 123 in the minds of the junior officers as to whom he might select. It was set at rest on the 4th November : on that day I was invited to breakfast by Sir Thomas Cochrane ; Captain Bruce, and the secretary, Edward Waller, were also at breakfast. There were two plates, one over another, before each of us. I helped myself on the upper one to some fish, and then the Admiral pressed upon me an excellent curry, which I resolutely declined ; but he was very urgent, so I yielded, and then discovered the cause of his urgency, for between the two plates I found my commission as lieutenant vice Wade killed in action. Of course I was very grateful. I had been a little over ten years at sea — and as it turned out I was also promoted by Lord Haddington, but by a commission a little junior to that which I now had received through the friendly patronage of Sir Thomas Cochrane. Although a lieutenant of the Dido, I never joined her, for a vacancy occurring soon after in the Agincourt, I was appointed her junior lieutenant. CHAPTER VII FLAG LIEUTENANT COMMANDER — CHINA The Agincourt was commanded by Captain Henry- William Bruce, my old captain in the Imogene, James Caldwell, the flag-lieutenant, was promoted into the Wolfe, and after a short tenure of that office by Lieutenant Buchan, I was appointed by Sir Thomas Cochrane to fill it on the 12th November 1844. I held it till the ist November 1845, ^^4sndi:cuda^ CHAPTER VIII CHINA ENGLAND Although the raising of the Scout was the most im- portant duty on which we were engaged, we also had other opportunities of forwarding the interests of the country. Mr. Belgrave Jackson, the Consul, assisted us in every way, and the Chinese authorities eagerly watched the flotation and re-armament of the Scout, which not only they but all of her own officers, ex- cept Johnstone and the gunner, had given up as a hopeless task. Mr. Beresford Scott, Mr. Crowdy, and I went with the Consul to visit the monastery at Kushan. We travelled in chairs, each carried by four bearers. We started early, at the rate of about six miles an hour, and reached the monastery about ten. We stayed there the day, and slept the night. We crossed a small stream by a neat bridge, exactly like the one so well known on blue china. There we got out of the chairs, and walked up the avenue about four miles — very steep and with stone steps. The base of the hill is 108° 112' 24 20 haVi^ ^ai^^tim. r ^^ J^A^u n g cha vfl! x//.^ ■^ imcfiar ^ ^ ^ ^^- '^9Q>A •hai _ . ^ _,, ,^ ^^..^ J'^^ ^Sf -te ''"^V- rr^"/>5wl?^ ' ^ eninsiila Tunqdhuni %'ia''^^'^. ^-CjU 1 • .^-."u'slX""^^^ »«r XNi^JKj.^-'^^^^Khi-f ?; 0. XJuntsani ^fj^Ti&ufUngR^ 'siU'^'' ' ^*V, Hri! ™^ay^ / 108" E.of Greenwich 112° ee » c^ • i849 CHINA i6i scantily clothed with Pinus montana. The monas- tery stands at an elevation of about 2000 feet. Near it trees of large growth flourish, and the sur- roundings have a park-like appearance. We were comfortably lodged. In the morning we ascended the peak, about 1000 feet above the monastery, or 3000 feet in all, and had a most extensive view. Our hosts showed us the park, and we left them with very pleasant recollections of their hospitality. Lieutenant H. T. Lyon left us here by order from home. He had to give up his profession, of which he was an ornament, in consequence of some family arrangement, by which he eventually suc- ceeded to a large property. He served with me in 1854 for a short time in the Victory, but was obliged to leave definitively before the Russian war. He was an Eton boy, and full of pluck and energy. The order came on the 8th February, as the officers were entertaining our friends at Foochafoo at dinner. The men followed with a play, well acted, which much amused Mr. and Mrs. Jackson's children. All actors and audience alike joined in cheering Lyon as he was leaving. The Governor- General of the Province of Fokien, the Criminal Judge, and the Secretary, Kwo, gave a banquet to Johnstone, the Consul, the Interpreter, Mr. Gingell, and myself. The mandarins received us very graciously in a large, open hall, with a covered M i62 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 marble dais at the side. Several small tables were arranged on the dais. The Mayor sat in the centre, the Consul on his right, with Johnstone beyond, and then the Criminal Judge ; I sat on the left, with the interpreter and Kwo. We had some delicious fresh tea, China fashion, the tea-leaves placed in the cup, and boiling water poured over, without cream or sugar, the saucer inverted over the cup, and the tea sipped between the edge of the saucer and the lip of the cup to act as a strainer. In the hall, which we all faced, an interminable play or sing-song was acted, whilst sixteen different kinds of soup and thirty-nine dishes were handed to each of us. The only liquor, besides tea, was hot samshu distilled from rice. Ivory tablets containing the bill of the play were placed before every one. Our entertainment began about one, and we sat till four, and then with great difficulty persuaded our hosts to allow us to leave for our ships. We returned to Amoy on the 27th February, and left for Hong-Kong on the 15th March. On the 1 6th we anchored at Hong-Kong, where we found the Commander-in-chief, Sir Francis Collier, with his flag in the Hastings, and the Pilot, Albatross, Medea, and Scout all ready for service. On the 22 nd the French ship Bayonnaise arrived, when I first made the ac- quaintance of the late Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, her captain, with whom I was to be associated in the Black Sea — a most accomplished and excellent colleague. 1 849 CHINA 163 On the 4th April we were despatched to Wham- poa, which was our station till 12th August. The Arab, Captain W. Morris, was senior officer at that date, but soon left. The consular agent in the river was Mr. Lena, with whom I continued to act in a friendly manner. Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Bowring arrived soon after as Consul-General at Canton, and my old friend, John Dent, always had a warm welcome for any of us who were able to go there. As soon as I became senior officer, I began taking a daily morn- ing walk, as the sun rose, round the island which forms the right bank of Whampoa reach. In the gardens the lychee was beginning to ripen : one very fine tree was close to the pathway I usually followed. I entered into terms with the owner, and paid him four dollars to keep the tree for my use, and, of course, with the right to take what I wanted on my morning walk. We both kept our bargain, and, as it proved, with much advantage to all ; for in July a Parsee died in Canton. On the island was an English cemetery. The Parsees decided to bury their relative therein. A large Chinese mob assembled to prevent the coffin being landed. Mr. Lena came down in his boat, and requested me to protect the burial party ; it was Sunday afternoon. I landed immediately with the marines, and armed boats' crews. There was a small hill dominating both the path and the 1 64 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 burial ground, which was at its back. I sent a detachment to seize and hold it, and formed a front and rear guard for the funeral procession. A few stones were thrown, but we moved on steadily, and I walked in front. On arriving at the ground we found that the mob had filled in the grave. I formed square round the grave, and endeavoured to obtain by payment the services of some labourers. All refused, but tools were obtained from some of the nearest labourers, for which they were at once paid. This excited the mob, when suddenly the man who owned the lychee tree stood out and said, "Let this man have what he wants, he is honest; he paid me for my lychee tree, and you ought not to oppose him." The mob was quieted, the body was buried, and a promise given that it should not be disturbed — a promise faithfully kept. The lychees were still sweeter to me after this, as they had saved a scuffle which might have ended in bloodshed. I received the thanks of the Governor and Plenipo- tentiary, of the merchants at Hong - Kong and Canton, and of the Parsee community at Bombay and Calcutta for this service. The city of Canton was at that time in- accessible to all foreigners. Dr. Bowring, the Consul, decided to walk round the walls, and I volunteered to accompany him. We rose early on the 4th July 1848, while the ships at Whampoa 1 849 CHINA 165 were celebrating the Independence of the United States. The English merchants were opposed to our proceeding, for fear of a riot. Dr. Bowring, however, deemed it right to show that we were not prisoners. He had been a long time in the House of Commons and was very- shrewd, but he had as yet no knowledge of China. I slept at John Dent's, and in spite of his friendly protestation breakfasted at 4 a.m. and joined the Consul. Lieutenant Bridges and Dr. Ball, a United States missionary, went with us. We dropped down by boat to the execution ground, where much ghastly evidence of its use appeared, and then walked round the whole circuit of the walls. The distance was about seven miles, and we returned to the factories about seven o'clock. We were con- gratulated on coming off with a whole skin ; but excepting some verbal abuse in the lower parts of the suburbs there was nothing to complain of, or to make us think we had incurred any unusual risk. During our stay at Whampoa Captains Keppel and Troubridge came up to visit John Dent, leaving their ships, the Meander and Amazon at the Bogue, the ordinary name for the Boca Tigris, the mouth of the Canton River. I received a note from Keppel, that best of good fellows, on the 4th June, saying that there was to be a regatta at Macao ; that 1 66 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 all the Europeans at Canton and Hong-Kong were to be present, with ships of war from the various nations represented in China ; that he thought the Columbines would like to be there, and that I was to get ready to sail next day to take himself and Troubridge to their respective ships, which were also to rendezvous at Macao. Next day they em- barked, and at night we anchored in Anson Bay alongside the Amazon. On the 6th we weighed, with the Amazon in company, and soon after joined the Meander. The Amazon having got on shore we waited for her, but she soon got off again, and we all anchored for the night. About noon we anchored in Macao harbour. All wore gala dress. Crowds of yachts and boats — Meander, Amazon, Medea, and Columbine ; U.S.S. Plymouth, Commodore Geisinger and Captain Gedney ; U.S.S. Dolphin and Preble-, and the Bayonnaise. That evening Captains Keppel and Troubridge dined with Governor d'Amaral. He was a captain in the Portuguese Navy, had served with Commodore Sir Charles Napier in the Miguelite war, spoke English well, and was well disposed to England. An unfortunate incident had occurred that after- noon. Among the numerous arrivals from Hong- Kong was a young missionary named Summers. He had landed in the crowd, and at that very time the i849 CHINA 167 procession of the host was passing. Every one un- covered except Mr. Summers. He was desired by the police to take his hat off, but refused. The Governor, who was in uniform and on horseback, seeing what had happened, good-naturedly rode up to him and said, '' Take your hat off, man ; if you won't take it off to the host, take it off to me, I am the Governor." Mr. Summers still kept his hat on defiantly, and the police, fearing a riot, marched him off to the guard-room, where he was kept all night without food. Next day the civil authorities took charge of him, and he was taken to gaol to await trial. Captain (the late Sir Charles) Staveley, who was A.D.C. to the General at Hong-Kong, was among those at Macao. Summers communicated with him, and he with Keppel. Before dinner Keppel begged to have an official interview with the Governor, and demanded the release of a British subject detained in gaol in so imperious a manner for no offence. The Governor said he could do nothing, as the case was now in the hands of the police. Dinner over, D'Amaral, who had meanwhile communicated with the magistrates and police, said, " Keppel, I shall be very glad to release Summers at your request." To which Keppel replied, " I won't take as a favour what I demand as a right." Next morning, 8th June, orders came to all the 1 68 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 ships that the boats which were going to attend the races should come armed, and with the marines. Meantime a merchant steamer, in the centre of Macao harbour, was used as the station for the judges and others connected with the management of the regatta. Thither came the boats of the squadron about 8 a.m. Keppel was there, and we were ordered to hand up the arms and bottom boards, and prepare the boats for the races, the marines falHng in as a guard on deck. The races went on. At noon it was decided to have luncheon, and not to race again until half-past one. The Governor had gone on board the Plymouth to lunch with Commodore Geisinger. Then Keppel sent for Troubridge and me, and ordered us to man and arm the boats at once, say- ing to him, ** There is a Ghuznee bag ready, and Staveley knows the way ; blow in the door of the gaol, and bring out Mr. Summers." To me he said, '* Protect the line of communication, and when Troubridge brings down Summers, take him off in your boat to the Columbine, and carry him over to Hong-Kong." We landed. Troubridge and Stave- ley, with a small party, went through a house belong- ing to Mr. Braine, a partner in Dent's house, whose garden had a gate close to the gaol. My men lined the sea-wall of the Praya, which formed a parapet for them nearly five feet high. I walked about in 1 849 CHINA 169 front of them. Soon we heard the explosion, and down came Troubridge, Staveley, and their men. I and mine embarked with Mr. Summers, and took him safely on board the Columbine, The Portuguese soldiers had turned out and loaded. The guns were turned upon the ships, but we were off and away before any steps were taken to resist, and all the boats but those of the Columbine were engaged in the races ten minutes after the embarka- tion. If it was a right thing to do, nothing could have been done in a neater manner. There were some impartial spectators, however, who thought that it brought great discredit on the Portuguese in China, and that it was unwise to show dissensions between the Christian Powers. Jurien de la Gra- viere, in an excellent article in the Revue des dettx mondes, takes this view, and traces the murder of Governor d'Amaral, which occurred shortly after, to this cause, and to the license engendered by it among the piratical vessels, then so numerous on the south coast of China. We resumed our station at Whampoa, where we remained till the nth August. We rode out a typhoon in Urmstone Bay on the 12th and 13th, and arrived at Hong-Kong on the 14th. Here were Amazon and Medea, and I found my orders to prepare for home. On the 19th, Troubridge sent me in the Phlegethon, with the boats of the Amazon, I70 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 to search various harbours to the west of Hong- Kong. The only news we could obtain of the pirate fleet was that Shap'ngtzai had lost seventeen junks in the typhoon of the 14th. On the 23rd the Amazon sailed for Hainan. Information brought by Lieutenant Mould, who had visited Hainan in the Corsair (hired steamer), assured Troubridge that the pirate fleet passed through the Nowchow channel, but all touch of it beyond that was lost. Before Troubridge sailed, he desired me to go over to Macao and see Commodore Geisinger, as the latter had detained two piratical junks, and wished to hand them over to British authority, in order to have them tried in our Court at Hong-Kong. I ran over in the Columbine and saw the Ameri- can Commodore. He handed me over the prizes, and I placed prize crews on board. One I took in tow ; the other, which seemed to sail well, parted company, and was surrounded and attacked by piratical Chinese junks. Charles Goddard, who was prize -master in this one, bore up and anchored under the guns of the Plymouth, and Captain Gedney sent a strong force of officers and men on board, placing them under the command of Mr. Goddard. On the 26th the prize arrived at Hong- Kong. I took over with me in the Columbine Lieu- tenant Page, U.S.N., who served during the Civil War on the Confederate side, eventually becoming i849 CHINA 171 Commander-in-chief of the Argentine Navy; and Lieutenant Fox, afterwards Secretary of the U.S. Navy. They came to give evidence as to the piratical character of their prizes. The station orders having been left with me, I now found myself senior officer at Hong-Kong. The Fury had arrived while I was at Macao, and reported having parted with the Hastings, bearing Sir Francis Collier's flag, in the China Sea. Both the American prizes had come over in safety, and arrangements had been made for the trial. There was very little coal in store, and the Fury was short of that material and stores. I turned the station orders over to Willcox for the Admiral, and swept out of the Lymoon Pass on the 27th, as Governor Bonham had received information that Chuiapoo, the second in command of the pirate fleet, had attacked the town of Pinghoi. The Admiral being so near I did not like to send the Fury, for coal was so scarce at Hong-Kong that only 200 tons were available for the navy. Governor Bonham sent with me Mr. Caldwell, the head of the Hong-Kong police, an officer of good judgment, who spoke the Southern Chinese dialect like a native. He had accompanied me in the Wolverine on a former occasion ; with him also came the two Chinese who had escaped from Pinghoi, and brought the intelligence. 172 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 Their story was, and it proved true, that Chuiapoo (the murderer of Captain d'Acosta, R.E., and taptain Dwyer, Ceylon Rifles), Vice- Admiral of Shap'ngtzai's pirate fleet, had been detached by that chief with twenty sail to Harlem Bay, had blockaded the harbour, and burnt the port : that he and his companions having volunteered to seek assistance from the British at Hong-Kong, rather than pay the large ransom demanded, a boat had been carried for them over the neck of land, and launched where it could not be seen by the pirate squadron, and thence, running through the night before the N.E. monsoon, they had reached Hong-Kong in safety. On the 28th we sailed up the coast with light breezes. In the evening we reached Harlem Bay, and found that the townspeople of Pinghoi had been compelled to pay the ransom demanded, and that the pirate fleet of fourteen sail had gone on to attack and ransom Tysammee. I stood on in that direction, and at 11 p.m. saw a village on fire, and soon after observed the pirate fleet in two well- formed lines of seven each, running before a light breeze to the S.W. We made all sail, and stood on till I could fetch the rear ship. At about 11.45 w^ fetched the third from the rear of the lee-line, and passing under the stern Mr. Caldwell hailed her, and asked what she was. Mr. Caldwell 1 849 CHINA 173 and I were standing on the forecastle, the men at quarters. The pirate repHed that he was an honest trader bound with a cargo of salt to Hong-Kong, and that he knew nothing about his companions. I then desired him to heave-to that I might board him (we were not thirty yards apart), threaten- ing that if he did not we should fire. We saw him by the clear moonlight, tricing up his stinkpots and boarding netting, and clearing his guns for action, of which he mounted nineteen ; once more we hailed to caution him, and then I commenced the action with three rounds of quick-firing from the starboard broadside, which were at once returned. The others who were within range fired also into the Columbine. The wind, which was falling light, now became almost a calm. I then wore ship to avoid being raked, firing my port guns into his second astern. The weather-line stood on, but three of their vessels had been so damaged by our fire that it seemed they intended to sacrifice them to save the other eleven. I poured several broadsides into each of the three, and left them nearly wrecks. The other eleven meantime were drawing away by sweeping. The Columbine got out her sweeps also, but a thick mist coming on we lost sight of them. At daylight they came into view about a mile and a half distant. There was now again a light easterly air. At 11.35 i^ the forenoon we saw 174 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 the whole line haul to the wind on the starboard tack, and very soon observed the P. & O. steamer Canton coming round a point of land. We signalled to her, ''All in sight are enemy." She commenced firing on those nearest to her, who returned it. She then came close to me. I went on board to charter her if possible, but she was already chartered by an American named Captain Watkins, to go in search of the Coquette, one of the ships at that time missing. Watkins immediately placed her at my disposal, and her Captain, Jamieson, agreeing, I got her to take the Columbine in tow. She towed us towards one of the largest junks, and on the way we succeeded in sinking one ; some of the other crews began taking to their boats. A shot, how- ever, having passed through the steam chest of the Canton, she was obliged to cast off. Close to Fokai Point is an arm of the sea. Into this our immediate antagonist ran, and we followed. There was no chart of this place, and the Columbine took the ground, but the pinnace, cutter and gig, under Lieutenant Bridges and Mr. Goddard, Mr. Crowdy, Mr. Harvey, and Mr. Benifold, and accom- panied by Captain Watkins, went in to attack and destroy the enemy. Meanwhile, with the assistance of the Canton, we got the Columbine off the dangerous reef of rocks on which she had grounded. The boats attacked, boarded, and carried the junk, but one of ■^mi^mm. 1 849 CHINA 175 the pirates rushed below with a lighted joss-stick, and she was blown up. Charles Ramsay Goddard had pursued the pirate captain below, and was killed by the explosion. He was a great loss, being a very fine young officer, in whom I had great confidence, and who, had he lived, would, I doubt not, have risen to great distinction. Bridges and Watkins were blown into the sea, into which Bridges had previously ordered all the boarders to jump. Christopher Foottit and John Sharpe, marines, and John Malcolmson, seaman, were killed, besides Goddard, who died of his wounds ; three marines and two seamen having also been severely wounded. On their return on board I presented Bridges with a pair of commander's epaulettes, and soon after our return to England he was promoted to that rank, which he had steadily earned by his long and excellent services. He was soon after his promotion appointed to one of the mail steamers, and died at Calcutta of cholera. The Columbine s position had been most critical. The Canton anchored as near as she could, about eighty fathoms from our ship. One of her boats brought a line on board, with which a hawser was hauled to the Canton and made fast. Then the few people left on board, the doctor, the purser, and myself, the sick and idlers, all lay in to the capstan bars. She struck heavily, but she moved, and at 176 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 last the Canton, picking up her anchor, towed us into a safe position. The boats were hoisted up. The wounded were taken on board the Canton, and she towed the Columbine down to the mouth of the long natural harbour of Fan-lo-kong, into which ten pirate vessels had been seen to run for shelter. From thence I sent the Canton with the wounded, and my report, to the Admiral. Poor young Goddard died (not too young for fame) on the way, and a public funeral at Hong-Kong marked the sense which the community entertained of his merits. Immediately after midnight on Monday, ist October, the Fury arrived, bringing a large de- tachment of seamen and marines from the Hastings, above all, bringing James Willcox, my old and valued messmate, as my second in command. The Hastings men were under the orders of Lieutenant (now Admiral Sir William) Luard. He fortunately still lives, and will forgive me for saying how much I admired and respected his character. He led the stormers at the capture of the Bogue forts as a young officer in the Samarang, for which he was promoted. I remember remarking to him on board the Fury how many men now coming under fire for the first time bobbed their heads, and said I thought it was very natural. His reply was, suiting the action to the word : *' I don't think so at all ; it always makes me throw my head back, and hold it up" — 1 849 CHINA 177 and he looked and felt it. As soon as it was daylight the Fury took the Columbine in tow, and proceeded through Bias Bay to the mouth of Fan-lo-kong, or the Ram's-horn. I proceeded in my gig, taking soundings, ahead of the Fury, which cast off the Columbine, and left her to join under sail. I went on board the Fury. As we rounded a point we saw twenty-three pirate vessels, which at once opened fire. They each mounted eighteen or nineteen guns, and here was their dock- yard. We burnt it and them. Three new junks on the stocks were also destroyed. As I had perfect confidence in Willcox skill and judgment, I left him to himself on the bridge, to fight his ship. I was much pleased with the coolness of the Quartermaster, Thomas Flintham, who was steer- ing the Fury. He stood on the port side of the wheel and I on his left. A round shot struck the deck in front of us, and passing between his left leg and my right, doubled up his cutlass, tearing off the scabbard. The point twisting round stuck into his right calf, giving him an ugly gash. He twitched up his leg and made some little exclamation, but until I saw the blood on the deck I did not know he was wounded. I was about to send for another helmsman, but he begged me not. I held the spokes of the wheel for a minute or two while he bound up his wound with his necktie, and N 178 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 he then steered the ship till the end of the engagement. A Macao (Portuguese) lorcha, which we released, I chartered to take my despatch to the Admiral. This gave great satisfaction at Macao. On the 4th of October the Fury towed us into Hong-Kong, where the Admiral received us most graciously, and wrote a public letter to thank the officers and ships' companies for this service. Sir Francis Collier told me that my conduct not only had his full approval, but that the merchants were also much gratified with my success. They still feared the interruption to commerce from Shap'ngtzai's fleet, which had been proved to have captured the Sylph, Greyhound, Coquette, and Ann Eliza ; the crews were never heard of, and no doubt they had been made to walk the plank or were other- wise murdered. The Admiral told me that he thought it impossible to find and destroy the piratical force, but that he had promised the merchants to send me in search of it, because in their present mood they would be satisfied, that if I failed to find the pirate chief then he was not to be found by any one, whereas others not so fortunate as myself might suffer blame. He gave me carte blanche, and offered to place under my orders the Pilot, Medea, Fury, and Phlegethon. However, after consultation with him, it was decided that the Columbine, with the Fury and Phlegethon, would be sufficient. 1 849 CHINA 179 We sailed at nine in the morning of the 8th October 1849. That night we anchored at Cow- cock, on the 9th at Mong Island, on the loth at Tyfungkyoh, which is the outer island of Tienpak ; on the I ith at Nowchow. Here we remained gaining information and obtaining pilots. The two forts which had been robbed of their guns by Shap'ngtzai, as reported by Lieutenant Mould, seemed in a neglected condition. Shap'ngtzai had passed through the straits about three weeks before. Two good pilots took us through in safety, the Fury towing the Columbine, with the Phlegethon in tow. At 3.40 p.m. we all anchored off Hoihow on the northern end of Hainan Island. Here we found eight junks of the Chinese Navy, commanded by an intelligent mandarin named Wong. On telling him our mission he volun- teered to accompany us. The wounds which he had recently received in action with Shap'ngtzai were healing ; but he could not go without the direction of Ho, the Governor-General of Hainan, who lived about six miles off. Thither we all went, carried in chairs, accompanied by Wong. His vessels were not ready, but I offered him a passage in the Fury. Our mission was much appreciated by Ho and by the people. The centre gates were opened for us. Wong was desired to embark in the Fury, and to obtain from the treasury any money he might require, and his junks were given a rendezvous. i8o LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 Presents were sent of fresh beef and vegetables. Wong was punctual with his squadron, which sailed in company, and I found myself at night in the Gulf of Tonquin, at anchor with the Columbine, Fury, Phlegethon and eight Chinese war junks. Here the wind being foul and light, the Fury towed the other two British ships, as before, to Gueichow. In this harbour we remained a night. Wong visited a very sacred shrine, and was told that Shap'ngtzai had also consulted it. The oracle had told him that if he escaped the 20th of the month, he would have two more years' success. This prediction was curious, for it was delivered before either Shap'ngtzai or the priest knew that we were coming to the Gulf of Hainan in pursuit, and certainly more than three weeks before we found him on that very day. We searched all the northern coast of the Gulf of Hainan, and gained some good information. On the north-west shore of the gulf is an archipelago extending for about sixty miles square. The French, who have been diligently surveying it for many years, have not even now completed the chart of this terra incognita. Through this we passed, drawing it like a covert ; and, as we emerged from it, we saw the look-out ship of the pirate fleet. The Phlegethon chased and burnt her, bringing off two of her crew ; the one was a pirate, the other a captive. They were examined separately by Wong and Mr. Caldwell. i849 CHINA i8i We found that Shap'ngtzai was with sixty-four sail in the Tonquin River. This we now know is the northern estuary of the Red River. We proceeded round the Island of Oonong and anchored off the branch of the Red River, on which the Cochin- Chinese town of Haiphong is situated. It is seven miles above the bar. Our difficulty was to cross that obstacle. At seven in the morning Shap'ngtzai had moved down a branch of the river, in which he had been refitting. The bar of the river lay between us and him, and he had moored twenty-seven of his best ships in a curved line, extending nearly a mile and a half, with their broadsides concentrated on the entrance. Recognising that his ships drew fully eighteen feet, that at low water they were afloat, and that none of our ships drew more, I determined to cross the bar and close with him. A pilot having come off about four, I led, in the Phlegethon, at the top of high water, the Fury towing the Colum- bine in line astern. As we passed the bar, and were about eight hundred yards from the line, the first drain of the ebb began. The strain came on their springs and diverted their broadsides a very little, so that when the two hundred and forty guns were fired at us, almost all the shot passed to our right. Only thirty-nine struck the Columbine, and forty- one the Fury. The rest scattered all over the water i82 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 about forty yards to our right, like a flock of wild fowl rising from the river. The Columbine was about six hundred yards from the flagship, whose bright red flag, bordered with gold, shone brilliantly in the setting sun. I proceeded in the Phlegethon to attack the southern end of the line, and the Fury assailed the northern extremity. When we had silenced the fire of the two southernmost junks, I left the Phlegethon in my gig, and in order to keep touch with Wong, went to the Fury. There I found him watching with great satisfaction the destructive effect of the Furys fire. I returned to the Columbine. Shap'ngtzai's flagship blew up, and the action, which had lasted about an hour and a half, was gained. Soon the pirates began deserting their ships. Many blew up, and when their cables caught fire drifted about. The flagship drifted down upon the Columbine, which, having all her boats engaged, had to trip her anchor and drift towards the bar with the blazing junk close to her bows. The Phlegethon saw it, steamed down and forced her way in between the bow of the Columbine and the burning vessel. The Phlegethon had her side scorched, but being of iron suffered little, got hold of the Columbine, and towed her into safety. I sent the Fury up one arm of the river and towed the Columbine up the other, so as to blockade the thirty-seven pirate vessels which we knew were still remaining. As night fell the sky 1 849 CHINA 183 was brightened with twenty-seven vessels in flames, but our men were fatigued, and we all turned in much satisfied with the result of our exertions. It was a very fitting celebration of the battle of Navarin. Next morning at 6 a.m. we read prayers and re- turned thanks for our victory (it was Sunday) and the anniversary of Trafalgar. All that day the Phlegethon and boats were employed in the various creeks. Twenty-four more junks were totally de- stroyed. We were all mercifully preserved. One large junk, as we approached up a narrow creek in the Phlegethon, kept her stern gun turned upon us. The muzzle looked us straight in the face. I ordered them to fire on her with grape. Niblett and I wondered why that gun was never discharged. When she was boarded the dead gunner lay with the lanyard in his hand, killed just as he was going to fire. On the following day we destroyed seven more. The Cochin-Chinese authorities came down from Haiphong to thank us for having delivered them from this enemy of the human race, and I made over, with Wong's assent, all the pirates now on these islands to their tender mercies. We had chased the pirates with dogged tenacity for more than 1030 miles as the crow flies, and had run them to ground in waters hitherto unsurveyed and unknown to European ships. We had destroyed them in Cochin-Chinese waters, and had kept on 1 84 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1849 the best of terms with Chinese and Cochin-Chinese, United States and Portuguese, and had also received thanks from the French and Spaniards for the pro- tection afforded to their commerce.^ On the 25th October we returned to King- choufoo, where Wong left us. He had proved a loyal comrade and a good pilot. I presented him with a double-barrelled Westley Richard's gun, with which he was much pleased. He wished us to remain for some festivities, but I thought it best to return at once to Hong-Kong. The Fury towed us up, and the Phlegethon returned soon after. We anchored at Hong-Kong on the ist November, and found to our intense regret that Sir Francis Collier had died on the 28th October. We mourned sincerely the death of that distinguished old officer, and I especially, as he had selected me for the service, which by God's blessing I had completed in a manner which exceeded all his anticipations. The mercantile community were lavish in their praises and rewards. They presented Willcox and myself each with a service of plate. We were both made captains, and his name stood next to mine on the ^ Le m^rite de cette expedition, qui fit le plus grand honneur aux officiers qui la dirig^rent, etait tout entier dans I'audace et la perseverance de la pour- suite. C'etait la premiere fois que des navires de guerre europeens se montraient sur ces cotes, dont on poss^dait k peine une grossi^re esquisse, basee sur des renseignements aussi incomplets qu'incorrects. " From an article in the Revue des deux mondeSy by M. Jurien de la Gravi^re, entitled '* Amaral et les pirates chinois. " 1850 CHINA 185 Navy List. Bridges and Hancock were made com- manders, Chambers and Close lieutenants. On the 29th November we sailed for Singapore, where I found Troubridge in the Amazon, He was most kind in his congratulations on our success. I never saw him more, for he shortly after died of fever. We sailed for Old England on the 26th of December, and touched at the Cape on the 28th January 1850, where we found the convict ship, whose convicts were not allowed by the colony to land. This put a stop eventually to transportation. We started again on the 4th February, reached St. Helena on the i6th, and anchored at Ascension on the 25th. There we found my old friend Captain Hutton, still Governor, and as hospitable as ever. We left him on the night of the 26th. A copy of the Times, which we obtained from one of the ships with which we communicated, showed that I was pro- moted to Captain's rank, and that a very favourable reception had been given to the report of our services. At Plymouth we found my commission. We were inspected at the Nore and paid off at Chatham, where my dear wife and our eldest son, now two years old, awaited our return. I was complimented on the good order of the ship by Admiral Sir Edward Brace, and the Captain -Superintendent Peter Richards, my old captain in the Cornwallis, 1 86 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 reminded me of my refusal to go home in that vessel, to which he attributed all my success. There were only two captains on the list who had been my juniors, William Peel and John Moore. After a short visit in London we left for my father's place in Wigtonshire, which was our home for the next year. On our way we stayed at my old school, Rugby, to see some relations, and I was much elated, and so were the boys, that Dr. Goulburn gave a holi- day in honour of my first visit to the School, sixteen years after I had left it. In 1 85 1 I passed a year at the Royal Naval College with much profit to myself, and with great pleasure, for Sir F. Nicolson, John Agnew (an old Thalia), Cooper Key, John Moore, and Francis Festing were my fellow-students, and made an agree- able society. In 1853 my old captain in the Gorgon, Henderson, invited me on board the Edinburgh to see the naval review, steam and sail. In January 1854 I was appointed captain of the Victory on the nomination of my old friend Sir Thomas Cochrane, then Commander-in-chief at Portsmouth. At the outbreak of the Russian War Sir Charles Napier asked me to go as captain of the Duke of Wellington, but Sir T. Cochrane objected, as I had all the work in my hands of man- ning the ships at that port. Sir James Graham, the First Lord, took the same view, and I was there- 1854 ENGLAND 187 fore not allowed to share in the Baltic campaign ; but at the end of the year Admiral Houston Stewart having been appointed second in command of the Black Sea fleet, nominated me as his flag-captain. I was accordingly appointed to the Hannibal, ninety- one guns, in succession to Sir Frederick Grey, who had become a rear-admiral. During my stay at Portsmouth, General (after- wards Sir James) Simpson was governor. He was very busy embarking men and officers for the East. He had been in India with General Sir Charles Napier, and had assisted the latter as second in com- mand in the conquest of Scinde. Sir Charles, who died in 1852, had a high opinion of General Simpson. The last time I visited Sir Charles at Oaklands was in 1851. He was then vigorous, and improving the grounds in his park. Among other things he was making a lake. I suggested an en- largement towards a wood, which would have given the water a more natural appearance, which was then stiff and formal. '* Oh," he said, " Hay, I think we'll leave it as it is ; it has already cost a good deal, and it is big enough to drown all the Directors." He was always a great advocate for bringing India under the Crown, and spoke with scorn of the government in Leadenhall Street. If he had lived, he would have commanded at the Alma, and Sebas- topol would probably have fallen by the capture of 1 88 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 the north forts, in spite of the illness of Marshal St. Arnaud. The embarkation of troops being over, unluckily there was not much to do in sending reinforcements. Three militia regiments embarked to garrison Gibraltar, Malta, and Corfu. The Northampton and the Wiltshire Regiments which I saw, seemed in excellent order, and so, I have no doubt, was the third, the Lancashire, in which my old schoolfellow, William Black, was serving. I dined with General Simpson on the day the Wiltshire Regiment arrived after a three days' march. So also did Lord Methuen, who commanded them. The General after dinner proposed their health, and Lord Methuen in respond- ing, said, that *'not a man had fallen out on the march, and, what was more, that there was not a poacher left in the county of Wilts." We had no such reserve then to fall back on in manning the navy ; the press - gang was a dead letter. We had begun to train boys and novices, but the excellent system forced upon the Admiralty and the Government, by Admiral Berkeley, had not been sufficiently long in existence, to give us any large number of continuous service seamen. Admiral Berkeley, who was a Sea Lord, and also in the House of Commons, had obtained the inser- tion in the estimates of a grant for training some boys for continuous service at sea. Next year, in a i854 ENGLAND 189 fit of economy the provision was discontinued. Admiral Berkeley refused to sign the estimates and resigned ; fortunately he was in Parliament, and was thus enabled to call attention to the disastrous policy of the Government. Since i860 the House of Commons has, without intermission, voted a sum for training boys for the navy, and though they are still insufficient in number, we have a force of seamen second to none in ability and smartness. I am glad to see that the numbers are being gradually increased. At the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, this country was never before so unable to man its fleet. Incapables of all kinds were sent down, and I had to receive and draft them into the newly-commis- sioned ships. Among those who were presented was an old man with a wooden leg who had never been at sea. I refused him. Admiral Berkeley, whose duty it was to man the fleet, was always in- dignant if any man was rejected, and the *' wooden leg" was returned to me with an order to send him to the St. George, Soon after, that vessel had the benefit of his services. He was sent on shore from her at Deal and found his way to the Tower rendezvous, and again to the Victory, I drafted him to some other ship, from which he was soon discharged, and finally he reached the Victory for the third time. A friend of mine, George Hastings, was sailing in the Cyclops for the West I90 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 Coast of Africa. I appointed the man (by order) as ship's cook. Hastings touched at Falmouth and landed him, and I saw "• the wooden leg " no more ; but there were hundreds of others equally inefficient. Among the various duties devolving upon us at Portsmouth was the first trial of iron plates for protecting ships' sides from shot and shell. Napoleon III. had called the attention of our Government to this subject, and a 4|-inch plate of hammered iron was sent down to be tested. I accompanied Sir Thomas Cochrane to witness the trials. It satisfactorily resisted the 68-pounder shot at close quarters and broke up shells on impact. The result of the report was that the French and English Governments each built three armoured floating batteries, of which the French three were in time for the attack upon Kinburn, and ours, though too late for the Crimean War, yet appeared in the Mediter- ranean soon after it was over. Thus tentatively was introduced the armour with which all the battle- ships of the world are now defended. CHAPTER IX SEBASTOPOL NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES ENGLAND At the end of 1854 I received a very kind in- vitation from Rear-Admiral Houston Stewart to be his flag-captain in the Hannibal. The hard work in the Victory being over, no objection was made, and I proceeded overland via Marseilles to Malta. My wife went with me as far as that place, where she remained during the war. There I found Sir William Reid, my old correspondent on the Law of Storms, occupying the post of Governor, and as assiduous as ever in impressing on the various officers of the Royal and Mercantile Navy his valu- able theory. At his hospitable table many of those engaged in transporting troops and stores to the Crimea were entertained. One officer, much inter- ested, sent his plate spinning along the table, saying, '* Is that your meaning of the cyclone movement, sir ? " The plate fell off and was broken on the hard floor, but the Governor replied, *' I forgive you the plate, for I see you understand the theory." 192 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 I went on to the Black Sea in the Telegraph, a ship belonging to the Mercantile Marine, with General Simpson, who had left Portsmouth and was coming out as Chief of the Staff. The Telegraph was, I found, commanded by Henry Nicholson, who had been one of my gig's crew in the Columbine. He proved himself an attentive host and a skilful navigator. We landed at Balaclava. The port was then ruled over by Admiral Boxer, and order had been introduced among the mass of shipping dis- charging cargo. Sir Colin Campbell was in command, and his Highland Brigade, as well as the troops of his colleague General Vinoy, were in good order, good health, and good spirits. The railway was in course of construction, and the mud had disappeared. Our army had everything in its favour except numbers, and the grievous hardships of the terrible winter were being forgotten. General Simpson had told me that his instructions were to press upon all concerned the necessity for a great and continuous bombardment, and that 400 mortars were to open as soon as possible and continue the fire for at least three days. I met my old friend, Sir Edmund Lyons, at Balaclava. He gave me a hearty welcome, but told me that the orders were that the captains of screw line-of-battle ships should remain on board, and that we had no chance of being employed in the trenches. When I joined the Han- 1 8 54 SEBASTOPOL 193 nibal in the afternoon, I found her lying off Sebas- topol outside Kazatch, in which the Royal Albert was moored, and opposite Kamiesch, in which the French had their naval headquarters. My old friend and captain, Admiral Houston Stewart, was most cordial, and his staff, Arthur Jones the secretary, and the flag-lieutenant, William Buller Elphinstone, after- wards Lord Elphinstone, were the best of comrades. The commander of the Hannibal was Oliver Jones, a most able officer, but sorely tried by a crew in which there were some very good men and fine seamen, while the majority were anything but seamen, and a large number of them bore bad char- acters. The marines, too, had been drafted among the last, after most of the other ships had been manned, and included many men of indifferent quality. We were exceptionally fortunate in our officers. So many memoirs have been published respecting the siege of Sebastopol, and its history is so well known, that I can add but little information to that already in possession of the public. I shall confine myself to the relation of a few circumstances occur- ring under my own eye, which have not yet been given in any book or journal. We took part in both expeditions to Kertch. The first, towards the end of May, was recalled by order of the Emperor Napoleon. The second took place early in June, and was successful. Captain Ryder of the Dauntless and o 194 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 I were in command of the two divisions of boats of the squadron, but as we were preparing to land, the forts were blown up and the guns spiked. As Ryder and I were going in with the steamer which towed the long line of boats, he showed me a letter just received from a friend at Malta which reported his wife to be dangerously ill. When our work was over, and we were reporting to the Admiral, I mentioned this, and Sir Edmund Lyons at once ordered Ryder to go on board the ship which was taking the despatches. This was done in the kindest manner, and though Ryder arrived at Malta too late to see his wife alive, he was always very grateful for the consideration shown him. Among other things, we captured the dockyard and a steam factory, which latter was at once taken as a prize and sent to Gibraltar. It was not, however, without a struggle that the Kertch prize-money was paid, and I had the satisfaction of obtaining this act of justice for the seamen and marines, after entering Parliament in 1862, to which allusion will be made later. We took back with us General Sir John Campbell and his A.D.C., Major Earle, afterwards killed as a General officer on the banks of the Nile. We were told that an attack was to be made by the Allies on the i8th June, which was to obliterate all the memories of Waterloo. In consequence, I was desired to prepare cots and every convenience 1 8 54 SEBASTOPOL 195 for at least a thousand men. The attack was repulsed ; poor Sir John Campbell was killed, and the wounded were at once attended to and shipped for Scutari. I-n the evening my friend Jurien de la Graviere, Chef d'E tat- Major to Amiral Bruat, sent to say that as all our wounded had been attended to, he hoped we could render the French some assistance. Dr. Crawford, our surgeon, who spoke French readily, and our assistant-surgeon, went at once, as did other medical officers, from our ships. In the morning Crawford and the others returned. Crawford told me that after using all our cots and appliances, some of the poor French wounded had to be laid on the straw in which horses had been brought from Constantinople, and that their own appliances, and ours, having all been used, there was no help for it, but that the disabled men were much tormented by the flies, and were very uncomfortable. About three weeks later, out came the Times with a severe criticism on the way our wounded had been neglected, and with the usual direction to us to take example from the French. Not long after I sat beside Mr. (now Sir William) Russell, best of good fellows and of correspondents. I told him what is mentioned above. '* Oh," he said, '' Captain Hay, it's impossible always to be right ; what can I do ? I must report at once, and I get the best in- formation I can." I said, *' My dear Mr. Russell, 196 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 you can correct it." '* That," he said, '* is of no use, for no one will read the correction " — so I take the opportunity of recording the correction here. During this time the navy, always excepting the men in the trenches, were having only ordinary duties to perform. Lord Clarence Paget of the Princess Royal conceived the idea of placing lights, shaded from the enemy, in such a position as to guide ships at night within three hundred yards of Fort Alexander, from which position they could fire their broadsides and come out again before the batteries could return the fire. The French army occupied the position on the east side of Strelitzka Bay, and the officers of the Quatorzieme du ligne were always ready to oblige us. Here among the rocks Lord Clarence Paget placed the red and green lights of the Princess Royaly and Captain Spratt, the surveying officer in the Black Sea fleet, was able to certify the Admiral, that a ship which steered for that line, and turned when the two lights were in one, would be in the position required ; about 300 yards from Fort Alexander. All this was done so quietly that no one in the fleet knew anything of it. The French, who had charge of the lights, did not even suspect what they had been landed for, in Strelitzka Bay. The hospitable table of the Admiral, on board the Royal Albert, was as full as usual, and among those who 1 8 54 SEBASTOPOL 197 dined there were Captain Buckle of the Valorous and myself. When Buckle came on board the Admiral had told him to send back by his gig to order steam to be up by 10 p.m. Buckle mentioned that his paddle-box boats were out. The Admiral replied, '* That does not matter, I am not going to send you far ; you will be back in the morning." After dinner the Admiral said, '* Well, Clarence Paget, are your lights all ready?" '* Yes, sir, I left them trimmed, and the chief engineer will have them alight by ten." Then the Admiral told Buckle to take Lord Clarence and Captain Spratt and steam in till he could see the lights, fire three broadsides into Fort Alexander, and come out again. He also informed us that Bruat and he had drawn lots, which Bruat had won, and that Bruat was to go in next night, and then the Royal Albert, and alternately French and English in order of seniority. It would be the Hannibars turn in four days' time. I asked Sir Edmund to let me go in with the Valorous, so as to know exactly where the Hannibal must turn. He was much pleased, and at once gave leave. Off we went to the Valorous. She was all ready, and steamed in. The paddle-box boats being out, there was only the narrow ledge for us to stand on inside and the leadsman outside, with the paddle revolving between us. We arrived at the line, turned, and delivered two broadsides. Before we 198 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 could fire the third, which we did in good time, Fort Alexander opened a heavy fire. Amongst other things, a shot broke an arm of the paddle, so each time it revolved we four captains had to duck our heads as the broken arm passed close over us, and so had the leadsman to duck, but as soon as it was passed he took his cast of the lead, ducked again, and called out his soundings as if nothing in the world extraordinary were occurring. We came out, and some one counted thirteen shells in the air at once coming from the Wasp Battery, but, though near, they fizzled harmlessly into the sea, and the Valorous was not materially injured. Neither of the flagships went in. Bruat, on his way in the following night, was stopped by the breaking down of his engines, and the British flagships could not go in till the Frenchman's engines were repaired, for fear of damaging the entente cordiale. Night attacks were continued for some time, the Princess Royal y the Sidon, and others taking part. At last came the Miranda with the Admiral's son, Jack (Edmund) Lyons, who was badly wounded, and died soon after at Constantinople. We were all very sorry for him and for his father. He had been my good colleague in China, and he was a most promising officer. It happened that in November 1864 we were visiting Monckton Milnes (afterwards Lord Houghton) at Fryston. There 1 8 54 SEBASTOPOL 1 99 I had the pleasure of meeting General Todleben. Conversation naturally turned to his admirable defence of Sebastopol, and our host asked him if he had not passed many anxious nights. Todleben would only acknowledge one. ** One of your steam vessels came in unexpectedly one night, and fired into the town a couple of broadsides before we could reply. One of your shot passed through the room in which I was sleeping, and was my first notice. Fort Alexander opened fire upon her before she was out of range, but, I believe, it did not do her much damage. I took care to be well prepared for those ships which attacked us on subsequent occa- sions, but I certainly was taken by surprise at that time." We all had a good laugh when I was able to tell him that I was in the ship which had so disturbed his dreams. Admiral Stewart was on the best terms with Sir Edmund Lyons. The navy has not always been so fortunate as to enjoy such candid and friendly co-operation, but in this instance it was perfect. Lord Raglan was always glad to invite Admiral Stewart to the Councils of War at Head- quarters, where his bonhomie kept all in good humour. As it was not always convenient for him to come in from the Hannibal, he often hung his cot up on board the Royal Albert. Just before Pelissier became Commander-in-chief, there was a 200 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1854 meeting at Headquarters, Lord Raglan being full of kindness and courtesy to every one, while some strained relations prevailed between Canrobert and Niel, and over all there reigned the incubus of the Emperor (master of many legions), who was apt to interfere in matters of which he had no personal knowledge. The discussion was on the subject of the Kertch expedition. Lord Raglan asked Marshal Canrobert some simple question about his views and those of his colleagues. Up rose the Marshal and thus commenced a speech : *' Messieurs nous sommes ici pour la prise de Sebastopol." Upon which Sir Edmund Lyons, who was impatient of these barren discussions, said in a loud aside, " Oh that's it, is it ? " Admiral Stewart, whose laugh was infectious, at once burst into loud and long-continued peals of laughter. Lord Raglan at first looked at him with an air of well-bred surprise, then seeing that his French colleagues had also begun to laugh, the whole party joined in the uproarious merriment. After the mirth had subsided the subject was de- bated in a more satisfactory and less solemn manner. The failure on the i8th June, as all know, broke down the strong and gallant heart of Lord Raglan. He died on the 28th June. Admiral Stewart was on board, it blew hard, and the officer of the watch called me about i a.m. to say that the Caradoc was under our stern. The wind was too high 1 85 5 SEBASTOPOL 201 to communicate by boat, but Captain Derriman hailed me to say that Sir Edmund Lyons had sent him out to inform Admiral Stewart of the death of Lord Raglan. The Hannibal cabin was always tenanted by some of the many officers who were suffering from wounds or camp life. We had just enjoyed the company of Colonel Adye, the dis- tinguished General who has lately given us his interesting reminiscences of those days. On the 28th of June the Admiral's guest was General Cod- rington, also a fine soldier and genial companion. My friend General Simpson succeeded to the command-in-chief in virtue of seniority. I rode up soon after to Headquarters where Colonel (now Sir William) Colville, the present Master of the Ceremonies, but then on General Simpson's staff, told me that the General had communicated with Lord Panmure, refusing to accept the office of Commander- in-chief, though quite willing, if required, to continue to serve as Chief of the Staff to any officer who might be selected. General Simpson confirmed this when I saw him, and I ventured to ask who he thought would be appointed. " I don't know," he replied, ** but I should think Corporal Quin " ; a non-commissioned officer whose services had been so favourably noticed by *'our own correspondent," that it was fancied he might be the writer himself. Next morning Admiral Stewart, the secretary, 202 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1855 and I were at breakfast, and I mentioned that General Simpson had dedined the command- in - chief; but I added, " The next in seniority is Sir Colin Campbell, and we shall have a capital Com- mander-in-chief in him." Codrington, who was ill, was in his cot in the fore-cabin screened off from the table at which we were. The Admiral smiled, put his forefinger to his lips, and we changed the conversa- tion. When I met him shortly after on the poop, he said, ** I was obliged to stop you ; you might have given Codrington a relapse, for he has reason to expect the appointment himself" This was the first intimation we received of his contemplated nomina- tion. It did not occur, however, until after the fall of Sebastopol on the 9th of September. Up to that time General Simpson commanded -in -chief. His services were not sufficiently appreciated, but, with a gallant army so small in numbers, no one could have done more to uphold the honour of the country. The Hannibal lay in over forty fathoms, with one hundred and fifty fathoms of cable at single anchor, about a mile from the shore. With such a scope I found that in the heaviest sea the catenary curve never straightened, and the ship rode on an elastic curve, which brought no strain on cable or anchor. After the experience we had in the Black Sea, I feel confident that if Collingwood had followed Nelson's dying orders, and anchored 1 85 5 SEBASTOPOL 203 the fleet and the prizes, all the prizes, or almost all, would have reached England in safety, instead of perishing with their crews on the shoals of Trafalgar or escaping into Cadiz. From our ship we could see the interior of the Malakhoff. A sema- phore was erected on our poop to give information at Headquarters as to what passed inside the works. Elphinstone, the flag -lieutenant, was in charge of this duty, and performed it in a satisfactory manner. On the 9th the Admiral, Elphinstone, and I had private notice that the assault would be delivered at five minutes past one. The Russian troops were at dinner. The unusual hour had made them unsus- picious, and having a very powerful glass, we saw the first three French sergeants with their little tri- colours come over the parapet and stick their colour staves on it. Soon the interior was like a hive of bees, but the wires which might have exploded the mine under the tower were cut, and at last we saw the French victoriously in possession of that great bone of contention, the Malakhoff. Much nearer to us, but externally, we watched the dogged determina- tion with which the Sardinians assaulted the '* Bastion du Mat." Scores of times fresh ladders were planted, and fresh troops successively tried to gain a footing, but were always repulsed. Of the Redan, which was not within the sphere of our observation, we saw nothing, but when the fighting in the Malakhoff 204 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1855 ceased, the assaults on the *' Bastion du Mat " were stopped, and next morning the Russians had retreated to the north side. On the loth I went into the town, inspected the terrible havoc, and brought away enough granite from the docks to make twelve pairs of curling- stones. P^lissier was created Due de la Malakhoff. Sir James Simpson received the honourable distinc- tion of G.C.B., but he probably would have obtained the same, if he had continued through the war, as Governor of Portsmouth, to review the troops on Southsea Common. Soon after. Sir William Cod- rington was appointed Commander-in-chief over the heads of Sir Colin Campbell, Sir Henry Barnard, Sir William Eyre, and at least three other equally good officers. Sir Colin Campbell was much and justly offended, applied for leave, and went home to resign. He was, however, appointed General Commanding- in-chief of a Corps d'Armee, wherein the principal absurdity was that there was no Corps d'Armee to command. Sir Edmund Lyons and Amiral Bruat next proceeded to Kinburn. It is situated on a spit of land on the south side of the estuary, through which the Boug and Dnieper discharge into the Black Sea. The ships were too numerous for the space to be occu- pied. The Hannibal was the junior line-of-battle ship, as Sir Houston Stewart had hoisted his flag in 1 85 5 SEBASTOPOL 205 a gunboat. We were, at first, placed in reserve. During that time I went on board the French armour-clad battery Lave, commanded by my friend Capitaine Paris, to see the arrangements. The effect of the shot on her sides confirmed the opinion I had formed during the Portsmouth experiments; but the Lave had large portholes, and lost four men from shot which entered them. A very cool and gallant Russian officer walked about on the parapet of the fort long after the commence- ment of the action, and appeared to be direct- ing the fire of his guns, which were obscured by smoke in the casemate. We had brought up a battalion of the 21st commanded by Lord West, and I was very glad to have my county regiment on board. During the action Sir Edmund Lyons desired me to take the Hannibal inside the Boug. We succeeded in doing so, piloted by the Danube, but lost forty-seven feet of our false keel, which came up alongside. It was to our surprise that, as soon as we passed inside, the garrison of Ocksakof evacuated their lines and blew up their fort, which had cost Marshal Munnich so much trouble to take for the Empress Catherine. We must have been at least two miles away when they committed this folly. Next day we ascended the Boug, and I made the acquaintance of Sir William Russell, as previously 2o6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1855 related. The Governor of Kinburn, when he sur- rendered, brought with him his son, a boy of four- teen, in uniform. I sent him to my cabin, and he was my guest for two or three days. In 1 876 1 happened to be travelling with my second son on the Continent, and stayed with Sir William White at Belgrade on the day of the battle of Alex- inatz. We had put up at the Kron de Serbie for two days, which was very full, and still more so when all the war correspondents arrived. The first to come was Archibald Forbes ; his clothes were sticking to him and had to be cut off, so dreadfully rubbed was he by the jolting of country carts and other primitive means of conveyance ; but he nevertheless sent off the earliest despatch for the Daily Telegraph, In the morning my son and I embarked in a river steamer bound down to Rustchuk. We left early. A Russian officer came on board in uniform ; and we saw him carefully inspect the name on our baggage. He then introduced himself as Colonel Coominski, and reminded me that he was the boy whom I had entertained as my guest in the Hannibal, He still was most grateful for the little service I had been able to render him, and spoke of coming to England, where I had hoped to meet him ; but he went soon afterwards to Bucharest, where he had a quarrel with Count Narishkin, which led to a hostile meet- ing, in which poor Coominski was killed. He was 1856 SEBASTOPOL 207 at the time of our interview on the Danube serving on the staff of General Tchernitcheff in the Herz- govina, where he told me they were engaged in inciting insurrection, and generally disseminating the doctrines of Nihilism. Resuming the thread of my narrative after this digression, I have next to relate that the Hannibal, after the fall of Kinburn, returned to Sebastopol, and on the 1 6th of November left for Constantinople. There Lord Napier was Secretary of Embassy, with whom, and Lady Napier, I passed several pleasant days. We dined occasionally at the Embassy, and I remember with special gratification that it fell to my lot to take Miss Florence Nightingale to dinner. Not only my great respect for her splendid services still continues, but I remember with interest her conversation, and her enthusiasm in the cause of alleviating the miseries of war. All the admirals and captains were at that time presented by Lord Strat- ford to Abdul Medjid. The Sultan received us in a mean apartment looking on the Bosphorus, standing with his back between the two windows, with a deal table between us and him. He said a few words, which the dragoman amplified, and then sent us all downstairs to have coffee and pipes with Mahmoud Pasha, his brother-in-law. In the divan we were seated according to our degree, the Ambassador on the right of the Pasha, the Admiral on the left, and 2o8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1856 the other admirals and the captains in due order. This brought me alongside Sir Thomas Pasley. Beautiful pipes, with cherry sticks and amber mouthpieces covered with jewels, were placed in our hands ; they were charged with the finest Latakia tobacco, and a kneeling slave placed the lighted charcoal on the fragrant weed. It so happened that neither Pasley nor I smoked, and we imagined we were doing our duty sufficiently by blowing down the pipe instead of inhaling. This caught the watchful eye of the Pasha, who thought it was the fault of the slave, and so indignant was he that we were obliged to confess our failing, first to Admiral Stewart, he to Lyons, he to the Ambassador, he to the Dragoman, and he to the Pasha. It was some time before the latter was able to understand that two officers, who were supposed to have done their duty respectably, did not know how to smoke. At last the slave was forgiven and our pipes taken away. In the good old days, whoever smoked the Sultan's tobacco, kept the pipe and the valuable mouthpiece, but in these degenerate times they are resumed both from smokers and non-smokers ; so Pasley and I lost nothing by our incapacity. Sir Edmund Lyons was summoned to Paris to join the Conference, and Sir Houston Stewart be- came Admiral Commanding-in-chief in the Mediter- ranean. The Hannibal therefore went to Malta, 1856 SEBASTOPOL 209 where my wife, with many other ladies, remained to welcome those who returned in safety from the Black Sea. The usual port duties had to be per- formed by the Flag-Captain to the Commander-in- chief Among these the Governor, Sir William Reid, requested the Admiral to appoint Captain Ryder and me, as a Committee, to report on the Defences required for Valetta and Marsa Muscetto Harbour against an attack from the sea. I believe the report was considered useful, and that much that it recommended was adopted. On the 13th May 1856 we sailed for Constanti- nople, and arriving on 1 7th, started again for Sebas- topol on the 21st. On the 23rd we went into Kazatch harbour, where the Royal Albert had lain so snugly during the war. On the ist June I had the honour of meeting Sir William Codrington, and, under the instructions of the Admiral, arranged for the embarkation of the army. When he left he said, " I will send you down two good officers from the Headquarters Staff," and he was as good as his word, when I say that the two who came were Roger Barnston and Garnet Wolseley. The French having gone, we had the benefit also of their piers at Kamiesch Bay. All went without a hitch, and above 23,000 men were embarked in splendid order. The last to go was my dear friend and connection, Adrian Hope of the 93rd. The last man but he had 2IO LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1856 embarked, and Wolseley came up and said, " Now, Colonel Hope, if you are ready, the boat waits." I never saw him more, for he shortly afterwards sailed for India, and lost his life through the mistake of his commanding officer, who would not take his advice, by which success would have been gained without the sacrifice of many precious lives, his own included. Thus ended our occupation of the Crimea. Before the embarkation. Field- Marshal Lord Gough arrived in the Terrible, and came to stay on board the Hannibal. He had been sent to the Crimea to confer the various distinctions which had been bestowed by the Queen. Before riding up to Head- quarters, he appeared at breakfast in his uniform as Colonel of the Blues. We ventured to remonstrate with him, as the day was very hot, and suggested that he should ride up in some cooler clothes and dress at Headquarters. He said, with the inimitable brogue and fun which he always showed, ** No, boys, I'll do nothing of the sort ; I am going up to Headquarters as I am. Bedad, don't I look like Britannia," alluding to her figure on the halfpenny, the helmet of the lady being exactly like that of the Blues. There Codrington and Pelissier, La Mar- mora and Osmar Pasha, and many men of all the four armies, received at the hands of Lord Gough the grateful acknowledgment of our Sovereign for their faithful and successful services. On the 1 8 5 7 SEBASTOPOL 2 1 1 5th July Marshal Pdlissier came on board to take leave. We left Kamiesch on the 8th July 1856, Kazatch on the nth, and Balaclava on the 12th. We went down to Constantinople on the 1 5th, where the Admiral, now Lord Lyons, with a brevet blue flag at the main, arrived and resumed the command. He sent Sir Houston Stewart in the Hannibal to make a final tour of the Black Sea. We sailed on the 29th, and arrived at Sebastopol on the 31st. We received Count Tolstoi on board the same day, and bidding a final adieu to the scene of our labours, now again flying the Russian flag, left it finally for Trebizond, which we reached on the 3rd of August. There we remained till the 20th, and staying one day at Sinope on the 22nd, reached Constantinople on the 26th, where we remained till the 3rd September, when we sailed for Malta. On the nth October we sailed for England, touching at Gibraltar. As we left Malta harbour an earthquake occurred, which did much damage, and split the tower of Verdala from top to bottom. On the 2 ist we lost sight of Cape Finisterre, and on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th experienced a dense fog. We felt our way up-channel slowly with the lead, and the first land we made was St. Catharine's. We anchored at Spithead that evening. On the 28th October, Sir Houston Stewart struck his flag and im- mediately rehoisted it at Devonport as Commander- 212 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1857 in-chief on the North American and West Indian Station. He asked me very kindly to go with him as flag-captain, an offer which I gladly accepted, and commissioned the Indus as flagship at Devonport on the 27th of November. The Hannibal wdLS^^id off on the 20th November, and my wife and children went with me by rail to the Hoe at Plymouth. Here I found a kind welcome from my former chief, Sir William Parker, and most cordial help in every way from my old messmate, Charles Richards, his secretary. The InduSy of seventy-eight guns, was the last sailing line- of - battle ship ever commissioned in England. Fortunately I was supported by many of the old Hannibals, and we soon were manned with a very good crew. I was sent to Plymouth Hospital on the 23rd January, suffering from an illness which quite disabled me, and was still there when the Indus sailed on the 21st February. Meantime Captain William Houston Stewart had been appointed to fill my place till I could rejoin. It is due to my gallant friends Wake, now no more, and Herbert, to say that when Sir William Parker inspected the Indus in Plymouth Sound, he was good enough to send for the officers, and compliment Commander Wake and Lieutenant Herbert on everything he had seen. Unfortunately, I was in hospital. He expressed his regret at my 1 8 57 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 213 absence, and said that the officers' messes were a credit to the service; approved the midshipmen's logs, and complimented Herbert on the gunnery. He added, that no ship had given him less trouble while fitting out, or gone out of harbour in such good order. This from an officer of Sir William Parker's reputation and experience was very satisfactory, and I was grateful to my gallant friend Captain Stewart, who had temporarily succeeded me in the command, for having enhanced the reputation of the ship, and for communicating to me this distinguished Admiral's good opinion. The ward-room and gun-room messes fully deserved the Admiral's encomiums ; but it had cost the officers considerable sums to make them what they were. Many of the officers had served with me in the Hannibal, where equal comfort and order were maintained, but when the Hannibal paid off, and the messes were broken up, all their fittings were left behind, and the cutlery, china, glass, and furniture were sold for an old song. In consequence of the experience, on many occasions, of the inconvenience to the service and loss to the officers, by this wasteful process, a letter which I wrote to Sir William Parker, dated 29th November 1856, was approved by him and forwarded to the Admiralty.^ It recommended that all the necessaries for officers' messes should be supplied ^ See Appendix B, p. 336. 214 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1857 from the victualling yards, charging the officers a proper percentage for use. This plan after long deliberation was eventually adopted, much to the advantage of the officers, and without loss to the Crown. Thus at that time an officer had to provide two pieces of silver of each kind and two table-cloths, but if he came from a small vessel to a large, his table-cloths were probably of no use, and he had to buy others ; now these necessaries are pro- vided, and if china, glass, crockery or cutlery are lost, or broken, or worn out, the articles can be replaced from the nearest Government store. The table- cloths were formerly handed over to the steward or messman, who took charge of them until the officer who supplied them left the ship. In the B endow the gun-room table-cloths were kept in two chests, which formed seats in the steward's berth. Custom-house officers having come on board at Spithead were hospitably enter- tained there. It was calm at Margate, and the boats from the port came off to the ship about breakfast-time. The messman and his assistant, Thomas, were entertaining the two Custom-house officers, when the former heard an imaginary call, ran into the gun-room, called a boat under the stern port, and ran back to the steward's berth saying, " Mr. So-and-So is going away and he wants his table-cloths." So he begged one of the Custom- 1 857 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 215 house officers to move off the chest on which he was sitting, opened it, and rummaged about for the two table-cloths. Then, not finding them, he said to the other officer, seated on the opposite chest, "It must be in that one, will you kindly move to my chair ? Here Thomas, give me a lift with the chest, I won't disturb the officers any further." The chest was carried into the gun-room and lowered into the boat, which got away safely with it ; and it would have been a good prize, for it contained 10,000 Gibraltar cigars. The Indus sailed on 21st February 1857 from Plymouth Sound, and went to Bermuda ; she made the round of the station, returning to Bermuda and to Halifax. Meantime I was discharged from hospital on the 19th March, and passed my convalescence at Clifton. On the 21st April we reached Liverpool. My wife, who had nursed me tenderly and affection- ately, my two sons, and my second daughter, Clara, were with us, and the Dowager Lady Napier, most devoted of grandmothers, took charge of the eldest and youngest daughters during our absence on service. My dear father and two of my sisters came to see us off, and with me went my youngest brother Tom, who after a visit to Canada proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, and having been selected to go to Cape Coast Castle as a special service officer in the Ashanti War of 1864, died of hardships endured on 2i6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1857 that campaign. He was a captain in the 17th Foot, and is buried at Sierra Leone. Every comfort was provided for us in the Cunard steamer Europa, Captain Leitch. On the 5th May we made Chebucto Head and landed at Halifax. Mr. and Mrs. William Cunard invited us to their house, and entertained the whole party hospitably for three weeks, while the house in the dockyard which we were to occupy was made ready and furnished. On the 27th May we went into it, and it was not until the 23rd June that the Indus arrived. On the 24th June I relieved Captain Stewart, and was again in command. He was appointed to the Impreg- nable, and eventually became flag-captain of the Marlborough, with Admiral Sir William Martin, Commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. The Governor and Commander-in-chief at Hali- fax was Sir Gaspard le Marchant. His Adjutant- General was my old schoolfellow at Rugby, Charles Fordyce. He had distinguished himself by his suc- cessful defence of the Mikriakoff Glen in the battle of Inkerman.^ Not many years after he married my sister, and served as Military Secretary to Lord Napier when Governor of Madras. He died a Lieutenant-General in the Jubilee year 1887. Like myself he was a keen fisherman, and we had many pleasant days on the rivers and lakes of Nova Scotia. * Kinglake, vol. v. p. 147. 1858 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 217 On the 14th September my wife and I went to Truro to visit the Normal Training College. At its head was my old tutor Dr. Forrester, who, with his wife, gave us a hearty welcome. The schools were celebrated through America, and Nova Scotia was justly praised as the first of the British. Colonies to establish a system of National and State-aided Education, which had been brought into being most successfully by Dr. Forrester. In 1866 he came to England, and was presented at Court by the Colonial Minister, the Duke of Newcastle, and received introductions to the Belgian and Prussian governments to study their systems of education. Unfortunately he died on his voyage to New York in 1867, and was mourned by the Province of Nova Scotia and by all who knew him. On 1 4th December the Indus sailed for the Ber- mudas, and on the 30th January 1858 we left to make the round of the West Indies. On the 8th of April we returned from Jamaica to the Bermudas, and remaining there until the i6th June, sailed for Hali- fax, and on 24th June arrived there. On the i6th August the Queen's message to the President of the United States came over the first Atlantic cable. A second message was in process of delivery to the authorities at Halifax, but the cable failed, when only three words had been recorded. The words were *' Do not send." This mysterious order 2i8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1858 was explained, when the mail arrived shortly after. By it orders came to send the 62nd and 63rd Regiments to India. The Indus was got ready to embark one regiment, and transport was provisionally engaged for the other ; but in view of the possibility of the incomplete telegram applying to this order, the embarkation was delayed till the arrival of next mail. When it came it was found that the surmise was correct, and that the situation in India had so far improved as to make it unneces- sary to despatch these troops. Our sister-in-law. Lady Napier, paid us a visit in September 1858, and on the 14th my wife and I and our eldest son left with her for the United States. We went to St. John's, New Brunswick, and on i6th landed Lady Napier at Eastport to pay a visit to Mrs. Robinson Owen at Campo Bello, an island which she owned at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. We experienced a cyclone of great severity, of which, thanks to Sir William Reid, we had warning by telegraph from Boston when we touched at St. Andrews. We took shelter in Moosebeck Reach, and experienced in that land-locked cove a hurricane of unusual violence. The crowd of passengers felt some alarm as she tugged at her cables, but passed the night in singing hymns and in devotion, which had a soothing effect, and kept them otherwise quiet. On the 1 7th we reached Portland, in Maine. Thence 1858 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 219 by rail up the Androscoggin river to Island Pond, in which beautiful place we passed a Sunday. Thence down the St. Francis to Quebec, Montreal (where we inspected the great railway bridge in course of construction), and then on to Kingston. There I had been desired to inspect the dockyard. It was in charge of the Ordnance Department, and I was amused to find a great stock of water casks, which men-o'-war sailing the salt seas at that time required, but which were here kept in store for ships intended to sail on the fresh-water lakes of America. We admired the New College, building at Toronto, and were duly impressed with Niagara. Indeed my wife earned her certificate for passing into the cave of the winds under the Falls in a costume which might have been worn by a Newfoundland pilot. The wonderful whirlpool, where forest trees seem for ever engaged in a dance of death, makes me wonder how poor Webb was allowed by the authorities to sacrifice his life in his desperate venture to float through that remorseless and un- ceasing turmoil of waters. In the fathomless profound Down sank he like a falling stone. By raging whirlpools overthrown, as Sandys writes, in anticipation, as it seems, of this terrible folly. We left Niagara by rail for Albany, and then by 220 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1858 Steamer for West Point on the Hudson, where we were the guests of Lord and Lady Napier. On our way to Albany, by rail, a passenger got in who had been treating himself too freely, and was rather annoying to the passengers. The con- ductor invited him on to the open platform which connects two cars. There he offered him a cigar. While he was lighting it the conductor touched the cord which signalled the train to reduce speed. When we were going four or five miles an hour he shouldered the wretch off the platform on to the permanent way, and before he was on his feet we were steaming on again at our usual speed. We heard him howling maledictions after us, but in vain. I asked the conductor what would become of him. " Oh," said he, " there is a village about fifteen miles off, and I guess he'll be sober enough when he gets there." We much enjoyed our stay at West Point. Those who were educated in the Military College compared very favourably with the cadets of other armies. They certainly have a tone and manner which justifies the fact that in American society when one met a well-bred gentleman, the re- mark often made was, ** He is a West Pointer." Donati's comet was visible, and Professor Bartlett was kind enough to enable us to view it through the great telescope in the Observatory. He also 1 85 8 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 221 gave us a lecture on the telescope itself — at that time, and until the foundation of the Lick Ob- servatory, the best on that side of the Atlantic. At Cozzen's Hotel we also met General Winfield Scott, Commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army ; he was seventy-two years of age, he had served against us in 181 2, and been wounded, and was now celebrated as the conqueror of Mexico. It must be remembered that this occurred before the Civil War, and at that time General Scott was the only General in the American Army with a European reputation. H e was well-bred and courteous. He kindly received Lord Napier and me in his room, to which he was con- fined by an accident. He was much impressed with the masterly campaign of Lord Clyde in India, and said that he had watched all the proceedings there with intense interest. On the 2nd of October 1858 we visited the Academy ; it is on a well - chosen situation. The West Point runs out at an angle of the Hudson River. It is close to Fort Putnam, one of the earliest fortifications in the War of Independ- ence. Within sight of it is the place where Major Andr6 was hanged — justly executed no doubt under the laws of war, but it would have redounded more to the credit of the great Washington if he had granted poor Andre s prayer to be shot like a soldier, and not hanged like a dog. For whatever 222 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1858 may have been thought of Benedict Arnold's conduct, which from the American point of view was rightly- regarded as treachery, Andrd was in communication with him as a British staff-officer acting under the orders of a British General, though in plain clothes. The view of the Hudson is magnificent. The colouring of the trees in the '* fall " is finer than that in the forests of other countries, and is chiefly due to the very bright scarlet which the maple leaf assumes in its first decay. The woods at that time of year are more beautiful than the vineyards on the Rhone, though there are many points of resemblance be- twixt the two rivers. Colonel Delafield, the Governor, was chief of a Commission appointed by the United States Govern- ment to visit the Russian and allied Headquarters during the war. He also inspected many of the other armies of Europe, having been the guest of Paskiewitch in Poland and of Radetsky in Lombardy. The British and Russian Commanders- in-chief afforded him every facility, but though he had the orders of the French Government to the same effect, Pdissier would give him neither access nor interview. The American Commissioner re- mained at St. Petersburg expecting to see the allied attack upon Cronstadt. He was thus delayed, and did not reach Sebastopol till the i6th September, five days after it had fallen. He said he thought 1858 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 223 Cronstadt would have been captured if vigorously- attacked by sea from the north. I do not agree with, or attach much importance, to this opinion. He also remarked that our possession of Bermuda was a constant thorn in the side of the United States. He was inquisitive, but not rudely so, as to our fortifications there, and contended that the Americans had far more right to be anxious about our proceedings at Bermuda than we had in regard to Cherbourg. I pointed out that Bermuda was no place for a large assemblage of troops, while Cher- bourg, by railway, could assemble 300,000 men in a comparatively short time ; that Bermuda was 500 miles distant from any assailable point of the United States, while Cherbourg was within sixty miles of our shores ; that at Bermuda we had no accumula- tion of ships or warlike stores, whilst at Cherbourg France had everything in a forward state. He was not impressed by my argument, still continuing to express anxiety. While here I received a letter from Mr. Winans, inviting me, as the British flag-captain on the North American station, to come to Bedford to see the cigar ship he was building, and in which he pro- posed to cross the Atlantic. I declined, as my leave was nearly over, and at West Point there was a model of his submarine boat. He had been engineer of the Moscow and St. Petersburg Railway, and had just 224 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1858 succeeded in obtaining from the Russian Govern- ment a considerable sum of money for which he had sued them in their own courts. This money- had enabled him to build the cigar ship. In the year 1861, when I was Chairman of the Iron Plate Committee, he invited me again to visit her in the Thames, and gave a luncheon. He then started for St. Petersburg, sold her well, accepted a contract for the maintenance of his old railway, and came to England a millionaire. I was in 1868 the guest of that good sportsman, my old friend Ashley Dodd, who had rented Glentilt Forest for two years from the Duke of Athole. One day, towards the end of the season, Mr. Robertson, the factor, came to announce to my host, and to Sir Curtis Lampson who rented Glenbruar, and Lord Dudley who rented Fala, that their leases must terminate, for an American millionaire had offered ;^6ooo a year for the three forests. The only commentary I heard and agreed with was, ** Hang the fellow, why could he not go to his own country and take a prairie ? " He, however, remained constant in his affection to Scotland, and his rents were not to be despised. One cannot but reflect that the red-deer has been a benefactor to Scotland. The fact is manifested in the appropriation of large tracts of mountain land, unsuited to cultivation and imperfectly adapted to 1858 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 225 the pasturage of cattle or sheep, to the practice of an invigorating and profitable sport, associated with increased rental to the owner and material advan- tages to the native population, many of whom, formerly lodged in wretched huts and steeped in poverty, are now provided with decent dwellings, and enabled to command, as ghillies and keepers, regular wages far exceeding their precarious earn- ings previous to the immigration of southern sports- men. Those who doubt this would have their doubts dissipated, if they were fortunate enough to enjoy the hospitality of my old pugilistic opponent at Rugby, Sir William Cunliffe Brooks of the Forest of Glen Tana, where his taste and ex- penditure have converted the wilderness into a paradise of beauty and of humble welfare. Even the usual notices to deter trespassers are framed in terms which warn, without the harshness of the ordinary threat of prosecution, and spring guns : ** Persons are earnestly requested not to pass this way, for fear of being accidentally shot in the forest.*' It is amusing to observe, how the division of labour has rendered each man a strenuous upholder of that particular branch of sport to which he is attached. Of this I had an example, on one occasion, when I had been told by my host to take my gun if I pleased, and shoot any grouse that I Q . 226 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1858 found between the lodge and the forest. Going up some three miles I shot twenty-two brace in this desultory manner. I said to the stalker, who carried my rifle, ''What splendid sport." ''Aeh," he replied, " and if I vas the teuk there should not pe a tamn'd cheeper." The gamekeeper naturally took a different view. This digression has made my pen run away with me, and I ought to remember that we are still at West Point, whence we proceeded to New York, Boston, and Halifax. Mr. Buchanan was still President. In the south there was talk of separation, in certain contingencies, such as the election of Abraham Lincoln as President ; but no one anticipated a gigantic Civil War, destined to ravage the Continent, before the blot of African slavery was extinguished. Again we made the round of the West Indies, this time visiting Trinidad, and its pitch lake ; and the Admiral, having returned by steamer to Ber- muda from Jamaica, I took the Indus to Havana, where Don Jos6 Concha, the Captain-General, was good enough to send an officer with me, and allow me to see all the fortifications. I was much struck with the lavish expense which had armed the forts with 8-inch brass smooth-bore guns, so much less durable than iron and so much more costly. Again the spring saw us at Bermuda and the summer at 1858 NORTH AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 227 Halifax. A good many changes had taken place. Commander Wake had exchanged into the Devasta- tion, whose commander, Leveson Somerset, an ex- ceedingly smart and able officer, had preferred the more laborious task of commander in the flagship. Herbert, the first lieutenant, was also promoted, and the usual result of the charming society of Halifax was that several of the officers were married. The Indus, after the Admiral had landed, went to sea for a cruise, which gave me an opportunity of seeing the harbours of Louisburg and Sydney (Cape Breton). There I found a pleasant com- panion in Judge Dodd, who showed me trout - fishing in perfection. On one occasion he was going from Sydney to Louisburg to hold a court. In the fifteen-mile drive there, we crossed a sluggish stream, and he said, '*Put your rod together, and I can give you half an hour." In that half hour I caught thirty -one trout, averag- ing more than a pound, though none reached two pounds. I had a delay through breaking the second joint of my 14-foot rod, which I spliced with some red tape off a bundle of the judge's law-papers. On our way back, as it was getting dusk, we saw a covey of birch partridge on a tree near the road. I loaded my gun, and, under the judge's direction, fired two barrels at the two birds lowest down on the tree ; they fell, and I loaded again. 228 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1859 Then I shot the two next on the tree ; they also fell, the covey still looking down stupidly at their fallen companions. Then I loaded again, and shot the uppermost, which, falling down through the covey, the remainder took to flight. We picked up the two brace and a half, and resumed our journey. The Indus returned to Halifax from her cruise on the 4th September 1859, and on the 5th I was relieved of the command by Captain William King Hall, my old messmate in the B endow ^ who had recently come back from China, where he had served as flag-captain to Sir Michael Seymour. On the 23rd, after receiving much kindly hospitality, we sailed in the Europa, Captain Leitch, for Liverpool, being the same ship in which we had come out two years before. We arrived at Liverpool on the 3rd October 1859. Soon after, the children who had been at home joined us with their kind grandmother. On the loth the boys went to my father's, and on nth October, my wife and I and the three girls went to Addington Manor, just completed by my brother-in-law, John Hubbard, where he and his wife always received us with the greatest kindness, and where we spent many happy days. On 14th October the Duke of Somerset sent for me and told me that a Royal Commission was about to be nominated to inquire into the condition 1 859 ENGLAND 229 of Greenwich Hospital, and to suggest changes. I told him that I was probably to be invited to enter Parliament, and that I was on the opposite side to the Government. He thanked me for my frank- ness, but said it made no difference, and he hoped he might add my name to the Commission. To this I agreed, and on the 22nd October it was issued. It consisted of three members, Mr. (after- wards Sir William) Hutt, M.P., Mr. Ingham, M.P., and myself, with Mr. Spencer Butler as Secretary. At this time, on my old schoolfellow Dr. Vaughan's recommendation, I booked two boys for Mr. Hastings' Preparatory School at Harrow. On the 8th of November I went to my father's at Dunragit, the railway being that day opened to Castle -Douglas, while the remaining fifty -seven miles were still traversed by mail-coach. On the 15th November I went to town, and met my colleagues next day in the library of the Admiralty. The Commission continued to sit till the summer of i860, when it reported. At the beginning of i860 I had taken a house near Harrow, which my family continued to occupy till 1865. Our two elder boys were first at Hastings' School and eventually joined Harrow, as also did the youngest later on. I am glad that they were all members of that famous school. On 31st October i860, the Earl of Dundonald, 2 30 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS i860 one of the most brilliant of naval officers, whose deeds are imperishably recorded in history, died. Alas that strong party bias should have warped even the judgment of a Chief- Justice, and should have driven from the service of the country a man so renowned ! In foreign service he continued to add to the laurels he had so well earned in the British Navy, and it was the happiness of the young and gracious Queen Victoria to restore to his honours, and to employ, the veteran Admiral in the evening of his days. When he died the remorse of the nation was shown by a funeral in Westminster Abbey. To that I was bidden, and had the honour of acting as a pall-bearer, with Lord Brougham, Admiral Sir George Seymour, Captain Goldsmith, and other friends, to one for whose memory I con- tinue to feel the greatest respect. On the 5th November, Admiral Sir Charles Napier died quietly at Merchiston, his place near Portsmouth, named after his ancestral house. To him also great injustice had been done. The country, misled by statements entirely devoid of foundation, had blamed him for not sacrificing his fleet in an attack on Cronstadt. He had blockaded the Russian fleet in their strong harbours, so that our commerce was protected on every sea, and in so doing had done his duty. Neither Howe nor St. Vincent had attacked Brest, nor had Nelson attacked Toulon, i86o ENGLAND 231 and Napier had fulfilled the traditions of the navy in following the example of his most brilliant predecessors. Soon after the closing of the Greenwich Hospital Commission, the Duke of Somerset asked me to accept the Chair of a Committee to inquire into the question of iron plates for the protection of ships from shot and shell. The Committee was to be jointly under the War Office and the Admiralty, and Mr. Sydney Herbert, the Secretary of State for War, had agreed with the Admiralty in proposing that I should take the Chair. I gladly accepted. With me were associated Colonel W. Henderson, R.A. ; Major Drummond Jervois, R.E. ; Mr. W. Fairbairn, F.R.S. ; Dr. Percy, F.R.S. ; Mr. W. Pole, C.E., F.R.S. ; and Captain H. S. Dyer, R.A., as Secretary. We sat for four years and a half, and accumulated much information on a subject which, till then, had not been investigated. Our sittings were almost daily, and our experiments innumerable. They are duly recorded in several Blue-Books, and in very many Photographs now in the library of the Institution of Naval Architects. Our labours were so far appreciated by men of science, that in June 1864 I found myself elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. , In March 1861 my dear father died. He had lived on his estates for nearly fifty years, having 232 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1861 succeeded when he was twenty-three, in 1 8 1 2. There he had performed his duties as a country gentleman and magistrate. He had not been allowed to enter the navy or army as he had desired, and his only military service was as a Captain of Yeomanry, which was called out to repress riots near Glasgow. For his conduct on that occasion he was presented by his comrades with a sword, which is carefully preserved among the family heirlooms. The borough of Wakefield had been the scene of a parliamentary election, at which both candidates had been too lavish. The sitting member had been unseated, and the writ suspended. It was too popu- lous a place to continue long unrepresented. The writ was about to be moved, and I had been invited to contest the borough in the Conservative interest. On the 1 8th June 1861, I went down to Wakefield, and put up at the Strafford Arms. My opponent was Mr. Smethurst, a Lancashire manufacturer. We met and shook hands in the street, the first day of our canvass, and continued our contest on amicable terms. On the 6th July, Government defeated the motion for the issue of the writ, and Mr. Smethurst 's labours and mine ended for that time. But we had made ourselves thoroughly known to the constitu- ency, and had each expended a good deal of money and trouble, in all the legitimate expenses pre- liminary to a contested election. On the 9th July 1 86 1 ENGLAND 233 my parting address was issued, and I returned to London. In addition to the Iron- Plate Committee, I had been chosen Chairman of the Navy Inquiry Com- mittee, and through its indefatigable Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Harvey, the wishes of all classes of officers had been accurately ascertained. CHAPTER X palmerston's last parliament — LORD derby's ADMINISTRATION As already related, I had thoroughly canvassed the borough of Wakefield in 1861. I had found zealous and loyal support from the Conservative party there, and awaited the issue of the writ with some confidence. I was not a local resident, neither was my opponent, Mr. Smethurst, and I paid constant visits to Wakefield in the autumn. In February 1862, the writ was issued, and in March I took my seat in Parliament. I entered it in the hope to do something to increase and strengthen the navy. Two questions required particular attention. There was much dissatisfaction in the service in regard to the state of the Navy List. The Flag List was filled with the names of many honourable officers, whose age made it impossible to expect from them the activity necessary at sea. The Navy Inquiry Committee had corre- sponded with above 1500 naval officers, and i862 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 235 had invited their opinions on the remedies to be proposed. Based on this information, Admiral George Elliot, Captain Cooper Key, and I had framed some resolutions which were entrusted to Sir James Elphinstone, M.P. for Portsmouth, and he had obtained a Committee of the House of Commons to consider the subject in 1861. Sir James Elphinstone had served as a midshipman in the Vengeur, but soon after he had joined her a better opportunity had occurred for the advance- ment of his interests; he joined the H.E.I.C.S., and soon became captain of the OrwelL When the Charter terminated, in 1833, he bought that ship, and commanded her successfully on his own account. He was very popular in the House and elsewhere, and always exerted himself for the benefit of the navy. This Committee had not been reappointed in 1862. I had, however, to find out the ways of the House of Commons before attempting to make any statement on the subject. The other question to which I endeavoured for the next twenty-five years to direct the attention of Parliament and the country was the inadequacy of our navy, both in ships and men, to protect the honour and interests of the Queen's dominions. That both subjects merited attention was not denied, but the number of naval officers in the House had been reduced to eight, which was insufficient to 236 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1862 obtain commensurate attention to the wants of the navy. Before I had arranged my plans, however, an occasion offered which enabled me to address the House with confidence and to carry a motion. During the Russian War, Sir Edmund Lyons and his flag-captain, the late Sir William Mends, being much engaged in the despatch of the expedition into the Sea of Azoff, it fell to Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, the second in command, to arrange the embarkation of stores and guns which had been captured at Kertch. As flag-captain to the second in command this duty devolved upon me. In Kertch there was a very complete small steam factory, for the repair of the Russian steamships, employed in that quarter. I knew that we had nothing at Gibraltar at that time to compare to it, and I sug- gested that this steam factory should be embarked and sent down there. The transfer was approved, was carried out, and it added materially to the efficiency of Gibraltar as a repairing station for the Mediterranean fleet. The machinery and other stores captured at Kertch in 1855, had become prize of war, and had been promised, as such, to the navy and army engaged in the expedition. On a variety of pretexts the Treasury had refused to pay anything to those to whom prize-money was due. The Admiralty had in vain endeavoured to get the i862 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 237 Treasury to distribute the money, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer was inexorable. This scandal had been exposed by the publication of the correspond- ence between the two departments. On the 27th June 1862 Lord Hardwicke moved for the papers, which were granted by the Duke of Somerset. I had obtained a day in the Commons for the discussion, and these papers materially strengthened my hands. As the army was con- cerned, Colonel North, member for Oxfordshire, had agreed to second my motion, and as a debate was impending on affairs of China, it was known that a full House was to be expected. At the opening of the House, Lord Palmerston had sent Mr. Brand (then first Government Whip) to me to deprecate my proceeding with the subject. This I demurred to, and then Lord Palmerston appealed to me across the House to abstain from the dis- cussion. I was firm, however, and when the motion came on about eleven I addressed the House.^ Mr. Henley, then a much respected member of the House, asked me for the papers. His caustic remarks in the debate turned the House entirely in our favour, and when Mr. Gladstone had replied, Lord Palmerston threw him over and granted the refer- ence by the captors to the Admiralty Court, which at once ordered the payment of the prize-money. 1 See Appendix E, p. 343. 238 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1862 The success of this motion gave me confidence, and my little tilt with Palmerston and the overthrow of Gladstone was very satisfactory to many, and to none more so than to the Duke of Somerset. Whiteside, who spoke, put the matter very tersely. Replying to Gladstone, he said, '' The Right Honourable gentleman" (Gladstone) ''has mentioned two modes in which justice may be done. The first was by a vote of money." The reply to that has been : ''With reference to former correspondence, it has been decided that, after so great a lapse of time, no grant of public money could be recommended to Parliament." Then, as to the second mode, adjudication by the Court of Admiralty, here is the answer : " And further, that on the grounds of the capture having been a joint one by army and navy, and further complicated by having been made in conjunction with the French army and navy. Her Majesty's Government do not consider it expedient that any steps should be allowed to be taken in the High Court of Admiralty towards obtaining condemnation of the stores." The result of my motion was that in due course the prize-money was paid to the captors. During the session of 1862, I continued my work as Chairman of the Iron- Plate Committee. We made many experiments, and in the end of the year were able to recommend to the Admiralty 1 862 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 239 the building of the Agincourt, Minotaur, and North- umberland, ships which, in that stage of the inquiry, offered a perfect resistance to the largest and most powerful artillery carried afloat. It was also decided to mount one of Captain Coles' cupolas on the Royal Sovereign, a three-decked ship which was cut down to her lower deck for this purpose. I was also requested to become a Public Works Loan Commissioner, with the object of advising as to loans for harbours, a gratuitous labour which I continued for twelve years. The scandalous delay in the distribution of the Kertch prize-money, had revealed the necessity for some change in the law. Accordingly I pre- pared, introduced, and carried a Naval Prize- Money Bill, which, with the assent of both parties, was accepted and passed. I was fortunate in showing the draft bill to my friend Horace Lloyd. He undertook to revise the measure, and it was so well drawn that Lord Clarence Paget, the Secretary of the Admiralty, told the House that the Admiralty draftsman could find nothing to alter or amend. As this was my first attempt at legislation, I was glad to be able to assure the House that I had no credit for it, and that I hoped they would not imagine me to be a sea-lawyer. The first legitimate opportunity which occurred for my maiden speech had been on 31st March 1862. 240 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1863 General Sir Frederick Smith had a motion, on the question of the Spithead forts. I had already been a witness before the Defence Committee, and my evidence had appeared acceptable to many members of the House. During the debate a cry arose for me by name, and hardly knowing whether I was standing on my head or my heels, I rose, with the encouraging shout of New Member. Fortunately for me I had prepared nothing, but knew my subject. To my own surprise I spoke fluently, and was more than kindly received. My argument was that an armour-clad ship was a moveable fort, and cost less than the fixed forts at Spithead ; that the ship could pursue a beaten enemy, while the fort could not prevent that enemy from withdrawing from the action or afterwards attacking unfortified towns or merchant vessels. This the fixed fort could do nothing to hinder, while the armour-clad ship could pursue and destroy or capture the enemy, and put a stop to his depredations. During 1862 I seem to have spoken four times. In 1863 I spoke six times, and served on several Committees. On the 3rd March I moved for a Committee to inquire into Promotion and Retire- ment in the Navy, and addressed the House. ^ Lord Palmerston granted the Committee, and the House appointed Mr. Spencer Walpole to be its * See Appendix F, p. 352. 1864 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 241 Chairman. The letter written by the Navy Inquiry Committee to the Duke of Somerset and signed by me as its Chairman was the basis of the investiga- tion. The letter was moved for and submitted in due form. Three ex-First Lords sat upon the Com- mittee, and the Duke of Somerset was examined at length. In due course the Committee reported, and after some years many of its recommendations were adopted. Unfortunately in one particular its advice was not followed. The inquiries made by the Navy Inquiry Committee showed, that a great number of officers were ready to withdraw from the profession, voluntarily, upon receiving the in- crease of pay now given for compulsory retirement. It would have been better, in my opinion, if optional retirement had been tried, without at once resorting to the more stringent method. Those who loved their profession would have remained, and many who did not care for sea service would have been eliminated. But whatever the result in individual cases, Mr. Walpole's Committee was very beneficial to the efficiency of the Active List. In 1864 my brother Tom, who had been serving with the Cape Mounted Rifles, was ordered home, to proceed to the West Coast of Africa on special service. He went out to the West Indies, was at- tached to the 4th West India Regiment, and crossed with it in the MegcBva to Cape Coast Castle. R 242 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1864 Colonel Conran of that regiment commanded the operations, but his force was inadequate, and ab- solutely no provision was made for the campaign. Neither hospital ships nor extra medical men, nor sufficient means for distilling water, nor medical comforts of any sort were despatched. Even the transports which carried the men to Cape Coast Castle were withdrawn, and a very large proportion of the officers and men, my poor brother among the number, perished without hope or help on the deadly coast. These facts becoming known, I gave notice of a motion on the subject. I had been able to draw up a prdcis of the information I possessed, and Lord Derby asked me to come over to the House of Lords, and show it to him. When he returned it to me at the bar, Delane, who frequently attended our iron-plate experiments, asked me what it was about. I allowed him to read it, and next morning the Times called attention to the Ashanti War, of which nothing was known to the public or to Parliament. On the loth June I went to Liver- pool to meet my brother, and heard of his death from Dr. Oakes, who had attended him, and re- ceived full information about his hardships and the scandalous neglect with which the troops had been treated. While out in Africa he had purchased a company in the 17th Foot, but 1 864 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 243 although he died on service the purchase money was never repaid. On the 1 7th June I moved a vote of censure on Government for misconducting the Ashanti War, and obtained 226 votes to 233.^ The motion, though unsuccessful, did much good, and in the two last Ashanti Wars, conducted respectively by Lord Wolseley and Sir Francis Scott, the preparations for the campaign were in all respects complete, and the loss of life, considering the climate, exceedingly small. I trust that no one may again have cause to bring such an indictment against a British administration. On the 17th August the Iron- Plate Committee were able to report, the final result of their investigations, and I took leave of my colleagues with sincere regret. On the 5th October I was invited to become the Chairman of the Millwall Shipbuilding Company. I found Mr. Brassey, now Lord Brassey, among my colleagues. The Northumberland^ one of the ships recommended to be built by the Iron-Plate Committee, was in course of construction by that Company, as well as the Affondatore, an ironclad turret ship ordered for the Italian Government. For a short time, after Mr. James Napier, the managing director, resigned, I had performed that duty until Mr. Lungley was appointed. This gave me an insight ^ See Appendix H. 244 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1864 into iron shipbuilding which I could hardly have obtained in any other way. In November my wife and I paid a good many visits at and in the neighbourhood of Wakefield. Among other places we visited Fryston, where Lord and Lady Houghton received us most hos- pitably. His peerage was then just acquired. The house party was a very interesting one. Amongst others we met Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury ; Thomson, Archbishop of York ; Tait, Bishop of London ; and Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford. There was a Church Congress sitting at York at the time. After dinner Lord Houghton said a few words of welcome, and alluding to the fact that Longley had been Archbishop of York, that Thomson then held that dignity, that Tait was supposed to have refused it, and that Wilberforce had been greatly disappointed in not receiving it, proposed the following toast: **The archbishop that was, the archbishop that is, the bishop that wouldn't, and the bishop that couldn't," calling upon the junior to reply, which procured for the guests a very pleasant and agreeable speech from Wilberforce. Todleben was a guest, and I had much talk with him, to which I have alluded before. Richmond, the Royal Academician, was also there, and full of good stories. He told me that a few days before, at Bishopthorpe, he was going into 1 865 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 245 chapel with the Bishop of Oxford and the other dignitaries I have mentioned, and more besides. The two stood at the door. The floor looked shaky, and Richmond said to Wilberforce, ** What a loss to the Church if the floor gives way with such a weight of learning," to which the Bishop replied, " But what a gain for Pam. He would at once promote Jowett, the Devil, and one of the Cowpers ! " One wet day Lord Houghton entertained us by reading his own poetry, including a parody on Tennyson's ** Northern Farmer," represented by Lord Palmerston. We also passed a few days at Walton Hall with its interesting owner Mr. Waterton. His Wanderings in South America is a book which has afforded much pleasure to all who have read it. The old hall stands on an island in a lake, and can only be approached by boat, or by a foot-bridge, fixed where the drawbridge had been suspended of old. The water-gate below still shows shot holes, made by Cromwell's artillery. The hall and staircase, from top to bottom, were covered by the trophies of his wandering life, an admirable illustration of such adventures. No gun was allowed to be fired within the ample park which surrounds the lake, which also swarmed with water- fowl. Hares and rabbits, foxes, badgers, and pole-cats went unmolested, and winged fowl of every British species were there in great variety and 246 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1865 abundance. He was a widower, active, and eighty- four. Two ladies, his sisters, lived with him and looked after the house. He never went to bed, but slept in the hall on a mat with a cane pillow. Soon after our visit, he was pruning a tree with a saw on a long pole. The branch fell on him. He crawled home, and not long after died on the mat which had been his bed for many years. Thus passed away the quaint old wanderer. When the year 1865 opened, I found myself invested with the duties belonging to the following offices or positions : — Landed Proprietor in Scotland ; Elder of Old Luce Parish ; Chairman of Poor Board ; Deputy-Lieutenant and Justice of Peace, Wigton- shire; M.P. for Wakefield; F.R.S., F.R.G.S. ; Vice-President of the Institution of Naval Archi- tects ; Public Works Loan Commissioner ; Mem- ber of Council of British -American Association; Chairman of Mill wall Ironworks ; Director of Reuter's Telegraph Company; Director of Port- patrick Railway Company ; Chairman of Council Royal United Service Institution — in all of which I took an active interest. I acquired the habit of sleeping comfortably in the train, which enabled me to fulfil my functions in Yorkshire and Scotland without much fatigue. I was introduced to Mr. Julius de Reuter on the 8th January 1865 by my old China friend, John 1 865 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 247 Dent. Mr. de Reuter had established a news agency in London in 185 1, which is now world- renowned. But as the business increased, he desired to form a Company to carry it on in the manner which he had so well organised. He was a gentleman of good family in Hesse-Cassel, and had amused himself with carrier pigeons. The electric telegraph at that time stopped short of the frontier of France and Germany by six miles on either side. It occurred to him to bridge this twelve miles' interval by his pigeons. He estab- lished agencies in both countries. Telegraphic messages came to them from London and Vienna, and elsewhere. The messages were forwarded on by pigeon post and greatly accelerated. His agents also were men of good repute, who made themselves useful to the Emperor William the First, and to other Governments. Mr. de Reuter was therefore able to collect news from the best sources. Mr. Dent, Colonel Holland, Mr. James Stopford, Mr. de Reuter, and I formed the Board. When Mr. Dent had to return to China in 1866, I was offered the Chair, but I felt that my time was too fully occupied. Colonel Holland accepted it, and carried forward the Company's business with great advantage till his death, when I succeeded to the Chair. The only matter about which I was anxious on joining, was that our agent who accompanied the 248 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1865 navy or army engaged in hostilities should forward no message which was not approved by the Head- quarters Staff. Baron de Reuter was also fully alive to the necessity for this course. It has been care- fully attended to, and our representatives have not only often sent the earliest information, but they have done so without friction, and with the approval of those who conduct operations. Mr. Dent, Colonel Holland, and Mr. Stopford are dead, but Baron de Reuter continues to enjoy the respect of his contem- poraries, and to give invaluable assistance on the Board. He and I and Mr. Frederick Griffiths (first the Secretary and now a Director) are the sole sur- vivors of those who met together to found Reuters Telegram Company in the year 1865. Parliament was dissolved in June, and I was defeated at Wakefield on the 12th July. My op- ponent on this occasion was Mr. W. Leatham ; he had been a candidate when the writ was sus- pended, and as a local man was a formidable opponent. He polled 507 votes, and I 457. I look back with much satisfaction to my con- nection with Wakefield, where I made many friends, and it gave me an opportunity of having a seat in the House of Commons, in which I trust I did some good in awakening an interest in the navy. My contention was, and is, that for every battle- ship existing in the world we should possess one, 1 866 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 249 equal or superior ; and now after forty years' exer- tion, I live in hope that we are gradually approaching that proportion. On the 4th November we launched the Affon- datore for the Italian Government. Sir James Lacaita came, and a pleasant Italian party. The Marchesa San Germano named the ship. Marchese d'Azeglio, the Italian ambassador, was ill and un- able to attend. The Affondatore was hurried out, and was present at Persano's disastrous defeat at Lissa. In going into Ancona afterwards, where she anchored, the hawse pipes not being closed, she foundered, but was raised again, and is still afloat, though very slow and of an obsolete pattern. On the nth December we left our house at Harrow-on-the-Hill and flitted to 108 St. George's Square, which I commenced to build in 1864, and which has sheltered us ever since. I had the ad- vantage of Sir Arthur Blomfield's superintendence, and Mr. Owen Jones was good enough to arrange the internal decorations. Early in January 1866, on the vacancy caused by the death of Lord Palmerston, I was requested to contest the borough of Tiverton. This was the con- stituency which so long had enabled him to sit in the House of Commons. His colleague was Mr. Wal- rond of Bradfield, a Conservative, and it was thought that the party were strong enough to return another 250 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1866 Conservative, as his successor. The surrounding country district is included in the borough, and I had a long and pleasant canvass among the Devon- shire farmers, who were to a man in my favour. The only drawback was that at each farmhouse one had to toss off a tumbler of hot rough cider, which one only successfully evaded by allowing half to spill over the horse's mane. I was introduced to the constituency by Sir Stafford Northcote, who represented then the borough of Stamford. I was fortunate also in being supported by Mr. Daniell of Stoodleigh, Mr. Walrond, and Mr. Troyte of Huntsham. All their exertions and mine were in vain. My opponent, George Denman, beat me by forty-six votes, the result of the poll showing 232 to 186. This took place upon the 28th of February 1866. On the 17th March a large company assembled at Mill wall to see the launch of \h^ Northumberland, Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred came ; also the Duke of Northumber- land, whose name she bears, and the Countess Percy, who christened her. The great ship pro- ceeded along the ways towards the river, but only about a hundred feet of her had reached her "■ native element " when she ceased to move. Blank astonishment pervaded the crowd, and after consultation I persuaded them all to retire 1 866 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 251 to luncheon. The royal personages, who had honoured us with their presence, lunched apart, but I bore a cheerful countenance when the Duke of Northumberland proposed success to the ship and the Mill wall Company. The friends who had come to see her afloat started for town, and I was left to consult with the Directors and the Admiralty officials. It was soon seen that I was in no way responsible for the fiasco. The sill at the end of the ways had sunk, having been insufficiently supported by piles, and the question was how to launch the arrested vessel. Many gave it up as a bad job ; but the Admiralty most properly threw the responsibility on the Mill wall Company as the contractors, and my colleagues left the duty on my shoulders. The Admiralty authorised Woolwich Dockyard to supply, at the expense of the contractors, such stores as I might demand, and the most cordial assistance was granted by all. Many proposals were submitted for my guidance, but I adhered to the design which I believed must eventually succeed. Various efforts were made to launch the Northumberland by force, to which I reluc- tantly consented. On the i8th and 31st of March attempts of this kind failed. My plan still remained in reserve. On the i6th April the preparations were complete, but we delayed till the 17th to 252 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1866 carry them out. On that day, all arrangements being perfected before high -water, we launched the Northumberland. I was very grateful to God for this success. She has proved a useful ship, and though now far transcended as a battleship by younger sisters, is a good, serviceable cruiser. Although the launch of the Northumberland saved a much finer vessel for the State, it was at- tended with far less difficulty than the raising of the Scout in the Min, already related ; for the resources of Woolwich Dockyard, the best pro- fessional advice, especially that of Mr. Barnes of the Controller's Department, and an ungrudging expenditure on the part of the contractors, in the former case, made the issue comparatively certain. The support obtained by caissons under the counter of the ship which overhung the Thames prevented her back being broken. In the case of the Scout there was nothing to fall back upon but what could be drawn from the Medea and Columbine, and such assistance as we were able to derive from the timber rafts at Foochafoo. The death of Palmerston caused a great change in the ease and charm of parliamentary life. Al- though I was always attached to the Conservative party, and supported it as far as in me lay, both in the House and in parliamentary elections, I looked upon his courage in taking office during the Crimean 1 866 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 253 War as most patriotic, and once in my life I sup- ported the liberal candidate in my county who had voted for him when the dissolution occurred in 1857 on the question of the lorcha Arrow. I had but a slight acquaintance with him. When I first intro- duced the practice in Parliament of instituting a com- parison between the fleets of foreign nations and our own, he rebuked me with great gravity on making comments of a character which might bring about grave diplomatic difficulties. I however continued in the same course, and now I find that an annual return gives those comparisons with the sanction of all the world. Lord Palmerston always remained at the House on the four business nights till it rose, dining at luncheon time and having his poached ^g^ and cup of tea in the tea-room while the Speaker was out of the Chair. I was now out of the House of Commons. I had failed to obtain a seat at Tiverton, and that contest and three at Wakefield had cost me more than I liked. I did not wish, therefore, to undergo another conflict in a strange constituency. The Duke of Somerset had kindly offered me a ship, which I would have accepted, but on the 6th April I found myself a Rear-Admiral. The seat which I had occupied in Palmerston's Parliament was the third on the second bench below the gangway on the left of the Speaker. Lord 254 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1866 Hotham occupied the end seat on that bench, and whenever any of his friends desired to address the House he offered that member his seat to speak from, a courtesy of which I had always availed myself. Below me on the third seat on the front bench below the gangway generally sat Lord Robert Cecil. He, it was said, had contributed frequently to the Quarterly Review^ and as I had also written some articles in that periodical, I had formed an acquaint- ance with my neighbour. On the 14th June 1865, on a hot afternoon, Colonel Taylor, our Whip, came in, whispered some- thing to Lord Robert Cecil, who rose, left his seat, and went out of the House. Taylor dropped into the vacant place, and turning to me said, '' That will make a great change in our friend's prospects. Cranborne has died suddenly." It did indeed. From that time forward Lord Cranborne, as he then became, was a foremost person in Parliament. A ready and powerful debater, as he had always been, he must under any circumstances have held a high place ; but as the heir to a great name and fortune, men readily conceded to him that pre-eminent position, which he would have equally deserved, but might not have so easily gained, as a younger son. He then sat for Stamford, which returned two members. His colleague was Sir Stafford Northcote. A vacancy having occurred in Devonshire, Sir Stafford gave 1 866 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 255 up his seat for Stamford, and was elected for Devon. On the 1 8th April, the day after the Northumberland floated, I received a most unexpected communication from Lord Cranborne. He wrote to say that the seat for Stamford was vacant, and that if I pleased I might become his colleague, as there would be no opposition. I saw him on the 19th, and joyfully assented. All the ten-pound householders were tenants of Lord Exeter, and whomsoever he favoured was elected without difficulty. During my canvass, the question which I had most fre- quently to answer on the part of the electors was, *' Be you Burghley?" On the 30th April I made the acquaintance of my constituents, whom I was to represent for fourteen years, and on the 8th May I was duly returned, and took my sccit that same afternoon. My sponsors were John Hubbard and Admiral Walcott. On the loth May, Overend and Gurney sus- pended. On Black Friday I saw the lamp-posts in Lombard Street crowded with clusters of men trying to peep into their windows, and the Millwall Company had much trouble in negotiating a loan elsewhere to carry on their business. We succeeded in this, and the work on the Northumberland, now in the Victoria Dock, was pressed forward to completion. That evening the Bank Act was suspended. On the 1 2th May there was a levee, and the first- 2 56 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1866 fruits of Walpole's Committee became apparent, for the Duke of Somerset told me that in consequence of our representations he had received authority to promote two more Admirals to be Admirals of the Fleet. One of these was my old chief and friend, Sir Thomas Cochrane, and I had the singular pleasure of being presented as a Rear-Admiral by one who had originally given me my commissions as Lieutenant and Commander. Soon after this, Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, with whom I had so long served, also attained the first rank in the navy. Great was my gratification in reflecting that two of those to whom I owed so much in the earlier stages of professional life were enabled to attain the highest honours of their career, in consequence of a successful Parliamentary movement in which I, their subordinate and pupil, had borne a part. On the 15th June an experiment, respecting which I was very anxious, and which I had urged strongly on the Duke of Somerset, was agreed to by the Admiralty. The Royal Sovereign, which had been razeed and fitted with Captain Cole's cupola had proved herself an excellent sea- boat. Sir Sydney Dacres, who commanded the Channel Squadron, had reported her the most formidable ship in it. It was decided to fire at the cupola from the Bellerophon with the heaviest rifled guns then afloat. A large party went down to witness the 1 866 PALMERSTON'S LAST PARLIAMENT 257 experiment. Among others was Lord Hartington, Secretary of State for War. Most of the guests repaired to the Bellerophon, but Lord Hartington and I selected the Royal Sovereign. Lord Har- tington had placed himself in the gangway to watch the impact of the shot. I was afraid of splinters, and begged him to come into a shelter close at hand. This he did, and very fortunately, for when the Bellerophons first shot struck the turret it glanced off at right angles, and hurtling along the gangway where Lord Hartington had been standing, plunged over the bows into the water. He would certainly have lost both his legs, and probably his life, if he had continued in the position he had first selected. He witnessed the incident with entire nonchalance. On the 1 8th June the Government was defeated on the 5th clause of the Reform Bill : the creation of the Cave of Adullam having resulted in a majority of 315 to 304 for rating as against rental. On the 26th Gladstone announced the resignation of the Ministry. Their defeat had been imminent for long. On the 23rd I had dined at the Admir- alty with Mr. Baring (now Lord Northbrook), then its secretary, to meet Sir Frederick Grey, Admiral Charles Eden, Admiral Fanshawe, Lord John Hay, and Mr. G. Shaw Lefevre, as a farewell to a Board with which I had continued to work in s 258 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1866 harmony on many naval questions, though acting poHtically as their opponent in the House. I there met Mr. Fox, the Secretary of the United States Navy, whose acquaintance I had made in so pleasant a manner when I commanded the Colum- bine in 1849, as previously related. He spoke freely of the War of Secession, of the advantages of monitors, and of the success of submarine mines. He also spoke of Farragut's bravery and modesty, which made me very anxious to form the acquaint- ance of that distinguished Admiral, who was about to visit this country. Lord Derby having accepted office. Sir John Pakington was appointed First Lord of the Admir- alty. On the 2nd July I heard from him asking me to be Third Lord, and requesting me to suggest the Fourth. I wrote to him and advised him to offer the Third Lordship to Admiral G. Henry Seymour, then member for Antrim, which he did. Seymour accepted, so I became Fourth Lord with- out a residence, which did not matter to me, as I was already well lodged. He had commanded the Wanderer in China. Running down before a light N.E. monsoon from Hong-Kong to Singapore, going about three knots, in beautiful weather, they had taken advantage of the opportunity to make the brig look smart. The breechings were unrove, fresh blacked, and triced up between the fore and i866 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 259 main masts, the guns fresh polished, and the carriages painted. It was noon, and the crew had gone to dinner. The officer of the watch reported a fleet of fishing boats ahead, and was desired to avoid running into them. Lower studding-sails were set, and round the end of both booms came the innocent fishermen. One came so close alongside that a man on his yard threw a stinkpot on board. They were pirates. The drum beat to quarters, but the guns being hors de combat, only one pirate was shot — the man who threw the stinkpot — and this by the double-barrelled gun of an officer, who luckily had it loaded and at hand. The pirates sheered off when they found they had caught a tartar, and took refuge among the shoals of Hainan. Our other colleagues were Sir Alexander Milne and Sir Sydney Dacres. Lord Henry Lennox was Parliamentary Secretary and Mr. Romaine Per- manent Secretary. The Civil Lord changed thrice during our stay in office, and we had as our col- leagues in that appointment F. Lygon, afterwards Earl Beauchamp ; Frederick Stanley, now Earl of Derby ; and Charles Ducane, who, after being Governor of Tasmania, died as Chairman of Cus- toms. It was a strong Board, and five of us were in the House of Commons. The special branches which were entrusted to me were gunnery, transport, victualling, and stores, 26o LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1866 which with attendance in the House of Commons gave one plenty to do, and, indeed, I could never have overtaken the work if it had not been that I had the advantage of possessing Evan (now Sir Evan) M'Gregor as my secretary, whose assistance was invaluable. I immediately resigned all connection with public companies, excepting Reuter s Telegraph Company and a local Railway in Scotland which traversed my own estate. Among other duties devolving upon me was the duty of promoting clerks to be paymasters. In order to obtain some young blood in the higher rank I always waited till there were three vacancies, and then promoted the two seniors who had nothing against them, and the junior of those who had distinguished themselves. This seemed to give general satisfac- tion, and a considerable proportion of very young officers, which increased the efficiency of the list. The question of building mastless turret -ships came at once before the Board. The Monarch, a sailing and steam turret-ship, had proved herself a good sea-boat, but I was much impressed with the behaviour of the Royal Sovereign, and con- sidered her the better type. Captain Cowper Coles, the inventor of the turret, was dissatisfied with both of these models. Mr. Laird of Birkenhead had produced a design which eventually became the Captain, which was full-rigged, and with tripod 1 866 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 261 masts. It was submitted to the Board, and to the Contractor's Department. Mr. Reed, then Chief Constructor, reported to the Board that the vessel thus designed would not have stability to carry sail, and I urged strongly on Captain Coles that he should give up masts, and so secure stability and all- round fire. The Board refused to incur responsibility, but agreed that if any respectable firm of shipbuilders would undertake the construction, and be responsible, they would acquiesce, and that they would desire their officers to see only to the character of the workmanship ; thus the Captain was built. If she had been tested for stability by our successors before sending her to sea, and if her masts had been taken out as the inevitable consequence of the test, she would even at the present time have been one of the most powerful ships afloat, and Captain Coles would have lived to enjoy the credit of an inven- tion, which is still, in my opinion, the best method of mounting heavy ordnance in the navy. Perhaps the advantage that accrues to the service, when a good many of the Board are members of the House of Commons, may be shown by the following episode. When the estimates were prepared in November 1866, it was found that no provision was made for building armour-clad ships, except the proposed contract for the Captain, About that 262 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1867 even the Treasury made some demur. Seymour and I both remonstrated against this seeming neglect. We both pointed out that in speeches and votes, in the House and out of it, we had contended that the amount of shipbuilding pro- vided by the previous Administration was far from sufficient, and that we could not support estimates of the character which we were invited to sign. In January 1867 the Treasury finally agreed to the contract for the Captain. Early in March we refused to sign the estimates, and tendered our resignation. Lord Derby was confined to bed with gout, but he sent for Henry Lennox and told him to beg us not to resign, saying we should be excused signing the estimates or attending in the House when they were discussed. We of course declined these terms, and persisted in our secession. A few days later I was surprised by a visit from Mr. Henry Corry. He was Vice-President of the Council, but not in the Cabinet. He came to tell me that he was to be First Lord, and that Sir John Pakington was to be Secretary of State for War. He said he hoped that Seymour and I would join his new Board, that Lord Derby had told him of our resignation, and that it had been of great use in enabling him to get the Treasury to consent to building four armour- clads in addition to the Captain. Upon this assur- ance Seymour and I, who had been waiting for 1 868 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 263 our successors for about ten days, were gazetted in the new Board of Admiralty. The Invincible and Audacious were ordered in April 1867, the Van- guard in October, and the Iron Duke in November of that year ; and in the estimates of the following year, 1868, the Sultan was ordered in February, Swiftsure in March, and Triumph in June. It seems to me certain that if Seymour and I had not been members of the House of Commons we could not have forced the hand of the Government, or have bequeathed as we did to our successors eight armour-clads in a fair state of progress when we resigned office in December 1868. My duties as Transport Lord were comparatively light. Five fine transport steamers had been com- pleted for the conveyance of troops to and from India, three for use on the Indian side and two on this, by the Duke of Somerset's Admiralty. Fortu- nately Sir William Mends, an officer of great ability, and an old friend, was my immediate subordinate, and the whole service worked in ordinary times like clockwork. Moreover, my clear-headed and able Secretary conducted all the details in such a manner that I can remember no mistakes com- mitted during the time I was responsible for that service. So well indeed did Sir William Mends carry it out, that I was fortunate in being able to persuade my colleagues to continue him for five 264 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1868 years more in the same office, to which the Treasury- consented. But that Department was yet to have a greater strain thrown on it than any that had occurred since the Crimean War. In August 1867 the continued refusal of Theodore to release Mr. Rassam, our Envoy, and the other captives, led to the Abyssinian War. So soon as it had been decided to send an expedition from Bombay, Lord Derby made a capital working arrangement. He desired Sir Stafford Northcote, as Indian Secretary, to take the whole charge and responsibility for the campaign, and he associated with him Lord Longford as a representative of the War Office and myself for the Admiralty, instructing those Departments to give Lord Longford and me carte blanche to carry out any measures which seemed desirable to Sir S. Northcote. The Suez Canal did not exist at that time, and we felt assured that freights would rise unduly in India, unless it was promptly shown that shipping from other quarters would be supplied for the trans- port of the troops and stores to Annesley Bay. I at once discussed with Sir William Mends the subject which was referred to me. We selected an excellent young captain, George Tryon, to proceed overland to Annesley Bay as principal agent of transports, and we sent to Bombay ten splendid 1868 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 265 transports, completely fitted, to assist in the convey- ance of Sir Robert Napier and his army. We also forwarded a perfectly fitted hospital ship to Annesley Bay. One vessel unfortunately was lost, but the others did good service. The wisdom of these arrangements was justified by the result. I received the thanks of General Sir Robert Napier and of Commodore Sir Leopold Heath for all the care taken in regard to the trans- port service, and for the selection of George Tryon as the principal transport agent. All the discussions in Parliament and in Committee failed to find any fault in the Transport Department, or in the expendi- ture of the eight millions which the country incurred. On the night of Saturday, 25th April, a telegram was received by Reuters Telegraph Company an- nouncing the fall of Magdala, the death of Theo- dore, and the release of all the captives. At the same time came also the despatch to the Govern- ment from Sir Robert Napier. Sir Stafford North- cote, who was in attendance at Osborne, had no opportunity on Sunday to make the news public. I however called on the Vicar of St. Saviour, the church which I then attended in London, and gave him the intelligence, authorising him to read it at morning service from the pulpit. He availed him- self of my communication, reciting at the same time the prayer for victory embodied in the Liturgy. 266 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS i868 This was the first announcement in London, and it rapidly became generally known. It is by no means the only occasion on which Reuter has been able to forestall even Government in the promulgation of important news. Admiral Farragut, whose services to his country are so well known, visited Europe in 1867. I had several opportunities of meeting him, and found him all that Mr. Fox had led us to expect. He visited Chatham Dockyard with the Board of Admiralty, and showed much shrewdness in his inquiries. As we inspected the extension works of the new docks there, he proved himself a master of every subject. The convicts were busy making bricks. He went in among them, examined every detail, and asked many questions of the superintendent, who seemed surprised at his knowledge of the business. He told me afterwards that when he had been on half- pay he had taken some shares in a brick manufactur- ing company, and being dissatisfied with the man- agement, had himself learned the trade, and worked it successfully. He told a good story, too, with much humour. I remember one which amused us greatly. An American heiress was travelling in a steamboat on the Mississippi. She was much pestered by five of the passengers, who addressed themselves to gain her favour. In this perplexity she consulted the 1 868 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 267 captain, who took her to his state-room, and putting a life -belt on her, advised her to fall overboard, when he would make every preparation for rescuing her. She would thus see who was really devoted to her. She did so, but four out of the five jumped after her ; the steamer picked them all up, and the young lady returned to the state-room to take off her life-belt, and change her clothes. She then said to the captain, ** What am I to do now? " *' Oh," he said, " Miss, it is a difficult question, but I think, if I was you, I would take the dry one!" Admiral Farragut sailed for the Mediterranean command, and I never saw him again. I also had the pleasure of making the acquaint- ance of Admiral Tegethof, fresh from the glories of Lissa. He had been at the capture of Acre in the Austrian frigate commanded by the Archduke Maximilian, to whom he was devotedly attached. He never ceased lamenting the hard fate which had sent his friend to Mexico and to death. He described his victory at Lissa with great readiness to my colleague, Henry Seymour, and me. He heard of the attack upon Lissa by the Italian fleet under Persano. That fleet was three times more numerous than his own, but he felt the destruction of a portion of the hostile force would do more to restore the prestige of Austria than anything else that could then be effected, even if 268 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1868 he had to sacrifice his whole squadron. He left Pola with a strong breeze from the north ; found Persano with his flag in the Affondatore cruising with the armour-clad and steam division of his fleet covering the harbour, where Admiral Albini was embarking hastily the men and officers landed for the siege. He led straight for the Italian line in the Ferdinand Max, a partially protected line-of- battle ship, and struck the Palestro, tearing off in the concussion many of the plates. The part of the side so denuded was set on fire by shell from one of his followers. His flag-captain then said, " Shall we turn round sir, and ram her again ? ' ** Oh no," said Tegethof, *' we must do nothing that will lead the squadron to think we are drawing out of the battle. Steam down the Italian line, and when you have way enough ram another, it does not matter which." When this had been done, Tegethof said, ** I did not interfere again, for my captain knew my wishes, and he steered straight for the Rd d' Italia, As we were going down I saw the Rd d' Italia reverse her engines, and I ran across the poop to the captain to warn him. He had observed it too, and immediately after we struck the Ri d Italia full on the broadside at the water-line, and 147 feet of her side went in. She heeled over towards us. The Italian marines drawn up on her poop 1 868 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 269 fired a volley, which killed four men on the poop close beside me, and wounded a good many more. Before they could reload the Rd d' Italia had sunk, and not many of her crew of 630 were swimming in the water. A few were saved, but almost all perished. The victory was gained and the Italian fleet went off to Ancona." His simple narrative of his brave deed impressed us much, and if Austria did not possess a large fleet, she had at least in her service one of the most skilful, accomplished, and daring of sea officers. We had now come into the Revolutionary move- ment, which resulted in the Disestablishment of the Irish Church. The debates in Parliament were full of interest and attraction. I have never seen such intense concern evinced in any other subject. I spoke only once, and not with much effect, but I succeeded in liberating my conscience. Some of the Irish members rose to great eloquence, and I felt more pleasure in the speeches of O'Connor Power than in those of the others, many of whom, however, were worthy of attention. Examples occurred of those " bulls " which seem inseparable from Irish oratory. On the 5th May Mr. Synan observed, "That for the term of his natural life — if he lived so long," a pleasant specimen of such con- fusion of ideas. The notorious passage between Gladstone and 270 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1868 Disraeli on this subject may be again described. When Mr. Gladstone introduced his famous resolutions for the Disestablishment and Dis- endowment of the Church in Ireland, he stood at the box on the left hand of the Speaker, and placed on the table beside him a large bundle of documents for reference, carefully numbered. This was so unusual for him that it attracted attention ; the packet partly pushed into the background the covered glass of egg-flip which usually occupied that position. Owing to the constant reference to these papers, the speech was less fluent than usual, though he contrived to fill up what in other speakers would have been pauses, by redundant declama- tion. In one of these passages he emphasised his words by thumping the mass of documents. His allusion had been to the Right Hon. gentleman opposite and " his satellites." The stout indiarubber band which held the papers broke, and they were scattered on the floor of the House. The speech was suspended, an unexampled incident in Glad- stonian eloquence. Sir George Grey on the right, and Sir Charles Wood on the left, knelt on the floor on either side to pick up the fugitive leaves, and were carefully trying to arrange them in due order; this partially completed they were handed back to Gladstone, who said, in a stage whisper, " Where was I ? " Then Disraeli, i868 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 271 who had all through the speech been sitting like the Sphinx, suddenly sprang into life, and with the air of a schoolmaster to a pupil, and with arm outstretched, exclaimed, "The last word was 'satel- lites.' " The effect on the House was electric, the pent-up laughter burst into a roar, and the cheering of the Conservative benches was deafening. Mr. Denison was a most pleasant and genial com- panion, as well as a much respected Speaker. I had the pleasure of being a guest with him at a country- house in the autumn of that year, and was delighted with the quaint manner in which he told a good story. I remember his relating one which gave us much diversion. After the parliamentary recess, when members go up to shake hands with Mr. Speaker, he always had something pleasant to say to each. Mr. Black, then member for Edinburgh, approaching on one occasion, the Speaker asked him how he had passed the vacation. Mr. Black, recounting his ad- ventures, remarked, " I have been to Rome and I saw the Pope. He said to me (he said it in Italian, but I knew what he meant) : * Mr. Black,' said he, ' I understand you are a member of the Scoatch parliament.' Talk o' that man being infaullible." I too had the honour of a private audience with His Holiness Pio Nono. On Friday, ist December 1876, I went at 11.45 a.m. to the Vatican in uniform with my second son. After waiting some time. 272 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1868 with four Franciscans and others, Commendatore Egidia Datti introduced himself, and then took us into the antechamber and presented us to Mon- signore Edmund Stonor and to General Menabrea. Here we waited till His Holiness came in, and I was presented, knelt and kissed hands. He spoke French well, and said all eyes were directed towards Constantinople, and that matters looked serious. I gathered from the conversation of those about His Holiness that he had no love for Russia. He asked for and spoke kindly of some of my brother officers. I remember also a good instance of Mr. Denison's humour in the House. Some subject was under discussion which it was thought right should not be discussed with ladies in the gallery. Mr. Henley therefore addressed Mr. Speaker, saying " I spy strangers." After a little the bird-cage in front of the ladies' gallery still showed a face peering through the grating ; Mr. Henley repeated his notice. I was sitting near the Speaker, and he called me and said, ** I wish you would tell Henley I have sent Lord Charles Russell up twice, and he reports all gone but one, and she won't go. I believe her to be the deceased wife's sister, and the debate had better proceed." He was also a good practical farmer, and told curious anecdotes in the Notts and other local dialects. On asking the manager of the herd at i868 LORD DERBY'S ADMINISTRATION 273 Madresfield the pedigree of a handsome cow, he got this reply, '* I daunt knaw — ye see when they be calved they be put in a beuk, and if ye b'aint no scollard, why ye cannot foller un, that's where it is." A country gentleman of good estate, he devoted himself to the duties of the House of Commons, and ended his career there as its Speaker. When raised to the peerage as Viscount Ossington, he declined the pension which accompanies the title conferred for that service, and was happy in the thought that he had performed the duty for which he had been chosen to the best of his ability, and had afterwards not cost the country a farthing. His retirement did not take place till 1874. Although I cannot pretend to any knowledge of painting, I have visited most of the Galleries in France and Italy and can appreciate a good picture. No Academy Exhibition ever gave me so much pleasure as that of May 1869. Those who re- member it will recognise the great merits of some works then first seen by the public. Landseer's '' Battle between the Sea-eagles and the Swans " was the central object in No. 3 room, and beside it hung ''L'Ange du foyer," by Merle, one of the most beautiful of modern pictures; T. Faed's "John Anderson my Jo," and Sir J. Millais ** Chill Octo- ber," I think also graced the walls, which are the T 274 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1870 pictures of those two great artists which afford me most pleasure. I had constant attendance at the Abyssinia Committee of which I was a member, for I was responsible for ^8,000,000 spent in transport, and was glad, at the close of the Committee in 1870, to find that the necessity for the expenditure was fully borne out by the evidence. During 1870 I was a member of the Pilotage Committee. On the I St March the new Scheme of Retirement for the navy was introduced, and I received notice to retire on the 31st March. I remonstrated in vain. There was still in force an Order in Council which informed officers that service at the Admiralty was to count as sea-service. It was in force when I joined the Admiralty, and though I had twice applied for a command, I had been reminded of this order and compelled to remain at the Admiralty. The notice which I received was therefore a distinct breach of agreement, and of the conditions on which I had been serving ; but we were in a minority, and party spirit was very bitter. CHAPTER XI RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY On 17th March 1870, a debate occurred in the House of Commons on the subject of the proposals brought forward by Mr. Childers for a new scheme of retirement for naval officers. This scheme was based on the proposals laid before Parliament by Mr. Walpole's Committee, but it differed in some essential particulars both from them and from those put forward by the Navy Inquiry Committee already alluded to. I found by these recommendations, of which I generally approve, that I was among those who would be retired on the 31st March. When I accepted a seat at the Board of Admiralty in 1866, the Order in Council in force inter alia: enjoined that ''(7) Flag-officers at present on the Active List, who have hoisted their flags, or been em- ployed at the Admiralty since their promotion to flag rank, are to be allowed to retain their places on the Active List, if they should prefer it." This regulation distinctly covered my case, and it was a clear breach 276 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1870 of agreement to retire an officer who had served at the Admiralty on the good faith of such a regulation. In the House of Lords the Duke of Somerset said : ^ " Among those affected by the order were Sir Michael Seymour and Sir John Hay, the latter of whom had given his time and ability to the Admiralty, and who he himself, when First Lord, frequently employed, though politically opposed to him. He would leave the matter to the considera- tion of the Government, hoping they would take an early opportunity of modifying at least that part of the order which had hurt the feelings of many distinguished officers." In the House of Commons Sir John Pakington, also a former First Lord, said : ^ "I do think, not only in fairness to individuals, but on grounds far more important, for the sake of the public service, it is most important that you should not allow officers in the position of my honourable and gallant friend. Sir John Hay, to retire from the service of the Crown. His case has been referred to, and it is a very remarkable one. I appeal to the Govern- ment. I appeal to my Right Honourable friend the First Lord — looking at this not as a personal question, but as one affecting the interests of the nation, can it be for the public service, can it be a public benefit, that an officer in his presence, I will 1 Hansard. « Ibid, i87o RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 277 say, of recognised great ability and in the prime of life, should be retired — compulsorily retired — from the service of the Crown ? " Mr. Corry, another ex-First Lord, with whom I had recently served at the Board of Admiralty, said '} " The case of Sir John Hay was a remarkably hard one, and he felt it the more because it was owing to him that his gallant friend was among those officers who were on the list to be com- pulsorily retired. His principal object in having risen was to confirm what had been said on that subject. In 1868 his honourable and gallant friend applied to him to give him a command ; but he told him that though he should be glad to meet any wish of his, his services at the Admiralty and in the House were so valuable that he hoped he would not press his request. Upon this he was good enough to say that he would remain at the Admiralty, and therefore it was his (Mr. Corry s) fault that he was now to be made a retired Rear-Admiral at the age of forty-nine. It was really ridiculous." I have quoted the opinion of these ex-First Lords. I will add what was said by others who were acquainted with naval affairs. The speakers were, many of them, opposed to me in politics, but their testimony was therefore even more convincing and more impartial. 1 Hansard. 278 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1870 Lord Henry Lennox said : ^ *' The list of officers to whom he wished to allude ended with his honour- able and gallant friend the member for Stamford (Sir John Hay), who was one of those hit by the new order. He had served on every station except Australia; he was at sea from 1834 to 1850, on the West Africa, the Syria, the China Stations. He was in North America from 1856 to 1858; in i860, at the request of the late First Lord of the Admiralty, the Duke of Somerset, he undertook the laborious task of the inquiry into the affairs of Greenwich Hospital, which had borne so much fruit in the management of that establishment. From 1 86 1 to 1864 he was Chairman of the Iron-Plate Committee ; he was two years at the Admiralty, from 1866 to 1868, and then he asked for a com- mand afloat, which was not granted because his services at home were valued too highly." Mr. Whitbread, a former Lord of the Admiralty, said:^ **One rule ought to be adopted towards all public servants. The rule he referred to was that of keeping good faith. He was reluctantly com- pelled to say that in his opinion good faith had not been kept with the class of officers whose case was under discussion." Mr. Bouverie said :^ " The object of all retirement should be to get able, active, and efficient men to 1 Hansard. « Ibid, 8 /^,v/. i87o RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 279 discharge the duty of Admirals. Instead, however, of this new scheme doing this, it was going to force from the service a man like Sir John Hay, than whom there was no more efficient officer or more active member of the House." Mr. Childers said:^ ''With respect to Sir John Hay, I am bound to say — I say it very frankly — that I think his is a very hard case. But we are told that hard cases make bad laws, and it is impossible to say that a general law for the advantage of the public service should not be passed, because we find that under it there is one individual hard case. I should have wished if it had been in my power to make special exception in his favour, but I do not believe that it would be possible to make an excep- tion without destroying the vitality of the whole scheme." I quote the above speeches as evidence of the injustice done by my compulsory retirement. But I had also to consider the equally unjust cases of Sir Frederick Grey, Sir Charles Eden, and Sir Spencer Robinson, who had been at the Board of Admiralty during the existence of the Order in Council already quoted. The fatal day was fast approaching, when we all must bid adieu to active service, afloat or at the Admiralty Board. On the 19th of March I was surprised to receive 1 Hansard. ' 28o LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1870 a note from Mr. Childers offering to submit my name to the Queen as Commander-in-chief in the East Indies. I was sorely tempted to accept ; but on con- sultation with Mr. Corry, Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Hubbard, and other friends, we agreed that I must decline. I had a motion down for April to bring the cases of these three officers, Grey, Eden, and Robinson, before the House, and it was felt that if I did not do so, I would weaken their case for reconsideration if anotherministry succeeded to office. Disraeli, indeed, said : " You are called upon to make a great sacrifice for the Conservative party, and the Conservative party will never forget it." I therefore declined the appointment with a heavy heart, but I was consoled by letters from Admiral Sir William Martin, Sir F. Grey, Sir C. Eden, and others, thanking me for the sacrifice. If I had accepted the command so offered, probably I should have constantly felt the remorse due to a selfish action, and it has pleased God to preserve me for a quarter of a century without any regretful reflection on the course I then pursued. On the 4th June my cousin, Baillie Cochrane, was going to stand for the Isle of Wight, and invited me to accompany him. He succeeded by thirteen votes. I was then on the Pilotage Committee, and one of the Isle of Wight pilots had come up for examination before it. I had taken his part when I thought one of my colleagues was a little severe i87o RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 281 on him. I did not then know of what political value my intercession would be. I harangued the pilots at Freshwater and at Seaview ; the latter place the agent had told me was hopeless. To his surprise and mine a pilot stepped forth from the throng and spoke to his fellows, to the effect that there was not much to choose between the candi- dates, but that the Admiral had been their friend on the Committee, and that he hoped they would all vote as he advised. This obtained fourteen votes — much wanted — and almost the very number by which Baillie Cochrane headed the poll. On 2 1 St June I went to Oxford, having been invited by the Chancellor of the University, the Marquis of Salisbury, to be present on Wednesday, 22nd, to receive the honorary degree of D.C.L. The other naval officer so honoured was my old friend Sir Harry Keppel. Lord Sandhurst was one of the military officers so created, and afforded immense amusement to the undergraduates, for he had not brought a doctor's cap, but wore his cocked hat and feathers over his red gown, which was unpre- cedented. I was fortunate in being bracketed with Canon Liddon, of whose wise eloquence we have a grateful memory. There was also Sir Francis Grant, P.R.A., Robert Lowe, and the Speaker, Mr. Denison. The undergraduates made the usual amusing remarks ; they were friendly to the navy, 282 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1871 but the cocked hat and feathers created immense excitement, though the gallant General seemed un- conscious that he was causing it. I spoke on the debate as to the Flying Squadron and, at Disraeli's request, on the debate on the Defences on the ist August. The Franco- German War was showing the advantage of com- plete preparation, and unhappy France was gradually falling before her great antagonist. On the 7th September I heard with horror the terrible news of the loss of the Captain. We went soon after to Portsmouth as the guests of the Com- mander-in-chief, Sir James Hope, who presided at the court-martial, and its decision seems completely just. The ship ought never to have been masted or sent to sea without being tested for stability. Mr. James May, the gunner, who was the only officer saved, and by whose coolness the seventeen other survivors reached the coast of Spain, had been pro- moted on my recommendation when I was captain of the Indus, and he fully justified his selection. His later services, in which he has always maintained a high character, have proved his worth. In 1 87 1 there was a debate on the National Defences, in which I spoke, advocating an increase to the navy. On the 1 8th March I had to regret the death of the Rev. John M'Gill, Professor of Hebrew at St. 1 87 1 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 283 Andrews. He had been in London attending the Committee for the Revision of the Translation of the Bible. He went north to deliver his lectures, and took his passage by sea to get some rest, but he caught cold and died of inflammation before he could resume his duties. He was one of four able men, sons of the house carpenter at Dunragit. They were all educated at a school at Droughduil, which was founded by my stepmother and supported by my wife and sisters. The eldest son distinguished him- self there, and obtained a bursary from the late Lord Bute. He eventually became quoad sacra minister at Sauchie. The second became the principal engineer in the Turkish Navy, and the third was in good practice as a doctor in the East End of London. It so happened that in reading Dr. Pusey's Minor Prophets, I observed a passage in which he called the monsoon, the simoom. I had the honour of his acquaintance, and wrote to call his attention to this mistake ; he wrote to thank me, and corrected it in the next edition of the prophet Jonah. He also sent me a copy of his book on the prophet Daniel which he had recently published. Many of the notes in it are signed J. M'G., and I asked him whose initials these were. He told me that Mr. John M'Gill, the minister of Sauchie, was the finest Oriental scholar in Europe, and that he always referred to him when in any difficulty. I 284 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1871 then discovered that this was my friend. Soon after a vacancy occurred in the Chair of Hebrew at St. Andrews. The nomination to it lay with the Home Secretary, Mr. Gathorne Hardy. He sat for Oxford University, and I mentioned the foregoing statement to him, asking him to con- sult his Hebrew professor before he made a nomina- tion. He consulted Dr. Pusey, and to the credit of both the vacancy was filled by John M'Gill. When my father went for his summer cruise in the Sappho, James M'Gill, the carpenter, always went with him. Running into Loch Ryan before a strong nor wester from Lamlash, James M'Gill was stationed by the gaff-topsail halliards, a squall struck the ship off Corswall, and the topmast went overboard. James had been too late in letting go the halliards. My father said, *' James, I forgive you, for I know you were looking out for your bonny lass." His future wife was a daughter of a sub- stantial farmer in Kirkcolm, and as soon as I arrived at home we set to work to stock the cottage which had been built for them. This admirable mother lived to see her sons successful, and kept house for the Professor till his death, as he was unmarried. On the 2nd June 1871, I had the pleasure of meet- ing Charles Lever at a small dinner of six given by Mr. W. H. Smith in Hyde Park Street. Lever had lost much of his fire and vivacity, but he amused i87i RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 285 us by some good Irish stories. His manner of telling them was inimitable. I had, of course, laughed over his novels ; but there is a great sameness in the plots of his four best. Harry Lorrequer, Tom Burke, The Knight of Gwynne, and Charles GMalley all breathe the same spirit, and contain nearly the same dramatis personcB, the same type of charming Irish girl, the same break-neck gallop, and the same duel, with variations. I think I prefer the Knight of Gwynne, Lever was then going to his Consulate in the Adriatic, where he died, and seemed low about leaving his country. I occasionally met Lord Westbury, whom I had known in the House of Commons as Sir Richard Bethell. No one could say a bitter thing with more complete sang-froid than Lord Westbury. He remarked of the Lord Chief-Justice : ** I think that Bovill, with a very little more experience, will probably make the worst judge in England." This was apropos of the ''Claimant" trial, which caused much amusement at the time. The following lines were also attributed to Lord Westbury : — Say Messrs. Baxter, Rose, and Norton, The plaintiff is not Arthur Orton ; But don't deny, which is important, That he has done what Arthur Oughtn't. He relates of himself a good story in his Memoir Sy which have not had a large circulation. 286 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1871 After he retired from the Woolsack, he took a very active part in the Court of Appeal. His two coadjutors were Lord Chelmsford and Lord Colon- say. Lord St. Leonards, who was senior to them all, never attended. Lord Westbury met Lord St. Leonards in Pall Mall and said, " My dear St. Leonards, why don't you come down and give us your valuable assistance in the House of Lords '^. " *' Ah," said Lord St. Leonards, ** I should be of no use, I am old and blind and stupid." To which Lord Westbury replied, *' My dear Lord, that does not in the least signify, I am old, Chelmsford is blind, and Colonsay is stupid, but yet we make the very best Court of Appeal which has ever sat in that Assembly." When he was Lord Chancellor he was requested by the Cabinet to consult Lord Chief-Justice Cock- burn about a Bill which was to be introduced in the next session. He invited Cockburn to his place in Hampshire, who on his arrival was surprised to find that the Bill was never mentioned. The next day Cockburn was sent out rabbit - shooting. Some one peppered the keeper who was close to the Lord Chief- Justice. The latter left by an afternoon train. The Lord Chancellor reported to the Cabinet that the Lord Chief- Justice had expressed no objec- tion to the Bill, which, however, was sent to him for final revision. He reported upon it, taking 1 873 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 287 exception to a section, and was consequently invited to the Cabinet to discuss it. He then heard for the first time that it was supposed he had agreed to the whole measure. *' Why," said the Lord Chief- Justice, '' I never had an opportunity of considering it with the Lord Chancellor, upon which Lord Westbury said, ** I will remind you of the occasion. It was the day you shot my keeper and gave him half a sovereign for his pains." In this summer of 1 873, fortunately for the country, a striking example occurred of the parsimonious ad- ministration of the navy. As I have before mentioned, one of my duties from 1 866 to 1 868 had been the super- intendence of transport. Among the ships appropri- ated for that purpose was an old iron paddle-wheel steamer called the Megcera, She had been patched up for short voyages in fine weather, and was used for the conveyance of stores. The chief constructor, Mr. (now Sir Edward) Reed, in the course of his duty, had cautioned us as to her use. She was becoming obsolete and not worth an extensive repair. To the surprise of those who knew anything about these details, it was announced in the papers that the Megcera was ordered on a voyage to Australia crowded with men and stores. Questions were asked in the House of Commons, and with the approval of the House, I called attention to the matter, for, just as might have been expected, a plate 288 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1873 gave way and she had to be run ashore on the Island of St. Paul's, in the Indian Ocean, to save the lives of those on board. Captain Thrupp, who commanded her, displayed great judgment ; there was no loss of life and the men were brought away in the autumn. A Committee was appointed to inquire into the affair. It was proved that she was not a proper ship for the duty, and that although obliged to use every available transport in the Abyssinian War, we had abstained even then from employing her on such distant service. This incident has, I hope, rendered it improbable that such a penny- wise and pound -foolish transaction will again be committed. The Committee sat for some time and took evidence. Of course I was called as a witness, and I was much amused to observe how much party spirit had warped the opinion of otherwise impartial gentlemen. During my evidence, I had stated what is mentioned above. One of the Com- mittee thought he had caught me. After some whis- pering to a colleague, and showing with glee a paper, he began to cross-question me as to whether I was certain that I never had ordered the Megcsra to be employed as a transport. With a triumphant air he handed the document across the table to me, and said, ** Will you look at that signature, sir?" So I took it in my hand, and said, '* That is not my signature, sir, neither was I in office when it was signed." He i873 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 289 replied, ''Whose signature is it then?" It was signed John Hay. I replied, "You had better ask some Admiralty authority, for though the Christian name and surname are both mine, it is not the signature I adopt." An Admiralty official came and corroborated my evidence, and my hostile interrogator was a little crestfallen. Mr. Corry used frequently to come to my house to discuss naval affairs, and various Admiralty officials occasionally came to meet him. Mr. Clifton was one of them. He told us a good story. His father had been at the Admiralty in 181 2 and 18 13, when the second Lord Melville was First Lord. Sir George Collier, a naval celebrity of that day, was his personal friend, and Clifton had asked Sir George to be godfather to one of his children. Sir George was in London waiting orders for sea. They were made out and signed, when Clifton mentioned to Lord Melville the interesting duty Sir George had undertaken. Lord Melville good-naturedly said, " Give the orders to Sir George when the christen- ing is over." Accordingly, after dinner at Putney, Mr. Clifton handed over the sealed orders, and Sir George started off to walk to his inn and post to Portsmouth. On his way, near where my house now stands, he was assaulted by a highwayman, with a pistol and "Your money or your life." Sir George had a pistol in his pocket also, pulled it out, u 290 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1873 seized the highwayman's pistol, which went off, the ball passing through and crippling the third finger of his left hand. He shot the thief dead, left the body, walked to his inn with his handkerchief round the wounded hand, which was first dressed when he reached his ship at Portsmouth. Meantime the body was found and recognised as that of a highwayman. Two people walking at some distance to the east and two to the west identified the time of the shots, but the survivor could not be found. Five years afterwards. Sir George Collier again dined with Mr. Clifton, who mentioned the incident, and added, ''You could not have been far from the place at the time ; did you hear any shots ? " To which Sir George said, " Look at my hand ; that wound was the effect of the pistol fired by that rascal, so you need not be surprised that I shot him." This occurred just where the King's Road and the Ranelagh Road join. On the 27th the Thanksgiving Service for the recovery of the Prince of Wales was held in St. Paul's Cathedral. It was very touching to be present when the widowed Queen returned thanks for the convalescence of her eldest son. The solemnities did not compare in magnificence or in world-wide importance with those of the Diamond Jubilee, but still they were most impressive. I frequently walked home at night along the i873 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 291 Embankment to my house, past the dreary prison, where Mr. Tate's splendid gift now stands. Maguire, member for Cork, was sometimes my companion. As we set out one evening O'Reilly Dease came up to us and said to Maguire, **Thin this Oirish Bill is not coming on to-noight ? " Maguire: ** What Bill?" O. D. : ^*The Pacific Oislanders Purtection Bill ; sure that must mane Oireland." At which we all had a good laugh. On the 1 2th August 1872 my cousin, Leveson Stewart, entertained me for a week's shooting at Glenogil. We were four guns beside our host, who, though a good shot, joined one or other of the parties of two guns on his pony, for he was very lame. 1 2th. 352 Grouse, 11 Hares, 370 head. 13th. 320 „ 9 „ etc. 14th. 260 „ 6 „ etc., each party alike. 1 6th. 64 „ heavy rain; out two hours. 17th. 4 „ do. and mist. Making 1000 „ and 997 over dogs in three days. We finished off with 251 and 15 hares on the 19th. On the 25th October 1872 I attended the funeral of my old friend, relation, and patron. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Cochrane, at Kensal Green. Born in 1788, he had been constantly at sea with his father, my great-granduncle Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane. Promoted to the rank of captain at the age of eighteen, he had seen the battle of St. Domingo, 292 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1873 having previously taken part at the landing in Egypt, where Abercromby fell. He commanded the frigates Ethalion s-nd Jason from 1806 to the end of the war, and the Forte in the West Indies till 1824, after which for eleven years he was Governor of New- foundland. He was in Parliament from 1837 to 1842, when he went to China as already related. His knowledge of our profession was most accurate. His mother, a charming old lady, lived to see her son with his flag at the main at Portsmouth. She was a Nova Scotian, and had married as her first husband Captain Sir Jacob Wheate, at St. George's, Halifax. As the bridal party left the church door, a messenger came to Sir Jacob ordering him to sail at once, as a French frigate was in the offing. He left his bride, and never saw her more, as his frigate was lost with all hands soon after. Captain Cochrane wooed and won the pretty widow. Among other places at which we visited was Delgaty Castle, now owned by my friend Mr. Ainslie. I had often wished to see it, for I am a scion of the ancient possessors of the house. I tried to conjure up some of my respected progenitors in the night, but Mrs. Ainslie's rooms were too com- fortable to permit one's slumbers to be disturbed. I did observe, however, that my ancestors must have been very long-legged, for the steps of the turnpike staircase are unusually deep. 1 873 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 293 On 6th March 1873, my old friend Henry Corry died. No civilian in my time had such complete knowledge of the navy and its wants. He had also made himself master of all the details of dockyard administration, and if he had lived, he would have done his utmost to restore me to my rank in the navy. When it was mooted in the House of Commons that retired officers might take their seats at the Board of Admiralty, I said, with Corry's full approbation, that no naval officer who was pro- nounced incapable of commanding a fleet, should be put in authority over the head of those who com- manded our fleets. This excellent rule has been main- tained until now, and I hope may always continue. This year I was much distressed by the sudden death of my cousin, Jack Elphinstone, eldest son of Sir James Elphinstone. He was in charge of the coastguard station at Lyme in Dorsetshire, and his father and a cousin had driven out from Bridport to lunch with him. They lunched on the grass in front of the coastguard station, and he unaccountably slipped over the precipitous bank overhanging the shore. He was to have driven back with his father. He was not missed for some time, and was searched for. At last his walking-stick was seen resting on a projecting stone, and going to the foot of the clifl", his father found his son's lifeless body. Jack Elphinstone had served with me in the Indus and 294 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1873 Hannibal, and was a most excellent officer and pleasant companion. My brother, Colonel G. James Dalrymple Hay, left us for India in October — whence he never returned. An excellent officer, he had served as adjutant of Ryve's Horse, the i8th Irregular Cavalry, and as brigade-major during the Mutiny on the staff of Sir Sydney Cotton. He had in conse- quence been appointed to the Paymastership at Rawul Pindi, and eventually to Calcutta. He died at Poonah in 1881. His eldest son, Major James Dalrymple Hay, who has served in India, in West Africa, and in South Africa with distinction, is now engaged in the operations conducted from Lagos. On the 23rd January 1874 I returned to London, intending to join my wife and daughter at S. Remo. On the 24th, at 5 p.m., I went to the Carlton and did not hear any rumour of a dissolution. I telegraphed to Dover for a deck cabin, and as I got on board my name was shouted out in order that I might occupy it. We travelled through the night, and in due course reached Marseilles at 8 a.m. My vis-a-vis, a strong Gladstonian, looking out of the window saw a porter shouting out '*Seer Jon A." He turned to me and said, " I heard that same shout as we got on board the boat ; I think he has something for you." The porter delivered me a telegram which announced, " Parliament dissolved, come home at once, writs are i874 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 295 being issued." I handed it to my fellow-traveller, who said, "■ Impossible ; depend upon it, it is a hoax." However, I had seen enough of Mr. Gladstone to know that nothing was impossible under his guid- ance. When I had called at the Carlton my fellow- traveller had been at the Reform, where no inten- tion of a dissolution had been mooted. I wrote my address to Stamford in the train in fifty -two words, wired it from Toulon, went on to S. Remo and slept there, returning to England at once. The train was full of members of both sides, none of them in good humour over this unexpected dissolution. On 29th January I reached Stamford. Lord Chancellor Selborne was at Burghley, and I was glad to find that he was as indignant as any of us. He told us that neither he nor any member of the Cabinet had been consulted, and that Gladstone had come to the decision on the advice of Lord Wolverton, who as George Glynne had been a former Whip in the House of Commons. Lord Sel- borne added, " I wish you all success most heartily" ; to which I smiled and said, '* I can hardly hope for your good wishes." *' Yes," he said, ** I really hope and trust that you will give your opponent a good beating." And so I did, with the approval of Mr. Gladstone's Lord Chancellor. During the course of this busy time I had to take part in several elections. My friend Sir John 296 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1874 Pakington was defeated at Droitwich, but received the consolation of a peerage. My brother-in-law John Hubbard was elected for the City. On the 2ist February 1874 my dear nephew, Basil Napier, died while his ship, the Raleigh, was fitting out in the River ; he was a very smart lieutenant, and a great loss to all who knew him. On the following day, 22nd, I received a letter from Mr. Ward Hunt, inviting me to join his Board as Second Sea Lord. Disraeli had suggested First Sea Lord, which is the Prime Minister's selection. To both I was obliged to send my refusal. For, as stated above, I had expressed my entire disapproval of retired officers being placed in such a position. Disraeli wrote on the 27th : *' I had put you down in my programme as First Naval Lord, having previously ascertained that there was nothing in the fact of your being on the retired list to prevent you from taking that high post." However, great as was the temptation, I positively declined to take office at the Admiralty as a Naval Lord, un- less I was restored to the active list. This was not done, as in consequence of Mr. Corry's death, there was no one but Disraeli who was cognisant of the circumstances which forced me to decline the East Indian command, and I did not think it con- sistent with self-respect to press a private grievance upon the Prime Minister. 1 874 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 297 So ended my official connection with the navy. I did not, however, the less pay attention to its needs in Parliament, or fail to urge upon the House of Commons the necessity for a large increase in the number of our battleships. In 1878, when hostilities seemed impending with Russia, I wrote to Mr. Disraeli pointing out our terribly weak condition at sea, and suggesting that no method of convincing the country of our insecurity was so likely to succeed as that of purchasing four armour- clads building in this country at the time. My suggestion was accepted, and one Brazilian and three Turkish armour-clads were acquired for the navy. Parliament was told that we were so short of ships that this step had become indispensable, and that there was no time to build what were at once required. We had been dawdling seven years in constructing the Inflexible, and the country was not even yet prepared for a great expenditure. I had done my best to enforce the matter for twenty years, but now fortunately many naval officers of far greater weight and ability joined in the work of informing the nation. On the 24th April 1874, I had the pleasure of welcoming Captain Page, late of the U.S.N., with whom, and with his brother officer. Lieutenant Fox, I had had such pleasant relations in China. Mr. 298 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1874 Fox, as already related, had been Secretary of the American Navy. Captain Page, who was a Southerner, had served with the Confederates. He had now accepted a post in the Argentine Navy. He rose to be its head, after serving with great distinction in the Brazilian War. A few years before this I had brought in a Bill for the amendment of the law relating to explosive substances. It was in great measure drawn for me by Sir Frederick Abel. Mr. Bruce the Home Secretary approved it, and having assisted me to pass it through the Commons, it was introduced and passed in the House of Lords, and became law. In 1874 the Home Secretary, Mr. (now Lord) Cross, asked me to be Chairman of the Explosive Substances Committee, and with the help of Colonel Majendie its inquiries came to a successful issue. We had a curious experience. A witness was most insolent to the Committee. The Committee in- sisted on his being reported to the Speaker, when he was summoned to the bar, rebuked, and admonished. He became very subdued, and having duly apologised, continued his evidence in a better spirit. My last service as a Public Works Loan Com- missioner took place in this year, when I visited the port of Fraserburgh during the herring season, with our Chairman, John Hubbard, and was able to recommend a Grant for its improvement. On 1 7th 1 87 5 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 299 March I had resigned the Chairmanship of the Council of the Royal United Service Institution, in which, during the alternate years in which that post is held by a naval officer, I had acted for a long period. In consequence of my Chairmanship of the Explosive Substances Committee, I was asked to take the Chair of a Company to develop some oil wells in Canada. They failed, and the disappointed shareholders, who had subscribed ;^ 16,000, brought an action against me and the other directors. This action was tried before Chief-Justice Cockburn. The jury were divided, four refusing to exonerate the whole of the directors. The jury were discharged without a verdict, which in Scotland, where we only require a majority, would have been an acquittal. The final conclusion of the case in Chancery, how- ever, was more satisfactory, for the Vice-Chancellor said, on the 14th November 1875, ^^^^ "^^ regretted " that Sir John Hay and Mr. Eastwick had been '' mixed up in the affairs of this Company, but against *' the personal honour of these gentlemen there was *' nothing.^ There was no fraud on their part, or any " intention to commit one, or even to deceive any- *' body." The vindication of my honour cost me absolutely more than the whole sum subscribed by the shareholders. Thus ended a troublesome and expensive law-suit. 1 Times, 15th November 1875. 300 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1876 On the 17th April 1875, ^ dined in Downing Street with Disraeli, who gave a banquet to meet the Duke of Cambridge. He had usually bidden me to his dinners for the reading of Her Majesty's speech in his house at Grosvenor Gate. The sur- roundings in Downing Street were then sombre, not to say dingy, and quite unworthy of the official residence of the Prime Minister. On 17th June the Merchant Shipping Bill was under discussion. I succeeded in getting a Com- mittee appointed to consider the rule of the road at sea. This difficult subject is complicated by the necessity of getting all foreign nations to agree, and the provisions of the existing law would still be the better of further alterations and amendments. On the 27th October 1875 I climbed to the top of Scawfell Pike and the cairn on its summit, the highest point in England. In the summer of 1876 we made a tour through Belgium, the Rhine, Italy, Switzerland, and being at Chamounix I ascended Mont Blanc with my county friend and neighbour. Lord Galloway. The day was lovely, but I was very breathless on the ascent of the Arrete, and but for the faithful persistence of my companion I think I should not have persevered. We were well rewarded by a clear day and a magnificent view. I advise my friends who wish to climb such altitudes to do so before they reach the 1 876 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 301 age of fifty-seven. Coming down we had to make a circuit round the end of a recent avalanche. There was a crevasse to cross. Lord Galloway forgot to wait, when he jumped, for the man behind him on the rope to close up. He sprang and disappeared down the crevasse, but the guides quickly landed him. My heart was in my mouth, when I, an elder of the General Assembly, saw our Lord High Commis- sioner disappearing in a bottomless pit in the Alpine solitudes. In the autumn of 1876 my second son and I visited Paris, where we enjoyed the hospitality of Lord Lyons ; Vienna, where Sir Andrew Buchanan entertained us ; and Belgrade, where Sir William White gave us a warm reception, and where I met Colonel Coominski as already related. Thence we went to Constantinople by Rustchuk and Varna. At Misseri's hotel I repaired to the table d'hote breakfast with a very bad cold acquired in our journey. As I sat with omelette and coffee before me, another guest came and took the adjacent chair. He introduced himself as Dr. Dickson, belonging to the Mission at Teheran. He said, "You have a bad cold, let me cure it." My reply was that I could not spare time, for I had several appointments. He said, *' Only follow my advice, and you may go on as usual. Now send away that coffee." " Gargon, 6tez celuy' was my rejoinder. ** Also the omelette, Dr. 302 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1877 Dickson?" "No, eat it if you like, but promise me to drink nothing till your cold has gone; you have too much moisture in your system." Next morning at breakfast I was no better, but by luncheon my cold had entirely disappeared, and I did justice to Sir Henry Elliot's dinner and to his champagne. Before I left I called on General Ignatieff. He said, " My dear Admiral, what has brought you here?" "Oh, M. L'Ambassadeur, to hear the truth at headquarters." *'Ah," he said, '*you should have come to me first, and I could have told you everything." I rejoined, ** Except the secrets of the Russian Foreign Office." ''Ah! Celavasans direT I always found him astute and agreeable. On our way home we touched at Corfu. There moans over the English departure were heard every- where, and I much regretted that we had lost that splendid harbour, and the costly fortifications now in ruins. We returned by Brindisi, Naples, and Rome, where we enjoyed the hospitality of the Pagets at Porta Pia, and there I had an audience of His Holiness the Pope. We arrived in London on the 6th December. In 1877, on 8th August, Mr. W. H. Smith be- came First Lord of the Admiralty. It has been a great advantage to the country that capable finan- ciers like Mr. Smith and Mr. Goschen have been First Lords. They were both known to be able 1 879 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 303 economists, and when they assented to a large naval expenditure, the country believed in its necessity, and accepted their advice. In 1 879 I lost my right eye out shooting. In order to enable me to continue a sport which is such an excellent stimulant to healthy exercise, I tried first to shoot from my left shoulder, but found I was too old to learn. I believe that ambidextrous people are best off, and that children are taught to depend on the right members of the body too exclusively. When I found that I failed in shooting from the left shoulder, I tried long outriggers on the gun, which were the exact distance between the pupils of the two eyes. But the outriggers caught in coverts, and in getting over dykes. At last a friendly gun- maker contrived a crooked stock for me, with the aid of which I can still hit an object. In 1880 came the General Election, and my seat for Stamford was lost. But a vacancy occurring in the Wigton Burghs, they returned me until the Reform Bill of 1885 merged them in the surround- ing counties. During that election, and before and since, I received from adherents and opponents the kindest support and the most courteous opposition. My old friend Lord Elcho (now Lord Wemyss) and Mr. Hubbard (the late Lord Addington) introduced me to my last parliament. It was the parliament of the Fourth Party, and witnessed the 304 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS i88o rise of Lord Randolph Churchill and of Mr. Arthur Balfour, who is still happily in the ascendant. It was the Bradlaugh Parliament. Above all it was the Parnell Parliament, in which the great Leader of the Liberal Party contrived to break away from the best men of his own side. During this Parliament also I had the honour of a seat in the General Assembly, sometimes for the Presbytery of Wigton, sometimes for that of Stran- raer. I retain the friendship of all the members of those Presbyteries, and regret that many of these cultivated Christian gentlemen have stipends so miserably inadequate for the important services they render to the country. I knew some sixty or seventy years ago most of their predecessors, admir- able men of quaint expression. Among my friends was Mr. Urquhart, the Free Church minister of Portpatrick, who had given up his connection with the Established Church in 1843 ^^ ^^^ Disruption. He continued his ministrations at Portpatrick for over fifty years. His predecessor. Dr. M'Kenzie, whom I remember also, had no dissenters in his parish but Roman Catholics and Cameronians. One old lady of the latter persuasion walked every Sun- day eighteen miles to and fro to the nearest church of her Communion. But she was failing in strength, and Dr. M'Kenzie, who visited her, asked if she still went every Sabbath to her church at Stranraer. i88o RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 305 She replied, **Ay, 'deed do I, if the weather will let me." ** Well," he said, ''sometimes the weather is a good excuse, and then do you not think you might come in yonder ? " pointing to the parish church, "you might hear a word of comfort." " Weel, Doctor," she replied, '' 'deed that's true, for yin aften gets gude whar they least expeck it." At the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, held in Burghley Park when I was member for Stamford, some preliminary arrangements were being made by the late Marquis of Exeter, the Chairman, as to prizes. Lord Cork was also there, and when the cheese prizes were being settled, I ventured to suggest that we made as good Cheddar cheese in Galloway as the far-famed produce of the Cheddar district. An open prize was arranged for all Cheddar cheese. Lord Cork undertook to make it known in his own country, and I in Galloway and Ayrshire. In Wigtonshire, it was taken up with enthusiasm, but Lord Cork was not so fortunate. His neighbours pointed out that Cheddar Cheddar was 9d. a pound and Scotch Cheddar only 8d., that the Cheddar people had nothing to gain and much to lose, and they therefore declined the competition at Burghley. A friend of mine in Wigtonshire, Mr. W. M 'Master of East Challoch, had prepared a cheese for the competition, and when that fell through, as above related, he went to the show at X 3o6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1881 Frome, and carried off the second prize. Arch- deacon Denison was most indignant at this, and used very strong language thereanent. He de- clared that no Cheddar cheese could be made out of his district, or at least out of Somersetshire, that we had appropriated a name to which we had no right, and that it was a scandalous Scotch device for robbing his parish of Brent and the surrounding country of the just reward of their most creditable industry. I have been a member of the Highland Society since 1842, and it gave me much satis- faction to find at Cadbury's, in Bond Street, that Galloway Cheddar was for sale at 13d. a pound. On the 19th April 1881 Lord Beaconsfield died. His indomitable courage and patience in adversity had gained the heart of Queen and people to a degree which he fully deserved, but which could not have been anticipated in the earlier stages of his career. Seven days afterwards, I saw Mr. Brad- laugh rush into the House with a New Testament, walk quickly up to the table, recite the prescribed oath, and take his seat, before an astonished House and a surprised Speaker — an aggression for which he was speedily taken into custody. On the nth July the House of Commons was persuaded to abolish Corporal Punishment in the army. It was a rash innovation, as have been many of the changes adopted in that gallant pro- 1 88 1 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 307 fession. It was also proposed to abolish it in the navy, but I felt that when the supply of our highly educated, well-trained seamen, has to be supple- mented in war, by that flood of the ungodly who were so distasteful to Admiral Noah, it would be necessary for the protection of the well-behaved that the same power of punishment should be granted to naval authority, which is now entrusted to the magis- trate for various crimes. I therefore carried an amend- ment, which leaves it at the option of the Admiralty to authorise corporal punishment in war, so that in the navy it is suspended, and in the army abrogated.^ I always considered the abolition of the Purchase System in the army to be a misfortune. When Mr. Cardwell introduced the measure, he told us he was introducing a system of seniority tempered by selection. This was paraphrased by Lord Salisbury, as stagnation tempered by jobbery. The Purchase System threw upon the officers themselves the transference of sums which provided what was actually their retiring pension, and the country may some day demur to a payment of an annual million and a half, or more, to officers compelled to give up active service. It is an increasing charge, equal to more than the interest on fifty millions of capital added to the National Debt. On 25th July occurred the Transvaal debate, and 1 See Appendix J, page 399. 3o8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1883 the scuttle from that country. From this unfor- tunate retreat may be deduced all the evils we have had to contend with in South Africa. 1883, on the 7th June. — The Dowager Lady Napier died at the age of eighty-nine. Besides giving me her daughter in marriage she had been present at my birth, and had been my true and loyal friend through a long life. She died under the shadow of the Eildon Hills, and lies beside her husband, till the Resurrection, in Ettrick churchyard, in the pastoral scenery she loved so well and had done so much to beautify. I lost another old friend soon after, at the age of ninety-three — Mrs. Bellamy Gordon of Kenmure Castle, which she had restored. She entertained me frequently, as Member for New Galloway, at her picturesque old residence. On the 4th October I played three rubbers of whist as her partner, and she was much pleased that two of them were bumpers. In her early life Mr. Bellamy, her husband, had been Resident at Penang, and she entertained Sir Stam- ford Raffles when he took possession of the savage island of Singapore, and founded one of the greatest emporiums in the East. When Lord Kenmure, her brother, died, she became the possessor of the ancient historical home of the southern Gordons, and showed that she possessed all the attributes which are embodied in the verse — 1883 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 309 There ne'er was coward of Gordon bluid, Nor yet of Kenmure's line. I presented her on her ninety-third birthday with the Golden Chersonese, which she read with deHght. When the poHcy of scuttle had been fully de- veloped, Mr. Gladstone's seeming object was to have the whole of our operations consigned to oblivion. He had overthrown Arabi, broken up the French alliance, and cast Egypt into con- fusion. But one thing had never failed, and that was the naval and military force which had been sent to fight on the shore of the Red Sea. Their courage had been conspicuous and their suffer- ings great. The one consolation open to them was a vote of thanks. But for the policy of con- cealment it would have at once been moved. Much discontent was felt, both in the navy and army, at this unmerited neglect. I asked several questions in the House on the subject. Lord Hartington, as Secretary of State for War, had always to reply. The first excuse was that the numbers were insignificant and too small for a vote of thanks. When I returned to the charge again I was able to show that Sir Thomas Graham's numbers at Barossa and Sir John Stuart's at Maida were even less considerable. This was admitted, and other excuses advanced. Gladstone, however, resigned on 23rd June, and 3IO LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1883 as soon as Lord Salisbury's Government was in office I renewed my question. This was deprecated by some of my political friends, but I insisted that the neglect of a vote of thanks had a bad effect on the services, and I persevered in putting my question. I heard privately that the Cabinet was divided on the policy of moving a vote of thanks for operations conducted under a former Ministry. But wiser counsels prevailed. At last I was en- abled finally to put my question on Tuesday nth August, and Mr. W. H. Smith replied on behalf of the Government that they intended to move a vote of thanks on Wednesday 12th August. As soon as the favourable reply was given, I went into the tea-room and had a cup of tea. I soon felt a hand on my shoulder, and looking round saw it was Lord Hartington, who had not been in the House when Smith replied. He said he had heard a rumour that the Government were going to move the vote of thanks, and asked me if it were true. I told him, and he most kindly said, " I will stay and second it. I am very glad you have managed to get it done. I had intended to go home to-night to shoot, but I will give that up in order to show my desire to support the motion." I thanked him, and have always thought it very kind of him, after having been forced so long by his official position to oppose the vote of thanks, which he evidently thought the 1 887 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 311 forces deserved. The vote was accordingly moved by Sir Michael Hicks Beach and seconded by Lord Hartington in the Commons and by Lord Salisbury in the Upper House. Nothing marked the revolutions in naval con- struction more than the silver models of the Britannia and Victoria which the Admirals presented to Her Majesty on her jubilee in 1887. The great three- decker, with her four rows of guns, had disappeared from the fighting ships of the line as completely as the triremes of Duilius or the galleys of Lepanto. An additional honour was conferred upon the navy by the acceptance of the rank of an Admiral of the Fleet by the Emperor of Germany. I happened to be Chairman of the Committee of the Navy Club at the time, and it was decided to invite His Imperial Majesty to become a member of it, to which all naval officers of the rank of flag-officers, captains, and commanders only are eligible. After due consultation with the higher powers, I was desired to write a letter to the Emperor, asking him to accept the membership of the Navy Club when elected. This I entrusted to Count Hatzfeldt, who in due time submitted it. A few days after, I had just returned to my house in London from some violent exercise, and was in my bath, when the servant tapped and said that a German officer in uni- form was in the drawing-room. My daughter apolo- 312 LINES FROM, MY LOG-BOOKS 1887 gised, and entertained him till I was dressed ; and I found that Captain Hassenclever of the German Navy had been deputed to bring me a holograph letter of the Emperor, accepting his election to the Club, and expressing in most friendly terms his esteem for the British Navy. This letter is now among the archives of the Club as one of its most valued possessions. In 1886 I had an invitation to stand again for a constituency, but age warned me to decline. A good Conservative took my place. I watch from my retirement the happy change which has brought all whom I considered the best and most able of my political opponents, though many of them always my personal friends, into the political camp which under the Union flag now guides the destinies of the Empire. The Admiralty Board is still presided over by a civilian, and I suppose, as long as the professional statesmen must be provided with seats in the Cabinet, will so continue. It has some advantages, for I doubt if any naval officer, now living, could have persuaded the Cabinet and his countrymen to the large expenditure of the last ten years, which must still be continued, to keep us in the front rank on the ocean. On the whole, however, I agree with Sir George Cockburn, Sir Charles Napier, and other authorities, that it is wrong to deprive a naval officer of the possibility 1 887 RETIREMENT FROM THE NAVY 313 of rising to the head of his own profession. The church, the bar, and the army, have clergymen, lawyers, and soldiers at their head. The navy was quite as well governed according to the ideas of the day when seamen were First Lords. This practice continued for fifty-eight years in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth, unfortu- nately, the Earl of St. Vincent, Lord Barham, who fitted out the Trafalgar fleet, and the Duke of Northumberland, are the only examples, excepting the Duke of Clarence, who was Lord High Admiral shortly before he succeeded to the throne. The navy must be contented to see two men of equal ability, of equal rank (both sons of marquises), both able debaters in the House of Commons, if I may say so, transposed in the parts — the young guardsman First Lord, the gallant admiral on half-pay, though of course sure to be called upon for service, if war required one, whose skill and bravery had been thoroughly tested. A civilian administrator always has on his mind what Parliament will think ; a naval administrator of what the navy and history will approve. It is quite certain that Lord Charles Beresford could make whatever official statement might be necessary, with acceptance, to the House of Commons and the country, as well as command its fleets. It is also certain that Lord George 314 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 1887 Hamilton has too much good sense to attempt the latter duty, like a civilian lord about a quarter of a century ago, who took personal command of the Channel and Mediterranean Squadrons and aston- ished the civilised world and the navy, by placing under his orders at sea two men so distinguished as Sir Alexander Milne and Sir Thomas Symons. In Lord Derby's ministry of 1850 there were three naval officers in the Cabinet — the Duke of North- umberland, Lord Hard wick, and Lord Colchester. No naval officer has since then held Cabinet office. An experienced and skilful Admiral, a friend of mine, seemed to have suffered from this cause. One of the ships of Sir Henry Fairfax' squadron, by careless navigation, grounded and sank when entering Ferrol. The court-martial on her captains elicited an opinion from him, in his defence, that the Admiral was responsible for the accident. No other creature in the fleet thought so, but the Admiralty, in fear of the House of Commons, threw their Commander-in-chief to the wolves. Fortunately, all the distinguished seamen, who knew anything about fleets or Ferrol, gave such conclusive evidence that his conduct and reputation were completely vindicated. Nevertheless, he had been subjected to the prolonged vexation and excessive expen- diture incidental to an undeserved prosecution. CHAPTER XII SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE When Walter Scott commenced Waverley, or ' Tis Sixty Years Since, he was able to show great changes in the political and military features of the intervening period. The last of the Stuarts was still living as a Cardinal at Rome, but no longer affected to believe himself the King of England. The Highland clans, whose loyalty to the old dynasty had shaken for a time the throne of George II., were spending, or had shed, their best blood as gallant regiments in America, in Egypt, and in India in defence of the monarchy of George III. In the navy, on the other hand, there was hardly any change ; wooden ships, ropes and sails, smooth- bore guns, flint-locked muskets, were much the same all through the interval. The uniform originated by Anson in 1744 was worn by Nelson at Trafalgar. Anson, Hawke, Saunders, Keppel, Rodney, Howe, Hood, and Jervis used the same tactics and enforced the same discipline during all the years that had 3i6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS elapsed. Probably the most valuable change had been the coppering of the fleet ; even chain cables had not been generally adopted in 1805. In the fifty years of naval service sketched in the foregoing pages, from 1834 to 1884, everything had been changed. It would take a volume to re- capitulate the metamorphosis of the navy. The appointment and promotion of officers in 1834 was recognised to be due to political influence. The number of officers was not regulated by any in- telligible rule. I was a messmate of a mate sixty- three years of age who took his passage from Hong- Kong as an invalid on board the Spiteful from the Belleisle, in which he had served in 1842. There were many officers in that subordinate rank over thirty years of age. It was not until the Parlia- mentary Committee sat, on my motion, that any commensurate attempt was made to remedy these acknowledged evils. A lady whispers to me, "What about uniform? " In 1834 the commissioned officers wore red cuffs and collars in full dress. The old white lapel had been abolished, and King William, as a compliment to the navy, desired its officers to wear the Windsor uniform. A lieutenant wore only one epaulet. On the China station, where I was serving in 1844, the change did not take place till the end of the year, when officers of that rank blossomed into two SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 317 swabs, as the epaulets were called. At the same time white again displaced the red, which we all thought a more shipshape dress for the navy. The blue cloth cap with a peak was varied by a flat cap, which by permission in some ships, in hot climates, had a white cover, and this again was sup- plemented by the ordinary black hat with cockade and perpendicular band of gold lace on one side, usually known as the lightning conductor. This in addition to a cocked hat, which Sir Charles Napier and some others always wore athwartships. The sword, usually provided by a tailor, and the dirk for the naval cadet, were acknowledged to be unfit for service, and an officer, when a fighting weapon was likely to be wanted, habitually con- tented himself with a cutlass. The cutlasses were not much better, and it was not till Wilkinson arose in the forties, that a naval officer's sword of the regulation pattern could be trusted in attack or defence. The dress of the seamen too was miser- ably defective for landing or marching. In 1835, when we disembarked at Algoa Bay, the marines were clothed in their thick red coats and cloth trousers, with shakos of the old pattern, worn under a South African summer's sun. Worsted stockings, low-heeled shoes, without gaiters or leggings, white frock, blue trousers, and white straw hat completed the costume of the seamen. A cartridge belt with 31 8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS cartridges, a duck bag for haversack, which banged about as Jack rolled along, a cutlass and belt in which a pistol was stuck, were carried most inconveniently. The shoes dropped off or filled with sand, and the heels, which were pegged on, easily became de- tached, and many preferred to risk the attack of jiggers in their feet by going barefoot, than the certain blisters and galls which followed on even a short march. It was not till after the Crimean War that any- thing approaching the present workmanlike uniform of a landing party was adopted, and I believe the present dress dates from the thoughtful care of the gallant William Peel when he took the Shannons to Cawnpore and Lucknow. The defect of the shoes was remedied in 1864 at my suggestion when captain of the Victory. After consultation with some of the contractors at Northampton, the heels were "vamped" or sewn on, and they no longer fell off after the first wetting. The provisions were of a very inferior quality. Preserved meats were unknown in the navy. On a long voyage salt beef and salt pork alternated with painful regularity, and the issue of salt as a condiment, recently announced, would have been superfluous. The manning of the navy, until the Crimean War, was of the most haphazard description. Men who had never been in the navy, and many who had SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 319 never been at sea, were shipped. They had to be taught everything, and no ship was supposed to be in good order until she had been a year in Commission. As the Commission only lasted three years, a ship was inefficient for one-third of her service period. At the end of the three years these men, trained and disciplined with so much trouble, were discharged, and going into foreign navies, or into our merchant service, were lost to the British Navy. The Excellent had just been established when I went to sea. Until the uniform practice in gunnery, organised by Sir Thomas Hastings at the instance of Sir Howard Douglas, had been developed, every captain did what was right in his own eyes. The example and success of Sir Philip Broke led many officers to carry out his system, but many did not even know what that system was. Now few nations possess a system superior to ours for gun-drill, although I must confess that the arrangement in the German Navy for enabling each gun's crew to know the weak places of a possible antagonist, appear to me worthy of imitation. There the drill includes the naming of a ship of another Power, by the officer in command, and a reference to a drawing and description, which is supposed to enable the men in each case to fire at the weak places therein depicted. 320 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS In 1834, I think, the Dee was the only seagoing steamer in the navy. Steam-vessels plied between the Forth and the Thames, between Holyhead and Dublin, between Portpatrick and Donaghadee. Along the coast many plied for short distances, but even six years later Professor Dionysius Lardner, who wrote the text-book for the navy on Steam, in his seventh edition proved to his own satisfaction, and by elaborate argument, that no ship of any imaginable dimensions could carry sufficient fuel to steam from Liverpool to New York. The year following, Cunard, Burns, and M'lver proved by practical demonstration that the Professor was in error. In the TrinculOy Wolverine ^ and Colmnbine many a mile was voyaged over by rowing with sweeps — long oars, each passing out of a port, the looms being swiftered together and moved by the crew by beat of drum. The Galatea frigate, com- manded by Sir Charles Napier, had paddles which were turned round by an elaborate arrangement worked by the capstan. Boats were propelled by oars or sails. The captain who enters his steam- barge to lead a flotilla of steam-propelled boats to cover a landing or attack a fort, brings his men up fresh for the service, instead of worn out by a long and fatiguing row. The great battleship of to-day moving at 16 knots, the cruiser at 22 knots, the SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 321 torpedo boat at 30 knots, were unimaginable to the mind of 1834. Nor is the material of which they are composed one which could have then been anticipated. Iron and steel were hardly deemed fit material for ship- building, although the Lairds of Birkenhead had commenced to build some vessels of iron. Naval authorities had experimented upon it, and con- demned it for war purposes. The thin iron sides broke up in innumerable splinters when struck by shot and shell, and various appliances of indiarubber or of hemp, used for lining the interior, were either found insufficient to stop the splinters or were burnt up by the exploding projectile. Now the great im- provement in the manufacture of iron and steel enables Sir William White, and other distinguished naval architects, to create armour-clad ships, such as those which covered five miles of the Spithead anchorage at the recent review. The rifled gun, which explodes a shell 10,000 yards off, and kills or wounds a group of persons who have never seen their enemy, is a wonderful change from the days when one fired a pistol at one enemy, shied it at another, and then drew a cutlass made of very indifferent metal, to defend oneself or overcome one's foe. But perhaps the most wonderful change of all is the interest taken by the country in naval affairs. Y 322 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS In 1834 the navy estimates were less than four millions, now they are over twenty millions. How difficult it was to obtain any attention to the wants of the navy I myself experienced in the twenty- five years of my parliamentary life, though I hope I may be pardoned for thinking that I was able to do something to awaken that interest in the service. Since then a happy change has come over the country. In 1862 Mr. Cobden invited me into the library of the House of Commons, and discussed calmly the wants of the navy. He was so much affected by my reasoning that he said, ** What you say is very convincing, and if you can persuade the House, I will gladly vote a hundred millions to have an efficient navy." This was within a few years of the time when Lord Malmes- bury relates his interview with Napoleon HI. He deprecated the great increase of the French navy, but the Emperor replied, ** The French wish to have a powerful navy, and I must give it them ; I love England too, and peace, but the way to ensure it is for you to build two ships to each we build, and you have both the money and the means to make this exertion." Even about fifteen years ago a First Lord of the Admiralty, with the concurrence, no doubt, of the Board, stated in his place in Parliament that if four millions, in addition to the ordinary navy estimate of SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 323 that time, were given him, he would not know what to do with the money. Since that date the ordinary annual navy estimate has been increased by six millions a year, and special votes for shipbuilding and docks have been passed amounting to more than forty millions. I trust I may not live to see any reduction of the present rate of naval shipbuilding. In 18 16 Great Britain ended the war with 214 line-of-battle ships to 187 possessed by all the rest of the world. So dependent are we on well-protected ocean highways, that no British statesman should be satisfied until we possess at least one battleship for each battleship possessed by other Powers. These ships, in justice to our men and officers, should be at least equal if not superior to their possible antagonists. At present we have about forty-six to eighty-six owned by France, Italy, Russia, the United States, and Japan. A very few years at the present rate of building will give us the requisite number, and smaller vessels of all classes should be added so that we may possess in those classes also a corresponding superiority. Fortunately Greater Britain is becom- ing alive to this necessity, and the burthen will not fall alone on the mother country. The manning of the navy too must be developed on the present system — extended to the colonies. I myself am in favour of a large increase to the 324 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS numbers of the marine artillery, or, at least, of the marines, whom I should be glad to see all instructed as artillerymen. No corps is better fitted in all points for performing the duty in mastless armoured ships. But the number of boys in training for seamen should also be increased, and so much of the old Navigation Laws re-enacted as would oblige all British and Colonial merchant ships to employ a certain proportion of boys so trained. It is a shame that our mercantile marine, so admirably officered now, should be manned by nearly 30 per cent of foreign seamen. This disgrace should be wiped out by the strong arm of parliamentary legislation. In support of this contention it is only necessary to remind the reader that Great Britain and her colonies and dependencies possess more than twelve million tons of commercial shipping, being about half that possessed by the whole world, which is twenty-five million tons. The number of the ships in a navy should be proportionate to the amount of commerce which it has to protect, and therefore our navy should be increased till it also equals the total navies of the world. The Suez Canal has unfortunately added greatly to the necessity for a numerous navy. It only allows ships of 24 feet draught to pass through it, and it seems to me that we, as the largest share- SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 325 holder, should insist on its being dredged to a depth of 30 feet, for first-class battleships draw more than 24 feet. Failing that, it would be our first duty at the outbreak of war, to block it by sinking ships in it, and resume the Cape of Good Hope route for sea communication with India, Australia, and the East. One other great change has occurred to me to mention. When I was a boy the possibility, by no fault of mine, that I might be engaged in a duel was carefully inculcated. At that time many of one's friends had been obliged to go out. Sir Walter Scott in the Antiquary and in St. Ronans Well, as well as elsewhere, makes the duel one of the natural occurrences in social life in his charming depiction of our manners and customs, and certainly without any suggestion that he disapproved of the practice. Charles Lever, too, in his rollicking novels, brings in the inevitable duel as a natural episode in his sketches of Irish and military life. Since I came into the world. Sir Alexander Boswell, well known to my relations, was killed in a duel, and my neigh- bour and friend, the late Patrick Maitland of Bal- greggan, became quite a hero in my eyes at the age of ten, when he returned from Boulogne with a curl shot off by the second discharge of his antagonist's pistol. In 1836, as a youngster just returned from the 326 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS West Coast of Africa, I went with great interest to look at the pistols with which Edward Hors- man had fought with Mr. Bradshaw for an insult offered to the Queen's name. Poor Arthur in the I sis was killed in his duel at the Mauritius by his antagonist ; and that antagonist, an excellent officer, was long kept back in his promotion, as well as his second, Bower, to whom I have already alluded. Another friend of mine, Septimus Adams of the 88th, was shot dead in the ditch at Florian by Captain Levett of the Malta Regiment. The great Duke himself, not ten years before he promulgated the order forbidding duelling, had himself, as Prime Minister, fought a duel in Battersea Fields with Lord Winchelsea. This is fully described and justified by the Duke in a volume of the Supplementary Despatches, so that it was with some surprise we received the order which forbade the practice to the officers of the army, an order which was extended to the navy and marines very shortly after. At first it was feared that there would be an increase of horseplay and insulting language, but I do not think it has had that effect. And certainly the present rule is more in accordance with the dictates of Christianity. It does not, however, seem to me to apply to a British officer in a foreign country where duelling is sanctioned by usage or authority. SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 327 and if the Queen is insulted in his person or uniform he is as much bound to defend her honour and that of his profession and country as he was before duelling was forbidden in the Queen's dominions. Sometimes absurd scenes occurred. In 1835, one of the small craft on the West Coast of Africa was anchored at Ascension. Two of the younger officers had used such language to each other, that the old mate who was the officer next in rank to the lieutenant commanding, insisted that he could no longer mess with them, unless they fought. The lieutenant commanding, up at daylight, found that the mate and the two officers in question had landed on a sandy beach in the dinghy, and with astonished eyes saw the mate step the twelve paces and stick up his two messmates at either end, each with a ship's pistol in his hand. He manned his boat and proceeded to the scene of action. Shots were exchanged while he pulled ashore. No harm was done, and the whole party were brought off under arrest before the pistols could be re- loaded. I now close my log-books. Many anecdotes still remain untold, and I trust that none of those herein related can give offence to any of my old acquaint- ances and friends. The navy has never stood higher than it now 328 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS does in public estimation. About the time of my birth, Byron wrote — The Prince was all for the Land Service, Forgetting Nelson, Duncan, Howe, and Jervis. That cannot be said now. The Prince of our day, while in no way neglecting the sister service, has shown his marked interest in, and appreciation of the navy. The future king, of my grandson (at present on the Indian frontier with the Gordon Highlanders), is an accomplished naval officer. No carpet -seaman, but one who has served like the rest of us, quo fas aut gloria ducat. To this patriotic conduct of those in the highest position much of the present interest in the navy may be referred. Much also to my gallant friends, who in speech and writing have instructed the country as to its naval requirements. To Lord Charles Beres- ford, Admiral Colomb, Sir George Elliot, Lord Brassey, and Sir Vesey- Hamilton, still happily with us ; to Sir Thomas Symonds and Sir Geoffrey Hornby, now passed away; to the wisdom and spirit of naval officers at the Board of Admiralty, such as Lord Hood and Sir Frederick Richards, our thanks are due. Nor can we forget the admirable works of Captain Mahan of the United States Navy, whose impartiality has been recognised, and whose convincing arguments, deduced from history, have succeeded in opening the eyes of the British public, SIXTY YEARS OF CHANGE 329 and in compelling Chancellors of the Exchequer to bow to their will. Under such influences we may- hope that in a short time we shall have a navy- sufficient to protect our communications and com- merce, and under God's blessing, to enforce the Peace of the Seas. APPENDIX A Genealogy The name Dalrymple seems to have been first mentioned in an accessible document in a.d. 137 i. (i) William Dalrymple m. 1450 Agnes Kennedy of Stair. Their son (2) William m. 1494 Marion, daughter of Sir John Chalmers of Gadgirth. Their son (3) William m. and predeceased his father. His son (4) William succeeded his grandfather; m. 1530 Margaret Wallace of Cairnhill. Their son (5) John m. 1544 Isobel Crawford of Lochnorris. Their son (6) James died in 1586, having m. Isobel Kennedy of Bargany. Their son (7) John m. 1603 Jean Agnew of Lochnaw. They had two sons, of whom the eldest succeeded to Stair — (8) James ; and his eldest son was (9) James, ist Viscount Stair; and a younger son, (I.) John of Drummurchie, m. i6th November 1620 Janet Kennedy, daughter of Fergus Kennedy of Knockdolian ; died 1663. Their son (11.) James, b. 162 i,m. Agnes Cathcart. Bought Dunragit, 1682. Was appointed commissioner to his cousin. Viscount Stair. He died about 1692, and was succeeded by his son (III.) James, who m. Margaret Blair of Dunskey. He died 1738 ; she died 1747. They had two sons, both of whom took the degree of medicine at Glasgow University. The eldest, (IV.) James, M.D., was b. i8th October 1706, and m. 15th January 1740 Grace M'Donall of Freugh. 332 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS The second son, John, b. 1710, also M.D., was appointed, 28th April 1724, adjutant of the Earl of Stair's regiment, 25th December 1726 captain, and same day captain -lieutenant — a very welcome Christmas gift from the Earl of Stair to his young kinsman of sixteen years of age. He was appointed captain in Lord Cadogan's regiment 17th March 1735-36, and for a time acted as surgeon to the regiment in 1738-39. He was appointed ensign and captain in Brigadier-General Reid's regiment 24th January 1740-41, and heutenant to captain in Colonel Blakeney's regiment 25 th April 1741; to act as captain-lieutenant in the same regiment 24th September 1742. He was appointed captain of a company in General Blakeney's regiment (the Enniskillen) 8th June 1744. He had married Miss M. Niven in 1741. The purchase of the company in Blakeney's regiment cost ;^4oo, as I find in copies of letters in his elder brother's letter- book, to whom he applied for ;£^2 7o to make up his £^^00, This was sent eventually, but not without a good deal of advice. It was suggested that he should apply to his relation, the Earl of Stair, to obtain for him the company without purchase. It was also recommended that, as a married man, he should consider well before making the investment. Blakeney's regiment was one of those which stood firm for a time at the battle of Falkirk when Prince Charlie defeated General Hawley on the 13th January 1746; but Captain Dalrymple fell, and he is buried there. His widow lived at Marlborough, and, so far as I can find, had no surviving children. There are kindly letters from her brother- in-law, sending the proceeds of the sale of his effects at the camp and a horse which had belonged to him, and declining any repay- ment of the ;£"2 7o advanced for the commission. To revert to the elder brother (IV.) James. He does not seem to have practised as a physician, but gave a good deal of gratuitous advice. In his journal it is mentioned that his friend and neighbour, Cathcart of Genoch, is very ill, and that he sat up with him two nights, and was with him for three days while a doctor of some repute was brought from Ayr. He makes the caustic remark that, as his brother doctor approved of all he had advised, he might as well have pocketed the fees which the other received. His wife was an aunt of Patrick, Earl of Dumfries, who appears to have been under APPENDIX A 333 his trusteeship. In 1745, driving from Bath to Dunragit in his carriage with his own horses, he had to avoid Derby because of the Highlandmen, and he passed through Carhsle on his way home after the retreat to the north of Prince Charlie's army. In 1746 his brother, as related above, was killed, his mother died, and a clean sweep was made of the Dunragit nursery, all four children then alive having died in June and July of that year. In 1747 a daughter was born, Isabella, who eventually married Sir Alexander Gordon of Culvennan and Greenlaw. The only other child was my grandfather. (V.) John, b. 1749. He was appointed ensign 14th Foot, 27th December 1763; lieutenant, 6th January 1772; captain, 27th February 1775. He retired from the army in 1779 (having done good service at Bunker's Hill and through the American Revolutionary War), soon after his father's death, and was ap- pointed major - commandant of the Wigtown and Whithorn Volunteer Corps. In 1798 he was colonel of the Galloway Militia, quartered at York, and was created a baronet in April 1 798. He married, 14th July 1775, Susanna, daughter of Sir Thomas Hay, 3rd baronet of Park. She was one of eleven children, but survived them all and succeeded to Park in 1794 on the death of her brother. Sir Thomas Hay, 4th baronet, who died unmarried. The branch of the Hays of Errol whom she represented was that of Delgaty. In 1541 Alexander Hay of Delgaty is named in the Errol charter as an heir to that earldom. The elder branch is extinct, and my kinsman. Sir Lewis Hay, now repre- sents that branch of the family of Hay in the male line, being derived in direct male descent from Thomas Hay, second son of Alexander Hay of Delgaty. Thomas Hay was secretary to Mary Queen of Scots in 1559- 60. He was sent from Amboise by Francois et Marie, the latter of whom was then Queen of France as well as of Scotland, on a mission to Rome. He seems to have been well received. His portrait, reported by family tradition to be the work of Orazio Vecellio, a son and scholar of the great Titian, presents him in the costume of a Knight of Malta, a dignity to which he was then advanced, and is now at Craigenveoch. We also possess the Papal Bull appointing him Lay Commendator of the Abbey of Luce. After the execution of his royal mistress he married 334 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Janet, daughter of Uchtred M'Douall of Freugh, and built the Castle of Park. Their names are inscribed over the door, which states that the structure was begun in 1592. They were succeeded by their son Thomas, and his son. Sir Thomas Hay, married Isabel Kennedy of Bargany. He was knighted by Charles I. There is a commission for him as Justice of the Peace issued by Oliver Cromwell in 1658. His son, Sir Thomas Hay, had been a zealous follower of Charles 11. , and returned with him from Breda in 1660. He married in 1662 Marion, daughter of James, ist Duke of Hamilton. The history of Marion Hamilton is worth telling. In 1638 James, Marquis of Hamilton, lost his first wife, who was Lady Mary Fielding. They had five children, but both sons and one daughter died before he was created a duke in 1643. The dukedom was settled on his brother William, then Earl of Lanark, and his heirs male, whom failing, upon Duke James's two surviving daughters. The eldest of these eventually suc- ceeding, married Lord WiUiam Douglas, and is ancestress of the Duke of Hamilton. Her younger sister married Sir James Livingstone. In 1643 the Duke of Hamilton married privately Marion Livingstone, and she died at the birth of an only daughter, Marion, who married in 1662 Sir Thomas Hay. Duke James was imprisoned for two years in Pendennis Castle, and beheaded in 1649 on Tower Hill. His three daughters were brought up by his sister-in-law, Duke William's wife. Duke William was killed at the battle of Worcester in 1653, and the Hamilton estates sequestrated, but the Long Parliament granted her ;£'4oo a year for her own and their maintenance. Marion Lady Hay's picture by Sir P. Lely, a silver chalice and velvet tablecover, and a miniature of himself by Petitot were presented by King Charles II. to Lady Hay on the occasion of the birth of her eldest son, who was named Charles by the King's desire, who created Sir Thomas a baronet vita pair is ^ 25th August 1663. Their son, Sir Charles Hay, came of age in 1684, and was immediately locked up in Blackfiess Castle because his mother had permitted a conventicle to be held in the Wood of Park. He was also fined ;£^9ooo (Scots), of which the remission was recom- mended by Claverhouse, but the money does not seem to have APPENDIX A 335 been repaid. His grandfather, Sir Thomas Hay, the old knight, died about the same time ; and Sir Charles Hay, on his release from prison, married Grizel Agnew of Lochnaw, and died in 1737. Their son, Thomas, married Mary Maxwell of Monreith (1708), and predeceased his father in 1720. Their son. Sir Thomas Hay, 3rd baronet of Park, succeeded his grandfather in 1737. He was appointed cornet in General Campbell's regiment, the Royal North British Dragoons (Scots Greys), on the ist June 1 7 1 8 ; lieutenant, 7th June 1720; captain, nth June 1720; major, 6th February 1740-41; lieutenant - colonel, 27 th May 1742. He married Jean Blair of Dunskey. They had eleven children. All predeceased them but the third son, Thomas, who succeeded as 4th baronet in 1777 and was an invalid for seventeen years, dying in 1794, and my grandmother. When the rising of 1745 occurred. Sir Thomas the 3rd, and his neighbour, Captain Stewart of Physgill, were asked by their neighbour Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair, then Commander-in- chief in Scotland, to take command of two companies in the Galloway Militia, just called out to add to the numbers of Sir John Cope's army. These two old soldiers had hardly joined when Prince Charlie won his victory at Prestonpans. Colonel Gardiner, who commanded the cavalry, was deserted by them, but his old brother officers. Sir Thomas Hay, Captain Stewart of Physgill, and fourteen more resisted the onslaught. Gardiner was killed, and so was Stewart and most of the rest. Charles Adair, Sir Thomas Hay's servant, was among the party, and eventually conveyed Sir Thomas Hay to Edinburgh, where he recovered, but had lost one arm and the use of the other for life, as well as the use of his legs, through claymore wounds. Charles Adair lived till 1827, when he died at the age of ninety-eight in the Castle of Park, which was then no longer occupied by the family. I often used to be sent to see the venerable old soldier, so long a pensioner of our family. Sir John and Lady Dalrymple Hay had six daughters and one son, James, born 8th July 1788, who was my father. APPENDIX B (p. 213) Letter about providing for Officers' Mess (True copy. ^^ Indus" Letter-book) H.M.S. Indus, Plymouth, November 29, 1856. Sir — I have the honour to submit for your consideration a proposal for the more economical management of ward-room and gun-room messes. 1. Of the many necessaries required for a mess, hardly any- thing is provided by the Dockyard, except the table. Chairs, crockery, glass, and cutlery are provided by the mess, whilst plate and linen are provided by individual officers, whose articles of this description are lent to the common stock during their stay on board each ship. 2. The consequence of this usually is, a large outlay at the commencement of each commission which may occasion em- barrassment to some officers, inconvenience to all. Practically the inconvenience does not end here; for when an officer is moved from one ship to another, unless of the same class, the table-linen in his possession must be changed for larger or smaller size, to suit his new table, and the entrance money which he is called on to pay on joining his new ship is always much larger in proportion, than the small return made from the entrance money of the vessel he leaves. Add to this, that the whole mess stock (though perfectly serviceable and though it would have lasted that mess for a much longer peroid) is sold at a greatly depreciated rate, and the officers when reappointed have the whole thing to begin anew. APPENDIX B 337 3. It has often occurred to me, that a great boon might be conferred on officers, without any loss to the Crown, if those articles — linen, crockery, glass, chairs, mess furniture, and plate, were supplied to the officers' messes under proper restrictions, and subject to such a percentage as would save the Government from loss. 4. They might be drawn by the paymaster and issued by him to the mess on a receipt signed by the senior member of each mess and two members of the mess committee. All articles broken through carelessness or unaccounted for, should be charged against their pay, and it would be for them to obtain repayment from their mess for the sums so charged against them. A half-yearly survey should be held by the proper officers on the stock remaining, and all losses or breakage should be entered in the ship's log, with the certificate of the Captain (if he found it so) that these did not occur through carelessness. 5. I have thought it a fit opportunity, whilst commencing a new commission, to submit this proposal; and I should be exceedingly glad, if the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty would grant this favour to the officers of H.M.S. Indus, who would be grateful for it. — I have, etc. John C. Dalrymple Hay. Admiral Sir William Parker, Bart., G.C.B. Approved and forwarded. — W. Parker. APPENDIX C (p. 67) ' Population of Pitcairn Island, December 8, 1837 Adults. Children, 6 A « i i 1 13 ^ 1 1 H George Adams . I 3 10 7 5 Charles Christian . \ Charles Christian, Jun. / ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 Fletcher Christian 2 2 7 I 6 Sarah M'Coy . . 1 ... ... ... I Her son and family . J 3 2 10 5 7 Thursday Christian . 1 ... I I 9 6 3 His mother . . / ... ... ... ... ... I Isabella or Mainmast. Arthur Quintal . 3 3 14 I m. 8 Edward Quintal . . \ 4 2 IS 31x1. 8 His mother . . V ... I Arthur Quintal . . J ... ... ... ... 2 Hanah Young ... 2 3 13 8 6 Her daughter and son- ... ... 2 in-law John Quintal, 1st I 4 8 6 m. 7 John Quintal, 2nd ... 2 John Quintal, 3rd ... ... ... ... ... I William Young . I 4 13 6 7 George Nobbs . 3 2 7 9 m. 7 An Englishman mar- ried to one of Chris- tian's grandchildren. John Evans 3 2 9 6 m. 7 An Englishman mar- ried to Adams' youngest daughter. John Buffet I 5 ... 12 2 7 An Englishman mar- ried to Christian's His sister-in-law and 2 2 daughter. Susan ; Tahitian mother-in-law Total . 17 20 31 25 ... ... 93 Males Females 48 45 Population 93 APPENDIX C 339 The births, marriages, and deaths during the last twelve months : — Births (6). — Only one instance on record of twins being born. {Arthur Quintal to Martha Quintal, ages 15 and 14. John Quintal to Dinah Young, ages 1 9 and 1 5. Deaths (i). — Only one death has occurred in the last four years. Old Maids. — Mary Christian, ist; Mary Christian, 2nd. Quadrupeds. — Ox, goat, hog, ass, dogs (3), cat, rat. Birds. — Domestic fowl, ducks, tern, gull. Tropic-bird, petrel, species of white sparrow. Fish. — Grouper, snapper, shark, sepia or cuttlefish. These the principal food. Reptiles. — Lizard. Minerals. — Volcanic formation. Vegetable productions fit for food : — Natural — Yams, plantains, potatoes (sweet), cocoanut, sugar-cane, bread-fruit. Artificial. — Indian corn, taro, onions, pepper, lime, orange, papa apple, melons. Pineapple, vine, and common potato have been tried, but without much success. Brousonetia papyrifera. "( From the prepared bark of both Morus papyrifera. ) tapa is manufactured. The inner bark is added to the pulp if a brown colour is wanted for the cloth. Morenda citrifolia. — The inner bark of this tree as a yellow dye, and the flowers as hair ornaments. Aleurites triloba^ or candlenut tree. The bark as a red dye, the flowers for the hair. Draccena terminalis^ or ti tree. The leaves are used for cook- ing j also good fodder. The root, sugar. Amomum, or ginger. Nicotiana^ or tobacco. Banyan Tree. Pandanus odoratissimus. Flowers for hair. 340 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Shells. — One species of mticrex ; one species of helix; two species of neritas ; one species of patella ; one species of buc- cinum. Diseases. — Asthma — most prevalent; rheumatism; dysentery — chiefly in December. Temperature. — Thermometer during summer months ranges from 70° to 80° ; during winter from 60° to 70°, with heavy showers. No spring or river water to be found on the island. The rain is collected in reservoirs. Immediate descendants of the mutineers . -13 Grandchildren and great-grandchildren . .61 Of three Englishmen married to descendants . 1 6 Englishmen . . . . .3 93 Brown \ Williams \- No descendants. Martin ) Mills. One daughter. APPENDIX D Fortifications (Provision for Expenses) Bill, June 30, 1862 Sir John Hay said, that the opinion of the House had been formed upon the suggestion of the Government that these forti- fications had been recommended by the Defence Commissioners for the defence of the country. But that was not the case. He had been examined as a witness before the Commissioners, and he had ventured to reply to some questions by asking others. One of those questions directed the attention of the Com- missioners to a point which had already been mentioned in that House — namely, that if an enemy were to land upon our shores, would he not march straight upon the capital without wasting time in attacking the outports ? He also ventured to say, that if there were to be a great outlay for the defence of the country, the plan recommended by the hon. Member for Ayrshire (Sir James Fergusson) appeared to be the plan which ought to be carried out first. But, said the Defence Commissioners, "The defence of the country is not referred to us ; we are required to report on the defences of Dover, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Devon- port, and Cork." The Defence Commissioners had not received fair play. The whole onus of these recommendations had been thrown upon them ; but the question of the defence of the country, which was the question before the House, was not referred to them. They had been desired to report upon the defence of certain points, and they had reported what they con- sidered necessary for the defence of those points. Before proceeding further with this measure, the Government ought to 342 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS state how it was they called upon the House to vote large sums of money for the defence of the country upon the authority of the Commissioners, whose report did not at all apply to that subject ? He would not go into the question of the defences for the outports. In his evidence he had expressed his objections to the substitution of forts for ships, and he would only now call attention to the fact that our navy was not in a proper state of preparedness ; that the vessels we had were not the proper class of vessels required for the defence of the country ; and therefore it was the present duty of that House and the Government to apply all their energies to the effectiveness of our first line of defence. APPENDIX E (p. 237) Kertch and Yenikale Prize Money, July 8, 1862 Resolution Sir John Hay said, that in rising to call attention to the delay in distributing the prize money for the capture of Kertch and Yenikale, he should not at that late hour detain the House by making a long statement. The town of Kertch was captured upon the Queen's birthday in 1854, with a considerable amount of stores, ships, coals, and a steam factory, which, by the Act of Parlia- ment of 1854, became the captors' property. In 1857 steps were taken to obtain payment, and in 1858 further correspondence took place. In 1859 the attempts were renewed, and from that time the Admiralty had been endeavouring to induce the Treasury to do justice to the soldiers and sailors of the expedition. The Queen's Advocate had pronounced in favour of their claims. Before 1854 captors were empowered to appoint an agent in London to act for them, whose interest it was to secure their money and distribute it amongst them, whether, if they were sailors, their ship were paid off or not. But in that year an Act was passed, under which, as was foretold by Lord Brougham and others at the time, it had become impossible for captors to secure their prize money. By that Act the Accountant General was appointed to act for the captors, and he, being a Government official, was not the best representative of the captors' interests. It happened that the captain of one vessel, the Viper^ captured a collier, which was sold; and in i860 proceedings were taken in the Admiralty Court, which resulted in the prize money for the vessel being distributed. The reason why the delay took place 344 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS with respect to the rest of the prize money was because the Queen's Advocate recommended a grant of money as the preferable course, as applications to the Court of Admiralty would disclose the irregularities that had occurred in some quarters. Among the articles captured was a steam factory, which had been set up at Gibraltar, and which was now in use there, but for which the Government had not paid a single shilling. Of the stores taken a portion was sold at Constanti- nople for ;^8ooo, which was paid to the Treasury, but the Admiralty had failed to induce the Treasury to do justice to the captors. The end of the correspondence was that under the significant date of the ist of April the captors were authorised to take their claims into court. Upon the i6th of April the Secretary of the Treasury wrote — " My Lords felt that they ought not to be called upon to under- take the responsibility of deciding on the alternative courses (a grant of public money or permission to apply to the court) thus proposed to them. If the Board of Admiralty had submitted to them the grant of a specific sum, and stated the grounds on which it could in their opinion be submitted with propriety to Parliament, it would have been the duty of this Board to consider and decide upon the proposal ; but it is not their duty to decide upon the adoption of one of two courses, arising from the proceedings for which the Admiralty or its officers are responsible, when no case was made out for the adop- tion of either. My Lords can only repeat that, so far as they are at present advised, there are not, in their opinion, sufficient grounds for proposing to Parliament a grant of public money to the captors of prize at Kertch and Yenikale ; and the Queen's Advocate has stated in his report abundant reasons for not instituting proceedings, after the lapse of so long a period of time, for the condemnation of the prize in the High Court of Admiralty." That was after the Treasury authorised the Admiralty to allow the captors to proceed in court. It was then announced to the Queen's Proctor that — " It has been decided that after so great a lapse of time no grant of public money could be recommended to Parliament ; and, further, that on the grounds of the capture having been a joint one by army and navy, and further complicated by having been made in APPENDIX E 345 conjunction with the French army and navy, Her Majesty's Govern- ment do not consider it expedient that any steps should be allowed to be taken in the High Court of Admiralty towards obtaining con- demnation of these stores." The Act of Parliament pointed out how allies should be paid, and how the cases of joint expeditions should be met. He would put it to the House whether discipline would be main- tained among their soldiers and sailors by perpetrating such gross breaches of faith ? The hon. Gentleman concluded by moving — " That it is inexpedient, in the opinion of this House, that judg- ment should be any longer delayed on the amount of prize money due to Her Majesty's land and sea forces employed in the capture of Kertch and Yenikale on the 24th day of May 1854, as it is calculated to injure the confidence of the soldiers, seamen, and marines in the good faith of Her Majesty's Government in matters of prize." Colonel North said, he had great satisfaction in seconding the motion, which could have been brought forward by no one more appropriately than by the gallant officer who had taken part in the transitions to which it related. The correspondence connected with the Kertch prize was, he might add, in his opinion, as honourable to the Admiralty as it was dishonourable to the Treasury, and he could hardly believe that he heard rightly when he understood the noble Viscount at the head of the Government to have proposed in the beginning of the even- ing further delay in the matter. It was a somewhat curious fact that the Secretary to the Treasury had taken three months to answer a letter bearing on the subject, to which the Admiralty required that an immediate reply should be returned. Such, however, was the case, and he felt justified in saying that an un- mingled feeling of disgust pervaded both the army and the navy at the scandalous manner in which they had been treated with regard to prize money. He referred more especially to the soldiers who had served against the mutineers in India, who had been present at the capture of Delhi. There was not a soldier who might not have secured jewels and other portable booty enough to make his fortune for life ; but the officers, trusting in the honour of the Government, had made the men deliver every- 346 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS thing up for fair distribution. If faith were not kept with their soldiers and sailors in such cases it would, he contended, be im- possible to maintain that discipline which it had hitherto been the pride of the English officer to uphold among the troops under his command. The question was not one of party, and he trusted that the interests of the two services would be upheld by hon. Members on both sides of the House. Viscount Palmerston : I can assure the House that nothing can be further from the wish of the Government, or of any person responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the country, than to interpose unnecessary delay in the distribution of that prize money which our gallant soldiers and sailors might have earned in their military and naval operations. Those, however, who are at all acquainted with such matters must be aware that there are certain rules in accordance with which prize money is distributed, that there are certain vouchers and returns required, and that certain facts must be established before a just and equitable division of it can be made among those who may be entitled to a portion of it. It is, I may add, no new thing to find that a considerable time happens to elapse between the date of opera- tions which have taken place at a great distance and the distribu- tion of the prize money which may be awarded in consequence of them. To proceed to distribute money so earned before we were able to ascertain who the persons were who were really entitled to it would be to do an injustice to some by handing over to others, to their exclusion, the share which they had a right to receive. That is one of the reasons why the Delhi prize money has not as yet taken place. That delay is owing to no fault of the Government, but is incidental to the necessity of pro- curing returns from distant stations. So far as the Resolution of the hon. and gallant Officer opposite is concerned, I can only repeat what I stated in the early part of the evening, that the question which it involves, as the statement which he has made amply proves, is complicated by a series of Acts of Parliament, as well as by considerations of a legal and international character. These points the Government have referred to those by whom they are usually guided in such cases ; and until the report of the Law Officers of the Crown — which I have no doubt we shall receive in a few days — is made, the Government will not be in APPENDIX E 347 a position to determine the rights of the several parties to whom the Motion before the House relates. I trust, therefore, hon. Members will wait until the Report is received, and not in its absence jump to a hasty conclusion in this matter. Admiral Walcott : There can be no doubt that it is of the very last importance to keep implicit faith with our soldiers and sailors. At the present moment we have the painful fact broadly presented to us that two departments of the Government are ^t issue on the question, whether or not a grievous injustice has been committed with regard to the prize money earned at Kertch and Yenikale, in the year 1854. A pitiful attempt at economy is made the pretence by the Treasury for refusing that undeniably just claim advanced under, and by virtue of, an Act of Parlia- ment and the Queen's proclamation, and admitted by the Admiralty. The money was earned by the capture of guns, corn, coals, and timber, at Kertch and Yenikale, and which, or a greater part, were actually used in the service of the country, avoiding the necessity of purchases which otherwise must have been made. To withhold this just remuneration savours of dishonour, for there cannot be entertained a doubt, nay, not the shadow of a doubt as to the right and justice of the claim advanced by the captors, and the disingenuous delay in acknow- ledging it on the part of the Treasury. The value placed on the stores is a sum of ;^i 20,000, open of course to a fair estimate upon being duly considered. It is most dangerous, I repeat, to act in this manner, for it will be certain to produce extreme dissatisfaction in the minds of both the army and the navy, and lead them to mistrust the Government in the future. Therefore, I will hope that a strong expression of opinion on the part of this House will effect the immediate redress of a flagrant act of wrong, which no man could more gracefully or pleasantly confer than the noble Lord at the head of the Government. Mr. Henley said, he had never read any papers with greater pain and regret than those which bore on the question under discussion. He should offer no opinion as to the department to which blame was more particularly attached in the matter, but it was impossible to enter into the details connected with it without coming to the conclusion, that while the existence of the right contended for was admitted in the correspondence, those to 348 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS whom the right belonged were shuffled out of that to which they had a just claim. The persons interested very fairly said, '^ Either give us the money or let us appeal to a court of justice, which will decide whether we are entitled to it or not " ; but the Crown interposed and said, " We will neither give you anything, nor allow you to bring your case before a court of justice." The conse- quence was that six or seven years had been allowed to elapse without any settlement of those claims, and yet the noble Lord opposite did not hesitate to ask for further delay. He should certainly support the Motion. Lord Clarence Paget said, the hon. and gallant Member had not correctly stated the object of the Act of 1854. The intention of that Act was not to prevent navy agents from supporting claims for prize money, but to prohibit them from accumulating prize money which had been awarded, and so putting officers and men to great expense before they received their own. It gave officers and men the power of not appointing agents at all, but of receiving their prize money through an officer of the Government. Still, however, the parties entitled to prize money might appoint an agent if they pleased, and that course had actually been followed in the present case. He might add that the first time the Government heard of this claim was in 1 86 1. The Admiralty, who were always ready to maintain the rights of their officers and men, had no other course to pursue but to refer the matter to the Treasury. The whole case was now before the Law Officers of the Crown, and he hoped the House would wait for the report of those functionaries, when the Government would be able to state their intention. Mr. Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said, he would not enter into the prospective part of the question. The principle that the captors of Kertch were perfectly entitled to the proceeds of whatever the Court of Admiralty might condemn as prize was not contested by the Government. The gallant Admiral opposite (Admiral Walcott) spoke of their being entitled to the whole property that was taken in Kertch. [Admiral Walcott : No.] That was not the case. It was necessary, how- ever, that the Government should be advised in particular and distinct terms by the Law Officers of the Crown as to the course they were to take. After what had been said by the right hon. APPENDIX E 349 Gentleman the Member for Oxfordshire (Mr. Henley) he would make the frank avowal that there had been a misapprehension between the Treasury and the Admiralty with respect to the limits of their respective jurisdictions. There were two modes in which effect could be given to claims for prize money. One was the mode of Parliament grant. That mode of proceeding was one which it was within the competency of the Admiralty to recommend, but which it was exclusively the duty of the Treasury to decide upon. In the present case the Treasury had informed the Admiralty that in their opinion there were no grounds for proposing a grant. The other mode of proceeding was through the medium of the Court of Admiralty. It was true the Queen's Advocate had stated it as his opinion that it would be better to proceed by grant than by resort to the Court of Admiralty ; but the reasons given for that opinion were, if not insufficient, at all events not so valid as to carry conviction to all minds. The matter, at any rate, was not one for the Treasury to decide upon. It did not belong to the Treasury to say whether parties should or should not be permitted to prosecute their claims in the Court of Admiralty. That was a question exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Board of Admiralty and of no other depart- ment of the Government. The Board of Admiralty had proceeded as if the Treasury had had the right to determine whether the case should be prosecuted in the Court of Admiralty or not. The Treasury had no such right, and that was a question, which, after hearing in full the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, it would be the duty of the Board of Admiralty to decide. The delay which had occurred was not attributable to the Govern- ment. The impression appeared to be that there had been a delay of seven years, but for six out of seven of those years the subject had not been mentioned to the Government at all. It was the duty of the parties to bring it before the Government, and in the case of the captain of the Viper^ which was very properly brought by him before the Government immediately on his returning to England, there being no difficulty or impediment, it was allowed at once to go into the Court of Admiralty. He regretted that any misapprehension had occurred, and he made that statement with confidence that the House would receive it in the sense in which it was made. With reference to 350 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS the future, if the hon. and gallant Gentleman meant, by his Resolution that "it is inexpedient that judgment should any longer be delayed," that no delay whatever should take place, that the Government should have no opportunity of advising on the matter, that was obviously impracticable; but if he meant that no longer time should be taken than was necessary to carry the matter through its various stages in a regular and orderly manner, there would be no difference of opinion. Mr. Whiteside said, the right hon. Gentleman had mentioned two modes in which justice could be done. The first was by a vote of money. There was the answer from the last letter in the correspondence — " With reference to former correspondence on the subject of the condemnation of stores, etc., captured at Kertch and Yenikale, I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you that this question has been again under the consideration of Her Majesty's Government, and it has been decided that after so great a lapse of time no grant of public money could be recommended to Parliament." Then, as to the second mode — adjudication by the Court of Admiralty — here was the answer — "And, further, that on the grounds of the capture having been a joint one by army and navy, and further complicated by having been made in conjunction with the French army and navy. Her Majesty's Government do not consider it expedient that any steps should be allowed to be taken in the High Court of Admiralty towards obtain- ing condemnation of those stores." Sir John Hay said, he just wished to call attention to one fact. The noble Lord the Secretary for the Admiralty had said that the Treasury was the judge ; and they had just heard the decision of the judge. Viscount Palmerston : Upon the understanding that the object of this Motion is that the question should be referred to a competent court of law, I have no objection to it. Motion made, and Question, " That it is inexpedient, in the opinion of this House, that judg- APPENDIX E 351 ment should be any longer delayed on the amount of Prize Money due to Her Majesty's Land and Sea Forces employed in the capture of Kertch and Yenikale on the 24th day of May 1854, as it is calculated to injure the confidence of the Soldiers, Seamen, and Marines, in the good faith of Her Majesty's Government in matters of prize," — put, and agreed to. APPENDIX F (p. 240) Navy (Promotion and Retirement), February 24, 1863 Address moved Sir John Hay said, he rose to move that the House should, upon Thursday next, resolve itself into a Committee to consider of an humble Address to be presented to Her Majesty, submit- ting to Her Majesty, That, in the opinion of this House — First, the position of the Officers of Her Majesty's Naval Service, in respect of promotion and retirement, is not satisfactory, and ought to be amended; secondly, that with a view to the increased efficiency of the Naval Service, and to meet the just expectations of Officers with respect to promotion, it is desirable to adopt for all ranks the principle of retirement by age ; thirdly, that the pay of Naval Officers ought to be so adjusted as to enable them con- sistently to maintain the rank they hold, and to give them fair remuneration for honourable service. It might remove some misapprehension if he were to state that the fourth clause, which he intended to remove from his Resolution, and which was removed from the paper in the hands of the Speaker, was retained in the papers in the hands of hon. Members generally. He wished also before proceeding with the statement which he pro- posed to make to pay that deference which was due to the noble Lord the first Minister of the Crown, who had at the last moment given notice of the Amendment which was on the paper. Were he at all certain that the appointment of the Select Committee proposed by the noble Lord would enter on a proper considera- tion of the subject to which he was about to call attention, it would not be at all respectful to the House to occupy their time after such a suggestion from the first Minister of the Crown. APPENDIX F 353 But it would be in the recollection of the House that one of the highest authorities in it — the Chancellor of the Exchequer — had laid down the axiom that referring any subject to a Select Com- mittee was the same as shelving it. [The Chancellor of the Exchequer dissented.] The right hon. Gentleman shook his head, but the House would recollect that he had given expres- sion to a conviction of that kind in that House on a previous occasion, and therefore it was well that they should understand what the intentions of Her Majesty's Government might be when they suggested that any particular subject should be submitted to a Committee. The reasons he had for requesting the attention of the House to the subject were of sufficient moment to warrant him in discussing it at considerable length. It would be admitted that considerable dissatisfaction existed amongst the officers of the navy, and that dissatisfaction, he believed, was not without some grounds — indeed, it might be said good grounds ; because the first Minister of the Crown had, at the last moment, suggested that the subject should be referred to a Committee, which he would not have done if there had not been some matter for the Committee to investigate. In the first place, he would call attention to a speech made by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty at the recent election in Devonport. That Gentleman was a great authority on naval matters, and he stated, with respect to the scheme for increasing the pay of naval officers, as follows. Admiral Sir Frederick Grey said — " There was another question which had been brought forward, and that was respecting a scheme for increasing the pay of certain naval officers. In the position which he held as one of the Lords of the Admiralty they could not expect him to enter into the details of such a scheme as that. Before the Admiralty were advised to adopt a scheme of that nature, he thought they should be furnished with every particular of the grievances of which those naval officers complained." One would imagine from that remark that no such grievances had ever been brought under the notice of the Admiralty or that, if they had, the Admiralty had been in the habit of attending to them. It would, however, be in the recollection of the House that in 1859 the hon. and gallant Member for the East Riding (Admiral Buncombe) presented a petition, signed by 500 lieu- 2 A 354 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS tenants, and he mentioned on another occasion this petition to the First Lord of the Admiralty. The First Lord of the Admiralty in his public capacity took no notice of that petition, but in his private capacity he directed his private Secretary to write as follows : — " I am directed by the Duke of Somerset to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st of December 1859, and the accom- panying memorial, to which he will give his attentive consideration, and it will give him great pleasure, should he find himself at liberty, to improve the condition of the memorialists." Well, not very long after that, in i860, another petition of a very important character, signed by nearly all the lieutenants of the Channel Fleet, sixty-four in number, approved by most of the captains of the ships in which they were serving, was presented to the Admiralty through the Commander-in-Chief of the fleet (Sir Charles Fremantle), in which the grievances of the petitioners were most respectfully made known to the Board. No reply was given to that memorial, but the following circular was issued : — "All combinations of persons belonging to the fleet, for the purpose of bringing about alterations in the existing rules and regula- tions of the navy, whether affecting their interests individually or collectively, are prohibited as being contrary to the established usage and practice of the service, and injurious to its interests and discipline. Every person is by the Naval Discipline Act i860 (Part L sec. 33) fully authorised individually to make known to his superior any just cause of complaint, but individuals are not to combine, either by the appointment of committees or in any other manner, for the purpose of obtaining signatures to memorials, petitions, or applications, nor are they collectively to sign any such document." That was the reply to the petition which in i860 was placed before the Admiralty in the most respectful manner, and yet it would be seen that the First Lord of the Admiralty, instead of doing all he could, and the Board of which he was a member doing all they could to redress the grievances, both the noble Duke and the Board had done all they could to stifle the com- plaints. Various other classes had submitted their claims to the consideration both of that House and the Ministers of the Crown. Not very long ago the surgeons of the navy had grievances, and APPENDIX F 355 they had strong grievances no doubt. But they were a strong body ; the Medical Colleges took up the matter, and the students were most strongly advised not to join the navy. The Admiralty found that for a time no medical officers were forthcoming, and so under that pressure the grievances of the surgeons were redressed. Various other classes had complaints, but their com- plaints were never listened to except under compulsion. The executive branches of the navy received no consideration what- ever. Very recently complaints had been made by the masters of the navy, which was one of the most valuable executive bodies connected with the service. Their complaints had been laid before the Admiralty \ the Admiralty appointed a Committee — that was the usual course; the Committee sat, and reported to the Admiralty, but neither the masters nor any one in the world, except the Admiralty, had heard what the result of that Committee was ; and although a year had elapsed since the Committee re- ported, the report had never been made public, far less acted upon. Knowing these facts, then, was it surprising that the officers of the navy looked upon the Admiralty as anything but their friends — that they looked at the heads of their profession as being those who endeavoured, as far as might be, to deprive them of those just rights which he was sure, when known and appreciated by the country, would be readily granted to them. When the circular was issued to which he had already alluded, his hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Portsmouth (Sir James Elphinstone) moved for the Committee which the noble Lord proposed to re- suscicate, and which was then opposed by the influence of the Government. That was a Committee to inquire into promotion and retirement in Her Majesty's navy. The Government, unable to defeat the Motion directly, determined to do so by a side wind. A Committee was sitting at the time upon the construction of the Board of Admiralty, and the mode in which the other Committee was got rid of was by saddling the Admiralty Committee with all the members of. his hon. and gallant Friend's Committee, and directing the large and unmanageable joint Committee to discover the truth on two subjects which had nothing on earth to do with each other. That unmanageable Committee fell to the ground, and in 1862 it was not reappointed; and after an amazing amount of evidence had been taken, damaging to the character 356 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS of the Admiralty Administration, that evidence was consigned to the waste-paper basket. It was but right that he should refer to the course which he had himself taken with regard to the subject he desired to bring under the consideration of the House on that occasion. When that Committee was sitting he had not the honour of a seat in that House, but his hon. and gallant Friend near him suggested to him that it would be extremely desirable to ascertain what the opinion of the officers of the service was, and lay it before the Committee, and that for that purpose they should get satisfactory evidence — he did not mean evidence biassed one way or the other — but the evidence of officers of sufficient standing in the service and sufficient knowledge to appear before the Committee, who would not take up the time of the Committee by a great deal of irrelevant evidence, but who would speak to the point. There was a Committee at that time sitting in London on another subject connected with the navy, and of which he (Sir J. Hay) happened to be a member, and he mentioned to them the fact that this information was required, stating also that it seemed to him that their Committee might be used as an instrument for ascertaining the opinion of the officers of the navy. There was some considerable difficulty in obtaining opinions in the face of the Admiralty circular; but it was arranged that each officer should be written to, with a copy of a letter, with a request that he would give his opinion on the matters alluded to in the letter, and state the mode in which he proposed to remedy any grievance which might exist. That course was taken with above 1500 officers, whose names were in his possession, and who had con- tributed the information required of them. Among them were officers of the highest possible rank — forty-seven admirals, some of whom were in active service, and 1200 officers of all ranks in active service. When these replies had all been collected, he waited upon the Duke of Somerset, and had the honour of a personal interview, and he placed in the hands of the First Lord of the Admiralty the suggestions that had been received, and a copy was sent to the Secretary of the Admiralty and all the members of the Board. In order that that document should have some parentage, he had placed his name in the corner of it ; but he must not omit to pay a due compliment to the gentleman APPENDIX F 357 who had acted as the Secretary of the Committee to which he had referred, the Rev. Mr. Harvey, the Secretary of the Navy Fund, who had given up his time, and worked most zealously for the benefit of the navy, and he was sure for the benefit of the country also. Mr. Harvey was the descendant of an old naval stock. He was descended from that Harvey who fought in the famous action of the I St of June, and all his relations — brothers, father, uncles, cousins — were distinguished naval officers. He therefore came from a good old naval stock, and he had accordingly taken great interest in the service. To that gentleman he (Sir J. Hay) was indebted for the calculations which were set before the House in the printed papers, and which he was happy to say had been accepted by the Admiralty as correct, the whole of them, with one trifling exception, having been verified. He had been criticised by the Duke of Somerset, and on one or two points he should like to criticise his critic. In page 21 of the printed papers it was stated, in the Duke's memorandum — " The cost, therefore, of the proposed plan for these four classes of officers (supposing that no additional pay be granted to officers omitted from the plan) amounts to a quarter of a million annually." That sum was afterwards made to increase like Falstaff' s men in buckram, for in page 24 it was stated — "According to the plan proposed in these suggestions the immediate charge for retired naval officers would amount to half a million." Now, it was desirable that the House should understand that no such demand was made. It was also stated that the cost of the reserved list had been omitted ; but that was a misapprehen- sion. In page 2 7 it was remarked that the active list of the navy had been restored to a more satisfactory condition with regard to promotion, but that statement was based on an average of only two years, and the question was whether there might not be found within the next ten years greater stagnation and irregularity in promotion than had occurred before. The principal object he had in view was that stated in the Resolution he was about to pro- pose, namely, that "the position of the officers of Her Majesty's naval service, in respect to promotion and retirement, is not satisfactory, 358 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS and ought to be amended ; that, with a view to the increased efficiency of the naval service, and to meet the just expectations of officers with respect to promotion, it is desirable to adopt for all ranks the principle of retirement by age." The adoption of that system would promote the efficiency of the navy, because the officers, being reduced in number, would be more constantly employed. The principle he advocated was applied in every foreign navy, and especially in that of France. Admiral Mundy, who during his recent distinguished services in the Mediterranean had been in constant and friendly communication with the French navy, expressed himself very strongly on this point in a book he had lately published. Speaking of certain inferiorities in our navy, as compared with that of France, he said — "The Admirals, Captains, and other officers in active service afloat, in the French navy, are all comparatively young in their respective ranks — a Vice-Admiral is placed in retirement at sixty-five years, and a Rear-Admiral at sixty-two, the Captains and junior officers following the same law on a graduated scale, by which means a steady flow of promotion is certain through every grade. The compulsory removal from the active list at a fixed age, is considered one of the main elements for securing advancement in the profession, and it is rigidly enforced to-day by the Minister of Marine. This system, where existing interests are fairly respected, is highly conducive to the efficiency of the service, but it could never give general satisfaction to the officers of the British navy, nor could it be justly carried out, unless Flag Officers, Captains, Commanders and Lieutenants were all made impartially subject to the regulations of the scheme. I hold it, then, to be advisable for the well-being and content of the Royal Navy, that some statesmanlike measure, having for its base the retirement from active service afloat at a fixed age, should be intro- duced by those having authority in these matters ; and the sooner this long pending and irritating question is settled, the more accept- able it will be to the service at large." \Mundy^ pp. 362-3.] A forced retirement of officers at a fixed age would, of course, lead, in the first instance, to an increase in the retired hst, but not in the navy list as a whole. A certain number of officers would be transferred from the active to the retired list, while the number of both classes on the books of the navy would remain as before. It was important to point that out, because it had been APPENDIX F 359 erroneously assumed, in the criticism on his proposal which he held in his hand, that while the one body was to be augmented, the other would be maintained at its old figure. At present there were six different retired lists for admirals, ten for captains, four for commanders, and three for lieutenants. There was no reason whatever for such a diversity of classes. It was impossible to discriminate between one class of officers and another ; and the variety of lists gave rise to a great deal of professional jealousy, nearly every one feeling aggrieved at the difference between his neighbour's position and his own. In fact, the present plan was altogether of a hand-to-mouth character, without consistency or cohesion. Whenever the Admiralty found the navy getting too full, they induced a certain number of officers to go on the retired list. At one time several distinguished admirals were bribed off at the rate of i8s. 6d. \ but the higher allowance of 25s. had been given to a subsequent batch, although they were not of the same standing. The consequence was that those on the former list very naturally complained that an injustice had been done to them. They said that they went off to relieve the navy ; that they took what they could get ; but that it was not fair to get them out of the way to bring on another list at a higher bribe. But the same course was pursued throughout the whole of these retired lists. He therefore urged the Government to amalgamate all the retired lists, to recompense the officers on a fair and uniform principle, and thus to put an end to these jealousies which were so injurious to the service, and were cherished by means he would say, not of the injustice, but of the irregularities of the retirement. There was no reason for proposing that there should be sixty admirals on the list beyond the fact that there were forty men on the list above the age who would have retired in con- sequence of age if the age system had been adopted j and that reduced the list to sixty, and it did injustice to no one. Before adopting that system it would be necessary to provide for the very few distinguished admirals at the head of the list. The proposal was, that when an officer had passed the age of a given rank, he should be promoted to the rank above it and placed on the retired list ; but above the rank of admiral there was only the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, which corresponded with that of Field- Marshal in the army. It was therefore suggested that some of 36o LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS those distinguished admirals at the head of the list, who had commanded fleets or squadrons, should receive promotion to the analogous rank which was given to military officers when they achieved the rank of Field-Marshal. It was usual in the navy to have only one or two Admirals of the Fleet ; at present there were; seven Field-Marshals ; and it was naturally suggested that on the auspicious event which was shortly to occur, the officers in question should receive that step in rank which the House would not grudge them, and which they might not live long to enjoy, but that the number of the highest rank should be finally fixed at three. With reference to the number of admirals on the active list, the suggestion was that they should be reduced to sixty. There were now twenty, including those attached to the Admiralty, on active service, and that number actively employed would leave forty more ready to serve if occasion should require. It was also proposed to reduce the list of captains from 350 to 250 ; and as it was found that not more than 115 or 120 were employed, that reduction would give an opportunity to all the captains of serving constantly, or if not, of retiring from the list. The proposal would increase the captains on the ten retired lists from 439 to 590 officers, but at the same time it would do justice to those reserved captains whose hardships had been so frequently discussed in the House. Without going through all the various classes, he might say that his proposal would reduce the active list from 1753 to 1 313 of all classes, and the intention was to prevent its further increase — so to use the retired list as to keep the active list down at a more workable number. The Admiralty alleged that the active list was never in a more satisfactory condition. In 1852 he addressed a letter to the noble Lord at the head of the Government on the subject of the navy as it then was ; and on the basis of the Northampton tables he drew up a calculation which showed how the promotions from the captains' to the flag Hst would take place up to 1870. Singularly enough, in four of the ten years already he had named the man who had been junior rear-admiral on the ist of January, and in two others the persons whom he had named were on the point of arriving at the rank in the month of January. In two years, from exceptional causes, the calculations were wrong, but they righted themselves in following years, and were now within a very few names of the APPENDIX F 361 truth, ten years from the time of calculation. However his calculations in the main had proved correct, for what was wrong in one year would right itself in another, and therefore there could be no doubt that the tables in question formed a very reliable guide. He warned the Government, that although for the next two years there might not be a dead-lock, yet stagnation in regard to promotion would certainly ensue after a few years, when the present admirals would all be men who had reached that rank at about fifty or sixty years of age. What was wanted was such a steady flow of promotion as would infuse fresh blood into the various ranks and maintain throughout the service that youthful vigour which was so essential to its efficiency. He would next direct attention to the excessive hardships entailed on naval officers from the low scale of pay in all ranks. In the memorandum of the Admiralty it was stated that the present scale of pay was fixed by an Order in Council of date 1 8 1 6, and had been arranged with due regard to the rates of pay in the army. He found by reference to the Order of Council that such was the case. Laying aside all questions of purchase, the pay of the naval officer was not fixed at the same rate as that of the military officer. The pay and allowance of an admiral commanding in chief amounted to ;£"293o a year, while the pay of a general amounted to ;£"4i5i. A vice-admiral received ^^2550; a lieutenant-general ;£"405o. The pay of a rear- admiral amounted to ;£"2i9o ; that of a major-general to ;£"3904. According to the Order of 18 16, there were circumstances pecuHar to the naval service which counterbalanced the superiority in pay of the military service. Those circumstances, however, no longer existed, for they consisted for the most part, as stated in the Order itself, of the right of naval officers to their respective shares of prize money. While touching on the subject of prize money, he might ask how it was that in the Navy Estimates nothing was said, as promised, of the Kertch prize money ? What had become of all the prize money so long due to the army and navy ? He was surprised that the Admiralty should choose the present moment to refer the officers of the navy to an Order which stated that the pay of the military service had been fixed at one third more than that of the navy, in consequence of the prize money and other allowances receivable by 362 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS naval officers. But the non- receipt of prize money was not the only grievance of which naval officers had reason to complain. The batta formerly allowed to officers serving in the East Indies had been most unjustly taken away from them. Until within the last few years the naval commander-in-chief on the Indian station received nearly ;£^55oo per annum. While, however, the War Office continued to give the generals com- manding in India and China a certain allowance in lieu of batta, the Admiralty had refused, at the suggestion of the Secretary of State for India, to make a similar provision to the naval com- mander-in-chief. Considerable difficulty was consequently ex- perienced in finding an officer willing to accept the post, and, if he were correctly informed, the present commander-in-chief had serious thoughts about resigning his command, on account of the insufficiency of his pay. He now received, including table money, ;£"2i9o a year for discharging the same duties for which he was formerly paid ;^55oo, everything included. There was no officer of the Crown in the East, holding a corresponding rank, who was not paid double the sum given to the naval commander-in-chief. For example, the Lieutenant-Governor of Hong-Kong received ;£"5ooo a year ; the generals commanding in Madras and Bombay between £^"1000 and ;£8ooo, and the commander-in-chief in India about ;^ 10,000. It might be said that the naval com- mander-in-chief did not run the same risk ; but what was the fact ? Within the last few years several naval commanders-in-chief had died on the station ; and yet, in spite of the responsibility he incurred and the hardships he suffered, the officer in command on the Indian station did not receive from the Admiralty anything like the consideration which had been accorded by the War Office to the military servants of the Crown in the East. Injury had been done to the emoluments of naval officers in another way. What he meant was, that they had been deprived of freight for the treasure which was formerly brought home in men-of-war, and now, in consequence of altered circumstances, was conveyed in contract steam vessels. Some years ago, about 1835, ^^ ^o"^' mander-in-chief on the West Indian station received, including pay, freight and prize money, ;£"i 4,000 a year. He now did the same work for ^2500 per annum. The pay of no military officer had been reduced in the same proportion, and surely it was not APPENDIX F 363 too much to ask that the pay of the naval commander-in-chief in the West Indies should be raised by ;^iooo a year, in order that he might be prevented from running into debt. Again, the post of the naval commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean was one of the most important under the Crown. It was impossible to say what calls might not be made upon him, or what diplomatic skill he might not be required to show. Was it right so to limit his pay as to make it almost impossible for any officer to go to the Medi- terranean unless he had a large private fortune? Surely the service had not been thrown open to the competition of all classes, in order that high commands should be held only by wealthy men. It was not proposed that the naval commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean should be so highly paid as the Governor of Malta, or Gibraltar, or the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, though his position was far more responsible than any of them. The proposal was that he should get ;£^45oo a year, instead of a little over ^£"2000, as at present. An allowance was made for the capture of slaves, but in that respect no officer, except the. commander-in-chief at the Cape of Good Hope, derived the smallest advantage. In three years the commander-in-chief on the West Indian station received accidentally about ;^6oo for the capture of slaves ; but the money he was obliged to disburse during the same period considerably exceeded the amount he received from the Crown altogether. He next came to the pay of the captains, which had been gradually reduced since 1816, and he did not know any corresponding class of officers who received less pay. The average pay of a captain in 18 16 was £S1S a year; it was now, adding command money, JE^S^S- There were actually captains who received, as active pay, not more than ;^365 a year ; and he believed that the command money, which had been called a boon, did not average more than £,^ : los. per annum. That was not so small a matter as it might seem to be, for those officers were compelled to give entertainments at foreign ports, and they did so with their own money, and got into debt. He did not think that military officers were overpaid, but they were certainly in a better position than the officers of the navy. A military officer had to purchase his commission ; but his regiment, if he so pleased, was his home until he became a colonel. On the other hand, a naval officer could not serve his 364 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS time for his flag without spending ;£3ooo or ;£'4ooo of his own money ; when his ship was paid off, he was turned adrift, and he could not turn his attention to some other employment, because he was obliged to hold himself in readiness for active service. When again appointed to a ship, he had to provide an outfit at his own expense, and at last he became an admiral with ;^456 a year half-pay, whereas a general officer, besides receiving about the same amount of pay, had his chance of a regiment. The case of naval officers was so accurately described in a publication which appeared on the previous day, that he would take the liberty of quoting it to the House — " He enters the service at thirteen as naval cadet, becomes a midshipman at fifteen, a sub-lieutenant at nineteen, and a lieutenant at twenty-two. He is now in the receipt of los. a day full pay, and 4s. half-pay. So far there is nothing to complain of; but, unless he has strong interest or unusual luck, he remains a lieutenant ten years, and at thirty-two has not a farthing more full pay than he had at twenty-two. At thirty-two we will say that he is promoted to the rank of commander ; he then has to go on shore with the half-pay of 8 s. 6d. a day, and remain idle for three years, when, at the age of thirty-five, he will be offered a command. His full pay is now i6s. 6d. a day, with 2s. 6d. a day table money ; with this 2s. 6d. he is sup- posed to entertain his officers, foreign captains, consuls, etc. At the end of a four years' commission we will presume that our officer has paid his ship off in a creditable manner, and has obtained his post- captain's commission. He is now thirty-nine, and in receipt of I OS. 6d. a day half-pay and five years to enjoy it; at the age of forty-four he is again offered a ship, and we will say he accepts it (many men cannot, as it would ruin them). Well, he takes command of a corvette, and his full pay is ;^i a day, and 5 s. for table money, and as captain he is frequently put into situations where he must entertain, and very frequently too." As an illustration he might mention that a friend of his, some years ago, and before the expulsion of the late dynasty from Greece, being in command of a corvette, was called upon to con- vey to Ancona the brother of the King. Well, the commander laid out a considerable sum — about ;^8o, in providing delicacies for the Royal personage and his suite. Just as he had got every- thing ready, down came a message to the effect that the departure APPENDIX F 365 would not take place for a week. At the end of the week the ices and other things being spoiled, he had to go through the same preparation again ; and when he remitted the account to the then Admiralty through the commanding officer at Athens he was told that he could only be paid for one preparation — namely ;^8o, instead of ;^ 160. That was only an illustration of what was a frequent occurrence. " At the end of another four years he pays his ship off, and at forty-eight years of age he once more finds himself in a state of enforced idleness, with los. 6d. a day half-pay. If he is a man of strong interest, he may, at the end of another three years {cetat 51), obtain command of a Coastguard ship, with the full pay of ;^i : 5s., and 8s. 6d. a day for table money. This is considered one of the great prizes of the service, as the captain's family can live on board, and, as a general rule, the captain of one of the home ships is not called on to entertain as much as he is obliged to do abroad. But this pleasant command only lasts a sharp three years, and at fifty-four he is once more on half-pay — los. 6d. a day, if he is not included within the first 170 captains on the list ; 12s. 6d. a day if his name is included between the 70th and 170th names, and 14s. 6d. if his name appears within the first 70. Twenty years is the average time an officer is on the captain's list before he obtains his flag, and so our captain at fifty-nine becomes a Rear- Admiral with a half-pay of ^i : 5s,; in another seven years he becomes a Vice-Admiral {cetat 66) and receives ;^i : 12 :6 a day half- pay; another seven years and our naval cadet of sixty years ago has got to the top of the tree, is now a full Admiral, and gets ;^2 : 2s. a day half-pay — that is to say, that having devoted sixty years of his life to the service of his country he gets ;£766 : los. per annum for his reward." Pursuing the history of the imaginary officer, to whom he had referred, to the top of his profession, he might by great interest or extraordinary luck become a full admiral at the age of seventy- three. He would then, after sixty years of arduous toil and in all climes, if he was lucky, find himself in the receipt of ;£"; 66 : los. a year ; but if they would look at the Navy Estimates which had just been laid on the table, they would find that the soHcitor to the Admiralty had just retired after eighteen years service upon ;£'746 a year. He hoped his legal friends would not suppose that he begrudged them their due, but still it did seem hard that 366 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS a naval officer who had served in all climes, and incurred all danger, should, with the greatest possible luck (for only twenty- one men out of the whole could obtain it) — should after sixty years of service only obtain ;£^2o a year more than the solicitor to the Admiralty after eighteen years' service. In his Key to the Civil Service Mr. Parkinson, himself a civil servant, avowed that though the profession to which he belonged was not so well paid as the law, it contrasted very favourably, at least in its highest ranks, with the army and navy. Let them next compare the pay of English naval officers with those engaged in foreign services. The lowest full pay of a captain in the English navy was £3^^^ per annum, and the highest ;£^547, to which must be added command money, when in command of a ship, £,^\^ or ;£i55, or ;£^2i9 per annum, according to the complement of the ship. The only pay of a captain in the American navy was ;£^875, being 140 per cent more than the average pay of that rank in the English navy. In the English navy the lowest half-pay was ;£^i9i, and the highest ;£"264. The half-pay in the American navy was ;£^62 5, being an excess of 227 per cent over the average of our navy. In the French navy the highest captain's pay was £>^ZZ^ ^"^ ^^ lowest ;£536. The difference held good through all ranks. The com- mander in the English navy received, with command money, ^£"346 per annum. The American full sea pay for the same rank was ;£654. The lowest rate of pay for this rank in the English navy was ;£^30i, the lowest in the American navy, ;£^588 : los., or 95 per cent more. The half-pay in the American navy was, the highest ;£^468, and the lowest ;£"375. In the English navy the highest was ;£"i82, and the lowest ^£155. In the French navy there was no rank answering to that of commander, and therefore with regard to this rank he could enter into no com- parison with the navy of France. The pay of a lieutenant in command in the English navy, including command money, was ;£'2i9 ; the full sea pay of an American officer of the same rank was ;£35 1 : 5s.; that of a French officer ;£^355. The highest pay of a heutenant serving in a ship in our navy was ;£^2oo; the full sea pay of an American officer in the same position was ;£^468. The lowest pay of a lieutenant in the English navy was ;£"i82 ; the full pay of an American officer of the same rank was jCsi2. APPENDIX F 367 In the English navy the highest rate of half-pay for this elass of officers was ;£"i55 and the lowest ;^73 ; in the American navy the highest was ;^302, and the lowest ;£"2 5o. This comparison showed that the officers of the American navy were paid more than double what the officers of our navy received, and yet the officers of the English navy were supposed to meet the Americans on terms of equality, and he trusted they performed their duties quite as well as they did. When a captain paid off his ship, he not unfrequently found his half-pay was lower than that of his surgeon. The supply of surgeons proved unequal to the demand, and they obtained something like a measure of justice ; but was it right for the Government or for a Naval Administration to suggest to its officers that nothing would be given to justice, but everything to compulsion ? The utter inadequacy of pay in the navy would be seen by another comparison. The junior captain of a regiment at this moment serving in China ranked with a junior heutenant of the navy ; yet he was receiving jQ^d a year more than a captain in charge of a naval brigade on that important station. These anomalies could not be in accordance with the wishes of Her Majesty's Government, though they were in accordance with the regulations \ they were not in conformity with the Order of Council of 1816, but with the mistaken construction which was put upon it. One suggestion to which he wished to call attention he was sure would carry with it the assent of the House. It was known that after a lieutenant had served a certain time he had no chance of promotion. His proposal was to give encouragement to men to serve, for he was sure that naval officers would bear him out when he said that one of the great evils at the present time was that they could not lay their hands upon a first lieutenant, upon whom so much depended (being the superior officer next to the captain) to keep the ship in first-class order. Thirty years ago it was known where these officers had been, and where they had received their training ; and if a captain succeeded in securing a lieutenant of ability and experience, the ship was manned in a few days after he had hoisted his pennant, and everything was in brilliant order. Now, men after a certain length of service quitted the navy, or else shirked being first lieutenants as much as possible. The present administration had done all they could 368 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS to make that position additionally distasteful by taking away the time of officers who went to serve on board the Excellent. The proposal he had to make was, that after three years' service the lieutenant should receive a gradual increase of pay up to twenty years' service at the rate of 6d. per day. This, he was sure, would be received with the most abundant satisfaction by the officers of this class. At the end of twenty years, after doing his duty well and thoroughly, the officer would be able to retire from the service which had had the benefit of his hearty and effectual co-operation. It seemed to him that it would be desirable to adopt some portion of the suggestion as to the plan always followed in the army of paying the adjutant, who received 7s. 6d. a day. The proposal was to give the officer who was the adjutant of the ship, the first lieutenant or the gunnery lieutenant, some additional pay for having instructed himself and made him- self competent to instruct others in those points by exceUing in which they could only have an efficient navy. This he proposed to fix at 3s. 6d. a day. There was another point to which he invited attention — namely, with reference to the reduction in the number of officers of the navy. The proposal in the suggestion was that there should be no more cadets introduced into the service than could be absorbed by due and proper promotion. The present system was to admit as many as filled the subordinate offices, without regard to what became of them afterwards. He thought it very unfair to bring in boys of thirteen or fourteen years of age, who at twenty found themselves without any prospects in the service, and had in the meantime been debarred from study or from the means of qualifying themselves for any other profession. The present was peculiarly a time at which a change could be intro- duced advantageously, for we were about to have a fleet consisting of a few large iron-clad ships and a large number of gunboats. On board small vessels there were no facilities for training youngsters, and these would consequently have to be kept on board the larger ships, of which there were only to be a limited number. He gave his noble friend (Lord Clarence Paget) great credit for stimulating the naval reserve by his speeches, by his writings, and his acts ; and in connection with that force, and the officers who had been induced to join it, the House must bear in mind that a great additional APPENDIX F 369 element of naval strength had been gained. Not merely would the crews of ships of war be kept by its assistance up to their full strength, not merely would hands be found to man vessels engaged in the transport of troops, but the Government would be able to send all our best and swiftest merchant steamers to sea ; and if these could not be opposed to the enemy's ironclads, at least they would sweep his commerce from the ocean. These lieutenants of the naval reserve really answered to the grade of master and commander which was introduced into the navy a hundred years ago, the officers holding that grade being the captains of hired ships, who did good service in their day, but had been since gradually elbowed out of the navy. It was likewise necessary to improve the condition of the warrant and petty officers, among whom were many good men and true. He maintained that on their part there was no wish to aspire to the higher grades of the service ; they looked to offices in the dockyards as the legitimate rewards of their exertions ; and if the best men were encouraged to accept these positions, there would be no necessity to introduce so many boys into the navy. . . . He thought there were strong reasons for establishing a naval college, and that the boys should be kept at a public school or elsewhere until they were old enough to enter into that college. The system now was not the same as it was a few years ago, when the boy was consigned to the captain's care, and the captain looked upon him as a son. He approved of boys not going to sea until they were sixteen. Lord Dundonald was between seven- teen and eighteen when he first went to sea, and it did not prevent his becoming one of the most distinguished naval officers. He had endeavoured to lay before the House the reasons why he had accepted the suggestions of these officers, and why he had under- taken to introduce the subject to the notice of the House. He hoped he had done it prudently and temperately. He had given intimation of his intention to the Admiralty, and to the noble Duke at the head of it. He had shown that it was impossible for naval officers to make their grievances known, and how the circular to which he had referred prevented their taking the course which had been suggested. He had nothing further to add than to move the Resolutions which were placed in the Speaker's hands. 2 B 370 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Motion made, and Question proposed, " That this House will, upon Thursday next, resolve itself into a Committee to consider of an humble Address to be presented to Her Majesty, submitting to Her Majesty, That, in the opinion of this House, the position of the Officers of Her Majesty's Naval Service, in respect of promotion and retirement, is not satisfactory, and ought to be amended ; with a view to the increased efficiency of the Naval Service, and to meet the just expectations of Officers with respect to promotion, it is desirable to adopt for all ranks the principle of retire- ment by age ; the pay of Naval Officers ought to be so adjusted as to enable them consistently to maintain the rank they hold, and to give them fair remuneration for honourable service." Sir John Hay said, he believed he should be carrying out the wishes of the House by accepting the proposal of the noble Lord the Prime Minister to appoint a committee to inquire into this subject, and the recommendations of which would be brought before Parliament. He trusted that the committee would be one in which the House and the service would have confidence. As the noble Lord had changed his opinion within the last ten or fourteen days, and, instead of opposing, now proposed inquiry, he was prepared to meet him half-way. With reference to what had fallen from his noble friend the Secretary to the Admiralty, it was not for him to contest the positions he had advanced ; it would be for the committee to decide who had put forth the fairest statement, and he did not mistrust the result. He felt excessively obliged to the House both on his own behalf and in behalf of the navy for the kind attention he had received, and he now sat down in the confident hope that the inquiry would take place, and that the report would be carried out in good faith by Her Majesty's Government. Question, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question," put, and negatived. Words added. Main Question, as amended, put, and agreed to. Resolved^ That this House, having on the 13th day of March 1861 instructed APPENDIX P 371 a Select Committee to consider the present system of Promotion and Retirement in the Royal Navy, is of opinion that its decision should be suspended until the subject shall have been accordingly considered and reported upon ; and that a Select Committee be appointed to con- sider the present System of Promotion and Retirement in the Royal Navy, and to report their opinion thereon to this House. APPENDIX G Navy Prize Money Bill, June 17, 1863 Leave. First Reading Sir John Hay said, he wished to move for leave to bring in a Bill to facilitate the distribution of prize money, bounties, etc., to the navy. Lord Clarence Paget said, he should not oppose the Motion, at the same time he wished to mention that a Bill was being prepared by the Admiralty dealing with the subjects of naval prize courts and prize money. He hoped that the hon. and gallant Admiral would not ask the House to read his Bill a second time, until that measure had been introduced. Bill for facilitating the distribution of Prize Money, Bounties, and other such Monies to the Navy, ordered to be brought in by Sir John Hay, Admiral Duncqmbe, and Sir James Elphinstone. Bill presented, and read 1°. [Bill 147.] House adjourned at a quarter before Two o'clock Navy Prize Money, Etc. Bill [Bill 147.] Second Reading Order for Second Reading read. Sir John Hay, in moving the second reading of this Bill, stated, that its object was to restore to naval officers the right of appointing agents to take charge of their interests in regard to prize money and bounties, of which they were deprived in the year 1854, when the duty of protecting them was cast upon the APPENDIX G 373 Accountant - General. It was at that time alleged that the interests of officers and crews would not be so well protected by that officer as by agents whom they themselves appointed and whose remuneration would depend upon the amount of prize money recovered. To prove the soundness of that objection, he would contrast what was done in the case of the capture of St. Jean d'Acre with what had occurred with regard to the Kertch prize money. St. Jean d'Acre was captured in the year 1840, an agent was appointed by the captors, and the Government, to avoid going into the Admiralty Court, at once paid over a sum of ;£"7 0,000, out of which the agent received a commission of 3 per cent. With regard to the Kertch prize, in the year 1857, there was great difficulty in getting the case taken into court, owing to there being no provision for the payment of the agent. Finally, himself and Commodore Wilmot, who were afterwards joined by Captain Mends, asked Mr. Ommanney to take the case into court. Mr. Ommanney did not see his way to any remuneration ; but out of personal friendship to them he endeavoured to take the case into court ; but he did not succeed. Last year the Govern- ment was, by the action of the House, compelled to allow the matter to be brought before a court, and in order to avoid foreign complications and save money, they offered to pay ;£^85,ooo. Mr. Ommanney, who had been actively engaged on behalf of the captors for six years, made a claim to be allowed 2 J per cent. The Treasury, however, said that they could not give away the money of the captors, but the Admiralty offered to give Mr. Ommanney ;£" 5 00 for his remuneration. Even though himself. Commodore Wilmot, and Captain Mends were to give up their own shares in this prize — about ;£"2oo each — there would still remain ;£'iooo due to Mr. Ommanney for his commission, which they could only raise by writing letters to 10,000 or 12,000 of the individual captors. Last year, when this subject was before the House, he was informed by the hon. Member for Bedford (Mr. Whitehead) that the Government were not prepared to bring in any Bill ; but that if he would frame a measure, they would examine it. The Bill was drawn, and after communication with Mr. Romaine, Mr. Rothery, and other officials, alterations were introduced into it. At the request of the noble Lord the Secretary of the Admiralty, who himself promised to introduce a measure, 374 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS he postponed the introduction of this Bill until after Whitsuntide, and it was then read a first time without opposition. He now found that the Admiralty entertained some objections to certain provisions of the Bill, and he had given notice of Amendments in Committee to meet some of these objections. He understood that some of the legal officials objected to the title, " A Bill for facilitating the distribution of Prize Money," because they said that no such facilities were required. This he certainly could not admit, but he should not refuse to amend the title of the Bill. The Admiralty were anxious, that until distribution took place, the money should remain in the hands of the Accountant -General unproductive. This, he thought, was undesirable. In some cases the interest of money which had been invested had paid all the expenses and left a small sum over ; and as his measure pro- vided that the money should only be invested in the pubhc funds or stocks in Great Britain and Ireland, he did not see that any valid objection could be raised to it. The officers of the Admiralty were very anxious that the sale of prizes should be left to the Marshal of the Court of Admiralty. In his opinion the interests of the captors would be better attended to by the agent, to whose advantage it would be to get as large a price as possible ; and as the money would never come into his hands, but would be paid immediately to the Accountant- General, there could be no reason why the whole matter should not be left to him. He could mention many instances besides that of Kertch in which captors had suffered under the existing law. He believed that every one would admit that this Bill, with the Amendments which he was prepared to introduce into it, would be a step in the right direction. He therefore trusted that this measure would be allowed to pass, in order that it might stop the gap until the Admiralty Bill was produced, and that the interests of the navy might not be allowed to suffer for want of legislation, which the Admiralty ought to have undertaken, but in regard to which they had neglected their duty. Movedi That the Bill be now read a second time. — {Sir John Hay.) Lord Clarence Paget said, he would give his hon. and gallant Friend the greatest credit for the zeal and industry which APPENDIX G 375 he had displayed in preparing this Bill, which showed that he was as good a lawyer as he was a sea captain, and for which the navy generally would be very grateful to him. He should have been very glad to support the Bill with certain Amendments, if he had not been assured by his legal advisers that it would be injurious to the pubUc interests that a Bill dealing with a small portion of naval prize business should be thrown on the top of a vast number of Acts of Parhament with which it might possibly interfere, and which, in dealing with the subject, ought to be very carefully examined, especially when the legal advisers of the Admiralty were preparing a Bill with the view of putting the important subject of prize on a satisfactory footing, repealing certain of these Acts and consolidating the others. To show that the matter was attended with great difficulty, he would refer to a Report made by Mr. Rothery, the Registrar of the Court of Admiralty, on the 20th of May last, in which that gentleman stated that "the Acts relating to the subject were exceedingly numerous, ranging from the reign of Queen Anne to the late war with Russia," and that many of them had unquestionably expired, spent, or otherwise obsolete, while in the case of others it was extremely difficult to say what provisions were in force and how far they might safely be repealed. As an instance of the latter class of Acts, Mr. Rothery referred to the 45 Geo. III., which had been partially repealed, and re-enacted by a great number of other Acts passed in the same reign, and in the reigns of George IV. and William IV., thus producing a state of confusion which rendered the work of consolidation one of great difficulty. At that moment there was no immediate necessity for legislation upon the subject. If they were at war, he could understand that it might be desirable to pass this Bill ; but, under existing circum- stances, he thought it would be more for the convenience of the service itself, instead of passing a Bill which was to remain in force for only six months, and which would not reach the foreign stations until it was about to be repealed, to wait for the general measure, which he had no doubt would be ready at the beginning of next Session. He wished that the lawyers could be made to carry a little more sail ; but, nevertheless, it was eminently a legal question, and he did not think that it was safe for his hon. and gallant Friend, however eminent might be the legal gentlemen 376 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS who had assisted him, to press on the measure, when the work had been undertaken by the Government, who were as anxious as he was that the law should be amended. He would not enter into a discussion of the details of the measure, although he was informed that there was hardly a single clause in it which would not require alteration. The Bill could not affect the question of the remuneration of Mr. Ommanney, or the distribution of the Kertch prize money ; and he hoped that the assurance which he had given to his hon. and gallant Friend that the Admiralty were endeavouring to push forward their Bill, and that he had every reason to believe that it would be laid upon the table immediately after the meeting of Parliament next year, would induce him not to press the measure, but rather to go to the Admiralty and assist them in the work which they had undertaken. Mr. G. Hardy said, that he did not know much about the subject, but he certainly was not satisfied with the remarks of the noble Lord. It was admitted that the law was in an unsatis- factory state as regarded the captors of prizes, there being great delay in the captors getting the money to which they were entitled. The manner in which the distribution of the Kertch prize money to the soldiers and sailors was delayed was not at all creditable to this country. The measure appeared to him to be a very simple Bill, and one the value of which was in no way affected by the observations of the noble Lord. Its object was simply to adopt the natural course of enabling captors to appoint an agent, and to provide that he should be remunerated by a payment at the rate of 2 J per cent out of the funds which he received. He trusted that the House would not be deterred from reading the Bill a second time by the promise of a consolidation of the law upon the subject. The work of consoUdation would not be impeded, but rather facilitated, by a declaration in favour of the principle that the captors of vessels should be entitled to appoint an agent who might act for them. Consolidations, too, were often attended with many delays, and a promised consolida- tion ought not to be allowed to interfere with such a measure as this, which was a simple remedy for a simple grievance. The noble Lord said that the Bill would not come into operation in time to produce any advantage. It was, however, possible that before the meeting of Parliament next year the navy might be APPENDIX G 377 called upon to make captures; and as the provisions of the measure referred to bounties as well as to prizes, it would at once apply to all bounties payable for the capture of slavers. He hoped that the House would agree to the second reading of the Bill. Mr. Collier said, he fully appreciated the motives of the hon. and gallant officer, between whom and the Admiralty there was no substantial difference. The only question the House had to consider was, as to the best mode of attaining the object which both had in view ; whether it could be better to pass the Bill, which the hon Gentleman himself said was a mere stop-gap, or to wait until the next Session in order that a well-considered measure, consolidating all the former Acts, might be passed. Almost all the difficulties which were now experienced in regard to legislation arose from the practice of passing stop-gaps. Not only were there in existence, as Mr. Rothery had said, fifty or sixty statutes upon the subject ; but when Mr. Riley, the gentle- man who prepared Bills for the Admiralty, examined the subject, he found that there were a great many other Acts, all of which would have to be considered with a view of ascertaining whether they were obsolete or repealed or still in existence, and it was that circumstance which had prevented Mr. Riley, with all his diligence and industry, from preparing that year a Bill which would be satisfactory to the House and to the country. The measure before the House was in some respects consistent, in many inconsistent, with previous Acts. If it were passed into law, questions must continually arise as to how far those Acts were virtually or actually repealed. The hon. and gallant Gentle- man seemed not to have considered sufficiently the extent to which the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court would be affected. He proposed to put the cart before the horse ; to pay over the proceeds of the sale for distribution among the captors before the Court had decided whether the ship thus sold was lawful prize or not. Clause 2 6 deprived the Admiralty of the power of ordering the investment of the prize money, except upon the application of the agent for the captors — a change for which he was unable to discover any valid reason. These and many other clauses would require minute criticism if the Bill ever got into Committee. But he was disposed to believe that it ought not to be entertained by the House. It was a mere stop-gap, forestalling and taking the 378 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS place of comprehensive legislation on the whole question. He was not answerable for the course which had been adopted ; but when the responsible advisers of the Government, able and experienced men, who were actually engaged in the preparation of a measure, said that it was impossible without further considera- tion to digest and consolidate into a perfected scheme the various Acts already on the statute book, he must say the independent legislation which was now pressed on the House for its adoption reminded him of the proverb, " The more haste, the less speed." Mr. Selwyn said, he thought it hard that his hon. and gallant Friend should be accused of haste, when he had pointed out that it was not till after repeated promises by the Admiralty and repeated delays on their part, that he had taken the initiative in introducing a measure to Parliament. Four objections had been taken to the Bill, the first being that it was merely a stop-gap, and had reference only to a particular point. He was quite prepared to go along with the noble Lord in desiring the introduction of a measure to remedy all the abuses in the distribution of prize- money, for he had heard officers of experience declare that in any future war it would be difficult to maintain the same discipline which had hitherto prevailed, and to restrain the men from indiscriminate plunder, because they had no longer any confidence in the distribution of prize money through the legitimate channels. But it was no answer to say, that because they could not do every- thing by a particular Bill, nothing whatever should be done. He wished to speak with all possible respect of the Gentleman (Mr. Riley) on whose authority they had been told that fifty or sixty Acts of Parliament must be studied before legislation on the question could be approached. But would the learned Gentleman who had just sat down, or anybody else on the Government benches, point out in what way any one of those Acts of Parlia- ment would be affected by the present measure ? The Bill did not propose to repeal any Act of Parliament ; it did not even contain the clause, so fertile of doubt and difficulty to be found in many Acts of Parliament, repeahng any portions of previous Acts which might be inconsistent with itself. To the principle of the Bill no objection whatever had been made; and as to verbal criticism on such points as the substitution of the word *' Paymaster" for "Accountant-General," he gave his learned APPENDIX G 27C) Friend all the benefit to be derived from them. He ventured to say, that instead of embarrassing Mr. Riley in his preparation of a general measure, it would be an advantage to the draughtsman to have a distinct expression of the opinion of the Legislature on one branch of the subject. Then it was objected to the Bill that there was no probability of war. He was glad to hear the noble Lord express his willingness to enter into securities to keep the peace with all the world ; but, unfortunately, he could not always control circumstances. Besides, questions of salvage and bounties would arise under the Bill, and there was some prospect that under the recent treaty with the United States captures of slavers would become more numerous. The fourth objection to the Bill he had been really astonished to hear. It was said, the details of the measure could not be made known on distant stations for a considerable period. Was the large Government Bill, when carried next year, to fly out with any greater rapidity ? The noble Lord must have been very hard pushed for objections when he resorted to such a transparent argument. He hoped the House would not refuse to apply a practical remedy to a clear grievance, and that, if it could not aid their soldiers, it would, at least, do justice to their sailors. Mr. Stansfeld said, there was no charge of undue haste against the hon. and gallant Member. The question was simply, whether the House would think it necessary to enter into the details of a measure, the Board of Admiralty having already under their consideration the details of a much more comprehensive Bill, which they had determined to bring before the House. It was not the fault of his noble Friend that the Bill had not been laid upon the table of the House ; it was only recently that the Government learnt it would be unwise to press it during the present Session. The Admiralty were acting solely upon the representations of their professional advisers, and he had no doubt his noble Friend would give a pledge that the Bill should be introduced very early in the next Session. No pressing necessity for legislation at an earlier period had been established. Sir James Elphinstone said, the opposition of the Govern- ment had resolved itself into a struggle, not against the principle of the Bill, but simply for delay. He believed that there were important interests concerned in the speedy settlement of the 38o LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS question. In addition to the increased capture of slavers which might be anticipated within the next two years, in consequence of the Treaty with the United States for the suppression of the slave trade, they were engaged in suppressing piracy in the Gulf of Borneo, and had eight or ten vessels upon that station. If they could only succeed in putting their hands upon the depots there, the amount of prize money would be considerable. If the Govern- ment were really in earnest in amending the law, they ought to have given the necessary instructions last year, immediately after they promised to bring in a Bill. Instead of that, he was told the instructions did not reach Mr. Rothery till the month of January. Could there be a graver reflection upon the heads of Departments than the fact that they suffered sixty or eighty obsolete Acts to encumber the statute book on a matter of such vital consequence to the efficiency of the navy? In 1854 the Act which it was sought to get rid of passed through the Houses of Lords and Commons with indecent haste. Very shortly after- wards a midshipman of thtja?nes Watt brought home a prize, and on landing in London with his crew of fifteen men found himself without means of subsistence. On applying at the Admiralty, he was told that the hunger of the party would be satisfied and shelter provided for them when the proceeds of the prize had been realised. Such were the first-fruits of a naval administration of which, speaking advisedly, he ventured to say, that in the course of its existence it had done more harm to the navy of England than ever was done by the French. A precisely similar case to that which he had just mentioned occurred to an officer and prize crew belonging to the Euryalus. Under the old law the officer in charge would have been consigned to an agent, who would have made the necessary advances. In those cases, supposing the prize to have been disabled by stress of weather, he wished to know on whom a bottomry bond for repairs would be drawn. Lord Clarence Paget said, these were not questions for a Prize Court. Application ought to be made to the Admiralty. Sir James Elphinstone said, he admitted that a prize might be victualled from a guardship, say, at the Cape of Good Hope ; but a bottomry bond could not be drawn upon men. Under the old Act the officer in charge would draw upon the consignee of APPENDIX G 381 the vessel, as in an ordinary mercantile transaction. In the debate in the House of Lords, in 1854, Lord Brougham bore testimony to the invaluable services of the prize agents, and expressed apprehensions, which the result only too well justified, regarding the change of system. Those agents had sometimes succeeded in establishing the claims of the captors where these were disputed by the Government. The Kertch and Yenikale prize money, which had been so long outstanding, was ultimately got in by an agent, and the Government now refused to allow that gentleman any fair amount of commission which he claimed. He did not think the Admiralty had made out any case for delay. He quite conceded the advisability of removing obsolete statutes, and of going into the Admiralty regulations so as to have them condensed. At present officers were placed in a position of the greatest difficulty, and were often mulcted in their pay for faults of which any one might be guilty. He gave his ardent support to the Motion of his gallant Friend, and advised him very strongly to take the sense of the House upon it. Colonel Dunne said, he was at a loss to understand why, when the facts were undoubted, the Government should want six or twelve months more to maunder over old Acts of Parliament. He hoped that the discussion which had taken place might have the effect of calling attention to the abuses in the distribution of military prize money, which were just as flagrant as in the navy. Only the other day he received a letter, extremely well written, from a man who stated that he had been walking about the streets for a week in a state bordering on starvation, although money had been due to him by the Government ever since the Kertch and Yenikale expedition. In many cases prize money remained unpaid for ten or twelve years ; whole families some- times starved before their proportions could be obtained. Burmah Lucknow, Delhi, the Deccan, — not one of these names could be mentioned without recalling scandals of the worst kind. Lord Clarence Paget said, he would not oppose the evident wish of the House, but would allow the Bill to be read a second time, and bring forward his Amendments in Committee. At the same time, he felt bound to warn the House, that it was assuming a responsibility which properly belonged to the Government. Bill read 2°, and committed for Friday. APPENDIX H (p. 243) The Ashanti War, June 17, 1864 Resolution Sir John Hay — Sir, the subject which I am about to intro- duce to the notice of the House is one which I beUeve to be of considerable importance to the national honour, and I trust the House will favour me with their kind indulgence should I be obliged to trespass on their attention for some considerable time. I fear that I may have to do so, for I shall hardly be able to state the subject clearly without going into many details. It is now nearly two months ago since I took occasion to address a question to the Colonial Secretary upon the subject of the war with Ashanti, and I do not believe that at the time I did so there were ten members in the House out of the Cabinet who were aware that war had been commenced with that country. The reason why I have taken upon myself the duty of calling attention to this painful subject is, that I have myself served upon that station, and am personally cognisant of the country to which I am about to refer; and, unfortunately, a near relative of mine has served on this expedition, and in it has lost his life, with many another brave soldier whose loss we must all deplore. And here I may be pardoned for saying that my unfortunate relative was able, discreet, and resolute, as the reports of his superiors testify, and that in him Her Majesty has lost a good and faithful servant. And now let me say something as to the country which has been the scene of this war. Cape Coast Castle, as is well known, is a settlement about 1000 miles from Sierra Leone, the only civilised town, if even it deserves that title, in that part of the APPENDIX H 383 world. It is an old castle, built originally by the Portuguese, upon a granite rock which projects into the sea. To the east- ward of it is a small river, which during the rains is often a flood, but during the greater part of the year is a swamp, and the water of which is not fit for the use either of human beings or of animals. Along the sandy shore between the river and the sea extends the town of Cape Coast Castle, principally inhabited by a native population, under the protection of the fort, generally numbering about 10,000 persons. The water for supplying the town is collected in tanks during the rainy season ; and the water so collected is supposed to be sufficient to supply the wants of the normal population during the dry portion of the year. The fort of Cape Coast formerly had very large and ample tanks ; but many of them are now out of repair, and those that are in good condition are only sufficient to supply with water a force of about 250 men, which is the usual garrison. It is true that since these operations commenced, some six or seven months after the troops were sent there, in the month of January, Her Majesty's Govern- ment sent a distilling apparatus to Cape Coast Castle, to supply the troops, but unfortunately that apparatus was not in order until early in May, so that there was no sufficient supply of water for the additional influx of troops until the rainy season had again set in, and the necessity for the distilling apparatus was not so apparent as it had previously been. There are at Cape Coast Castle no animals suitable for the food of man, no sheep or cattle. There is no herbage to feed them, and as soon as cattle are brought to the settlement they are killed. As much of the meat as is required is consumed fresh and the rest is salted for future use. The food supplied to the troops is therefore mainly salt provisions and navy biscuit. The Colonial officer in charge at Cape Coast Castle is Mr. Richard Pine, and I am sorry to see, from a source which may perhaps be supposed to indicate the opinions of Her Majesty's Government, that there seems to be some intention to throw the blame of these proceedings on Governor Pine. He was formerly Attorney -General at the Gambia. He is an able and clever lawyer, and was appointed — in consequence of his knowledge of the affairs of that part of Africa — to be Governor of Cape Coast Castle. He has been very much abused, but the House will 384 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS forgive me if I endeavour to show that the censure which has been cast upon him is not altogether deserved. The papers of my poor brother who (shortly after his arrival with the troops at Cape Coast Castle) received orders to act in a political capacity under Governor Pine, have come into my hands, and among them are some despatches which throw light upon the policy which the Governor proposed to adopt. In an official letter dated the 15th of December 1863, and addressed to " Lieutenant Hay, 4th West India Regiment, Commanding Volunteer Corps," Governor Pine says : — " Sir — Upon your Report, at the request of Afarka and Bosoomfra, and mainly at your suggestion, I have embodied a corps of Volunteers, who have become virtually soldiers, and which you have volunteered to command, under the sanction of Colonel Conran. The objects I have in view in this undertaking are so well known to you that I shall encumber you with few instructions. The chiefs to whose support you proceed, against a threatened attack of King Amantifou, I consider deserve the countenance, and, if necessary, the armed assistance, of this Government ; at the same time, I cannot impress upon your mind my extreme anxiety, and the almost necessity which exists for hostilities not being adopted on our part if they can be avoided. Your duty will be rather to conciliate the dissenting party, and I doubt not that your appearance with your little force will have the effect of preventing bloodshed, so soon as it is known that Afarka and Bosoomfra are under British protection ; but you will be justified in using your force in resisting an attack upon the chiefs, if the sole cause of quarrel be their resistance of the passage of munitions of war and stores to the Ashanti country. It is possible that the French authorities, as you are aware, will indirectly attempt to uphold the tribes unfriendly to us, but I most urgently call upon you to avoid collision with the French authorities, or a breach of international law. In case of danger of such collision being imminent, you will, if possible, make amicable arrangements, or refer the question to this Government ; but I do not fear direct interference so much as clandestine influence, against which you will be prepared. You will be good enough to present the accompanying letter to the Governor of Elmina, and obtain his permission before marching through his territory ; and such march, I trust, will be effected throughout in the least ostentatious manner, defiance not being the object of your mission, but an effort to preserve peace. In full reliance on your APPENDIX H 385 discretion, I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient ser- vant. Rich. Pine, Governor. This letter seems to me to show that, so far from having any bloodthirsty intention, Governor Pine's wish was to be as humane as possible, and the only strong suggestions of war were embodied in a despatch from the Colonial Office, which threw blame upon Major Cochrane, the former commandant, and offered stimulants and suggestions of aggressive measures to his successor. I have thought it but fair to an officer who is absent from this country, and in a most difficult and responsible position, to give him the benefit of the defence which this letter affords him, and which contrasts favourably with those which Her Majesty's Government has selected to produce to the House. Extending from Cape Coast Castle almost 100 miles into the interior is the Fantee territory, inhabited by native tribes which claim our protection. Beyond this is the kingdom of Ashanti, and less than 200 miles from Cape Coast Castle is the town of Kumasi, which is the capital of that kingdom. With the King of Ashanti we have, as the papers partially show, certain poli- tical arrangements. If a slave escapes from Ashanti and touches the British or protected territory he becomes free. It is not the custom of the authorities of Cape Coast Castle to give up such slaves, nor does the King of Ashanti usually demand, them. We have also an agreement in the nature of a treaty of extradi- tion with Ashanti, according to which criminals are to be given up by Ashanti to us, when proved guilty, and vice versa. In 1862, a subject of the King of Ashanti, a slave who was work- ing in the gold mines, escaped and crossed over into the Fantee territory, taking with him a portion of the gold. This being the property of the monarch, the King of Ashanti, after some pre- liminary correspondence with the Governor of the Gold Coast, claimed the slave as a thief; but the Governor, rightly or wrongly, thought he was not justified in giving him up, believing that the major of his being an escaped slave included the minor of his being a thief The King of Ashanti replied that if the slave were innocent he should not have claimed him, but, being a thief, he could not admit that the fact of his being a slave 2 C 386 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS ought to save him from punishment. He accordingly sent some men across the frontier to endeavour to seize him in one of the Fantee villages in which he believed him to be concealed. They failed to accomplish their purpose, but burned the village, and committed some acts of destruction, which, I have been assured, could not be supposed to exceed ;^4oo in value. The matter was represented to the Colonial Office, which decided upon war, and took measures accordingly. The Returns in the hands of Members are very imperfect, but it appears from them that on the ist of July last, in time of peace, 686 men and i8 officers, about the strength intended to be maintained permanently on the coast, were already on the spot. Three officers. Major Heyrick, Captain Barnard, and my brother, then serving at the Cape of Good Hope, were ordered home in the spring of last year, with a view of proceeding to the West Indies, there to join a newly raised regiment for service on the West Coast of Africa. They were exceedingly astonished when they received those orders, but in obedience to them returned to this country, and my brother was with me in this country last June. I mention this fact because a statement has been put forth, that at that time no intention of war was entertained, whereas when my brother was with me in England he had orders to go to the coast of Africa by the West Indies, and I gave him letters of introduction to Commodore Wilmot and others on the coast of Africa, which I would not have done unless I had known he was going there. Of those three officers two are now dead, and one is in such a condition that it is feared he may never recover. Fortunately, however, he has reached this country, and I trust Captain Barnard may again serve the Queen. I am not now about to question the policy which Her Majesty's Government has thought proper to adopt in commencing this war, but, as they decided to carry on war upon the Gold Coast, I am entitled to inquire how they have conducted it. I have seen something of military and naval operations in most parts of the world, and have been personally engaged in most of the wars in which we have been involved for the last thirty years. I may be supposed, therefore, to have some experience of this matter. One would imagine that every comfort for troops serving in such a deadly climate would have been immediately sent out ; and as there is APPENDIX H 387 no good water there, and no supplies can be obtained on the spot, one would imagine that roomy and ample transports con- veying the expedition would have been moored in the anchorage off Cape Coast Castle to afford a base of operations ; that steam transports would have been forthcoming to convey fresh provisions from Sierra Leone, or any other place from which it was thought desirable to draw supplies; and, further, that hospital ships to receive the sick, and steamers to take them away to a position where they might recover from disease or from gunshot wounds, would have been provided. It would also have been desirable that the steam transports should have been employed, as in the Crimea, in distilling water for the use of the troops. With such appliances, the war, though still dangerous and deadly, would not have been as fatal as it has proved ; and Her Majesty's Govern- ment, having made up their minds to send 1800 men upon such duty, were bound to supply them with materials other than a distilling apparatus that would not work, brackish water remaining for the use of 200 men, and salt provisions, and single canvas tents for shelter, whilst the thermometer stood at ninety-four in the shade. I do not wish to state the case more strongly than it deserves ; I do not wish to make an unjust attack upon any Department. But, as the war is estimated to have cost ;£"i 4,000 a month, I must say that all which could be necessary for the safety of the troops or the efficient conduct of hostilities ought to have been supplied ; and that Her Majesty's Government, which had thought proper to incur this expense without the sanction, and, indeed, without the knowledge of this House, would have done well either to have consulted the House, or else not to have starved the war and killed our men. War to be successful ought to be conducted so as to bring matters to an issue as speedily as possible, but in the present case it seems that this maxim, and, indeed, the dictates of common sense, has been lost sight of. The officer whom I have mentioned sailed in Her Majesty's ship Megczra fi-om Plymouth in June for Jamaica, and orders had been previously forwarded for the troops there to be ready to embark for the Gold Coast. The troops were ready on her arrival, and embarked at once, and sailed for Africa. As there are some unaccountable errors in the official return, I prefer to take the numbers from particulars furnished to me from 388 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS other sources ; and, according to these, one wing of the 4th West India Regiment, under Colonel Conran, numbering 21 officers and 450 men, embarked in the course of the month of July and sailed immediately for Cape Coast Castle, reaching it on the 14th of August. There is a rumour that Colonel Conran is to be blamed for having committed a mistake ; that he, being an officer who had served in hot climates, ought to have attended to the commissariat, and that to his neglect, or that of Governor Pine, is owing what has occurred. Now, Colonel Conran, on arriving at the Gold Coast, was, I am assured, very much astonished at the position in which he found himself. A con- siderable body of troops, quite sufficient for the existing supphes, were already on the spot, and he was thrown on shore with 450 men and 2 1 officers additional. Naturally he referred to Governor Pine for instructions as to the duty which he was expected to perform, those which he had himself received being by no means clear, the only thing to be gathered from them being that he was to place himself at the disposal of Governor Pine. The Governor told him his orders were to march to Prahsu, a town on the river Prah, and to occupy Mansu and Shahsu. By the desire of the Government, he had already deposited supplies of salt provisions at certain places on the line of march, and huts for the accom- modation of the soldiers would speedily be erected. Colonel Conran, I understand, acted in a manner that was highly credit- able to him. I am told he is an officer who has risen from the ranks ; but he must be an able soldier or Her Majesty's Govern- ment would never have selected him for this special service. He is a hardy, rough British officer, and a proof of this may be found in the fact that officers who have just returned to this country report of Colonel Conran a characteristic declaration that "he was fulfilling and would fulfil the instructions of Her Majesty's Government, though only two white officers were left to follow him." Colonel Conran told the Governor he was ready to obey the orders, though he certainly thought they were not wise ; and he was then shown a despatch from the Colonial Office, blaming Major Cochrane, his predecessor, and charging him with inactivity, and a want of military virtues more important even than activity. Like a good soldier. Colonel Conran obeyed orders, and a com- missary, Mr. Blanc, having been sent out to endeavour to provide for APPENDIX H 389 the troops, he hkewise proceeded to do his best to fulfil his duty. He had command of money, but of no other facilities whatever, for it seemed to be forgotten that the scene of action was 1000 miles from Sierra Leone. Mr. Blanc, however, was highly praised by Governor Pine for what he had done with the slender means at his disposal ; and, therefore, it is plain that no blame attaches either to Governor Pine, to Colonel Conran, or to Mr. Blanc the commissary, for the misfortunes which afterwards befel the force. When the Megcera landed the expeditionary force, instead of remaining attached to it, she sailed on other duties and disap- peared from the scene. Colonel Conran marched his force, as directed, to Mansu, to Prahsu, to Shahsu, and other places ; and shortly afterwards a large force of volunteers was raised far away to the west, at Dixcove. To that force no medical man was attached, and Colonel Conran, writing to the officer in command on the 2 9th of January, said — Sir — Under existing circumstances you will, on receipt of this letter, march from where you now are to Akropong, in Denkera, with your detachment of volunteers, and there remain in the defence of the King and his people, as allies of her Majesty's Government against the Ashantis. The King, who is here and knows me, will house your men. I will in a few days forward a medical officer to your assistance from the Prah, by a road leading thence. The King's son, Quacoe Mame, is my A.D.C., and upon whom you may depend for truthful information. Your letter the Governor and myself received this morning from Gorgie. — I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, E. Conran, Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Troops. That communication was addressed to Lieutenant Hay, com- manding the volunteers on the Gold Coast, and is marked " Pressing." The medical officer never reached the force, and the volunteers consequently entered upon the war without any medical aid whatever. This letter shows that the volunteers raised were acting as a combined force for the invasion of Ashanti. Among the papers in my possession is a copy of an official letter, written by my brother to the Governor, after he was almost too ill for exertion of any kind, in the following terms : — Sir — I have the honour to report, for the information of the 390 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS officer commanding the 4th West India Regiment, on the nth of this month with everything correct. The march throughout was good, considering the nature of the country. One day we crossed forty-nine rivers, some by fording and others by large trees, so that long marches cannot be made in a day of even ten hours' march. I had to make two halts on the road, one of one day to rest the men, and another of three days to take medicine for the country fever, of which the men had an attack, but are now nearly all right, except from the weakness incidental to a sharp attack of that sickness. So that the officers and men on detached expeditions were with- out any medical advice, the blame of which, however, does not rest with the officers who despatched them. Those officers volunteered for that service, and there were no medical men to send. Her Majesty's Government sent out twelve medical officers. Three are dead, three are invalided, and the remaining six have been described to me as walking skeletons who have been left to do duty at Cape Coast Castle. About that time the commanding officer of one of Her Majesty's ships then at Cape Coast was asked to give two Excellent seamen to manage the rocket battery attached to the expedition. Two men were sent up, and both died. Commodore Wilmot, the able naval Com- mander-in-Chief on the West Coast, whose experience is great, and whose talents are recognised, and who had officially protested against this war, for he well knew the coast, was so angry that he threatened to bring a charge against the captain in command of the detachment for not properly lodging and feeding his men. Doctor Rutherford, the medical officer with the detachment, agreed in this charge, and was about to give evidence in support of it, but he died also, and it was found on inquiry that the seamen were as well lodged and fed as the officers of the army. That official correspondence has not yet appeared, but I suppose it is in the possession of Her Majesty's Government. Throughout last winter there was great sickness at Cape Coast Castle. I have examined the return laid on'' the table, and have endeavoured to ascertain how many have died. The return now in the hands of members gives a total of 64 officers and 1745 men who have been landed since ist July 1863, or were present at that date, and it gives 1348 men and 48 officers as now remaining fit for duty. There must, however, be some mistake APPENDIX H 391 here, because the return gives 35 out of the 64 officers as dead or invahded, in addition to those in hospital in Cape Coast Castle. Out of 1745 men 1348 are said to be efficient. That leaves 397 hors de combat^ whereas the return of the number of men dead and invalided is 127, which leaves 270 men not accounted for. They are "missing," in military parlance, which means dead or deserted. As it is not likely they have deserted to the King of Ashanti, I come to the other painful conclusion. On the 9th of April this year H.M.S. TIzwar landed reinforce- ments from the West Indies at Cape Coast Castle. She brought 643 men and 27 officers. At that time there were troops at various camps in the interior, but there were many men sick at Cape Coast, and 15 officers also ill in the Castle. The Tamar landed her men on the beach of Cape Coast Castle. She brought no provision for the mass of wretchedness there. The troops already there were in native huts, and those brought by the Tamar were marched to the front and put under canvas. Before the Tamar left 120 of the men she brought were down with sick- ness. The medical officer said he would have given his own life to have had those poor men put on board the Tamar. Captain Stirling, an excellent officer, took compassion on a poor lady, and against orders took her to Gibraltar and saved her life. The Tamar had no orders to have anything to do with the expe- dition. With the usual red-tape routine, she was ordered, after landing her troops, immediately to proceed on another service, and to remove a regiment from Gibraltar ; and these poor sick men from the ramparts saw her steaming away for the western horizon, and with her the last gleam of hope shrunk within their breasts. They nearly all died. One would have imagined that the Government when sending a steamship to this part of the world, where there was no one to give orders — for the Governor was gone to sea, ill, Colonel Conran was up the country, and the commanding officer at Cape Coast Castle was delirious with fever — would have given orders to the captain of the Tamar to bring away with him any men who might have been wounded or suffer- ing from fever. But the captain had positive orders to proceed on another service. The captain was probably not aware of what was going on on shore, and he steamed away in obedience to his orders, leaving these men to die. " The tender mercies 392 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS of the wicked are cruel." It would be rather too painful to read the names of the officers whose services have been in this manner lost to their country. Some few may have recovered, but I have been told by a medical man that the effect of the fever is so debilitating upon the constitution, that those who died were almost happier than those who lived. When the last mail left there — for the African mail called there every month — there were nine officers and eighty-five men left in the apology for an hospital in Cape Coast Castle, who were living on brackish water and salt beef. The mail steamer was so full that there was no room for any one. Her medical officer was kindness itself to those who embarked on board her ; but there was no preparation for invaUds j the surgeon himself gave up his cabin to a poor lady who died; and the sick officers, packed in small cabins, were without those comforts so necessary to their recovery. Some died at sea ; others were landed at Sierra Leone, and died there. Now, sir, I understand the Government propose to send out the Gladiator to bring away the troops. I wish to tell the House, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies will bear me out, that I have not wished to keep secret the information I have received. I have not endeavoured to throw it on the House as a surprise for party purposes. I drew up a memorandum, which I showed to many of my friends, and afterwards placed in the hands of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and I understand the right hon. gentleman has shown it to the noble Marquis the Under- Secretary for War. In the same spirit yesterday morning I called upon my noble friend the Secretary to the Admiralty to state that I understood no transport had been taken up or sent, and that I was about to put a question in the House in the form which I placed in the noble Lord's hands. In consequence of the noble Lord's answer, I noted down another question, and called on the noble Marquii; at the War Office. I told the noble Marquis that I should put that question to him in the House. In consequence of my notice, the Admiralty decided on sending the Gladiator. At the time, therefore, although some sailing transport, whose name is not known, is under repair, the only actual and tangible ship is the Gladiator. She is to bring away 600 men, which,, according to the Government return, leaves 270 men unaccounted APPENDIX H 393 for. The House has been told that it is the intention of the Government to keep 700 or 800 men there, and to bring away 500. Now, the Gladiator is to carry these men to Cape Verd. There are large maps and small maps ; the only available map for these regions is that for North Africa. Hon. Gentlemen looking at a map are apt to forget the great distance that separates Cape Coast from Cape Verd. The Cape Verd Islands are nearly 2000 miles from Cape Coast Castle. It will be necessary to carry these black men, who are debilitated by climate and sick- ness, upon deck, for the Gladiator has little room beyond what is necessary for her own crew. Is it possible that it is proposed to carry 550 sickly men on deck from Cape Coast Castle to Cape Verd — a distance of nearly 2000 miles? When they get to Cape Verd, which is a sickly place, have Her Majesty's Govern- ment obtained permission from the Portuguese Government for these men to disembark ? The quarantine law in those islands is said to be very strict, as I believe is well known. Will the Portuguese Government allow these black troops to break their laws, and, after twelve or fourteen days' voyage, will they allow them to land (if any are then alive) on their shores and await the arrival of a vessel that is not yet ready for sailing ? But what sort of a ship is the Gladiator 2 In the Report on the Health of the Navy in 1859 the Gladiator is stated to have been built at Woolwich in 1844. Her length of gun-deck is 190 feet ; keel for tonnage, 164 feet; extreme breadth, 37 J feet; depth of hold, 23 feet. She is 1200 tons burden, her draught of water is 7 feet 7 inches forward, and 9 feet 4 inches aft. The Gladiator was, I beheve, ordered home not long ago, partly from defects and partly from being unhealthy. Her crew were not paid off, but turned over to the Greyhound. From the Report on the Health of the Navy, 1859, page 44, it appears that the Gladiator had 2 3 cases of yellow fever at Havannah in October, of which two died. The disease was checked by the ship running out of the tropics to Halifax. Comparing the ratio of non-effectives daily per 1000 of mean force in the Indus^ the ship which I then had the honour to command, and the Gladiator^ the follow- ing is the result : — Indus ^ 40.5 ; Gladiator^ 78.8. Sent to hospital — Indus^ one year, 38; Gladiator^ three months, 25; Indus' s complement, 600 ; Gladiator's complement, 255. By the Report 394 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS on the Health of the Navy, i860, page 97, the Gladiator again shows an unhealthy ratio of sickness : — Number of complement, 160 only (previous return, 255); average number daily of non- effectives, 14.3; ratio per 1000 of mean force, 79.4; being the fourth ship bearing the greatest proportion of sick, those with a larger number having all been fever ships in i860. That ship, which will not contain 500 men below, and which is reported as being unhealthy, is the vessel which has suddenly sailed after notice of a question has been given, and is the only chance of life that our officers and men at Cape Coast Castle have. They are to be conveyed by that ship to a Portuguese colony, which may not receive them, there to be put into a ship whose name even is unknown, and which has not yet sailed. The question which I now have to ask the House is. Who is to blame? There has been a sort of hushed suggestion that a noble Duke, whose illness I personally regret and which is regretted by all who know him, is to be the scapegoat of the Ministry. I have shown, however, that the Colonial Office is not the Department which is specially to blame. It has been also suggested that the Governor is to blame, but I have pointed out that the Governor has only followed the instructions which have been given him. The Colonial Governor could not order officers from the Cape of Good Hope, nor troops from Jamaica, nor transports nor other ships from England. I have no doubt, if the Governor had the power, the waters off Cape Coast would have been covered with transports. Therefore, the Colonial Governor is not to blame. Well, the Colonial Minister has not the power to declare war — that is a Cabinet question; and, therefore, before 2000 men can be sent, a great expense incurred, and a disastrous expedition determined upon, there must be some consultation among Her Majesty's Ministers. It appears to me that the Cabinet are responsible for this war ; that the War Office is responsible for the ordering of the troops, and for the insufficient commissariat. The Admiralty, in a slight degree, is also to blame for the want of sufficient transports. The Admiralty and Transport Office in those cases act only on requisition from the War Office, but, if no requisition was made, the responsibility for not sending transports, store-ships, and supplies rests especially with the War Department. But that Department cannot act without the Treasury where a APPENDIX H 395 large sum of money is required, and, therefore, those two Depart- ments seem to me particularly responsible. I therefore ask this question, "Who is to blame?" and I trust her Majesty's Govern- ment will find an answer. Who is to blame ? The men who have betrayed Denmark and truckled to Germany. Who is to blame? The men who have aHenated France and irritated Russia. Who is to blame? The men who have convulsed China and devastated Japan ; the same men who ten years ago sent a British army to perish of cold, of hunger, and of want of shelter in a Crimean winter, and have now sent British troops to perish of fever, of thirst, and of want of shelter on the burning plains and fetid swamps of Western Africa. These men cling to that front Bench with wonderful tenacity, and they send other men to die with wonderful courage. I appeal to this House to do justice to its soldiers ; I pray of them to purge themselves from complicity in this crime. I entreat you to lay the blood of our brethren — which cries to us from the ground — where it is deserved — at the door of Her Majesty's Ministers. I move, sir, that Her Majesty's Government, in landing forces on the Gold Coast for the purpose of waging war against the King of Ashanti without making any sufficient provision for preserving the health of the troops to be employed there, have incurred a grave responsi- bility, and that this House laments the want of foresight which has caused so large a loss of life. Amendment proposed — To leave out from the word " That " to the end of the Question, in order to add the words " Her Majesty's Government, in landing forces on the Gold Coast for the purpose of waging war against the King of Ashanti, without making any sufficient provision for pre- serving the health of the troops to be employed there, have incurred a great responsibility ; and that this House laments the want of fore- sight which has caused so large a loss of life." — {Sir John Hay). — instead thereof. Question proposed, " That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the|Question." Question put. . The House divided: — Ayes, 233; Noes, 226; Majority, 7. Main question put, and agreed to. APPENDIX I Precis of the Pope's Bull to Sir Thomas Hay By a. M'Neil-Caird The first five lines and a half consist of an attestation by Ludovic Sermoneta, Bishop of Pisa (?), of the authenticity of the Bull. The Bull itself commences on the sixth line, with the words — " Pius, Episcopus, Servus Servorum Dei, dilecto filio Thomas Hay." Pius, Bishop, Servant of the servants of God, to my beloved son Thomas Hay. It sets forth the cares and anxieties of his feelings for the setting up and government of churches and monasteries in all the world, and more particularly the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Valley of Light (Vallis Lucis), otherwise Glenluce, — of the Cistercian order, in the diocese of Candida Casa (Whithorn). It proceeds that the death of James Gordon, the former Abbot, has caused a vacancy, and that " our most dear Children in Christ, the illustrious Francis King and Mary Queen of Scots, have brought us " to prefer Thomas Hay to the vacant abbacy, and it commands the Bishops of Pisa and Dumblane, and the Abbot of the Monastery of Sweet Heart, in the diocese of Glasgow, to induct him. The Bull terminates on the 50th line at the word ' Postquarum.^ The rest is an Instrument taken by the Bishop of Pisa on behalf of Thomas Hay, upon the grant. And the whole is attested by John de Amta, a notary public, whose initials I. A. appear in his notarial sign at the bottom of the left hand. On the 5th line the Bishop of Pisa (Cardinal Sermoneta) APPENDIX I 397 speaks of himself as acting " pro parte venerabilis et discreti viri domini (dmi) Thome Hay " (on behalf of a venerable and discreet man, Sir Thomas Hay), and on the 51st line he again speaks of himself as *' pro parte dicti dmi Thome Hay abbatis principalis." The Pope was Pius the IV., and the dates of the Bull and Instrument are given as in the first year of his Pontificate, May 1560. At Amboise 23 March 1559. Francis and Mary, by the grace of God King and Queen of the French and Scots, to the most reverend father in Christ and Lord Nicholas Cardinal of Sermoneta, most worthy Promoter of the affairs of our Kingdom of Scotland, Greeting. Most Reverend Father, we write urgently to our Most Holy Lord the Pope in favour of our familiar Thomas Hay, Elder. And we ask not only to have him preferred as Abbot to the Monastery of Glenluce, otherways the Valley of Light, of the Cistercian order, in the diocese of Candida Casa, now vacant by the death of the venerable Father James, its last Abbot, but also that an annual pension of One hundred pounds Scots money be freely granted out of the revenues of that monastery to Patrick Vans, Clerk. We earnestly recommend this cause, Reverend Father, to thy zeal which we have ever experienced readily in our affairs, that it may be completed as speedily as possible, wherein a most grateful deed will be done to us. For the rest of this matter His Holiness, for whom we pray all good and happiness, will be informed by James Thornton, our procurator herein. Given at Amboise 23 March 1559. Francis Marie. D. Laubespine. To the Reverend Lord and Father in Christ Nicholas, Cardinal of Sermoneta, Promoter of the affairs of our Kingdom of Scotland. (The original, in Latin, is among the Balcarras papers in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. It is printed in Labanoff"'s collection, vol. i. p. 69). Franciscus et Maria Dei gratia Francorum et Scotorum Rex et Regina, Reverendissimo in Christo patri et Domino Nicolao a 398 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Sermoneta Cardinal!, rerum regni nostri Scotie promotori dig nissimo salutem Reverendissime pater, in gratiam familiaris nostri Thome Hay presbiteri scribimus ad Sanctissimum Dominum nostrum Papam accurate; postulamusque non modo ut hunc monasterio de Glenluce, alias Vallis Lucis, Cisterciensis ordinis, Candide-case diocesis, per obitum venerabilis quondam patris Jacobi illius ultimi abbatis nunc vacanti, preficiat abbatem; verum etiam ut ex ejusdem monasterii fructibus centum librarum usualis monete regni nostri Scotie annuam pensionem Patricio Vans clerico liberaliter conferat, Nos banc causam, R. P. tui fidei, quam nostris rebus semper presto fecisse sensimus, diligenter commendamus, petimusque ut ejus opera atque auctoritate hoc negotium, quam fieri potest celerrime, conficiatur, quo quidem rem nobis fecerit gratissimam. Cetera que hue spectant ex Jacobo Thornton, nostro istic procuratore intelliget R.T.P. cui fausta omnia feliciaque precamur. Datum Ambasie XXIII mensis martij 1559. Franciscus Maria. De Laubespine. Suscription : Reverendo in Christo patri domino Nicolao a Sermoneta cardinali, rerum regni nostri Scotie promotori. APPENDIX J Letter showing Necessity for Corporal Punishment IN War H.M.S. Indus, Devonport, January 15, 1857. Sir — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential memo, of yesterday's date, containing the remarks of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the abstract and schedule of the corporal and minor punishments on board H.M.S. Hannibal for the quarter ending 30th September last, together with a notation of the remarks of Admiral Lord Lyons in regard to the return. 2. In regard to his lordship's remark I have reason to believe that it does not apply to the discipline maintained by the officers, but to the amount of punishment necessary on board that ship in consequence of the constitution of the ship's company, which did not possess the usual elements for becoming an efficient ship's company without considerable punishment. 3. I may in support of this merely allude to the fact that at no time were we able to fill the whole of the petty officers' or leading seamen's ratings, and that for a very long period the only professional ship's corporal was rated master-at-arms, and that the rest of the police of the ship generally consisted of marines selected for that duty. 4. With reference to the minor punishments mentioned in this return, the duty on which the Hannibal was engaged at Kayatch during the embarkation of the army and stores had occasioned a constant absence from the ship of a very large proportion of the ship's company, and this was succeeded by the necessity of again bringing them into the habits and customs of seamen, which were alien to the natures of many of them. 5. With regard to the large amount of corporal punishment during that quarter it was principally occasioned by the discovery of a gang of thieves, whose crimes had for long annoyed the ship, 400 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS and whose skill had defied detection. Under the approval of Rear-Admiral Sir Houston Stewart I applied for a court-martial on these thieves, but it was decided by the Commander-in-chief, Lord Lyons, that they should be corporally punished in the usual manner without submitting their case to a court-martial, and two of them were thereafter discharged, by his order, with disgrace, from Her Majesty's service. 6. In support of my statement as to the character of the HannibaVs ship's company I have only to beg that my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty will do me the justice to refer to the returns of punishment in that ship prior to the time at which I obtained command of her. They will there see that a very large amount of punishment was necessary, though the duties upon which she was then employed hardly afforded the same amount of temptation. 7. I do most sincerely join with their lordships in hoping that I shall be able to establish and maintain proper discipline in the Indus without recurrence to such frequent punishment. The apparent character of the greater proportion of her petty officers and seamen at present justifies this anticipation. But I ought not to omit respectfully to remind their lordships that I have had to call attention in my letter dated 27 th December to the very large proportion of marines who have been drafted into this ship with notations of long-continued imprisonment, and I am sorry to say that several of them have already committed serious ofifences against discipline, for which one is in Exeter jail for theft, two have been there for other offences, and Drummer Edward Harwood has been corporally punished as suggested in their lordships' reply. 8. I may be allowed to remark that no corporal punishment was inflicted by me on board the Hannibal^ or is likely to be inflicted on board the Indus^ without the approval of a flag officer, and I believe the known character of Sir Houston Stewart for justice and humanity will assure their lordships that it will never be inflicted without sufficient, cause. — I have the honour to be, etc., J. C. D. Hay, Captain. Admiral Sir William Parker, Bart, G.C.B., Commander-in-chief, Devonport. INDEX Abdul Medjid, Sultan, reception by, 207 Abel, Sir Frederick, 298 Abyssinian War, 264 Academy Exhibition of 1869, 273 Acre, attacked, 94 ; fall of, 97 ; visit to, 104 Acre Dinner founded, 109 Addington, Lord. See Hubbard, Mr. Addington Manor, 228 Admiralty, civilian as First Lord of the, 312 Adye, Col., 201 Affondatore^ the, built for Italian Government, 249 Agnew, John, 186 Agnew, Sir Andrew, 13, 108 Ainslie, Mr. , of Delgaty Castle, 292 Albany, obnoxious passenger ejected from train near, 220 AlertOy the, 40 ; escapes with 600 slaves, 41 Alexander, Sir James, 26, 29 Allen, Mr., pilot on board the Spiteful, 113 Amakota Kaffirs, 28 American Civil War, 226 American heiress, story of an, 266 American missionaries in China, 147, 149 Amoy, 141 ; picnic at, 143 ; marines landed for protection of consulate, 145, 146 Andre, Major, scene of his execution, 221 Aoupooang, Roman Catholic mission at, 148 Army, the, corporal punishment abolished, 306 ; abolition of the purchase system, 307 ; duelling forbidden, 326 Arnold, Dr., of Rugby, 7, 12 Arthur, Capt. Frederick, 116 Arthur, Sir George, ii6 Ascension, 26, 185 ; turtles, 27 ; bad state of provisions, 27 ; duel at, 327 Ashanti War (1864), 242 ; vote of censure moved in House of Commons, 243, 382 Atlantic cable, first, 217 Auckland, Lord, 13 Baalbec, visit to, 100 Bailey, Lieut. JohnC, 134 ; captures a crocodile, 136 Balaclava, 192 Balfour, Right Hon. A. J., 304 Ball, Dr., American missionary in China, 165 Ballard, Lieut. James, 134 Bank Act suspended, 255 Barnard, Sir Henry, 204 Barnston, Roger, 209 Barron, Mr., Consul-General at San Bias, visit to, 69 Bartlett, Professor, 220 " Bastion du Mat," assault on the, 203 Bate, Capt., Governor of Ascension, 26 Bate, Capt. W., 26, 39, 121 Beach, Sir Michael Hicks, 3 1 1 Beaconsfield, Lord, 270, 280, 296, 300 ; death of, 306 BenboWf the, 75, 105 ; at blockade of Naples, 78; at Beyrout, 81 ; attack on Acre, 95-7 ; Custom- house officers outwitted, 214 2 C 402 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Beauchamp, Earl, 259 Beresford, Lord Charles, 313, 328 Berkeley, Admiral, and the training of boys for the navy, 188 ; man- ning the fleet in 1854, 189 Bermuda, Americans anxious about, 223 Bethune, Capt. Drinkwater, 127 Beyrout, attack on, 84 ; visit to, 100 Black, Adam, M.P. for Edinburgh, anecdote of, 271 Black, William, 8, 12, 188 Blackford, Sergt., 32, 34 ; killed at the attack on Djebail, 87 Blair, Gen. Hunter, 3 Blanc, Mont, ascent of, 300 Blomfield, Sir Arthur, 249 Bombay, 115 Bonham, Lieut., 122 Bonham, Sir George, 122, 171 Bonny, river, slave trade on the, 41 Booth, Capt. James, of the Trinculo, 29 Borlase, John, 54, 58 Bos well. Sir Alexander, killed in a duel, 325 Bouverie, Mr., and retirement from the navy, 278 Bowden, James, 40 Bower, James Paterson, 54 ; appointed to command ot the Wizard y 57 ; accident to, 58 Bower, Sir Graham, 58 Bowring, Sir John, 163, 164 Boxer, Admiral, 192 Boyd, William Sprott, of Merton Hall, 115 ; death of, 116 Brabazon, Lieut., R.E., 33 Brace, Admiral Sir Edward, 185 Brand, Henry, Speaker of the House of Commons, 138, 237 Brassey, Lord, 243, 328 Bridges, Lieut., 14S, 151. 165, 174; Commander, 175, 185 ; death of, 175 Bradlaugh, Mr., and the oath, 306 Broke, Sir Philip, 319 Brooke, Rajah, 59, 121, 127 Brooks, Sir William Cunliffe, 8, 225 Brougham, Lord, 9, 230 Bruat, Admiral, 195, 197 Bruce, Capt. Henry W., 49, 51, 123, 126; threatens to sink the Chiliau, 62 ; in command of the Agincourt^ 124 Bruce, Right Hon. H. A., 298 Buchanan, Sir Andrew, 301 Buckle, Captain, of the Valorous, 197 Buenos Ayres, adventures in, 54-56 Bull-fight at Lima, 60 '♦Bulls," Irish, 269 Butler, Mr. Spencer, 229 Buzzard, the, 23, 39 Caldwell, Mr., of the Hong-Kong Police, 135, 171, 172, 180 Cameron, Sir Charles, and salt for the navy, 76 Campbell, Capt. Fred., 152 Campbell, Capt. J. N., 139 Campbell, Colin (Lord Clyde), 129- 31 ; at Balaclava, 192 ; and the command in the Crimea, 202, 204 Campbell, Dr., 140, 146, 151 Campbell, Gen. Sir John, 194; killed, 195 Campbell, Lieut. Guy, 137 Campbell, Lieut. P., 43 Campbell, Rear- Admiral Patrick, 13, 19, 20 Canning, Capt., 22 Canrobert, Marshal, 200 Canton, visit to, 114; city inac- cessible to foreigners, 164 ; walk round the walls of, 165 Canton, P. & O. steamer, assists Columbine in fight with pirates, 174 Cape Coast Castle, 43 ; neglect of the troops at, 242, 382 et seq. Captain, the, building of, 261 ; loss of, 282 Cardwell, Mr., and the abolition of the purchase system in the army, 307 Carew, Capt., 106 Catalani, Madame, 80 Challenger, the, reference to, 67 Chambers, Lieut., 185 Chang-chow-foo, visit to, 149-51 Chang river, expedition up the, 147 Charlewood, Lieut., 88, 103, 117 "Cheaty-Cochs," 125 Cheddar cheese competition, 305 Cheetah on board the Clio, 117 Chelmsford, Lord, 286 Cherbourg, 223 INDEX 403 Childers, Right Hon. Hugh C. E., his scheme of retirement for naval officers, 275, 279, 280 Chilian and Peruvian War, 61 Chloroform, 138; its value tested on board the Columbine^ 140 Cholera, first experience of, 5, 6 ; at Bombay, 116 Chuiapoo, Vice-Admiral of pirate fleet, attacks and ransoms Pinghoi, 171, 172 Chunee, elephant, 3 Churchill, Lord Randolph, 304 Chusan, 129 Claimant Trial, reference to, 285 Cleopatra's Needle, 139 Clifford, Commander, 129, 134 Clifton, Mr., 289, 290 Close, Lieut., 185 Cobden, Mr., and the wants ot the navy, 322 Cochrane, Admiral Sir Thomas, 1 1 8, 123, 128, 134, 186, 190; tests cyclone theory in the China Sea, 132 ; created Admiral of the Fleet, 256 ; funeral of, 291 Cochrane, Lord, his capture of the Gamo, 19 Cochrane, Mr. Baillie, 280 Cochrane, Robert, 54, 58 Cockburn, Lord Chief- Justice, and Lord Westbury, 286 Cockburn, Sir George, 312 Codrington, Admiral Sir Edward, 107 Codrington, General Sir William, 201, 209, 210; illness of, 202; appointed Commander-in-chief in the Crimea, 204 Coeur-de-Lion's Mount, visit to, 98 Coghlan, Lieut. Jeremiah, 20 Coles, Capt. Cowper, inventor of the turret, 260, 261 Collier, Admiral Sir Francis, 162, 171, 178 ; death of, 184 Collier, Mr., on the Naval Prize Money Bill, 377 Collier, Sir George, and the highway- man, 289 Colomb, Admiral, 328 Colonsay, Lord, 286 Columbine, the, 137, 320; sickness among the crew, 138, 142 ; chloro- form first used in the navy on board, 140 ; case or smallpox, 141 ; ship thoroughly cleansed, 142 ; precautions in case of grounding, 143 ; on a sandbank, 143 ; at the raising of the Scout in the Min river, 155-8; at the Macao regatta, 166 ; fight with pirates, 173 ; sent in pursuit of pirates, 178 et seq. ; saved from burning by the Fhlegethon, 182 Colville, Sir William, 201 Concha, Don Jose, 226 Conran, Col., 242, 388, 389 Conway, the, at Otaheite, 65 Cook, Capt. James, tablet erected at Karakakoa in memory of, 64 Coominski, Col., killed in a duel, 206, 301 Corfu, 302 Cork, Lord, and the Cheddar cheese competition, 305 Corry, Mr. Henry, 262, 280, 289 ; and retirement from the navy, 277 ; death of, 293 Crawford, Dr., at Sebastopol, 195 Cree, Dr., 119 Crimean War, 186 el seq. ; difficulty in manning the British fleet, 189 Crocodile, capture of a, 136 Cronstadt, 222, 230 Cross, Lord, 298 Crowdy, Mr., 160, 174 Gumming, Lieut. Arthur, his capture of a slaver, 83 ; anecdote of, 84 Cunard, William, 216 Cupola, Capt. Cole's, tested by the Bellerophon, 256, 257 Cyclone theory. Sir W. Reid's, 131, 132, 191, 218 Dacres, Sir Sydney, 256, 259 D'Aguilar, General, 120 Dalrymple family, genealogy of, 331 D'Amaral, Governor, 166 ; murder of, 169 Daniel, Capt., 34 Daniell, Mr., of Stoodleigh, 250 Dawes, Lieut., 146 Day, Capt. W. F., 99, 10 1, 104 Deas, Sir David, 76 Dease, O'Reilly, anecdote of, 291 Deer-hunting, 35 Delafield, Col. , his mission to Europe, 222 404 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Delgaty Castle, visit to, 292 Denison, Archdeacon, and the Cheddar cheese competition, 306 Denison, Mr. (Viscount Ossington), Speaker of the House of Commons, 271, 281 ; instance of his humour, 272 Denman, Mr. George, elected M.P. for Tiverton, 250 Dent, Edward, 119, 120 Dent, John, 139, 163, 165, 246-8 Dent, Mr. Wilkinson, 120 Derby, Lord, 242, 258, 262, 264 Derby, at the, 106 Derriman, Capt., 201 Devonport Dockyard, great fire in, 72 Dickson, Dr., his cure for cold, 301 Discipline, severity of, on board the Thalia f 45 Djebail, attack on, 86 ; fort evacuated, 87 Dodd, Ashley, 224 Dodd, Judge, 227 Donati's comet, 220 Donnet, Dr., 118 D'Osten, Madame Prokesch, 105 Douglas, Sir Howard, 319 Drummond, Lieut. Edgar, and the sea-serpent, 130 Ducane, Charles, 259 Dudley, Lord, 224 Duels, 56, 325-7 ; forbidden in the army and navy, 326 Dundas, Admiral Deans, 137, 138 Dundas, Capt. Hon. Richard, 49 Dundonald, Earl of, 229 Dunragit, 229, 331-5 Dunne, Col., on the Naval Prize Money Bill, 381 D'Urban, Lieut. John, 4 D'Urban, Sir Benjamin, 29 Dyer, Capt. H. S., 231 Earle, Major, 194 Earthquake, in the West Indies, 67 ; at Malta, 2 1 1 Eden, Admiral Sir Charles, 257, 279, 280 Edinburgh as " Modem Athens," 9 Egypt, war in, the question of the vote of thanks to the naval and military forces, 309-11 Ellice, General, 138 Elliot, Admiral Sir G., 235, 328 Elphinstone, Lord, 193, 203 Elphinstone, Sir James, M.P., 235 ; on the Naval Prize Money Bill, 379 Elphinstone, Jack, death of, 293 Exeter, Lord, 255 Explosive Substances Committee, 298 Eyre, Sir William, 204 Fairbairn, Mr. W., 231 Fanshawe, Admiral, 257 Farquhar, Sir Arthur, 99, loi Farragut, Admiral, his visit to Chatham Dockyard, 266 Fayrer, Capt., 3 Festing, Francis, 186 Fitzjames, Commander James, 116, 117 Flag-lieutenant, duties of a, 125 Flintham, Quartermaster Thomas, coolness of, 177 Fokien, banquet given by Governor- General of, 161 Forbes, Archibald, 206 Fordyce, Lieut. -Gen. Charles, 216 Forrester, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 4, 5, 217 Fort Alexander, night attacks on, 1 96 Fort Elizabeth, force landed for pro- tection of, 32 Fortifications Bill, speech on, 341 Fort Putnam, 221 Fox, Lieut., U.S.N., 171, 258, 297 Francis IL stops export of sulphur from Sicily, 78 Fryston, visit to, 244 Funchal, 21 Furyy the, her encounters with Chinese pirates, 177 et seq. Galloway, Lord, ascends Mont Blanc, 300 Garlics, Lord, 2 Gedney, Capt., 170 Geisinger, Commodore, 170 Gibbard, Leonard, killed at Malludu, 128 GifFard, Lieut. George, wounded at Djebail, 87 ; commander of the Vixetiy 113, 119; captain, 128; at Shanghai, 130 Gladiator^ the, unfit for transport service, 392 Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E., 237, 238, 257; anecdote of, 270; and INDEX 405 the dissolution of Parliament in 1874, 295 ; the policy of scuttle, 309 ; on the Kertch prize money, 348 Glenogil, visit to, 291 Goddard, Lieut. C. R. , 1 70 ; killed, 1 7 5 Goldsmith, Capt., 230 Gordon, Mrs. Bellamy, death of, 308 Gordon, Mr. Webster, 21 Goschen, Right Hon. G. J., 302 Gough, Field- Marshal Lord, anecdote of, 210 Goulbum, Dr., of Rugby, 186 Graham, Sir James, 186 Grant, Sir Francis, P.R.A., 281 Graviere, Admiral Jurien de la, 162, 1 69 ; quoted, 1 84 «. ; at Sebastopol, 195 Greenwich Hospital, Royal Com- mission to inquire into condition of, 229 Grenfell, Lieut. Sydney, 87 Grey, Admiral Sir Frederick, 187, 257, 279, 280 Grey, Capt. Charles, 137, 139 Grey, Sir George, 270 Griffiths, Mr. Frederick, 248 Grouse-shooting at Glen Tana, 225 ; at Glenogil, 291 Gun-drill in the navy, 319 Hainan, visit to Governor- General of, 179 Halifax, 217 Hall, Capt. Wm. King, 98, 228 Hamilton, Capt., of Craighlaw, 3, 22 Hamilton, Lord George, 313 Hamilton, Sir Edward, 20 Hancock, Commander, 185 Hannibal, the, at Sebastopol, 193, 202 ; officers and crew, 193 Hardwicke, Lord, 237 Hardy, Rt. Hon. Gathorne, 284 ; on the Naval Prize Money Bill, 376 Harrow, 229 Hartington, Lord, narrow escape of, 257 ; and the vote of thanks for the operations in Egypt, 309, 311 Harvey, Capt., and the French officers, 77 Harvey, Rev. Mr., 233 Hastings, George, 189 Hastings, Sir Thomas, 3 1 9 Hathorn, Capt. George, 3, 103, 108 Hathorn, George, 2, 7, 72 Hathorn, Lieut, jack, 3, 49, 54, 58, 64; his escapades, 52; death of, 53, 72 Hatzfeldt, Count, 311 Havana, visit to fortifications, 226 Hay, Admiral Sir John C. Daliymple, his birth and parentage, i ; tutors, 4; first experience of cholera, 5, 6; at Rugby, 6; on board the Thalia, 16; at the Cape, 28; joins the Trinculo, 29 ; at the defence of Port Elizabeth, 32 ; Admiralty dis- approve of appointment to the Trinculo, 36 ; appointment con- firmed, 37 ; engaged in suppressing African slave trade, 40 ; prize money, 47, 48 ; appointed to the Minden, 48 ; transferred to the Imogene, 5 1 ; at Buenos Ay res, 54 ; midshipman, 59 ; first visit to House of Commons, 73 ; joins the Benbow, 75 ; engaged in the Syrian War, 81^/ seq. ; surprised by Egyp- tian cavalry, 89 ; at the attack on Acre, 95 ; passes examination in seamanship, 105 ; at the Derby, 106 ; first class in navigation and gunnery, 107 ; presented to the Queen, 108; on board the Spiteful, 1 10 ; China fever, 115; transferred to the Clio and afterwards to the Corjiwallis, 116; appointed to the Vixen, 119; junior lieutenant in the A^incourl, 123; flag-lieutenant, 124 ; commander of the Wolverine, 129 ; marriage, 137 ; appointed to the Columbine, 137 ; at Amoy, 141 ; saves a merchant brig from pirates, 153 ; effijrts to raise the Scout successful, 156, 157; atWhampoa, 164; at the Macao regatta, 168; attacks and disperses pirate fleet under Chuiapoo, 173-8 ; sent with three ships in pursuit of pirates, 179 ; joined by Wong, a mandarin, with eight war junks, 180; destroys Shap'ngtzai's fleet, 182; presented with service of plate, 184; captain, 184,185; returns to England, 185; at the R. N. College, 186 ; ap- pointed Captain of the Victory, 186; flag-captain on board the Hannibal, 187, 191 ; at Sebastopol, 2 C 2 4o6 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS 193 ; presented to the Sultan, 207 ; superintends embarkation of the army, 209 ; returns to England, 211 ; in Plymouth Hospital, 212 ; letter about providing for officers' mess, 213, 336; joins the Indus at Halifax, 216 ; visit to United States, 218; arrives at Liverpool, 228 ; on the Greenwich Hospital Commission, 229 ; Chairman of Iron Plate Committee, 231, 238; elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 231 ; Chairman of Navy Inquiry Committee, 233 ; enters Parlia- ment, 234 ; Public Works Loan Commissioner, 239 ; maiden speech, 240 ; Chairman of Mill- wall Shipbuilding Company, 243 ; offices and positions held by, in 1865, 246 ; unsuccessfully contests Tiverton, 250; Rear- Admiral, 253, 256; M.P. for Stamford, 255; Fourth Lord of the Admiralty, 258 ; visits to the Pope, 271, 302 ; question of his retirement, 274-80; receives degree of D.C.L. at Oxford, 281 ; refuses post of First Naval Lord, 296 ; Chairman of Explosive Substances Committee, 298 ; action brought against, 299 ; tour on the Continent, 300 ; acci- dent to, 303 ; M.P. for Wigton Burghs, 303 ; review of naval affairs past and present, 315 ^^ seq. ; pedigree, 331 ; speech in the House on Fortifications Bill, 341 ; and on the Kertch prize money question, 343 ; moves Address on Promotion and Retirement in the Navy, 352 ; speech on Naval Prize Money Bill, 372 ; moves resolution on the Ashanti War, 382 Hay, Capt. T. Dalrymple, 215, 241 Hay, Col. G. James Dalrymple, 294 Hay, Lord John, 133, 257 Hay, Major James Dalrymple, 294 Hay, Sir James Dalrymple, i, 108 ; his death, 231 Hay, Sir Thomas, Pope's Bull to, 396 Hazell, Col., 138 Heath, Commodore Sir Leopold, 265 Hector, the, menaced by pirates, 153 Henderson, Capt., of the Gorgon^ 75, 1S6 Henderson, Col. W., 231 Henley, Mr., 237 ; "I spy strangers," 272 ; and the Kertch prize money, 347 Herbert, Lieut., complimented by Sir W. Parker, 212 ; promoted, 227 Hillyar, Lieut. H., 134 Ho, Governor-General of Hainan, 179 Holland, Col., 247, 248 Hong-Kong, 112; fever at, 114 Honolulu, ships towed into the harbour by natives at, 63 Hood, Lord, 328 Hope, Admiral Sir James, loi, 282 Hope, Colonel Adrian, 209 ; his death, 210 Hornby, Sir Geoffirey, 328 Hoste, Sir Wm., 129 Hotham, Lord, 254 Houghton, Lord, 244 House of Commons, and the Prince Consort's allowance, 73 ; number of naval officers in, 74, 235 ; abolishes corporal punishment in the army, 306 ; the Kertch prize money debate, 343 Hubbard, John, 228, 255, 280, 296, 298 Hughes, Judge, 9 Hume, Joseph, 73 Hunt, Rt. Hon. G. Ward, 296 Hutt, Sir William, M.P., 229 Hutton, Capt., Governor of Ascen- sion, 185 Ignatieff, General, 302 Imogene, the, 5 1 ; her seven midship- men who rose to be flag-officers, 54; visit of Queen Pomare to, 66 ; effects of earthquake, 67, 68 Indtis, the, last sailing line-of-battle ship commissioned in England, 212 Ingham, Mr., M.P., 229 Inglefield, Admiral, death of, 144 Irish Church, Disestablishment of, 269 Iron Plate Committee, 231, 238, 243 Isabella Secunda, Spanish slaver, cap- tured, 41 Jackson, Mr. Belgrave, 160 Jerusalem, visit to, 104 Jervois, Major Drummond, 231 INDEX 407 Johnson, Commander, 134 Johnstone, Alex. Campbell, 112 Johnstone, Mr. Hope, claimant of the Annandale peerage, 9, 10 Johnstone, Commander F. E., 144-6, 151, 160 Johnstone, Dr. Wingate, 58 Jones, Arthur, 193 Jones, Mr. Owen, 249 Jones, Oliver, commander of the Hannibal, 193 Kane, Lieut. Colin, 122 Karakakoa Bay, tablet erected in memory of Capt. Cook at, 64 Kayat, Assaad y, 99 Kazatch, 193, 209 Kemble, Adelaide, makes her debut at the San Carlo, Naples, 79, 80 Kemble, Charles, 79 Keppel, Capt. Harry, 121, 138; at the Macao regatta, 165 ; receives degree of D.C.L. at Oxford, 281 Kertch, expeditions to, 193, 200 ; steam factory removed from, 236 Kertch prize money, 194, 236-8 ; debate in the House of Commons, 343 et seq. Key, Capt. Cooper, 186, 235 Kelung, primitive coal mine at, 129 Kenmure Castle, 308 Kinburn, attack on, 190, 204 Kingston, visit to, 219 Kushan, visit to the monastery at, 160 Lacaita, Sir James, 249 Laird, Mr., of Birkenhead, 260, 321 La Marmora, General, 210 Lampson, Sir Curtis, 224 Lardner, Prof. Dionysius, 320 Lawson, Sergt. -Major, 6 Layton, Mr., British Consul at Amoy, 141, 145 Leatham, Mr. W., M.P., 248 Lefevre, Mr. G. Shaw, 257 Leigh, Mr. Boughton, of Brownsover, 12 Lena, Mr., 163 Lennox, Lord Henry, 259, 262 ; and retirement from the navy, 278 Leon, city of, 68 Leslie, William, of Warthill, 120 Lever, Charles, 284, 325 ; his novels, 285 Liddon, Canon, 281 Lieutenants, naval, description of dress in 1844, 124 Lima, 59; stormed by the Chilians, 62 Lime-juice, supplied gratuitously for the sick of the navy, 44 Lincoln, Abraham, 226 Lintz, M., 105 Lissa, victory of, 267 Lloyd, Horace, 239 Longford, Lord, 138, 264 Loochoo, visit to islands of, 1 3 1 Loring, Capt., 144 Louis, Rear- Admiral Sir John, enter- tains officers of French squadron, 77 Lowe, Robert, 281 Luard, Admiral Sir William, 176 Lucas, Edward, 7 Lynx, the, engaged in suppressing slave trade, 42 Lyon, Lieut. H. T., 151, 161 Lyons, J. E., death of, 198 Lyons, Admiral Sir Edmund, 105, 192, 194, 197, 199; summoned to Conference at Paris, 208 ; resumes command in Mediterranean, 210 Lyons, Lord, 301 Lyster, Capt., 126, 128 Macao, regatta at, 1 65 ei seq. M'Cracken, Dr., 6 M'Donel, Sheriff, and the Acre Dinner, 109 M'Gill, James, carpenter at Dunragit, 283 ; anecdote of, 284 M'Gill, Rev. John, death of, 282 M'Gregor, Sir Evan, 260 M'Kenzie, Rev. Dr., anecdote of, 304 M'Kerlie, Capt., 3 Maclean, Governor, Cape Coast Castle, 43 M 'Master, Mr. W., of East Challoch, 305 M'Namara, Lieut., 23 ; death of, 39 M'Neil, Lieut., anecdote of, 30 M'Quhae, Capt, and the sea-serpent, 129, 130; his Christmas dinner, 130 Magdala, fall of, 265 Mahan, Capt., U.S.N., 328 Mahmoud Pasha, officers entertained by, 207 4o8 LINES FROM MY LOG-BOOKS Maitland, Admiral Sir Frederick, 14 Maitland, Commander Wm., 3, 91, 103, 109, no; death of, 128 Maitland, Patrick, of Balgreggan, 325 Majendie, Col., 298 MalakhofF, captured by the French, 203 Malcolm, Admiral Sir Pulteney, 53 ; and Madame Catalani, 80 Malludu, capture of, 127 Malmesbury, Lord, his interview with Napoleon III., 322 Malta, earthquake at, 211 Manning the navy in 1834, 18, 19 ; in 1854, 189 Marchant, Sir Gaspard le, 216 Marsh, George, 75 Marshall, Mr., visit to, at the Cape, 21 Martin, Admiral Sir William, 216, 280 Mason, Commander T. H., 154, 155 Maximilian, Archduke, 93, 267 Maxwell, Sir Murray, 52 May, Mr. James, gunner of the Captain i i%2. Megara, the, unfit for transport service, 287, 288 Melville, Lord, 289 Mends, Sir William, 236, 263, 264 Mercantile Marine, foreign seamen in the, 324 Merchant Shipping Bill, 300 Meredith, Commander, and the Spanish slaver, 38 Mess, providing for officers', 213, 336 Methuen, Lord, 188 Miller, Lieut. David, instance of his daring, 132 Milne, Sir Alexander, 259 Milward, Lieut. Clement, 23 Moore, Admiral Sir Graham, 72 Moore, John, 72, 186 Moorsom, Lieut., 122 Morris, Capt. W., 163 Nahr el Kelb, the, 85 ; a false alarm, 86 Nantia Wushan hill, visit to the pagoda on, 151 Napier, Admiral Sir Charles, 77, 102, 186, 312, 317 ; defeats Egyptian army, 82 ; death of, 230 Napier, General Sir Charles, visit to, 187 Napier, General Sir Robert, 265 Napier, Lady, 11, 215; death of, 308 Napier, Lady, 218 Napier, Lieut. Basil, death of, 296 Napier, Lord, 1 1 ; his precautions in case of ship grounding, 138, 144 Naples, blockade of, 78 Napoleon III. and the introduction of armour plate, 1 90 ; the Kertch expedition, 193, 200 ; on the British Navy, 322 Naval Architects, Institute of, 231 Naval Prize Money Bill, 239 ; debate on the second reading, 372 Navy, the, examinations, 10 ; pros- pect of promotion in 1834, 14; manning, 18, 19, 188, 318, 323 ; lime-juice supplied gratuitously, 44 ; disgraceful scenes at paying off, 49 ; training of boys for, 188 ; want of men in 1854, 189 ; introduction of armour-plate, 190, 231 ; in- adequacy of the navy, 235 ; pro- motion and retirement inquiry, 240, 352 ; building of first armour- clads, 262 ; parsimonious adminis- tration, 287 ; purchase of four ironclads in 1878, 297 ; corporal punishment, 307, 399 ; sixty years of change, 3 1 5