ON THE DISCIPLINE* OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE. "White is the glassy deck without a stain, Where on the watch the staid Lieutenant walks : From Law, however stern, which tends their strength to nerve." BYRON. We have just risen from the perusal of a work on this subject written by Capt. Christopher Biden, an old and meritorious officer of the East India Company's service; and who, from having progressively advanced to his present rank and held the command of two fine ships, may be presumed to understand well what he writes upon. The book is rather discursive in its arrangement, but it presents an aggregate of facts which fully merit the attention of our Government and the public at large. To the gallantry and general merits of our Indiamen, of which he adduces many instances, we willingly add our warm testimony; for certainly, no such efficient traders ever floated upon the waters and their discomfiture of Admirals Suffrein, Sercey, and Linois, their ready co-operation in various expeditions, and their resolute encounters with formidable frigates, have stamped them with unfading credit. Nor can we forget the glow of gratification with which we observed the astonishment of some Spanish prisoners on board a frigate we then served in, at being told that a fleet which we met off Lintin, consisted of British merchantmen only; for they might easily have been palmed off as line-of-battle-ships. Capt. Biden after reciting several spirited actions, remarks: "The high order and warlike appearance of the China ships frequently drew forth the highest encomiums from admirals and captains in the navy, and the distinguished approbation of Admirals Cornwallis, Rainier, Sir S. Hood, Lord Exmouth, Ferrier; Captains Pym, Austen, Sir Henry Heathcote, &c. I well remember the favourable notice bestowed on the China fleet by the late Capt. Bissell, who convoyed us an eastern passage to China, in the most able manner. His subsequent melancholy fate off the Isle of France, with the gallant Sir T. Troubridge, deprived the navy of a brave and most able officer. "The Royal George, in which ship I served for seven successive voyages, was frequently taken for a frigate; and when we fell in with Sir E. Pellew's squadron, the sloop of war sent by the Admiral to speak us, delivered the following message:-Tell the Captain if he had not his main-top-mast staysail in the brails, I should have taken his ship for a frigate;' this trifling incident was not lost upon me, and is worthy the notice of every young officer, who should keep his ship in that ship-shape order, and ever do his duty as if all eyes were upon him, particularly when falling in with a ship at sea: sailors are severe critics." Nor has the gallantry of the mercantile seamen been confined to the floating castles of India; for innumerable encounters with privateers, * Naval Discipline, &c. &c., by Christopher Biden, late Commander of the Hon. East India Company's ships Royal George, and Princess Charlotte of Wales. and successful stratagems, have distinguished our trading vessels over the whole globe. When Lord Howe, in 1778, was menaced by the powerful fleet of M. d'Estaing at Sandy Hook, he moored his ships in the best order for defence, but still had the mortification, during several days, of seeing captures made, without a possibility of affording relief. Upon the appearance of the enemy, 1000 volunteers from the transports immediately offered their services to man the men-of-war; and such was the ardour among these brave fellows, that even many of those who it was necessary should remain to take care of their respective vessels, were found concealed in the boats which were employed to convey their more fortunate companions on board the ships. The zeal displayed by the masters and mates of the merchant vessels at New York, was equally meritorious; they earnestly solicited employment, and cheerfully took their stations at the guns, and assisted in all the duties of foremast-men: others put to sea in light craft to watch the motions of the enemy, performing various essential services; and one in particular, with a noble disinterestedness, offered to convert his vessel, which was the whole of his fortune, into a fire-ship, to be conducted by himself. In the wars which arose out of the French Revolution, a similar energy has been frequently manifested; and we have personally witnessed the conspicuous public spirit, and voluntary bravery, with which many were actuated on the expeditions to the Scheldt, and the Tagus; at Cadiz, and in the Mediterranean. Such being the claims of our mercantile marine, we are now called upon to express our regret on witnessing the recent attempts, at least, as far as they can be accomplished by general assertions and indiscriminate abuse—to disparage our commercial interests, by maudlin newspapers palliating the mutinous conduct of a gang of refractory seamen. It is in evidence that the crew of the Inglis dictated to their commander and officers; that the ringleader incited his shipmates "away to the arm-chest;" and that another clapped the Captain on the shoulder, telling him, "here's three cheers for you, by way of defiance !" There can be but one sound opinion as to this heinous misconduct; and if such inflammatory language and action do not meet with exemplary punishment, the most ruinous consequences are inevitable. But how does that dictatorial monster (6 THE PRESS" take up the matter? Instead of advocating the cause of order, and upholding that source of employment which fosters our naval strength, the newspapers in general have poured forth a sentimental diatribe on the wickedness of retribution; and with calumnious clamour have thrown down the gauntlet in favour of drunkenness, insolence, and disobedience. By their statements it would appear to have been given in evidence that the prisoners sent from St. Helena, in the Vansittart, were seventy-two days in irons; whereas, Capt. Scott, Commander of that vessel, declares that, on the fifth or sixth day subsequent to their departure from that island, these men were released from irons, and only re-confined when the ship entered the river Thames. Nor should it be omitted that the term used is, "sent home heavily ironed," by which, instead of merely being moored by the leg at a bilbo-bolt, the credulous landsmen would receive an impression that the "unoffending" scamps of the Inglis were manacled and fettered, like the felons in Newgate. But it is not with a view of noticing such licentious distortion of cases, or to dwell upon the real and assumed state of the facts in question, that we are now writing. Our object is to assert the necessity of inquiring into the causes of the progressive insubordination on board our trading ships; and also to point out the truly defenceless condition of the officers and passengers of a ship in a state of mutiny. As to wanton severity in the Company's officers, it is rather invective than argument; for, however an individual or two may have misbehaved, there can be no reflection on the humanity of the commanders of that service at large. Harsh and unjust officers can always be made responsible, and no tyranny can ever palliate disaffection, or be made the plea for piracy or murder. It is certain, that evil passions have been excited and pampered, and the sovereignty of brute force appealed to; and it is also clear that the general interests and character of the country should no longer be trifled with. The spring of industry which unites the entire human race in common wants and mutual obligations, by overcoming the obstacles of distance and climate, and which augments at once the wealth of the state and the comfort of its inhabitants by" bringing into it whatever is wanting, and carrying out of it whatever is superfluous,"-this spring should be an object of the greatest national solicitude. And we trust that an occasional exposure of flagrant grievances will draw attention in the proper quarters; thereby proving, that neither the government nor the public are regardlessthe first of its most sacred duties, the last, of its best interests. The nature and extent of our mercantile marine are not, perhaps, so generally appreciated as they should be; for ships being machines of national power, and means of civilization, are the noblest property which a country can possess, independent of the soil. At the close of 1826, the number of trading vessels actually belonging to British ports, was 24,280, with a capacity of 2,553,685 tons; giving employment to 166,583 sailors and boys. In addition to these, the British empire possesses 3,579 ships (many of them of force as well as burthen) which belong to her colonies, and when we further consider the vast numbers of persons on our quays, docks, and rivers, who derive their subsistence by attending them, the magnitude of the object must rise in estimation. Yet England, whose principal moving power is commerce, is the only maritime nation without a legalised code of regulations for the discipline of those engaged therein; no law defining the extent of obedience that is due by the sailor to his superior, or the protection which he ought to receive against the abuse of authority;-in fact, no recognized bond or principle to govern their mutual relations. It has been said "Captain, look out, 'tis your concern, but how can he manage it without legal authority? And considering the discordant elements often found on his decks, it is matter of marvel how any semblance of order has been maintained at all. It will be a cause of gratulation' when our Government can quit abstract theories, and descend to affairs of practical utility, amongst the first of which is the unprotected situation of the commercial marine; for unless some recognized formularies can be adapted and adopted, the litigious spirit abroad will strike at our maritime greatness. Nor is he altogether wool-gathering who has pronounced, that as mutineers must not be confined, nor sailors coerced,-the captain of a ship will shortly be expected to take off his hat to the watch, and say, "Gentlemen, if you please, that is, if you consider it quite consistent with the principles of Magna Charta and the liberty of the subject, I should feel particularly obliged to you, if you would do me the favour to go aloft and take in top-gallant-sails." And in the twelfth century, the Oleron laws actually enforced something very like this, for it was expressly ordained:"If a ship or other vessel be in a port, waiting for weather and a wind to depart; the master ought when that comes, before his departure to consult his company and say to them :- Gentlemen, what think you of this wind?' If any of them see that it is not settled, and advise him to stay till it is; and others on the contrary would have him make use of it as fair, he ought to follow the advice of the major part." Who would return to this absurdity? Method, in naval affairs, has been compared to salt in seasoning-as too little is insipid, so too much is offensive. Now it strikes us, that a principal cause of the demoralization of our seamen, sprung from the impolitic and disgraceful practice of foisting common felons, and United Irishmen, throughout our fleet; and that the gradual relaxation which has taken place in our men-of-war, has occasioned the entire absence of discipline in the merchant service ;- an absence which debases the seaman, and is at once the cause of his petulance, and the intemperate endeavours to enforce authority on the other side. It has been decided that a captain is justified in using illegal means to enforce a legal order; but there are few commanders who do not quail before the heavy expenses of a legal justification. Most of them would rather clear for action with an enemy, than engage in a court of law: what with jargon and technical riddles, delays, and vexations, they would prefer the battle and the hurricane to the quibbling sons of sophistry, with their big wigs and parchment. In fact, the service is pestered as with a gangrene by the pettifogging outscouts of Doctors' Commons-that antiquated sink of precedents and heavy charges! And the route of these carrion crows may be traced by the withering mildew visible in their wake: to these "the sea-attorneys" make their court, and the mischief begins, for the most indolent and worthless of those embarked, have been often known purposely to provoke the anger of their betters, with a view to law and future damages. Generally speaking, our commercial system is founded on more enlarged and liberal principles than that of any other European country; but in the particular department of Marine Law, it can lay claim to no such distinction. On the contrary, this supposed ægis of a most important department of industry and finance is subjected to very oppressive regulations. Of the evils which masters labour under, Capt. Biden cites numerous cases, from which we will submit one at random : 66 Shipped on board the Lady Raffles, bound to Bombay, in the month of March 1828, at Gravesend, fifteen men, that had been just paid off from the Albion seventy-four, at Portsmouth. The ship anchored in the Downs about three days after the men had been on board. After the ship had received her passengers and provisions on board, the hands were turned up to get the ship under weigh (the wind being fair) when the fifteen men already mentioned, refused to assist in manning the capstan. Capt. Tucker called them aft, when they stated that they were willing to go in the ship, but that they did not intend to put their hands to a rope, or assist in any way to do the duties of the ship during the voyage, unless they could be allowed one pint of rum per day which Capt. Tucker then refused. He applied to Capt. Pigot of the Ramilies (the guard-ship) for his assistance, to compel the men to go to their duties, they having signed the ship's articles, and received, each man, his two months' advance in cash. Capt. Pigot stated that he dared not even punish a man on board his own ship, as she was under the district of a magistrate, and therefore, he was sorry he could do nothing to assist him in the business, but advised Capt. Tucker to apply to the magistrate at Deal; he did so, when the magistrate told him that if his people, after having signed articles, had refused to go in the ship, or deserted the ship, he could punish them, but he was not authorized to compel them to do the duties of the ship, neither could he assist Capt. Tucker in the case. Upon this, Capt. Tucker went off to the ship, and called the men aft again, and told them he would give them a pint of rum per day, if they would return to their duties, when twelve of them stated that, if he had conceded to their wishes at first, they would have assisted to get the ship under weigh, but they would not do so now; upon which, after the ship had been detained three or four days in the Downs, with a fair wind, twelve fresh hands were sent down from London at a great expense, and the twelve offenders allowed to quit the ship unpunished. "Mr. Richard Green, owner of the Lady Raffles, who furnished me with this statement, applied to the Thames Police for the apprehension of the above men, and was recommended to prosecute them; the magistrate could suggest no other remedy. "The valuable time already sacrificed by such infamous conduct as the seamen of this ship betrayed, besides the considerable expense that was incurred, stamp the whole affair with the greatest disgrace, and is an excellent commentary on the oft-told tale, that subordination is to be sustained by an appeal to the civil power. "Let it be considered who are the party which a zealous owner is required to prosecute: a few sailors without a shilling beyond their ill-got plunder from the Lady Raffles. And have owners of ships no other duty to perform? In this case, a valuable ship, full of passengers, bound to Bombay, having a fair wind, had already been shamefully detained; a prosecution would have been followed by further and more serious detention; the Captain must have been detained as a witness, or bound over to appear: in fact, such proceedings, warped as justice is by the knavery of pettifogging lawyers and perjured clients, are all a farce." As to the moral operation of the Admiralty Court, nothing can be worse, for it is a scourge on the ship-owners, as well as the masters, from its expensive and inquisitorial ex-parte mode of procedure, and the meretricious stages by which it pursues its inquiries,-running up steam-boat accidents for decisions under the Rhodian laws. Thus a case has come within our cognizance, of the owner of a brig from Smyrna, who by searching after the relations of a deceased seaman, in order to deliver to them the clothes, and balance of wages, awoke one of the sharks which infest the eastern regions of London. This fellow, with the utmost effrontery, produced a paper, evidently just written, by which the deceased bequeathed every thing to him. The gentleman was resolved to treat this iniquitous attempt with utter disdain, if not to punish it but the wretch, aware of the nature of troubled waters, exclaimed,-" No, no! Prove me in the wrong first. Pay me, or I'll have you into Doctors' Commons. Where are your proofs of this paper being forged? Produce them, else my story remains good." Our friend writhed from the bottom of his heart, for he saw no |