52

LORD HOWE PACIFIES THE MUTINEERS. CH. XXXVII.

strange mixture of suspicion and generosity of which the character of the British sailor is compounded, he sought to allay the one, and to conciliate the other; at the same time that he maintained the dignity, and even under such anomalous circumstances the authority, of his station. He listened attentively while the men eagerly poured into his ear the story of their wrongs. Their specific grievances had been already redressed, but the officers by whose tyranny and petty oppression they had been so much harassed were restored to power; and they now insisted on the removal of these obnoxious officers. Lord Howe saw that to restore peace and confidence, it would be necessary to comply with this demand; but he veiled this dangerous concession so skilfully, that it assumed the form of a gracious indulgence, rather than a yielding to mutinous dictation. He told the men they had behaved very badly, that he wished to help them out of their difficulties, and to do all he could to satisfy their complaints. But he advised them, in the first place, to express contrition for their conduct, and to address a petition to himself, praying for his good offices, which he promised to employ. The men willingly came into this suggestion; and the Commander-in-Chief, on his quarter-deck, announced to the representatives of the different ships' companies, that Parliament had passed an act, confirming the promises of the Board of Admiralty, and securing to them permanently the advance of wages and the other benefits which they had sought. At the same time it was made known, that extensive changes were to be made in every grade of the officers of the fleet. An admiral, four captains, twentynine lieutenants, seventeen mates, and twenty-five midshipmen, besides marine and petty officers, were

* He described the seamen as in the same class of men.''the most suspicious, but most BARROW'S Life of Earl Howe, generous minds he ever met with p. 337.

1797.

*

DISMISSAL OF NAVAL OFFICERS.

53

dismissed. But while the men rigorously insisted on this proscription, it deserves to be mentioned to their credit that they desired no proceedings should be taken against the discharged officers, in respect to their alleged misconduct; and, in fact, the greater number of them were subsequently appointed to other ships. An attempt to give a political character to the mutiny was likewise indignantly repelled; and some loose talk having been heard in one of the ships of giving her up to the French, she was threatened with destruction by the rest of the fleet, and a vigilant look-out was kept, to prevent the disaffected ship from holding any communication with the shore.

The measures proposed by the Government, in accordance with the engagements of the Admiralty to allay the discontents of the seamen, were readily agreed to by Parliament; and although the Opposition did not fail to find topics of censure, no man denied the existence of the grievances, or blamed the concessions which had been made.†

The second mutiny at Spithead lead to an outbreak in the ships at the Nore. While Lord Howe was engaged in restoring order and discipline at Portsmouth, a disturbance of a very different character broke out at the mouth of the Medway. The squadron at the Nore consisted of the 'Sandwich,' a ninety-gun ship, the Montague,' a seventy-four, and seventeen other ships of inferior rating. The 'Sandwich' carried the Admiral's flag; and in this ship the mutiny commenced on the 11th of May. Many of

6

*Barrow's Life of Earl Howe.

To this, it appears, there was one characteristic exception. Some of the ministers (Windham, of course, being the foremost) consulted Burke, then within a few weeks of his death, as to the treatment of the mutiny. With the same want of judgment and

temper which generally marked his public counsels, the dying statesman strongly recommended the employment of repressive measures. Had his advice been taken, the most disastrous consequences must have ensued.— LORD STANHOPE's Life of Pitt, vol. iii. p. 50.

54

Admiral's flag hauled down.

MUTINY AT THE NORE.

CH. XXXVII.

the other ships, at the same time, rose and overpowered their officers. Delegates were appointed, after the example of the Portsmouth mutineers, and a man named Parker, a supernumerary seaman of the Sandwich,' assumed the leading post. The delegates at first held their meetings at Sheerness, in open contempt of the authorities, both by sea and land, parading the town with music and banners; but they subsequently moved the ships to the Great Nore, to be out of the range of the land batteries. The next day, Admiral Buckner's flag was hauled down by the mutineers, and the red ensign was displayed in its place. They then put forward a manifesto or statement of their grievances, which they forwarded to the Admiralty. This paper contained demands subversive of all discipline, and calculated, according to the boast of the foreign emissaries and domestic traitors, who were anxiously watching their proceedings, to convert every man-of-war into a floating Republic. But even Republics have found that men-of-war cannot be governed on their own principles; and have ever enforced a discipline not less strict than that of the navies of despotic monarchies. Parker's demands insisted, among other things, upon a revision of the Articles of War, and indemnity to deserters-the disqualification of all officers who were not agreeable to the ships' companies-and an increase of prize money. It was well observed, that this document neither contained the sentiment nor was expressed in the language of seamen.

Admiralty.

The Admiralty, in their reply, remonstrated with Reply of the the men on the impracticability and impropriety of these demands, but offered a free pardon to all who should immediately return to their duty. Buckner undertook to carry this answer to the Sandwich.' But the Admiral's reception was very different from that which Lord Bridport and

1797..

INSOLENT BEHAVIOUR OF PARKER.

55

Lord Howe had experienced from the Channel fleet. He was allowed to go on board; but he was received with none of the honours due to his rank. The offers of the Admiralty were rejected; and the Admiral was informed by Parker, that the delegates would be content with nothing less than unconditional compliance with their demands, and the attendance of the Lords of the Admiralty at the Nore, to ratify the conditions. To show their determination, the mutineers, on the following day, hauled down the Admiral's flag, and displayed the red ensign of rebellion in its place.

That no means of bringing back the men to obedience by persuasion might be left untried, Earl Spencer at Earl Spencer, the First Lord, accompanied the Nore. by other members of the Board, went down to Sheerness, and had an interview with Parker and the delegates. Parker was the only spokesman on this occasion; and it was evidently his policy to prevent any accommodation between the authorities and the men. He conducted himself with great insolence, and ended by insulting the Commissioners in the grossest manner. The Board returned to London, and the delegates, throwing aside all show of moderation, proceeded to the most violent extremities. They seized and plundered two store-ships and a merchantman. They fired upon two frigates which would not join them; they blockaded the mouth of the Thames. All this they did with impunity; and their success induced other ships to join them; the 'Lancaster,' a frigate, which lay in the river, and four ships belonging to Admiral Duncan's squadron.

Alarm at

The mutiny at the Nore had now continued three weeks, and no attempt had as yet been made towards its suppression. The inha- Sheerness. bitants of Sheerness, apprehensive of a bombardment, abandoned the town in great numbers. Fears even were entertained for the safety of the metropolis.

56

Parliamentary

VIGOROUS MEASURES ADOPTED. CH. XXXVII.

At length, the Government determined to adopt vigorous measures. They had nothing to denunciation of fear from any opposition in Parliament. the mutineers. At the first outbreak of the mutiny at the Nore, party spirit subsided in the presence of a common danger; and Sheridan, the most uncompromising, if not the most factious opponent of the Ministry and its measures, denounced the conduct of the mutineers as unseamanlike and un-English. He proposed, in the first place, a measure of conciliation; but, at the instance of Pitt, he postponed a proposal which might embarrass the action of the Government, and subsequently supported the Government in the assertion of their authority. On the 1st of June, a message from the Crown was brought down to Parliament, recommending a more effectual provision for the prevention and punishment of sedition and mutiny in the naval service. Bills were immediately introduced to attach the highest penalties of a misdemeanour to the seduction of soldiers and sailors from their duty; and to make it felony to hold intercourse with ships which were declared, by proclamation, to be in a state of mutiny. These Bills were suffered to proceed without comment from the leading members of the Opposition, and within a week they received the royal assent. On the following day, proclamations were issued in accordance with these acts. Admiral Buckner was alone empowered to hold communications with the mutineers, and only for the purpose of receiving their submission. Adequate measures were also taken to suppress the insurrection. Ships were put in commission; gun-boats were despatched; the buoys at the entrance of the river were taken up, and batteries were erected on the shore to command the rebel fleet. The mutineers had already begun. to feel alarm. While the coercion bills were passing through Parliament, the Earl of Northesk, captain