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diff --git a/26067-h/26067-h.htm b/26067-h/26067-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..69f7c72 --- /dev/null +++ b/26067-h/26067-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14033 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, by Thomas, Eleventh Earl of Dundonald, and H. R. Fox Bourne.</title> + +<style type="text/css" title="text/css"> + + body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; } + + div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + + p {line-height: 1.33em; text-align:justify; } + h2 { margin-top: 2em; text-align: center; } + h3 { margin-top: 1.5em; } + hr { width: 40%; } + + .ctr { text-align: center; } + div.ctr img { margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; } + .small { font-size: smaller; } + .sc { font-variant: small-caps; } + .gap {margin-top: 2em; } + .middle {margin-left: 20em; } + .right {margin-left: 25em; } + +ins.correction { + text-decoration:none; /* replace default underline.. */ + border-bottom: thin dotted gray; /* ..with delicate gray line */ +} + +.notes {background-color: #eeeeee; color: #000; padding-top: .5em; padding-bottom: .5em; + padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border: 1px solid black; + margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%;} + +a.fnref {vertical-align:baseline; + position: relative; + bottom: 0.33em; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: none;} + +.pagen {margin-bottom:2em; + text-align: right; } + +</style> + +</head> +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold;'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth +Earl of Dundonald, Vol. II, by Thomas Lord Cochrane and H. R. Fox Bourne</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald, Vol. II</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Thomas Lord Cochrane<br /> +H. R. Fox Bourne</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 15, 2008 [eBook #26067]<br /> +[Most recently updated: January 23, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Stefan Cramme, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE ***</div> + +<div class="ctr"> +<h1>THE LIFE<br /> +of<br /> +THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE,</h1> + +<h2> +TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B., +</h2> + +<p class="small ctr"> +ADMIRAL OF THE RED, REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET, ETC., ETC., +</p> + +<p class="gap ctr"> +COMPLETING "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN." +</p> + +<p class="gap ctr"> +BY +</p> + +<h3>THOMAS, ELEVENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD,</h3> + +<p class="ctr"> +AND +</p> + +<h3>H. R. FOX BOURNE,</h3> + +<p class="small ctr"> +AUTHOR OF "ENGLISH SEAMEN UNDER THE TUDORS," ETC. ETC. +</p> + +<p class="gap ctr"> +<i>IN TWO VOLUMES.</i> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +VOL. II. +</p> + +<p class="gap ctr"> +LONDON:<br /> +RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,<br /> +<span class="small">Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.</span><br /> +1869. +</p> + +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2>CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.</h2> + +<p class="pagen"><span class="sc">page</span></p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch17">CHAPTER XVII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Cochrane's Arrival in Greece.—His Account of Hydra and Poros.—The +Congratulations offered to him.—Visits from Tombazes, +Mavrocordatos, and Miaoulis.—Letters from the National Assembly +and other Public Bodies and Leading Men.—The Divisions in +Greece.—The French or Moreot, and English or Phanariot +Factions.—Lord Cochrane's Relations with them.—The Visit of +Kolokotrones and other Deputies from the National Assembly.—Lord +Cochrane's Efforts to procure Unanimity.—Sir Richard Church.—Lord +Cochrane's Commission as First Admiral.—The National +Assembly at Troezene.—The Election of Capodistrias as President—Lord +Cochrane's Oath-taking.—His Advice to the National +Assembly and Proclamation to the Greeks +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch17">1</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +The Siege of Athens—The Defenders of the Acropolis.—The Efforts +of Gordon and Karaïskakes.—Lord Cochrane's Plan for Cutting off +the Turkish Supplies.—The Arguments by which he was induced +to proceed instead to the Phalerum.—His Arrival there.—His +other Arrangements for Serving Greece.—His First Meeting with +Karaïskakes.—The Condition of the Greek Camp.—Lord Cochrane's +Position.—His Efforts to give Immediate Relief to the Acropolis, +and the Obstacles raised by the Greeks.—Karaïskakes's Delays, and +General Church's Difficulties.—The Convent of Saint Spiridion.—The +Battle of Phalerum.—The Capture of Saint Spiridion.—The +Massacre of the Turks, and its Consequences.—Lord Cochrane's +renewed Efforts to Save the Acropolis.—The Death of Karaïskakes.—The +March to the Acropolis.—Its Failure through the +Perversity of the Greeks.—The Battle of Athens.—The Fall of the +Acropolis +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch18">31</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch19">CHAPTER XIX.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Cochrane's Return to Poros.—His Attempts to Organise an +Efficient Greek Navy.—The Want of Funds and the Apathy of +the Greeks.—His Letter to the Psarians, and his Visits to Hydra +and Spetzas.—His Cruise Round the Morea.—His First Engagement +with the Turks.—The Disorganization of his Greek Sailors.—His +Capture of a Vessel bearing the British Flag, laden with +Greek Prisoners.—Seizure of Part of Reshid Pasha's Harem.—Ibrahim +Pasha's Narrow Escape.—Lord Cochrane's Further Difficulties.—His +Expedition to Alexandria.—Its Failure through the +Cowardice of his Seamen.—His two Letters to the Pasha of Egypt.—His +Return to Poros.—Further Efforts to Improve the Navy.—His +Visit to Syra.—The Troubles of the Greek Government.—Lord +Cochrane's Visit to Navarino.—His Defeat of a Turkish +Squadron +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch19">77</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch20">CHAPTER XX.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +The Action of Great Britain and Russia on Behalf of Hellenic Independence.—The +Degradation of Greece.—Lord Cochrane's Renewed +Efforts to Organise a Fleet.—Prince Paul Buonaparte, and his +Death.—An Attempt to Assassinate Lord Cochrane.—His Intended +Expedition to Western Greece.—Its Prevention by Sir Edward +Codrington.—Lord Cochrane's Return to the Archipelago.—The +Interference of Great Britain, France, and Russia.—The Causes of +the Battle of Navarino.—The Battle +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch20">114</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch21">CHAPTER XXI.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827-1828.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +The First Consequences of the Interference of the Allied Powers and +the Battle of Navarino.—Lord Cochrane's intended Share in +Fabvier's Expedition to Chios.—Its Abandonment.—His Cruise +among the Islands and about Navarino.—His Efforts to Repress +Piracy.—His Return to the Archipelago.—The Misconduct of the +Government.—Lord Cochrane's Complaints.—His Letters to the +Representatives of the Allied Powers, acquitting Himself of Complicity +in Greek Piracy.—His Further Complaints to the Government.—His +Resolution to Visit England.—His Letter to Count +Capodistrias Explaining and Justifying that Resolution.—His +Departure from Greece, and Arrival at Portsmouth.—His Letter to +M. Eynard +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch21">134</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch22">CHAPTER XXII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1828-1829.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Cochrane's Occupations on Behalf of Greece in London and +Paris.—His Second Letter to Capodistrias.—His Defence of Himself +with Reference to his Visit to Western Europe.—His Return +to Greece.—Capodistrias's Presidency and the Progress of +Greece.—Lord +Cochrane's Reception by the Government.—The Settlement +of his Accounts.—His Letter of Resignation.—The Final Indignities +to which he was Subjected.—The Correspondence thereupon +between Admiral Heyden and Dr. Gosse.—Lord Cochrane's Departure +from Greece.—His Opinions Regarding her.—The Character +and Issues of His Services to the Greeks +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch22">162</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch23">CHAPTER XXIII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1828-1832.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +A Recapitulation of Lord Cochrane's Naval Services.—His Efforts to +obtain Restitution of the Rank taken from him after the Stock +Exchange Trial.—His Petition to the Duke of Clarence.—Its Rejection +by the Duke of Wellington's Cabinet.—Lord Cochrane's +Occupations after the close of his Greek Service.—His Return to +England.—His Memorial to William IV.—Its Tardy Consideration +by Earl Grey's Cabinet.—Its Promoters and Opponents.—Lord +Cochrane's Accession to the Peerage as Tenth Earl of Dundonald.—His +Interview with the King.—The Countess of Dundonald's +Efforts in Aid of her Husband's Memorial.—Their Ultimate Success.—The +Earl of Dundonald's "Free Pardon," and Restoration to +Naval Rank +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch23">197</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch24">CHAPTER XXIV.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1833-1847.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +The Inventions and Discoveries of Lord Dundonald's Father.—His +own Mechanical Contrivances.—His Lamps.—His Rotary Steam-Engine, +his Screw-Propeller, his Condensing-Boiler, and his Lines +of Ship-building.—Their Tardy Development.—His Correspondence +upon Steam-Shipping with Sir James Graham, the Earl of Minto, +the Earl of Haddington, and the Earl of Auckland.—The Progress +of his Inventions.—The <i>Janus</i>.—The Beneficial Results of his +Experiments +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch24">221</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch25">CHAPTER XXV.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1833-1848.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Dundonald's Secret War-Plans.—His Correspondence concerning +them with Lord Lansdowne, Lord Minto, Lord Haddington, and +Lord Auckland.—His Letter to the "Times."—The Report of a +Committee, consisting of Sir Thomas Hastings, Sir John Burgoyne, +and Lieut.-Col. Colquhoun, upon the Secret War-Plans.—A French +Project for Naval Warfare with England.—Lord Dundonald's +Opinions Thereupon.—His Views on the Defence of England +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch25">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch26">CHAPTER XXVI.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1839-1848.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +The Earl of Dundonald's Request for the Restoration of the Order of +the Bath.—His Good Service Pension.—The Investigation of his +Secret War-Plans.—His Pamphlet on Naval Affairs,—His Installation +as a G.C.B.—His Candidature for Election as a Scotch Representative +Peer.—The Queen's Permission to his Wearing the +Brazilian Order of the "Cruziero."—His Appointment as +Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indian +Station +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch26">273</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch27">CHAPTER XXVII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1848.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Dundonald's Departure for North America.—Extracts from the +Correspondence of Lord Auckland and others Respecting West +Indian Affairs and European Politics.—Bermuda.—The French +Revolution of 1848 and its Issues.—Ireland and the Chartists.—The +Death of Lord Auckland +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch27">294</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch28">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1848-1850.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Dundonald's Visit to the North American and West Indian +Colonies, and his Opinions thereon.—Newfoundland and its +Fisheries.—Labrador.—Bermuda; its Defences and its Geological +Formation.—Barbadoes.—The Negroes.—Trinidad.—Its Pitch +Lake.—The Depressed Condition of the West Indian Colonies.—Lord +Dundonald's Suggestions for their Improvement +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch28">307</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch29">CHAPTER XXIX.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1851-1853.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +Lord Dundonald's Return from America.—His Arguments for the +Relief of the Newfoundland Fisheries and the West India Trade.—The +Trinidad Bitumen.—Lord Dundonald's other Scientific Pursuits +and Views +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch29">328</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ch30">CHAPTER XXX.</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1851-1860.] +</p> + +<p class="small"> +The Russian War.—Lord Dundonald's Proposals to Employ his Secret +Plans against Cronstadt, Sebastopol, and other Strongholds.—His +Correspondence thereupon with Sir James Graham and Lord +Palmerston.—Their Rejection.—Lord Dundonald's Appointment as +Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom.—Prince Albert's Invitation +to him to become an Elder Brother of the Trinity House.—His +Correspondence with Lord Palmerston respecting the Restitution of +his Half-Pay.—His Last Work.—His Death and Burial.—Conclusion +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#ch30">337</a> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#app">APPENDIX.</a> +</p> + +<p class="small"> +(<a href="#ref12">Page 161.</a>)—Captain Frank Abney Hastings's Letters to Lord +Cochrane (1827) +</p> + +<p class="pagen"> +<a href="#app">370</a> +</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3 class="ctr">THE LIFE<br /> + +OF<br /> + +THOMAS, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD. +</h3> + +<hr /> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch17">CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD COCHRANE'S ARRIVAL IN GREECE.—HIS ACCOUNT OF HYDRA AND +POROS.—THE CONGRATULATIONS OFFERED TO HIM.—VISITS FROM TOMBAZES, +MAVROCORDATOS, AND MIAOULIS.—LETTERS FROM THE NATIONAL +ASSEMBLY AND OTHER PUBLIC BODIES AND LEADING MEN.—THE DIVISIONS +IN GREECE.—THE FRENCH OR MOREOT, AND ENGLISH OR PHANARIOT +FACTIONS.—LORD COCHRANE'S RELATIONS WITH THEM.—THE VISIT OF +KOLOKOTRONES AND OTHER DEPUTIES FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.—LORD +COCHRANE'S EFFORTS TO PROCURE UNANIMITY.—SIR RICHARD +CHURCH.—LORD COCHRANE'S COMMISSION AS FIRST ADMIRAL.—THE +NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AT TROEZENE.—THE EJECTION OF CAPODISTRIAS +AS PRESIDENT.—LORD COCHRANE'S OATH-TAKING.—HIS ADVICE TO THE +NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND PROCLAMATION TO THE GREEKS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane entered the Egean Sea with his +little schooner <i>Unicorn</i> and the French brig <i>Sauveur</i> +on the 17th of March, 1827. In the afternoon he +halted off the island of Hydra, there to leave the +Greek deputy Orlando, who had accompanied him +from Marseilles. "I was surprised," he said, "to +observe that, except the open batteries near the town +of Hydra, the whole coast of the island remained +unprotected, although, in a smooth sea, a landing +might be effected in almost every part of its circumference. +The town of Hydra is built in an +irregular manner on the fall of the mountain about +the port, and presents a clean appearance, the houses +being all whitewashed. There is not a tree on the +island, though there are a few straggling bushes. +There is scarcely any land capable of cultivation; +but there are some vineyards on the south side and +a few small gardens near the town. The port is +small, the water deep, and the vessels made fast by +hawsers to the shore. It is evident, that, if Greece +obtains independence, this island, to which the inhabitants +fled to enjoy that species of precarious +liberty that depends on eluding the view of tyranny, +must be abandoned. Even water is only to be +had from tanks which are filled by the winter's rain." +</p> + +<p> +From Hydra Lord Cochrane proceeded to Egina, +making a circuit in order that he might have a view +of Athens. "The Acropolis," he wrote, "with the +whole scenery at sunset, was beautiful. Alas, what +a change! what melancholy recollections crowd on +the mind! There was the seat of science, of literature, +and the arts. At this instant the barbarian +Turk is actually demolishing, by the shells that now +are flying through the air, the scanty remains of the +once magnificent temples in the Acropolis." +</p> + +<p> +He called at Egina on the 18th, in order to +despatch letters, announcing his arrival, to the +Governing Commission, as it was called, then located +in the island, before proceeding to Poros, where he +anchored on the morning of the 19th. "The main +entrance," we further read in his journal, "is +scarcely wide enough to work a ship in, if the wind +is from the land. The water, however, is sufficiently +deep close to the shore; and the port, when you +have entered through this narrow channel, is one +of the finest in the world. There is another entrance +towards the south, but it is shallow and crooked, and +consequently used only by small vessels. The town +of Poros consists of a number of irregularly-built +houses on the side of a hill, and merits the appellation +of picturesque. There are remains of temples +on the island, and the stone is yet to be seen on +which Demosthenes is said to have been sitting +when he was recalled by Antipater to Athens, +and in consequence of which recall he took poison +and died." +</p> + +<p> +No sooner was the joyful intelligence conveyed +to the inhabitants that Lord Cochrane, the long-expected +deliverer of Greece, had actually arrived, +than all the leading men who happened to be in Poros +at the time hurried on board the <i>Unicorn</i> to welcome +their champion and to give personal assurance of +their devotion to him. The first to arrive was +Jakomaki Tombazes, who was now acting with +Dr. Gosse as superintendent of marine affairs, +having surrendered the chief command of the fleet +into the hands of Andreas Miaoulis. Miaoulis himself +soon followed, and with him Alexander Mavrocordatos +and many others. "Prince Mavrocordatos," +wrote Lord Cochrane's secretary, Mr. George Cochrane, +"was a short, stout, well-built man, of very +dark complexion, with black eyes, an oval face +expressing great intelligence, and his hair very long, +hanging upon his shoulders. He was dressed in the +European style, and wore on his head a little cloth +cap. He also habitually wore spectacles. His +manners indicated a man perfectly accustomed to +the society of persons of rank. He immediately +entered into familiar conversation with Lord Cochrane +in the French language. He carried his pipe +with him, which he continually smoked. Miaoulis +was dressed in the Hydriot fashion; but, of course, +as became a primate of the island, his attire was of a +description much superior to that of his poorer +fellow-countrymen.<a href="#fn01" id="ref01" class="fnref">[1]</a> His countenance was open and +dignified, and so calm that it appeared like a rock +which nothing could move. Not that it had any +character of sternness in it; on the contrary, it +possessed a placidity, blended with firmness, which +was anything but forbidding. The moment Miaoulis +came on deck, he cordially shook hands with Lord +Cochrane, and a broken conversation commenced +between them in Spanish, Miaoulis speaking that +language but imperfectly. At the period in question +he commanded the <i>Hellas</i> frigate. He knew perfectly +well that Lord Cochrane's arrival would take the +command out of his hands. Nevertheless, he evinced +not the least jealousy, but was one of the first to +offer his services under Lord Cochrane. 'I know +my countrymen,' he said, 'and that I can be of +service to your lordship on board the frigate. I will +therefore sail under your command.' Such an offer +was not to be refused, and he was requested to remain +on board. Miaoulis informed Lord Cochrane that +the hope of Greece rested in the <i>Hellas</i>, and in the +quondam merchant brigs belonging to private individuals +in the islands of Hydra, Spetzas, Poros, +and Egina, amounting to about two hundred and +fifty. These vessels had been armed as men-of-war; +some had been turned into fireships, and it was the +latter that struck so much terror into the Turks, +several Turkish vessels of the line and frigates +having been destroyed under the guidance of the +brave Kanaris, a native of the ill-fated island of +Psara." +</p> + +<p> +The compliments and congratulations offered in +person to Lord Cochrane immediately after his +anchoring off Poros were followed by compliments +and congratulations yet more profuse conveyed to +him in writing by all classes and from all quarters. +One of the first and most important communications +was addressed to him on the 18th of March, in the +name of the National Assembly, as it styled itself, +met at Kastri, by its president, Georgios Sissinis. +"Greece," he said, "rejoices at your appearance in +her seas. The aspirations of the Greeks are realised. +Their hopes in the success of their sacred struggle +revive. The Greek nation, assembled here in a +third National Assembly, desires to see you and +invites you here, sending to you, with that object, +the General-in-Chief of the armies of the Peloponnesus, +Theodore Kolokotrones, Messrs. Kanaris, Botazes, +and Bulgaris, General Zavella and Count Metaxas, +who will tender to you the thanks of all for your +zeal on behalf of their cause." "The Government is +seized with unutterable joy at your auspicious +arrival," wrote the members of the rival assembly at +Egina, on the same day: "the Government wishes +you happy success in all your enterprises, and hopes +soon to find in you a triumphant conqueror." "For +a long while past," wrote the governors of Hydra, +"our brave mariners have centred all their hopes on +your arrival. You can understand then the joy that +we felt when we saw your brig and schooner, and +when we knew that you had actually arrived. We +hasten to tender to you the homage of our island, +and to express to you our impatience to see our little +navy placed under your orders, and guided by you +to new victories, by which the safety and independence +of Greece may be secured." "Your arrival +in our beloved country," wrote the primates of +Spetzas, "has filled the soul of every inhabitant of +our island with joy, and every one presents his +thanks to Heaven for having at last sent such an one +to fight with us and to protect our fatherland." +"You have come to Greece," wrote Konduriottes, +"at a moment when this unfortunate country most +needs all that it can hope from the wisdom and +courage of so great a defender. The announcement +of your arrival will form an epoch in the history of +our Revolution, and, I dare to hope, in that of our +moral regeneration." +</p> + +<p> +That moral regeneration was needed Lord Cochrane +already well knew, and he had not been a day in +Greece before the knowledge was forced upon him +afresh. The unworthy disposition of most of the +men in power had never been more plainly shown, +nor threatened more imminent danger to the independence +of Greece, than at the time of Lord +Cochrane's arrival. With a few notable exceptions, +of whom Miaoulis was perhaps the chief, the Greek +leaders had forgotten all their national duty in +personal ambition and jealousy. If they united in +parties, it was only because each one hoped that, as +soon as his own party was triumphant, he himself +would be able to obtain the mastery over all his +associates. +</p> + +<p> +Two factions, especially, prevailed in Greece at +this time, which, partly from the circumstance that +they were supported by unwise Philhellenes of the +two nations, partly because their native members +looked for their chief support to those nations, were +known as the French and English parties. +</p> + +<p> +Among Philhellenes the leading promoter of the +French party was Colonel Fabvier, who was now, +with some of the troops whom he commanded, defending +the Acropolis from the siege of the Turks. +He was an officer of considerable merit, with the +interests of the Greeks at heart, but of surpassing +vanity and ambition. His hope was to become the +Napoleon of the East, to convert the whole male +population of Greece into a huge army, with himself +at its head. With him sympathized most of the +military leaders, who, originally little better than +brigands, found everything to gratify their present +tastes and their future hopes in a scheme which +would give them endless employment in lawless warfare +and martial dominion. These, coming chiefly +from the Morea, caused the faction also to be known +as the Moreot party. +</p> + +<p> +More formidable was the English party, with little +that was English about it but the name. Its ambition +was not military, but diplomatic, the possession +of place and power in such ways as were then +possible. Its real, if not avowed, leader was Prince +Mavrocordatos, with an able abettor in his brother-in-law, +Mr. Spiridion Trikoupes. All through the previous +year Mavrocordatos and his friends had sought +zealously to win for Greece the protection of England. +They had corresponded to that end with +Mr. Stratford Canning, the British ambassador at +Constantinople, with Captain Hamilton, who was then +stationed in Greek waters to watch the interests of +English shipping, and with others. They had sent an +irregular deputation to treat with the British Government, +and had used all the means in their power, +so far as foreign intervention was concerned, for the +establishment of a smaller but more organized Greek +nation than that which their rivals desired. Had that +end been worthily sought, they would have deserved +universal sympathy. But they showed by their +conduct that they cared little for good government, +or for the real interests of the community. They +exercised their abilities and squandered their resources +in schemes for selfish aggrandisement, and the +possession of authority which was to benefit none but +themselves. Many of their prominent members +having studied statecraft, before the time of the +Revolution, as Christian officials in the employment +of Turkey, to whom the name Phanariot was given +from the Christian quarter of Constantinople, the +whole party acquired the name of Phanariot. +</p> + +<p> +This latter party had all along hoped to make +Lord Cochrane its tool. It was Mavrocordatos who +first invited him to enter the service of the Greeks; +and when that service was agreed upon no effort was +spared to attach him to the group of partizans +among whom Mavrocordatos was chief. Lord +Cochrane, steadily refusing this, soon incurred their +opposition, and to this opposition is to be attributed +some of the unreasonable blame which was afterwards +brought upon him. Much further opposition to him, +moreover, was soon aroused by his, in like manner, +refusing to become the creature of the other leading +faction. He wisely resolved, from the first—and he +maintained his resolution throughout—to belong to no +party, but having devoted himself to the cause of the +Greek nation as a whole, to seek only those objects +which were for the good of all. +</p> + +<p> +That resolution was soon put to the test. Immediately +after his arrival on the 19th of March, great +efforts were made to implicate him in the schemes of +the Governing Commission, as it was called, which, +having outrun the time appointed for its duration, was +continuing to assert its authority in Egina, and to use +that authority in the interests of the Phanariot party. +Two days after that his partizanship was sought for +the Moreot faction, which had set up a rival government, +styled the National Assembly, at Hermione, +under the joint leadership of Kolokotrones, Konduriottes, +and Kolettes. On the 20th he was waited +upon by the deputation named in the congratulatory +letter which has already been quoted from. +</p> + +<p> +"With his whole party," said Lord Cochrane's +secretary, reporting this interview, "Kolokotrones +rode down to the beach opposite the ship, and sent +off to say he would there wait until a boat should be +sent for him and his followers, the whole being about +a hundred men, armed, according to the custom of the +country, with pistols or daggers stuck in the left side +of a sash or belt. The two boats sent being insufficient, +not more than twenty came on board with the +general. Kolokotrones was the spokesman, and +there appeared to be great energy in his gesticulations, +which did not correspond with the translation +by Count Metaxas, who, from the smile on his +countenance, seemed to hold in no great respect the +mental acquirements of Kolokotrones. 'Greece,' +said the latter, 'required a government to bring +order out of chaos. The functions of the commission appointed +by the last Legislative Assembly ought to have +ceased. Its continuance in power was not legal, and +consequently the members of the National Assembly +had met at Hermione to name their successors; to +which place it was requested that Lord Cochrane +would proceed, in order to be present at their deliberations.' +A letter to this effect, signed by the President +of the Assembly, was then put into Lord +Cochrane's hands. +</p> + +<p> +"Lord Cochrane made answer verbally through +Count Metaxas to the deputies, that he held in due +estimation the honour they had done him by personally +delivering the communication as well as by +the very flattering terms used towards him by the +members assembled at Hermione. He regretted +the decision that had taken place, and, recommending +reconciliation, urged the necessity of +prompt exertion and the little good that the wisest +legislative enactments could effect, whilst the Turks +overran their country, whilst they possessed three-fourths +of its strongholds, and whilst the enemy +besieged the capital of the state, which was in danger +of falling into their power. His lordship expressed +his regret that so many able and brave military +officers as those he saw before him should occupy +themselves with civil discussions in the present state +of their country. +</p> + +<p> +"Upon this being interpreted to Kolokotrones, he +became exceedingly warm, and urged that the duty he +was now occupied with was more essential than any +other. He, however, cooled on seeing, as we presume, +that no one seconded his opinion, which he evidently +expected by his glances towards his companions. +Kolokotrones remained some time without saying a +word, and then rising, took Lord Cochrane by the +hand and assured him that he would do his utmost +to produce a reconciliation of parties. Lord Cochrane +urged that the termination of differences between +the parties should be within the space of three +days. Kolokotrones requested five; but afterwards +caused his interpreter, Count Metaxas, to say that +possibly an answer might be received from Hermione +even before the shortest period fixed. Count +Metaxas was the last who left the cabin, and as soon +as the others were gone, he turned to Lord Cochrane +and assured him that his utmost endeavours +should not be wanting to accomplish so desirable an +object. The Count has evidently the management +of Kolokotrones, to whom he probably adheres in +order to arrive at real power, under the sanction of +an individual on whose shoulders may be heaped all +the evil measures to be anticipated in acquiring or +upholding any authority over a multitude of rival +chiefs and their rude followers. +</p> + +<p> +"Kolokotrones and his party then left the +schooner, having first directed one of their soldiers +to await Lord Cochrane's reply to the communication +of the Assembly. A deputation from Hydra, and a +crowd of other visitors, however, precluded Lord +Cochrane's despatching the courier until the following +morning." +</p> + +<p> +The reply, dated the 21st of March, was wise and +bold. "I have had the honour," wrote Lord Cochrane, +"to receive the despatches which you have +addressed to me, and I cannot but be flattered by the +sentiments that they convey. This satisfaction is +the more lively because I have had the opportunity +of becoming personally acquainted with his excellency +General Kolokotrones, and the officers who +accompanied him. But I freely acknowledge that it +is blended with a feeling of regret, in that it appears +to me that the bravest and most renowned officers of +Greece are devoting all their energies to the formation +of a civil government and wasting their time +in discussions as to the place in which they shall +effect a reunion while the enemy is overrunning the +country without resistance. Already he possesses +three-fourths of the fortresses of Greece, and is besieging +the capital of the republic. Athens is on the +point of falling into the power of the Ottoman forces; +the brave Fabvier and a few heroes, full of enthusiasm, +are engaged in aiding the valiant defenders of +that city; and meanwhile the officers of Greece +betake themselves again and again to frivolous discussions +on civil affairs. If the shade of Demosthenes +could again animate the ashes of this great man +which are here entombed, he would, changing only +the names of persons and places, address to you his +first Philippic, and you would hear from the lips of +a compatriot profoundly versed in history and in the +knowledge of mankind, what ought to be your +manner of acting. I recommend you to read his discourse +in full assembly, and I especially recommend +the citizens charged with presiding over the destinies +of Greece to follow his counsels point by point. +With an authority so applicable to the existing circumstances, +it would be unpardonable presumption +in me to address to you other than his own words. +'If, Athenians, you will now, though you did +not before, adopt the principle of every man +being ready, where he can and ought to give his +service to the state, to give it without excuse, the +wealthy to contribute, the able-bodied to enlist; in a +word, plainly, if you will become your own masters, +and cease each expecting to do nothing himself, +while his neighbour does everything for him, you +will then, with God's permission, get back your own, +and recover what has been lost, and punish your +enemy.'" +</p> + +<p> +To the same effect were Lord Cochrane's answers +to the congratulatory letters sent to him by the other +leading persons and parties in Greece. "It may be +well to notice," he wrote on the same day to the +Government at Egina, "that in the conversation +which I had with the deputation from Hermione, I +respectfully suggested that, as laws cannot be promulgated +with advantage whilst the mass of the +country is under the iron yoke of Turkish despotism, +nor executed whilst the lives and properties of all +continue insecure, the National Assembly might be +adjourned with advantage until the capital is free, +and thus we should avoid debating whilst we should +be acting, and check those animosities and divisions +which naturally arise from difference of sentiment +under the peculiar conditions of modern Greece." +"The time now draws near," he wrote to the Government +of Hydra, "when the approach of a large force +may reasonably be anticipated, and when consequently +the means that the Greeks possess of contending +with their enemies will be comparatively +diminished. I have, therefore, in the name of all +Europe—by whose people I may in truth say that I +have been sent here—called upon the Executive +Government, and upon all those connected with public +affairs, to act with union and promptitude, and I have +informed them that without harmony and exertion +amongst the chiefs, the slender means placed at my +disposal, and any services which I personally could +render, would prove of no avail. The people are split +into factions, and operations are paralyzed by the conflicting +personal interests of chiefs who perceive not +that the prize about which they are contending will +fall to the share of others. I have as yet taken no authority +upon me in naval affairs, because if union do +not prevail I shall deceive Greece and deceive the +world by inducing a belief that I could assist you." +</p> + +<p> +While waiting, however, for the rivalries of the +Greek leaders to be removed, or at any rate set aside +for a time, Lord Cochrane was not idle. He had +frequent interviews, not only with Admiral Miaoulis +and the other native seamen of ability, but also with +Dr. Gosse, and with Captain Abney Hastings, who +joined him on the 22nd, and provided him with much +precise information as to the naval strength of +Greece, the character of the officers and crews, and +the best methods of attacking the Turks with advantage. +Information as precise about the land +forces was derived from other Philhellenes, among +whom Colonel Heideck and Colonel Gordon were +perhaps the best informed. Lord Cochrane also +made the acquaintance of a new comer in Greece, +with whom he was soon to have very intimate relations—Sir +Richard Church. +</p> + +<p> +General Church had begun life as an officer in the +British army. He had seen various service between +1801 and 1809, and in the latter year had organised +a battalion of Greeks at Zante, with which, and +afterwards with another which he also formed, he had +played an important part in the war for the liberation +of the Ionian Islands. On the establishment of +peace, he had passed into the Neapolitan service. +Many of his old Greek soldiers were now leaders in +the Revolution, and, while Lord Cochrane was on his +way to become the First Admiral of the Greeks, +General Church had been invited to become Generalissimo +on land. He arrived at Porto Kheli, near +Kastri or Hermione, on the 9th of March, eight days +before the appearance of Lord Cochrane. The +generals assembled at Hermione came out to meet +him and tender their submission. "Our father is at +last come," said one; "we have only to obey him +and our liberty is secured." Sir Richard Church was +at once sought as a leader by the Moreot faction, just +as Lord Cochrane was claimed by the Phanariots as +their champion. He, however, like his new comrade, +wisely resolved to avoid partisanship and to study the +interests of Greece as a whole, and to him must be +assigned a share of the good work of pacification in +which Lord Cochrane was the prime mover. "This +unhappy country," he wrote to his new friend on +the 19th of March, "is now divided by absurd and +criminal dissensions. I hope, however, that your +lordship's arrival will have a happy effect, and that +they will do everything in their power to be worthy +of such a leader." +</p> + +<p> +They did something, if not everything. It was +firmly believed that party strife had reached such a +point that, had Lord Cochrane's arrival been delayed +only a few days longer, the leaders of the National +Assembly at Hermione, turning aside from their +useless discussions, would have acted upon a plot +that had been in preparation for several weeks, and, +landing a hostile force at Egina, would have violently +seized the whole Governing Commission there established. +Lord Cochrane's honest reproofs averted +this, and so saved Greece from the horrors of another +civil war. +</p> + +<p> +"I am happy to be able to inform you," wrote +General Church on the 25th of March, "that things +are brought to that state that the union of the +parties is, I think, now effected. The deputies from +Kastri came over to me yesterday morning to Damala, +and there they met those of Egina. After some discussion, +they have come to a conclusion, which, if +ratified by the Assembly at Egina, will finally terminate +the affair." +</p> + +<p> +The affair was not terminated immediately. Lord +Cochrane had to despatch many more letters and +messages of earnest entreaty and indignant reproach +to the leaders of the rival factions at Egina and Hermione, +and to other prominent men, before the good +end that he and all true Philhellenes and patriots +sought could be gained. "I have received the letter +which your excellency has addressed to me," wrote +the worthy Miaoulis, on the 3rd of April, in answer to +a letter declining to take command of the fleet until +the differences were settled; "and I appreciate the +objections which it contains. I wish with all my +heart that the reasons which prevent you may not +exist beyond this evening, and that a general union +will induce you to place yourself at the head of the +Greek navy." +</p> + +<p> +Before that, on the 28th of March, Lord Cochrane +had received a formal commission from the Government +at Egina. "Knowing well," ran the document, +"the valour, wisdom, ability, and energy, and all +the warlike virtues which are joined in the estimable +person of Lord Cochrane, and by which he has been +distinguished in all the various services with which +he has elsewhere been charged, the Governing Commission +ordains, first, that Lord Cochrane be appointed +First Admiral of the Fleet and of all the +naval forces of Greece; secondly, that he rank above +all other naval officers, and enjoy all the honours, +privileges, and rights that appertain to his office; +thirdly, that all the admirals, officers, and seamen of +Greece recognize him as their superior, and obey his +orders in all that concerns the service of the nation, +and that all servants of the State, whether civil or +military, render him the honour and respect that +are his due; fourthly, that the General Secretary of +the Government execute this order in all respects +so soon as his Excellency Lord Cochrane shall have +taken oath to perform the duties, in regard of which +he pledges himself to serve and to act." The document +was signed by Andreas Zaimes, as president, by +Trikoupes, Demetrakopoulos, Blakos, Zamados, Mavromichales, +Anargiros, Monarchides, and Zotos, and +by Glarakes, the Secretary of State. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane refused to accept the trust thus +imposed upon him, however, until the authorities at +Egina had united with those at Hermione and with +the primates of the islands in forming one true +National Assembly. They still hesitated and objected, +and he still had to warn and to expostulate. +At length, on the 3rd of April, being convinced that +milder language was useless, he wrote to the rival +leaders, informing them that, as his counsels appeared +to be of no avail, seeing that they were addressed to +persons, who, professing to have the interests of the +nation at heart, were determined to ruin those +interests by their obstinate selfishness, he should quit +Greece at once, unless, before the close of the day, +they agreed to lay aside their differences. +</p> + +<p> +That wise threat was successful. The factions +coalesced, and decided to meet in joint assembly at +Damala, also known by its ancient name of Troezene. +On the 4th of April Lord Cochrane was able to +write to them in a different tone. "Having come to +Greece," he said, "with a firm determination to have +nothing to do with party rivalries, except so far as +to seek to conciliate them for the public good, and not +to trouble myself about civil affairs, beyond assuring +myself of the legality of my functions as Admiral of +Greece, and having resolved to do all in my power +to obtain its deliverance from the Mahometan yoke, +as well as from all foreign domination, I am well +pleased at the reunion of all your members in a +single National Assembly, and congratulate you on +the restoration of harmony. Allow me, at the same +time, to offer my prayers for the unanimity of the +members of the Government, and for the prompt +completion of the business of the National Assembly, +in order that its members may depart to their respective +provinces, and use their great influence to impress +upon their compatriots the imminent danger of +the State, and induce them to rush to arms, and by one +simultaneous effort expel the oppressors of Greece. +After that the Legislative Assembly will have leisure, +and the requisite security, to deliberate upon the constitution, +the laws, and the arrangements necessary to +establish upon a permanent footing the happiness +and the prosperity of their fellow-citizens." +</p> + +<p> +Having thus done so much for Greece, Lord +Cochrane was asked to do more. "The deputies +whom you did me the honour to send," he wrote, on +the following day, "having informed me of the +difficulties which you find in forming a Government +with the necessary promptitude because of the +jealousies shown in choosing citizens to fill situations +of authority, permit me to advise that each member +should write down the name of the person of his +choice, and place it in an urn, and that he who thus +obtains the highest number of votes should be +president, the second, vice-president, and the others +ranged in order until the number of functionaries is +complete. In this way you will avoid discussions, +animosities, and the loss of time, which is so precious +in the present circumstances of Greece. At present +naval and military operations alike are all suspended, +while the enemy is preparing to put an end at once +to the question which engrosses your attention, and +to the independence and liberty of Greece!" That +sensible advice was not taken, but the first difficulties +in the way of administrative reform were overcome. +</p> + +<p> +On the 7th of April, the National Assembly met +at Damala, on the coast opposite to Poros, and half +way between Hermione and Egina—the meeting-place, +for want of a building large enough, to hold +the two hundred members, being a lemon-grove, +watered by the classic fountain of Hippocrene. Its +first business, attended by turmoil which threatened +to bring the whole proceeding to a violent close, was +the election of Count Capodistrias as President, for +seven years, of the Greek nation. Capodistrias was +the favourite of the Moreot party, but disliked by +the Phanariots, and hated by the island primates. +The two latter would have prevented the election, +but for the support given to it by Lord Cochrane, +who on this account has been frequently and +seriously blamed.<a class="fnref" href="#fn02" id="ref02">[2]</a> There can be no doubt, however, +that, whatever may have been the subsequent +shortcomings of Capodistrias, he was greatly superior +to any of the other and native candidates for +the office. None of these candidates had given +any proof of statesmanlike powers or disinterested +regard for the welfare of Greece. Lord Cochrane +judged, with good reason, that that welfare could +only be promoted by placing at the head of affairs a +man who had hitherto had no share in party strife, +who had proved himself to be possessed of great +abilities and of generous love for the nation of +which, as a native of Corfu, he was in some sort a +citizen. Unfortunately, though for this Lord Cochrane +was in no way responsible, the management of +affairs during the time that must elapse before Capodistrias, +if he accepted the office tendered to him, +could enter upon it, was <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'intrusted'" id="corr1">entrusted</ins> to a Vice-governing +Commission composed of three inefficient +men, Georgios Mavromichales, Milaites of Psara, +and Nakos of Livadia. +</p> + +<p> +The most important business done by the Troezene +Assembly was the installation of Lord Cochrane as +First Admiral of Greece. This was done on the 18th +of April. Landing for the first time on the continent, +Lord Cochrane proceeded in state on horseback for +the distance of a mile and a-half that was between +the shore and the lemon-grove. At the entrance he +was met by Kolokotrones, who embraced him, +saying, "You are welcome;" words that were +repeated by many other leading Greeks, who attended +and conducted him into the centre of the +grove. There he was formally introduced to the +delegates as the First Admiral. Through an interpreter +he addressed to them a few sentences, urging +the necessity of continued harmony, and of a prompt +expedition against the Turks, to be conducted both +by sea and by land. After that, placing his hand on +the hilt of his sword, he took the necessary oath: "I +swear to shed my blood for the safety of the Greeks +and for the liberation of their country; I swear that +I will not abandon their cause so long as they do not +themselves abandon it, but sustain my efforts." +</p> + +<p> +The election of Sir Richard Church as Generalissimo +of the Land Forces was, in like manner, +completed on the 15th of April. +</p> + +<p> +The essential business for which Lord Cochrane +had desired that the united National Assembly +should meet at Troezene being now accomplished, he +hoped that it would speedily adjourn, in order that +the military leaders should be enabled to proceed at +once to the work pressing urgently upon them. +"The critical moment," said Lord Cochrane, in a +letter addressed to them on the 16th of April, "has +arrived in which you are called upon to decide +whether the population of Greece shall be annihilated +or enslaved, your country peopled with barbarous +hordes, and the name of Greece blotted out from the +list of independent nations." The National Assembly, +however, spent more than another month in +idle discussions, and in disputing upon matters the +settlement of which ought to have been postponed +to a less perilous time. Again and again Lord +Cochrane had to impress upon them the necessity, in +war as in council, of prompt and united action; but +with very poor result. +</p> + +<p> +"Once more I address you by letter," he wrote a +few days later, "in the hope that you may be +persuaded instantly to take measures to save your +country from the ruin which protracted deliberations +must at the present moment entail—ay, with as +much certainty as a continuance of those dissensions +which have hitherto so unhappily prevailed; and I +follow this course the more readily in order that, as I +have ever advocated liberal forms of government, +my advice, that your Assembly shall bring its +labours to a close, shall not be misrepresented to +Greece and to the world. First, then, the agitated +state of the country, by reason of the presence of the +enemy, precludes the hope of obedience in ordinary +course of law, which is as essential to the existence +even of a shadow of republican forms as the practice +of virtue and forbearance are to their reality—which, +in states that would be free, ever must be accompanied +by universal conviction in the public +mind that power and wealth are not essential to the +enjoyment of personal security, and are desirable or +useful only as they promote the common welfare or +administer to the wants or comforts of individuals +themselves. The Grecian people, however good, +naturally cannot be expected instantly to practise +virtues which are the offspring of long-established +freedom. Greece requires not, at the present +moment, sage deliberations regarding permanent +forms of government, nor permanent rulers; but she +requires energetic authority, that she may be free at +least from her foreign oppressors. If, without delay, +the military officers take the field, if your labours be +brought to a close and every citizen in his respective +capacity exert himself to the utmost for the defence +of his country, Athens perhaps may yet be saved, +although that object assuredly is rendered far more +doubtful by the unfortunate delay that has already +occurred." +</p> + +<p> +In entering upon his own share of the work no +time was wasted by Lord Cochrane. He had already +made himself acquainted with the naval resources of +Greece, and done much in devising measures for +augmenting them. He had resolved upon the first +enterprise to be entered upon; and, while rapidly +completing his arrangements for it, he did everything +in his power to quicken in the hearts of the +Greeks a patriotism as pure and zealous as was his +own philanthropy. "To arms! to arms!" he wrote +in a proclamation issued at this time. "One simultaneous +effort, and Greece is free. Discord, the deadly +foe you have had most to fear, is conquered. The +task that now remains is easy. The youth everywhere +fly to arms. The fate of the Acropolis is no +longer doubtful. The Turks surrounded, their supplies +cut off, the passes occupied, and retreat impossible, +you can ensure the freedom of the classic +plains of Athens, again destined to become the seat +of liberty, the sciences, and the arts. Rest not +content with such limited success. Sheathe not the +sword whilst the brutal Turk, the enemy of the progress +of civilization and improvement of the human +mind, shall occupy one foot of that classic ground +which once was yours. Let the young seamen of the +islands emulate the glory that awaits the military +force. Let them hasten to join the national ships, +and, if denied your independence and rights, blockade +the Hellespont, thus carrying the war into the +enemy's country. Then the fate of the cruel Sultan, +the destroyer of his subjects, the tyrant taskmaster of +a Christian people, shall be sealed by the hands of +the executioners who yet obey his bloody commands. +Then shall prophecy be fulfilled, and Moslem sway +be overthrown by the corruptions itself has engendered. +Then shall the sacred banner of the Cross +once more wave on the dome of Saint Sophia. +Then shall the Grecian people live secure under the +protection of just laws. Then shall noble cities rise +from their ruins, and the splendour of future times +rival the days that are past." +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch18">CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +THE SIEGE OF ATHENS.—THE DEFENDERS OF THE ACROPOLIS.—THE EFFORTS +OF GORDON AND KARAÏSKAKES.—LORD COCHRANE'S PLAN FOR CUTTING +OFF THE TURKISH SUPPLIES.—THE ARGUMENTS BY WHICH HE WAS INDUCED +TO PROCEED INSTEAD TO THE PHALERUM.—HIS ARRIVAL THERE.— +HIS OTHER ARRANGEMENTS FOR SERVING GREECE.—HIS FIRST MEETING +WITH KARAÏSKAKES.—THE CONDITION OF THE GREEK CAMP.—LORD +COCHRANE'S POSITION.—HIS EFFORTS TO GIVE IMMEDIATE RELIEF TO THE +ACROPOLIS, AND THE OBSTACLES RAISED BY THE GREEKS.—KARAÏSKAKES'S +DELAYS, AND GENERAL CHURCH'S DIFFICULTIES.—THE CONVENT OF SAINT +SPIRIDION.—THE BATTLE OF PHALERUM.—THE CAPTURE OF SAINT SPIRIDION. +—THE MASSACRE OF THE TURKS, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.—LORD +COCHRANE'S RENEWED EFFORTS TO SAVE THE ACROPOLIS.—THE DEATH OF +KARAÏSKAKES.—THE MARCH TO THE ACROPOLIS.—ITS FAILURE THROUGH +THE PERVERSITY OF THE GREEKS.—THE BATTLE OF ATHENS.—THE FALL +OF THE ACROPOLIS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p> +After the conquest of Missolonghi, by which all +Western Greece was brought under Turkish dominion, +Reshid Pasha lost no time in proceeding to drive the +Greeks from Athens, their chief stronghold in the +east. The siege of the town had been begun by +Omar Pasha of Negropont, with a small Ottoman +force, on the 21st of June, 1826. Reshid arrived on +the 11th of July, and, after much previous fighting, +stormed Athens so vigorously on the 14th of August, +that the inhabitants were forced to abandon it. Many +of them, however, took refuge in the Acropolis, where +a strong garrison was established under the tyrannical +rule of Goura, and in this fortress the defence +was maintained for nearly two months. Goura died +in October, and the rivalries of the officers whom he +had held in awe, now allowed to have free exercise, +threatened to make easy the further triumph of the +besiegers. The citadel must have surrendered, but +for the timely arrival of Karaïskakes and Fabvier, +each with a strong body of troops, who diverted the +enemy by formidable attacks in the rear. Karaïskakes +and his force continued, with various success, to +watch and harass the enemy from without. On the +12th of December Fabvier, by a brilliant exploit, +forced his way into the Acropolis with about six +hundred men. He had intended only to give it +temporary relief, but many of the native chiefs, +gladly taking advantage of the arrival of a body for +which, conjointly with the garrison already established, +there was not room in the fortress, hastily +departed. Thus the leadership of the garrison, comprising +about a thousand soldiers, with whom were +four or five hundred women and children, and +more than forty Philhellenes from France, Switzerland, +Germany, and Italy, devolved upon Colonel +Fabvier. The besiegers numbered about seven thousand +picked soldiers, including a regiment of cavalry +veterans and a good train of artillery. The Greek +regulars and irregulars, including a corps of Philhellenes, +commanded by Captain Inglesi, who attempted +to raise the siege, varied, at different times, +from two or three thousand to seven or eight thousand. +</p> + +<p> +That was the state of affairs when Lord Cochrane +arrived in Greece. That the expulsion of the Turks +from Attica and the recovery of Athens was the first +great work to be attempted was clear to every one, +whether native or Philhellene, who had the welfare +of Greece at heart; but opinions varied as to the +best mode of procedure. Nearly all previous efforts +had been aimed at the direct attack of the besiegers +in Athens and its neighbourhood. General Gordon +had established a camp of about three thousand men +at Munychia, the hill from which, two and twenty +centuries before, Thrasybulus had gone down to +deliver Athens from the thirty tyrants; and Karaïskakes, +with some two thousand five hundred followers, +was stationed at Keratsina, on the other side of the +Piræus. But the operations of both leaders were +restrained by Reshid Pasha's establishment of a garrison +in the monastery of Saint Spiridion, midway +between the two camps; and, without wiser leaders +than the Greeks had hitherto possessed, there seemed +small chance of their chasing the enemy from his +strong positions. Another plan, feebly recommended +and yet more feebly attempted before Lord Cochrane's +arrival, was to starve him out by intercepting the +supplies of provisions that were brought from Turkey +by way of the northern channel of the Negropont, to +be sent overland from Oropos, a well-fortified magazine +on the northern shore of Attica. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane saw at once that this latter course +was the one most likely to be of service, or, at any +rate, the one rightly devolving upon him, while +General Church was pursuing his operations nearer +to Athens; and he was strengthened in this conviction +by discussion on the subject with General Gordon, +who came for a short visit to Poros, on the 21st +of March, in his own yacht. To this end he laboured +while he was waiting for the reconciliation of parties +and the official recognition of his employment as +First Admiral. "The fate of Athens," he wrote, +both to Kolokotrones and to Karaïskakes, on the 29th +of March, "depends upon our depriving the enemy +of the provisions obtained by him from the north. +The general and the soldiers who first devote themselves +to this object will have the glory of raising the +siege. For myself, I offer the heartiest co-operation +of the fleet, accompanied by two thousand brave +marines, and the use of all the war-steamers and +transports in any port of eastern Attica. There is +not a moment to be lost." This proposal was rejected +by Kolokotrones. On the 2nd of April, +Karaïskakes sent an ambiguous acceptance of it, which +he cancelled on the 13th. "We are so mixed up +with the enemy," he wrote, "that if we abandon the +smallest of our positions we must resign ourselves to +the loss of all. The Turks are so embarrassed by us +that they can offer only a feeble siege to the Acropolis. +Of this I am assured by several Greeks who +have lately come from their camp. Therefore, my +lord, I am deterred from assailing the enemy from the +north; and I have the boldness to assure and promise +you that, if you will aid me here, Athens will be free +in a few days. With the help of two thousand good +recruits, the enemy will not be able to resist our +enthusiasm. I implore you, in the name of Greece, +to assist me as soon as possible with the means of +destroying him and of saving Athens." +</p> + +<p> +That letter, and the advice of all in office, whether +military or civil, to the same effect, altered Lord +Cochrane's plans. "As he," said Gordon, who afterwards +blamed him on this account, "unacquainted +with the country and the language, could not form a +correct judgment on the innumerable reports transmitted +to him, it is not surprising that he was deceived +by letters written from the Acropolis, and +entrusted to soldiers who, disguised as Turks or +Albanians, slipped from time to time through the +enemy's lines. In these epistles, Fabvier and the +other chiefs painted their situation in the blackest +colours, carefully concealing the fact of their having +provisions for many months."<a class="fnref" href="#fn03" id="ref03">[3]</a> By them native +Greeks and foreigners long resident in the country +were deceived. Lord Cochrane, still clinging to his +project for injuring the Turks by cutting off their +supplies, was constrained to defer it for the present, +and in compliance with the requests of the Government, +of General Church, and of Karaïskakes, to co-operate +in the direct attack upon the enemy in the +Piræus. "I now agree with you," he wrote to the +latter, on the 14th of April, "that the time is past +when a movement in the rear of the Turks, and the +cutting off of their provisions, could have the effect +of saving the Acropolis, and I see clearly the justice +of your observation that a decisive blow must be +struck at once against the enemy. The eyes of +Europe are turned towards Greece, and on the success +or failure of the measures now to be adopted depends +the support of your glorious cause, or its abandonment +in despair." +</p> + +<p> +Something was done by Lord Cochrane at once, +however, towards the fulfilment of his first design. +He despatched Captain Abney Hastings, with the +<i>Karteria</i> and five other vessels, to the Gulf of Volo +and the Channel of Negropont, with orders to seize as +many Turkish provision-ships as he could there find +within the next fourteen days. One expedition was +very successful. Off Volo, on the 20th of April, +Hastings found eight transports protected by the +guns of the fort. He silenced the guns, captured +five of the vessels, and destroyed the other three. +He then passed down the channel, and near Tricheri +fell in with a Turkish brig-of-war, which, after some +skilful fighting, he destroyed by shells that exploded +her powder magazine. After that he proceeded to +Kumi, where he captured a store of grain, and reached +Poros within the time appointed. +</p> + +<p> +In the meanwhile Lord Cochrane had gone to the +Bay of Athens as soon as he could complete his +arrangements for the present and future employment +of the Greek shipping. "Four of the largest +brigs at Poros are in process of equipment," he +wrote to the Government on the 16th of April, "and +five of the fastest small sailing vessels of Spetzas, +and eight transports, with a thousand men, are ready +at Hydra to proceed on service. The frigate <i>Hellas</i> +is victualled for two months, four gun-boats have +been ordered to be built, and fireships are in progress +in addition to those which were already fitted +out. The expenses of these preparations have been, +or will be, defrayed out of the funds in my possession. +In addition to these disbursements, a very +considerable sum, out of the money destined for the +naval service, has been advanced by me for military +purposes. I consider that the fate of Greece depends, +in a great measure, on pecuniary aid from the rest of +Europe, and such aid on the probability of ultimate +success; but assuredly it will not be afforded if Greece +proves unable or unwilling to exert herself against the +handful of sickly and enfeebled Turks who continue +to besiege the Acropolis of Athens." +</p> + +<p> +On the 17th of April, Lord Cochrane passed from +Poros to Salamis in the <i>Hellas</i>, attended by twelve +brigs and schooners from Hydra and Spetzas. In +his pay were a thousand Hydriots, two hundred +Cretans, and a corps of Roumeliots. On the same +day, General Church embarked with three thousand +soldiers collected in the Morea, under Gennaios Kolokotrones, +Chrisanthos Sessini, and others. These new +supplies, with the troops already at Keratsina and +Munychia, composed a force of about ten thousand +men. +</p> + +<p> +Five days were spent in organising this force, over +which Sir Richard Church, though nominally +generalissimo, had very little real command. The +delay and the want of discipline which caused it +were alike annoying to Lord Cochrane, whose little +fleet was anchored in the small Bay of Phalerum, +his Hydriot recruits, under Major Gordon Urquhart, +being established on the adjoining shore. On the +18th he received a four hours' visit on board the +<i>Hellas</i> from Karaïskakes, a tall, bony, athletic man, +small-featured, and swarthy, with flashing eyes, and +a lively tongue, about forty years of age. On the +19th he and General Church went to inspect the +camp of the famous Greek leader at Keratsina. It +gave but slight evidence of military organization, and +both officers and men appeared to Lord Cochrane more +willing to talk than to fight. His presence among +them, however, stirred up a new and fitful enthusiasm. +On this occasion he brought with him a large blue +and white flag, with an owl, the national emblem +of Greece, painted on the centre, which had been +conveyed from Marseilles. The flag was unfurled in +the presence of seven thousand Greek soldiers, within +sight of the Turkish camp. Through his interpreter, +Lord Cochrane briefly addressed the soldiers, +urging them, for love of their country, and for their +own honour and welfare, to unite in a prompt and +vigorous attack on the enemy. Then, firmly planting +the flag in the ground, he exclaimed, "Soldiers, whoever +of you will lodge this flag on the summit of the +Acropolis, shall receive from me, as a reward of his +bravery, a thousand dollars, and ten times that sum +shall be my share of the recompense to the force that +accompanies him!" Great applause, of course, +followed that announcement, but not much more +than applause. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane's popularity with the troops and +their leaders, for the time at any rate, was unbounded. +Karaïskakes, Niketas, Zavella, Notaras, Makriyannes, +Gennaios Kolokotrones, and all the other captains +vied with one another in offering fulsome adulation to +him, and pledging themselves to yield implicit obedience +to his instructions. By word, indeed, they +were more submissive than he wished. He had to +remind them that he was admiral of the fleet, not +generalissimo on land, and that the latter office was +held by Sir Richard Church. Unfortunately, Karaïskakes +and his followers were, from the first, jealous +of General Church; and General Church, accustomed +only to the management of a small disciplined band, +was unequal to the troublesome duties appertaining to +him as controller of a heterogeneous crowd of irregular +soldiers, most of them trained as brigands, and +accustomed to the half-lawless rule of their own petty +officers. Hardly a day passed in which he did not +complain bitterly to Lord Cochrane of the obstructions +thrown in his way; and Lord Cochrane had +to take upon himself the thankless functions of a +mediator between a good-hearted commander-in-chief +and his disaffected subordinates. +</p> + +<p> +This state of things would at any time have been +irksome to him. It was especially so in the condition +of affairs represented to him. Each day fresh reports +were brought of the desperate state of the +Acropolis. "The affairs of the fortress of Athens," +we read in one document, signed by seven leaders of +the besieged, and dated the 22nd of April, "have +arrived at a very critical height, and no longer any +remedy is expected from within, and therefore the +besieged are obliged to address themselves to the +Government of Greece and to the commanders of +her forces, and to urge them to adopt the best, +the speediest, and the most efficient measures to +relieve the citadel. The Government and the commanders +have always replied with promises of the +most positive kind to raise the siege in a very few +days. We can no longer believe their word. To +give you further intelligence, we send now five men, +who will tell you verbally what we cannot describe. +If, however, they do not persuade you, we tell you +this is our last letter. We will wait five days longer, +and we can hold out no more. We have been +brothers, and remain so during dearth, sickness, and +all evils. Our nature is like that of all men: we can +suffer no more than others. We are neither angels +nor workers of miracles, to raise the dead, or do +impossible things. If any evil should happen, we are +not to blame, nor has God to condemn us in anything." +The bearers of this letter, and others who +brought a like report, were carefully examined by +Lord Cochrane, and by them he was solemnly assured +that the garrison of the Acropolis, destitute of provisions +and every other necessary, could not possibly +hold out more than five days longer. +</p> + +<p> +He and all others were deceived; but he alone +thoroughly felt the urgent need of instant action. +"As I perceive the ruin of Greece," he wrote to +Karaïskakes on the 23rd of April, "in the delay now +taking place, and as I have every reason to believe +that intrigues are carrying on by persons of desperate +fortune and worthless character, with a view +to promote their private ends, they not being aware +that the subjection of Greece to a foreign power will +ultimately destroy the hopes which they entertain, I +take the liberty of urging, as an officer who has some +character to lose in this affair, that your excellency +should caution the officers of your army against the +vain belief that intrigues at the present moment can +produce any other effect than the ruin of themselves +and their country. The education which my +countrymen, in common with myself, have received, +leads to an attachment to the cause of Greece +amounting to enthusiasm, and this feeling cannot but +be increased by viewing the monuments of her +ancient grandeur. I am ready to do my utmost to +promote the interests of your country, but I am by +no means willing to allow myself to be made the +puppet of intriguers. I shall put an end to intrigue +in the navy or I shall quit it, and I trust your +excellency will excuse me if I adopt the same +resolutions respecting the army, if you yourself cannot +put it down. I have been but a short time in +Greece, but have taken effectual measures to obtain +that sort of information which is necessary for my +guidance. This has led me to the resolution to act +by myself and for Greece, so far as I can, whenever +I find that others are either disinclined or unable to +co-operate. I have moved the transports close to the +Phalerum in order that they may be more conveniently +situated when I shall learn the determination +of your excellency and the officers in your +camp. If that determination is to relieve Athens +the night of the 26th is passed, the marines +whom I have hired, paid, and victualled, shall co-operate; +if not, I shall try to render them serviceable +in some other quarter, and I will denounce to the +world as traitors to their country those intriguers +who are the cause of the captivity and perhaps +annihilation of the garrison in the Acropolis. My +advice to your excellency is, that passing the tambourias +by night, without firing a shot, you join our +troops in the olive-grove, where I will take care they +shall meet your excellency, if such is your pleasure. +I have been anxious that the glory of relieving +Athens should accrue to a Greek, and especially to +your excellency. That object I am ready to promote +by every means in my power. The friendly manner +in which we the other day met will cause me to +regret, if in my next letter I shall be obliged to bid +your excellency adieu for ever." +</p> + +<p> +That letter to Karaïskakes was followed by one, +written on the 24th, to General Church. "In forty-eight +hours," wrote Lord Cochrane, "the question +of relieving Athens will be at a close. I have told +Karaïskakes what I think of the state of affairs, and +have made up my mind to act accordingly; taking +upon myself all the responsibility of not looking +longer on tambouria disputes whilst it seems resolved +by the Greeks themselves not to march to the +relief of Athens. I have not sent the transports to +Attica to raise the miserable inhabitants at this +hour, when too late for them to be of the least use in +relieving the Acropolis. If I had done so, I should +have the load on my conscience of causing their +heads to be struck off. I can assure you, Sir +Richard, that Colonel Gordon and myself laboured +long ago to prevail on Karaïskakes to do this, but he +resisted every application, for reasons which it will +be well if he can satisfactorily explain hereafter. If +your men will not come on, and Karaïskakes's men +will not in the night pass those miserable tambourias, +which in that case are no impediment, what +is the use of my detaining the squadron here? I +have viewed the bugbear of a convent this day from +opposite sides, and it is no more in Karaïskakes's +way than the church of Poros. +</p> + +<p> +"Since writing the above," Lord Cochrane added, +"I have received your note requesting that six +hundred men shall be transported hence to Karaïskakes's +head-quarters in the rear. The naval funds +have been expended and our funds exhausted in +bringing forces nearer to the enemy. I am sure if +you reflect on this demand of his, and that Karaïskakes's +head-quarters are twice as far from Athens +as the Phalerum, you will be of the opinion that it +would be better to bring an equal number, or even +the whole of Karaïskakes's force here, and endeavour +immediately to do something effectual to save Fabvier +and the garrison from the inevitable destruction +consequent on the present mode of proceeding. If +Karaïskakes wants more men he wants them to take +tambourias, and not to march past them as he ought, +for his present position is of no use whatever. Do +cause some rational mode of proceeding to be +adopted, or let us give it up; for we are now only +in the way by occasioning jealousy and promoting +the vilest intrigues." +</p> + +<p> +The "bugbear of a convent," which Karaïskakes +wished first to capture, was the monastery of Saint +Spiridion, occupied by a few scores of Turks, who +from it overlooked the Greek encampments on each +side, the one at Piræus, the other at Munychia, with +a distant view of Lord Cochrane's station at Phalerum +and of Sir Richard Church's on the other side. +Finding that Karaïskakes would not join with +Church and press on to Athens, at a distance of about +seven miles, Lord Cochrane had urged the co-operation +of all the forces at Cape Colias, whence +the way to Athens was only about five miles long. +Karaïskakes, however, refused this plan also. He +maintained that the only safe course was to preserve +his position and strengthen it by the formation of +innumerable small circular earthworks, known as +tambourias, within which the soldiers could crouch by +day and lie securely on the bare ground at night. +In this way he hoped to starve out the garrison at +Saint Spiridion, the capture of which he deemed +essential before any formidable attempt was made +upon the main body of the Turkish camp, in Athens +and around it, and especially under the walls of the +Acropolis. In vain Lord Cochrane urged that this +mode of warfare, tardy and expensive enough at the +best of times, was cruelly reprehensible when they +considered the wretched state in which the garrison +of the Acropolis was supposed to be, and the prospect +of its speedy evacuation. Karaïskakes refused +to move, answering each appeal by unreasonable demands +upon Lord Cochrane for supplies of ammunition +and provisions, which it was no part of his +duty to supply out of the residue of the insignificant +sum of 8,000<i>l</i>. supplied to him out of the Greek loan +for naval purposes.<a class="fnref" href="#fn04" id="ref04">[4]</a> It may be that Karaïskakes—a +bold and shrewd man—was not personally responsible +for his inactivity. His army was little more than a +commonwealth of small bands, of which each leader +claimed an authoritative share in all deliberations, +and owed, even to him, only a nominal subjection. +But if we acquit him individually of cowardice, we +only throw the greater blame on the Greek force as +a whole. That it was blameworthy is clear. "Your +lordship," wrote Sir Richard Church in answer to +the letter just quoted, "is not aware of all the +difficulties I had to encounter in passing our troops +who had all struck for pay. Not one would move. +However, that difficulty is now nearly over and +the greater part are passing to the camp at this +moment." +</p> + +<p> +Unexpected boldness was forced upon them on the +25th of April. "I am now in a position," wrote +Lord Cochrane to General Church at eight o'clock in +the morning from the Piræus, "to carry you all over +to the rear of the enemy, if Karaïskakes's army have +the courage to walk to this point, which is in their +own possession, in order to land on the opposite +shore at two hundred yards distance, and whereon is +not a living soul. I can make such a diversion by +means of the seamen at night as would enable +Karaïskakes's army to move on by land towards the +Phalerum, whilst those on the Phalerum, with the +exception of a few, might take up a position near +Athens or in the town. I can embark you and +yours, and leave Karaïskakes's men without food, +taking all the provisions to the advanced post, leaving +him to starve or come on." +</p> + +<p> +That desperate expedient was averted. Two or +three hours after suggesting it, Lord Cochrane was +superintending the debarkation of some thirty +soldiers, under cover of two gunboats. A party of +Ottomans, seeing the operation, hurried down with +the intention of harassing the new comers. Lord +Cochrane's Hydriots, however, rushed to the rescue. +Other Turkish troops came up, to be met by other +Greeks, and the battle became general. Lord Cochrane, +with nothing but his telescope in his hand, +gathered the Christian troops round him, and, with +encouraging words, led them on in an orderly attack +upon the entrenchments about the monastery of +Saint Spiridion. Within an hour, nine entrenchments +were in the hands of the Greeks, who lost only +eight men. Sixty Turks were slain, and then their +comrades fled, most of them hurrying up to the camp +of Athens, a few betaking themselves to the convent. +</p> + +<p> +"The Greeks," wrote Lord Cochrane to the Government, +"have this day done as their forefathers +were wont to do. Henceforth commences a new +era in the system of modern Grecian warfare. +If every one behaves to-morrow as all, without +exception, have behaved to-day, the siege of the +Acropolis will be raised and the liberty of Greece +secured." +</p> + +<p> +By this success the Turks, with exception of the +garrison in the convent, were driven back to the +neighbourhood of Athens, and Karaïskakes was encouraged +to remove his camp from Keratsina to the +Piræus. At a council of war held the same evening +Lord Cochrane urged a sudden and united attack +upon the Turkish camp on the morrow. Karaïskakes, +however, declined to move a step further until the +monastery was captured, and, as General Church +agreed with this view, Lord Cochrane assented to it. +</p> + +<p> +Early next morning the bombardment of the +monastery was begun. The <i>Hellas</i>, commanded by +Miaoulis, discharged her heavy guns upon it during +several hours, with such effect that it seemed to be +only a mass of ruins. It was feebly invested by +Karaïskakes on land. But its garrison held out with +excellent bravery. Thrice the Greeks tried to storm +it; but thrice they were driven back. +</p> + +<p> +In the evening the Turks solicited an armistice, +and offered to capitulate on condition that they +should be allowed to retire with all their arms and +properties: and this proposal Karaïskakes was +inclined to accept. Lord Cochrane, however, contended +that they should have nothing but bare life. +While this was being discussed, the Turks perfidiously +assassinated a Greek messenger sent to treat +with them, and fired upon a boat in which Lord +Cochrane's secretary, Mr. Edward Masson, was +carrying the flag of truce. Thereupon, the Chief +Admiral refused to hear any more of a compromise. +Returning to his ship, he ordered the bombardment +of the convent to be resumed, and besought Karaïskakes +to continue storming it by land. +</p> + +<p> +This was done throughout the 27th, but unsuccessfully, +because unwillingly. The Greeks asserted +that the Turkish garrison was utterly without provisions +and water. Lord Cochrane urged that, if it +was so, a small detachment of the Greek army and +the ships of war would suffice for its investment, +while the main force marched boldly on to Athens +before the terror inspired by its recent achievements +had died out. He reproached them with cowardice, +and threatened to leave them unless they took +prompt measures for completing their triumph. +"The services of the navy," he wrote to Karaïskakes, +"are immediately required for other purposes than +those of attending upon an inactive army. My duty +I am determined to execute in all possible ways in +which my services can benefit Greece. I shall therefore +be gratified if, in reply to this letter, you will +inform me if it is in your power to make the army +advance, and if that advance will take place before +to-morrow night. It will give me the greatest pleasure +to co-operate with you in all manner of ways, +but my desire to that effect is rendered null if those +under your orders will not conform to your wishes +or obey your commands." +</p> + +<p> +To the same effect Lord Cochrane wrote, on the +following morning, to General Church. "The convent +and its walls," he said, "have been levelled to +the ground. The rubbish alone remains on the +southern side towards the shipping; and it appears +that not more than one hundred of those it contained, +or who fled within its walls for safety, now remain to +oppose, or assault, or threaten, the rear of the Greek +army, should you be able to prevail on its leaders to +advance. I should remind those leaders that, independently +of the army, I have full fifteen hundred +men under my command, a thousand of whom, being +on shore now at this port, are more than sufficient to +blockade these ruins or destroy all within; which +last event might have taken place yesterday had it +not been that the seamen were removed from the +positions which they had stormed and taken, in the +neighbourhood of the convent, and soldiers placed in +their stead—a circumstance which seems to have +given them offence, so that they leave the storming +of the ruins of the convent to those thus placed, as +they say, in the post of honour. These feelings, in +such minds—however proper the proceedings may +have been in a military point of view—I cannot prevent +or remove. Time, provisions, and money, are +wasting in inaction. The enemy is concentrating +troops and fortifying positions around Athens, each +of which positions will be a pretext for delay; even +were I not aware that abundant excuses of other +kinds will not be wanting—such as the arrival of a +few hundred cavalry from Negropont or the like; +so that I really begin to despair of one step being +made in advance for the relief of the Acropolis. I +know the difficulties of your situation, and I fear that +they are more than even your energy can surmount. +When you shall have done your utmost towards the +end we have in view, I shall make one effort for the +safety of the unfortunate women and children who +are threatened with immediate destruction or perpetual +slavery. Pray let me have a decisive reply +as to what is to be done, and when." +</p> + +<p> +General Church's reply is instructive. "I have +read your letter with great attention," he wrote, +"and fully enter into your view of affairs. The +Hydriots are unquestionably the best to storm, if +anybody will storm. The soldiers that they say +have taken their post were placed to co-operate in a +general assault, and I had made an arrangement with +a chief who certainly displayed considerable courage +the other day. I gave him directions to collect a +band, or forlorn hope, of volunteers to lead with, and +he is to have five hundred dollars for himself and +five hundred for his band. Had it not rained—however +ridiculous it may seem to say so—I am sure that +a storming party would have advanced yesterday +evening, and I hope it will do so to-day. In fact, the +rain yesterday almost dispersed the whole camp, and +many of our outposts were quite abandoned. If the +Hydriots will advance, I will order the others away +immediately. You have no idea of my anxiety to +move on, and I cannot express it. Karaïskakes is +at this moment going round his outposts. As soon +as he returns, I shall send for him and combine with +him, <i>bon gré mal gré</i>, an advance for to-night or to-morrow. +I will let you know as soon as we have +had our conference. I think, my lord, that if the +weather clears up, we shall be able still to storm, and +perhaps a little firing again would have the effect of +rousing the fellows." +</p> + +<p> +Soldiers who could only fight in fine weather were +hardly fit to rescue Greece in the heaviest pressure +of her misfortunes. On the previous night something +like a mutiny had been occasioned by Lord Cochrane's +complaints at their inactivity. Even Karaïskakes +sympathised with his captains. "We shall +not go well with these English," he said; "I fear +they will ruin us by their impatience. They cannot +restrain themselves. But we must make the best we +can of them." Sir Richard Church, fired with Lord +Cochrane's ardour, would not be made the best of, +according to the views of Karaïskakes and his followers. +The letter from him last quoted was +followed within an hour by a brief one:—"My lord, +I have the honour to inform you that I have given +over the command to General Karaïskakes." +</p> + +<p> +Karaïskakes and the Greek officers were thus left, +at about ten o'clock in the morning of the 28th, to +work out their own devices. At eleven, Lord +Cochrane received orders to cease the firing which +he had reopened from the guns of the <i>Hellas</i>. The +movements which, through his telescope, he saw in +process within the convent walls and at its gate +induced him to send strict orders to Major Urquhart +to withdraw his Hydriot marines from their post +near the convent, and station them on the summit of +Munychia. +</p> + +<p> +The Turks had again sent offers of capitulation, +and Karaïskakes, now uncontrolled by Lord Cochrane +or General Church, and in contempt of his +positive assertion, made two days before, that the +garrison had not a ration of provisions left and could +easily be starved into utter submission, had acceded +to their terms. It was agreed that they were to be +allowed to surrender with all the honours of war. +Bearing their arms and all their property, they were +to pass unmolested into the Turkish camp on the +hills. Karaïskakes must be blamed for this excess of +generosity; but, to his credit be it stated, that, +having agreed to the capitulation, he took all reasonable +care to have it honourably observed. Along +the road leading from the gate of the convent to the +fortifications on the hills he ranged soldiers on either +side, in order that the Turks might be protected +from the crowd of less disciplined soldiers. All +looked well as the two hundred and seventy men, +women, and children who had been locked within the +shattered building passed out of it and began their +march. But no sooner was the convent evacuated +than a swarm of Greeks rushed into it, each hoping +to seize the largest share of the booty which they +expected to find. They found nothing, and then +angrily rushed out again to inform their comrades of +their disappointment. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane watched their proceedings from the +deck of the <i>Unicorn</i>, General Gordon and Mr. +Finlay, who was then serving as a volunteer on +Gordon's staff, being by his side. "All those men +will be murdered!" exclaimed Mr. Finlay, pointing +to the retreating Turks. Lord Cochrane, not yet +initiated in all the depths of Greek treachery, turned +in horror to General Gordon and said, "Do you +hear what he says?" "My lord," answered Gordon, +"I fear it is too true."<a class="fnref" href="#fn05" id="ref05">[5]</a> +</p> + +<p> +And so it proved. A Greek soldier, pushing +through the guard, snatched at the sword of one of +the Turks passing along the line. The Turk resisted, +and a scuffle followed. Two or three other Turks +raised their muskets and fired. A score of Greeks at +once retaliated. A shadow of an excuse was thus +afforded to the Christians for wreaking vengeance +for all the ills they had endured from the enemy, and +for giving vent to their anger at finding no prizes in +the deserted convent. A horrible massacre ensued. +Two hundred or more Turks were murdered. Less +than seventy escaped. "Forgive me, as I forgive +you," shouted Karaïskakes to the Moslems, after +vainly trying to stay the slaughter; "I can do +nothing more for you." +</p> + +<p> +"Islanders," wrote Lord Cochrane, in a proclamation +to his Hydriot force, "I was no party to the +capitulation this day. Fearing that some outrage +might be committed, I sent you an order to retire; +and I glory in the consciousness that I have saved +you as well as myself from being inculpated in the +most horrid scene I ever beheld,—a scene which +freezes my blood, and which cannot be palliated by +any barbarities which the Turks have committed on +you. I send you the thousand dollars which I +promised should be distributed, as a reward for your +valour and for your obedience to my directions, +which you will ever find lead to the path of honour +and humanity and the duty we owe to your country." +</p> + +<p> +Utter confusion among the Greeks resulted, for a +time, from the barbarous massacre of Saint Spiridion. +The soldiers quarrelled and fought over the blood-stained +spoil. The officers were occupied with +mutual recriminations and excuses regarding their +several shares in the atrocity. Karaïskakes found +himself unable to establish order, and had to entreat +Sir Richard Church to take back his surrendered +authority. +</p> + +<p> +To this General Church assented on the promise +that, if he did so, he should be aided in bringing the +chief wrong-doers to justice. Indeed, both he and +Lord Cochrane hoped, for a little while, that their +very misconduct, filling the Greeks with shame and +penitence, would incline them to listen to the +counsels in which they both saw the only chance +of safety to the garrison of the Acropolis. "The +destinies of Greece," wrote Lord Cochrane to +Karaïskakes, on the 29th of April, "the fate of your +army, and the character of its chiefs, are now wholly +in the hands of your excellency. You and you alone +will be held responsible for all that shall happen. +The hour of clemency for Greece is past; the sword +alone can decide the contest. Courage is a characteristic +of men who deserve to be free. Let then the +conduct of a few atrocious individuals yesterday be +effaced by a march direct to Athens, at least to +relieve the women and children now doomed to +destruction, if prompt exertions be not made to save +them. Your excellency has hitherto treated my +friendly advice in a manner which I did not +anticipate; but the world will judge between the +course you have taken and that which I wished you, +for the benefit of your country, to pursue. I shall +wait three days for your excellency's reply, when it +will be my duty, if the fortress be not relieved, to +attend exclusively to naval affairs. I hope you will +reflect on the glory you may yet attain by saving +your country, and on the ruinous consequences of +persevering in inaction until the last resources of +war shall be exhausted." +</p> + +<p> +Karaïskakes's only answer was that the army was +in urgent need of spades and shovels, with which he +hoped that Lord Cochrane would supply him, as +without those means of making fresh tambourias he +could not move from his encampment. Lord Cochrane +was reasonably indignant. "I confess," he +wrote in reply, "that I am now in despair of your +making any movement for the relief of the Acropolis, +because I have now ascertained that, all the obstacles +which first presented themselves to your excellency +being overcome, others successively present themselves, +to put off the day of your march to the +Acropolis. I have made a diversion here this day in +favour of your excellency, which, by all the rules of +military tactics, must increase the relative strength +of your army and facilitate its march. My time and +attention must now be devoted to naval matters, and +unless you advance this evening, I shall have deeply +and bitterly to regret, for the sake of Greece, that I +ever put faith in anything being accomplished by +individuals to whom so many difficulties, which my +experience has taught me to be imaginary, present +themselves. I recall to your excellency's recollection +your promises and assurances, and I call upon +you to make some effort to save your country +from inevitable ruin. I solemnly declare that +it is my opinion that a thousand men who would +obey orders and do their duty are more than are +necessary to perform the task at which your +excellency hesitates. I shall be oppressed with +grief if, after the scene of yesterday, I am compelled +to return, first, to the seat of Government, and next +to Europe, without having witnessed any deed that +can tend to obliterate the stain thereby affixed on the +Grecian people." +</p> + +<p> +"I am making my last effort," wrote Lord Cochrane +to Dr. Gosse, "to get Karaïskakes to advance. +The monastery is taken, its defenders are destroyed, +and now the sheepfold on the other side of the Phalerum +is the obstacle. We want mortars, shells, and +fuses, shoes for the seamen, and food for the mob +denominated falsely the army of Greece." +</p> + +<p> +The letter to Karaïskakes had some effect. On the +30th of April, General Church wrote to say that he had +persuaded the Greek captains to agree unanimously +to an immediate movement against Athens. Two +thousand men were to go, during the following night, +by water to the neighbourhood of Cape Colias, and +thence march stealthily to a hill about a mile south +of Athens, which they hoped to seize and secure +under cover of the darkness. During the next evening, +a force about twice as large was to join them by +the same route, and all were to do their best to drive +the Turks from their encampments round the Acropolis. +This was Lord Cochrane's plan; and there +can be no doubt that it would have been successful +had the Greeks acted upon it and done their duty. +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately they did neither. Having promised +overnight, they found reasons in the morning for +breaking their promises. Nothing was done on the +1st of May, and Lord Cochrane, tired of their excuses +for procrastination, paid a brief visit to the authorities +at Poros. The result was, that he thought of +going without the Greek leaders. "I have seen the +Government," he wrote to Sir Richard Church on the +2nd, "and prepared them for the worst, should +things go on as they have hitherto done. They are +incapable of applying any remedy. Therefore, the +more credit will be due to you if you shall be enabled +to save the garrison of the Acropolis; in which +endeavour count on my utmost exertions and most +unlimited co-operation. I hope now you will be able +to act without Karaïskakes. In addition to your +own people, I can provide two thousand marines, +seamen, and volunteers. With these, if you land at +night to the eastward, you may be in the neighbourhood +of Athens in two hours; and then there is the +garrison of fifteen hundred in addition to co-operate, +making in the whole a force of nearly five thousand, +without taking a soldier from Karaïskakes's tambourias. +If, however, you judge well to have volunteers +from Karaïskakes's camp, I shall offer 200,000 piastres +amongst all who will accompany you or meet you +at Athens; by which means I have little doubt you +will find Karaïskakes deserted, and the whole mob +at the gates of Athens. All the vessels are at your +service." +</p> + +<p> +Sir Richard Church feared to undertake the exploit +without the co-operation of Karaïskakes, and, +on again consulting him, he was informed that a +fresh supply of entrenching tools was necessary. Lord +Cochrane immediately sent messengers to procure +them, but was none the less annoyed at what seemed +to him an unnecessary excuse, and again threatened +to take his ships where they could do good work for +Greece. "You have done everything in your +power," wrote Sir Richard to him on the 3rd of +May, "and so have I. The soldiers will not embark +without the entrenching tools. All we could collect +do not amount to two hundred and fifty. I would +have gone without one, but no one will follow me. +I cannot say more; but to-morrow we may be more +fortunate. I cannot say to you stay or otherwise. If +you go, I cannot deplore it more than yourself." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane consented to wait till the morrow, +and on the morrow an incident occurred which +caused a little further delay. On the 4th of May a +small body of Greeks, chiefly Hydriots, went on a +skirmishing expedition. At first they were successful, +and they had nearly won a redoubt, when a +large force of Turks suddenly assailed them on the +flank, and drove them back to Phalerum with a loss +of nearly a hundred men. Karaïskakes, hearing of +this reverse, hurried to the rescue, and with the +bravery which was never wanting to him when in +actual battle, sought to rally the fugitives. He was +on the point of leading them back, when a ball from +a pistol struck him in the belly. He was conveyed, +in a dying state, to General Church's schooner. +Regret at his previous vacillations seems to have +filled his mind. "Where is Cochrane? Bring +Cochrane to me!" he exclaimed over and over again. +Lord Cochrane soon arrived. Karaïskakes, on seeing +him, murmured repeated thanks to him for his forbearance +towards himself and his devotion to the +cause of the Greeks. In his eagerness, he seized the +interpreter, Mr. Masson, by the beard, and, pointing +towards Cape Colias, said, with all the strength he +could muster, "Tell them to be sure to land the +division over there to-morrow." Then, not doubting +that the expedition would be successful, he uttered +solemn thanks to Heaven that he was dying in the +moment of victory. Then he made his will—a +soldier's will. "I leave my sword and my gun to my +son. Tell him to remember they belonged to Karaïskakes." +He had little else to leave, having always +been free from the avarice by which many of his +countrymen were disgraced. He died in the night, +and in him Greece lost the worthiest of her native +warriors. His faults were the faults of his nation. +Many of his virtues were his own. Had his followers +been as brave and honest as he was in his best +moments, he might have led them on to easy victory. +But they wavered and procrastinated, and, in listening +to their excuses, he lost his chance of triumph +and subjected himself to blame, for which his brave +death only half atoned. +</p> + +<p> +On the evening of the 4th, Lord Cochrane assembled +the Greek captains at Munychia, and telling +them of their leader's dying message, asked whether +they were ready to obey it. For some time they +made no answer. At length, on the question being +repeated, they replied that they thought they had +only been brought thither to hear from the Admiral +words of consolation for the loss they had sustained +in the death of the brave and wise Karaïskakes. +Being asked a third time whether they would obey +the dying injunction of the leader for whom they +now mourned so much, they answered that they were +not ready, that the army was in disorder, that some +of them were occupied in burying the slain, that some +were tending the wounded, and that all desired to +stay near their chief as long as the soul was in his +body, and to have at any rate the opportunity of +kissing his body before its burial. +</p> + +<p> +With some bitterness, Lord Cochrane replied that +such an excess of grief was inopportune, and that +their love for Karaïskakes would be best shown in +obeying his last command. He added that, if they +really refused to go to the rescue of the Acropolis, +they would not need his presence on the coast and +could not complain of his going to serve Greece elsewhere. +Having said that, he returned to his ship. +</p> + +<p> +He had not been long on board, however, when a +messenger followed him with intelligence that the +army would adopt his plan and be ready, without +fail, to proceed to the Acropolis on the following +evening. There was no further procrastination, and +throughout the next day preparations were being +made for what one historian of the Greek Revolution +calls "a whim,"<a class="fnref" href="#fn06" id="ref06">[6]</a> and another "an insane scheme."<a class="fnref" href="#fn07" id="ref07">[7]</a> +</p> + +<p> +"The scheme," says one who was in close attendance +on Lord Cochrane all through this time, +Mr. Edward Masson, "was anything but insane. It +was one of the most sober, safe, and practicable plans +ever formed. The first and fundamental condition +on which Lord Cochrane consented to co-operate in +any plan of landing troops at Cape Colias was, that +the troops landed should not expose themselves to an +attack of cavalry in the plains, but should, on being +landed, proceed by a night march, in compact order, +and without halting, to a specified rocky height +beyond the temple of Jupiter Olympus, a position +which, it was admitted by all, they could hold with +perfect safety during the day. From this position, +the leaders were to try to communicate, by signals or +otherwise, with the garrison, and in concert with it, +act as circumstances might dictate. Should the +garrison resolve to make a sortie, the main body of +the Greek army advancing simultaneously from the +Phalerum, it was confidently hoped that the combined +attack on the enemy would prove victorious; +or, at least, would be so far successful, as to enable +the Greeks to save the garrison and bring away the +families. The great characteristic of the plan was, +that nothing should be risked in reference to the +enemy's cavalry, and that if the detachment should +find they could accomplish nothing, they should, on +the following night, return as they went, in safety, +and be embarked for the Phalerum." +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately, the two main points on which Lord +Cochrane had insisted were neglected, and thereby +what must otherwise have been a brilliant victory +was turned into a miserable defeat. He had insisted +upon the movement from Cape Colias being aided by +the march of the main body of the army direct from +the Piræus to the hills, thus diverting the attention +of many of the Turks while the advancing party and +the garrison were uniting; but Zavella, to whom +this part of the work had been entrusted, never +moved at all. He had urged yet more strongly that +the preparations for the advance should be so hastened +as that all the ground should be travelled over +during the night-time, while the Turks were in ignorance +of it; but instead of that, the Greeks, though +they were embarked at Phalerum by midnight, and +landed at Cape Colias before two o'clock in the +morning, loitered near the shore till daylight, so +that their whole enterprise was exposed to the enemy. +The critics who have laid the blame of the disaster on +Lord Cochrane have neglected to show how these +circumstances caused the failure of the enterprise. +</p> + +<p> +The story of the disaster of the 6th of May will be +best told in the words of an eye-witness. "About +three thousand soldiers," said Dr. Gosse, in a letter +written to M. Eynard on the 23rd, "were embarked +in the night between the 5th and the 6th of May, in +a clear moonlight, and in the most perfect order, and +promptly landed on the other shore. Up to that +time everything favoured our enterprise; but the +treason and negligence of the chiefs, and the indolence +of some of the soldiers, altogether destroyed it. +Instead of marching directly to Athens during the +night, they employed themselves in constructing +redoubt after redoubt, as bad as they were useless, of +the sort called by them tambourias. We counted a +dozen. Only the Suliots, the Candiots, commanded +by Demetrius Kalerdji, two hundred regular troops, +under the orders of Inglesi and D'aujourd'hui, and +twenty-two Philhellenes, went in advance. Without +any hindrance, they reached within cannon-shot of +the Acropolis, towards Philippapus, so that, as I +have heard, they could even speak with the besieged; +but, having received no orders to enter, they waited +until the day rendered their position hazardous. +The enemy thus had time to ascertain their weakness +and to send against them eight hundred horsemen. +Thrice these troops were repulsed. Vasso and Notaras, +however, who covered the right flank, abandoned +their posts, as they had done in the affair of the +unfortunate Bourbakes, and thereby they caused confusion +among the troops in the centre. The latter +defended themselves with renewed valour, but +yielded at last to the sabres of the Dehli cavalry. +Then was exhibited such a panic as cannot be described. +The soldiers who occupied the redoubts in +the rear, and near to the place of debarkation, began +to flee almost at the same time as those of Vasso, and +threw themselves into the sea at the risk of being +drowned. I was at this time with Lord Cochrane, +who did not wish to mix himself up with the affair, +when the sudden flight forced us at once to rejoin +our boat, and even this was not done without great +difficulty. General Church was also on the shore, +and he too was only saved by the sloop which +was waiting for him. The Turkish cavalry, after +having killed or captured all the advanced party, +rushed into the plain and made terrible havoc among +the Greeks. Seven hundred of them were killed; +and two hundred and forty were taken prisoners. +The rest, numbering about two thousand, rushed +down towards the sea, and would soon have been all +destroyed by the Turkish guns placed on the hills if +the fire from the vessels off the coast had not kept +the enemy at a respectful distance. They passed the +day in a terrible uncertainty, but were sustained by +the courage of certain chiefs, especially of Nicolo +Serva, a Suliot captain; and in the following night +they were embarked and carried back to Phalerum. +While this portion of the army was being thus +troubled, the Greeks, under the orders of Kisso +Zavella, remained inactive. That chief quietly +smoked his pipe, and when implored to march, was +content to answer coldly, 'When they pay me I will +go.' The troops of Kolokotrones the younger, and +of Sessinis, deserted in the direction of Livonia. +The Turks, taking advantage of the disorganized +condition of the Greeks, attacked the Phalerum on +the night of the 6th, but were repulsed." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane's account of the battle sent to the +Government on the 7th of May, though more +general, supplies some other details. "The plan +concocted previous to the death of General Karaïskakes," +he said, "was carried into effect on the +6th, by his excellency General Church, with this +difference in the execution of the service, that his +excellency and myself were anxious that a rapid +march should be made from the place of debarkation +direct to Athens, by a body of four thousand men, in +order to return with the women and children and +the wounded, whereas the officers of the army insisted +upon entrenchments being made in the line of their +progress—an operation which required so much time +as to preclude the possibility of effecting the object +surprised and unopposed. The redoubts were in +progress of construction, and the work continued +with unremitting labour until about nine o'clock in +the morning, when the enemy's cavalry, having collected +from all quarters, broke in upon the unfinished +redoubts and vigorously attacked those who had +advanced the furthest, and who, from the number of +subdivisions left, according to the custom of the +country, in these redoubts during their progress, had +become so weakened as to be incapable of making +effectual resistance. The loss on our side has been +very considerable. I had to lament this day that +the Greeks still continue their aversion to that regularity +of movement and honesty of action which constitute +the strength of armies, and I grieve to see +great bravery rendered useless to their country and +dangerous to themselves, and wasted in desultory +and unsupported personal efforts. The use of the +bayonet and very slight military instruction would +have saved most of those who fell on this occasion, +and would have rendered unnecessary those redoubts +which delay the progress of your arms, and destroy +more men in insignificant enterprises which tend to +no result, than would be required for the deliverance +of your country. The affairs of Greece require +energy, and that remedy be at once applied to whatever +impedes the progress of affairs." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane testified to the excellent soldiership +of the Turkish horsemen. With sabres and +short muskets, they dashed in and out of the crowd of +retreating Greeks, who, having no bayonets and no +weapons adapted for close fighting, were utterly +defenceless. He himself, having landed with Dr. +Gosse to watch the operations from the shore, was +so hard pressed by these formidable antagonists +that he was only rescued by his own bravery and +the daring of Dr. Gosse, who retained possession of +the boat which was waiting for him on the shore +until his chief had time to force his way back to it +through the crowd of fighting Turks and Greeks +and through the waves beating up to his neck. It +was only when he was again on board the <i>Hellas</i>, +and able to direct the firing of the guns, that the +Turks were driven back, and the remnant of the +Greek force was allowed to collect and prepare for +the return to Phalerum. +</p> + +<p> +The fall of the Acropolis soon followed this terrible +defeat. By it the Greeks were utterly disorganized. +Lord Cochrane, finding it impossible to +persuade them to another attempt, returned to Poros +with the fleet on the 10th of May. Sir Richard +Church remained at Munychia, his army being +every hour reduced by desertions, till the 27th, when +he and the two thousand starving men who were +left to him abandoned their position. Fabvier and the +garrison, through the intervention of the French +Captain Le Blanc and Admiral De Rigny, capitulated +on the 5th of June. It was then found that +the Acropolis still contained stores of food and ammunition +sufficient for four months' use, and that their +reports of destitution had been deliberate falsehoods, +intended only to force their friends outside to come +speedily to their relief. +</p> + +<p> +Those falsehoods had been particularly mischievous. +By them, as has been shown, Lord Cochrane was +induced to listen to the entreaties of Karaïskakes and +the Government, and take his ships to Phalerum, +instead of carrying out his plan of stopping the +Turkish supplies in the Negropont and at Oropos. +Had that plan been adhered to, it seems as if a very +different issue might easily have been brought about. +</p> + +<p> +The work on which he had been engaged having +terminated so unfortunately, Lord Cochrane was +much blamed for it by critics who had private reasons +for being jealous. We have shown, however, that +he only entered upon that work at the request +of men whose power and influence he could not +gainsay; that, having undertaken it, he set himself +shrewdly and earnestly to render it successful; and +that the failure was occasioned, not by adoption of his +plans, but by their perversion or rejection. If he +erred, he erred only in expecting too much patriotism +and valour from the people whom he was doing his +utmost to serve. +</p> + +<p> +If anything further need be said in explanation +and defence of Lord Cochrane's position up to this +time, it will be best done by quoting part of a letter +addressed to M. Eynard on the 27th of May, in +which he concisely repeated the whole story. "On +my arrival in Greece," he wrote, "I found that the +authority was claimed by two factions, that nothing +like a navy existed, and that a number of individuals +called an army were collected to raise the siege of +Athens,—but wholly deficient in military talent on +the part of the commanders, or in obedience and +discipline on the part of the troops. As soon as I +had accepted my commission, I commenced active +exertions to save the Acropolis. I advised Karaïskakes +to embark and land to the southward and eastward +of the Phalerum, and, marching direct to the +Acropolis, bring out the women and children. But +my counsel was in vain, as he had no idea of any +combined naval and military movement, nor indeed +of any military plan, except that of advancing by +slow steps, after the manner of the Turks, who construct +little fortifications, called tambourias, at every +few hundred yards, which are again opposed by +others of the adverse party; and, as neither army +attacks these forts by active force, the whole, after +a few hours, are brought to a stand, and the result +of the contest depends on who can the longest continue +to furnish pay and provisions. Such was the +state of the military contest when General Church +took the command. The battle at Phalerum, though +brilliant, was accidental, and, not being followed up, +was productive of no result. Karaïskakes fell, and +General Church embarked the troops in order to +execute the movement that ought to have taken place +a month before. The moment was more inauspicious +than we were aware of; for the Turkish commander +had that very night been joined by a large body of +cavalry and a number of infantry from Negropont +and elsewhere. This, however, would not have +proved decisive, had not General Church, with a +view to conciliate the officers under his command, +and indeed in order to induce them to embark at all +upon the expedition, conformed to their absurd views +of military movement, and permitted them to carry +entrenching tools to form their usual numerous positions +on the line of their route, the construction +of which wholly defeated the intention of surprise, +and enabled the enemy to surround their advanced +guard or van, weakened by the division of the troops +into fourteen garrisons left in a line in their advance, +whereas the whole body might, with perfect safety +and in two hours, have reached the Acropolis. The +slaughter which the Turks made in the advanced +posts of the Greeks was horrible, and the panic +which took possession of those who remained on the +Phalerum, at three leagues' distance from the scene +of action, was as disgraceful as the conduct of their +chief, Zavella, who made no movement even to create +a diversion, but sat coolly looking at the slaughter +of his countrymen. With six thousand men under +his command he remained totally inactive. This +expedition to Athens cost upwards of twenty-five +thousand dollars of the naval money and destroyed +most of our provisions. At the same time, I believed +it to be my duty to act as I did, and I have not since +regretted any step that I took, because, if Fabvier and +the garrison fall into the hands of the Turks and +are destroyed, I shall at least have the consolation +of knowing that my utmost efforts were made to avert +their fate." +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch19">CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD COCHRANE'S RETURN TO POROS.—HIS ATTEMPTS TO ORGANIZE AN +EFFICIENT GREEK NAVY.—THE WANT OF FUNDS AND THE APATHY OF THE +GREEKS.—HIS LETTER TO THE PSARIANS, AND HIS VISITS TO HYDRA AND +SPETZAS.—HIS CRUISE ROUND THE MOREA.—HIS FIRST ENGAGEMENT WITH +THE TURKS.—THE DISORGANIZATION OF HIS GREEK SAILORS.—HIS CAPTURE +OF A VESSEL BEARING THE BRITISH FLAG, LADEN WITH GREEK +PRISONERS.—SEIZURE OF PART OF RESHID PASHA'S HAREM.—IBRAHIM +PASHA'S NARROW ESCAPE.—LORD COCHRANE'S FURTHER DIFFICULTIES.— +HIS EXPEDITION TO ALEXANDRIA.—ITS FAILURE THROUGH THE COWARDICE +OF HIS SEAMEN.—HIS TWO LETTERS TO THE PASHA OF EGYPT.—HIS RETURN +TO POROS.—FURTHER EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE NAVY.—HIS VISIT +TO SYRA.—THE TROUBLES OF THE GREEK GOVERNMENT.—LORD COCHRANE'S +VISIT TO NAVARINO.—HIS DEFEAT OF A TURKISH SQUADRON. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p> +Before arriving in Greece, Lord Cochrane bad been +informed by Captain Abney Hastings and other +experienced Philhellenes of the inefficiency of the +navy, and a very short stay at Poros served to convince +him of the truth of the information. On the +17th of April he obtained from the National Assembly +a decree authorizing the organization of a better +national fleet, and, before proceeding to join in the +efforts for the relief of the Acropolis, he did all that +was possible towards the achievement of this object, +making such arrangements as would prevent any +hindrance thereto arising from his temporary absence +on the most pressing work that devolved upon him. +Having sent Captain Hastings with all the available +ships on the expedition to the Negropont which has +already been described, he established at Poros the +centre of the administration of the fleet, entrusting +its direction to Dr. Gosse, as Commissary-General. +He then visited Hydra, Spetzas, and other islands, +and left in each directions for the inspection of all +the ships there stationed, in order that, according to +the national decrees, the best of them might be +bought up by the Government, on equitable terms, +and converted into vessels of war at Poros. During +his stay near the Piræus he was in almost daily correspondence +with Dr. Grosse and Emanuel Tombazes +respecting the purchase of stores, the construction +of gunboats, and every other essential to the fulfilment +of his purpose. He sent Jakomaki Tombazes, +the elder of the two brothers, to look out near Candia +for a new corvette which had just been built at +Leghorn for the Pasha of Egypt. All other means +in his power were adopted by him for augmenting +the naval strength of Greece, and fitting it to oppose +the force of her enemies so soon as he was able to +devote himself exclusively to that work. +</p> + +<p> +This he did promptly and zealously immediately +after the failure of the expedition in favour of the +garrison of the Acropolis. "Brave officers and +soldiers and seamen of the military and naval +services," he wrote in a proclamation issued on the +7th of May, "a defeat of the enemy's naval force +will tenfold repay the check which was sustained in +yesterday's attempt to relieve the Acropolis. Let +every man maintain his post as duty to his country +demands, and in a few days I trust you will find +your affairs not only retrieved but secured on a permanent +base." +</p> + +<p> +That trust was not fulfilled. The Greeks proved +themselves on sea as well as on land unable to fight +worthily, and with enough real patriotism, for the +liberty of their country. But honour must not on +that account be withheld from the man who used all +his large experience and larger philanthropy in +trying to put them in the way of victory. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane returned to Poros on the 10th +of May, after an absence of just three weeks. He +lost no time in rendering to the Government, then +located in that island, a personal account of his +recent proceedings, and in doing his utmost to persuade +the Greeks to aid him in the new exploits on +which he hoped to enter with better prospect of success. +An address to the Psarians, dated the 11th +of May, will serve as a specimen of many documents +of the same nature. "It was my intention yesterday," +he said, "to have paid my respects to you, in +order personally to have made known to you the +circumstances in which the naval service is placed +and the state and preparations of the enemy, and to +have called on you to show an example to the other +islanders, on whose exertions now depend the liberties +and fate of their country. The abandonment +of the schooner, in which I have hitherto been embarked +by all her seamen, prevented me from fulfilling +my intention, and the certain intelligence +received this morning that the Turkish fleet from +Constantinople passed Syra the day before yesterday, +to join the Egyptian fleet, compels me now to +recommend you by writing, instead of by word of +mouth, to save your country and yourselves by +prompt and energetic exertions. The money I +brought here with me, being the proceeds of subscriptions +made throughout Europe for your cause, +has unfortunately been nearly consumed in fruitless endeavours +to save the capital of Greece by means of an +irregular and unmanageable body of men, who will +neither receive instruction nor listen to advice. I +hope that the brave seamen who understand their +duty will listen to my recommendation through you +that they should at once step forward to save their +families from oppression and slavery, and the name +of their country from being struck out of the list of +independent nations. By one glorious effort Greece +may be free; but if she remain in her present state +of apathy all hope must be abandoned. I call upon +you now to stand forward in defence of your religion +and all that is valuable to man. I send you a thousand +dollars, which is all that I can spare. Those +who will equip their ships may depend on repayment +out of the first money that shall be remitted to +me for the public service of Greece." +</p> + +<p> +As that letter implies, Lord Cochrane had to begin +his reconstruction of the Greek navy—now the only +remaining resource of the nation in its hope of working +out and assuring its independence by effort of its +own—almost without funds. The small sum of 8000<i>l</i>. +which he had brought with him, as well as the +money collected by the European committees and +transmitted to the Philhellenic Committee in Greece, +composed of Colonel Heydeck, Dr. Bailli, and +Dr. Gosse, was nearly exhausted, and the bankrupt +Government was unable to provide him with any +adequate resources for carrying on his work. It +had authorized him to buy ships and stores and to +employ labourers and seamen, and expected him to +do all without stint, but gave him no money for the +purpose. In lieu it authorized him to borrow upon +the security of all the future revenue to be derived +from the islands; and every effort to utilize this +mortgage was made by his agent Dr. Gosse, but +with very poor success. The credit of the Greek +Government was so low that the prospects of any +considerable revenue in the depressed state of commerce—likely +to be yet more depressed by the steady +advances made by the Turks in regaining their +dominion over the insurgents—deterred capitalists +from staking their money thereupon. Lord Cochrane, +as we shall see, had to apply half his energies +in performing the work of a financier, never anticipated +by him, and certainly not proper to his functions +as First Admiral; and, the result of all +being feeble, his legitimate duties were grievously +crippled. +</p> + +<p> +Money being absolutely needed, however, he did +his best to procure it, and with this view, as well as +in order to make personal acquaintance with the +principal ports, and the ships and sailors contained +in them, he left Poros, three days after returning +to it, on a tour among the other important +islands. +</p> + +<p> +Starting on Sunday, the 13th of May, he reached +Hydra on the following morning. There, in the +house of the brothers Konduriottes, its richest and +most influential inhabitants, he met several other +leading primates, and prevailed on them to take +upon themselves the outfit of several brigs and brulottes, +the cost of which he had at present no means +of paying. Having, on the 15th, passed on to +Spetzas, Lord Cochrane had a similar interview with +its chief residents. "I have been highly gratified," +he wrote on the 16th to the elder Konduriottes, "by +the spirit here manifested in following the noble +example which you have set, and I have no doubt +but a sufficient force will be immediately equipped to +cut off all the resources by which the army of Reshid +Pasha is maintained, and so destroy that army even +more effectually than by the sword. The utmost +promptitude, however, is necessary. One day's +delay may permit several weeks' provisions and +stores to enter the Negropont." +</p> + +<p> +Promptitude was not easy, in spite of the favourable +promises of the primates. "Strange as it may +appear to you," said Lord Cochrane, in a letter to +his friend, M. Eynard, "it is yet a fact that, out of +the thousands of seamen idle and starving at Hydra, +Spetzas, and Egina, not a man will enter the service +of his country without being paid in advance; nor +will they engage to prolong their service beyond a +month, so that the labour of disciplining a crew is +interminable. Were there funds to increase the pay +for each month, the sailors would remain, and there +might be some hope of getting a ship in order. At +the present moment there are no individuals in +Greece who are instructed in their duties as officers +in ships of war." "I see no termination to the +obstacles," he wrote to Dr. Gosse on the 17th, +"which present themselves at every step I advance. +Neither the Hydriots nor the Psarians, nor the Spetziots, +nor the Poriots, will embark in this frigate, +which is thus useless to Greece, if not prejudicial, +because her maintenance is an expense without benefit. +I wish I could do a thousand things which I am +compelled to neglect, by reason of the difficulties and +want of assistance of all kinds. You, my good +friend, are my only aid." +</p> + +<p> +At Spetzas, and in its neighbourhood, Lord Cochrane +remained four days, directing the arrangements +to be made in organizing a fleet strong enough to go +against the enemy's shipping, and, while waiting for +that, in appointing two minor expeditions upon services +that were urgent. On the 18th of May, he sent +Admiral Saktoures with ten brigs and four fireships +to cruise about the Negropont and capture as +much as he could of the stores sent through that +channel from Constantinople for the use of the +Turkish army in Attica. On the following day he +went himself in the <i>Hellas</i>, attended by the <i>Karteria</i>, +under Captain Abney Hastings, in the direction of +Cape Clarenza, the north-westernmost point of the +Morea, opposite to Zante.<a class="fnref" href="#fn08" id="ref08">[8]</a> +</p> + +<p> +Castle Tornese, there situated, was being besieged +by the Turks, and Lord Cochrane hoped to be in +time to avert its capture. In this he failed. Arriving +on the 22nd of May, he found that the castle had +capitulated a few hours before. All he could do was +to chase two Turkish frigates which he found on the +coast. "We fired into them," he said, "but our guns +were ill-directed, and the noise and confusion on +board this ship was excessive, which prevented my +choosing to attack them again, though they did us +not the slightest injury, because I am desirous that +the <i>Hellas</i> shall be in somewhat better order before I +voluntarily attack an enemy who may take advantage +of the impossibility of causing my orders to be +obeyed, and so leave the fate of the ship to the conduct +of a rabble." +</p> + +<p> +One capture, however, the <i>Hellas</i> was able to make +on the following day. She fell in with a vessel, +manned by Turks and Ionian Islanders, bearing the +British flag, loaded with captives, chiefly women +and children, just taken in the Castle Tornese. Lord +Cochrane seized her, and sent her, with a reasonably +indignant letter, to the Lord High Commissioner at +Corfu. "If I do not attempt to express my feelings +in addressing you," he said, "it is because I am +aware that the terms I should employ would fall far +short of the sensations that will arise in the breast +of every honourable man throughout the civilized +world, and the degradation which every Englishman +will experience, on learning that the flag of +England, first prostituted by supplying the traffickers +in Christian slaves with all the necessaries for their +horrid purposes, is now further debased by a traffic +in the slaves themselves. I send you an Ionian +vessel, full of women violated in their persons, and +who, with their children, had been reduced to slavery, +in order that the British public and the world may +ascertain whether these unfortunate people will be +protected by the decision of an Ionian tribunal. If +there were any hope that the people in the Ionian +Islands would abandon their infamous dealings otherwise +than by force, I should ask your excellency to +issue an order upon the subject. I beg, however, to +signify that I am ready to co-operate with the +admiral and officers of the British naval service in +the Mediterranean in enforcing obedience to the +laws of justice and humanity, and putting down the +Ionian trade in slaves, as well as the piracies which +have originated chiefly in the total contempt shown +by the Ionian people and others for the laws of +nations and the principles of justice during the contest +between Greeks and Turks. I also put at your +disposal the Turks found on board the Ionian boat, +not considering them as prisoners of war, but as men +apprehended in violating the laws of civilized nations +and insulting the feelings of Christendom." "Since +writing the above," it was added in a postscript, "I +have experienced considerable difficulty in restraining +the fury of the Greeks from bursting forth upon the +violators of their countrywomen. From what I foresee, +I also feel it my duty to warn you that, should +the transportation of Christian captives by neutrals +be continued, I cannot answer for the safety of +Ionians found so employed by the other vessels of +the Greek squadron." +</p> + +<p> +A formal acknowledgment of that letter was all +the answer received by Lord Cochrane. +</p> + +<p> +On the 24th of May, when near Missolonghi, he +made another capture—a Turkish brig, with eight +guns, bearing Austrian colours, which was proceeding +from Previsa to Navarino. In her, besides a good +store of flour and gunpowder, were found some +Turkish officials and several members of Reshid +Pasha's harem. The alarm of these prisoners was +very great at first; but they were treated with +courtesy, and landed, with all their personal properties, +at the first convenient halting-place, the brig +and its cargo being retained as prizes. Reshid Pasha, +in return for the generous treatment shown to his +attendants, afterwards released a hundred Greek +prisoners without ransom. +</p> + +<p> +Another curious incident occurred at this time. +Several small Turkish merchant-vessels passed Lord +Cochrane's ship during his stay near Missolonghi, +but he abstained from capturing them, deeming it +unworthy to interfere with such small crafts, devoted, +as it was supposed, only to trading purposes. He +was afterwards informed that in one of them Ibrahim +Pasha himself had been concealed. Had the Egyptian +leader been thus made prisoner, the future course of +the war might have been altogether changed. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane had gone into the Gulf of Patras +in hope of meeting with Captain Hastings, from +whom he had parted soon after leaving Spetzas; but +the <i>Karteria</i> had been disabled by a squall, which took +away both her masts, and so had to return to Poros; +and with the ill-manned <i>Hellas</i> alone Lord Cochrane +did not deem it prudent, as he had wished, to attack +Navarino, whither the besiegers of the Castle Tornese +had gone, and where twelve Egyptian frigates, twenty +corvettes, and forty or fifty smaller vessels were for +some time lying. Several of these came out to take +on board the Ottoman troops who had done their +work at Cape Clarenza, and Lord Cochrane, on the +1st of June, remained for several hours within sight +of them, ready and hoping to be attacked. No +fight being offered, however, he did not choose +to run the risk of going single-handed into their +midst. He accordingly contented himself with surveying +the coast, and forming his own judgment as +to the relative value of its ports and harbours, as he +sailed back in the direction of Poros. +</p> + +<p> +To Poros itself Lord Cochrane did not venture to +proceed. "I have written for all the Greek vessels +that are ready, including the fireships and explosion-vessels, +to join me," he said in a letter to Dr. Gosse, +written on the 7th of June, off Cerigo; "I remain +at sea with this frigate, lest the whole of her crew +should desert, according to custom, were I to pay a +visit to Poros." The want of zeal which he thus perceived +in his seamen was shared by nearly all their +countrymen. All wished him to serve them, but +very few made any patriotic effort to aid him in the +service. His most active supporter was Captain +Abney Hastings; and Captain Abney Hastings complained +yet more loudly than did his superior of the +indolence and bad conduct of the Greeks. "I had +the honour to receive your order of the 7th, enjoining +me to repair to your lordship without delay, if ready +for sea," he wrote on the 9th, from Spetzas; "a +variety of circumstances, unavoidable in a country +deprived of even the shadow of organization, has +prevented me from being yet ready to sail. The +majority and best of my crew have left me, and I +must look for others." +</p> + +<p> +Hastings and all his other officers wrote over and +over again to Lord Cochrane, asking for stores of all +sorts, and for money with which to pay the wages of +their crews. But Lord Cochrane was still almost +without funds. Only from Konduriottes, and the other +island primates, could he procure scanty supplies with +which to carry on his work—or rather, to prevent +that work from being altogether abandoned. "I have +the honour," he wrote to the Government, "to represent +to your excellencies that I find it impossible to +realise the credit which you assigned to me on the +revenues of the islands, and that insurmountable +obstacles prevent my acting as affairs require. The +<i>Hellas</i> even is idle for want of supplies. Each day, +each event, increases my conviction that, without +strong and special efforts, without a prompt and disinterested +co-operation of all its citizens, Greece must +of necessity be overcome. Isolated as I am, I am +useless to them. Supported by their patriotism and +zeal, I could fight for their independence. The islands +of the Archipelago are willing to aid our efforts, but +they claim from me in return a guarantee for the +safety of their goods and for the regular administration +of their imposts. I await your excellencies' +instructions for promptly answering their demand; +for the resources of the western nations are drained; +European charity is wearied. The islands alone offer +us the means of maintaining the naval forces, and of +resisting, if it be possible—if it be not too late—the +vigorous preparations of our enemy. We must act +promptly or abandon everything." The Government +only answered by urging its chief admiral to lose no +time in securing the independence of Greece. +</p> + +<p> +This, in spite of the difficulties thrown in his way, +he set himself heartily to attempt. Two courses +were now open to him. Reshid Pasha, having taken +possession of the Acropolis, and thus completed the +capture of Athens, had laid siege to Corinth; and +Sir Richard Church, with a weak and vacillating +body which went by the name of an army—the remnants +of that which had proved so useless in the +neighbourhood of the Piræus—was vainly trying to +raise the siege. By him and by the Government +Lord Cochrane was urged to muster as large a fleet +as possible in the Bay of Corinth, and to co-operate +with the land forces by blockading the besiegers, +after the method that had failed at Athens. Experience +convinced him that such action would be +useless; whereas from modification of the plan which +he had in the former instance been induced to abandon +he hoped much. He knew that a large Egyptian +force was being prepared at Alexandria, to be employed +first in aiding the siege of Corinth, and afterwards +in completing the conquest of all Greece. If +only he could train the Greeks to act under his +bold leadership, as he had trained the Chilians and +Brazilians, he trusted that, by one daring movement, +he could seize Alexandria as he had seized Valdivia +and Maranham. And to this project he zealously +addressed himself, deeming it sufficient to send a +small force to blockade the gulfs of Patras and +Corinth, and leaving Dr. Gosse as his agent in command +of naval affairs at home, with special orders to +visit the various islands, and, in accordance with +authority received from the Government, to collect +the revenues of each, in order that the necessary expenses +of the fleet might be met. +</p> + +<p> +He collected all the vessels he could muster in the +neighbourhood of Cape Saint Angelo. His force +consisted, besides the <i>Hellas</i>, of one corvette, the +<i>Sauveur</i>, which he had brought from Marseilles, commanded +by Captain Thomas, of fourteen Greek brigs +and of eight brulôts or fireships. With these he +started for Alexandria on the 11th of June, the +<i>Hellas</i> having often to slacken speed in order that +the slower Greek vessels might be kept in attendance. +Candia was passed on the 13th, and Alexandria +was sighted at five o'clock in the morning of the +15th. Lord Cochrane stood out to sea so that he +might not be discovered, and spent the day in putting +his fleet in order, preparing an explosion-vessel, and +arranging for the work of the morrow. "Brave +officers and seamen," he said, in an address to his +followers, "one decisive blow, and Greece is free. +The port of Alexandria, the centre of all the evil that +has befallen you, now contains within its narrow +bounds numerous ships of war and a multitude of +vessels laden with provisions, stores, and troops, +intended to effect your total ruin. The wind is fair +for us, and our enterprise unsuspected. Brave brulotteers, +resolve by one moment of active exertion to +annihilate the power of the satrap. Then shall the +siege of Athens be raised in Egypt; then shall the +armies of Ibrahim and Reshid be deprived of subsistence, +and their garrisons perish of hunger, whilst +the brave inhabitants of continental Greece and the +islanders, freed from impending danger, will fly to +arms, and, by one simultaneous movement, throw off +the barbarian yoke. Date the return of happy days +and the liberty and security of Greece from your +present exhibition of valour. The emancipation of +Egypt and the downfall of the satrap are also inevitable +consequences; for the war is concentrated in +one point of action and of time." +</p> + +<p> +That spirited address was ineffectual, and Lord +Cochrane's bold plan for seizing Alexandria was prevented +by the cowardice and disorganization of the +Greeks whom he was labouring to serve. They +could hardly be persuaded on the 16th to follow the +<i>Hellas</i> and the <i>Sauveur</i>, all bearing Austrian colours, +as far as the entrance to Alexandria, and when +twenty large Egyptian vessels were found to be there +lying at harbour, they lost heart altogether. Lord +Cochrane knew from past experience that, with +proper support from his subordinates, he could easily +capture or disperse the enemy's shipping. He had +made arrangements for attacking them with the +fireships and his explosion-vessel. But nearly all +the crews refused to serve. Kanaris alone among +the Greeks was brave. Having command of the +fireships, he induced the sailors of two of them to +bear down upon the enemy, and at about eight o'clock +in the evening one man-of-war was burnt. So great +was the effect of this small success that the other +ships of the enemy prepared to escape, and great +numbers of the inhabitants of Alexandria hurried +out of the town and sought a hiding in the adjoining +villages. Seeing the Egyptian ships making ready +for flight, however, the Greeks supposed that they +were coming out to attack them, and themselves +immediately turned sail, heedless alike of their own +honour and of Lord Cochrane's assurances that a +splendid victory was easy to them. All the night +was vainly spent by the <i>Hellas</i> and the <i>Sauveur</i> in +futile efforts to collect them, and on the morning of +the 18th they were found to be dispersed far out at +sea over an area of more than twenty miles. +</p> + +<p> +In despite of his feeble allies, Lord Cochrane would +have gone boldly into port and attacked the enemy. +But his own Greek sailors were as timid as their +comrades; and after a whole day spent in reconnoitring +the enemy, whose force of twenty-five sail +dared not offer battle, but had gained courage enough +to abstain from actual flight, he was compelled, on +the 19th, also to put out to sea and to spend two other +days in signalling the brigs and fireships to join +him. Not till the afternoon of the 20th, by which +time he had pursued his allies to a distance eighty +miles from Alexandria, was he able to bring them +into any sort of order, and then the bitter conviction +was forced upon him that further prosecution of his +plan, for the present at any rate, was useless. +</p> + +<p> +The scanty store of provisions that had been sent +with the fleet, moreover, was nearly exhausted, and thus +a new difficulty arose. Lord Cochrane sent the most +useless of his vessels back to Poros for a fresh supply, +and with an earnest entreaty that some efficient +reinforcements might also be forwarded to him, announcing +his intention of waiting in the neighbourhood +in hopes of achieving some better success. +"Your excellencies may rest assured," he said in his +letter to the Government, "that our visit to Alexandria +will have a powerful effect in paralysing the +equipment of an expedition, and I have every reason +to conclude that the example made before their eyes +of the brig-of-war will deter any of the numerous +neutral vessels from engaging as transports in the +expedition equipping by the Pasha. The sensation +created must indeed have been powerful as two +neutral vessels of war made the signal for pilots +before we weighed anchor on the morning of the +17th, under the impression, no doubt, that a more +effectual attack would shortly be attempted. I am +going to make a short tour, with a view, as far as I +am enabled with the inadequate means at my disposal, +to distract and paralyse the enemy." +</p> + +<p> +In accordance with that purpose, being already +near Cyprus, Lord Cochrane conducted his fleet a +little further north, and anchored, on the 23rd of +June, off Phineka, in Asia Minor, where, after a brief +fight with the Turks, he effected a landing, and received +some much-needed food and water. Thence +he addressed letters, urging the prompt despatch of +the necessary stores and vessels, to the Government, +to the primates of Hydra, and to Dr. Gosse. +</p> + +<p> +From this halting-place, also, he sent a noteworthy +letter to Mahomet Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, a supplement +to one which he had addressed to him nearly a +year before, when he was on his way to enter the +service of the Greeks. +</p> + +<p> +"Your employing foreigners in your military and +naval service," he had said in the former letter, which +will be best quoted in this place, "the privilege which +you claim and exercise of building and equipping +ships-of-war in neutral states, and of purchasing +steam-vessels and hiring transports under neutral +flags, for hostile purposes, and to transport to slavery +a people whom the Ottoman arms have never yet +been able wholly to subdue, warrant a belief, whatever +your sentiments may be, that the civilized, +educated, and liberal portion of mankind will be gratified +that succours similar to those which you, unfortunately, +have hitherto obtained from these states +are now about to be afforded to the brave, the +oppressed, and suffering Greeks. Nor will the advantage +derived be wholly theirs; for, until you +shall cease or be forced to abandon your inhuman +traffic in Christian slaves and the commission of +cruelties which stain the character of man, your subjects +must inevitably continue barbarians,—a state +from which it would be a source of great gratification +to contribute to release them. It is true that the +Christian world has not of late contended in arms +with those of your faith on points of religion. It has, +however, not fallen into a state of apathy so great +as to see unheeded the perpetration of those enormities +which you are daily committing on Christians,—a +sentiment with which no feeling of animosity +towards you or towards your people is combined. +On the contrary, it desires to render you every +good service consistent with that duty paramount to +all others, namely, to wipe out the stain from the civilized +world of unfeelingly and inhumanly co-operating +to exterminate, enslave, and transport to bondage a +whole Christian people—and such a people—the +descendants of those Greeks whose genius laid the +chief foundation of literature, the sciences, and the +arts; who reared those noble monuments and edifices +which time and the more destructive barbarian hand +have yet failed to destroy, and which, compared with +the wretched hovels of your hordes, may better point +out to you the elevation they attained, and the prostrate +state in which your people are—owing, alas! to +the baneful effects of bigotry and despotic sway. +Surely, surely there is ample field for the exercise of +your energies at home, in encouraging industry, the +arts and sciences, in promoting the civilization of +your people, and in enacting equitable laws for the +security of persons and property—on which bases the +national prosperity of all countries must rest. But +should your ambition, not content with bestowing +blessings like these on your native land, lead you to +soar almost above mortal acts, distant oceans would +unite, and the extremities of the globe approach at +your command.<a class="fnref" href="#fn09" id="ref09">[9]</a> Thus might your name be rendered +immortal, and Egypt become again the emporium of +commerce, and one of the richest and happiest nations +upon earth. How infinitely great the glory from +such acts! How despicable the fame of a tyrant +conqueror, the ruler of slaves! It would be pleasing +to support you as the author of great and good works, +but it is shameful to permit your present proceedings, +and dastardly to leave the unfeeling apostate sons of +neutral and Christian nations unopposed, aiding to +perpetuate barbarism for horrid gain, drawn from +the price of Christians torn from their homes and +sold as slaves in foreign lands. Against these atrocious +men, my companions and myself, casting the +gauntlet down, will contend, in the hope that they +and you may perceive your true interests and your +great error, and pursue a different course before it +shall be too late. Quit the classic sacred soil of +Greece, let the flayings, and burnings, and impalings +of that people cease, and oh! shocking to humanity, +the ripping up of pregnant women, and the hewing +up of their infant babes, and other acts yet worse +than these—too horrid to relate. Release the Christian +slaves; pursue an honourable and enlightened +path, and we become friends to aid you in your pursuits—but +should the present course be continued, let +the bands of cruel assassins in your employ count on +our opposition; count, too, on our neutralizing the +effects of every vessel procured or bought from Christian +states. 'Hear the voice of the Lord, ye rulers,' +in the prophecy now to be fulfilled. 'Woe to them +that go down to Egypt for help and stay.' 'When +the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that +helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall +down, and they shall all fall together.' Instead of +filling brim full the cup of bitterness, of which you +yourself must ultimately drink, how admirably might +you not employ your people, and your treasure—the +waste whereof is rearing to you a barbarian successor +to prolong the bondage of Egypt. The Christian +prayer of those called to rescue their suffering +brethren is that, conforming yourself to the dictates +of reason and humanity, you may live long to benefit +mankind; and as you are more enlightened than your +predecessors, so may you become more humane and +just." +</p> + +<p> +The second letter was more brief. "The discrimination +of your Highness," Lord Cochrane now wrote, +"enables you to judge between those who offer advice +to promote personal objects and those who disinterestedly +desire the welfare of mankind. Egypt may +become great by the attention of her rulers to her +internal concerns, but not by war and foreign conquest, +and assuredly not by the conquest of that +people with whom your Highness is now engaged in +hostilities, not only on account of the impossibility of +reducing them to subjection but because the whole of +Europe is directly or indirectly engaged in their +support. I beg your Highness to be assured that, if +I present myself to your consideration in a more conspicuous +point of view than others, it is only because +the habits of my life have enabled me to be openly +instrumental in the protection of a Christian people +whom you attack, and not because I feel animosity +against your Highness, nor because I desire the overthrow +of the lawful power of your Highness. Should +your Highness, however, listen to interested counsellors, +or to those who hope to gain by adulation, and +continue the present unjust and sanguinary contest, I +take leave once more to warn you that the first visit +I have had the honour of paying you shall not be the +last, and that it is not in the power of your Highness +to prevent the destruction of your ships destined for +the invasion of Greece, nor to defeat my intention +to block up the port of Alexandria. I had the +honour to address your Highness twelve months ago; +but have thought proper to repeat once more the +honest advice I then expressed, in order that your +Highness may acquit me when, in the hour of adversity, +you have to regret that you have not listened to +the voice of truth." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane's threats could not be enforced. Off +the coast of Asia Minor and among the southern +islands of the Archipelago he waited for more than a +week. But no adequate reinforcements or supplies +of provisions arrived. The disorganised fleet became +more and more unmanageable. One vessel after +another deserted, and those that remained in nominal +attendance on the flag-ship could not be brought +under control. Lord Cochrane, who had made skilful +sailors and brave warriors of enervated Chilians and +Brazilians, found the Greeks utterly unmanageable. +Up to the 2nd of July he tried vainly to bring them +into order, and only succeeded in pursuing them from +island to island until, on that day, they had drawn +him back to the neighbourhood of Hydra. There +they all dispersed, and with a heavy heart he +anchored at Poros on the 4th. The <i>Hellas</i> was +immediately deserted by her crew. Another month +had been wasted and another bold project for the +assistance of Greece had been spoiled by the want of +patriotism which, exhibited first and most flagrantly +by the leaders, was now rapidly pervading all classes +of the Greeks. +</p> + +<p> +An amusing instance of the worthlessness of the +Greek sailors, whom, from first to last, he tried to +make useful, may here be given. On one occasion, +following his invariable habit of taking every possible +occasion of trying to win the confidence and +friendship of those under him, he was exhibiting a +magic lantern to the crew of the <i>Hellas</i>. At many of +the dissolving views they manifested a childish delight, +but at length one unfortunate picture was brought +before them. It depicted a Greek running from the +pursuit of a Turk, and then melted into a view of the +Turk cutting off his captive's head. At that sight +every Greek on board took fright. Some ran into +the hold of the ship, others jumped overboard, and +many hours had to be spent in bringing them +together again and dispelling their frivolous and +superstitious fears. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane, however, though disheartened, still +sought, with unabated zeal, to render to Greece such +help as became his name and character. But he saw +that this could not be done without a thorough +reform in naval affairs; and this, often urged by him +before, he lost no time in urging again. "The crew +of the <i>Hellas</i>," he wrote to the effete Government on +the very day of his return, "having, according to +their usual practice, abandoned the vessel on her +arrival in port, it is essential that others should be +enlisted to serve in the frigate without delay. It is +further essential that the individuals so enlisted shall +engage to serve during a period of not less than six +months, and that they shall be young men who will +conform to the rules and regulations by which the +ships-of-war of other states are governed. It is quite +impossible to conduct a large ship-of-war amidst the +noise and confusion which I have witnessed during +the two months that have elapsed since my flag was +hoisted on board this ship, and equally impossible to +induce monthly crews to conform to habits of order +and regularity. Under these circumstances, I enclose +you a proclamation, stating the pay and advantages +which will accrue to such individuals. I should prefer +that the enlistment should take place under such +respectable young men as propose to obtain rank in +the national marine, and who can be in some degree +responsible for the good conduct of the individuals +who accompany them, each individual qualified for, +and aspiring to, the rank of lieutenant being accompanied +by sixty young seamen, the second lieutenants +to be each accompanied by thirty. For this ship five +of the first class and eight of the second are required." +The proclamation which Lord Cochrane +submitted to the Government detailed his plan for +ensuring, or at any rate making possible, honest and +hearty service in seafaring. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I could inform your excellencies," he +said in another letter written two days later, "that +the obstacles, however great, which presented themselves +in the course of the naval service were all I +had to contend with. The jealousies among the +islanders, even the most enlightened, embarrassed me +exceedingly; and these, I regret to say, cannot be +alleviated by having recourse to your advice or +authority, at the distance at which you are placed, +without a correspondence so voluminous that I should +occupy too much of your attention. I must, therefore, +act according to my own responsibility; and in +so doing I am aware that some may be displeased, +and probably no one will be satisfied." +</p> + +<p> +Nearly all the month of July, indeed, was spent +by Lord Cochrane in zealous efforts to render the +Greek navy more efficient. For this two things were +needed—that the officers and crews should be honest +and intelligent, and that there should be money +enough in hand for paying their wages, for fitting +out proper vessels, and for supplying the requisite +stores and provisions. For the first object proclamations +were issued, letters were written, and agents +were sent into various parts of Greece and her +islands. For the second, Lord Cochrane went personally +to the assistance of Dr. Gosse, who, as Commissary-General +of the Fleet, had been attempting to +collect the revenues of the islands which, by order of +the Government, had been assigned to naval uses. +He succeeded to some extent in this, and also in +quickening the latent patriotism of the people whom +he visited. +</p> + +<p> +His most important visit was to Syra, where, as +will be seen from the letter which he addressed to +the Government on the 13th of July, he was obliged +to resort to strong measures for securing the good +end he had in view. "I have the honour to inform +your excellencies," he wrote, "that, a new crew +having been procured for the <i>Hellas</i> with less delay +than I anticipated, by reason of the pay having been +increased one-third in amount, I proceeded to Syra, +taking with me several of the principal inhabitants of +the three maritime islands, who expressed to me, by +letter, their anxiety to have an opportunity of promoting +a loan on the credit of the revenues of the +islands, which your excellencies had authorised me, +jointly with others, to collect. I have now the pleasure +to inform you that when I left Syra yesterday +everything seemed to promise a favourable result; +but in order to attain this important object it became +necessary that I should take upon myself the responsibility +of intimating to the prefect of police, who had +assumed despotic authority, that it was essential to +the public good that the magistrates should resume +the functions that they exercised previous to his +arrival. I am convinced that your excellencies will +perceive as clearly as I do, that it will be impossible +to preserve harmony amongst the islanders, if strangers +are sent to exercise over the natives an authority +that is not acceptable to them. Indeed, the character +of these natives demands at all times prudence and +circumspection on the part of the Government." +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately, the miserable triumvirate to which +the direction of Greek affairs had been assigned until +the arrival of Count Capodistrias was wholly wanting +in prudence and circumspection. After vainly +trying to maintain a show of authority, and to use it +to their own aggrandisement at Damala and at +Poros, they had, on the 4th of July, removed to +Nauplia. There, however, they only found themselves +more embarrassed than ever. While the last +hopes of Greek independence, to be secured and +maintained by Greeks themselves, were rapidly +dying out, the leaders were amusing themselves and +gratifying their petty jealousies and ambitions by +conduct more despicable than ever. Nauplia was +the seat of civil war between two military factions, +whose joint contempt of the worthless Government +would have been, at any rate, excusable, had not the +interests of the whole nation been thereby injured. +The triumvirate was driven from the town, and +taking refuge in a little island in the Bay of Nauplia, +wrote in despair to Lord Cochrane, asking him +to come to its aid and devise some means of preserving, +or rather of constructing, its authority. +</p> + +<p> +To Nauplia he accordingly went on the 19th of +July. "I am now at the anchorage of this place," +he wrote thence to Dr. Gosse on the 22nd. "The +town is evacuated by the inhabitants and abandoned +by the Government. The latter are in the little +island in the bay in the most deplorable condition, +trembling like Sancho when invaded in his dominions +of Barataria, and not knowing which way to turn, +whether to avoid or meet the enemy. No words +can depict the state of things. I have had correspondence +with the Government and all the chiefs, +but have waited on none, because I am determined +to keep myself clear of faction, and go straightforward +in what I consider to be my duty." "We are +now weighing anchor," he added, in a postscript +written in the evening of the same day, "and the +Austrian commodore is coming into the bay—an +evil omen. He is watching, like a vulture, the +agonies of the expiring authorities of Greece." +</p> + +<p> +"As you have done me the honour," said Lord +Cochrane, in a letter to the Government, "to request +my opinion regarding the manner of settling the +disputes between the contending chiefs who hold the +higher and lower fortresses of Nauplia, it becomes +a sacred duty to give that opinion without the +slightest reserve, because the consequences of any +half measure will be entirely destructive of the influence +of your excellencies throughout Greece, and +eventually may frustrate the endeavours of the European +powers to promote a settlement with the Porte. +Your excellencies, then, must at once remove from +the situation in which you are now placed, or, more +properly speaking, to which you have fled, and where +you are still under the cannon of the disputing chiefs, +or both these chiefs must be caused to abandon the +fortresses they hold. To suffer one to remain and +to expel the other would be voluntarily to surrender +your authority, and through Greece and throughout +the world you would be considered in no other light +than as instruments for giving the semblance of +legality to the dictates of a military chief." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane did not wait to see the end of this +dispute between the mock Government and its +nominal subjects. He left Nauplia on the 22nd of +July to complete the arrangements he had made for +another attempt in defence of Greece. He had +already sent Admiral Saktoures and a small force to +maintain a show of blockading Alexandria, in order +that thereby neutral vessels, at any rate, might be +deterred from giving aid to the Turkish cause. He +had sent vessels to blockade the Gulf of Patras in the +same way. He had also issued a vigorous proclamation +to the inhabitants of Western Greece, urging them +to rise against their oppressors, and he was eager to +go thither himself and encourage the work, for which +he hoped that his fleet and his naval arrangements +were now better fitted. One important auxiliary to +this work he hoped to have in a corps of marines, to +the number of a thousand, which Colonel Gordon +Urquhart was now trying, under his directions, to +organise. "I have several things in view which +even this small force could accomplish," he wrote to +Dr. Gosse, "and amongst the rest will be the rooting +out of the pirates from the islands." +</p> + +<p> +More important, however, than the restraint of +piracy, was the resistance, if possible, of the Turkish +forces. Several of the Egyptian ships which Lord +Cochrane had hoped to destroy in the harbour of +Alexandria had now come out and joined the Ottoman +fleet, which had Navarino for its head-quarters. +He determined, without loss of time, to go and see +what injury could be done to them; and accordingly, +after a brief visit to Poros, where he took on board +some stores and provisions, and where he left +Dr. Gosse to use the scanty supply of money which +he had collected in completing the equipment of the +other vessels, he started in the <i>Hellas</i>, on the 28th of +July, for the western side of the Morea. +</p> + +<p> +On the 29th, when near Cape St. Angelo, he fell +in with the <i>Sauveur</i>, returning from a cruise in the +Gulf of Patras, and the two vessels proceeded with +all haste to Navarino. They reached that port, and +had sight of the Turkish fleet on the evening of the +30th. With French colours flying, Lord Cochrane +reconnoitred its position, and then watched for an +opportunity of attacking some part of it. +</p> + +<p> +The opportunity occurred on the 1st of August. +A corvette, carrying twenty-eight fine guns, and a +crew of three hundred and forty, with two brigs and +two schooners, had passed out on the previous day, +apparently with the intention of conveying reinforcements +to the Gulf of Patras. Lord Cochrane immediately +gave them chase, and drove them backwards +and forwards between Zante and the shore north of +Navarino all through the night and till nearly noon +on the 1st. Then suddenly tacking, he closed upon +the corvette, and there was hard fighting—the first +in which he had been able to persuade his Greeks to +join—between the two vessels, for fifty minutes. At +about one o'clock, after fifty of their number had +been killed and thirty wounded, the Turks surrendered.<a class="fnref" href="#fn10" id="ref10">[10]</a> +Lord Cochrane found on board twenty +Greek women and several children, who had been +subjected to the vilest treatment. In the meanwhile, +Captain Thomas, of the <i>Sauveur</i>, had engaged with +one of the brigs, carrying twelve guns, and captured +her with a loss of fifteen killed and wounded to the +Turks, but none to the Greeks. The other vessels +escaped, but an Ionian vessel, laden with provisions +for the Ottoman army at Patras, was seized in the +afternoon, and her cargo put to good use. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane waited off Navarino for two days, +hoping that some of the enemy's fleet would come +out to attack him. They, however, locked themselves +carefully in the harbour until he had set sail +for the south, when they feebly attempted to pursue +him. He thereupon, after releasing the Turkish prisoners +at Candia, returned to Poros, there to leave +his prizes and endeavour to take back a larger force +with which worthily to supplement his recent successes. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch20">CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +THE ACTION OF GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA ON BEHALF OF HELLENIC INDEPENDENCE.—THE +DEGRADATION OF GREECE.—LORD COCHRANE'S +RENEWED EFFORTS TO ORGANISE A FLEET.—PRINCE PAUL BUONAPARTE, +AND HIS DEATH.—AN ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE LORD COCHRANE.—HIS INTENDED +EXPEDITION TO WESTERN GREECE.—ITS PREVENTION BY SIR +EDWARD CODRINGTON.—LORD COCHRANE'S RETURN TO THE ARCHIPELAGO.—THE +INTERFERENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND RUSSIA.—THE +CAUSES OF THE BATTLE OF NAVARINO.—THE BATTLE. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827.] +</p> + +<p> +The Duke of Wellington's mission to St. Petersburg +in the spring of 1826, which has been already +referred to, was part of a policy by which the British +Government materially contributed to the ultimate +independence of Greece. Its first result was the +protocol of the 4th of April, in which England and +Russia recognized the right of the Greeks to claim +from the Porte a recognition of their freedom. At +about the same time our Government had sent Mr. +Stratford Canning, afterwards Lord Stratford de +Redclyffe, as ambassador to Constantinople, with +special instructions to use every endeavour to bring +about a cessation of the war which should be +favourable to Greece; and on the 24th of April the +National Assembly at Epidaurus had authorized him +to treat with Turkey on its behalf, agreeing, if no +more favourable terms could be obtained, to a recognition +of the Sultan's supremacy and the payment +of tribute to him, on condition that Greece should be +independent in all its internal government. Those +terms, however, were rejected by the Porte; and +after a delay of a year and a half it was forced by the +Great Powers, slowly awakening from their long +lethargy, to accede to arrangements far more favourable +to Greece. +</p> + +<p> +These negotiations, however, proceeded very slowly, +and before the dawn of Greek independence there +was a time of almost utter darkness, the darkest time +of all being the few months following Lord Cochrane's +arrival. "Vanquished Greece," says her historian, +"lay writhing in convulsive throes. In +herself there was neither hope nor help, and the +question to be solved was merely whether the Mahometans +would have time to subdue her before the +mediating powers made up their minds to use force. +That the former, if not checked from abroad, must +speedily overrun the country did not admit of the +least doubt. But it was equally certain that they +could not pacify it; for, while the rich and timid +prepared to emigrate, the poorer and hardier portion +of the insurgents formed themselves into bands of +robbers and pirates, which would have long infested +the mountains and the Levant seas, deriding the efforts +of the Porte to suppress them. The only branch +of the Hellenic confederacy that still presented a +menacing aspect was the navy under Lord Cochrane. +Every other department was a heap of confusion. +No government existed, since it would be idle to +dignify with that name the three puppets set up by +the Congress of Damala. None ever thought of +obeying them, and they sealed their own degradation +by carrying on an infamous traffic in selling +letters of marque to freebooters. There was no +army, because there was no revenue. After the fall +of Athens, Roumelia was entirely lost, and the captains +either renewed their act of submission to Reshid +Pasha or fled to the Morea. It was not, however, +with an intention of defending the peninsula that +they retreated into it. Their purpose was to seize +the fortresses, and thereby be enabled to make a good +bargain with the Turks, or any other party that +should remain in final possession. Nauplia and the +Acrocorinthus were already garrisoned by Roumeliotes. +Monemvasia, the third Peloponnesian stronghold +yet held by the Greeks, was in the hands of +Petro-Bey's brother, John Mavromikales, who, fitting +out from thence predatory craft, converted it +into a den of thieves."<a class="fnref" href="#fn11" id="ref11">[11]</a> +</p> + +<p> +It is not strange that, amid all this confusion, +cowardice, and treachery, Lord Cochrane should have +found it almost impossible to achieve anything worthy +of his abilities or of the cause which he desired so +earnestly to serve. Yet he continued, in spite of +all obstacles, to do all that lay in his power, in +fulfilment of his duty, and even in excess of that +duty. He had engaged to act as First Admiral of +the Greek Fleet. Finding that there was no fleet +for him to direct, he laboured with unwearied zeal +not only to construct one and to turn his unmannerly +subordinates into disciplined sailors and +brave warriors, but also to persuade the landsmen +to co-operate with him in trying to withstand, if not +to drive back, the advancing force of the enemy. +One day when he was at Poros, Dr. Gosse came on +board the <i>Hellas</i> to visit him. "See, my friend," +said Lord Cochrane, taking a loaded pistol from the +inner pocket of his waistcoat, "see what it is to be +a Greek admiral." He found it necessary to be +always provided with a weapon with which he could +defend himself from his indolent, unpatriotic seamen. +</p> + +<p> +Having returned to Poros with his prizes on +the 14th of August, he was obliged to wait there +for twelve days. There were no funds to be +had for the requisite repairs and other expenses in +paying and feeding his crews. All he could do was +to repeat his former arguments and entreaties for +assistance from the miserable Government at Nauplia, +and the more active, but still half-hearted primates +of the islands. He also made all the other arrangements +in his power for improving his fleet and for +carrying on some sort of naval warfare among the +southern isles, especially on the coast of Candia, and +for fomenting an insurrection of the inhabitants of +Western Greece, who, held in awe by the Turks +ever since the fall of Missolonghi, had hitherto done +little in aid of the national strife, but to whose +support he now looked with some hope. +</p> + +<p> +On the 24th he obtained a little further assistance. +Mr. George Cochrane, whom he had sent to Marseilles +in the <i>Unicorn</i>, to ask for fresh supplies of money +and stores from the Philhellenes of Western Europe, +but whose return had been long delayed, now arrived +with a cargo of provisions, and with a sum of 5000<i>l</i>., +which, though altogether inadequate to the work to +be done, made possible some work at any rate. +</p> + +<p> +In the <i>Unicorn</i> also came a new volunteer on behalf +of Greek independence. The schooner having called +at Zante on her way back, Mr. Cochrane there met +Prince Paul Buonaparte, nephew of the great Napoleon +who asked to be taken on board in order that +he might serve under Lord Cochrane. This was +agreed to, and the Prince, a youth about eighteen +years old, and six feet high, became, immediately +after his arrival at Poros, a favourite with Lord Cochrane +and all his staff and crew. He was remarkable, +said Dr. Grosse, for "his good-will, his amiability of +character, his solidity of judgment, his intelligence, +and the moderation of his principles." +</p> + +<p> +His stay in Greece, however, was very brief. On +the morning of the 6th of September, all on board +the <i>Hellas</i> were startled by a shriek and the exclamation, +"Ah, mon Dieu! je suis mort!" Lord Cochrane +and several officers rushed to the Prince's cabin, +there to find him lying in a pool of blood, and +writhing in agony. His servant had been cleaning +his pistols, and he had just loaded one of them to +hang it on a nail, when, the trigger being accidentally +struck, the weapon discharged and a ball +entered his body and settled in the groin. Dr. Howe, +an American surgeon, famous for his services to +Greece and for later philanthropic labours, being at +hand, came to his relief until Dr. Gosse could be sent +for. All that could be done, however, was to lessen +the pain, which he bore with great heroism through +two-and-twenty hours. Lord Cochrane had him +placed in his own cabin, and carefully tended him +with his own hands. At seven o'clock in the following +morning he cried out, "Ah, quel douleur!" and +died immediately. +</p> + +<p> +That melancholy accident had a sequel which must +be told in illustration of the greed of the Greeks. +The Prince's body was placed in a hogshead of spirits +and conveyed to Spetzas, there to be deposited in a +convent until the wishes of the father, Prince Lucien +Buonaparte, could be ascertained as to its interment. +A few months afterwards, some natives entering the +convent and smelling the spirits, but apparently in +ignorance of the use to which they had been applied, +could not resist the temptation of tapping the hogshead +and drinking a part of its contents. +</p> + +<p> +Prince Paul Buonaparte died while Lord Cochrane +was again making a tour of the islands, vainly trying +to induce the inhabitants to provide him with adequate +means for a formidable attack on the enemy. +"In the port of Spetzas," wrote one of his officers, on +the 29th of August, "there are now nearly forty +vessels—none of them ready, not a man on board. +All the men are out in cruisers, notwithstanding his +excellency's order to fit out their vessels to meet the +enemy's fleet. But such are the Greeks; they have +no foresight, and until they see the enemy they will +make no preparations, nor will they, unless the money +is in their hands, expend a dollar to prepare a single +fireship to defend their country. It is now twenty-eight +days since Lord Cochrane ordered the vessels +from Hydra, Spetzas, and Egina to be prepared, and +they are not yet ready." +</p> + +<p> +At length, on the 5th of September, Lord Cochrane +was able, though still with difficulty, to resign the +irksome and extra-official duties of a tax-gatherer +that had been forced upon him. "Since my return +from Zante, and, indeed, since my return from Alexandria," +he wrote on that day to the Government, +now lodged at Egina, "I have been using my utmost +endeavours to procure the equipment of a dozen brigs +and as many fireships. The delays occasioned, however, +by the want of pecuniary means have hitherto +prevented the realization of my wishes, and the services +of this frigate have been lost to the State during +the fore-mentioned period, owing to the impossibility +of procuring the necessary funds without my personal +presence at Syra and elsewhere. The equipment of +the brigs and part of the fireships is now completed, +in spite of all difficulties, and I shall not delay one +moment the endeavour to effect something useful to +the interests of the State. I think it proper, however, +to intimate to your excellencies that, everything +being paid relative to the expense of the present expedition, +I know of no means whereby a single vessel +can be maintained during the ensuing month." +</p> + +<p> +On the 7th of September, Lord Cochrane was able +to start on another warlike cruise. His force comprised +the <i>Hellas</i>, the <i>Karteria</i>, the <i>Sauveur</i>, and nineteen +or twenty other vessels. The Spetziots and the +Hydriots, at the last moment, refused to aid him; +but he was attended by Miaoulis, Kanaris, and Saktoures, +the three best of the native admirals. After +a brief visit to Candia, where he encouraged the +garrison of Grabusa to hold out against the enemy, +he again passed round the Morea, in which direction +he desired to attain two important objects. The first +was to injure as much as possible the Turkish and +Egyptian vessels collected near Navarino. The +second was to co-operate with the wretched force that, +under General Church, had for three months past +been making a show of resistance to the enemy at +Corinth, and with its help to try and stir up the +natives of Albania and Western Greece. +</p> + +<p> +These objects, partly prevented in other ways, were +nearly averted by a barbarous plot for Lord Cochrane's +assassination. While halting off the southern +coast of the Morea, on or near the 10th of September, +a short, thick-built Greek, with an ugly countenance +and determined eye, came on board the <i>Hellas</i> and +asked for employment as a sailor. He was examined +and rejected, on the ground of previous misconduct. +Instead of going on shore again, however, he contrived +to hide himself among the crew, and was not +detected by Lord Cochrane for several hours, and +when the frigate was in full sail. In the interval +Lord Cochrane had received authentic information +that this man had been commissioned by Ibrahim +Pasha to attempt his life. There would have been +justification for his immediate arrest, and, after a +court martial, for his summary execution. But Lord +Cochrane pursued a more generous policy. Walking +up to his secretary, Mr. George Cochrane, he said: +"Observe that man who is at the gangway on the +larboard side. I have just had information that he +has been sent by Ibrahim Pasha to assassinate me. +Go quietly below, put on your sword, and watch him +while he is on board." Mr. Cochrane obeyed his +instructions. "In less than five minutes," he says, +"I was again on deck with my sword. I took a few +turns on the quarter-deck with his lordship, and +then placed myself in a convenient position, about a +dozen yards from the man. I did not lose sight of +him for a couple of hours, keeping my eye steadily +upon him. He soon observed that I was watching +him, and I could perceive that he did not feel very +comfortable in his mind. He did not attempt to come +aft. Had he done so, I should have drawn my +sword. After the men had had their dinner, one or +two boats were got ready to convey seamen on board +another vessel; and this fellow, seeing that his intentions +were discovered, took advantage of the opportunity +and got into one of the boats. I looked over +the side of the <i>Hellas</i>, and saw him depart." Thus +Lord Cochrane's life was saved. +</p> + +<p> +Navarino was passed on the 11th of September. +Lord Cochrane made no halt, as he saw that a +British squadron, under Sir Edward Codrington, was +there watching the Ottoman fleet and forbidding its +egress. He accordingly at once proceeded northwards, +and entered the Gulf of Patras on the 17th +of September. On that day, in anticipation of the +visit which he proposed to pay them, he forwarded +proclamations to the inhabitants of the western coast. +"People of Albania!" he wrote in one of them, +"although you have so long suffered under the +Mussulman yoke; although your love of liberty has +been so long kept down by a dark and cruel despotism, +the hour of your deliverance is not distant, +and if you will you can hasten it. Europe takes a +lively interest in your destiny; your fellow-countrymen +are hastening to aid you. But all depends on +the energy which you yourselves display: the support +which we offer you, to be efficacious, requires on +your part redoubled zeal and patriotism in the actual +and decisive moment. Brave Albanians! your happy +future, the security of your families, and the honour +of your religion, are in your hands; your bold and +steady co-operation will ensure your own salvation +and our success!" +</p> + +<p> +The intended expedition was prevented. It had +been arranged that Lord Cochrane should wait near +Cape Papas for the arrival of General Church's army +and convey it to Western Greece, in the hope of +putting it to better service in that region. But +the land force was long in coming, and before its +arrival Lord Cochrane had to write to the Government, +explaining his recent movement and the +reasons which compelled him to abandon the project +of fighting in Albania. "Having proceeded to the +Gulf of Patras," he said, "in order to co-operate +with General Church in his intended expedition to +Western Greece, I thought it would be conducive to +the public service to invest the fort of Vasiladi, until, +by the arrival of the forces of the general, more +important operations could be undertaken; and accordingly +that island was immediately blockaded by +the boats of the squadron, and now continues surrounded +by the vessels belonging to the Missolonghites, +who have undertaken to maintain the blockade +until it shall surrender. The <i>Karteria</i>, the <i>Sauveur</i>, +and two of the gunboats, were immediately detached +with orders to take or destroy all the enemy's vessels +within the Gulf of Lepanto, whilst the <i>Hellas</i> went +to the anchorage of Kalamos, in order to ascertain +from the officers in arms what prospect there was of +general co-operation; and I regret to say that the +want of union among the chiefs and the prospect of +some kind of accommodation with the enemy seemed +to paralyse all their energies. I therefore detached +all the squadron under Admiral Miaoulis to Syra +and Naxos, to aid the Candiots and Chiots, should +they continue inclined to assert their independence. +I have to add that I received an indirect communication +from the British Admiral, intimating his desire +that no new or further operations should be undertaken +in that quarter; for which reason I am about +to proceed elsewhere, under the impression that +nothing should be left undone to stir up the population +of Greece to a sense of their duty to themselves +and to their country." +</p> + +<p> +The communication referred to was conveyed by +Lord Ingestre, commander of the <i>Philomel</i>, who +hailed the <i>Hellas</i> on the 27th of September, to deliver +a message from Sir Edward Codrington. "Whereas +I am informed by Sir Frederick Adam," wrote the +English Admiral, "that Lord Cochrane, with the +Greek fleet, is about to embark the army of General +Church in the neighbourhood of Cape Papas, for the +purpose of conveying them to the coast of Albania, +you are hereby directed to make known to the commander +of that expedition that I consider it my duty, +in the present state of affairs, to prevent such a +measure being carried into execution, and that I shall +shortly present myself in that neighbourhood for that +purpose." Lord Cochrane knew that, if it would be +personally very distasteful to him to be in collision +with the naval force of his own country, it would, on +public grounds and in the interests of Greek independence, +be wholly inexcusable for him to act in violation +of Sir Edward Codrington's message. Therefore +he complied with it and went back to the +Archipelago, there to do other work, while England +was serving Greece in her own way. +</p> + +<p> +The service was to be rendered at last. After +spending a year in diplomatic formalities, Great +Britain and Russia had, in the spring of 1827, openly +renewed their arguments with the Porte in favour +of Greek independence. These arguments having +been rejected, the two Christian powers were in consultation +as to the next course to be pursued, when +France, partly urged thereto by her schemes for the +acquisition of Algiers, then a Turkish dependency, +offered to take part in the defence of Greece. The +result was a treaty signed in London, on behalf of +the three states, on the 6th of July, having for its +object the enforcement of the St. Petersburg protocol +of the 4th of April, 1826. It insisted that +Greece should have internal freedom, though under +vassalage to Turkey; and provided that, if the +contending parties did not agree to an armistice +within a month, there should be a forcible intervention. +</p> + +<p> +The Greeks welcomed the proposals made to them +in consequence of this treaty; but they were rejected +by the Turkish Government, notwithstanding the +appearance of English, French, and Russian warships +in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. +Reshid Pasha and Ibrahim continued their efforts +to bring the whole insurgent district into thorough +subjection, and accordingly the patriotic Greeks and +their foreign supporters continued to act on the +defensive. Lord Cochrane and a few others, indeed, +were eager to secure action bolder than ever, considering +that, when the settling-time arrived, the +limits of independent Greece would be augmented +if a larger area was then the scene of zealous opposition +to the Turkish power. This it was that chiefly +induced the efforts to quicken the revolt in Albania, +and when Lord Cochrane was prevented by Sir Edward +Codrington from persevering in his work in +that quarter, he lost no time in sailing round to the +eastern side of Greece, there to do his utmost towards +rousing the people of Candia and other islands into +an assertion of their independence, in order that they +too might have a claim to be included in the liberation +of the Greeks. +</p> + +<p> +The message from Sir Edward Codrington to Lord +Cochrane, which has been quoted, was dated the +25th of September. It was written immediately +after an interview of the English commander and +Admiral de Rigny, who was in charge of the +French squadron, with Ibrahim Pasha. To him they +had formally announced that they were instructed to +insist upon a cessation of hostilities, and that they +should promptly act upon their instructions. Ibrahim +answered that he had orders from the Sultan to continue +the war, but he promised to communicate with +his sovereign, and pledged himself to abstain from +hostilities until the answer arrived and was reported +to the allied fleets. Before that answer came a fortunate +series of accidents, arising out of Lord Cochrane's +expedition to the Albanian coast, turned the current +of diplomacy and secured for Greece more freedom +than had been anticipated. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane, attended by his Greek vessels, had +left the neighbourhood of Cape Papas on the 27th of +September. But, though deeming himself bound in +honour to that course, he was willing to allow a part +of his force to remain in the neighbourhood and +watch the progress of events, especially as that part +was at the time separated from him and lying in the +Gulf of Lepanto. It consisted of the <i>Karteria</i>, under +Captain Abney Hastings, the <i>Sauveur</i>, under Captain +Thomas, and two gunboats, each mounting a +32-pounder. For a week this little squadron, ignorant +of the arrangement between the allied admirals +and Ibrahim Pasha, watched a Turkish force that was +moored in the Scala of Salona, and comprised one +large Algerine schooner carrying twenty brass guns, +a brig of fourteen guns, six smaller brigs and +schooners, two gunboats, and two armed transports. +These vessels were protected by batteries on the level +shore and other batteries on overhanging rocks. On +the 30th of September, Captains Hastings and +Thomas proceeded to attack them, and did so with +excellent effect. The solid shot of the <i>Sauveur</i> and +the gunboats soon silenced the batteries; the red-hot +shells of the <i>Karteria</i> made havoc of the enemy's +vessels, four being defeated within half-an-hour. +Soon the <i>Sauveur</i> and the gunboats joined in the +attack on the shipping, and, in the end, seven vessels +were destroyed and three captured. +</p> + +<p> +The news of that victory, as soon as it was conveyed +to Navarino, where nearly all the naval force +of the Turks was lying, roused the anger of Ibrahim +Pasha, who complained that the allied powers, while +binding him to inaction, allowed the Greeks to carry +on the war. On the 1st of October, he sent out +thirty war-ships with orders to enter the Gulf of +Lepanto and punish Hastings and Thomas for their +recent exploits. Sir Edward Codrington, however, +pursued them, and drove them back to Navarino. +Ibrahim Pasha, not easily to be baffled, himself left +Navarino, on the evening of the 3rd, with fourteen +of his stoutest vessels. Again Sir Edward Codrington +gave chase, and this second squadron also was +compelled by him to return to port. Ibrahim Pasha, +however, was not to be robbed of his revenge. He +dared not leave Navarino by sea, but he sent thence +a land force, which marched up to the northern side +of the Morea, and did serious mischief to the wornout +fragment of an army which General Church was +slowly conducting from Corinth to Papas, there to +be embarked for Albania. Only by the unlooked-for +valour of young Kolokotrones and his section +was the rout of the whole army averted. Nor was +Ibrahim satisfied with this act of retaliation. His +troops scoured all the adjoining country, burning +villages and laying waste the olive-groves and fig-gardens +which were the only source of subsistence to +the luckless natives. +</p> + +<p> +Thereby Sir Edward Codrington and his allies +were in turn incensed. They decided that the time +had come for direct interference in the struggle, and +for the expulsion of the Ottoman forces from the +Morea. In the afternoon of the 20th of October, +five and twenty line-of-battle ships, frigates, and +sloops entered the Bay of Navarino. Ten of them +were English, seven were French, and eight were +Russian, and they carried in all 1172 guns. Twenty +thousand Ottoman troops watched them from the +fortresses of Navarino and Sphakteria, and, as they +entered the harbour, they saw some eighty Turkish +and Egyptian vessels, mounting about 2000 guns, +drawn up in the shape of a horseshoe to receive +them. They had come only to threaten; but accident, +or design on the part of the enemy, brought +about a most momentous battle. +</p> + +<p> +A volley from the Ottomans began the fight, which +was continued for four hours with stolid energy on +both sides. The English and French vessels, being +foremost, carried on the chief contest with the +enemy's shipping; the Russians had to silence the +batteries before they could enter the harbour, but +then their Admiral, Count Heyden, did his full +share of the deadly work. The fighting lasted till +sunset; but by that time many of the enemy's hulks +were in flames, and all through the night these +flames spread from one vessel to another till nearly +all were destroyed. At daybreak, only twenty-nine +out of the eighty were afloat, and six thousand or +more Moslems had been slain, burnt, or drowned. +Many of the vessels of the allies were seriously +damaged, and of their crews a hundred and seventy-five +men were killed, and four hundred and fifty +wounded. +</p> + +<p> +That was the battle of Navarino. "I have the +honour to inform you," wrote Sir Edward Codrington +to the Greek Government, "that, according to +the decision of my colleagues, Count Heyden and +Rear-Admiral de Rigny, and myself, the combined +fleet entered this port at two o'clock on the 20th, +that some of the ships of the Turko-Egyptian fleet +first began a fire of musketry, and then fired cannon-shot, +which led very shortly to a general battle, +which lasted till dark, and that the consequence of +this has been the destruction of the whole of the +Turkish fleet, except a few corvettes and brigs. Most +of the ships of the allied fleets have received so much +injury that they must go into port; but if the Greek +vessels of war are employed against their enemy +instead of destroying the commerce of the allies, they +may henceforth easily obstruct the movements of any +Turkish force by sea." +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch21">CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +THE FIRST CONSEQUENCES OF THE INTERFERENCE OF THE ALLIED POWERS +AND THE BATTLE OF NAVARINO.—LORD COCHRANE'S INTENDED SHARE IN +FABVIER'S EXPEDITION TO CHIOS.—ITS ABANDONMENT.—HIS CRUISE AMONG +THE ISLANDS AND ABOUT NAVARINO.—HIS EFFORTS TO REPRESS PIRACY.—HIS +RETURN TO THE ARCHIPELAGO.—THE MISCONDUCT OF THE GOVERNMENT.—LORD +COCHRANE'S COMPLAINTS.—HIS LETTERS TO THE REPRESENTATIVES +OF THE ALLIED POWERS, ACQUITTING HIMSELF OF COMPLICITY IN +GREEK PIRACY.—HIS FURTHER COMPLAINTS TO THE GOVERNMENT.—HIS +RESOLUTION TO VISIT ENGLAND.—HIS LETTER TO COUNT CAPODISTRIAS +EXPLAINING AND JUSTIFYING THAT RESOLUTION.—HIS DEPARTURE FROM +GREECE, AND ARRIVAL AT PORTSMOUTH.—HIS LETTER TO M. EYNARD. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1827-1828.] +</p> + +<p> +Heartily rejoicing at the benefit conferred on +Greece by the battle of Navarino, Lord Cochrane +could not but be troubled to think that the overthrow +of the Turkish and Egyptian fleet, which he had +laboured so zealously to effect, and which, had he +received any adequate support from the Government +or the people, would have been a work as easy for +him as the enterprises in which he had been so +notably successful in former times and other countries, +had to be done by the officers and ships of +foreign nations instead of by him and the native fleet +of which, by name, he was commander-in-chief. The +battle being won, however, he tried, with no flagging +of his energy, to complete the triumph that had been +thus begun, and, if anything was easy to a people so +wanting in patriotism, made easier. +</p> + +<p> +He was at Poros at the time of the battle. On +his way thither he had fallen in with the <i>Enterprise</i>, +the first of the steamers built in England, and +which, with others that never were completed at all, +ought to have been completed nearly two years +before. The <i>Enterprise</i> had been so badly constructed, +that now that she arrived, she was of very +little use. Lord Cochrane was now trying to improve +her sailing powers, and at the same time +attempting to collect a really manageable crew for +the <i>Hellas</i>, and to bring together other vessels fit for +naval work. In these labours there was no less difficulty +than had befallen him on former occasions. +The <i>Hellas</i> was in want of water; but the inhabitants +of Poros refused to supply it, on the plea that they +had no more than was needed for their lemon-gardens. +Some carpentering was urgently needed +by the <i>Enterprise</i>; but, as it had to be done on +Sunday, the workmen declined to touch a hammer, +notwithstanding the exhortations of a priest who +promised them absolution, and even threatened to +excommunicate them if they failed in their duty to +the country in this pressing time of its necessity. Of +those sorts were the obstacles that occurred each day, +and rendered futile all the efforts of Lord Cochrane +and his officers. +</p> + +<p> +On the 27th of October, Lord Cochrane again set +sail from Poros in the <i>Hellas</i>, accompanied by the +<i>Sauveur</i>, and the corvette which he had lately taken +from the Turks, to which the name of <i>Hydra</i> was +now given, and proceeded to Chios. That island, the +scene of previous disasters, had since 1822 been left +in the hands of the Turks. Colonel Fabvier was now +attempting to recover it for Greece, and Lord Cochrane +entered heartily into the work. He arrived on +the 30th, and spent two days in vigorous co-operation +with the land force that had reached the island a day +before. His share in this enterprise, however, was +brief. He was visited on the 2nd of November first +by Captain Le Blanc, bearing a message from +Admiral de Rigny, and afterwards by Captain +Hamilton, who produced a copy of a letter addressed +on the 24th of October to the Legislative Assembly +by the Admirals of the three allied powers. "We +will not suffer Greece," they there said, "to send any +expedition to cruise or blockade, except between +Lepanto and Volo, comprehending Salamis, Egina, +Hydra, and Spetzas. We will not suffer the Greeks +to carry insurrection into either Chios or Albania, +and, by so doing, to expose the inhabitants to the +cruel reprisals of the Turks. We regard as null and +void all letters of marque given to cruisers found +beyond the above limits; and the ships-of-war of the +allied powers will everywhere have orders to detain +them. There remains no longer any pretence for +them. The maritime armistice is, in fact, observed +on the side of the Turks, since their fleet no longer +exists. Take care of yours, for we will destroy it +also, if the case requires it, to put an end to a system +of maritime pillage which will end by putting you +out of the protection of the law of nations." +</p> + +<p> +By that letter, Lord Cochrane was constrained to +abandon his intended work at Chios. He could excuse +the angry terms in which it was couched, since +the anger was only directed against the same unpatriotic +conduct which he had all along been denouncing. +He was painfully aware that, with the exception +of his own flag-ship and the few vessels commanded +by English officers, his fleet was chiefly composed +of pirates, who only took temporary service +under the national flag in order to fill up their idle +time, or to make their public service an occasion +for further clandestine pursuit of their lawless avocations. +From the first he had persistently and fiercely +denounced this piracy, and from the day on which he +had heard of the victory at Navarino he had resolved +to make it a special business to do all in his power to +root out the evil. "The destruction of the Ottoman +fleet by that of the allied powers," he had said in a proclamation +dated the 29th of October, "having delivered +the Greek fleet from the cares which had necessarily +occupied its attention, and the commander of the maritime +forces of Greece having the right to take due +measures for the extinction of piracy, to preserve the +honour of the State, and to protect the people and +property of friendly nations, it is now made known +that ships of less than a hundred tons' burden are +not to have arms on board, unless they are first provided +with express commissions, so registered, and +numbered in such a manner that the number shall +be conspicuously noted on the ship. All other +vessels of the size defined which shall be found at +sea with arms will be considered as pirates, and the +crews shall be brought to trial, and, if found guilty, +be executed." +</p> + +<p> +For the brief remainder of his service in Greece, +indeed, Lord Cochrane made it his principal duty to +do all in his power towards the suppression of +piracy. The admirals of the allies having insisted +that the Greek vessels should do nothing but watch +their own coasts within a distance of twelve miles +from the shore, he proceeded to the southern part of +the Morea, making only a short tour, in order to +meet the primates of Samos, Naxia, Paros, Candia, +and other islands, and ascertain from them the condition +of the people and their power of resistance +to the Turks and to their piratical enemies of their +own race. The information gained by him was not +satisfactory. He found that here, as in the mainland +and the nearer islands, patriotism was weak and misrule +oppressive. Everywhere the people were the +victims of their own want of patriotism and of the +tyranny of foes, both Moslem and Christian. +</p> + +<p> +He was off Cerigo on the 15th of November. +There, having heard that the residue of the Turkish +and Egyptian fleet was preparing to put to sea with +all the available force, apparently to carry on the war +in Candia, he at once sailed on to the south-eastern +promontory of the Morea, and, during a fortnight, +maintained the blockade on both sides of Navarino, +between Coron and Prodana. There also he was +able to carry on his war against pirates. "The +<i>Hellas</i> being off the island of Prodana, a few miles to +the north of Navarino," he reported to the Government, +describing an important adventure of the 21st +of November, "I sent two boats for the purpose of +procuring wood from the island. The boats, being +fired upon from persons near to some vessels in a +cove, returned with a report that there were Turks +upon the island. In consequence of this report, the +corvette <i>Hydra</i> was directed to enter by the northern +passage, whilst the <i>Hellas</i> entered to the southward +of the island, and both vessels anchored opposite to +the place where the supposed Turkish vessels were +at anchor. It was immediately perceived, however, +that the vessels were not Turkish, and, on examination, +one proved to be a schooner under the Greek +flag. It was soon discovered that a Dutch vessel at +anchor in the same port had been seized, without +the slightest pretence, by the schooner and plundered +of almost everything that could be removed, and, +moreover, that the captain and crew had been most +barbarously flogged, for the purpose of ascertaining +where the proceeds of the outward cargo were deposited." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane wrote to the same effect to the +Governor of Zante. "I have left the piratical vessel +with a petty officer and sufficient crew to blockade +Prodana, until you can send and seize the pirates, +should you think proper, as they have been plundering +and annoying the trade of the Ionian Islands. I +send two of the pirates in irons, in order that, obtaining +further information, you may deal with them and +with the others according to the law of nations." +</p> + +<p> +That instance of the policy adopted by Lord Cochrane +will help to show how he set himself to put down +piracy. The work was not easy, as the lawless conduct +was secretly authorised by the Government, and +practised with very little secresy by great numbers +of the national vessels. It was in vain that he issued +the proclamation of the 27th of October, that has +been quoted; in vain, too, that he sent two gunboats +to visit all the principal ports, with fresh injunctions +against piracy and with authority to compel obedience +to those injunctions, if necessary, by force. +Good work, however, was done by these gunboats, +in conjunction with two brigs detached for the +purpose, in escorting neutral trading vessels through +the waters most infested by the sea-robbers. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly and painfully the conviction was forced +upon Lord Cochrane that, after all his previous +failures in attempting to turn the lawless Greeks into +honest patriots and to convert their ill-manned ships +into members of an efficient navy, his labours were +now more useless than ever. After a fortnight's +cruising about Navarino, he retraced his course and +anchored, on the 3rd of December, off Egina, where +the so-called Government was then located. To it +he wrote on that day, asking for directions as to his +mode of procedure. "The squadron under my command," +he said, "has been in the blockade of Coron, +Modon, and Navarino, and I have to inform your +excellencies that there yet exists in the port of +Navarino a naval force, under the Turkish flag, superior +to the force under my command. I have, therefore, +felt it my duty to repair to this port, in order +that I may obtain instructions for my guidance, more +especially as the Turkish squadron is ready for sea, +and said to be destined for Candia, with ten thousand +men, intending there to repeat the barbarities which +the want of provisions in the Morea renders it impossible +they can longer perpetrate in that quarter. +There is also a great number of captive women and +children about to be transported as slaves, and the +only force of the allied powers off Navarino consists +of a small brig, the <i>Pelican</i>, which is totally +inadequate to impede the naval operations of the +Turks. Under these circumstances, I beg to be explicitly +informed whether I am to consider that +'the armistice <i>de facto</i>' continues, and if you have +any doubt on the subject that you will be pleased +candidly to inform me, that I may not be led into +error and so increase the evils by doing anything in +opposition to the intentions of the allied powers." +</p> + +<p> +That letter was answered by a personal visit from +the members of the Government, when Lord Cochrane +was informed that the triumvirate was so embarrassed +by the demands of the allied powers for +restitution on account of piracies committed with its +approval that it could neither do nor sanction anything +at all. He was told that even the scanty means +that he had had for supporting the fleet out of the +revenues of the islands could no longer be allowed +to him, as every dollar that could any how be collected +would be required for other purposes. +</p> + +<p> +Still, however, the Government expected him to +continue his work, and he was even asked to do work +from which, both for his own honour and in the interests +of Greece, he felt bound to abstain. "I have +received your letter," he wrote to the Secretary, +about ten days afterwards, from Poros, "informing +me that it is the desire of the Government that a +national vessel shall be despatched to Chios, in the +event of my being prevented from personally proceeding +in the <i>Hellas</i> to that island. In reply to this +intimation, I have to state to you that it is impossible +for me, consistently with the duties which I owe to +Greece, to place the national squadron, whilst it shall +continue under my command, or any part thereof, +under circumstances to be treated by the ships-of-war +of the allied powers after the manner set forth +in the letter of the 24th of October, addressed by +the three admirals to the Legislative Assembly,—a +determination which is even more painful to me than +the grief I feel at finding myself involved, notwithstanding +all my precautions, in the restrictions and +penalties justly laid upon privateers and pirates. I +cannot trust myself to say more on this subject, lest +I should be led by my feelings to pass the bounds +which I prescribe to myself as an officer when treating +of the conduct of the Government which he serves. +If Chios remains unprotected, if Candia is deprived +of the aid it might receive from the national marine, +and if the ships-of-war are incapacitated from extending +the bounds of Greece, I have the consolation of +knowing that I have used my utmost endeavours to +prevent the evils I foresaw. One of these, however, +I was far from anticipating,—namely, that the revenues +which I was authorised to collect for the service +of the marine would have been withdrawn from my +control and expended for other purposes; more particularly +that sums so diverted should be placed to +the account of the marine, without the objects for +which they were employed having received my sanction +or even been known by me. +</p> + +<p> +"I have struggled during eight months in the service +of Greece against difficulties far greater than all +I ever encountered before; and I would most willingly +continue to contend with these, did I find the +slightest co-operation in any quarter. But, as the +Government has withdrawn <i>de facto</i> the resources +decreed, and the seamen decline to embark without +pay in advance, and the funds, arising from the philanthropy +of other European nations, which supplied +the navy with the means of subsistence, are wholly +exhausted, I have no alternative but to lay the ships +up in port, until means to defray the expenses of +the navy shall be found. I have myself, during the +last month, paid the Greeks in the naval service; +but whilst I see that even the share of prizes claimed +by Government is diverted from its proper use, I +shall not continue to be answerable for future expenses, +nor for the liquidation of the just claims of +the foreign officers, which they have had the patience +to leave in arrears for many months." +</p> + +<p> +It had come to this. Lord Cochrane had been +devoting all his energies to the service of Greece; +and now he found himself deserted by his employers, +or only retained in the hope that he would be an +unpaid agent in piratical and lawless proceedings. +</p> + +<p> +That last circumstance was to him the most painful +of all. Having done his utmost to restrain the piracy +that was rife, he was still regarded by the governing +triumvirate as only the most powerful instrument for +achievements that were little better than piratical; +and the same cruel misrepresentation of his functions +was common among his enemies in England and +other parts of Europe. Colour for this misrepresentation +appeared in the celebrated letter written by +the three admirals on the 24th of October, which, +describing the national fleet as a mere crowd of +"Greek corsairs," by implication included Lord Cochrane +and his English supporters in the same opprobrium. +This had not at first been perceived by him. +On his detecting the insult, he wrote to the representatives +of the three powers three letters, which +here need to be quoted in his justification. +</p> + +<p> +The first was addressed, on the 13th of December, +to Captain Le Blanc, commander of the <i>Junon</i>. "The +silence respecting the regular forces under my orders," +he said, "observed in the letter of the admirals of +the mediating powers, dated October the 24th, 1827, +appearing to make no distinction between them and +the mere pirates, hanging over both the same accusations, +and subjecting consequently the former to +the restrictions wisely adopted towards the latter, +makes it my duty, both towards the country which I +serve, towards the officers under my command, and +towards myself, to protest publicly and in the face of +Europe, against the interpretations to which such a +document seems to give foundation. The detailed +account of the conduct of those ships of war which +are under my immediate orders, and which compose +the national squadron of Greece, will prove that no +neutral vessel whatever has been seized, driven out +of its course, or stopped by them under any pretext +whatever, with the exception of such as have broken +the blockade of Lepanto, the detention of which is +legalized by the act above mentioned. These facts +are undeniable. The conduct of the officers of the +national squadron has been conformable, in all points, +to the laws of nations and to the instructions issued +by the admirals, in their character of representatives +of the mediating Powers. No hostility has been +committed by the national vessels against the territory +or the forces of the Turco-Egyptian Government, +placed beyond the prescribed limits of Lepanto. +But, if such be the state of things, I have the right +of sending on a mission, for the public service, ships +of war beyond these limits, and, availing myself of +that right, I have despatched two (the one to Corfu, +and the other to Syra), the destination of which +relates to the finances of the navy. Be pleased, sir, +to communicate the contents of this letter to Admiral +de Rigny, with whom you have communicated verbally +on the subject, and explain to him the propriety +of this step, to avoid explanations with which it is +not necessary that the public should intermix." +</p> + +<p> +The second letter, dated the 5th of January, 1828, +was to the commander of the Russian frigate <i>Constantine</i>. +"Although I am aware," wrote Lord Cochrane, +"that his excellency, Count Heyden, when he +affixed his signature to the letter of the Admirals, +addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Greece, +dated the 24th of October, could not attest, of his +own knowledge, the truth of the imputations contained +in the said document; yet, as the public may +not recollect that the recent arrival of the Count +precluded the possibility of his being in the slightest +degree acquainted with facts regarding the regular +naval service under my command, I expect from the +Count, that so soon as he shall have informed himself +on the subject, he will take the necessary steps +to remove an evil impression which he unconsciously +has contributed to produce, and thus save me, in as +far as the Count is concerned, the necessity, always +disagreeable, even of a satisfactory refutation of the +imputations cast upon me as Commander-in-Chief of +the Greek fleet." +</p> + +<p> +The third letter was to Commodore Hamilton, of +the <i>Cambrian</i>, who had been left by Sir Edward Codrington +to represent the British squadron in the +Archipelago. "The Government of Greece having +acquiesced in the offer made by the three Powers to +mediate in her behalf," wrote Lord Cochrane, "it +became my duty to obey the decision of the admirals +representing those Powers, when duly communicated. +But whilst my official situation demands acquiescence +on points of a public nature, it is far otherwise +when the Admirals give reasons affecting the +character of the regular naval service of Greece, in +justification of restrictions imposed by them on the +movements of the squadron I command, accompanied +by threats to destroy the Greek vessels of war, in +order to prevent asserted piracy. You, sir, who are +accurately acquainted with facts, and now possess +ample means of ascertaining the truth here upon the +spot, must know, or may learn, that no neutral vessel +has been seized or disturbed in her course by the +national squadron on the high seas, nor any vessel +detained, except those acting in violation of the +blockades acknowledged by these very Admirals. Is +it not then extraordinary that such limitations and +menaces on false grounds should originate with persons +whose high official situations would seem to +sanction imputation under their signatures? I have +told the French and Russian commanders, and I hope +you will assure the British Admiral, that I shall be +loth to trespass on public attention with explanations, +to refute their joint letter of the 24th of +October, in justification of those under my orders; +but it will become me so to do unless a satisfactory +interpretation shall be given to expressions which, +at present, seem even more particularly personal to +myself." +</p> + +<p> +That was almost the last letter written by Lord +Cochrane in Greece for many months. Finding his +position as First Admiral of the Greek navy, without +work to do or crews to direct, unbearable, he had +resolved upon a fresh expedient for attempting to +improve the state of affairs. Before that, however, he +made a last attempt to gain support from the nominal +Government, and uttered a last protest against its +mode of procedure. "I have strenuously endeavoured," +he wrote on the 18th of December, "to +avoid laying before you any complaint, more particularly +concerning acts done by your excellencies; +but there is a point at which such forbearance on my +part would become a dereliction of my duty as an +officer in the service of Greece, amounting even to +treason against the State. So long as the evils extended +no further than the depriving the ships-of-war +of their crews, and preventing the brulottes from +being equipped for service; so long as the injury +occasioned by the granting of numerous licences to +privateers only prevented naval operations from +being carried on against the enemy, I remained +silent. But now that the conduct of those privateers +has brought down upon the Greek nation a threat of +being placed out of the law of nations, and has involved +the national squadron, unmeritedly, in the +disgrace attached to those who have been guilty of +unlawful acts, it is my duty to notify to your excellencies +that I consider all authorities given without +my intervention to armed vessels, of any description, +for belligerent purposes, to be illegal, and that I +have given orders to the national vessels under my +authority to seize them, wherever they may be found, +that they may be judged according to the law +of nations." "I have been waiting with anxiety," +he wrote in another letter, a few days later, "for the +occurrence of events which would have rendered it +unnecessary for me to enter into any correspondence +with your excellencies on pecuniary matters; but, +unfortunately, my anticipations on this head having +been disappointed, and the squadron being without +even the provisions necessary for the maintenance of +the few men required on board the ships when at +anchor, it has become an imperious duty no longer +to delay calling upon your excellencies to fulfil the +engagement entered into relative to the appropriation +of two-thirds of the revenues of the islands, which +you have thought fit to apply to other purposes." +</p> + +<p> +To neither letter was any satisfactory answer sent +by the authorities, and Lord Cochrane, after all his +previous troubles, believed that none would ever be +obtained. He therefore suddenly resolved to leave +Greece for a time, to go himself to England and +France, and there, by personal communication with +the leading Philhellenes, to describe the actual condition +of Greece, and to see if any better state of affairs +could be brought about. This resolution he announced +on the 1st of January, 1828, to Count Capodistrias, +who, having been elected President of Greece nearly +nine months before, and having accepted that office, +had not yet thought fit to enter upon it or to do +anything towards repairing the shattered fortunes +and retrieving the violated honour of the State of +which he was nominally the head. +</p> + +<p> +"On my return home from Brazil," said Lord +Cochrane, in this memorable letter, "I was pressed +by various friends of Greece to engage in the service +of a people struggling to free themselves from +oppression and slavery. My inclination was consonant +to theirs. It was stipulated that, for the +objects in view, six steam-vessels should be rapidly +built, and that two old vessels of war, or Indiamen, +should be purchased and manned with foreign seamen. +The engines for the steam-vessels were to be +high-pressure, these being the easiest constructed +and managed; and two American frigates, when +finished, were also to be placed under my authority. +The failure of the engineer, through disgraceful +ignorance or base treachery, in the proper construction +of the engines—the want of funds to procure +the old vessels of war or Indiamen with foreign +seamen—and the retention of one of the frigates +built in North America, deprived me of the whole +of the stipulated force, except the <i>Hellas</i>. It is +needless to remark that with one frigate I was unable +to effect that which has since required eleven European +ships of the line, aided by many frigates and smaller +vessels, to accomplish. Under these circumstances, +it became my duty to confine myself to desultory +operations, secretly conducted against the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +"The difficulties I have had to contend with, even +in these excursions," he continued, "can best be +appreciated by the few foreign European officers +who accompanied me. The obstinate refusal of the +Greek seamen to embark or perform the smallest +service without being paid in advance—the contempt +with which the elder portion of the seamen treated +every endeavour to promote regularity and maintain +silence in exercising the great guns and other +evolutions, rendered their improvement hopeless; +and the enlistment of young seamen, whilst the old +were rejected, has been rendered extremely difficult +by reason of the influence of the latter, and by the +prejudice excited against a regular naval service by +influential individuals, whose power and importance +are thereby diminished in the maritime islands. +The frequent mutinies or resistance to authority, +and the numerous instances in which I have been +obliged to return to port or abstain from going to +sea are recorded, as to dates and circumstances, in +the log-book of the <i>Hellas</i>, together with the disgraceful +conduct of the crew in the stripping and +robbing of prisoners, and their want of coolness in the +presence of an enemy—exemplified on our attacking +a small frigate and a corvette near Clarenza, and by +the firing of upwards of four hundred round shot, on +a subsequent occasion, at the corvette now named +<i>Hydra</i>, without hitting the hull of that vessel four +times, although she was within a hundred yards +of the <i>Hellas</i>. Such was the confusion excited by +the contiguity even of so inferior an enemy. It is +not my intention to trouble you at present with +detail; yet I cannot suffer to pass unnoticed that +certain commanders, and the seamen of the majority +of the fireships—in the use of which vessels rested +my last hopes—failed in their duty on the only two +important occasions when their services were required; +once at Alexandria in the presence of the +enemy, as the brave Kanaris can well testify; and +again by the crews abandoning their duty and +embarking in privateers, many of them after having +received pay in advance for their services. Indeed—encouraged +by privateering licenses—insubordination, +outrage, and piracy have arrived at such a pitch that +these very national fireships, stripped not only of +their rigging, but of their anchors and cables, are +now drifting about the harbour of Poros. A neutral +boat, detained by the <i>Hellas</i> for violation of blockade, +has been plundered by those sent in charge of her; +and scarcely a vessel can pass between the islands, or +along the shore, without the passengers and property +being exposed to brutal violence and plunder. A +darker period is yet approaching if decisive measures +are not adopted for the suppression of outrages like +these. +</p> + +<p> +"I am ready to serve Greece, and to aid in any +way in the accomplishment of the arduous task you +have undertaken; but, on the fullest consideration +of circumstances, I feel that I should practise a deception +were I to contribute to the belief that the +few foreign officers in the naval service can put a +stop to these disorders, which must finally involve +the character of that very service, already prematurely +brought in question by the conduct of vessels +unlawfully commissioned by the temporary Government. +I have, in consequence of this opinion, come +to the resolution to exert myself to procure adequate +means to execute the duties of an office in which my +efforts hitherto have been all counteracted; and I the +more readily adopt this resolution as, during the +winter months, it is impossible to navigate the <i>Hellas</i> +in these narrow seas with a crew of young inexperienced +Greek seamen, and still more impracticable +to manage her with old ones of Turkish habits. I +may, indeed, add that, until the communication addressed +on the 24th of October by the three admirals +to the Legislative Assembly shall be cancelled, it +is hopeless to attempt any naval enterprise in favour +of Greece, even had Admiral de Rigny not super-added +his commands 'that all Greek vessels, armed +for war, found beyond twelve miles from the shores +of continental Greece, between Volo and Lepanto, +shall be destroyed.' I repeat that I have taken my +determination, not from any private feeling of disgust +at the above disgraceful restrictions brought by +the temporary Government; nor from their misappropriation +of the revenues allotted to maritime +purposes, and the consequent want of pay, stores, +and even provisions for the ships of war; nor from +the painful feeling that the crippled ships of the +enemy are thereby enabled to depart in security, +dragging with them four thousand Grecian captives +to slavery; nor from the impossibility of reducing +their maritime fortifications, while the Greeks, unpunished, +are the chief violators of the blockade; but +I have resolved to proceed to England without loss +of time, that I may render better service to Greece. +If you aid me with means, my object as to seamen +will be ensured. Sober, steady men can be obtained +from the northern nations, who will do their duty, +and, since precept is useless, teach the Greeks by +example. Then piracy may cease and commerce +may flourish. Be your intention in regard to the +steam-vessels still in England what it may, foreign +seamen are indispensable to the interests of Greece +and to your own; and the expense of bringing them +here will be little increased if these steamers, fitted +under my inspection, shall become the means of their +conveyance. The hardship of a winter's voyage to +the North, in a small vessel, I shall deem amply +repaid if I can accomplish these objects, expose the +injustice and impolicy of certain measures, and bring +the real wants of Greece to the knowledge of a +liberal and enlightened administration." +</p> + +<p> +On the same New Year's Day Lord Cochrane wrote, +explaining his resolution, to Dr. Gosse, who, of all +the Philhellenes in Greece, had rendered him most +efficient service in his thankless task, and most zealously +encouraged him, throughout a long series of +failures for which he was in no way answerable, to +persevere in struggling for success. "My dear +friend and fellow-sufferer," he said, "in conformity +with your wish and opinion, I have tolerated my +mental load of grievances until the new year; but +as it is essential to commence it well in order that +measures may prosper to the end, I have resolved to +put my intention in execution, regardless of the +officious tongues of those of microscopic views who +may deem that my time might be well employed in +balancing the rivalships of barbarous seamen or +protecting the movable stores of the immovable +<i>Hellas</i>. In my present state of official insignificance +I could render no other service. I have stated a +few of my reasons in a letter to Capodistrias, for +his private information, when he shall assume the +office of president. I hope these will suffice, and +that he will communicate his desire, which shall be +duly attended to." +</p> + +<p> +In accordance with his new resolution, Lord Cochrane +transferred the command of the <i>Hellas</i>, and such +control of the whole navy as was possible, to Admiral +Miaoulis. He left Poros in the little schooner +<i>Unicorn</i>, on the 10th of January, and arrived at +Portsmouth on the 11th of February. "The anxiety +and disappointment," he said, writing to M. Eynard +from Portsmouth on the following day, "which I +experienced in regard to the steam-vessels and other +means that were to have been placed at my disposal +are trifling, when compared to the distress I have +felt at finding my only remaining hope of rendering +effectual service to Greece destroyed by the impossibility +of inducing the Greek seamen to submit to +the slightest restraint on their inclinations, or to +render the most trifling service without being paid +in advance, or to perform such service after being so +paid, if it suited their interest or convenience to evade +the fulfilment of their engagement. More than six +crews have passed under my review on board the +<i>Hellas</i> in the course of as many months, exclusive of +those in other vessels, and, notwithstanding all that +has been written to praise the courage of the Greek +seamen, they are collectively the greatest cowards +I have ever met with. No service of any difficulty +or danger can be undertaken with such men without +the greatest risk of being compromised by the confusion +they create, and the impossibility of causing +orders to be obeyed. Indeed, though styled Commander-in-Chief +of the Greek Naval Forces, I have, +since the 12th of April last, when I hoisted my flag, +been, in truth, under the control of wild and frantic +savages, whose acts are guided by momentary impulses +or heedless avidity to grasp some immediate +pecuniary or petty advantage, regardless of any +prospect of future benefit, however great, to their +country or to themselves. To give you an idea of +the character of men suddenly emancipated from a +state of the most degrading and abject slavery, in +which state cunning, deception, and fraud, if not +absolutely requisite, were convenient and profitable, +of their present arrogancy, ignorance, despotism, and +cruelty, when safe opportunity offers for revenge, +would require that a diary should be laid before +you of events which have actually occurred. The +confidence you were pleased to repose in me, and the +friendly offices for which I am indebted to you would +have imposed upon me the task of transmitting to +you such detail, had the state of my mind, harassed +by constant contrarieties, permitted. +</p> + +<p> +"Leaving to a future period, then, minute recital +of distressing occurrences, permit me to make a few +observations as to the course that appears to be +necessary to be pursued in order to save Greece from +impending ruin:—1st. The chief leaders of the different +factions should be removed from Greece,—those +who have education, on missions to different +states, as envoys, consuls, etc., and the others, as +circumstances will permit. Else Greece will be a +theatre of plunder and discord whilst they hold authority +or have means to interfere in public affairs. +2ndly. Troops to the amount of four thousand, at +least, are required to enforce obedience to salutary +laws and regulations. 3rdly. Five hundred seamen +from the northern nations of Europe or North America +are indispensable for the suppression of piracy +and to prevent the plunder of the islands. 4thly. +Young Greek seamen should be employed by the +civilized nations in their vessels of war and commerce. +5thly. The settlement of persons from all +quarters of Europe, in numbers affording mutual +protection, should be encouraged. Of course education +at home, but more especially abroad, will improve +the rising generation. For all those people +now at the age of maturity in Greece there is no +hope of amelioration. In regard to myself, I am +ready, according to my engagement, to render any +service in my power to Greece, and I shall feel great +satisfaction if I am enabled to do so; but it is no +part of my contract to place myself under the control +of lawless savages. What might we not have done +had the steam-vessels and five hundred good seamen +been employed in Greece, when, with these barbarians, +we have doubled the number of Greek national +vessels of war, and destroyed twice as many of the +enemy's squadron? I hope the President Capodistrias +will not put his foot on shore in Greece, +unless accompanied by a military force. If he does, +he will afford corroborative proof of the impossibility +of establishing a new order of things by the instrumentality +of men who feel interested in the continuance +of ancient habits and abuses."<a class="fnref" href="#fn12" id="ref12">[12]</a> +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch22">CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD COCHRANE'S OCCUPATIONS ON BEHALF OF GREECE IN LONDON AND +PARIS.—HIS SECOND LETTER TO CAPODISTRIAS.—HIS DEFENCE OF HIMSELF +WITH REFERENCE TO HIS VISIT TO WESTERN EUROPE.—HIS RETURN TO +GREECE.—CAPODISTRIAS'S PRESIDENCY AND THE PROGRESS OF GREECE.—LORD +COCHRANE'S RECEPTION BY THE GOVERNMENT.—THE SETTLEMENT +OF HIS ACCOUNTS.—HIS LETTER OF RESIGNATION.—THE FINAL INDIGNITIES +TO WHICH HE WAS SUBJECTED.—THE CORRESPONDENCE THEREUPON +BETWEEN ADMIRAL HEYDEN AND DR. GOSSE.—LORD COCHRANE'S DEPARTURE +FROM GREECE.—HIS OPINIONS REGARDING HER.—THE CHARACTER +AND ISSUES OF HIS SERVICES TO THE GREEKS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1828-1829.] +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane's absence from Greece was longer +and less advantageous than he anticipated. Arriving +in London on the 19th of February, 1828, he found +that the English Philhellenes were tired out by the +bad faith and the unpatriotic conduct of the Greeks, +and that the English Government, which he had +hoped to influence so far as to obtain an alteration +in the Foreign Enlistment Act which would enable +him to secure the services of a well-trained force of +British seamen, was determined to give no help in +the matter. He found, too, that the steam-vessels yet +to be furnished in accordance with the old contract +with Mr. Galloway were still unfinished, and that +there would be no little trouble and delay, added to +all that had already been endured, before their completion +could be hoped for. Not disheartened, however, +he went almost immediately to Paris, there to +see what could be expected from the Philhellenes of +the Continent. +</p> + +<p> +"I have taken steps," he wrote to M. Eynard from +Paris on the 2nd of March, "to cause one of our +small steam-vessels to be fitted with proper engines, +the expense of which I shall find means to defray. +I hope the President will favour me with a communication +at an early date, at least, to say whether he +has means to pay and victual a few hundreds of +foreign seamen, and thus put my mind at rest. For +he must depend on foreign aid to support him in his +government, protect commerce, and enable a revenue +to be derived from the latent resources of Greece. +The Greeks themselves will do nothing towards these +objects; though there will not be wanting individuals +who will endeavour, for their personal views, to +persuade them to the contrary of this. My mind is +not yet sufficiently tranquil to give detailed reasons +for my opinion that things will not succeed in Greece +without troops and other foreign aid; but such time +will prove to be the case." +</p> + +<p> +"Were the three great powers," he said in another +letter to M. Eynard, dated the 17th of March, +"pleased to aid the President with funds to a small +amount, they would accomplish more for their own +benefit and that of Greece, than by great fleets and +armies. Four thousand troops, under the Greek +Government, and five hundred seamen, would terminate +the affair; but never will anarchy cease or +piracy be put down, nor will Capodistrias be secure, +unless he has, under his own authority, the means +of enforcing obedience to the laws and regulations +for the public good by sea and land. I have told +you that the Greek seamen cannot be used to suppress +piracy, and I may truly add that no Greeks of +age to bear arms can become soldiers, though they +learn readily enough to perform the military exercises. +There neither is nor has yet been, since my +arrival in Greece, one single company—not even +the marines, with which so much pains was taken—that +deserves the name of regular. Their ideas are +quite repugnant to everything that constitutes the +military character." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane, who, it will be remembered, was +chiefly instrumental in the election of Count John +Capodistrias as President of Greece in April, 1827, +had hoped much from his government. His confidence +was not a little shaken by the long delay +which the President had shown in entering on his +office, and when Capodistrias arrived, in Greece, only +a few days after Lord Cochrane's departure, his first +acts were calculated to shake that confidence yet +more. He introduced many solid reforms; but in +other respects clung to the old and bad traditions of +the people, and, which was yet worse, allowed himself +to be guided by some of the worst placehunters +and most skilful abusers of national power, whom he +ought to have most carefully avoided. Lord Cochrane +began to perceive this before he had been six +weeks out of Greece. He yet hoped, however, that +wise counsels and good government would prevail, +and he tendered his advice, while he reported his +own movements, in a second letter which he addressed +to Capodistrias. +</p> + +<p> +"The information which your excellency must +have acquired since your arrival in Greece," he +wrote to him on the 22nd of March, "may have +convinced you of the facts briefly touched on in the +letter which I had the honour to address to you on +the 1st of January, and may also have proved to you +the impossibility, under existing circumstances, of my +rendering service to Greece, otherwise than by the +course I have pursued. Although, on my arrival in +England, I was disappointed at finding other +ministers than those I expected in the counsels of +his Britannic Majesty, yet I had an opportunity of +making facts known to influential individuals in +proof that the interests of England would be best +promoted by a liberal policy towards Greece, and by +placing that country, without loss of time, in the +rank of an independent state, having boundaries the +most extensive that could be conceded. Since then, +I have had several conversations here with the gentlemen +of the Paris Greek Committee, and I have +advised them to assure the ministers that large naval +and military armaments are not required for the +expulsion of the Turkish and Egyptian forces from +Greece, or to protect that country from farther +attempts at invasion by the before-mentioned powers; +that for the speedy regulation of the internal affairs +of Greece, and the support of your authority, it would +be far preferable and infinitely less costly for the +mediating powers to place in your hands the means +of maintaining four or five thousand troops, together +with five hundred seamen, and apply a portion of +the vast sums they will save to the education of the +rising generation of Greeks abroad and at home, +and to the encouragement of whatever will tend to +direct the talent and genius of the young people +most speedily into the course which will entitle +Greece to rank amongst the civilized nations of +Europe. Whether this advice shall be listened to or +not, I am satisfied that my opinion is correct, and +that a multitude of foreign troops, in the pay of rival +foreign nations, would contribute less to the objects +these nations profess to have in view than a much +smaller force under your own authority, more especially +when it is considered that these troops could in +no way interfere with the internal arrangement and +police of the country, unless by usurping, or at +least superseding the authority which ought to be +exclusively vested in your excellency as chief of the +Greek Government. Besides, knowing, as I do, the +jealous character of your countrymen, the facility +with which they listen to surmises and reports, the +diversity of interests amongst the rival chiefs, and +the intrigues practised by base and worthless individuals, +I have little doubt but that such mixture of +troops of different nations would give rise to a state +of anarchy more injurious to Greece than that which +at present exists. Whether such anarchy might be +prevented by one nation alone taking upon itself the +internal arrangement of Greece seems doubtful; for, +to enforce laws, however just and necessary, by +troops in foreign pay, against the opinion and habits +of a people who have no just notion of the reciprocal +duties of civilized society, would be in their estimation +to erect a military despotism, and would call +forth resistance on their part even to the most salutary +changes. I have also recommended, as an additional +security against a multitude of evils, an +immediate demarkation of the boundaries of Greece, +or, at least, an acknowledgment of your excellency +as President. The outfit of two or three steam-vessels +still unfinished is going on, and I shall find +means to accomplish this object in a way that will +render them equal if not superior in velocity to most +of the steamboats in general use. But, as no pecuniary +means could be obtained in England to procure +seamen and purchase provisions, coals, and other +necessaries, I came to Paris, in the hope that the +Greek Committee might enable me to give orders +regarding these arrangements, so indispensable to the +navigating of these vessels to Greece. The Paris +Committee, however, intimate that they have no +funds; and the Chevalier Eynard assures me that the +moneys collected by him are exhausted. I therefore +await with anxiety your answer to the letter which +I had the honour to address to you previous to my +departure from Greece." +</p> + +<p> +No answer came from Capodistrias. He sent a +message to Lord Cochrane asking him to sell him the +little <i>Unicorn</i>, which had conveyed him to England, +but said nothing about his own return. Believing +that the allied powers would do for him all that was +necessary in naval resistance of Turkey, he was not +sorry to be deprived of an associate in the actual +service of Greece as powerful as Lord Cochrane. +</p> + +<p> +This Lord Cochrane began to suspect. "Everything +is arranged regarding the engines for the two +steamboats," he said in a letter to M. Eynard, on the +24th of March; "but circumstances do not enable +me to accomplish more, especially without the sanction +of the President, from whom I shall no doubt shortly +hear on the subject;—unless, indeed, he shall be persuaded +by the primates of the islands that he can do +better without a regular naval force, or, at least, without +me, which I know is the opinion of Konduriottes, +and also of Mavromichales, the great licenser +and patron of pirates, so loudly and justly complained +of. I am very low, and do not feel at all well. I +cannot free myself from the oppression of spirits +occasioned by seeing everything in the lamentable +state in which all must continue in Greece, unless +some effectual steps are taken to put an end to the +intrigues and rivalships headed by unprincipled +chiefs and backed by their savage followers. Believe +me, that there is nothing I will leave undone +to serve the cause. But it is essential that more +time shall not be wasted in endeavouring to accomplish +objects of vital importance by inadequate +means." +</p> + +<p> +While Lord Cochrane was endeavouring to hasten +the arrangements for his return to Greece, he was +annoyed by a letter forwarded to him by Sir Francis +Burdett. The letter was from Andreas Luriottis, +one of the two Greek deputies who had requested +Lord Cochrane, two years and a half before, to enter +the service of Greece, and who now claimed a restitution +of the 37,000<i>l</i>. paid to him, on the plea that +by leaving Greece he had broken his contract. +</p> + +<p> +"Before writing to Sir Francis," said Lord Cochrane +in the indignant letter which he addressed to +this person on the 20th of April, "you ought to +have informed yourself of facts and circumstances. +You might have learnt that I continued to serve +until the Greek Government had assumed to themselves +the powers vested in me, as naval commander-in-chief, +to regulate the distribution of armed vessels, +and until they had covered the seas with piratical +craft. You might have informed yourself that I +remained at my post until the neutral admirals +refused to hold communication with a Government +which had so misconducted itself, and with which +they considered it would have been disgraceful to +correspond, even on subjects of a public nature. +You might have informed yourself that I remained +on board the <i>Hellas</i> until the temporary Government +had sold and applied to other purposes the revenues +of the islands allotted for the maintenance of the +regular naval service, and deprived me of the means +to satisfy the claims of the officers and seamen; that +I continued until the seamen had abandoned the frigate, +plundered the fireships, and fitted out pirate +vessels before my eyes—all which I had no power +to punish or means to prevent. If you or others +infer that my endeavours in the cause of Greece are +to be judged by naval operations carried on against +the enemy by open force, you are mistaken. It is +essential that you hold in mind that there are no +naval officers in Greece who are acquainted with the +discipline of regular ships of war, that the seamen +would submit to no restraint, that they would not +enlist for more than one month, that they would do +nothing without being paid in advance, nor continue +to serve after the expiration of the short period for +which they were so paid, that by this determination +of the seamen the <i>Hellas</i> was detained for months in +port or occupied in collecting amongst the islands +paltry means to satisfy their demands, and that at +last, when money was found, half the period of the +seamen's engagement was consumed in proceeding +even to the nearest point at which hostile operations +could be carried on, whence it became necessary to +return almost at the moment of our arrival. It is not +for me to speak, except when I am attacked, of the +services I have rendered both in my professional +capacity and otherwise. Those who were in Greece +knew my exertions to reconcile the National Assemblies +in April, 1827, to suppress the animosity +amongst the chiefs and save the country from civil +discord. They know that I doubled the national +marine by captures from the enemy. They know +that by desultory operations I paralysed the efforts +of fleets we could not oppose. They know that the +attack on Vasiladi and Lepanto, in September last, +induced the Turkish and Egyptian fleets to follow to +that quarter, in violation of the armistice, and that +this act produced their rencontre and dispute with +the British admiral, and ultimately led to the destruction +of those fleets in the port of Navarino." +</p> + +<p> +A few days after writing that letter, Lord Cochrane +returned to London from Paris, where he had been +staying for nearly two months, in frequent communication +with the members of the Philhellenic Committees +of that city and of other parts of the Continent. +The growing dissatisfaction which the bad conduct of +the Greeks had awakened in many of their best +friends, and still more the silence of Capodistrias, +prevented his doing all that he had hoped to do. +He succeeded, however, in exciting some fresh interest, +and found that one of the steamboats, at any +rate, the <i>Mercury</i>, was at length in a fair way of +completion, though this and its subsequent equipment +were only effected by an advance of two thousand +pounds, which he himself made. This was the +business which took him to London, where he was +busily employed during May and the first few days +of June. He then went back to Paris for nearly three +months more, and made further efforts, though in +vain, to procure the substantial assistance for Greece +on which his heart was set. As soon as the +<i>Mercury</i> was ready for sea, he directed that she +should proceed to Marseilles, where she arrived on +the 13th of September: on the 18th, determined to +make the best use of her in his power, he again set +sail for Greece. +</p> + +<p> +He reached Poros on or near the last day of September. +He found that the internal arrangements +of Greece had wonderfully improved. Capodistrias +during the last eight months had been ruling with +an iron hand over all those districts which the previous +conquests of the Turks and Egyptians had not +taken out of his control, and all those conquests +were just then being finally abrogated. The full +effects of the battle of Navarino were now appearing. +Ibrahim Pasha, having deported many of his +troops to Alexandria, chiefly because there was not +food enough to be found for them in the Morea, had +refused to surrender his authority or to abandon any +of the numerous fortresses of which he was master. +The President, with Sir Richard Church and the +worn-out refuse of the so-called army for his only +support, could do nothing to expel him; but he +gladly accepted the proffered aid of France. In +compliance with a protocol signed on the 19th of +July, fourteen thousand soldiers, under General +Maison, had landed at Petilidi, on the 30th of +August, and within a week Ibrahim had been +forced to sign a convention pledging himself to +prompt evacuation of the peninsula. Half of the +residue of his army quitted Navarino on the 16th of +September; the rest was preparing to depart at the +time of Lord Cochrane's arrival, and actually started +on the 5th of October. The ensuing weeks were worthily +employed by the French army in clearing out +the pestilential garrisons and making it possible for +wholesome rule to succeed to the seven weary years +of strife. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the primary work which Lord Cochrane had +been engaged to do, and which he vainly strove to +do under the miserable circumstances of his position, +had been effected by others. The Ottoman fleets had +been dispersed and destroyed, and, as far as they +were concerned, Greece was free at last. There was +work yet to be done, troublesome but most important +work, in converting the disorderly and piratical +vessels and crews which constituted the navy of +Greece into an efficient agent for protecting the +State and extending its boundaries. This, in spite of +all his previous annoyances, Lord Cochrane was prepared +to do, if the Greeks were willing. But they +did not will it. Capodistrias had laid his plans for +governing Greece, and for their performance he had +no need of a foreigner as wise and honest as Lord +Cochrane. The plans were not altogether reprehensible. +At starting they were perhaps the best that +could be adopted. The new President—the President +whom Lord Cochrane had nominated as the likeliest +man to beat down the factions and override the +jealousies that had hitherto wrought such grievous +mischief to Greece—began by acting up to the anticipations +which had induced his selection. Schooled +in Italy and Russia, he practised both tortuous diplomacy +and straightforward tyranny in attempting to +turn divided Greece into a united nation, in which a +hundred rival claimants for power should be made +humble instruments of the authority of their one +master. Thereby the State was enabled to assert its +existence, and it was made possible for good government +to be introduced. When, however, the time +came for inaugurating that good government, Capodistrias +sought to continue the method of rule which, +if allowable at first, was no longer right or likely +to succeed. Young Greece was to be kept in subjection +for his own aggrandisement and for the aggrandisement +of his few favourites and advisers. These +favourites and advisers were the leaders of the old +Phanariot party, Prince Mavrocordatos and his +brother-in-law Mr. Trikoupes; men whose policy +Lord Cochrane had opposed on his first arrival in +Greece, and who accordingly became even more +inimical to himself than he was to their purposes and +plans. +</p> + +<p> +Therefore it was that, when Lord Cochrane returned +to Greece in the autumn of 1828, he was +coldly received and his offers of further service, +though not openly rejected, were not accepted. +Throughout ten weeks he was treated with contemptuous +indifference, or formal compliments, the +hollowness of which was transparent. On his arrival, +the President found it difficult to grant him an interview. +When that interview was granted, the only +subject allowed to be discussed was the accuracy of +the accounts that had been drawn up by Dr. Gosse +as Commissary-General of the Fleet, during the nine +months of the previous year in which Lord Cochrane +had been in active service. Nearly two months were +spent in tedious and vexatious examination of these +accounts, and correspondence thereupon, ending, +however, in the partial satisfaction which Lord +Cochrane derived from the knowledge that, after the +most searching investigation, they were admitted to +be correct in every particular. +</p> + +<p> +More than once, during this waiting time, Lord +Cochrane threatened to leave Greece immediately, +without waiting for the settlement of the accounts. +He was only induced to remain, and submit to the +insults offered to him, by the consideration that his +hasty departure might cause an indefinite postponement +of this settlement, and so prove injurious to his +subordinates if not to himself. This being done, +however, he lost no time in resigning his office as +First Admiral of Greece; and that measure was +accompanied by a rare exhibition of generosity. +"The direct and active interference of the great +European powers having decided the glorious contest +for the freedom of Greece," he said in a letter to +Count Capodistrias, written at Poros, on the 26th of +November, "and its independence being formally acknowledged +by accredited agents from these powers, +no means now present themselves to me whereby I +can professionally promote the interests of this +hitherto oppressed people. I beg, therefore, that I +may be permitted as an individual to alleviate their +burdens by presenting the State with my share as +Admiral of the corvette <i>Hydra</i>, and schooner-of-war +<i>Athenian</i>, captured from the enemy; and further by +absolving the State from any and every obligation +whereby the sum of 20,000<i>l</i>. was to be paid to me on +the acknowledgment of the independence of this +country. If your excellency shall be pleased, conjointly +with the National Assembly, to appropriate +any part of the said amount to the relief of the +seamen wounded, and of the families of those who +have fallen during the contest, it will be a high gratification +to my feelings, and I hope will be admitted +as a testimony of my satisfaction at the introduction +of useful institutions, and of the pleasure I +experience at the rapid advancement towards order +which has taken place even during the short period +of your excellency's presidency. I have only to add +that, if at any future time your excellency shall +deem my services useful, I shall be delighted at an +opportunity to prove my zeal for the welfare of +Greece, more fully than circumstances have heretofore +permitted." +</p> + +<p> +The President's reply, dated the 4th of December, +was complimentary: "The Government of Greece," +he said, "thanks you, my lord, for the services you +have rendered, and for the new proof of your interest +and your benevolence which you have shown in your +letter of the 26th of November. As you observe, Greece +having been taken under the protection of the great +Powers of Europe, the Provisional Government can +engage in no warlike operation worthy of your talents +and your station. It regrets, therefore, that it cannot +offer you an opportunity of giving further proof of +the noble and generous sentiments which animate +you in favour of Greece. The Government will +make it its duty to convey to the National Congress +your offer to cede your rights in the corvette <i>Hydra</i> +and the schooner <i>Athenian</i>, and in the 20,000<i>l</i>. which +Greece was to pay you on the acknowledgment of +her independence. It doubts not that the Congress +will value at its true worth all the nation's debt to +you, and that it will adopt the measures which you +propose for succouring the families of the Greek +seamen who have fallen in the war. The future of +Greece is in the hands of God and of the Allied +Powers. You have taken part in her restoration, +and she will reckon you, with sentiments of profound +gratitude, among her first and generous defenders." +</p> + +<p> +A day had not passed, however, before Lord Cochrane +had fresh proof of the worthlessness of that +pretended gratitude. Information having reached +Messrs. J. and S. Ricardo, the contractors for the +Greek loan of 1825, that the new Government contemplated +repudiating the debt, they had written to +Lord Cochrane, begging him to bring the matter +before Capodistrias, and represent to him the injustice +to the stock-holders and the discredit to Greece that +would result from such an act. Lord Cochrane, +accordingly, had an interview with the President +and his two chief advisers on the 5th of December, +when this subject was discussed, and, though the +repudiation was only threatened, attempts were +made to justify it on the plea that the 2,000,000<i>l</i>. +forming the loan had nearly all been squandered in +England and America, much having disappeared in +unexplained ways, the rest having been absorbed in +ship-building and engine-making, from which Greece +had derived no benefit. Both in the personal interview +and in a long letter which he addressed to the +President on the following day, Lord Cochrane indignantly +resented the proposed repudiation. He admitted +that there had been gross mismanagement, +but showed that the chief blame for this attached to +the Greek deputies, Orlando and Luriottis, who had +been sent to England to raise the money and to see +that it was properly expended, but who, as was well +known, had sought only their own advantage and +enjoyment, and, pilfering themselves, had allowed +others to pilfer without restraint. He urged that the +innocent holders of the Greek stock ought not to +suffer on this account, and showed also, that, if there +had been great abuse of the loan, it had enabled the +Greeks to tide over their worst time of trouble. "Your +excellency must be aware," he wrote, "that there +was no war-ship belonging to the State which was +not bought, taken, or obtained by the aid of this +loan, and that all the guns, mortars, powder, and +other military stores which served to maintain the +liberties of Greece during these later years were +chiefly procured by help of this same fund. It +enabled you to carry on the war until independence +was secured by the intervention of the Allied +Powers." +</p> + +<p> +The debt was not repudiated; but Lord Cochrane's +arguments for its acknowledgment gave an opportunity +for exhibition of the long-smothered jealousy +with which he was regarded by the counsellors of +Capodistrias, if not by Capodistrias himself. The exhibition +certainly was contemptible. As Lord Cochrane +was about to leave Greece—and, indeed, eager to do +so—the spite could only be shown in the arrangements +made for his departure. +</p> + +<p> +Having transferred the <i>Mercury</i>, which brought +him out, to the President, Lord Cochrane had to ask +for a vessel to take him from Egina, where he was +then staying, to the Ionian Islands, or, if he could +not there find suitable conveyance, to Toulon or Marseilles. +The brig <i>Proserpine</i> was grudgingly placed +at his disposal. "I pray you, my lord," wrote +Mavrocordatos, on the 8th of December, "if you are +obliged to take her to Toulon or Marseilles, not to +detain her at Navarino or Zante, but to enable her +to return with as little delay as possible to her work +on the shores of Western Greece." Lord Cochrane +accordingly embarked in this vessel on the 10th. No +sooner was he on board, however, than he found himself +treated with studied rudeness by her captain, +Manoli Bouti, "exposed," as he said, "to privations +and insults that would not be allowed in the conveyance +of convicts." He had to put in at Poros on +the same evening, and thence address a complaint to +the Government, then lodged in that island. Four +days passed before he received a written answer to +his letter, and then it conveyed nothing but a formal +intimation that another captain would be appointed +in lieu of the obnoxious officer. +</p> + +<p> +Many personal communications, however, had +passed in the interval, by which was confirmed the +suspicion formed by Lord Cochrane from the first, +that the captain's misconduct had been dictated by his +superiors, and that it had been a preconceived plan to +try and send the First Admiral of Greece—for both +title and functions still belonged to him—from her +shores with every possible degradation. He naturally +resented this indignity. He claimed that, while he +remained in Greece, and until his office of First Admiral +was abrogated, he should be treated with the +respect due to his rank. All he asked, he urged, was +that he might be allowed to leave Greece at once, +if with such show of honour from the +people whom he had done his best to serve, as would +free him from insult and the Government from disgrace. +"I assure your excellency," he wrote to the +President, "that I regret the occurrence of any circumstance +that occasions uneasiness to you; but I +believe that, on reflection, you will clearly perceive +that all which has occurred has been the work of +others, whose acts I could neither control nor foresee. +I waive my right to insist at present on any explicit +recognition of my authority, and, though there is +ample justification for my seeking more than I desire, +all that I demand of your excellency is, for the sake +of Greece, not to suffer, not to sanction your ministers +in an endeavour to force me on to public explanations, +by persevering in the scandalous line of conduct +which they pursue. Surely your excellency cannot +be aware of the importance which naval men attach +to the continuance of the insignia of office, whilst +actually embarked within the limits of their station, +or you would not for an instant tolerate the attempt +made to degrade me in the estimation of the high +authorities and numerous officers here present in the +port of Poros. I respectfully await your excellency's +official commands and warrant to strike my flag; not +founded on reasonings or on assumptions, which may +prove fallacious or incorrect; but dictated in explicit +terms, such as an officer can, such as he ought to +obey." +</p> + +<p> +That Lord Cochrane was not fighting with a +shadow, appears from a letter addressed to Dr. Gosse, +on the 15th of December, by Count Heyden, then +commanding the <i>Azoff</i>, as representative of Russia in +the bay of Poros. "As the affairs of etiquette are +delicate," he said, "I beg that you will inform me +whether his lordship is still serving as First Admiral +of Greece, or whether he has received his <i>congé</i>. If +he is still in her service and employ, I shall rejoice to +render him all the honours due to his rank. In the +other case, I will pay him all the honours, except the +salute of cannon. I beg that you will favour me +with an answer, in order that I may show his lordship +all the honour that is due to him." +</p> + +<p> +Dr. Gosse's answer, though longer than Admiral +Heyden expected, claims to be here quoted, as it +furnished an important tribute to Lord Cochrane's +worth, and was all the more valuable in that the +Russian officer, glad to do all in his power to render +homage to a man whom the Greek Government was +now treating with childish insolence, made it his +own by publishing it in the naval archives of Russia. +"Lord Cochrane," wrote Dr. Gosse, "having arrived +in Greece in March 1827, was, in the National +Assembly at Troezene, elected First Admiral and Commander-in-Chief +of the Naval Forces of Greece, with +independent and unlimited powers. Subsequently, and +after the election of Count Capodistrias as President, +the Assembly decided that the admiral should be +under the authority of the Government until the +arrival of the President. During the year 1827, +Lord Cochrane fulfilled his duties with all the zeal, +all the accuracy, and all the talent for which he is +renowned; but he found it impossible to achieve anything +of importance, isolated as he was, without sufficient +funds, and without support from others, except +that of the Philhellenic Committees, and without the +co-operation of the Greeks themselves. At length, +having pledged himself not to interfere in internal +politics, he considered his presence in Greece useless +until a firm Government could be organized, and +deemed that he could render best service to the nation +by advocating its interests in Western Europe. He +departed early in January, after during two months +vainly awaiting the arrival of Count Capodistrias, +whom he informed of his expedition, and asked for instructions. +He returned to France and England, used +all the means in his power to obtain fresh aid for Greece, +fitted out one of the steamboats that were being prepared +in London, took steps for the completion of the +other two, and, after writing a second letter to the President—which, +like the first one, received no answer—returned +to Greece, resolved to devote himself to +her cause. He was received with coldness and indifference; +neither lodging, nor provisions, nor employment +were offered to him. He asked that his accounts +might be examined: ignorant or evil-minded commissioners +were entrusted with their investigation, +and the Government only took it in hand very +tardily. Objections and disputes, difficulties and contradictions, +accumulated, and it was only after a delay +of sixty days that his accounts were publicly and +officially declared to be correct. All that while he +remained like a private person on board his steamboat, +manned only by six sailors. In all the audiences +that he had with the President, he asked for instructions +as to the position and work that he should assume; +but he could never receive any definite answer. During +one interview which he had with Prince Mavrocordatos +on board the <i>Mercury,</i> in the port of Poros, on +the 1st of December, the anniversary of the coronation +of the Emperor of Russia, he announced his intention +of hoisting his flag on board one of the national vessels +as a public compliment to that sovereign, and asked M. +Mavrocordatos to inform the President of that intention; +but he received no answer. He had during +this period received numerous letters from the +Government addressed to him as First Admiral and +Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of Greece. +He afterwards went to Egina with Messrs. Trikoupes +and Mavrocordatos, to receive a part of the money +due to him, and to hand over to the Commission +of Marine the steamboat <i>Mercury.</i> That done, he +was embarked in a national vessel, a miserable brig +which had been seized as contraband, badly repaired, +which had been sent to convey him to Navarino, +Zante, Toulon, or Marseilles. This vessel was under +the orders of a Hydriot brulotteer, an ignorant and +coarse man, who, long before, at the expedition +against Alexandria, had acted in direct violation of +the admiral's orders; and the crew was on a par +with the captain. Lord Cochrane was insolently +received by these people. No place of safety was +found for his baggage and his money; no food was +provided even for the voyage from Egina to Poros, +where Lord Cochrane wished to take leave of the +President. At Poros the captain repeated his insults. +Lord Cochrane requested the President to dismiss +him, but received no answer. M. Trikoupes even +came on board and declared that the captain should +continue his voyage and proceed to his destination. +Lord Cochrane then said that he would be master on +board a vessel from whose mast floated his admiral's +flag, and that he would yield to nothing but the +written orders of the President, in order, as he said, +that he might protect himself from the insolence of +servants of the Government who sought to annoy +him by their exhibition of paltry jealousy, or to +force him into a quarrel with the President. The +day before yesterday, in the afternoon, he had an +interview with the President, and, Messrs. Trikoupes +and Mavrocordatos being present, he openly pointed +out to him the intrigues of these officials and the +dangers of the course in which they were leading +him. Warmly, and with the boldness of a good +conscience, he exposed their policy and expressed his +views upon the organization of the Greek navy. He +then repeated his wish to depart as soon as possible, +although he declared himself willing at any +future time to serve Greece if she had need of him. +He also announced that he would at once take down +his flag of authority if the President officially and +directly required it, but that, if any charges were +brought against him, he should be compelled to +remain in Greece until he had exculpated himself +before the nation and obtained the punishment of the +unworthy servants of the President, for whom personally +he declared that he had a profound respect, +while he commiserated his difficult and painful +position. In this interview Lord Cochrane appeared +to me to have a great advantage over his antagonists. +Yesterday the admiral's flag was still floating. +In the evening the President wrote him a letter in +vague terms and contributing nothing to the end he +had in view. This morning Lord Cochrane, in his +reply, has again asked for authority to lower his +flag, if that is the will of the President; but no +orders have been received. This precise statement +of facts which have come under my own knowledge +will, I think, make it easy for your excellency to +arrive at conclusions comporting with the laws of +etiquette." +</p> + +<p> +"I have read your letter with pleasure and with +pain," wrote Admiral Heyden in answer on the same +day; "for I am certain that Lord Cochrane must +have suffered greatly from the treatment to which +he has been exposed. In proof of my esteem I beg +that he will send back to their kennels these miserable +causes of his annoyance, and proceed to Malta, or to +Zante if he wishes, in one of my corvettes, taking +with him as large a suite as he likes. It cannot be +too numerous. As regards his salute, I shall receive +him with the honours due to his rank and with +musical honours; and at his departure I will man +the yards; but the salute of guns I cannot give him, +as he is not in naval authority. Vice-Admiral +Miaoulis never received from me the honours which +I offer to Lord Cochrane. I did not man the yards +and did not give him a salute. I hope I shall have +the pleasure of seeing his lordship, and that I can +provide him a passage more agreeable than that +proposed for him by Greece." +</p> + +<p> +Not content with sending that friendly message to +Lord Cochrane, Admiral Heyden took prompt occasion +to reprove Capodistrias for his unworthy conduct. +Capodistrias thereupon used the influence of +Dr. Grosse in bringing about at any rate a formal +reconciliation between himself and Lord Cochrane, +the result of which was that the latter received the +official discharge that he desired, and even an offer +to find him in another ship a better passage than he +could have expected on board the <i>Proserpine</i>. Lord +Cochrane, however, preferred to accept Admiral Heyden's +more generous invitation. "It is gratifying," +he said in a letter to Dr. Grosse on the 18th of December,<a class="fnref" href="#fn13" id="ref13">[13]</a> +"that even the authority to which wicked +men refer in proof of the rectitude of evil deeds fails +to sanction infamous conduct. Alas! if Capodistrias +suffers—and he seems not inclined to oppose—I say, +if he suffers the base intrigues of the Phanar to be +introduced as the means of ruling a nation, Greece +must fall back, if not into a darker state, yet into a +worse condition, inasmuch as suspended anarchy is +preferable to civil war." +</p> + +<p> +Those prognostications proved correct. Capodistrias, +allowing others to direct him in ways of bad +government, entered on a policy which very soon +led to his assassination—to be followed by the milder +rule of King Otho. +</p> + +<p> +On the 20th of December Lord Cochrane left +Poros in the Russian corvette <i>Grimachi</i>, honourably +placed at his disposal by Admiral Heyden, and +proceeded to Malta. There he was worthily received +by the British admiral, Sir Pulteney Malcolm, who +offered him immediate conveyance to Naples in the +<i>Racer</i>, or, in a week's time, a passage direct to +Marseilles in the <i>Etna</i>. Believing that thus he +would save time, he chose the former alternative. +From Naples, however, he found it impossible to +proceed to Marseilles, and he was obliged, on the +29th of January, to embark in an English merchant +vessel to Leghorn. Eleven days were spent in the +short voyage, and on reaching Leghorn he had to +submit to fifteen days' quarantine before being +allowed to proceed to Paris, there to rejoin his +family. The whole journey occupied nearly ten +weeks. +</p> + +<p> +From Leghorn he wrote on the 15th of February +to Chevalier Eynard respecting Greece and her still +unfortunate condition. "Civilization and internal +order," he said, "can make no steady progress in +Greece unless the Government can be supported +otherwise than by the present bands of undisciplined, +ignorant, and lawless savages. Under existing +circumstances, Greeks who have attained the +age of maturity are incapable of military organization. +You have long known my opinion as to the +necessity of sending foreign troops to Greece to +maintain order. You know that I preferred Swiss +or Bavarian soldiers to those of the great pacificating +powers, because the latter cannot, with propriety, +interfere in matters of police, whilst paid by +foreign countries. It is now, however, too late to +send small military establishments, such as would +have sufficed on the arrival of Capodistrias, because +<i>now</i> they would be considered as oppressors; <i>then</i> +they would have been received as allies and friends. +The alternatives that may be pursued in the conduct +relative to Greece now are, to let the Revolution +work itself out, as in South America, or to leave six +regiments in the country until the young men who +are abroad shall be educated and the rising generation +at home shall be somewhat civilized. It is of no use +to attempt to do good by half measures under the +present circumstances of Greece. Kolokotrones is +ready, on the spot, to take possession of Patras the +moment it is evacuated. Petro-Bey, who has been +prosecuted in the Court of Admiralty for piracy, is +prepared to avenge himself by taking authority in +Maina. Konduriottes, Zaimes, and all the other chiefs, +anxiously await the meeting of the Assembly, which +they hail as the final hour of the President's authority. +Capodistrias's ministers, too, who are no fools, +but, on the contrary, cunning men, undoubtedly have +similar views, for they have taken every means to +discredit, disgust, and drive away every foreigner who, +by his conduct, counsel, or friendly intimation, could +avert the evil. Thus things are fast tending towards +a discreditable close of the President's administration." +</p> + +<p> +"Thank God," wrote Lord Cochrane three months +later, on the 17th of May, to Dr. Gosse, who, in the +interval, had also left Greece, "we are both clear +of a country in which there is no hope of amelioration +for half a century to come; unless, indeed, +immigration shall take place to a great extent, under +some king, or competent ruler, appointed and supported +by the Governments of the mediating powers. +The mental fever I contracted in Greece has not yet +subsided, nor will it probably for some months to come." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane might well be suffering from a +mental fever. Nearly four years of his life had been +spent in efforts to serve Greece, and with very poor +result. To himself the issue had been wholly unfortunate; +even the pecuniary recompense to which he +was entitled having been so reduced as not to meet +the expenses to which he had been put, partly +through his generous surrender of the 20,000<i>l</i>. which +he was to receive on completion of the work, partly +through the depreciation of the Greek stock in +which, out of sympathy for the cause, he had invested +the 37,000<i>l</i>. paid to him on his engagement. +</p> + +<p> +And to Greece the issues had been far less beneficial +than he had hoped. The tedious and wanton delays +to which he had been subjected at starting, whereby +that starting was prevented for a year and a half, +had hindered his arrival in Greece till it was too +late for him to do much of the work that he had +planned. The want of money, and, still more, the +want of patriotism, courage, and even common +honesty on the part of nearly all the leaders with +whom he was to co-operate, and the officers and +crews whom he was to command, had caused his ten +months' active service in Greece to comprise little +more than a series of bold projects, and projects +which, if he had been aided by brave men, would +have been as easy as they were bold, in which he +received none of the support that was necessary, and +which accordingly all his energy and genius could +not make successful. When, after his visit to England +and France, he returned to Greece, eager and +able to render invaluable assistance in the organization +of the navy, he was treated only with neglect and +insolence, from which at last he was enabled to escape +through the generous sympathy of a Russian admiral. +</p> + +<p> +Much, however, he had done for Greece. To his +persistent entreaties were due all the meagre displays +of patriotism by which the Government of the +country was maintained and Capodistrias accepted as +President, and all the feeble efforts by which the +war was carried on and the triumph of the Porte +was averted until the direct interference of the +Allied Powers. That interference had been in great +measure induced by the report that he had entered +the service of Greece, so that to him was due not a +little of the benefit that accrued from the whole +course of diplomacy by which her independence was +secured; and the independence was made more +prompt and complete than could have been expected +by the fortunate circumstance of his having occasioned +the collision between the forces of Turkey +and those of the Allied Powers which issued in the +Battle of Navarino. Much more he would have +achieved had his arguments been listened to and +his plans supported. His failures no less than his +successes bespeak his worth. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch23">CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +A RECAPITULATION OF LORD COCHRANE'S NAVAL SERVICES.—HIS EFFORTS +TO OBTAIN RESTITUTION OF THE RANK TAKEN FROM HIM AFTER THE +STOCK EXCHANGE TRIAL.—HIS PETITION TO THE DUKE OF CLARENCE.—ITS +REJECTION BY THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S CABINET.—LORD COCHRANE'S +OCCUPATIONS AFTER THE CLOSE OF HIS GREEK SERVICE.—HIS +RETURN TO ENGLAND.—HIS MEMORIAL TO WILLIAM IV.—ITS TARDY CONSIDERATION +BY EARL GREY'S CABINET.—ITS PROMOTERS AND OPPONENTS.—LORD +COCHRANE'S ACCESSION TO THE PEERAGE AS TENTH EARL OF +DUNDONALD.—HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE KING.—THE COUNTESS OF DUNDONALD'S +EFFORTS IN AID OF HER HUSBAND'S MEMORIAL.—THEIR ULTIMATE +SUCCESS.—THE EARL OF DUNDONALD'S "FREE PARDON," AND +RESTORATION TO NAVAL RANK. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1828-1832.] +</p> + +<p> +Lord Cochrane's retirement from the service of +Greece brought to a close his career as a fighting +seaman. With one brief exception, occurring twenty +years later, when he commanded the British squadron +in the North American and West Indian waters, but +when there was no warfare to be done the rest of +his life, comprising thirty years of ripe manhood and +vigorous old age, was passed without employment +in the profession which was dear to him, and in which +he had shown himself to be possessed of talents rarely +equalled and certainly never surpassed. +</p> + +<p> +He entered that profession at the age of seventeen. +In 1800, when he was twenty-four, he was promoted +to the command of the <i>Speedy</i>. With that crazy little +sloop, no larger than a coasting brig, he captured +a large French privateer on the 10th of May, and on +the 14th he recaptured two English vessels that had +been seized by the enemy. On the 16th of June he +took another French vessel, and on the 22nd another, +with a prize which she had just obtained. On +the 29th, he secured a large Spanish privateer, in +spite of five gunboats which fought in her defence. +On the 19th of July he captured another French +privateer and rescued her prize; on the 27th he +sunk another; and on the 31st he put another to +flight and took possession of the prize which she had +in tow. On the 22nd of September, he seized +another of the enemy's vessels. On the 15th of +December he wrecked one French war-ship and +captured another, one of three which came to her +assistance; and on the 24th, being attacked by two +Spanish privateers, he took one of them. On the 16th +of January, 1801, he chased two vessels, and seized +one, and on the 22nd, two of the enemy's craft, one +French and the other Spanish, struck to him. On +the 24th of February a French brig fell into his +hands. The same fate was shared by another vessel +on the 11th of April, by another on the 13th, and +by two others on the 15th. He captured a Spanish +tartan and a Spanish privateer on the 4th of May; +and on the 13th occurred his celebrated victory over +the <i>Gamo</i>—carrying four times the tonnage, six +times the number of men, and seven times the weight +of shot possessed by the <i>Speedy</i>—which was soon +followed by the taking of two other Spanish privateers +heavily armed. On the 9th of June, the <i>Speedy</i> +and another little vessel had a nine hours' fight, first +with a Spanish zebec and three gunboats, and afterwards +with a felucco and two more gunboats which +came to their aid, which were only allowed to escape +when the English ammunition was nearly exhausted, +the <i>Speedy</i> having discharged fourteen hundred shot. +On the 3rd of July, the pigmy vessel, after hard +fighting, had to surrender to three French line-of-battle +ships. It was on that occasion that their +senior officer, Captain Pallière, declined to accept the +sword of "an officer," as he said, "who had for so +many hours struggled against impossibility." In his +thirteen months' cruise Lord Cochrane had with his +little sloop of fourteen 4-pounders, and a crew of +fifty-four officers and men, taken and retaken fifty +vessels, a hundred and twenty-two guns, and five +hundred and thirty-four prisoners. +</p> + +<p> +His next ship, the <i>Arab</i>, was made to serve during +fourteen months in seas in which there was no work +to be done; but for the <i>Pallas</i>, a fine frigate of thirty-two +guns, he was allowed to find memorable employment. +He was sent to the Azores, with orders to +limit his cruise to a month. He captured one large +Spanish vessel on the 6th of February, 1805, a +second on the 13th, a third on the 15th, a fourth on +the 16th. Forced after that to be idle, as far as +prize-taking was concerned, for more than a year, he +seized two French vessels on the 27th of March, 1806, +and another a few days later. On the 6th of April +he captured the <i>Tapageuse</i>, and on the 7th he chased +three other corvettes till they were driven on shore +by their crews and wrecked. He took another prize +on the 14th. On the 14th of May, the <i>Pallas</i> had +her famous engagement with the French frigate +<i>Minerve</i> and three brigs, the <i>Lynx</i>, the <i>Sylph</i>, and +the <i>Palinure</i>, carrying eighty-eight guns in all, +wherein she was so disabled that she was forced to +return to Portsmouth to be refitted. +</p> + +<p> +The <i>Imperieuse</i> being assigned to him in August, +1806, Lord Cochrane took two prizes on the 19th of +December, and a third on the 31st. He was then +ordered home, and there detained till the autumn of +1807. On the 14th of November, being again in +the Mediterranean, he captured a Maltese pirate-ship, +and soon afterwards he seized some other vessels. +Being ordered to scour the French coast during the +summer of 1808, he took numerous prizes on the +sea and effected yet more important work on land. +"With varying opposition but with unvaried success," +he wrote in his concise report to Lord Collingwood +on the 28th of September, "the newly-constructed +semaphoric telegraphs—which are of the +utmost consequence to the safety of the numerous +convoys that pass along the coast of France—at +Bourdigne, La Pinede, St. Maguire, Frontignan, +Canet, and Fay, have been blown up and completely +demolished, together with their telegraph houses, +fourteen barracks of gens d'armes, one battery, and +the strong tower on the Lake of Frontignan." The +list of casualties was "None killed, none wounded, +one singed, in blowing up the battery." That work +was followed by more of the same nature, a famous +episode in which was Lord Cochrane's occupation of +the Castle of Trinidad. "The zeal and energy with +which he has maintained that fortress," wrote Lord +Collingwood, "excite the highest admiration. His +resources for every exigency have no end." +</p> + +<p> +The splendid exploit with the fireships in Basque +Roads followed in 1809, and with that Lord Cochrane's +services to England as a seaman were brought to a +conclusion. Official persecution kept him in idleness +during the remaining period of war with France, +and he was in the end driven to seek relief from +oppression at home, and exercise for his talents, by +devoting himself to the cause of freedom in Chili, +Peru, Brazil, and Greece. His unparalleled successes +on both sides of the South American continent, +and the circumstances of his partial failure +in Greece, have been sufficiently detailed in previous +chapters. +</p> + +<p> +All through that time of virtual expatriation, his +dearest hope had been that England would, as far as +possible, retrieve the cruel wrong that had been done +to him. Full redress was impossible. The heavy +cloud that had been cast over so many years of his +most energetic manhood could not be removed by +any tardy act of justice; but that tardy justice could +at any rate be done to him, and for this he strove +with unabated zeal. +</p> + +<p> +To this end he was partly occupied during his +temporary absence from Greece in 1828. On the +4th of June he addressed a memorial to the Duke +of Clarence, then Lord High Admiral, who just two +years afterwards was to become King of England. +This memorial, eloquent in its simplicity and earnestness, +the prelude to many others that were to be +presented in later years, claims to be here quoted in +full. "To his Royal Highness the Lord High Admiral," +it ran, "the memorial of Lord Cochrane +humbly showeth;—That for fourteen years your memorialist +has suffered, among many injuries and +privations, the loss of his situation and rank as post-captain +in his Majesty's navy, in consequence of a +verdict pronouncing your memorialist guilty of an +offence of which he was entirely and absolutely innocent;—That +during the whole course of your memorialist's +life, up to the day on which he was +charged with the crime of conspiring with others to +raise false reports for the purpose of fraudulently +effecting a rise in the price of the public funds, the +character and conduct of your memorialist were +without reproach; and, numerous as have been the +transactions in which your memorialist has subsequently +engaged, he has, amid them all, uniformly +preserved, though not an unassailed, yet an unshaken +and unsullied character;—That your memorialist +has never ceased, and never can cease to assert his +absolute innocence of the crime of which he was +pronounced guilty. He asserts it now, most solemnly, +as in the presence of Almighty God, and certain he +is, if every doubt be not dissipated in this world, that +when summoned to enter more immediately into +that Awful and Infinite Presence, he shall not fail, +with his last breath, most solemnly to assert his innocence;—That +it was your memorialist's consciousness +of innocence that contributed, perhaps more than +any other cause, to produce his conviction; because +it rendered him confident, and much less careful in +making the necessary preparations for his defence +than he ought to have been, or than he would have +been, if guilty; while, on the other hand, there +existed the utmost zeal, industry, and skill in the +conduct of the prosecution;—That your memorialist +did all that was possible to procure a revision of his +case; but, as he had laboured under the disadvantage +of being included in, and tried under, the same indictment +with some who had probably no reason to +complain of the result, as well as the still greater +disadvantage of having his defence blended, with +theirs, so was he denied a new trial for the same +reason; it being a rule of Court that a new trial +should not be allowed to any individual tried for +conspiracy unless all the parties should appear in +Court to join in the application; which, in the case +of your memorialist, could not possibly be, some of +the parties having quitted the country on the verdict +being pronounced against them;—That your memorialist +has never been able to obtain a re-investigation +of his extraordinary case, nor to obtain redress +in any way; but now that your Royal Highness is +Lord High Admiral, and has, among other illustrious +acts, distinguished yourself in that capacity by doing +justice to meritorious officers, your memorialist feels +that he has everything to hope from the magnanimity +of your Royal Highness;—That it is indeed +certain that nothing can be more repugnant to the +feelings of your Royal Highness than that an individual +who zealously devoted himself to the naval +service of his king and country, as your Royal +Highness knows your memorialist to have done, +should be for ever cut off from the service without +the most unquestionable certainty of the rectitude of +so severe an infliction. So far, therefore, as depends +on your Royal Highness, your memorialist cannot +but confidently entertain the hope that he shall not +be doomed to remain all his life long the victim of a +verdict of which he has not only never ceased to +complain, but which he knows that he has proved to +be unfounded, to the satisfaction of those who have +examined as well what was advanced against him at +the trial as what he has since adduced in his own +justification. Your memorialist, therefore, is encouraged +most respectfully to solicit your Royal Highness +to represent his case—a case of peculiar and +unprecedented hardship—to his most Sacred Majesty, +and to advocate his cause. And if, happily for your +memorialist, his most Sacred Majesty, recognising +the innocence of your memorialist, and taking his +long-protracted and unmerited sufferings into his +gracious consideration, should, of his most gracious +pleasure, vouchsafe to reinstate your memorialist in +that rank and station in his Royal Navy which he +previously held, your memorialist will ever maintain +the deepest and most grateful sense of his duty to +his most Sacred Majesty and to your Royal Highness, +and will never cease to testify his gratitude by all +the means in his power." +</p> + +<p> +That document was presented by Sir Robert +Preston to the Duke of Clarence, who promised to +use every endeavour to obtain a reconsideration of +Lord Cochrane's case. He was unsuccessful. "Dear +Sir," he wrote to Sir Robert Preston on the 14th +of June, "immediately on the receipt of the memorial +you brought from Lord Cochrane, I sent it to the +Duke of Wellington, with a request it might be considered +by his Majesty's confidential servants, and +last evening I had a communication from his Grace +to state that the King's Cabinet cannot comply with +the prayer of the memorial. I ever remain, dear +Sir, yours sincerely, William." +</p> + +<p> +The harsh news of this failure was sent to Paris, +whither Lord Cochrane had gone in furtherance of +his efforts for the assistance of Greece. +</p> + +<p> +To Paris he returned, as we have seen, after his +final departure from Greece, and there he resided +with his family for about six months. He paid a +brief visit to England in September, 1829; but, +seeing no immediate prospect of gaining the restitution +of his naval rank, and finding that idle life at +home was especially irksome to him, he soon went +back to the Continent. The serious illness of Lady +Cochrane induced him to pass the winter in Italy, +where by the same cause he was detained for several +months. He was in England again in the autumn +of 1830. +</p> + +<p> +One motive for his return was the accession of the +Duke of Clarence to the throne as King William IV. +The new sovereign's often-expressed sympathy for +him, induced him to hope that now he had a better +chance of obtaining the justice that had been so long +withheld. The change of sovereigns, however, was +of small avail while the ministers who had summarily +rejected his former memorial continued to +have the direction of affairs. "To petition or +memorialize the King whilst his present ministers +remain in office," he said in a letter written on the +10th of September, "would be to debase myself in +my own estimation, and, I think, in that of every +man of sense and feeling." "I cannot petition +again," he said in another letter; "though I am +assured from high authority it would be attended +to. Sir Robert Wilson and others have obtained +favour; but I, who protested against the forging +of charts and public waste of money, have had no +mercy shown!" Lord Cochrane ascertained, about +this time, that his memorial of 1828, though sent by +the Duke of Clarence for the consideration of King +George IV., had never reached his Majesty, the +Cabinet having preferred to dismiss it at once. He +therefore had good reason for abstaining from further +action until a more friendly ministry should be in +power. +</p> + +<p> +He had not long to wait. On the 16th of November, +the Duke of Wellington's Cabinet resigned. +In the Administration which succeeded Earl Grey +was Premier, and Mr. Brougham, raised to the +peerage, was Lord Chancellor. Lord Cochrane then +lost no time in completing a "Review" of his case, +which he had prepared for publication, and in +getting ready some early copies of the volume to be +presented to the King and his ministers. +</p> + +<p> +The King's copy was forwarded through Lord +Melbourne, the Home Secretary, on the 10th of December, +accompanied by a brief petition. "Assured +that the memorial which I laid before your Majesty +when Lord High Admiral," wrote Lord Cochrane, +"was honoured with your earnest consideration, and +that your Majesty was graciously pleased to make +an effort in my behalf, with the desire of restoring +me to my station in the navy; assured, too, that, had +not the ministers of his late most gracious Majesty +been opposed to the prayer of my memorial, I should +then have been restored; and believing that no +such obstacle to your Majesty's favour would be now +interposed, I have every reason to hope that the +auspicious moment is at length arrived when the +redress which I have so long sought will be freely +bestowed by my most gracious Sovereign. I beseech +your Majesty to condescend to receive the accompanying +review of my case, which, I trust, will prove +to your Majesty that I am not unworthy of that act +of your Majesty's favour which I humbly solicit. It +is not because I have undergone a sentence heavier +than the law pronounced, it is not because I have +been deprived for sixteen years of the rank and +honours which I acquired in the Royal Navy, nor is +it because I am deserving of any consideration on +account of services to my King and country, that I +now presume to appeal to your Majesty,—though no +one is more likely than your Majesty to feel for my +sufferings, and no one more competent to appreciate +my services,—but it is because I had no participation +in, and no knowledge, not even the most indistinct +or remote, of the crime under the imputation of which +I have been so variously and so unceasingly punished. +It is this alone which impels me to approach your +Majesty, and this alone which enables me." +</p> + +<p> +Other copies of the "Review" having been sent +to the Cabinet Ministers, with letters urging its +favourable consideration, Lord Cochrane, in nearly +every case, received a friendly answer. "I need not +say," wrote Earl Grey on the 12th of December, +"that it would give me great satisfaction if it should +be found possible to comply with the prayer of your +petition. This opinion I expressed some years ago +in a letter which, I believe, was communicated to +you. To the sentiments expressed in that letter I +refer, which, if I remember right, acquitted you of +all blame, except such as might have been incurred +by inadvertence and by having suffered yourself to +be led by others into measures of the consequences +of which you were not sufficiently aware." +</p> + +<p> +More than a year was to be spent, however, in +persevering effort before Lord Cochrane's claim for +justice was acceded to. Objection was taken by some +to the form in which his address to the King was +worded. It was "a letter," they said, and not "a +petition;" and Lord Cochrane was distressed at +hearing, on the 18th, that the document had been +given back by his Majesty to Lord Melbourne without +any comment. +</p> + +<p> +"If I have erred as to the form of my petition, +which was in the shape of a most respectful and +dutiful letter to his Majesty, or as to the channel +through which it should have been forwarded," said +Lord Cochrane in a letter to Earl Grey, written on +the 23rd of December, "I have erred in judgment +only; and it would be hard indeed should redress +not be accorded by reason of an informality in the +mode of my application. I have since been advised +that my petition ought to have been forwarded +through the First Lord of the Admiralty, whom I +have therefore solicited to present another petition, +the same in effect, but more brief, and in the regular +form. When his Majesty was Lord High Admiral +he received a memorial from me by the hands of Sir +Robert Preston, and though it had not the effect, of +procuring my restoration at that time, yet from the +gracious manner in which, I am assured, it was +received, I did flatter myself that his Majesty would +have pleasure in the opportunity, which appeared to +present itself when your lordship's Administration +was formed, of originating a measure which all +would consider gracious, and most, I hope, believe +to be perfectly just. In reference to the letter, in +answer to mine, with which your lordship honoured +me on the 12th instant, which I cannot but perceive +is written with a kindness of feeling which commands +my best thanks, I beg only to state that any +opinion of me in regard to the crime imputed to me +that does not fully acquit me of all knowledge +thereof whatever does not do me justice. That +crime was contrived and completed so entirely without +my knowledge that I had not the most distant +idea of its having been meditated until I read of its +commission in the public prints." In a brief reply +to that letter Earl Grey stated that, the petition +having been presented to the King and being now +under consideration, no more formal address need be +sent in lieu of it. +</p> + +<p> +Thus Lord Cochrane had only to await the result +of his application, and he waited for sixteen months. +During that interval many friends interceded on his +behalf, especially Lord Durham and Lord Auckland, +and from time to time his hopes were quickened by +information that the subject was still being considered +by his Majesty's ministers, who were anxious +that right should be done. +</p> + +<p> +But he was often disappointed. "The King," he +said, in a letter written on the 1st of April, "has +invited all the Knights of the Bath to dine with him +on the 12th, which is the anniversary of the affair +of Basque Roads, as well as that of Grambier's installation. +If nothing is done on that day I shall not +obtain justice during the life of William IV. Indeed, +I understand that every effort has been made to +influence the King to my prejudice." +</p> + +<p> +"I was at an evening party at the Marquess of +Lansdowne's on Friday," wrote Lord Cochrane on +the 25th of April, "and there I met the Lord Chancellor +[Brougham] who was very civil indeed, and +told me they had a battle to fight for me, and hoped +they would succeed. Since then the electors of the +borough of Southwark have sent a deputation to beg +me to stand; but hearing that Brougham's brother +was also to be a candidate, I have declined opposing +him. I had a double motive for this line of conduct, +for, had I been returned to Parliament, I could +not conscientiously have accepted a favour at the +hands of the ministers of the Crown." +</p> + +<p> +Service in the House of Commons was, soon after +that, made impossible to Lord Cochrane. His father, +Archibald, ninth Earl of Dundonald, died on the 1st +of July, 1831. Lord Cochrane then ceased to be a +commoner, and became in succession, when he was +nearly fifty-six years old, Earl of Dundonald. +</p> + +<p> +As Earl of Dundonald, however, he found it no +easier to obtain an answer to his demand for justice +than as Lord Cochrane. In September he heard +that his opponents were making use of some Admiralty +correspondence respecting his conduct in Chili, +nearly ten years before, to throw fresh difficulties in +his way. He at once applied to Sir James Graham, +the First Lord of the Admiralty, for extracts from +this correspondence of any parts requiring explanation, +in order that he might furnish the same. "I +beg leave to state," wrote Sir James in reply, "that +it is not usual for his Majesty's Government to produce, +from the records of public offices, documents +which do not appear to be required for any public +purpose. I am therefore under the necessity of +declining to comply with your lordship's request." +"Is it not astonishing," said Lord Dundonald, in +a letter to the Duke of Hamilton, "that Sir James +Graham does not consider justice to an individual to +be a public object?" +</p> + +<p> +Tired out, at length, by the delays in the settlement +of his case, Lord Dundonald wisely resolved to +seek a personal interview with the King. With that +object he went down to Brighton, and the interview +was readily granted to him on Sunday, the 27th of +November. He was graciously received, and the +King listened attentively to his respectful claim for +a fair investigation of the matter, and for permission +to rebut any charges that might be brought against +him respecting his conduct in connection with the +Stock Exchange fraud, his Chilian service, or any +other portion of his life that had been or could be +complained of. His Majesty promised to see that the +case was fairly looked into, and Lord Dundonald was +not long in observing the good effects of his bold step. +</p> + +<p> +"Lady Dundonald has seen Lord Grey, and he +has expressed his readiness to do all he can," he +wrote from London on the 17th of December. "But +I understand there is something in the way. Burdett +assures me that he will bring the whole affair before +Parliament if they do not do me justice." +</p> + +<p> +Sir Francis Burdett, who, never flagging in his +friendship, had rendered valuable assistance during +these weary months, continued in the same course to +the end; but it was not necessary for him to appeal +to Parliament in this case. Yet its settlement was +further delayed. "I am unwilling to trespass on +your lordship's most valuable time," wrote Lord +Dundonald to Earl Grey, on the 28th of January, +1832; "but as it is now two months since I had the +honour of an audience of the King, and of presenting +to his Majesty my humble memorial setting forth my +claims to be heard in my defence in refutation of the +accusations existing against me in the Admiralty, +and praying that I might be furnished with copies +of the accusatory documents, I can no longer refrain +from entreating your lordship to relieve my mind +from its present state of most painful suspense by +making me acquainted with the decision of the +Government. From my knowledge of your lordship's +considerate feelings towards me, and of your +desire, should it be found practicable and just, to +restore me to my place in his Majesty's service, and +from that consciousness of my own integrity which +has maintained me during so many years of adversity, +I cannot but be sanguine, notwithstanding +the delay, of an ultimately favourable result. But +the period of suspense is not only one of great +mental anxiety, but in other respects most injurious. +It places me in a position worse than that which I +was in under the former Administration, which at +once decided to dismiss my complaint without consideration, +and spared me that uncertainty which +'makes the heart sick.' While those ministers were +in power my character sustained no injury from their +refusal to do me justice. But under the Administration +of your lordship, the public opinion must be +that my case has received every consideration, and +that the ascertained justice of the verdict against me +is the bar to my restoration. This opinion already +operates so much to my disadvantage and annoyance +as to paralyze all my pursuits, and will shortly +compel me, unless your lordship spares me that sacrifice, +to quit a country of which I have never, by any +act of my life, rendered myself unworthy, and in the +bosom of which, unless called out again in her +service, I would fain spend the remainder of my life +in tranquillity." +</p> + +<p> +That letter was delivered by the Countess of Dundonald, +who at this time, as at all others, laboured +with rare energy and tact to lighten her husband's +heavy load of suffering and to augment his scanty +store of joy. "Lady Dundonald," he wrote on the +6th of February, "has had a long talk with Lord +Grey on the subject of my affair, and it clearly +appears that there are two individuals in the Cabinet +who will not give in. It is now, however, determined +that Lady Dundonald—I being out of town—shall +go to the King with a very proper memorial +on her part, praying that the stain on the family +may be wiped away by a free pardon. It is supposed +that this will succeed; because in that case +the King can exercise his prerogative without other +counsel than that of his Prime Minister, who is +favourable." +</p> + +<p> +That term "free pardon" was galling to Lord +Dundonald. He knew that he had done nothing +which needed forgiveness. It was justice, not pardon, +that he sought. He had suffered so much, +however, from official formalities, and his honest +resentment of them, that he now reluctantly consented +to accept the virtual acquittal which was the +great object of his hopes and toils, though it might +be couched in a phrase none the less distasteful to +him because it was the phrase that from time immemorial +had been used as a cloak for the withdrawal +of official wrong. +</p> + +<p> +His concession was successful. "The King," he +was able to write on the 4th of March, "has at last +promised to do that which the late Administration +refused, and the present ministry had not the power +or courage to accomplish. For this I am indebted +to the zealous exertions of Lady Dundonald, who +has been at Brighton, and has left Lord Grey and +others no rest until her object was accomplished. +Thus, you see, perseverance has done more than +reason, right, and justice. The fact is that great +folks neither read nor trouble themselves with judging +from facts on subjects which do not immediately +concern themselves. I have no doubt that the 'Review' +has never been looked into by one of the ministers." +</p> + +<p> +The "free pardon" was promised on the 28th of +February, but it was not formally granted till five +weeks afterwards. Lord Dundonald ascertained that +one cause of the long delay in considering his case +was the heat of party fight occasioned by the Reform +Bill. The Government feared to show any kindness +to a man whom the Tories had so long and so persistently +reviled, lest thereby they should lose in the +House of Commons a few wavering votes that were +important. The Reform Bill passed the Lower +House, for the second time, at the end of March.<a class="fnref" href="#fn14" id="ref14">[14]</a> +Its final adoption being expected with less difficulty +than arose, it was now easier to do justice to Lord +Dundonald. "I was happy to hear your memorial +to the King read in Council and referred to the +Admiralty," the Earl of Durham wrote to him on +the 16th of April. "I trust we may eventually +have the means of doing an act of private as well +as of public justice, and that I shall see you restored +to that service of which you are the highest ornament. +But you well know that you have had not +only my best wishes, but my warmest exertions, for +the attainment of that object." +</p> + +<p> +The object was at last attained. At a Privy +Council held on the 2nd of May, a "free pardon" +was granted to the Earl of Dundonald. He was +restored to his position in the Royal Navy, and, on +the 8th, gazetted as a Rear-Admiral of the Fleet. +</p> + +<p> +In that capacity he was presented to King William +IV. at the levée held on the 9th of May; and +congratulations poured in from all quarters as soon +as the good news was published. But he could not, +even in the first moments of rejoicing, forget that +the cause of congratulation was only a pardon for an +offence which he had never committed, and for +which he had been enduring heavy punishment +during sixteen years of his life. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch24">CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +THE INTENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES OF LORD DUNDONALD'S FATHER.—HIS +OWN MECHANICAL CONTRIVANCES.—HIS LAMPS.—HIS ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE, +HIS SCREW-PROPELLER, HIS CONDENSING-BOILER, AND HIS LINES +OF SHIP-BUILDING.—THEIR TARDY DEVELOPMENT.—HIS CORRESPONDENCE +UPON STEAM-SHIPPING WITH SIR JAMES GRAHAM, THE EARL OF MINTO, +THE EARL OF HADDINGTON, AND THE EARL OF AUCKLAND.—THE PROGRESS +OF HIS INVENTIONS.—THE "JANUS."—THE BENEFICIAL RESULTS OF HIS +EXPERIMENTS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1833-1847.] +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald's father, the ninth earl, had +devoted the chief energies of his long life to scientific +pursuits, which won for him, not profit, but well-earned +fame, and which proved of immense benefit +to his own and succeeding generations. By him +was discovered the art of extracting tar from coal, +and out of that discovery was developed, partly by +him and partly by others, the manufacture of gas, +first used for lighting his tar-works. The important +chemical process of making alkali and crystals of +soda was also introduced by him, whereby a great +impetus was given to the manufacture of glass and to +many other important branches of industry. He +discovered the present method of preparing alum, +or sulphate of vitriol, and suggested its substitution +for gum senegal, which has proved hardly less +advantageous to the mechanical arts. In 1795, he +published a treatise, the result of numerous and +costly experiments, on the connection between agriculture +and chemistry, which was almost the parent +of all the later researches that have issued in beneficial +plans for improving the soil and invigorating +the growth of crops, and in various and important +developments of scientific farming. +</p> + +<p> +The tenth Earl of Dundonald inherited his father's +mechanical and scientific genius. The lamp invented +by him in 1814, which introduced the principle +upon which all later lamps for burning oil, +naphtha, and other combustibles have been constructed, +has been already referred to. Many other +inventions and discoveries occupied his leisure during +the years in which he was allowed to follow his +profession both in British and in foreign service;<a class="fnref" href="#fn15" id="ref15">[15]</a> +and the fuller leisure forced upon him during the +years following his return from Greece was chiefly +devoted to further exercise of his inventive faculties. +</p> + +<p> +To the wonderful invention known as his "secret +war-plan" allusion will presently be made. His +other most important mechanical pursuits had for +their principal object the improvement of steam-engines +and other appliances for steam-shipping. +Almost his first reminiscence was of a visit in which, +when he was seven or eight years old, he accompanied +his father to Birmingham, there to meet with +James Watt, and hear something of his memorable +discovery. Apprehending in his youth the value of +that discovery, he never wearied in his efforts to +extend its usefulness. The <i>Rising Star</i>, built in +1818 under his directions, and those of his brother, +Major Cochrane, for service in Chili, was the first +steam-vessel that crossed the Atlantic, and it was an +additional disappointment to him, amid all the misfortunes +incident to his efforts to give adequate +assistance to the Greeks in their war of independence, +that the ill-fated steamers which were to be +his chief instruments therein, failed through the +indolence and incompetence of those to whom their +construction was assigned. +</p> + +<p> +It is not necessary here to detail the studies and +experiments by which he afterwards sought to introduce +a better steam-engine, for locomotive purposes, +than was then, or is even now, in general use. His +plan—not a new one, though it had never before +been made available in practice—was to substitute +for the ordinary reciprocating engine a machine +which should at once produce a circular motion. +"Of the many rotary engines heretofore offered +to the notice of the world," he wrote, in 1833, "none +have stood the test of practical use and experience. +The cause of this uniform failure has been the great +difficulty of obtaining, within the machine, a base of +resistance on which the steam might act in propelling +the moveable piston." He did not quite overcome +this difficulty, but he succeeded in producing +what the foremost critic in this department of manufacture +describes—after a lapse of thirty years unrivalled +for their development of ingenuity—as "the +most perfect engine of the class that has yet been +projected." +</p> + +<p> +"In this engine," says the same authority, "an +eccentric is made to revolve on an axis in the manner +of a piston, and two doors, forming part of the side +of the cylinder, press upon the eccentric. The points +of these doors are armed with swivelling brasses, +which apply themselves to the eccentric and make +the point of contact tight in all positions."<a class="fnref" href="#fn16" id="ref16">[16]</a> +</p> + +<p> +"This revolving engine," said Lord Dundonald, +"does not require any valve or slide; consequently, +there is no waste of steam thereby; neither is there +any loss, as in the space left at the top and bottom +of the cylinders of reciprocating engines. There is +much less friction than arises from the sum of all the +bearings required to convert the rectilineal force of +the common engine to circular motion. There are +no beams, cranks, side-rods, connecting-rods, parallel +motions, levers, slide-valves, or eccentrics, with +their nicely-adjusted joints and bearings; and thus +the revolving engine is not liable, even in one-tenth +degree, to the accidents and hindrances of other +engines. As its moving parts pursue their course in +perfect circles, without stop or hindrance, it is +capable of progressive acceleration, until the work +performed equals the pressure of steam on the +vacuum—an advantage which the reciprocating +engine does not possess. The diminished bulk and +weight, and the absence of tremor, add to the capacity, +buoyancy, velocity, and durability of vessels in +which it is placed." The rotary engine did not +satisfy all Lord Dundonald's expectations, but it took +precedence of all others of the same sort, and was of +great service at any rate in directing attention to +what he rightly considered to be the great want in +war-shipping, namely, vessels of the least possible +bulk and of the greatest possible strength, speed, and +fighting power. +</p> + +<p> +Years were spent by him in attempting to bring +it into notice. At his own cost he fitted out a little +steamboat, which navigated the Thames; but to +perfect the invention were required more funds than +he had at his command, and he sought in vain for +adequate assistance from others. +</p> + +<p> +In January, 1834, he wrote to Sir James Graham, +then First Lord of the Admiralty, thanking him for +his share in the restitution of his naval rank that had +occurred nearly two years before, and urging the +co-operation of the Government in perfecting an +invention that promised to be of so much importance +to the naval power of England. "You are not +obliged to me for anything," answered Sir James +on the 15th; "I only am fortunate in being the +member of a Government which has regained for our +country the benefit of your distinguished valour and +services, which, if again required in war, will, I am +persuaded, be so exerted as to win the gratitude of +the nation, and to demonstrate the justice of the +decision to which you allude. It is impossible to +over-estimate the paramount importance of steam in +future naval operations; and it is fortunate that you +have directed so much of your attention to the subject. +The Board has complied with your request, +and two engineers, in whom we place reliance, will +be ordered to attend you." It does not appear, how-ever, +that the engineers did attend. At any rate, +nothing was done by the Admiralty in aid of the +invention either then or for many years after. +</p> + +<p> +Yet its ingenuity was acknowledged by all who +investigated it, and by naval authorities among the +number. The Earl of Minto, when First Lord of the +Admiralty, sought to introduce it into the national +ship-building; but official hindrances, too great even +for him to overcome, stood in his way. All he could +do was to have it referred to competent judges and +to receive their report in its favour. "I am commanded +to acquaint your lordship," wrote Sir John +Barrow, the Secretary to the Admiralty, to the Earl +of Dundonald, on the 20th of December, 1839, "that +the opinions received of your revolving engine are +favourable to the principle, and that it has not been +stated that there are any insurmountable obstacles to +its practical execution." The insurmountable obstacles +were in the stolid resistance of subordinates +to any novelty designed to lessen labour and promote +economy. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Minto, when out of office, was able to speak +of the engine in more approving terms than he could +adopt in his official capacity. "I need hardly say," +he wrote on the 6th of September, 1842, "that the +report of continued success in your rotatory engine +gives me great pleasure, not only upon your own +account, but as promising a valuable addition to our +naval power in its application to ships of war. As a +high-pressure engine, the complete success of your +plan has, I believe, been recognised by all who have +attended to it, and it is in this form that I had contemplated +its application in the first instance as an +auxiliary and occasional power in some ships of +war." +</p> + +<p> +At length, though not with all the energy that he +desired, Lord Dundonald's engine was put to the +test by the Admiralty during the Earl of Haddington's +tenure of office in that department. In May, +1842, he was invited by the new First Lord, who, in +common with all the world, was aware of the zeal +and intelligence with which he had devoted himself +to the consideration of every branch of naval science, +to communicate his opinions thereupon. The first +result of this invitation was a letter showing remarkable +discernment of evils then existing, and curiously +anticipating some later efforts to correct them. +</p> + +<p> +"The slow progress," wrote Lord Dundonald, on +the 7th of June, "which the naval service has made +towards its present ameliorated state—yet far from +perfection—has not permitted any one Board of +Admiralty in my time to stand pre-eminently distinguished +for decisive improvements. These have +rather been effected by the gradual changes which +time occasions, or by following the example of +America, or even of France, than by encouraging +efforts of native genius. This has arisen from causes +easily remedied; one of which is, that the rejection +or adoption of proffered improvements has depended +on the decision of several authorities, who consequently +feel little individual responsibility, and +imagine themselves liable to censure only for a +change of system. Thus, my lord, a still heavier +responsibility has, in fact, been incurred by continuing, +long after the most superficial observation +demanded a change, to construct small ships of the +line, and little frigates, which the great practical +skill and bravery of our countrymen were taxed to +defend against the powerful eighty-gun ships of +France and the large frigates of America. This +timidity as to change caused many years to elapse, +after the commercial use of steam-vessels, before the +naval department possessed even a tug-boat. Hence +the mischievous economy manifested by the purchase +of worthless merchant steamers; hence the subsequent +parsimonious project of building small steam-vessels +fitted with engines immersed beyond their +bearing, and deficient in every requisite for purposes +of war. I am not one of those, my lord, who deem +it advantageous to act on the belief that one Englishman +can beat two Frenchmen. I am inclined to +doubt whether a practical demonstration of that saying +might not be attended with disastrous consequences. +Long habitude reared experienced British +officers, who are now replaced by others who possess +less nautical skill, and are nearer on a par with those +of France, in regard to whose education every pains +has been taken by its Government. I do not presume +to advise that your lordship should adopt changes precipitately, +nor without consulting those who may be +most competent to judge; no, nor even then that +the best measures should be prematurely disclosed, +so as to give intimation to other nations of the vast +increase of power which may suddenly be rendered +available. But I venture to suggest that you may +quietly prepare the means of effecting purposes which +neither the ordinary ships of war nor the present +steam-ships in the navy can accomplish. Permanent +blockades, my lord, are now quite out of the question; +and so, in my opinion, are all our ordinary +naval tactics. A couple of heavy line-of-battle ships, +suddenly fitted, on the outbreak of war, with adequate +steam-power, would decide the successful +result of a general action; and I am assured that I +could show your lordship how to fit a steam-ship +which, in scouring the Channel or ranging the coast, +could take or destroy every steam-ship belonging to +France that came within view." +</p> + +<p> +That offer was accepted by the Earl of Haddington, +who, being at Portsmouth in August, made +personal inspection of some experiments in which +Lord Dundonald was there engaging; and the result +of that inspection was that he promptly arranged +for the introduction, at the public expense, of the +rotary engine in the <i>Firefly</i>, a small steam-vessel +which, like many others, the Government had bought +and found useless, by reason of its clumsy machinery. +In her, with no more than the usual delay occasioned +by the co-operation of official routine with private +enterprise, in which Lord Dundonald had the assistance +of Mr. Renton and Messrs. Bramah, the experiment +was tried and found to answer so well, in spite +of the difficulties incident to a first attempt, that it +was resolved to develop it further in a frigate to be +built throughout in accordance with his plans for the +improved construction of shipping. +</p> + +<p> +To these he had lately made some valuable additions. +On the 19th of January, 1843, a patent was +granted to him for various improvements in engines +and other machinery, one of which was an apparatus +for propelling vessels. "This improved propeller," +says a competent authority, "consists of an arrangement +of propelling blades immerged beneath the +water, in the manner now usual in screw vessels; +but, instead of the blades being set at right angles +with the propeller-shaft, they form an angle therewith. +One important effect of this arrangement is +that it corrects the centrifugal action of the screw; +for whereas, in common screws, the water which is +discharged backwards assumes a conical figure, enlarging +as it recedes, in a screw formed on Lord +Dundonald's plan the outline of the moving water +will be cylindrical, the centrifugal action being counteracted +by the convergent action due to the backward +inclination of the propelling blades. It is +found, practically, that screws constructed upon this +principle give a better result than ordinary screws."<a class="fnref" href="#fn17" id="ref17">[17]</a> +</p> + +<p> +Another invention patented by Lord Dundonald +at the same time was a modification of the boilers +used for steam-engines. "These boilers," says the +same critic, "are constructed with a double tier of furnaces +and with upright tubes, the water being contained +within the tubes and the smoke impinging +upon them on its passage to the chimney. This +species of boiler is found to be very efficient. A +hanging bridge is introduced to retain the heat in +the upper part of the flue in which the tubes are +erected. By inserting a short piece of tube in the +upper extremity of each tube within the boiler the +upward circulation of the water within the tubes was +increased as the length of the lighter column of water +was augmented, while the length of the gravitating +column remained without alteration."<a class="fnref" href="#fn18" id="ref18">[18]</a> +</p> + +<p> +"I believe," he said in a letter to Lord Haddington +dated the 22nd of May, 1843, "that all our old +vessels of war, save the class of eighty-gun ships and +a few first-rate and large frigates, are almost worthless; +whilst our steam department is deficient in +most of the properties which constitute effective +vessels. No blockades worthy of the name can now +be maintained by fleets of sailing ships; nor can +accompanying steamships be kept for months and +years even in 'approximate readiness,' awaiting the +distant night when it may suit the enemy to attack +our blockading force or quietly to slip out in the dark +in order to assail our commerce in other quarters. I +have, my lord, during the last twelve years actually +disbursed, to the great inconvenience of my family, +upwards of 16,000<i>l</i>. to promote nautical objects +which appeared to me of importance. Your lordship +knows their nature, and it is in no way difficult to +ascertain their reality. I consider that several, if +not all our line-of-battle ships, should have the +benefit of mechanical power, say to the extent of a +hundred horses—the machinery to be placed out of +the reach of shot. The construction of new ships on +the best lines that could be found would prove more +judicious than repairing old ones, however apparently +cheap such repairs may be; for a few powerful +and quick-sailing ships are preferable to a multitude +which can neither successfully chase, nor escape +from, an enemy." +</p> + +<p> +That allusion to the "best lines" of ship-building, +and some of Lord Dundonald's other views on naval +architecture, will be explained by another letter +written by him to Lord Haddington, three months +before, on the 20th of February. "I have lately," he +said, "submitted to the consideration of Sir George +Cockburn an axiom for the uniform delineation of +consecutive parabolic curves, forming a series of lines +presenting the least resistance in the submerged +portion of ships and vessels—an axiom never before +so applied in naval architecture, as is manifest from +the discrepant forms of our ships of war. I also +offered to Sir George's attention a new propeller and +method of adapting propellers to sailing ships in her +Majesty's service, free from the disadvantages of +paddle-wheels and from the injurious consequences +of lessening the buoyancy and weakening the strength +of the after part of ships by a prolongation of the +'dead wood,' and by cutting a large hole through it +for the insertion of the Archimedean screw. The +favourable impression made on the mind of Sir +George, and my own deliberate conviction of the +importance of these improvements, and of others +then briefly touched on, lead me, by reason of the +lamented indisposition of that talented officer, now +personally, instead of through him, to offer them to +your lordship's attention. +</p> + +<p> +"The French, as your lordship is well aware, are +making great exertions to advance their steam +department, especially in the Mediterranean, where +calms are frequent and their coal is abundant—doubtless +in the hope of thereby preventing the +future blockade of Toulon, and of keeping open +their intercourse with Algiers; which would be +equivalent to possessing the dominion of the Mediterranean +Sea, where a British blockading fleet of +sailing ships must, under such circumstances, themselves +be protected. In saying this, my lord, I beg +to be understood as by no means depreciating the +capabilities of our common ships of war, whilst they +possess the power of motion, but as holding them to +be quite unfit for blockades, and exposed to great +peril where calms are of frequent occurrence and +long duration. Indeed, it may be worthy of your +lordship's serious consideration whether, in another +point of view, it might not be judicious to place +steam-engines in some, at least, of our line-of-battle +ships, in order to divert the attention of foreign +nations from the exclusive employment of mechanical +propelling power to purposes of naval war, whereby +British officers and seamen, deprived of the means +of displaying their superior skill, become reduced +to a par with the trained bands of Continental +states. +</p> + +<p> +"I have prepared a model in bronze of a steam-frigate +possessing peculiar properties, founded on +the before-mentioned axiom, which, I do not hesitate +to submit to your lordship, would save vast sums +wasted in the construction of inferior ships and +vessels, by enabling the Admiralty, on unerring +data, to stereotype—if I may use the expression—every +curve in every rate or class of ships, and so +impose on constructors the undeviating task of adhering +to the lines and models scientifically determined +on by their lordships."<a href="#fn19" id="ref19">[19]</a> +</p> + +<p> +Great interest attended the development of Lord +Dundonald's inventions. "I need hardly assure you," +wrote Lord Minto, on the 4th of October, "of the +very great satisfaction I derive from the continued +and increasing success of your rotatory engine; and +I shall now look with no little impatience for further +evidence of its merits in the new steam-frigate to +which it is to be applied. I am glad, also, that +you have turned your attention to the construction +of steamers of war. I have never been satisfied with +the properties of these vessels, much as their construction +has undoubtedly been improved of late +years. It is certainly a difficult subject, because +some of the qualities essential to a vessel under sail +can only be obtained by some deviation from the +form calculated to give the greatest speed under +steam; and I consider fair sailing powers, so as +under all circumstances to keep company with a fleet, +as not less important than speed and power as a +steamer. The best combination of these very different +qualities, or that which will upon the whole +produce the most serviceable ship, is yet to be sought. +I think, also, that sufficient consideration has not yet +been given to the correction of that very grievous +defect, the great uneasiness and excessive rolling of +all these vessels, from the low position of the weights +they carry. There is another object in connection +with your engine which I had constantly in view: +I mean its adaptation in the high-pressure form to +our ships of war in general. It was my intention, +had I remained in office, to have fitted a frigate with +one of your high-pressure engines—not very high, +however—with a view, if the experiment answered, +to the introduction of an occasional steam power in all +ships of the line. I believe you and I may probably +differ as to the amount of steam power it might be advisable +to give such ships, and that you would wish to +steam the <i>Vanguard</i> or the <i>Queen</i> at the rate of ten miles +an hour. My wishes are much more humble, and I +should be perfectly satisfied with an amount of power +sufficient to give steerage way under all circumstances, +to carry the ship into or out of action, and +to afford her some assistance in clearing off a lee-shore—something +about equivalent to five knots—an +amount of power that might probably be obtained, +together with some fuel for occasional use, without +encroaching too much upon the stowage of the +ship. I shall be extremely glad if you can induce +Lord Haddington to direct his attention to this +object." +</p> + +<p> +Through the latter part of 1843 and the whole of +1844, Lord Dundonald was chiefly occupied with the +construction of the <i>Janus</i>, the steam-frigate which +was being built and fitted upon his plans. She +was shaped in accordance with his "lines," and in +her were introduced both his revolving engines +and his improved boilers. "I have just returned +from Chatham," he wrote to a friend on the 6th of +April, 1844, "where everything regarding the <i>Janus</i> +is going on very well indeed. And I have further +good news to tell you. The Admiralty are so +pleased with my parabolic lines for ship-building +that they have ordered a drawing to be made immediately +of a frigate of the first class, in order to have +one constructed." Hopeful that at last his long-cherished +ideas would bring benefit both to himself +and to the nation, he had in these months much to +encourage him. "All is going on as well as I could +wish, or even as I could accomplish, were destiny at +my command," he wrote on the 31st of May. "The +Portsmouth engines now meet the approbation of all +the authorities of the yard, and the Admiralty are +so satisfied that they have given me the building of +a steamship to put them in, in lieu of placing them +in the old <i>Firefly</i>." "Nothing," he said in a letter +written a week or two later, "can exceed the perfection +of the work which the Bramahs have put into +the <i>Janus's</i> engines." "The experimental engine at +Portsmouth," he wrote on the 3rd of July, "continues +to perform admirably, beating all others in +the yard in point of vacuum, which, you know, is +the test of power." "The engines will commence +being put together in ten or fourteen days," we read +in another letter dated the 10th of July; "after +that we shall make rapid progress. The <i>Janus</i> is now +completing—that is, being coppered—and having +the part of her deck laid down which was left off for +the purpose of getting the boilers on board. My +patent boilers will be tried by authority of the Admiralty +about the 20th, and I hope for a favourable +result." The trial, postponed till the 1st of August, +was satisfactory. "We have tried the boilers of the +<i>Janus</i>," he wrote on that day, "and the result is +most triumphant, having, with slack firing, ten and +a half pounds of water evaporated by each pound of +coal." "I have just returned from Portsmouth," he +had written five days before, "where I had the +pleasure to find my engine exceeding even all that +it had done before—the vacuum, with all the work +on, being 28½, two inches above that of any other +engine in the dockyard. Mr. Taplin, the chief +engineer, is quite delighted with it." "Sir George +Cockburn and Sir John Barrow, permanent Secretary +of the Admiralty, saw my engine yesterday," +he wrote on the 24th of October, concerning the +machine being built by the Bramahs for the <i>Janus</i>; +"and so did Lord Brougham; all of whom were +well pleased with my explanation of its principles +and the appearance of the workmanship. It is now +being pulled to pieces, in order to its being sent to +Chatham and set up on board the <i>Janus</i>, whose +boilers, by my request, are again to be officially +tested as to their evaporative power, and that, too, +by the Woolwich authorities, whose boilers have been +beaten one-third by the evaporation of mine. This +request must show the Admiralty my confidence in +the correctness of the former trial; for there is no +doubt the Woolwich people would condemn it if they +could." This second and crucial trial took place on +the 9th of November, and the result exceeded alike +Lord Dundonald's expectations and those of the +official judges, to whom failure would have been +most pleasant. "All matters as regards my engines," +he wrote on the 20th of November, "are +going on well. I hope soon to hear something satisfactory +from the Admiralty on the subject of the +boilers, respecting which they have until now pursued +the most profound silence, notwithstanding the +triumphant result, which has surpassed the product +of the far-famed Cornish boilers in evaporative power." +</p> + +<p> +Those extracts from Lord Dundonald's letters to +the friend with whom he corresponded most freely +will suffice to show in what temper he watched the +progress of his inventions during 1844. At the +close of the year he hoped that his labours to bring +them into general use were now nearly at an end; +but in this he was disappointed. The Woolwich +authorities, who had at the time expressed their +approval of the boilers, sent in an adverse report to +the Admiralty, and Lord Dundonald had to wait +several months before he could disprove the statements +made against them; and opposition of the +same sort—the common experience of nearly every +inventor—encountered him at every turn, and had +again and again to be overcome. His Portsmouth +engine continued to work well; but in September, +1845, he learnt that a malicious trick had been +resorted to, to prevent its working better. "On a +recent examination of the pumps in the well," wrote +Mr. Taplin, the engineer, "to our utter astonishment +we found, in the middle suction pipe, an elm plug, +driven in so tight that we were obliged to bore and +cut it out. The plug stopped that suction pipe +effectually, and from its appearance must have been +there from the time the pumps were first put in +motion. As proof of this, we never had such a +supply of water as at present." And that is only an +illustration of the obstacles, accidental or designed, +that occurred to him. +</p> + +<p> +By them, the <i>Janus</i> was delayed for a whole year. +She was to have been completed in 1844; but this +was not done till the end of 1845. "I have just +returned," Lord Dundonald was able to write on the +24th of December, "from a nine days' trip in the +<i>Janus</i>, the result of which has been successful, both +in regard to the properties of the engines and those +of the 'lines' on which she has been constructed. +Nothing can exceed the beauty of her passage +through the water, without even a ripple, far less the +wave which ordinary steamboats occasion." That +success, however, was to be followed by a long series +of disasters. The weight of the <i>Janus</i> had been +miscalculated, and though she could proceed admirably +in smooth water, she was found to lie so low +that there was constant danger of her being wrecked in rough seas +and bad weather. Other faults, incident +to the bringing together for the first time of so +much new workmanship, were also discovered. She +had to be returned to dock, and fresh hindrances of +every sort occurred during the two following years; +each hindrance being attended by tedious correspondence +or controversies with petty functionaries jealous +of a stranger's interference, and only eager to bring +discredit upon his work. Much discredit did result. +Loud complaints were made concerning the waste of +public money resulting from Lord Dundonald's experiments, +and on him, of course, nearly all the blame +was thrown. All this, added to his previous difficulties +in securing for his boiler and engine any +notice at all, was very grievous to him. Every complaint +and every entreaty from him was met by a +new excuse and a new reason for delay. "Ten days +are always added," he said, in one letter, "and ten +days yet are said to be required." +</p> + +<p> +The days became weeks and the weeks months, +and still the <i>Janus</i> was incomplete. She was unfinished +when Lord Dundonald left England for +more than two years in order to fulfil the duties +assigned to him as commander-in-chief of the North +American and West Indian squadron, and his +absence caused a final abandonment of the works. +</p> + +<p> +The tedious process of her construction, however, +to which only sufficient reference has here been made +to serve as illustration of one phase of Lord Dundonald's +life, was attended by many good results. +To himself she brought only trouble and expense; +but the obstacles thrown in her way and in his did +not deter private adventurers from acting upon some +of the principles developed in abortive attempts at +her completion by public functionaries. Lord Dundonald's +inventions—his revolving engine, his screw-propeller, +his boiler, and his "lines of ship-building,"—have +all proved useful in themselves, and have +been of yet greater use in their influence upon the +improved mechanism of our own generation. +</p> + +<p> +To him must be attributed no slight share in the +revolution that has been effected in the materials for +naval warfare. Of the superiority of steamers to +war-ships, he was one of the first advocates. His +own rotatory engine was never extensively adopted, +and was superseded by other engines which, lacking +the great merit of direct action upon the paddles, that +it was his object to attain, had other and greater +merits of their own; but in their adoption his great +object was realized, seeing that that object was not +his own aggrandisement, but the development of the +naval strength of England. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch25">CHAPTER XXV.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD DUNDONALD'S SECRET WAR-PLANS.—HIS CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING +THEM WITH LORD LANSDOWNE, LORD MINTO, LORD HADDINGTON, AND +LORD AUCKLAND.—HIS LETTER TO THE "TIMES."—THE REPORT OF A +COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF SIR THOMAS HASTINGS, SIR JOHN BURGOYNE, +AND LIEUT.-COL. COLQUHOUN UPON THE SECRET WAR-PLANS.—A FRENCH +PROJECT FOR NAVAL WARFARE WITH ENGLAND.—LORD DUNDONALD'S +OPINION THEREUPON.—HIS VIEWS ON THE DEFENCE OF ENGLAND. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1833-1848.] +</p> + +<p> +Zealously as the Earl of Dundonald strove through +nearly twenty years to perfect and to make generally +useful his inventions in connection with steam shipping, +he attached yet greater importance to another +and an older invention or discovery, which, though +its efficacy has been admitted by all to whom it has +been explained, has never yet been adopted. This +was the device known as his "secret war-plans," for +capturing the fleets and forts of an enemy by an +altogether novel process, attended by little cost or +risk to the assailant, but of terrible effect upon the +objects attacked. +</p> + +<p> +These plans were conceived by him in 1811, and +in the following year, as he has told in his "Autobiography," +he submitted them to the Prince Regent, +afterwards King George IV. By the Prince they +were referred to a Secret Committee, consisting of +the Duke of York, as President, Lord Keith, Lord +Exmouth, and the two Congreves; who, on the details +being set before them, declared this method of attack +to be infallible and irresistible. Lord Dundonald +was pledged to secrecy by the Prince Regent, and it +was proposed to employ the device in the war still +proceeding with France. That proposal, however, +was abandoned, and another, for a trial of the plan +under Sir Alexander Cochrane in North America, in +1814, was prevented by the Stock Exchange trial. +After that, the long peace enjoyed by England would +have postponed the experiment, even if Lord Dundonald +had not been debarred from pursuit of his +calling as an English naval officer. He might have +used his secret in Chili, Brazil, and Greece; but his +promise to the Prince Regent, and patriotic feelings, +that were even more cogent than that promise, +restrained him. Once used, it would cease to be a +secret; and he resolved that the great advantage that +would accrue from the first use should be reserved +for his own country. +</p> + +<p> +The project, however, was not forgotten by him. +Soon after the accession of King William IV., he +explained it to his Majesty, who acknowledged its +value, and paid a tribute to Lord Dundonald's +honourable conduct in keeping his secret so long +and under such strong inducements to an opposite +course. Soon afterwards, and during many years, +the prospect of another war induced him to engage +in frequent correspondence on the subject with +various members of the successive Governments. +</p> + +<p> +"I long ago," wrote the Marquis of Lansdowne—then +President of the Council—in May, 1834, "communicated +the substance of the paper you left with +me, on the important objects which might be accomplished +by the agency you describe, in an attack upon +an hostile marine, to such of my colleagues as I then +had an opportunity of seeing, and more particularly +to Lord Minto, whom I found in some degree +apprized of your views upon this subject. As questions +of such importance to the naval interests of the +country can only be satisfactorily inquired into by +the Admiralty Department of the Government, I +should recommend your entering into an unreserved +communication with him on the subject, which I +know he will receive with all the attention due to +your high professional character and experience." +</p> + +<p> +The Earl of Minto gave many proofs of his regard +for Lord Dundonald; but he was not disposed to +think favourably of the secret war-plan, and it was +kept in abeyance for four years more. In the autumn +of 1838 Lord Dundonald again pressed its consideration +upon Lord Lansdowne, alleging as a reason the +warlike attitude of Russia. "I am obliged to you +for your letter," wrote Lord Lansdowne in reply, on +the 5th of November, "and will certainly make use +of the communication it contains in the proper +quarter, if the occasion arises, which I sincerely hope +it will not. Ambitious and encroaching as Russia is +seen and felt to be in all directions, I am confident +that her own true policy is to avoid giving just cause +for war, and that, busily as she may use all indirect +means towards her ends which she thinks she can +justify, she will yield to remonstrance when these +limits are transgressed by her agents. This is a +course, however, which requires to be, and I trust +will be, most carefully watched." +</p> + +<p> +In that interesting letter, Lord Lansdowne +showed, by his silence, that he was not inclined to +investigate the war-plan; and a like indifference +was experienced by Lord Dundonald in his repeated +efforts, during the ensuing years, to secure its acceptance +by the Government. It was submitted to a +favoured few, and all to whom it was explained +acknowledged its efficacy; but no more than that +was done. Its most competent critic was the Duke +of Wellington, who recognised the terrible power of +the device, although he objected to it on the score +that "two could play at that game." "If the people +of France shall force their Government to war with +England," wrote Lord Dundonald to Lord Minto on +the 3rd of August, 1840, "I hope you will do me +the favour and justice to reflect on the nature of the +opinion you received from the Duke of Wellington +in regard to my plans, which is the same as that +given to the Prince Regent by Lords Keith and Exmouth +and the two Congreves in the year 1811, and +that your lordship will perceive, that 'although two +can play at the game,' the one who first understands +it can alone be successful. In the event of war, I +beg to offer my endeavours to place the navy of +France under your control, or at once effectually to +annihilate it. Were my plans known to the world, +I should not be accused of over-rating their powers +by the above otherwise extraordinary assertion." +Lord Minto's answer was very brief: "I shall bear +your offer in mind; but there is not the slightest +chance of war." +</p> + +<p> +For the same reason the secret plans were set +aside by the Earl of Haddington, who was First Lord +of the Admiralty after Lord Minto. He rendered +considerable aid to Lord Dundonald in testing his +steam-engine and boiler, but considered the fact that +England was at peace as a sufficient reason for +not discussing the value of a new instrument of +war. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald, however, who knew the value of +his invention, thought otherwise. While vast sums +of money were being spent at Dover, Portsmouth, +and elsewhere upon fortifications and harbours of +refuge for trading-vessels, which, in war time, could +have no chance of safety against fighting steam +ships in the open sea, he deemed it especially important +that attention should be paid to a project +calculated to effect an entire revolution in the principles +and methods of warfare. If his project was +feasible, it furnished an instrument by which fortifications +and harbours of refuge would be rendered +useless, seeing that the most powerful enemy might +by it be effectually prevented from coming within +reach of those defences, or, if he was allowed to +approach them, could use it with a terrible effect, to +which the most formidable defences could offer no +resistance. It was under this impression that, on the +29th of November, 1845, finding Governments indifferent +to his arguments, he addressed a vigorous +letter to "The Times." +</p> + +<p> +"Had gunpowder and its adaptation to artillery," +he there said, "been discovered and perfected by an +individual, and had its wonderful power been privately +tested, indisputably proved, and reported to a Government, +or to a council of military men, at the period +when the battering-ram and cross-bow were chief +implements in war, it is probable that the civilians +would have treated the author as a wild visionary, +and that the professional council, true to the <i>esprit +de corps</i>, would have spurned the supposed insult to +their superior understanding. Science and the arts, +both of peace and war, nevertheless, in despite of all +such retarding causes, have advanced, and probably +will advance, until effects and consequences accrue +which the imagination can scarcely contemplate. +</p> + +<p> +"It is not, however, my intention to intrude observations +of an ordinary nature, but to endeavour to +rectify an erroneous opinion which appears to prevail, +that consequences disastrous to this country may +be anticipated from the introduction of steam-ships +into maritime warfare. I am desirous of showing +that the use of steam-ships of war, though at present +available by rival nations, need not necessarily +diminish the security of our commerce; that still less +need it necessarily endanger our national existence, +which appears to be apprehended by those who allege +the necessity of devoting millions of money to the +defence of our coasts. I contend that there is nothing +in the expected new system of naval warfare, through +the employment of steam-vessels, that can justify such +expensive and derogatory precautions, because there +are equally new, and yet secret, means of conquest, +which no devices hitherto used in maritime warfare +could resist or evade. +</p> + +<p> +"That the like prejudice or incredulity which in +all probability would have scouted the invention of +gunpowder, if offered to notice under the circumstances +above supposed, may exist to a considerable +extent in the present case, is extremely likely; yet I +do not the less advisedly affirm, that with this all-powerful +auxiliary invasion may be rendered impossible, +and our commerce secure, by the speedy and +effectual destruction of all assemblages of steam-ships, +and, if necessary, of all the navies of the whole world, +which, for ever after, might be prevented from inconveniently +increasing. Away then with the sinister +forebodings which have originated the recent devices +for protruding through the sterns of sluggish ships +of war additional guns for defence in fight! Away +with the projected plans of 'protective forts and +ports' of cowardly refuge! Let the manly resolution +be taken, when occasion shall require, vigorously to +attack the enemy, instead of preparing elaborate +means of defence. Factitious ports on the margin of +the Channel cannot be better protected than those +which exist, respecting which I pledge any professional +credit I may possess, that whatever hostile +force might therein be assembled could be destroyed +within the first twenty-four hours favourable for effective +operations, in defiance of forts and batteries, +mounted with the most powerful ordnance now in use. +</p> + +<p> +"In the capacity of an officer all hope seemed to +be precluded, that in time of peace I could render +service to my country. A new light, however, has +beamed through the cloud, for in the pursuit of my +vocation as an amateur engineer it has become +apparent that a plan, which I deemed available only +in war, may contribute to prevent the naval department +from being paralysed by wasteful perversion of +its legitimate support. Protective harbours (save +as screens from wind and sea) may be likened to nets +wherein fishes, seeking to escape, find themselves inextricably +entangled; or to the guardian care of a +shepherd, who should pen his flock in a fold to secure +it from a marching army. No effective protection +could be afforded in such ports against a superior +naval force equipped for purposes of destruction; +whilst their utility as places of refuge from steam +privateers is quite disproportioned to their cost—privateers +could neither tow off merchant vessels +from our shore, nor regain their own, if appropriate +measures shall be adopted to intercept them. +</p> + +<p> +"Impressions in favour of so expensive, so despondent, +and so inadequate a scheme, can have no +better origin than specious reports, emanating from +delusive opinions derived from a very limited knowledge +of facts. The hasty adoption of such measures, +and the voting away the vast sums required to carry +them into execution, are evils seriously to be deprecated. +It is, therefore, greatly to be desired that +those in power should pause before proceeding further +in such a course. It behoves them to consider in all +its bearings, and in all its consequences, the contemplated +system of stationary maritime defence, subject, +as that system may become, to the overwhelming +influence of the secret plan which I placed in their +hands, similar to that which I presented in 1812 to +His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, who referred +its consideration confidentially to Lord Keith, Lord +Exmouth, and the two Congreves, professional and +scientific men, by whom it was pronounced to be infallible, +under the circumstances detailed in my explanatory statement. +</p> + +<p> +"Thirty-three years is a long time to retain an +important secret, especially as I could have used it +with effect in defence of my character when cruelly +assailed (as I have shown at length in a representation +to the Government), and could have practically +employed it on various occasions to my private advantage. +I have now, however, determined to solicit +its well-merited consideration, in the hope, privately, +if possible, to prove the comparative inexpedience of +an expenditure of some 12,000,000<i>l</i>. or 20,000,000<i>l</i>. +sterling for the construction of forts and harbours, +instead of applying ample funds at once to remodel +and renovate the navy—professionally known to be +susceptible of immense improvement—including the +removal from its swollen bulk of much that is cumbrous +and prejudicial. +</p> + +<p> +"However injudicious it might be thought to +divulge my plan, at least until energetically put in +execution for an adequate object; yet, if its disclosure +is indispensable to enable a just and general estimate +to be formed of the merits of the mongrel terraqueous +scheme of defence now in contemplation, as compared +with the mighty power and protective ubiquity +of the floating bulwarks of Britain, I am satisfied +that the balance would be greatly in favour of +publicity. It would demonstrate that there could be +no security in those defences and those asylums, on +the construction of which it is proposed to expend so +many millions of the public money; it might, therefore, +have the effect of preventing such useless expenditure, +and of averting the obviously impending +danger of future parsimonious naval administration, +abandonment of essential measures of nautical improvement, +and the national disgrace of maritime +degradation—all inseparable from an unnatural hermaphrodite +union between a distinguished service, +which might still further be immeasurably exalted, +and the most extravagant, derogatory, inefficient, and +preposterous project that could be devised for the +security and protection of an insular, widely-extended, +colonial and commercial State." +</p> + +<p> +A few months after that letter had been written, +Lord Dundonald's hopes that his secret plans would +be accepted by the Government were revived. In +1846, his friend Lord Auckland took office as First +Lord of the Admiralty; and by him, with very little +delay, it was proposed to submit the plans to the +judgment of a competent committee of officers. This +was all that Lord Dundonald had asked for, and he +gladly accepted the proposal. The officers chosen +were Sir Thomas Hastings, then Surveyor General +of the Ordnance, Sir J. F. Burgoyne, and Lieutenant-Colonel +J. S. Colquhoun. By them the project was +carefully considered, and on the 16th of January, +1847, they tendered their official report upon it. +"These plans," it was there said, "may be classed +under three heads:—1st. One, on which an opinion +may be formed with experiment, for concealing or +masking offensive warlike operations; and we consider +that, under many particular circumstances, the +method of his lordship may be made available as well +by land as by sea, and we therefore suggest that a +record of this part of Lord Dundonald's plans should +be deposited with the Admiralty, to be made use of +when, in the judgment of their lordships, the opportunity +for employing it may occur. 2nd. One, on +which experiments would be required before a satisfactory +conclusion could be arrived at. 3rd. Nos. 1 +and 2 combined for the purpose of hostile operations. +After mature consideration, we have resolved +that it is not desirable that any experiment should be +made. We assume it to be possible that the plan +No. 2 contains power for producing the sweeping +destruction the inventor ascribes to it; but it is +clear this power could not be retained exclusively by +this country, because its first employment would develop +both its principle and application. We considered, +in the next place, how far the adoption of +the proposed secret plans would accord with the +feelings and principles of civilized warfare. We are +of unanimous opinion that plans Nos. 2 and 3 would +not be so. We therefore recommend that, as hitherto, +plans Nos. 2 and 3 should remain concealed. We +feel that great credit is due to Lord Dundonald for +the right feeling which prompted him not to disclose +his secret plans, when serving in war as naval commander-in-chief +of the forces of other nations, and +under many trying circumstances, in the conviction +that these plans might eventually be of the highest +importance to his own country." +</p> + +<p> +That report was, in the main, highly gratifying to +Lord Dundonald. It recognized the efficacy of his +plans, and recommended their partial use, at any +rate, in time of need. "Permit me to express, as far +as I am able," he wrote to Lord Auckland on the +27th of January, "my deep sense of obligation to +your lordship in causing my plans of war to be +thoroughly investigated by the most competent +authorities, and for the extremely kind terms in +which you have informed me of the satisfactory +result. With regard to their disposal, I submit that +it would be advisable to retain them inviolate until a +period shall arrive when the use of them may be +deemed beneficial to the interests of the country, I +have to observe, as to the opinions of the commission, +that plans Nos. 2 and 3 would not accord with the +principles and feeling of civilized warfare, that the +new method resorted to by the French, of firing horizontal +shells and carcases, is stated by a commission +of scientific and practical men appointed by the +French Government to ascertain their effects, to be +so formidable that 'it would render impossible the +success of any enterprise attempted against their +vessels in harbour,' and that, 'for the defence of +roadsteads, or for the attack of line-of-battle ships, +becalmed or embayed, its effect would be infallible,'—namely, +by blowing up or burning our ships, to +the probable destruction of the lives of all their +crews. I submit that, against such batteries as these, +the adoption of my plans Nos. 2 and 3 would be +perfectly justifiable." +</p> + +<p> +That the French, not yet forgetful of the injuries +inflicted on them in the last great war, and in the +frequent wars of previous centuries, were still hoping +and planning for an opportunity of retaliation, and +that their plans needed to be carefully watched and +counteracted, were convictions strongly impressed +upon Lord Dundonald in these years; and in 1848 +he had a singular verification of them. "I enclose a +paper of some consequence," wrote Lord Auckland to +him on the 30th of June. "It contains the plan +which, in contemplation of war, has been submitted +to the French Provisional Government for naval +operations. It is, perhaps, little more than the +pamphlet of the Prince de Joinville, carried out +methodically and in detail, and the writer seems to +me to anticipate a far more exclusive playing of the +game only on one side than we should allow to be +the case; but, nevertheless, such a mode of warfare +would be embarrassing and mischievous, and I should +like to have from you your views of a counter project +to it, and your criticisms upon it." +</p> + +<p> +The report here forwarded to Lord Dundonald by +Lord Auckland, entitled "La Puissance Maritime de +la France," and designed to show that "une guerre +maritime est plus à redouter pour l'Angleterre que +pour la France," besides affording curious confirmation +of Lord Dundonald's opinions, is a document +very memorable in itself. Its main idea was that in +naval warfare victory is to be obtained, not by mere +numbers, but by superiority in ships and guns. "In +the present condition of our marine," said its author, +"we must give up fleet-fighting. The English can +arm more fleets than we can, and we cannot maintain +a war of fleets with England without exposing ourselves +to losses as great as those we experienced +under the First Empire. Though during twenty +years, however, our warfare, as carried on by fleets, +was disastrous, that of our cruisers was nearly always +successful. By again sending these forth, with instructions +not to compromise themselves with an +enemy superior to them in numbers, we shall inflict +great loss on English commerce. To attack that +commerce is to attack the vital principle of England—to +strike her to the heart." +</p> + +<p> +That was the view advanced under Louis Philippe's +reign by the Prince de Joinville; but it was +much more elaborately worked out by the advocate +of naval energy in days immediately preceding Prince +Louis Napoleon's accession to power. "What I propose," +he said, "is a war founded on this principle of +striking at English commerce. In a naval war +between two nations, one of which has a very large +commerce, and the other very little, military forces +are of small consequence. In the end, peace must +become a necessity to the power which has much to +lose and little to gain. Let us see what took place +in America during the disputes on the Oregon question. +Despite the immense superiority of the English +navy, the Americans maintained their pretensions. +England found out that their well-equipped frigates +and countless privateers were sufficient to carry on +a war against her commerce in all parts of the globe; +whilst all the damage she could do to America was +the destruction of a few coast-towns, by which she +could gain neither honour nor profit; and so she decided +to preserve peace by yielding the question. It +is this American system that we in France must +adopt. Renouncing the glory of fleet victories, we +must make active war on the commercial shipping +of Great Britain. If America with her small means +could gain such an advantage over England, what +results may we not expect to obtain with a hundred +and fifty ships of war and three hundred corsairs +armed with long-range guns?" +</p> + +<p> +The report recommended that the naval force of +France should be organized in twenty "corsair-divisions." +These were to have Cherbourg for their +head-quarters; one to look after the merchant-shipping +in the British Channel; another to watch the +mouth of the Thames; and a third to cruise along +the Dutch and German coasts, so as to intercept our +Baltic trade; and all these were to be aided by a line +of telegraphs from Brest to Dunkirk, in correspondence +with a line of scouts ranged along the French coast, +with orders to communicate to the central station at +Cherbourg every movement of British merchantmen. +Three similar divisions were to be formed at Brest, +charged respectively with the oversight of the East +and West Indian shipping as it passed Cape Clear, of +the Azores, and of the Irish Coast. A seventh division, +stationed at Rochefort, was to watch for a favourable +opportunity of co-operating with the other six, if desirable, +in transporting an army to Ireland. An eighth +division was to watch the neighbourhood of Gibraltar, +and four others were to be stationed in various parts +of the Mediterranean. Three other divisions were to +cruise along the North American coast, to harass our +commerce with the United States, to intercept the +trade of Canada and the neighbouring colonies, and, +in spring time, to capture the produce of the Newfoundland +fisheries. Three smaller divisions were to +be charged with the annoyance of our West Indian +Islands and the destruction of their commerce; and +the remaining two were to scour the coasts of South +America. A separate and formidable establishment +of screw-frigates was to have for its head-quarters a +port of refuge to be constructed in Madagascar, whence +operations were to be directed in all quarters against +our East Indian possessions and their extensive trade. +</p> + +<p> +"In addition to these means," it was further said +in the report, "the Departmental Councils should +each arm one steam-frigate, commanded by an officer +of the navy born in the department. The prizes +captured by each should in this case be at the disposal +of the Departmental Councils, a portion being devoted +to defraying the expenses of the vessel, and the +remainder applied to the execution of public works +within the department." "As regards the defence of +French ports, this may be best effected by flat-bottomed +hulks, armed with long-range guns adapted +to horizontal firing. The chances against invasion +are greatly in favour of France, on account of the +superiority of her land force, and the facility of transporting +troops by railway to the locality attacked." +"A great point will be the perfect training of the +French squadron by annual evolutions, and with +double or treble the requisite number of officers. If +these suggestions are carried out, France will establish +at sea what Russia has done on land, to the injury +and restriction of British commerce, which must be +seriously damaged, without material harm being done +to ourselves. This loss of commerce will especially +affect the working classes of England, and thus bring +about a democratic inundation which will compel her +to a speedy submission." +</p> + +<p> +Those were the chief proposals of the secret memoir +which, falling into the hands of the British Government, +so far alarmed it as to lead it to call upon the +Earl of Dundonald for his opinions as to the best +way of meeting the threatened danger. "This document," +he wrote in his reply to Lord Auckland, +"describes a plan of maritime operations undoubtedly +more injurious to the interests of England than that +pursued by France in former wars. There is nothing +new, however, in the opinions promulgated. They +have long been familiar to British naval officers, whose +wonder has been that the wide-spread colonial commerce +of England has never yet been effectually +assailed. It is true that the advice given in the +memoir derives more importance now from the fact +that the application of steam-power to a system of +predatory warfare constitutes every harbour a port +of naval equipment, requiring to be watched, not in +the passive manner of former blockades, but effectively +by steam-vessels having their fires kindled at least +during the obscurity of night. The cost and number +of such blockades need not be dwelt on, nor the indefinite +period to which prudence on the part of the +enemy, and vigilance on that of the blockading force, +might prolong a war. One hundred millions sterling +added to our national debt would solve a doubt whether +the most successful depredation on British commerce +could produce consequences more extensive and permanently +injurious. The memoir obviously anticipates +that 'l'usage des canons bombes, dont les atteintes +ont un si prodigieux effet,' will prevent our +blockading ships from approaching the shores of +France, and that thus their steam-vessels might escape +unobserved during night, even with sailing-vessels in +tow. This is no vague conjecture, but a consequence +which assuredly will follow any hesitation on our +part to counteract the system extensively adopted, +and now under the consideration of the National +Assembly, of arming all batteries with projectiles, +whereby to burn or blow up our ships of war—a fate +which even the precaution of keeping out of range +could not avert, by reason of the incendiary and explosive +missiles whereby 'les petits bâtiments à vapeur +pouront attaquer les plus gros vaisseaux.' It is impossible +to retaliate by using similar weapons. Forts +and batteries are incombustible. Recourse must +therefore be had to other means, whereby to overcome +fortifications protecting expeditionary forces +and piratical equipments." +</p> + +<p> +The means recommended by Lord Dundonald, it +need hardly be said, were the secret war-plans which +he had developed nearly forty years before, and the +efficacy of which had recently been again admitted by +the committee appointed to investigate them in 1846. +It is not allowable, of course, to quote the paragraphs +in which Lord Dundonald once more explained them +and urged their adoption in case of need. The only +objection offered to them was that they were too +terrible for use by a civilized community. "These +means," he replied, "all powerful, are nevertheless +humane when contrasted with the use of shells and +carcases by ships at sea, and most merciful, as competent +to avert the bloodshed that would attend the +contemplated 'descente en Angleterre ou en Ireland,' +and other hostile schemes recommended in the +memoir." +</p> + +<p> +That letter was forwarded to Lord Auckland from +Halifax, where Lord Dundonald then was, in the +beginning of August. "Assuredly the reasons +which you give for the use of the means suggested +are such as it is difficult to controvert," wrote +Lord Auckland on the 18th; "but I would at least +defer my assent or dissent to the time when the +question may be more pressing than it is at present." +"I would postpone my own reflections on the 'secret +plans,'" he wrote again on the 1st of September, +"and would fain hope that events will allow the +Government long to postpone all decision upon them. +I agree with you, however, in much that you say +upon their principle, and am well satisfied that to no +hands better than yours could the execution of any +vigorous plans be entrusted." +</p> + +<p> +When, however, as will be seen on a latter page, +an opportunity did arise for enforcing those plans +against another power than France, their execution +was not permitted to Lord Dundonald. +</p> + +<p> +Strongly as he himself was impressed with their +importance, they formed only a part of a complete +system of opinions respecting the defence of England +at which he arrived by close study and long experience. +These have already been partially indicated. +He did not wish that his plans should be lightly +made use of; but, believing that they would ultimately +become a recognised means of warfare, and +that even without them a great revolution would +soon take place in ways of fighting, he deprecated +as useless and wasteful the elaborate fortifications +which were in his time beginning to be extensively +set up at Dover, Portsmouth, and other possible +points of attack upon England, and urged, with no +less energy, that vast improvements ought to be +made in the construction and employment of ships +of war. +</p> + +<p> +Fortifications, he considered, were only desirable +for the protection of the special ports and depôts +around which they were set up; and even for that +purpose they ought to be so compact as to need no +more than a few troops and local garrisons for their +occupation. To have them so complicated and +numerous as to require the exclusive attention of all +or nearly all the military force of England, appeared +to him only a source of national weakness. His own +achievements at Valdivia and elsewhere showed him +that skilful seamanship on the part of an invader +would render them much less sufficient for the defence +of the country than was generally supposed. +If all our soldiers were scattered along various parts +of the coast, it would not be difficult for the enemy, +by a bold and sudden onslaught, or still more by a +feint of the sort in which he himself was master, to +take possession of one, and then there would be no +concentrated army available to prevent the onward +march of the assailant. Much wiser would it be to +leave the seaboard comparatively unprotected from +the land, and to have a powerful army so arranged +as to be ready for prompt resistance of the enemy, if, +by any means, he had gained a footing on the shore. +</p> + +<p> +To prevent that footing being gained, however, +Lord Dundonald was quite as eager as any champion +of monster fortifications could be; but this prevention, +he urged, must be by means of moveable ships, +and not by immoveable land-works. A strong fleet +of gunboats, stationed all along the coast, and with +carefully-devised arrangements for mutual communication, +so that at any time their force could be +speedily concentrated in one or more important positions, +would be far more efficacious and far more +economical than the more popular expedients for the +military defence of England. He heartily believed, +in fact, in the old and often-proved maxim that the +sea was England's wall, and he desired to have that +wall guarded by a force able to watch its whole +extent and pass at ease from one point to another as +occasion required. +</p> + +<p> +Desiring that thus the coast should be immediately +protected by efficient gunboats, he desired no less to +augment the naval strength of the country by means +of improved war-ships as much like gunboats as possible. +To large ships, if constructed in moderation +and applied to special purposes, he was not averse; +but he set a far higher value upon small and well-armed +vessels, able to pass rapidly from place to +place and to navigate shallow seas. "Give me," he +often said, "a fast small steamer, with a heavy long-range +gun in the bow, and another in the hold to +fall back upon, and I would not hesitate to attack the +largest ship afloat." His opinion on this point also +was confirmed by his own experience—most notably +in the exploits of his little <i>Speedy</i> in the Mediterranean— +and by the whole history of English naval +triumphs. Since the time when the so-called Invincible +Armada of Spain entered the British Channel, +designed to conquer England by means of its huge +armaments, and when the bulky galleons and +galeasses of Philip's haughty sailors were chased and +worried by the smaller barks and pinnaces of Drake, +Hawkins, Frobisher, and the other sea-captains of +Elizabeth, who sailed round and round their foe, +and darted in and out of his unwieldy mass of shipping, +never failing to inflict great injury, while his +volleys of artillery passed harmlessly over their +decks to sink into the sea, there had been abundant +proof of the constant superiority of small warships +over large. A "mosquito fleet," as he called +it, was what Lord Dundonald wished to see developed; +a swarm of active little vessels, just large +enough to carry one or two powerful guns, which +could go anywhere and do anything, to which the +larger crafts of the enemy would afford convenient +targets, but which, small and nimble, would be much +less likely to be themselves attacked, and, even +if attacked and sunk, would entail far less loss than +would ensue from the destruction of a large war-ship. +"As large a gun as possible, in a vessel as small and +swift as possible, and as many of them as you can +put upon the sea," was Lord Dundonald's ideal. For +this he argued during half a century; for this he +laboured hard and long in the exercise of his inventive +powers. In 1826, the plan of the war-steamers +which he was to have taken to Greece was explained +to Lord Exmouth—no slight authority on naval +matters. "Why, it's not only the Turkish fleet," +exclaimed the veteran, "but all the navies in the +world, that you will be able to conquer with such +craft as these." +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch26">CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + +<p class="small"> +THE EARL OF DUNDONALD'S CLAIM FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE ORDER +OF THE BATH.—HIS GOOD SERVICE PENSION.—THE INVESTIGATION OF HIS +SECRET WAR-PLANS.—HIS PAMPHLET ON NAVAL AFFAIRS.—HIS INSTALLATION +AS A G.O.B.—HIS CANDIDATURE FOR ELECTION AS A SCOTCH +REPRESENTATIVE PEER.—THE QUEEN'S PERMISSION TO HIS WEARING THE +BRAZILIAN ORDER OF THE "CRUZIERO."—HIS APPOINTMENT AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF +OF THE NORTH AMERICAN AND WEST INDIAN STATION. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1839-1848.] +</p> + +<p> +The restoration of his naval rank to the Earl of +Dundonald in 1832, was slowly followed by other +acts reversing the injustice of previous years by +which a large portion of his life had been embittered. +</p> + +<p> +"Your lordship and the Admiralty," he wrote to +Lord Minto, then at the head of naval affairs, on the +30th of March, 1839, "may have been surprised that +I have never solicited any appointment since my reinstatement +in the naval service by his late Majesty, +whose memory I shall ever cherish for this magnanimous +act of justice. The cause, my lord, has not +been from any reluctance on my part, but from a +feeling which, I have no doubt, will appear satisfactory +to your lordship, if you do me the favour to read +the enclosed copy of a letter which I have written +this day to the Marquess of Lansdowne as President +of the Council." The letter to Lord Lansdowne +referred in great part to Lord Dundonald's rotary-engine, +and to his secret war-plan, which he expressed +his willingness to put in execution if ever +it was required. "Your lordship and the Privy +Council, however," it was added, "will not fail to +observe that, if it shall ever be the intention of the +Government, under any circumstances, again to employ +me in the naval service, it would be quite inconsistent +with the character of that service, as well as +my own reputation, for me to assume command, +unless the Order of the Bath, gained on the 12th of +April, 1809, now thirty years ago, shall be restored +to me." +</p> + +<p> +"I hope it will appear to your lordship," said +Lord Dundonald, in a letter to Lord Melbourne, +dated the 11th July, 1839, "that my services as a +naval officer have been useful and honourable to my +country; and, referring to those services and to the +peculiar opportunities I have since had of acquiring +further professional knowledge, I may say, without +vanity, that her Majesty has no officer in her navy +more experienced than myself; and yet, from the +extraordinary circumstances of my case, I am the +only flag-officer in her Majesty's service who, if +called upon to take a command, could not do so consistently +with his own honour and the respect due to +those who might be appointed to serve under him. +For where is the officer who could not conveniently +call to mind, that I, who when only a captain was a +Knight of the Bath, was deprived of that honour, +and that now, though a flag-officer, I have not been +deemed worthy of having it restored?" "I am sensible," +wrote Lord Dundonald in another letter to the +Premier, written eight days later, "that the act of +justice which I experienced from the late King, under +the ministry of Earl Grey, of which your lordship +was a distinguished member, in restoring me to my +naval rank, was a great favour, inasmuch as it +evinced a considerate feeling towards me; and I +was then fully satisfied with it, under the impression +that it would be viewed by the public, and especially +by the navy, as a testimony of the belief of the +Government, at that time, that I was innocent of the +offence that had been laid to my charge, and also +that I should stand as good a chance as most of my +brother officers (and perhaps, from my experience, a +better) of being called to active service. I did not +then foresee that the restoration of my naval rank +alone would be viewed as a half-measure. Still less +did I anticipate that, in the event of my being +offered an appointment, I should be incapacitated +from accepting it by reason of the feelings of other +officers that I still laboured under some imputation +which would render it derogatory to them to serve +under me. But it is now impossible for me to conceal +from myself the fact that, while the navy generally +is kindly disposed towards me, and would rejoice +to see me fully reinstated in all that I once +enjoyed, I am considered by many to remain as completely +precluded from active service as if my name +had never more appeared in the Navy List, I trust, +my lord, that it cannot be thought reasonable to +reduce me to the inglorious condition of a retired or +yellow admiral at home, and at the same time to +deny me the privilege of acquiring either emolument +or distinction in foreign service." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald's hope was that, on the occasion +of her Majesty's marriage, there would be a bestowal +of honours, which would afford a convenient opportunity +for the restoration of his dignity as a Knight +of the Bath. But in this he was disappointed. +</p> + +<p> +A minor favour was conferred upon him, however, +and in a very gratifying way, eighteen +months later. "You are probably aware," wrote +Lord Minto to him on the 3rd of January, 1841, +"that the death of Sir Henry Bayntam has vacated +one of the pensions for good and meritorious service. +Before I left town a few days ago I made my +arrangements to enable me to confer this pension +upon you, if you should think it worthy of your +acceptance, either as evidence of the high estimation +in which I have ever held your services, or as convenient +in a pecuniary point of view. Although +you are one of the few who have not applied for this, +I do not fear that any one of the numerous claimants +can show so good a title to it." +</p> + +<p> +That compliment was accepted by Lord Dundonald +in a spirit answering to that in which it was offered. +Yet his reasonable anxiety for a restitution of the +Order of the Bath was not abated, and thereupon he +was engaged in a correspondence with the Earl of +Haddington, then First Lord of the Admiralty, +during the early part of 1842, which was closed by +the intimation, bitterly disappointing to Lord Dundonald, +that the Cabinet Council declined recommending +the Queen to comply with his earnest +request. +</p> + +<p> +Equally disappointing was the result of another +application with the same object which he made +to Sir Robert Peel in the autumn of 1844. "Her +Majesty's servants," wrote Sir Robert Peel on the +7th of November, "have had under consideration +the letter which I received from your lordship, +bearing date the 10th of September. On reference +to the proceedings which were adopted in the year +1832, it appears that, previously to the restoration +of your lordship to your rank in the navy, a free +pardon under the Great Seal was granted to your +lordship; and adverting to that circumstance, and +to the fact that thirty years have now elapsed since +the charges to which the free pardon had reference +were the subject of investigation before the proper +judicial tribunal of the country, her Majesty's servants +cannot consistently with their duty advise the Queen +to reopen an inquiry into these charges." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald failed to see, in the partial +reversal, twelve years before, of the unjust treatment +to which he had been subjected eighteen years before +that, a reason for refusing to inquire whether +there was any injustice yet to be atoned for. He +had not, however, very much longer to wait for the +object which he sought. +</p> + +<p> +One of his grounds for desiring a public recognition +of the efficacy of his secret war-plans was a +reasonable belief that, if it was seen that through +half a lifetime he had steadfastly avoided using for +his private advantage what might have been to him +a vast source of wealth, in order that the secret +might be reserved solely for the benefit of his +country, it would be acknowledged to be incredible +that, for insignificant ends, he could have resorted +to the gross and clumsy fraud attributed to him at +the Stock Exchange trial. And in this expectation +he was right. Nearly all the reparation that was +now possible quickly followed upon the investigation +into the war-plans that was referred to in the +last chapter. +</p> + +<p> +While the investigation was pending he was pained +by a letter from Sir Thomas Hastings, not unkind +in itself, but showing that his real motives for +courting that investigation were not understood. "I +made a communication to-day," wrote Sir Thomas +on the 27th of November, 1846, "that the commission +had entered on its duties, and received +instructions to inform you that it would be desirable, +before the commission proceeded further, to ascertain +your lordship's views as to the nature of the +remuneration you would expect from Government in +the event of your plans being reported on favourably." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald's reply was characteristic. "You +intimate a wish on the part of Government," he +wrote on the 1st of December, "to ascertain my +views in regard to the 'remuneration' I expect, in +the event of my plans being favourably reported on. +I reply that I devoted these plans, thirty-five years +ago, to the service of my country, that I have +reserved them through the most adverse and trying +circumstances, satisfied that at some future time I +should prove my character to be above pecuniary +considerations or mercenary motives. I have looked +forward to the restoration of those honours, of which +I was most unjustly bereaved, and to freedom from +mental anguish, endured throughout an isolation +from society of one-third of a century. I cannot +contrast with such sufferings, nor with my plans, any +sum that Government could bestow. Nevertheless, +I have implicitly relied that collateral deprivations +and losses would be taken into consideration by +some future, just, and impartial Administration. I +do most earnestly hope that the period has now +arrived." +</p> + +<p> +That letter was communicated by Sir Thomas +Hastings to Lord Auckland. "I return the letter," +he wrote to Sir Thomas on the 16th of December, +"which Lord Dundonald wrote to you upon the +remuneration which he would expect in the event +of a favourable report upon his plans; namely, first, +his restoration to the honours of which he was +deprived; and, secondly, a consideration of collateral +deprivations and losses. I am sorry to acquaint you +that the first condition is one to which I am not +authorized to promise an acquiescence. It is not +necessary that I should discuss the difficulties which +occur to the restoration in question. I can only +express my own deep regret that they should exist, +and that the hopes which have been entertained by +Lord Dundonald should be disappointed. For myself, +I personally regard him. I look upon his naval +career as most remarkable and most honourable; and +I must lament whatever may seem to detract from +the advantage and grace of his return to the navy." +</p> + +<p> +"Sir Thomas Hastings," wrote Lord Dundonald +to Lord Auckland on the following day, "has sent +me your sympathizing note on the decision of the +Cabinet Council in regard to the first item, designated +as 'the remuneration I would expect in the event +of a favourable report on my plans.' Now, after the +expression of my deep sense of gratitude to your +lordship for having brought the question before the +Cabinet, I do most sincerely rejoice that 'the first +condition is one to which you are not authorized to +promise an acquiescence.' I could not deem acquiescence +a remuneration, nor could I value it otherwise +than as evidence of conviction, produced by +facts and the tenor of a whole life, of my incapability +of descending to base acts for gain at any period of +my existence, especially at a moment when I can +prove that I had objects of the highest national +importance and the most brilliant personal prospects +in view. In confirmation of disinterestedness, I further +hold my retention of the 'secret war-plans' for a +period of thirty-five years, notwithstanding frequent +opportunities to use them to my incalculable private +advantage. The merit of these plans, though I am +well aware of their value, is yet officially unpronounced +by the commission appointed to report. +Therefore, the preceding facts being doubtful, I repeat +that I do most sincerely rejoice that the Cabinet +Council have manifested that their decision neither +depends on favour nor on the value of the plans +themselves. Foreseeing that, whatever may be the +ultimate determination, it must be founded on facts +and justified by an exposition of my conduct and +character, I am preparing a document which, whatever +may be my fate pending the brief remainder of +my existence, will justify my memory when grievous +wrongs shall cease to prey on a mind which, save +from the consciousness of rectitude, would in brief time +have bowed my head with humiliation to the ground." +The document there referred to was a pamphlet entitled +"Observations on Naval Affairs, and on some +Collateral Subjects." In it were concisely enumerated +Lord Dundonald's services as a British naval officer, +and the hardships brought upon him by the unmerited +Stock Exchange trial. The pamphlet was +published in February, 1847, and immediately excited +considerable attention. "I hope the difficulties which +have prevented the realization of your wishes may be +removed shortly," wrote Sir Thomas Hastings on the +2nd of March. "But services so distinguished, and +a career so splendid and full of professional instruction +as your lordship's, can never be blotted out or rendered +dim in the annals of the naval history of our +country." "I have had the kindest note possible +from the Marquess of Lansdowne," said Lord Dundonald, +in a letter written on the 27th of April. +"Lord Auckland was at our house on Saturday, and +spoke in the kindest and most feeling manner. I hear +from all quarters that the pamphlet has made and is +making a great impression, and I have every hope +that all will end well." +</p> + +<p> +All did end well. The public announcement, on +the highest authority, of the value of his secret war-plans, +and the consequent exhibition of his disinterested +patriotism in so long preserving them for his +country's use, followed by the bold appeal made by +him to the public through his pamphlet, brought success +at last to his long-continued efforts to obtain a +restoration of his dignity as a Knight of the Bath. +His best friends in the Cabinet, especially Lords +Lansdowne and Auckland, had influence, though not +all the influence they desired, upon other Cabinet and +Privy Councillors who were opposed to the tardy act +of justice. But they did not wait for the assent +of all. On the 6th of May Lord Lansdowne +represented the case to her Majesty the Queen, and +received her promise that, with or without the approval +of her Privy Councillors, she would confer the +next vacant Order of the Bath upon Lord Dundonald. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately a vacancy occurred immediately, +through the death of Admiral Sir Davige Gould. +"Lord Auckland has called," wrote Lord Dundonald +on the 9th of May, "and informed me officially that +the Queen has placed at his disposal the vacant +Order of the Bath; and that, in conformity with +the intention with which it was so placed, he was +to deliver it to me." "I have information from +the palace," he wrote a few days later, "that her +Majesty has had conversation as to the justice of some +further atonement for the injuries that have been inflicted +on me, and that she said it was subject of regret +that such was not in her power; but, should the subject +be entertained by her advisers, her concurrence +would not be wanting." +</p> + +<p> +That further act of justice was never rendered; +but Lord Dundonald rejoiced that the more important +measure—that which, by restoring the dignity +wrongfully taken from him, would do more than +anything else to set him right in the eyes of the +world—was at last adopted. "It gives me sincere +pleasure," wrote Lord John Russell on the 12th of +May, in answer to a letter thanking him for the +conduct of his Administration, "that the last act of +the Government has been so gratifying to you. +Your services to your country are recorded among +those of the most brilliant of a war signalised by +heroic achievements. I will lay before her Majesty +the expression of your gratitude, and I can assure +you that the Queen has sanctioned with the greatest +satisfaction the advice of her ministers." +</p> + +<p> +On the 25th of May—the order being dated the +22nd—Lord Dundonald was gazetted as a Knight +Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath; and this act +of grace was rendered more graceful by the personal +interest shown by Prince Albert, who, as Grand +Master of the Order, dispensed with the customary +formalities and delays, and, on the following morning, +caused a warrant to be sent to him, in order that +he might wear the cross at the birthday drawing-room, +which he attended by her Majesty's command +on the 27th of May. Thus another step was made +in the way of retribution for the injuries inflicted on +him in 1814 and in the ensuing years. +</p> + +<p> +"To-day," he wrote on the 12th of July, "there +was a grand muster at the palace of all the Knights +Grand Crosses, and many inferior Crosses, and I +was installed. Lord Ellenborough was one of my +sponsors, and the Duke of Wellington shook hands +with me, and expressed his satisfaction at my restoration +to the Order. I am glad to tell you +that the ceremony of knighting, of which I was +afraid, was not resorted to; so my knightship dates +back to the 27th of April, 1809." +</p> + +<p> +In another effort to obtain full justice for himself, +however, he was unsuccessful. The great expenses +that sprang out of his long-continued scientific and +mechanical pursuits had absorbed all his scanty +sources of income, and he forcibly urged that in +accordance with the precedent furnished by a similar +grant to Sir Robert Wilson, in 1832, he was entitled +to the arrears of pay due to him for the seventeen +years during which he had been kept out of his +position in the British navy. But his request was +refused; and the heavy pecuniary loss, as well as +other and much heavier deprivations, consequent on +a persecution that has been since admitted to have +been wholly undeserved, has never been compensated.<a class="fnref" href="#fn20" id="ref20">[20]</a> +</p> + +<p> +Shortly after that event Lord Dundonald sought +to be elected one of the Scotch representative peers +in the House of Lords. Now that his load of +unmerited disgrace was shaken off, he desired to +resume his old functions as a legislator—and this +with no abatement of his zeal for the welfare of the +people; but with none of the violence which his own +heavy sufferings at the time of their first and heaviest +pressure had partly caused him to show during his +former parliamentary career. Being now a peer, he +could not return to his seat in the House of Commons, +and being a Scotch peer, he could only sit in +the House of Lords as one of the delegates from the +aristocracy of his native land. Among these he +therefore asked for a place at the election in September, +1847. He did not, however, begin to seek +it early enough. Other candidates had, according +to custom, obtained promises of a majority of votes +from the electors before he thought of canvassing, +and he was thus left in a minority. Many peers, +however, who on this occasion were unable to support +him, offered to pledge their votes to him for the +next election. +</p> + +<p> +A minor favour was at this time shown to Lord +Dundonald, which afforded him real gratification. +In 1835, he had been allowed by King William +IV. to use the insignia of a Grand Commander of +the Order of the Saviour of Greece, conferred +upon him by King Otho. In August, 1847, he +applied to the Cabinet for permission to use the +title of Marquis of Maranham and the Grand Cross +of Brazil, both of which had been conferred upon +him by the Emperor Pedro I., in 1823. "I have +to acquaint your lordship," wrote Lord Palmerston, +then Foreign Secretary, on the 11th of October, +"that under the peculiar circumstances of the +case, which have prevented the application being +made earlier, the Queen has signified her pleasure +that you should be permitted to accept the Grand +Cross of the Order of the Cruziero. With regard, +however, to the title of Marquis of Maranham, it is +my duty to state to your lordship that, after full consideration, +her Majesty's Government regret that +they cannot advise the Queen to grant you the +desired permission. While her Majesty's Government +duly appreciate the services rendered by your +lordship to the Crown of Brazil, they consider it to +be on general principles so undesirable that distinguished +officers of the British navy should have +foreign titles, that they feel themselves compelled to +decline complying with the request." "I beg to +assure your lordship," wrote Lord Dundonald in +reply, on the 18th of October, "that I feel more gratitude +in being informed of the sentiments of her +Majesty's Government in regard to my faithful and +zealous services in Brazil than I ever experienced +from the title conferred on me as the honorary portion +of my reward for such services. As far as +relates to assuming the title in my native country, I +entreat your lordship to believe that I never entertained +the intention." +</p> + +<p> +A memorable occurrence soon followed. Now +that his honours as well as his naval rank were +restored to him, he had no reason for holding back +from active service in his profession; and the Earl +of Auckland, anxious to make use—as far as use +could be made in peace-time—of his great and varied +experience, and also to give further proof of the +desire at last to render him all possible honour, was +prompt in offering him fresh employment on the sea. +"I shall shortly have to name a Commander-in-Chief +for the North American and West Indian Station," +wrote Lord Auckland on the 27th of December, 1847. +"Will you accept the appointment? I shall feel it +to be an honour and a pleasure to have named you +to it, and I am satisfied that your nomination will be +agreeable to her Majesty, as it will be to the country, +and, particularly, to the navy." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald did accept the appointment, +rejoicing in it as a further step in reparation for the +injuries by which he had been hindered, a whole +generation before, from rising to the highest rank in +the naval service of his country. He might then +have achieved victories over the French which +would have surpassed his brilliant exploit at Basque +Roads. He could now only direct the quiet operations +of a small fleet in time of peace. This, however, +being the best that it was now possible for him +to do, he gladly undertook. "Permit me," he wrote +to Lord Auckland, "to assure your lordship that this +gracious act has further tended to obliterate the +deep and painful impressions made by thirty years of +mental suffering, such as no language can describe; +for, my lord, the agony produced by false accusations +on an honourable mind is infinitely greater than +merited infliction of death itself. I leave your lordship +then to estimate the amount of obligation I fail +to convey, and beg you will allow me to express a +hope that your generous recommendation to her +Majesty will be justified by my zealous endeavours +to fulfil the duties I owe to my sovereign and +country." +</p> + +<p> +"I have waited for her Majesty's assent to your +appointment," said the Earl of Auckland in a letter +written on the 3rd of January, 1848, "before +answering your letter of the 28th ultimo. This +assent has been most cordially given, and you may +now consider yourself Commander-in-Chief of the +North American and West Indian Station, and I +may repeat that my share in this proceeding has +given me very great pleasure, and that I am confirmed +in my feelings of gratification by the terms in +which you speak of occupying your proper place in +the navy. I am glad for you, and I am glad for +myself that I have done this just and honourable act." +</p> + +<p> +Very hearty was the satisfaction expressed by all +classes as soon as Lord Dundonald's appointment +was made public. "I beg," wrote Mr. Delane, the +editor of the "Times," earliest of all in tendering +his compliments, "to offer my very hearty congratulations +upon your appointment—all that remained +to efface the stain of such unmerited persecution." +"The communication you have just made +to me," wrote the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, +"is most gratifying, and the First Lord of the +Admiralty has done himself immortal honour in +appointing that naval officer commander in one hemisphere +who had previously illustrated his name by +his most brilliant exploits in the other. Everything +I think has now been done to undo the foul aspersions +with which you have been assailed; and I am +sure now everything will be done that can most +serve to establish the ability of the officer and the +delicacy of the gentleman. I congratulate you most +sincerely upon your appointment, and I hope you +will meet with difficulties when you arrive at your +destination. Don't be surprised at this my wish. +It proceeds from knowing the ample resources of my +friend to overcome them, and his constant desire to +sacrifice everything to duty and honour." "I derive +the greatest pleasure and satisfaction from your +appointment to the command of a British fleet," +wrote Sir George Sinclair, "an appointment not less +creditable to the ministry than honourable to yourself. +I cannot help contemplating with affectionate +sorrow the portrait of our dearest friend, Sir Francis +Burdett, now suspended over the chimney-piece, and +thinking how happy he would have been had he +witnessed this most welcome and delightful consummation." +"Permit me the honour," wrote Admiral +John White, "to bear testimony to the high gratification +I felt at seeing by the papers the announcement +of your lordship's having taken the command +of the West India and Halifax Stations. The whole +British empire has expressed great joy at this justice +having been done to the bravery of your lordship as +an officer and your goodness and honour as a man." +That last sentence told no more than the truth. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch27">CHAPTER XXVII.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD DUNDONALD'S DEPARTURE FOR NORTH AMERICA.—EXTRACTS FROM +THE CORRESPONDENCE OF LORD AUCKLAND AND OTHERS RESPECTING WEST +INDIAN AFFAIRS AND EUROPEAN POLITICS.—BERMUDA.—THE FRENCH +REVOLUTION OF 1848 AND ITS ISSUES.—IRELAND AND THE CHARTISTS.—THE +DEATH OF LORD AUCKLAND. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1848.] +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald left London for Devonport on the +16th of March, 1848, and on the following day +hoisted his flag on board the <i>Wellesley</i> as Admiral +in command of the North American and West Indian +Fleet. On the 25th of March he set sail for Halifax, +which was soon reached, and was, during three +years, the head-quarters from which he proceeded on +numerous voyages in fulfilment of the duties of his +office. These duties were not very onerous or various. +They were relieved, however, by much careful study +of the circumstances and prospects of our colonies in +British North America, and by correspondence thereupon, +and on other subjects, with influential friends at +home, and especially with Lord Auckland, the First +Lord of the Admiralty. From this correspondence +some selections will be made in the ensuing pages. +</p> + +<p> +"I am very much pleased with your letter of the +19th," wrote Lord Auckland, on the 21st of March, +while the <i>Wellesley</i> was still at Devonport, "and the +good spirit with which you look forward to your +coming duties. I know how irksome is the succession +of the petty duties which are incident to places +of authority, and how far more attractive is the +excitement of great actions to those who are capable +of performing them. But even the first class of duties +is not without interest, and carries credit as it is +performed with justice and exactness; and I hope +that for the second the necessity of great exertions +will not arise. But it is always well that the possibility +of their being called for should be borne in +mind; and, while you follow the peaceful avocations +of your station, I should be glad that you become +acquainted with all its points of strength and of +weakness. All the information and advice that you +may give to me will be gratefully received and carefully +considered." +</p> + +<p> +"I hope," wrote Lord Auckland, three days later, +"that the Mosquito affair will have been brought +to a termination before your arrival, and that the +necessity for the presence of ships in the Bay of +Mexico will have terminated with a cessation of +hostilities between the United States and Mexico. +You will then have the slave-trade and the fisheries +mainly to attend to. You will learn from the Consul +at Cuba whether the slave-trade is now actively +carried on. It had for some time entirely ceased, +but it may have revived, and, with good information +and force for interception applied at the right time, +I should hope that it will not require many of your +ships. The fisheries will, for a season, be a regular +and fixed object of attention. Though I feel that +your number of ships is small, it is difficult for me to +increase it. I hate to fritter away our men and +naval strength on a multitude of brigs and sloops +and petty objects." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Auckland communicated to his friend many +interesting opinions respecting the state of politics +and the condition of affairs on both sides of the +Atlantic. A letter from him, dated the 30th of April, +had reference chiefly to the troubles occasioned at that +time by the interference of Nicaragua with British +commerce, which had necessitated the sending of Captain +Lock, in the <i>Alarm</i>, to watch the course of events +and compel proper behaviour by the turbulent state. +"A 'little war' is always a vexatious thing," he +wrote, "and our relations with the state of Mosquito, +though they have long and ancient standing to +recommend them, are strange and anomalous. But +the insults of Nicaragua were highly provoking. +The detention of British subjects was not to be borne, +and the spirit which has been exhibited by Captain +Lock, the spirit and enterprise with which his operations +were directed, the conduct of all who served +under him, and the successful results which have +been achieved, are all highly to be applauded. I am +glad, however, that they have left the river of San +Juan. I see that in 1780 Nelson lost by the climate +there fifteen hundred out of eighteen hundred men; +and I well know what is the effect of a low country +in the tropics, particularly after exertion and +fatigue." +</p> + +<p> +The rest of the letter related to the turmoil excited +in Europe by the deposition of Louis Philippe in +February, 1848, and the less successful revolutions in +other countries. "We continue to be on the very +best terms with the Provisional Government, and +there is a better disposition towards us on the part of +the French people than there was at the first outbreak +of the Revolution. I have therefore at present +no apprehension of war. There is, however, this +danger; that Germany and Italy are greatly disturbed, +and that Austria and Sardinia are engaged +in war on the side of Italy, and Prussia and Denmark +to the north, and it will not be easy for France and +England to be peaceful lookers-on. Besides which, +the Government of France will long be subject to +popular gusts, and it is never easy to say in what +direction they may blow. In the meantime, however, +all wears the appearance of peace, and at home +the chances of disturbance both from Chartists and +Repealers have become less. We have only danger +from the distress and want of employment which +have followed upon the shock given to credit throughout +Europe." +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately, most of the letters written by Lord +Dundonald during these months have been lost; but +something of their purport may be gathered from +the replies to them. "I am very glad," Lord Auckland +wrote, on the 28th of May, "that your thoughts +appear to be very considerately given to the health +of those that are under your command. You will, +of course, have consideration for the ships that have +served in the Gulf of Mexico, or other unhealthy +places, and give them a turn in the north. I did not +lose a moment in sending to Lord Grey your suggestions +in favour of removing the convict hulks at +Bermuda, and he has promised me that he will, +without delay, issue orders accordingly." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Auckland wrote again to his friend on the +23rd of June. "I have your valuable memoranda +on the defences and dockyard of Bermuda," he said, +"and I am greatly obliged to you for them, as will +be Lord Grey. I will promise to give them early +and deep consideration. In the meantime I will +press the Board to give immediate authority for the +improvement of the drains of the hospital, and of the +supply of water. I am greatly obliged to you for +the steadiness with which you keep considerations +of economy in view. The disinterestedness with +which you regard the schemes which have been proposed +for a new Admiralty House at Bermuda will +give you authority in checking expenditure in other +objects." +</p> + +<p> +"The affairs of France," we read in the same letter, +written while General Cavaignac was suppressing +the June revolution, "are most unsettled. There is +no confidence in any man or party, and there are +discontent, and mistrust, and alarm. All feel that +things cannot go on in their present form; but none +can foresee what will follow. It may be a continuance +of internal dissension, but in an aggravated +form. It may be a disposition to external violence. +At home the condition both of England and Ireland +is quieter than it was." "There is more brightness +in our prospects at home just now," wrote Lord +Auckland, three weeks later, on the 14th of July, +"than has been the case for some months. Commerce +and credit are reviving; Chartism is dormant, and +Ireland is less troublesome. And on the Continent +there is a more general disposition to return to institutions +of order. I confess that I should be glad to +hear that just at this moment there were a larger +force than usual at Bermuda. The presence there of +Mitchell<a class="fnref" href="#fn21" id="ref21">[21]</a> is apparently raising some excitement. +Though I cannot apprehend any formidable attempt at +rescue, yet the notoriety of a force being at or about +the island may put an end to the vapouring menaces +which are proclaimed, and prevent any rash or +foolish enterprise that may be projected." +</p> + +<p> +"Thanks to you for your letter from Halifax," +Lord Auckland wrote again, on the 21st of July, +"and for your last sheets on the defences of Bermuda. +I did not think, when we parted, that the question of +these defences would so soon come under serious discussion, +with a view to their practical efficiency, but +I do not yet think they will be put to the test +by any formidable attempt for the rescue of Mr. +Mitchell. Such apprehensions of danger, however, +as they occur occasionally, do good, and lead men to +think of and correct their weak points. What you +say of the accessible nature of the southern reef surprises +me, and strengthens your recommendation of +gunboats as the means of defence which are least to +be neglected. I only hang back in regard to them, +as the Naval Department could not bear the expense +of such defences for the many colonies that would +require them, and they must be provided by the +Colonial Governments. Our arrangements, however, +may in some cases be subsidiary to theirs, and, +wherever it is possible, the craft of the dockyard and +other establishments should be so fitted as to be +capable of carrying a gun. I am glad you sent off +the <i>Scourge</i> to Bermuda. She is a handy vessel and +well commanded, and the notoriety of her presence +will not be without a useful effect. What you say +of the character of the emigrants that are sent forth +from Ireland to our colonies is but too true. Yet +it is better that they should go than accumulate +famine and disturbance at home. The present condition +of Ireland menaces trouble and difficulty." +</p> + +<p> +"I am quite aware," wrote Earl Grey, who was +then Secretary of State for the Colonies, to Lord +Dundonald, on the 3rd of August, "of the unfortunate +tendency of the emigration to the North American +provinces being chiefly from Ireland; but I do +not see how it is in the power of the Government +effectually to counteract the causes which are leading +to the settlement of so large a proportion of Irish in +this part of the British dominion. I fear this will, +hereafter, be attended with very unfortunate results." +"I beg to thank your lordship," he also said, "for +the important information you have transmitted to +me, and for the pains you have taken in considering +the subject of the defence of Bermuda, which I recommended +to your attention before you left England. +I am in communication with Lord Auckland upon +this subject, and we shall endeavour to act upon +your suggestions so far as we are enabled to do so, +under the financial difficulties with which we have to +contend." +</p> + +<p> +In the next letter written by Lord Auckland to +Lord Dundonald, on the 18th of August, he again +referred to European politics. "There is, with +regard to the Continent, more promise of peace at this +moment than there has been for a long time past, +and there is a tone of more moderation on the part +of France towards other countries than I have ever +expected to see. But she yet has within her fearful +elements of disturbance; her Government is yet +unsettled, and, whenever determined, it will be subject +to strong popular influences, and there can be no +security. I almost apprehend earlier mischief from +the popular influences of the United States. They +have had a task of conquest and annexation, and +Cuba lies temptingly. The uneasiness of the black +population of many of the West India Islands may +lead to opportunities, and disagreeable events may +grow out of such circumstances. But these are +matters of speculation, and nothing turns out as men +think that they foresee. I wish that your squadron +was stronger; for you are weak in numbers for the +many points that you have to cover. Our home +politics are rather more satisfactory than they were; +that is to say, the dangers of Irish insurrection and of +formidable Chartist outbreak are over. But there +is still much uneasiness and disaffection in both +countries, and the various events of Paris have given +encouragement to strange enterprises. I apprehend, +however, no serious mischief from these quarters at +present; but we have in prospect a very general +failure of the potato crop, and a very indifferent +harvest, and here will be new causes of embarrassment." +</p> + +<p> +There were many causes of embarrassment to +English statesmen during the ensuing months. +"For the present," wrote Lord Auckland, on the +1st of September, "there is a cordial and friendly +understanding between the Governments of this +country and France, and the chances of war seem to +be distant. General Cavaignac seems to be a prudent +and moderate man. But no one can predict +into what courses the popular influences of France +may force him, or what changes may on any day +occur. The extreme Communist party is weaker +than it was; and a Royalist party—for some king, +but not for Louis Philippe—is growing up; and +between these is a Government of a republic and +an army. The first political difficulty will be that +of Italy, where the Austrians will not readily make +any concession, and where the French will not +readily see them again accumulate strength. It is +to be seen whether their mediation and ours will be +of any avail." +</p> + +<p> +"The condition of the present French Government +is precarious," Lord Auckland said in another +letter, dated the 9th of November. "According to +present appearances, Louis Napoleon will be elected +President, not because he is personally esteemed, but +from his name, with some parties, and because it is +anticipated by others that his rule will be short, and +that he will be made to make way for others." +"The election of a French President is over," Lord +Auckland was able to say on the 25th of December, +"and has been carried at last with a rush; and we +are to have a new dynasty of Napoleons. Louis +Napoleon was supported by the army for his name, +by the bulk of the nation because Cavaignac and the +Republic were hated, and by the Legitimists because +they think he may presently be overthrown. He is +pronounced to be a foolish man; but his course has +been lately one of prudence and perseverance, and he +will enter upon power with good auspices. But he +will have many difficulties to contend with, and we +may yet see many changes before the condition of +France will be settled." +</p> + +<p> +The Earl of Auckland, one of the worthiest and +most generous statesmen of his time, Lord Dundonald's +firm friend, and the friend of all with whom +he came in contact, did not live to see these changes. +Just a week after that letter was written, Admiral +John Dundas, who had been his chief adviser on +Admiralty matters, had to write to Lord Dundonald. +"It is with great regret," he said, on the 1st of +January, 1849, "I have to inform you of the death +of Lord Auckland, after a few hours' illness. He +was on a visit to Lord Ashburton, near Winchester, +on Saturday—seized with a fit—never spoke after—and +died this morning. You may well imagine the +universal sorrow at such a loss; and I am sure you +will join in that, for I know well the friendship that +existed between you." +</p> + +<p> +By Lord Auckland's letters, it has been shown +that, among much else, Lord Dundonald made +special study of the actual condition and the possible +improvement of Bermuda, both as a convict settlement +and as a centre of defence against any attacks +that might be made upon the West Indies. He +suggested various beneficial changes for the strengthening +of its fortifications and for lessening its unhealthy +character by better drainage and other expedients. +In all of these he was supported by Lord +Auckland. But from the new First Lord of the +Admiralty, Sir Francis Baring, he met with less +encouragement. Bermuda had been made a subject +of inquiry by a Parliamentary Committee, and the +House of Commons being averse to any further +expense, Sir Francis Baring was compelled to countermand +much of the action that had been resolved +upon. +</p> + +<p> +With Sir Francis Baring Lord Dundonald corresponded +on little but strictly official matters, and +therefore their letters are of less general interest than +those which passed between him and Lord Auckland. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch28">CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD DUNDONALD'S VISITS TO THE NORTH AMERICAN AND WEST INDIAN +COLONIES, AND HIS OPINIONS THEREON.—NEWFOUNDLAND AND ITS FISHERIES.—LABRADOR.—BERMUDA; +ITS DEFENCES AND ITS GEOLOGICAL +FORMATION.—BARBADOES.—THE NEGROS.—TRINIDAD.—ITS PITCH LAKE.—THE +DEPRESSED CONDITION OF THE WEST INDIAN COLONIES.—LORD +DUNDONALD'S SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1848-1850.] +</p> + +<p> +The foregoing chapter consists chiefly of extracts +from letters addressed to Lord Dundonald during +1848. In the present one free use will be made of +his own journal of a tour among the colonies and +islands whose interests he was appointed to watch +as Admiral of the North American and West Indian +squadron.<a class="fnref" href="#fn22" id="ref22">[22]</a> It furnishes much interesting information +about the places visited, and has also additional +interest as illustrating the writer's tone of +mind and method of investigation concerning every +object that came in his way. The journal describes +his occupations during eight months, beginning with +the summer of 1849, and includes reminiscences of +less systematic visits to the various localities made +during the previous year. Leaving Halifax, in Nova +Scotia, on the 14th of July, Lord Dundonald proceeded +northwards, passed Cape Breton Island to +Newfoundland, the fisheries of which it was part of +his duty to protect. +</p> + +<p> +He entered St. George's Harbour, the chief resort +of the fishermen and traders, on the 27th of July. +"It is situated," he said, "in the angle of a deep bay +between Aguille and Cape St. George, the town +being on the promontory and having deep water +close to it. No village can be better placed for the +herring fishery, as these gregarious fish at the season +of their arrival on the coast enter this harbour, as it +were, into the cod of a net, whence they are lifted +into the boats by scoops and buckets. With such +slender means possessed by the inhabitants, the average +catch amounts to twenty-two thousand barrels; +but hundreds of thousands might be taken, were +encouragement afforded. Salmon are also caught in +the neighbouring rivers, which are alive with undisturbed +and neglected trout. The barrels in which +the herrings are packed are said to cost two shillings +and sixpence each, and some new regulation requires +additional hoops, which, to those concerned, appears +a grievance. It is said the herrings must realise ten +shillings per barrel, in order to repay costs and +labour, but the last advices from Halifax state that +eight shillings only are offered by the merchants. +The French, I understand, attend more to the cod +fishery. They are not at liberty, if they adhere to +the treaty, to draw nets on the shore. There is an +American merchant here who deals in truck with +the English settlers, and obtains from them about +a third part of the herrings caught, which he sends +to the United States in such of the numerous American +schooners employed in the fishery as enter this +bay. The unauthorised British settlers here are said +to be very jealous of intruders, as they consider they +have an exclusive right to the land and fisheries in +their actual possession, and from which all are, by +treaty, excluded. They seemed suspicious that the +<i>Wellesley</i> might have some motive in entering the +bay contrary to their interests. No person whatsoever +came on board, nor did any one come off to +the ship, even to offer himself as a pilot. Some persons +were lately desirous to set up a saw-mill, which +would have been important, as they obtain all their +staves for herring-casks, &c., from abroad; but the +sanction of the inhabitants could not be obtained. +There is no magistrate or civil or military authority, +no medical man, and, perhaps fortunately, no +attorney. Indeed, there is no law, though justice is +done amongst themselves after their own manner. +There is a neat little church, at which the bishop is +now officiating, and the people who are resorting to +it seem well-dressed and orderly." +</p> + +<p> +On the 30th of July Lord Dundonald left the harbour, +to pass round the sharp promontory known as +Cape St. George. "About midway," he said, "a +remarkable change takes place to the northward of +the table mountain, where the vertical strata become +in appearance horizontal along the whole shore of the +projecting isthmus. The colour of the strata is chiefly +grey, in parallel layers of varying hardness, as appears +from its projections and indentations. I could +not, without delaying the ship longer than I wished, +procure samples of the strata, but there was no appearance +of carboniferous minerals. The same layers +were visible in detached places up to the tops of the +hills, which are of considerable altitude, though that is +not denoted in the chart. When we rounded Cape St. +George on the following morning, the strata, which +before appeared parallel, were observed to dip at a +considerable angle towards the N.E., and seemed, +where sufficiently exposed to view, to be split into +large diagonal flakes. There is an island close off the +shore, about five miles to the eastward of the Cape, +called Red Island, which is of quite a different formation +seemingly red horizontal layers of sandstone, of +a soft nature, as is obvious from the encroachments +of the sea. The peninsula opposite to this island is +of considerable elevation, as far as Round Head, +whence it gradually lowers to a point about ten miles +farther to the eastward. Here the level ground at +first seems to be alluvial, but on closer observation +indurated rocks are seen to protrude in flakes dipping +into the sea. The bay formed by this promontory is +of great magnitude. There are several islands at its +mouth and in the interior, but there being no chart, +and no motive for entering it, we stood on towards +the mountains on the main shore, some of which are +very high. In many parts the contortion of the +strata, and the confusion of all kinds of materials, are +extraordinary. The sides of the mountains on the +shore are clad with moss alone, trees of very stunted +growth only appearing in the sheltered valleys. No +visible portion of the shore seems capable of producing +food for man." +</p> + +<p> +From the western coast of Newfoundland Lord +Dundonald sailed due north to visit Labrador. With +its natural resources, and the neglect of them, he was +much surprised. "The British possessions in Labrador," +he said, "extend over a tract of country as +great as the northern regions of Russia from St. +Petersburg towards the Pole, wherein the Ural Mountains +compensate that Government for the sterility of +the soil. I have often felt surprise at the indifference +evinced by the Spanish Government towards developing +the resources of its possessions; but it is with +still greater astonishment I view the supineness of +our own Government in leaving this vast tract unexplored, +and its probable treasures undiscovered." +</p> + +<p> +Similar complaints were suggested to him by his +observations on the eastern side of Newfoundland, to +which he sailed down on the 6th of August. "We +passed several ports, wherein there were numerous +French ships and square-rigged vessels dismantled, +and schooners and multitudes of fishing-boats in full +activity in the offing. These schooners and fishing-boats +are manned by the crews of the large French +vessels which are laid up in port, and constitute +depots as well as the means of transporting the produce +of the fishery to France, an arrangement highly +advantageous to the French marine, and which we +erroneously abandoned by erecting Newfoundland +into a Colonial Government, thus surrendering our +deep-sea fishery entirely, even without rendering the +inshore fishery available to the newly-erected colony, +throughout which it languishes from want of stimulus, +or an adequate reward, even to induce the impoverished +inhabitants of the shore to avail themselves +of their small and almost costless boats to catch +fish, which, by reason of the bounties given by France +and America, are unsaleable with profit in any +country in Europe. It is grievous to observe the +difference in the mode of carrying on the British +fishery compared to that of the French. The former +in rudely-constructed skiffs, with a couple of destitute-looking +beings in party-coloured rags; the latter in +fine, well-equipped schooners, which may be called +tenders to their larger ships, the seamen uniformly +dressed in blue, with Joinville hats, looking as men +ought and may be expected to look whose interests +and those of the parent State are understood to be in +unison, and attended to as such." +</p> + +<p> +At St. John's, Newfoundland, Lord Dundonald +made some stay before sailing down to Sydney, in +Cape Breton. Then he returned to Halifax, to go +thence for a second visit to Bermuda. +</p> + +<p> +Respecting Bermuda, as we have seen, he had +much correspondence. "This island," he now said, +"ever since the discovery of the opening in the reefs +by Captain Hurd, has been deemed of much naval +importance, and plans were formed by the highest +military authorities for its defence. A naval arsenal +also has been designed for the accommodation of a +large establishment of ships of war. Distant islands, +however, cannot be defended on principles which +would be the most judicious at home—by the erection +of forts in all quarters that could be occupied by an +enemy. It is obvious that, under the circumstances +of Bermuda, troops cannot be spared from the parent +State permanently to garrison the multitude of forts +which, on such a principle of defence, would be requisite. +If they could, the expense would be enormous, +and therefore I cannot dismiss this subject +without an expression of my satisfaction at the intelligence +I lately received that such extravagant and +unavailing system of fortification has been suspended. +In my opinion it is a great error to imagine that +naval officers are unfit to be consulted respecting +maritime defences; had it not been for so mistaken +a notion many hundreds of thousands of pounds, +perhaps I might say a million, might have been saved. +I unhesitatingly assert that gunboats not only would +suffice, but are by far the most available, and infinitely +the cheapest defensive force amongst the +rocks around the island of Bermuda. The coloured +population of this island are a fine race, incomparably +superior to the generality of the coloured population +in the West Indies. They are accustomed to navigate +in their commercial vessels: their lives are almost +spent in boats, and no better crews could be got for +the defence of their own island than they would prove +themselves to be." +</p> + +<p> +"The existence of this solitary island so far from +the continent of North America," we further read +in Lord Dundonald's journal, "is a circumstance +meriting the attention of geologists, as well as the +uniform material of which it is composed. It is all +of a calcareous nature, but differing in condition from +any of the other islands of the same substance. The +strata are exposed in the perpendicular cliffs on the +sea-shore in numerous precipices, from a hundred +feet to minor altitudes, and are composed either of +the most minute shells, or of parts of shells so triturated +that they scarcely indicate their origin. In +some places, however, there are laminae containing +shells in a more perfect state, all of a white colour, +with the exception of one (which I found on digging +a cave) of a semicircular shape, of a red colour, and +almost as large as an oyster shell. The whole of the +substance of Bermuda can be burnt into good lime; +but there is an indurated calcareous stone, often containing +many perfect shells, on the island on which +the naval yard is being built, which is preferred as +more adhesive and better in quality. Although +there are no indications of volcanic products on this +island, yet it exhibits manifest proofs that volcanic +force has raised it from the depths of the ocean. In +what stage of induration it was at that period it is +difficult to conjecture. The hills and vales throughout +the whole extent of Bermuda have the stratified +calcareous material generally conforming on all sides +to the inclination of the surface. There are, however, +many situations in which the strata present themselves +as manifestly broken by force. In the deep +cutting in the road which enters into the enclosure +around the Government House, one of these breaks +appears at the apex of the hill, dividing its sides, +which here incline towards the centre, exposing a +wedge-formed supplementary part that fills up the +interstice. In the grounds of the Admiralty House +curious instances of unconformable strata are laid +bare in old quarries. These indicate some other +cause for their nonconformity than that before assigned, +and I am quite at a loss to imagine how the +stratified materials could have been placed one above +another at such different angles by the action of +water, or in any other way, without appearance of +disruption. There are caves upon this island containing +large stalactites. There is one on Tucker's +Island where these stalactites reach from the top of +the cave far below the surface of the salt water it +contains. I am not aware of any other instance where +similar crystalisations have taken place under the sea +water. It seems to lead to the belief that this island +was at some time less submerged. There are other +caves much larger, and one which goes in so far that +the officers who accompanied me did not scramble to its +end. This cave is formed by two large masses of calcareous +matter having been reared up one against the +other. I have seen some very beautiful crystallisations +taken from another cave recently found in a quarry +at Ireland Island; but the absence of petrifactions here +(for I have never seen one) constitutes a remarkable +difference between this formation and that on the +island of Antigua, where the roads are almost made +with petrifactions. +</p> + +<p> +"In clearing the surface of the rock, as has lately +been done at the quarries, and in laying the foundation +of the new convict barracks, the most irregular +formation is exposed. Large holes are found contiguous +to each other in the white calcareous rock, +which are filled with a substance resembling chocolate +in its colour, unlike everything else upon the island." +</p> + +<p> +From Bermuda Lord Dundonald sailed down to +Barbadoes, where he arrived on the 5th of February. +"The negroes," he said, "who are much more numerous +on this island than on any other of the West +Indies, appear to be well fed, and cheery in their dispositions. +They live in small wooden houses resting +on clumps of wood or blocks of stone, a mode of construction +which enables them, when tired of or displeased +with their locality, to transport them elsewhere. +I was told that a street of stone huts, +constructed for their use, is almost abandoned, by +reason of the immobility of such residences. I consider +this locomotive propensity a favourable trait in their +character. Behind the barracks we stopped at a hut +on the rising ground whereon the barracks ought to +have been placed, and assuredly I never saw a more +contented scene. There was a young negro, and, I +believe, his wife, together with an old woman, perhaps +the grandmother of the child she fondled. We +made inquiry as to their mode of living, and they +showed us green peas, seasoned with red pepper, +ready to be cooked, yams, and cassava bread, as good +as oatmeal cakes. These peas grow on large bushes, +and vegetables of all kinds surround their hut." +</p> + +<p> +From Barbadoes Lord Dundonald proceeded by +way of Tobago to Trinidad. "On the morning of +the 11th of February," he said, "we weighed and +returned through the Dragon's Mouth, shaping our +course for the great natural curiosity of Trinidad, the +Pitch Lake, which I hoped might be rendered useful +for fuel for our steam-ships—so important in the +event of war—as fuel is only obtained at present +from Europe. The United States and Nova Scotia +are never resorted to; hence, could this pitch be rendered +applicable as fuel, our vessels would be supplied +when an enemy would be almost deprived of +the use of steam in these seas. We arrived at La +Brea, and before daybreak on the following morning +we were on the road to the lake, or rather on a stream +of bitumen (now indurated) which in former ages +overflowed the lake. Indeed the bitumen beneath +this road seems still to be on the move, as shown by +curvilineal ridges on its surface, like waves receding +from a stone thrown into water. The appearance of +the lake is most extraordinary. One vast sheet of +bitumen extends until lost amidst luxuriant vegetation. +Its circumference is full three miles, exclusive +of the creeks, which double the extent. The bituminous +surface is of a dark brown, waxy consistence, +except in one or two places where the fluid still +exudes; obviously this spring is in full vigour beneath, +for the whole surface of the lake is formed +into protuberances like the segments of a globe +pressed together, having hollows between filled with +rain-water, which (except in the immediate vicinity +of the bituminous springs) is inodorous and without +taste—an extraordinary fact, showing that this bitumen +is of a nature quite different from that of pyrotechnic +mineral or vegetable tar. In its dry state it +is quite insoluble in water, though when charged +with essential oil, as it exudes from nature's laboratory, +it imparts a pungent and unpleasant taste. A considerable +quantity of gas bubbles up through these +bituminous springs, showing that decomposition is +still active amongst the materials whence it exudes. +Some of the recent bitumen has an odour resembling +vegetable gum. Mr. Johnson, the very obliging +proprietor of a neighbouring estate, had the goodness +to cause some of his labourers and a cart to bring +samples to the beach. Means of transport, however, +were so inadequate, that we had recourse to digging +the more impure pitch on the beach, in order to prosecute +our trials for its substitution as fuel. This +bitumen, which had flowed upwards of a mile from +the lake, was combined with earthy and other substances +which it had encountered in its course. Various +attempts have heretofore been made to apply the +bitumen to useful purposes, but without success, as +we may judge from the total abandonment of those +trials and expectations which for a brief period induced +its shipment to England with a view to its +application to the pavements of London and other +cities. All excavation has consequently ceased, and +so low is the estimation in which the bitumen is held, +that the duty on embarkation is only one halfpenny +per ton. The nature of this bitumen is very different +from that of coal. When exposed to a naked fire it +becomes fluid, and runs through the bars before gas is +disengaged, or at least before it is raised to a temperature +at which it will ignite; perhaps it requires +more or purer air than enters through the bars of +steamboat furnaces—a conjecture which seems to +be confirmed by the dense smoke speedily produced." +</p> + +<p> +"The plains of Trinidad," wrote Lord Dundonald, +"have a fertile soil, which, simply by clearing the +ground, is capable of being rendered the most productive +in the West India Islands for the growth +of sugar and whatever can be cultivated in a climate +most uniform in its temperature, most congenial to +tropical plants, free from the evils of hurricanes and +from all impediments to vegetation. I am confident +that, if the hands of the Governor were not bound by +restrictions and routine, the progress of Trinidad +would soon verify this opinion. Lord Harris, the +present Governor, nobly tendered a portion of his +official income in alleviation of the burthens which +are so severely felt in the present depressed state of +agriculture and commerce, but from some cause his +lordship's liberal intention was not realized. The +example would have proved salutary, as it must have +been followed by reductions throughout other West +India Islands, whose resources are even in a worse +state than those of Trinidad. Is it reasonable, whilst +the ground has ceased to be cultivated because production +is unprofitable, not only that the land should +continue to be taxed at the rate it was in prosperous +times, but that a duty should be levied on +the exportation of its produce? Is it reasonable that +whilst householders can obtain no rent, and have no +income save the bare means of providing a scanty +subsistence, they should be assessed at the rack-rent +of former valuation? Can any property be more +entitled to protection than that of the owners of the +soil or of the dwellings they inhabit? And yet all +these, as appears by the numerous gazetted sales, are +sacrificed to the collection of sums, the bulk of which +is uselessly and prejudicially expended. Whilst the +Government of the parent State has alleviated the +burdens on the productive classes, is it just that taxes +on food and on all the necessaries of life should be +continued throughout the colonies, and that even +their productions should be intolerably burdened +with local imposts, whilst complaints are loud and +true of the absence of all remuneration from the +sources which once constituted the prosperity of those +now impoverished and oppressed possessions? The +above observations do not apply exclusively to Trinidad, +but to the whole of the islands, which scarcely +differ in degree in the causes of ruin which seem +irremediable by any authority except the legislature +of the parent State. I am persuaded that the chief +of the Colonial Department at home would endeavour +to counteract the causes of widely-spread and increasing +ruin, were he in possession of correct information; +but popular representations of grievances, +often embodying misapprehensions as to their true +origin, and accompanied by suggestions of impracticable +remedies, are denied or disputed in counterstatements +by interested officials, so that the Colonial +Minister is bewildered, and can form no correct judgment +from such conflicting statements. I hold it to +be impossible that the monstrous absurdities and +violations of every principle of good government +which exist throughout these western colonies could +be tolerated an instant, were their consequences known +and believed by those in power, or were they laid +before the British public by any person on whose +judgment and opinion they could rely. Can it be +credited that even in the island of Trinidad, not only +multitudes of valuable properties are brought to sale +from the inability of their owners to pay the fiscal +demands, but that properties are consigned to the +Government auctioneer even for so small an assessment +as three-fourths of a dollar? This is, nevertheless, +the fact. The emancipation of the slaves +was a glorious act, but the rescue of these noble possessions +from ruin, and the restoration of prosperity +to an integral part of the empire, would redound to +the honour of any one who would successfully advocate +the cause of reason and justice, not only on the +principles of equity, but with the less noble view of +gain to the parent State, as it is certain that the consumption +of British manufactured articles has fallen +off in these colonies to an extent which has not been +counterbalanced by the increase of exports anticipated +from the questionable policy of concession to Brazil, +in which I have reason to believe the supply of +articles required for the slave trade constitutes a large +proportion." +</p> + +<p> +Reflections of that sort occurred to Lord Dundonald +again and again, as, passing round from Trinidad, he +visited all the principal British West India Islands, +the last at which he called on his way back to Halifax +being Jamaica. "No doubt," he said, "the +generous and noble act by which, in the reign of his +late Majesty, slavery was abolished, produced a prejudicial +change in the economy of the sugar plantations, +notwithstanding the large amount awarded to +the proprietors, as the sums so paid were for the most +part immediately transferred to mortgagees, leaving +the proprietors in possession of the soil, but without +the means of paying the expense of its cultivation by +free labour. This is an evil which time has not +remedied, and, of course, in the estimation of those +who are, in consequence, losers, furnishes the pretext +for imputing to the black population a degree of +reluctance to labour far exceeding the reality. Those +who pay a reasonable price for work, and are punctual +in their payments, do not fail to get as many labourers +as they require. I assert this not from any +vague hearsay, but from various unquestionable and +authentic documents, amongst which are the examinations +taken by Committees of the House of +Assembly appointed to inquire into the causes and +difficulties alleged to exist in the cultivation of +estates. Whilst the poverty of the planters and the +destitution of the labouring population is so universal, +it seems most extraordinary on inspecting the Custom +House returns to find almost every article of necessary +consumption brought from abroad paying high +duties on entry; whilst the concession of small +patches of land to the negroes, whom there is no +capital to employ, would, if accorded, produce food, +and in a great measure dispense with such injurious +importations. Is it reasonable to instruct the negroes +in their rights as men, and open their minds to the +humble ambition of acquiring spots of land, and then +throw every impediment possible in the way of its +gratification? I perceive by the imposts and expenses +on the transfer of small properties, that a +barrier almost insurmountable is raised to their acquisition +by the coloured population. I have learnt that +small lots of Crown lands are scarcely ever disposed +of, though three-fourths of these lands are still in the +hands of Government. +</p> + +<p> +"It is lamentable to see the negroes in rags, lying +about the streets of Kingston; to learn that the gaols +are full; the penitentiaries incapable of containing +more inmates; whilst the port is destitute of shipping, +the wharves abandoned, and the storehouses empty; +while much, if not all, of this might be remedied. It +may be asked, how is this to be effected? and I +answer—by justice, resolution, patriotism, and disinterestedness. +Never can this wretched state of +affairs be remedied so long as taxes on the necessaries +of life are heaped on an impoverished population. +Never can the peasantry raise their heads with a +contented aspect, whilst every animate and inanimate +thing around them is taxed to the utmost. Not only +is there a tax on land, and on the shipment of its +produce, on houses, outhouses, and gardens, on +horned cattle and horses, but on asses and pigs; and +the severest penalties are enacted for concealment or +suppression in the returns. Officials are employed +for the gathering of pittances which do not defray +the expense of collection. The harbour dues and +exactions are such that no vessel, when it can be +avoided, is brought into the Port of Kingston; consequently, +though Jamaica is admirably situated, +even more favourably than St. Thomas, the former +port is abandoned, whilst that of the latter is filled +with the shipping of all nations." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald detailed the substance of these +opinions in a letter to Earl Grey, the Secretary for +the Colonies. "I have to thank your lordship," +Lord Grey replied, "for your letter. The observations +of a person of your lordship's knowledge and +experience upon the present state of our colonies are +most interesting and useful to me. I am aware that +there exists much distress in the West Indies at +present; but I am sorry to say I do not see what +Parliament can do towards removing it, beyond +freeing their trade from the remaining restrictions +by the repeal of the Navigation Laws, which I hope +will now be soon accomplished. I own I quite differ +from your lordship as to the propriety of restoring to +the planters the monopoly in the British market they +formerly enjoyed, and I believe that the permanent +interests of these colonies would be injured instead of +being advanced by doing so." +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch29">CHAPTER XXIX.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +LORD DUNDONALD'S RETURN FROM AMERICA.—HIS ARGUMENTS FOR THE +RELIEF OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES AND THE WEST INDIA TRADE.—THE +TRINIDAD BITUMEN.—LORD DUNDONALD'S OTHER SCIENTIFIC +PURSUITS AND VIEWS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1851-1853.] +</p> + +<p> +The Earl of Dundonald's time of service as Admiral +of the West Indian and North American Stations +expired in April, 1851. On the 31st of December, +1850, Sir Francis Baring wrote to inform him that +Sir George Seymour had been appointed his successor. +"It is with some regret," said Sir Francis, +"that I have performed this duty, as it has been +my pleasure to have been in communication with +you, and to feel that an important command has +been placed in the hands of an officer of your +lordship's high professional character and merits. +You must permit me, in making this announcement, +to add my sincere thanks for the manner +in which you conducted the duties of your position, +and particularly for the valuable information you +have communicated to the Board, and the attention +you have paid to the many points you had brought +before you." +</p> + +<p> +On the 14th of May Lord Dundonald left Halifax, +and he reached Portsmouth in the beginning of June. +During the next few years his mind was much occupied +with the further consideration of various topics +suggested by his observations and explorations on +the other side of the Atlantic. It will be enough to +make brief allusion to the most important of these. +</p> + +<p> +Subjects of hearty regret to him, repeatedly +brought under his notice during his three years' stay +in the North American and West Indian waters, +were the great depression of the British fisheries in +the neighbourhood of Newfoundland, and the yet +greater depression of trade consequent on the remission +of slavery in the more southern colonies. For +both he sought to provide a remedy. He urged, as +has already been shown in the extracts from his +journal, which was published, and attracted much +attention, in the summer of 1852, that special help +should be given to these colonies, not only by the +removal of all restrictions upon their commerce and +manufactures, but by protective enactments in their +favour. +</p> + +<p> +His reasons for this view, as regards the Newfoundland +fisheries, in which he thought not alone of +the interests of the colonists, were set forth by him +in a letter addressed to the "Times," in August, +1852. "Were not the question of maintaining our +nurseries for seamen," he there said, "more important +than commercial considerations, I should not +venture, through your favour, to trespass on public +attention regarding the North American fisheries; +but, perceiving that impressions are likely to be made +by writers, avoiding responsibility for erroneous +opinions by withholding their names, I feel it a duty +explicitly to state that it is not to the amount of +fish caught and cured, to the price at which it can be +sold at home or abroad, or to the number of persons +employed in the fishery, but to their nationality and +vocation, to which I attach importance, in order that +our fisheries shall form hardy British seamen in +oceanic vessels, like those employed under the +bounties paid by North America and France. These +being the considerations, the question is not whether +it is consistent with the enlightened theory of free +trade to pay a premium which shall transfer capital +from the pockets of one class to those of another, but +whether it is wiser and more economical for the community +at large to uphold such nursery, or to maintain +even a skeleton of warlike establishments—perhaps +to build, equip, and employ additional ships +of war, squadrons, or fleets, to watch, perchance to +contend with, power thus cheaply developed by rival +nations. I ask whether the bounty given to enable +steam-packets to cross the ocean is more consistent +with free-trade principles than a bounty awarded to +our fisheries as a nursery for seamen. A colonial +premium is indeed talked of, and by those unacquainted +with facts, who do not foresee its operation, +it may be deemed a substitute for a bounty by the +parent State; but I advisedly assert that such colonial +premium would not rear one disposable seaman for +our naval service, and that even the colonial fishermen +would derive no commensurate advantage, such +is the impoverishing effect of the inveterate system +of truck-dealing that boat fishermen, even from the +harbour of the capital of Newfoundland, are chiefly +paid by daily wages; the advantages derived from +the employment of two half-idle fishermen being +greater to the truckmaster, in the absence of an +available market, than the like amount of fish caught +by one customer. It is manifest, by the true theory +of free trade, that it is unimportant whether the +French and Americans obtain their bait and catch +fish within our limits or not, or even whether the +world is supplied by them or by us; but it is not so +if foreign nations thereby rear, employ, and maintain +in time of peace fifty thousand seamen, who, in the +event of war, are at the beck of their respective +Governments, while Britain, the rightful owner, has +not one available seaman from the fisheries. On +subjects of such vital importance it is essential that +general theories, however good, shall not be supported +in detail by false reasoning, or by captivating +appellations inconsistent with truth. Nine-tenths of +our western colonies are still taxed on every article +of food, and on all existing property, animate and +inanimate; a state of things alike adverse to production +and trade. Is it reasonable to imagine, if the +interests of colonists are not considered jointly with +those of the parent State, that they can continue to +administer to our wants, comforts, and luxuries—above +all, to our commercial nursery for seamen, the +source of our national greatness? A Parliamentary +investigation is indispensable to afford a chance of +escape to these noble possessions of the Crown from +impending ruin." +</p> + +<p> +For the relief of the West Indian colonies Lord +Dundonald was also anxious to obtain the intervention +of Parliament; but he believed that he had himself +discovered one source of possible advancement +for them. His remarks concerning the pitch lake of +Trinidad have already been partly quoted. Having +first explored that lake in the beginning of 1849, he +at once recognized the importance of its stores of +bitumen, and much of his leisure from official duties +was employed in observations and experiments with +a view to its being utilized. He was soon convinced +as to its great and various importance. The +decomposed bitumen that lay in vast beds around the +lake he found exceedingly valuable as a manure; and +he perceived that the liquid mass, of which boundless +supplies might be obtained, could be put to many +very valuable uses. Here he discerned the presence +of a new material of commerce which might prove +of incalculable benefit not only to Trinidad but also +to all the other West India Islands; therefore he +urged its employment, and, though but little heed +was paid to his advice, the successful results of the +few cases in which it was adopted fully justified his +opinions. +</p> + +<p> +After his return to England he also sought zealously +to make his discovery beneficial to himself. +He was to a great extent baffled by the obstacles +common to new projects; but his projects afford +curious illustration of the activity of his mind and +the fertility of his inventive powers. "Used as a +mastic," he said in a concise enumeration of the uses +to which he found that the bitumen might be put, +"it is peculiarly suited to unite and ensure the durability +of hydraulic works. It renders the foundations +and superstructure of buildings impermeable to humidity. +It is admirably adapted, by its resistance to +decomposition by the most powerful solvents, to the +construction of sewers, and, being tasteless, it is an +excellent coating to water-pipes, aqueducts, and reservoirs. +When masticated and prepared, it is a substitute +for costly gums as applied to numerous purposes. +Combined with a small portion of ligneous matter, it +constitutes a fuel of greater evaporating power than +coal, and, when pulverized and scattered over growing +potato-plants or other vegetables, it prevents their +destruction by insects or blight, and acts also as a +fertiliser of the soil. Essential and viscid oils are +obtained by various well-known processes from bituminous +substances, but from none in such abundance +and possessing such valuable properties as the oils +extracted from the bitumen of the lake of Trinidad, +as well as from the petroleum of springs still in +activity."<a class="fnref" href="#fn23" id="ref23">[23]</a> +</p> + +<p> +While thus urging the importance of bitumen, and +initiating many mechanical operations which have +quickly and extensively been turned to the great +advantage of society, Lord Dundonald was not unmindful +of his older inventions and the arguments +by which he had long sought to promote the naval +strength of England. Of these inventions one in +particular—that of his improved steam-boilers—had +been largely adopted, and found highly beneficial +during his absence from England, and its use continued +after his return. From them he hoped, and +not in vain, that good would result to the general +extension of naval science. He was cheered during +the last years of his life by seeing the adoption of +many of the views on these matters which he had +advocated long before. Others have yet to be enforced. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="ch30">CHAPTER XXX.</h2> + +<p class="small"> +THE RUSSIAN WAR.—LORD DUNDONALD'S PROPOSALS TO EMPLOY HIS SECRET +PLANS AGAINST CRONSTADT, SEBASTOPOL, AND OTHER STRONGHOLDS.—HIS +CORRESPONDENCE THEREUPON WITH SIR JAMES GRAHAM AND LORD PALMERSTON.—THEIR +REJECTION.—LORD DUNDONALD'S APPOINTMENT AS REAR-ADMIRAL +OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.—PRINCE ALBERT'S INVITATION TO +HIM TO BECOME AN ELDER BROTHER OF THE TRINITY HOUSE.—HIS +CORRESPONDENCE WITH LORD PALMERSTON RESPECTING THE RESTITUTION +OF HIS HALF-PAY.—HIS LAST WORK.—HIS DEATH AND BURIAL.—CONCLUSION. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +[1851-1860.] +</p> + +<p> +When in June, 1851, he returned to England and +surrendered his office as Commander-in-Chief of the +North American and West Indian squadron, the Earl +of Dundonald was in his seventy-sixth year. That +he was still young and vigorous in mind is sufficiently +shown by the illustrations of his inventive genius +and philanthropic earnestness that have been given +in the last chapter. The most striking proof of this, +however, so far as he was allowed to prove it, has +yet to be given. +</p> + +<p> +Very soon after his return he sought to impress +upon Sir James Graham, then First Lord of the +Admiralty, under the Earl of Aberdeen's administration, +the value of his secret war-plans, and before +long a special reason for advocating their adoption +arose. Their efficacy had been frequently acknowledged +by the highest authorities, but as England +was at peace, nothing more than an acknowledgment +was made. The outbreak of our war with Russia +induced Lord Dundonald to bring them forward again +in 1853. At first Sir James Graham declined to +entertain the subject. The Government believed +that Russia would be easily and promptly defeated +by the ordinary means of warfare, and therefore contented +itself with them. In this decision Lord Dundonald +acquiesced perforce; but, on its appearing +that the fight would be harder than had been anticipated, +he again claimed a hearing for his proposals, +believing that by their acceptance he could not only +bring his own career as a British seaman to a glorious +termination, but also—a yet dearer object to him—by +so doing render inestimable service to his country. +</p> + +<p> +In this spirit he wrote again to Sir James Graham +on the 22nd of July, 1854. "Important aggressive enterprises," +he said, "being now suspended by Russia, +whose armies, on the defensive, may indefinitely prolong +the war, and thereby expose our country to +perilous consequences, resulting from protracted naval +co-operation, I am desirous, through you, respectfully +to offer for the consideration of her Majesty's Cabinet +Ministers a simple yet effective plan of operations, +showing that the maritime defences of Cronstadt, +however strong against ordinary means of attack, +may be captured, and their red-hot shot and incendiary +missiles, prepared for the destruction of our +ships, turned on those they protect; a result of paramount +importance, now that the forces in the Black +Sea have been diverted from the judiciously-contemplated +attack on Sebastopol, compared to the success +of which any secondary enterprise in the Baltic would +prove of very small importance to the successful +result of the war. Permit me, therefore, in the event +of my plans being approved, unreservedly to offer my +services, without command or authority, except over +the very limited means of attack, the success whereof +cannot fail in its consequences to free and ensure, +perhaps for ever, all minor states from Russian dominion. +Personal acquaintance with Vice-Admiral Sir +Charles Napier and Rear-Admiral Chads warrants +my conviction that no feeling of rivalry could exist, +save in the zealous performance of the service." +</p> + +<p> +Sir James Graham's reply was complimentary. +"You offer for the consideration of her Majesty's +Government," he wrote on the 26th of July, "a plan +of operations by which the maritime defences of +Cronstadt may, in your opinion, be captured; and in +the most handsome manner you declare your readiness +to direct and superintend the execution of your plan, +if it should be adopted. When the great interests at +stake are considered, and when the fatal effects of a +possible failure are duly regarded, it is apparent that +the merits of your plan and the chances of success +must be fully investigated and weighed by competent +authority. The Cabinet, unaided, can form no +judgment in this matter, and the tender of your services +is most properly made by you dependent on +the previous approval of your plan. The question +is a naval one, into which professional considerations +must enter largely. Naval officers, therefore, of experience +and high character are the judges to whom, +in the first instance, this question ought to be submitted. +Let me therefore ask you, before I take any +further step, whether you are willing, in strict confidence, +to lay your whole plan before Sir Bryan +Martin, Sir William Parker, and Admiral Berkeley, +who, from his place at this Board, is my first naval +adviser? If you do not object to this measure, or to +any of the naval officers whom I have named, I +should be disposed to add Sir John Burgoyne, the +head of the Engineers, on whose judgment I place +great reliance. I am sure that you will not regard +this mode of treating your proposal as inconsistent +with the respect which I sincerely entertain for your +high professional character, resting on past services +of no ordinary merit, which I have never failed to +recognise. But my duty on this occasion prescribes +caution and deliberate care; and you will do justice +to the motives by which this answer to your request +is guided." +</p> + +<p> +To this suggestion Lord Dundonald readily acceded, +and his secret war-plans were once more referred to +a committee of investigation. Nothing, however, +was gained by this step. "I have received," wrote +Sir James Graham on the 15th of August, "the +report of the committee of officers to whom, with +your consent, the plan for the attack on Cronstadt +was submitted. On the whole, after careful consideration, +they have come to the unanimous conclusion +that it is inexpedient to try experiments in present +circumstances. They do full justice to your lordship, +and they expressly state that, if such an enterprise +were to be undertaken, it could not be confided to +fitter or abler hands than yours; for your professional +career has been distinguished by remarkable instances +of skill and courage, in all of which you have been +the foremost to lead the way, and by your personal +heroism you have gained an honourable celebrity in +the naval history of this country." +</p> + +<p> +That letter was disappointing to Lord Dundonald; +but, as the value of his plans was not disputed, he +hoped that he might yet be allowed to put them in +execution. "Be pleased," he said in his reply to Sir +James Graham, "to accept the sincere assurance of +the high estimation in which I hold the kind and +favourable expression of your sentiments towards me. +It is indeed gratifying to perceive that the experienced +admirals to whom you referred the professional +consideration of my secret plan have not +expressed any doubt of its practicability." +</p> + +<p> +The report of the admirals, however, had as unfavourable +an effect as could have resulted had they +declared openly against the project. Week followed +week without any successful issue to the efforts of +the Baltic fleet; and added to Lord Dundonald's +chagrin at not being permitted to achieve the desired +success, was his distress at finding unmerited blame +thrown by the Government, and by nearly all +classes of the public, upon a brave and skilful seaman, +for not doing what, with the means at his disposal, +it was impossible for him to do. Admiral +Sir Charles Napier had failed, through no fault of +his own, in the project for attacking Cronstadt, a +fortress of almost unrivalled strength, and, by reason +of the shallow water surrounding it, unapproachable +by the heavy line-of-battle ships and frigates which +constituted all his force; and during the months of his +necessary inactivity, and after his return to England, +Lord Dundonald was almost his only defender. +"In justice to Admiral Napier, against whom 'the +indignant dissatisfaction of the nation' is said to be +directed," he wrote in a letter to the "Morning +Post," on the 21st of September, "permit me to say +that success could not have attended the operations +of ships against stone batteries firing red-hot shot, +however easily unresisting walls may be leisurely +demolished. There is but one means to place these +parties on an equal footing, and that I confidentially +laid before the Government." +</p> + +<p> +"The unreasoning portion of the public," he wrote +to Sir James Graham on the 11th of November, +"have made an outcry against old admirals, as if it +were essential that they should be able to clear their +way with a broadsword. But, my dear Sir James, +were it necessary—which it is not—that I should +place myself in an arm-chair on the poop, with each +leg on a cushion, I will undertake to subdue every +insular fortification at Cronstadt within four hours +from the commencement of the attack." And Sebastopol, +he urged, could be as easily captured, if he were +only allowed to put his plans in operation. But it +was not allowed. "Nothing new can be attempted +at the present moment," answered Sir James +Graham. "Winter will put an end to all active +operations in the Baltic; and I still venture to hope +that at Sebastopol our arms will be triumphant." +</p> + +<p> +Lord Dundonald, though pained, not so much on +his own account as in the interests of the nation, at +the way in which his offers were treated, persevered +in making them. It was now too late in the season +to effect anything in the Baltic; but the siege of +Sebastopol was being carried on without any immediate +prospect of success; and he yearned, with all +the ardour that he had displayed half a century +before, for an opportunity of rendering success both +certain and immediate. +</p> + +<p> +To this end he wrote again to Sir James Graham, +and also for the first time to the Earl of Aberdeen, +on the 30th of December. "The pertinacious resistance +made at Sebastopol, and the possibility of events +that may still further disappoint expectation," he +said to Sir James, "have induced me to address Lord +Aberdeen, saying that 'if it is the opinion of the +Cabinet, or of those whom they consult on military +affairs, that, failing the early capture of Sebastopol, +the British army may be in danger, I offer to the +discernment of the Cabinet my still secret plans of +attack,' whereby the garrisons would be expelled +from the forts or annihilated, in defiance of numerical +force, and possession obtained, at least during +sufficient time to enable the chief defences to be +blown up and the harbour fleet to be destroyed. If +you will so far favour me, I should be gratified by +having an opportunity of demonstrating to your +strong mind, free from professional bias, the fact that +combustible ships may be not only placed on a parity +with stone forts fitted to fire red-hot shot, but secured +from injury more effectually than if incased in iron." +</p> + +<p> +Sir James Graham's answer was, like its forerunners, +complimentary, but nothing more. "I can +never cease," he wrote, "to do justice to your +patriotic desire to serve your country, which is +evinced by your desire to encounter, in your own +person, the dangers attendant on your experiment, +and not to transfer the hazard of the enterprise to +others." But to the enterprise itself he would give +no sanction. "Your plans," he said, "by my desire +were submitted to the consideration of most competent +naval and military officers, whose impartial +judgment cannot be impugned, and, on the whole, +they did not recommend the trial of the experiment +which you are anxious to make. Neither Lord +Aberdeen nor I can venture to place our individual +opinions in opposition to a recorded judgment of the +highest authority on a question which is purely professional. +I see no advantage, therefore, in renewing +the discussion with you at the present moment." +</p> + +<p> +Had the "impartial judgment" by which Sir +James Graham held himself bound been adverse to +the principle of Lord Dundonald's plans, or declared +them to be anything more than "inexpedient in present +circumstances," more weight might have been +attached to it; although even then he could have +pointed to the opposite verdict, given in 1847, by +other judges quite as impartial and competent, who, +while objecting to part of them on the score of their +deadly efficacy, had officially announced their belief +in the applicability of another part—the part of +which Lord Dundonald now proposed to make most +use—and recommended its adoption "when the opportunity +of employing it may occur." +</p> + +<p> +He therefore refused to be thwarted in his efforts to +render to his country the great service that he considered +to be in his power, and Sir Charles Napier's +removal from the command of the Baltic fleet, in +January, 1855, gave him an opportunity of offering +to use that power under conditions that would relieve +the Admiralty of all direct responsibility in the event +of his failure. "I am much gratified," he said in +another letter to Sir James Graham, "to learn that +her most gracious Majesty has been pleased to reserve +the high dignity of Admiral of the Fleet as a reward +for services. Under this impression, permit me to +solicit the favour of being allowed to contend for that +distinction, not by reference again to opinions, which +may prove fallacious, but by actual experimental +proof of the safety and facility of assailing fortifications +by my secret plans. By them, the damage and +loss of life sustained by the allied squadron in their +late attack on the fortifications of Sebastopol might +have been partly if not wholly averted, and probably +a tenfold destruction inflicted on the enemy. If this +is admitted—and I do not think it can be disputed—I +hope you will allow me to demonstrate the general +applicability of these simple, comparatively costless, +and in my opinion infallible means of annihilating +the power of all kinds of batteries that can be +approached to windward within half a mile. These +plans have been entertained and pondered over by +me during forty years, and now again I offer to +explain, to test, and to put them in execution." +</p> + +<p> +Sir James Graham's answer was very terse. "I +have had the honour," he wrote on the 23rd of +January, "of receiving your lordship's letter, in +which you tender your services to take command of +the Baltic Fleet. I consider the tender highly +honourable to you; but I cannot give any other assurance." +</p> + +<p> +No other assurance would have been of any avail. +The Earl of Aberdeen's Cabinet, having lost the confidence +of the country, was dissolved almost immediately +after that letter was written, to be replaced +by an Administration in which Lord Palmerston was +Premier, and Sir Charles Wood First Lord of the +Admiralty. +</p> + +<p> +To Lord Palmerston the Earl of Dundonald wrote +on the 13th of February. "The high position of our +country being at stake on the result of the war," he +said, "and our long-established naval renown pledged +on the successful conduct of affairs in the Baltic, I addressed +my kind friend Lord Lansdowne, who has +been long conversant with the objects which, by his +advice, I now offer to your lordship's notice as First +Minister of the Crown, conjointly, if you judge proper, +with that of the Cabinet over which you preside." +He then briefly described the principle of his secret +plan, adding, "I respectfully offer to execute this +plan, and answer for its success, against Cronstadt, +and against all minor strongholds in the Baltic." +</p> + +<p> +Four weeks elapsed before that letter was answered. +In the meanwhile Lord Dundonald, beginning to +despair of a satisfactory hearing from any Minister of +State, unless he was induced thereto by a popular demand, +addressed a petition to the House of Commons, +urging the importance of his plans, and praying for +"a searching inquiry, to ascertain whether the aforesaid +secret plans are capable speedily, certainly, and +cheaply to surmount obstacles which our gallant, persevering, +and costly armies and fleets have failed to +accomplish." His reasons for so doing he explained +in a letter addressed to the "Times" on the 10th of +March. +</p> + +<p> +"Peace," he there said, "being desirable not only +for the interests of our country, but for those of the +world at large, and the negotiations now pending +being doubtless injuriously influenced by the obstinate +resistance of Sebastopol (which could be overcome +in a day), and by the impossibility of successfully +attacking Cronstadt by naval means (which +might be as speedily reduced), I have drawn up a +petition to Parliament in order that secrecy and +silence on my part, and deficiency of information on +that of the public, may no longer prove injurious to +the success of our arms. Hostilities having proceeded +so far, assuredly it is more expedient to reduce +a restless nation to a third- or fourth-rate power, +than be ourselves reduced. Let not my motive be +mistaken. I have no wish to command a fleet of +100-gun ships, or to attack first-rate fortresses by +incased batteries or steam gunboats. That which +I desire is, first, secretly to demonstrate to competent +persons the efficiency of my plans, and then to obtain +authority, during eight or ten days of fine weather, +to put them in execution. The means I contemplate +are simple, cheap, and safe. They would spare +thousands of lives, millions of money, great havoc +and uncertainty of results. Their consequences might, +and probably would, effect the emancipation of Poland, +and give freedom to the usurped territories of +Sweden. Those who judge unfavourably of all aged +naval commanders assuredly do not reflect that the +useful employment of the energies of thousands and +tens of thousands of men can best be developed and +directed by a mind instructed by long observation +matured by reflection;—an advantage to which physical +power, that could clear its way by a broadsword, +can bear no comparison. My unsupported opinion +in regard to a naval enterprise in 1809 proved to +be correct. Every other undertaking in the British +service, and as Commander-in-Chief in Chili, Peru, +Brazil, and Greece, was successful, and so would the +protracted and unaccomplished undertaking, so injurious +to the result of negotiation, have succeeded, +had I possessed sufficient influence to be patiently +listened to." +</p> + +<p> +The petition aroused much interest among the +public, but was unheeded by the House of Commons, +and therefore produced very slight effect on the +Ministry. "My published petition," wrote Lord +Dundonald to Viscount Palmerston on the 17th +of March, "has brought me numerous letters, +and, amongst others, a communication, I believe +from high authority, that if I do know any means +whereby to spare the slaughter that must take place +on storming Sebastopol, I ought to make it known. +I wish I could impart to your lordship what +I feel under the present circumstances, and how +anxiously I desire that a speedy decision may succeed +the lingering delays that I have so long endured." +</p> + +<p> +A few days after that, chiefly through the assistance +of his friend Lord Brougham, Lord Dundonald +obtained an interview with Lord Palmerston, at which +he further detailed his plans, and urged that they +should be promptly employed in hastening a conclusion +of the war with Russia. To Lord Palmerston +he also wrote again on the 31st of March. "It has +occurred to me," he said, "that the supposed inhumanity +of my plans may have caused the use of +the word 'inexpedient' in the report of the commission +appointed in July last by the Admiralty, and +may even now influence the decision of the Cabinet. +Perhaps another view may have been taken of the +consequences of divulging my plans, as regards the +security of this kingdom." To these possible objections +he urged that no conduct that brought to a +speedy termination a war which might otherwise last +for years, and be attended by terrible bloodshed in +numerous battles, could be called inhuman; and that +the most powerful means of averting invasion, and, +indeed, all future war, would be the introduction of +a method of fighting which, rendering all vigorous +defence impossible, would frighten every nation from +running the risks of warfare at all. +</p> + +<p> +Those arguments appear to have had some weight; +but, after further correspondence, Lord Palmerston's +Government, like all the other Governments to which +they had been offered, refused to put the plans in +execution. Further evidence in their favour was +obtained from some eminent scientific men; and it +was put beyond dispute that, though they might not +have such deadly efficacy as Lord Dundonald anticipated—on +which point the critics spoke with +hesitation—they could not fail, if properly applied, +in producing very important results. But it was all +in vain. All that Lord Palmerston would agree to +was to have the experiment tried on a small scale at +Sebastopol, and by two Engineer officers who were +to be instructed in their work by Lord Dundonald. +Lord Dundonald consented to the trial, if it was conducted +by his son, Captain the Honourable Arthur +Cochrane, R.N. But this was not agreed to, and the +whole project fell to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +At that result Lord Dundonald was hardly more +disappointed than was a large section of the English +public. Friends and strangers, soldiers, sailors, +newspaper writers, and merchants, wrote to him from +London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, +and all other parts of the kingdom, urging that, if +the enterprise was not undertaken by Government, +it should be executed by means of a private subscription. +"I am perfectly convinced," wrote one, "that +you can do all the injury to the Russian fortifications +that you say you can do. If miserable jealousy at +the Admiralty refuses you the means, take them from +those who, like myself, are very proud to be your +countrymen. I am not a rich man, but I shall gladly +subscribe one hundred pounds to any scheme that you +will propose and carry out yourself." "If your +lordship will appeal to the country," wrote another, +"in less than a week you will receive subscriptions +to any amount. You will then be independent of +Government routine, and the public will, without +further delay, have an opportunity of testing the +value of your invention, towards which the eyes of +all Europe are anxiously turned at the present +juncture." +</p> + +<p> +Those suggestions, and the evidence afforded by +them of a widespread sympathy in his efforts to +render a last great service to his country, afforded +real satisfaction to Lord Dundonald; but their +adoption was quite impossible. As a British officer, +he could not for a moment think of entering upon a +warlike project independently of the State. Therefore +he left the work on which his heart was set +undone, and soon—though by no means so soon as +he could have made it—the Russian war was brought +to a conclusion. +</p> + +<p> +Whatever may have been the cause of the rejection +of his offer to hasten that conclusion by means of his +secret war-plans, the Earl of Dundonald experienced +no lack of personal courtesy during the period of the +correspondence, or throughout the brief remainder of +his life. His closing years were cheered by many +acts by which was nearly completed the tardy reparation +for former injuries which was begun with his +reinstatement in the navy by King William IV., and +in which the most gratifying circumstance of all was +the restoration of his honours as a Knight of the +Bath by her gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. +</p> + +<p> +"The death of Sir Byam Martin, and the promotion +of Sir William Gage to the office of Vice-Admiral +of the United Kingdom," wrote Sir James Graham +on the 23rd of October, 1854, "vacate the appointment +of Rear-Admiral. It is an honorary distinction; +and your standing in the naval service and your +gallant achievements entitle you to this reward. I +have taken her Majesty's pleasure, and the Queen +has graciously approved my recommendation. I +propose, therefore, with your lordship's permission, +that you shall be gazetted Rear-Admiral of the United +Kingdom." "I accept the proposed honour with +gratitude to her Majesty and with thanks to you," +answered Lord Dundonald, on the 24th. "Permit +me, however, to express a hope that such distinction +shall not preclude my further service to the Crown +and country, which long and matured consideration +on professional subjects assures me I could now perform +even more effectually than at an earlier period." +</p> + +<p> +A month later he was honoured by a compliment +from one who, kind and gracious in all his acts, had +never failed in showing towards him special grace +and kindness. "My dear lord," wrote Prince Albert +on the 26th of November, "a vacancy has occurred +in the list of Honorary Brethren of the Trinity House, +by the lamented death of Sir Byam Martin. It has +always been customary in that corporation to have the +Royal Navy represented amongst the Elder Brethren +by one of its most distinguished officers. I therefore +write to inquire whether it would be agreeable to +you to be elected a member of that body; as I should, +in that case, have much pleasure in proposing, as +Master of the Corporation, your name for the election +of the Elder Brethren. Believe me always, my dear +lord, yours truly,—Albert." +</p> + +<p> +"May it please your Royal Highness," Lord Dundonald +wrote in reply, on the 27th, "to accept my +dutiful and most grateful thanks for the honour your +Royal Highness is pleased to confer. I assure your +Royal Highness that I shall ever look forward with +anxiety to prove my devotion and gratitude to her +most gracious Majesty, for signal acts of justice and +favour, and to your Royal Highness for this highly-appreciated +mark of your consideration." +</p> + +<p> +A token of the estimation in which Lord Dundonald +was at length held by all classes of his countrymen +may here be recorded. After frequent refusal, +on the ground of his age and love of privacy, he +consented, in May, 1856, to seek admission to the +United Service Club. Its members, thereupon, at +once resolved, at the proposal of Vice-Admiral +Sir George F. Seymour, which was seconded by +Lieutenant-General Sir C. F. Smith, "to invite that +highly-distinguished officer, Admiral the Earl of Dundonald, +to become an honorary member of the Club, +until the time of his lordship's ballot takes place." +</p> + +<p> +In spite of compliments like these, however, +it was his earnest desire that, before his life was +ended, every shadow which had darkened it might +be cleared away, and that he might not pass into +the grave without the assurance that he was formally, +and in every respect, acquitted of the unjust +charges brought against him nearly half a century +before. While one single consequence of those charges +remained in force, he considered that he was not so +acquitted, and with this object he laboured to +the last. +</p> + +<p> +"I venture to remind your lordship," he wrote to +Lord Palmerston, on the 26th of May, "that the +undeviating rectitude of my conduct through a +long life has already induced the Crown, in the +exercise of its justice, to restore my rank and +honours. There yet remains, my dear lord, a gracious +and important act to perform, namely, to order my +banner to be replaced in King Henry VII.'s Chapel, +and to direct the repayment of the fine inflicted by +the Court of King's Bench, and the restoration of my +half-pay suspended during my removal from the +naval service. Unless these be done, I shall descend +to my grave with the consciousness, not only that +justice has not fully been done to me, but under the +painful conviction that its omission will be construed +to the injury of my character in the estimation of +posterity. Independently of the justice of this claim +on its own merits, I venture to express a hope that +your lordship will admit that, during my temporary +absence from the naval service, my exertions tended +materially to promote the interests of our country by +opening to commerce the ports of the Pacific and +those of all the northern provinces of Brazil." +</p> + +<p> +The appeal was unsuccessful. The part of it +having reference to the replacement of Lord Dundonald's +banner in Westminster Abbey was considered +by Lord Palmerston to be a question with +which it was not in his province to deal. "With +regard to the fine," he said, "I am afraid that there +are no funds out of which it could be repaid, and I +should doubt there being any precedent for such a +proceeding; and I find, on inquiry, that pay or half-pay +has not been granted to any naval officer for +any period during which he may have been out of +the service." That reply induced Lord Dundonald +to write again to Lord Palmerston on the 7th of +June. "I submit," he then said, "that, the fine +being imposed for an alleged offence of which I was +wholly innocent, it ought to be repaid, even if there +be no special fund appropriated to such a purpose. +The peculiarity of my case may account for there +being no precedent for such a proceeding, if none +there be. The same peculiarity may distinguish my +case from that of all other naval officers to whom no +pay or half-pay has been allowed for any period +during which they may have been out of the service. +I may have been the only naval officer unjustly +expelled, and assuredly I have been the only one so +expelled after manifesting, by various acts, a truly +patriotic zeal for the honour and interest of our +country. No other naval officer, after such acts, +was ever expelled the service and otherwise punished +on mere conjectural evidence, since demonstrated to +have been utterly groundless. I submit that instances +have occurred of military officers recovering +pay or half-pay after unjust expulsion, as in the case +of Sir Robert Wilson; and I am not aware of the +existence of any cause for a distinction in this respect +between the two services. I feel the deepest +gratitude and satisfaction that my life has been +spared to a period when I may reasonably hope that +the portion of justice yet due to me for the erroneous +verdict and its injurious consequences will not be +withheld. Of that justice, the first instalment, +namely, the restoration of my naval rank, was +granted by his late Majesty King William, and the +second by her present most gracious Majesty, who, on +the representation of my noble friend the Marquess of +Lansdowne, was pleased to reinstate me in the Order +of the Bath. For the third and conclusive portion of +justice still remaining due to me, I cannot desist +from looking to your lordship." +</p> + +<p> +It is not necessary to detail the later correspondence +that ensued upon this subject. Lord Dundonald +found that the final reparation which he +sought was not, then at any rate, to be conceded to +him by the Government; and therefore he resolved +to employ his last remaining powers in seeking from +his countrymen that thorough justice which he +rightly considered would result from an honest +review of the incidents of his life. +</p> + +<p> +During 1858, and in the beginning of 1859, he +was engaged in the preparation of his "Narrative of +Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru, and Brazil +from Spanish and Portuguese Domination."<a class="fnref" href="#fn24" id="ref24">[24]</a> That +work was immediately followed by his "Autobiography +of a Seaman," of which the first volume was +completed in December, 1859, the second in September, +1860; bringing down the story to the date +from which it has been continued in the present +work.<a class="fnref" href="#fn25" id="ref25">[25]</a> +</p> + +<p> +That his mind was full of vigour to the last is best +proved by that autobiography. But the body was +worn out. After two years of great physical suffering, +passed in the house of his eldest son at Queen's +Gate, Kensington, he died on the 31st of October, +1860, eighty-five years old. +</p> + +<p> +He was buried in Westminster Abbey, where in +his last moments he had expressed a desire to rest, +in company with other great servants of the nation. +A public funeral was not granted to him; but his +son was permitted to conduct that funeral in a +way worthy of his great reputation, and agreeable +to the wishes of all classes of his countrymen. +Through the personal intervention of her most +gracious Majesty and the Prince Consort, moreover, +who counteracted the efforts of subordinates, +his insignia of the Order of the Bath, which had +been ignominiously spurned from King Henry the +Seventh's chapel, one-and-fifty years before, were +restored to their place on the 13th of November. +Thus his last and most cherished wish was fulfilled, +and another precious boon was added to the many +favours for which his family can never cease to be +grateful to their Sovereign and her noble husband. +</p> + +<p> +The burial was on the 14th of November. The +pall-bearers were Admiral Sir George Seymour, the +Brazilian Minister, Admiral Grenfell—who five-and-thirty +years before had been associated with Lord +Dundonald in securing the independence of Brazil—Captain +Goldsmith, Captain Schomberg, Captain +Hay, and Captain Nolloth. Among the mourners +was Lord Brougham, who had come from Paris to +render this last honour to one who had been his +friend through fifty years. Standing over the grave, +and looking round upon the assemblage, he exclaimed, +"No Cabinet minister here! no officer of +State to grace this great man's funeral!" But the +funeral was graced by the reverent homage of hundreds +gathered within the Abbey walls, and of the +thousands who, though absent, acknowledged that +England had lost one of her bravest warriors and +most unselfish patriots, one whose warfare had been +marked by acts of daring rarely equalled, and whose +patriotism had brought upon him sufferings such as +few in modern times have had to endure. The +solemn anthem chanted over his grave, "His body is +buried in peace, but his memory shall live for ever," +echoed far and wide, and awakened in every breast +keen sentiments of sympathy for what he had borne +and of pride in what he had done. +</p> + +<blockquote> +<p> +Ashes to Ashes! Lay the hero down<br /> + Within the grey old Abbey's glorious shade.<br /> + In our Walhalla ne'er was worthier laid<br /> +Since martyr first won palm, or victor crown. +</p> +<p> +'Tis well the State he served no farthing pays<br /> + To grace with pomp and honour all too late<br /> + His grave, whom, living, Statesmen dogged with hate,<br /> +Denying justice, and withholding praise. +</p> +<p> +Let England hide her face above his tomb,<br /> + As much for shame as sorrow. Let her think<br /> + Upon the bitter cup he had to drink—<br /> +Heroic soul, branded with felon's doom. +</p> +<p> +A Sea-King, whose fit place had been by Blake,<br /> + Or our own Nelson, had he been but free<br /> + To follow glory's quest upon the sea,<br /> +Leading the conquered navies in his wake— +</p> +<p> +A Captain, whom it had been ours to cheer<br /> + From conquest on to conquest, had our land<br /> + But set its wisest, worthiest in command,<br /> +Not such as hated all the good revere. +</p> +<p> +We let them cage the Lion while the fire<br /> + In his high heart burnt clear and unsubdued;<br /> + We let them stir that frank and forward mood<br /> +From greatness to the self-consuming ire, +</p> +<p> +The fret and chafe that wait on service scorned,<br /> + Justice denied, and truth to silence driven;<br /> + From men we left him to appeal to Heaven,<br /> +'Gainst fraud set high, and evidence suborned— +</p> +<p> +We left him, with bound arms, to mark the sword<br /> + Given to weak hands; left him, with working brain,<br /> + To see rogues traffic, and fools rashly reign,<br /> +Where Strength should have been guide, and Honour lord— +</p> +<p> +Left him to cry aloud, without support,<br /> + Against the creeping things that eat away<br /> + Our wooden walls, and boast as they betray,<br /> +The base supporters of a baser Court, +</p> +<p> +The crawling worms that in corruption breed,<br /> + And on corruption batten, till at last<br /> + Mistaken honour the proud victim cast<br /> +Out to their spite, to writhe, and pant, and bleed +</p> +<p> +Under their stings and slime; and bleed he did<br /> + For years, till hope into heart-sickness grew,<br /> + And he sought other seas and service new,<br /> +And his bright sword in alien laurels hid— +</p> +<p> +Nor even so found gratitude, but came<br /> + Back to his England, bankrupt, save of praise,<br /> + To eat his heart, through weary wishful days,<br /> +And shape his strength to bearing of his shame, +</p> +<p> +Till, slow but sure, drew on a better time,<br /> + And Statesmen owned the check of public will;<br /> + And, at the last, light pierced the shadow chill<br /> +That fouled his honour with the taint of crime. +</p> +<p> +And then they gave him back the knightly spurs<br /> + Which he had never forfeited—the rank<br /> + From which he ne'er by ill-deserving sank,<br /> +More than the Lion sinks for yelp of curs. +</p> +<p> +Justice had lingered on its road too long:<br /> + The Lion was grown old; the time gone by,<br /> + When for his aid we vainly raised a cry,<br /> +To save our flag from shame, our decks from wrong. +</p> +<p> +The infamy is <i>theirs</i>, whose evil deed<br /> + Is past undoing; yet not guiltless we,<br /> + Who, penniless, that brave old man could see,<br /> +Restored to honour, but denied its meed. +</p> +<p> +A Belisarius, old and sad and poor,<br /> + To <i>our</i> shame, not to <i>his</i>—so he lived on,<br /> + Till man's allotted fourscore years were gone,<br /> +And scarcely then had leave to 'stablish sure +</p> +<p> +Proofs of <i>his</i> innocence, and <i>their</i> shame,<br /> + That had so wronged him; and, this done, came death,<br /> + To seal the assurance of his dying breath,<br /> +And wipe the last faint tarnish from his name. +</p> +<p> +At last his fame stands fair, and full of years<br /> + He seeks that judgment which his wrongers all<br /> + Have sought before him—and above his pall<br /> +His flag, replaced at length, waves with his peers. +</p> +<p> +He did not live to see it, but he knew<br /> + His country with one voice had set it high;<br /> + And knowing this he was content to die,<br /> +And leave to gracious Heaven what might ensue. +</p> +<p> +Ashes to ashes! Lay the hero down,<br /> + No nobler heart e'er knew the bitter lot<br /> + To be misjudged, maligned, accused, forgot—<br /> +Twine martyr's palm among his victor's crown.<a class="fnref" href="#fn26" id="ref26">[26]</a> +</p> +</blockquote> + +<p> +"Victor and Martyr." Those are the words fittest +to be inscribed on the monument that will be set +up in the hearts of Englishmen in honour of the +Earl of Dundonald. Entering life with great powers +of mind and great physical endowments for his +only fortune, he made his name famous, and won +immortal honour to himself by daring and successful +enterprises in the naval service of his country, which +none have surpassed at an age so young as his, and +which few have rivalled during a long life-time +spent in war. But he sought to follow up those +triumphs of his prowess on the sea by peaceful victories +at home over private jealousy, official intrigue, +and political wrong-doing, and thereby he brought +on himself opposition which, boldly resented, caused +the unjust forfeiture of the rewards that were his due, +and weighed him down with a terrible load of disappointed +hope and undeserved reproach. Seeking +relief from these grievous sufferings, and opportunity +of further work in a profession very dear to him and +in generous aid of nations striving to throw off the +tyranny to which they had long been subjected, he +entered the service of three foreign states in succession. +But in helping others he only brought fresh +trouble on himself. He rescued Chili and Peru from +Spanish thraldom, only to find that the people whom +he had freed therefrom were themselves enthralled +by passions which even he could do nothing to overcome, +and which drove him from their shores, barely +thanked and quite unrecompensed. He fought the +battles of the young empire of Brazil against Portugal, +doubled her territories, and more than doubled +her opportunities of future development, only to be +cruelly spurned by the faction then in power, and +denied the fulfilment of national pledges which a later +generation has but tardily and slightly regarded. +Harder yet was his treatment by the Greeks, who, +having asked him to lead them in their contest with +their Turkish masters, refused to follow his leadership, +gave him no assistance in his plans for fighting on +their behalf, and, in return for the services which, in +spite of all the difficulties in his way, he was able to +render them, offered him little but insult. Thus +more than half his life was wasted—wasted as far as +he himself was concerned, though the gain to others +from every one of his achievements was great indeed. +Returning then to peaceful work in England, he +chiefly spent the years remaining to him in efforts to +win back the justice of which he had been deprived, +and in efforts, yet more zealous, to benefit his country +by exercise of the inventive talents in which he +was almost as eminent as in warlike powers. But +those talents were slighted, though from them has, +in part, resulted an entire and wholly beneficial revolution +in the science and practice of naval warfare. +And, though many of his personal wrongs were +redressed, he was allowed to die without the complete +wiping out of the stain that had been put upon +his honour. +</p> + +<p> +Of this long course of suffering, it must be +admitted, he was himself in some measure the cause. +Endowed, as few others have been endowed, with the +highest mental qualities, he lacked other qualities +necessary to worldly advancement and the prosperous +enjoyment of life. Truth and justice he made +the guiding principles of all his actions; but he knew +nothing of expediency, and was no adept in the arts +of prudence. Unrivalled strategy was displayed by +him in all his warlike enterprises; but against the +strategy of his fellow-workers he was utterly defenceless. +He made enemies where a cautious man might +have made friends, and he allowed those enemies to +assail him, and to inflict upon him injuries almost +irreparable, with weapons and by onslaughts which +a cautious man would easily have warded off. +Judged by the harshest rules of worldly wisdom, +however, it must be acknowledged that these faults +brought upon him far heavier punishment than he +merited. And perhaps it will be deemed by posterity +that they were faults very nearly akin to +virtues. +</p> + +<p> +The same want of prudence caused trouble to him +in other respects. It led him, in furtherance of the +inventions and other projects by which he sought to +benefit the world, into expenses by which his scanty +sources of income were very heavily taxed. It also +sometimes made him the victim of others. Guileless +himself, he was not proof against the guile of many +with whom he came in contact. Every kind word +sounded in his ear, every kind act appeared in his +eye, as if it proceeded from a heart as full of kindness +as his own, and he often lavished sympathy and gratitude +on unworthy objects. But shall we blame +him for this? +</p> + +<p> +Kindness, indeed, was as much a characteristic of +him as valour. While the world was full of the +fame of his warlike achievements, all who came +within the circle of his acquaintance marvelled to +find a man so simple, so tender, so generous, and so +courteous. When he was bowed down by sorrows +that nearly crushed him, he sought comfort in +zealous efforts for alleviating the sufferings of +others. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunate circumstances would have placed him +in a station of universal honour, which he could +have occupied to the admiration of all on-lookers. +But the circumstances of his life were unfortunate; +and therefore he had to endure such hardship as +falls to the lot of few. The harsh judgment by +which he suffered has already been reversed. It will +be atoned for when his worth is properly acknowledged +by his fellow-men. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 id="app">APPENDIX.</h2> + +<p class="ctr"> +<a href="#ref12">(Page 161.)</a> +</p> + +<h3>CAPTAIN ABNEY HASTINGS'S LETTERS TO LORD COCHRANE</h3> + +<p> +So much had to be said in the body of this volume in evidence +of the insurmountable difficulties raised by the Greeks +themselves to Lord Cochrane's efforts to aid them as +efficiently as he desired, that there seemed no room, without +wearying the reader, for there citing more than two or three +of the letters addressed to him by Captain Abney Hastings. +They have, therefore, been reserved for quotation here. +Their publication is desirable for two reasons. In the first +place, they show how Captain Hastings, whom all the historians +of the Greek Revolution join in praising, was harassed, +and his work rendered almost useless, by causes which Lord +Cochrane, in a much more difficult position, was blamed for +not overcoming. In the second place, they will serve as a +contribution to the biography of a high-minded and valiant +man, a sharer in Lord Cochrane's zealous efforts on behalf +of Greece, and in the misfortunes incident thereto, of whose +memorable career the world knows little. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +I. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Hydra, March 26th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +The usual contrarieties of the machine prevented my following +you yesterday according to your desire. Observing you +went to Poros, I thought I should act in conformity with your +wishes by coming here to take in coals, and avoid all possible +delay. I have got on board enough for about four days more. I +have expected you all day, and not seeing you I have taken upon +myself to depart for the service you destined me for; although +I am not quite certain I know the exact station. I shall go off +Grabousa and endeavour to find Captain St. George. I leave a +letter here for the primates, requesting them to load a small vessel +with coals for my return, which I wish to take in on the opposite +side. This measure, far from occasioning delay, would be advantageous +in that respect as well as having less close connection +with the Hydriots, whose presence always has the effect of setting +a bad example to the Greeks I have on board. I should feel +obliged to your lordship to insist on this measure. Perhaps it +would be advantageous for your lordship to decide upon the port +you intend to occupy immediately, and send there all the coals and +other stores wanted for your naval force. Since you object to an +island in the Great Archipelago, I am of opinion, with Colonel +Gordon, that Ambalaki is the best suited for your station. If all +the coals were there, much delay would be saved to the steam-vessels. +One of the causes our engine went so badly was that +some fire-bars being burnt the fire fell through, and we could not +keep up the steam; another was, I had taken up the paddles +(which previously had two-feet dip) six inches; the engine consequently +went faster, but the pumps would not supply sufficient +water. I have lowered them again. Pray leave your further +orders for me here, as I shall touch for coals as aforesaid on my +return. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings.</span> +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +II. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, April 9th, 1827 +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to transmit you an account of the +<i>Karteria</i> steam-vessel up to March 16th, by which you will perceive +that with the 500<i>l</i>. credit I have on Messrs. Baif at Zante, +I still have a credit of 363 dollars in my favour. Not accustomed +to keep such accounts, there may be errors, but if any they are +certainly against myself, as I may have omitted charging expenses; +whereas, I have never charged but what has really been expended, +nor have I ever charged anything for myself, directly or indirectly. +Wages will become due again the 16th of this month, +for which I shall require about 800 dollars. Having but a few +days' salt meat on board, I beg your lordship to cause an order to +be written, enabling me to receive such quantity as you may deem +requisite. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +III. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Scopulo, April 19th, N.S., 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Northerly winds prevented my passing Cape Doro until the +15th. Having spoken a vessel from Skyro, I learnt that an +Austrian merchant vessel loaded with corn and ammunition for +Negropont was laying at that island under convoy of an Austrian +vessel of war, and that the corvette of Tombasi was there watching +the merchant vessel. I touched at Skyro the night of the 15th, +and found that the Austrian was gone, supposed for Syra, followed +by an Hydriot schooner of Konduriottes, who is supposed to have +made some arrangement with the Austrian to deliver the cargo to +him. The Greek corvette had sailed, as I was told, for this. I +arrived here the night of the 16th, and found that the brig and +schooner were zealously employed on the service they had been +sent upon. Having steamed more than I had at first intended, I +was in want of fuel, and set them at work here to obtain me wood, +which they have done with more alacrity than I expected during +Easter holidays. The engine of course required repairs. I sent off +the schooner to inform the vessels of the blockade, when I should +join them, and appointing a rendezvous. I sail immediately, and +hope to take or destroy the vessels at Tricheri and Volo tomorrow. +I send this by the primates of this island, who carry a +letter to your lordship offering their services. They have been +apparently much oppressed in all these islands by the heroes of +the earth, and are anxious to obtain protection from the naval +force. This island is fertile, and could (and could be made to) pay +well for protection. The others have claims equally strong for +protection. St. George, De Skyro, Scopulo, Skatho, &c., &c., have +more than 2,000 Liapis quartered upon them at this moment. If +Athens is relieved, these worthies might be turned into Negropont +with much effect. I am told the Turkish transports are still at +Tricheri and Volo, not doubting to clear the Gulf of Greeks +<i>à force d'argent</i>—however, I hope to be with them to-morrow. +</p> + +<p> +I suspect fuel could be obtained cheaper here than at Megara; +and I see no reason for incurring the expense of transport of wood +to Poros for construction of gunboats when a great majority of the +Greek vessels are constructed here. The wood does not grow here. +It is brought from Agora on the main. The deputies—<i>tout bêtes +comme ils sont</i>—can inform your lordship of these things. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p> +P.S.—Having taken the coals out from between the boilers and +side of the ship, I am anxious to fill this space with wool, as a +protection against shot. The coals stowed there are an inconvenience +for many reasons, and something is necessary to replace +them as a protection for the boilers. If your lordship would be +good enough to order Tombasi to procure me wool for that +purpose, I think you would be ultimately satisfied of its utility. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +IV. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, off Tricheri, Monday,<br />April 23rd, N.S., 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to inform you that in pursuance of your +orders, I carried the squadron under my command, consisting of +corvette <i>Themistocles</i>, brig <i>Aris</i>, schooner <i>Aspasia</i>, and schooner +<i>Panayia</i>, before the port of Volo, the evening of the 20th. I found +eight vessels at anchor in the port; immediately I directed the +<i>Themistocles</i> and <i>Aris</i> to anchor off a battery at the point, and +cannonade it whilst I entered the harbour with boats and +schooners. At 4.30 <span class="sc">p.m.</span> they anchored with much gallantry, +and soon silenced the musket-shot from the battery. At the same +moment I entered the harbour with the boats and schooners, and +we shortly took possession of seven brigs: they were all on shore, +and most without sails bent. However, by 9 <span class="sc">p.m.</span> we succeeded +in getting out five prizes, three loaded with provisions and +ammunition, two light; and this most fortunately without the loss +of a man killed or wounded, although we lay at anchor in the +harbour four hours and a half, exposed to the fire of the Castle of +Volo. The ship has received no material injury, although several +shot struck her. We set fire to two prizes we could not succeed in +getting out; one light brig remains, but we shot away her foremast +and did her such damage in her hull as will (I hope) prevent +her putting to sea again. Last night I entered Tricheri with the +boats of <i>Themistocles</i>, <i>Aris</i>, and <i>Aspasia</i>, to endeavour to carry out +a brig of war, Turkish, of sixteen guns and two mortars, but found +her protected too advantageously by batteries and musketry. I send +the prizes to your lordship under the convoy of the <i>Aspasia</i>, and +shall remain here a few days to endeavour to destroy the Turkish +brig of war, and shall then return to join your lordship. I beg +leave to assure your lordship before I conclude that in these +affairs I have met with the most cordial support from the captains +of the vessels under my orders, and that their conduct, as well as +that of all the officers and men of the squadron, has been highly +meritorious. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p> +P.S.—As the schooner <i>Panayia</i> will participate in the prizes, I +have ordered her to remain on the blockade, although not sent by +your lordship. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +V. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, at Sea, April 24th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +An hour after I had the honour of sending you my last +letter, detailing the affair of Volo, I stood into Tricheri with +the vessels under my command, viz., <i>Themistocles</i>, <i>Aris</i>, <i>Panayia</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The Turks in this place had one brig-of-war which (erroneously +in my last I rated at sixteen guns) mounted but fourteen long +24-pounders and two mortars; she was made fast in a small +bight, with a plank on shore and high rocks on each side of her, +behind which were posted a strong corps of Albanian troops; +she was likewise protected by a battery close under her bow and +five other batteries in other parts. Four small schooners lay +quite hauled up on the beach. To attempt to carry away vessels +so posted and defended by men who wanted neither alacrity nor +resolution would have been exposing the lives of the crews in +a very unwarrantable manner. I therefore resolved to burn the +brig, which we effected in less than an hour. I did not make +any attempt upon the schooners, which I considered too inconsiderable +to justify a loss in capturing them. In this affair +the captains, officers, and crews conducted themselves all much +to my satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +Inclosed I have the honour to transmit to you a return of +the killed and wounded in this affair, which, I am happy to say, is +trifling. I have left the rest of the squadron to maintain the +blockade. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p> +A return of the killed and wounded on board of the Greek +squadron, at Tricheri, April 23rd./11th. +</p> + +<table summary="List of involved ships"> +<tr> + <td> + <i>Karteria</i>, killed</td> + <td>one seaman, Ralph Hall.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><i>Aris</i>, killed</td> + <td>one seaman.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>" wounded</td> + <td>two seamen.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td style="padding-right:1em;"><i>Panayia</i>, wounded</td> + <td>one seaman.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Total</td> + <td>two killed and three wounded.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="right"><span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +VI. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, at Sea, April 26th, N.S., 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Passing by Kumi, I observed several vessels at anchor +there, and a great number of large kyekes, &c., hauled up on the +beach. I stood in, and overhauled them, and found, as I suspected, +that a most scandalous and extensive commerce in grain is carrying +on to that place with the Turks, chiefly in Greek vessels. A brig +under Russian colours was chiefly discharged; a Psarian schooner +was nearly full, and the magazines on shore were full. I set +about loading the grain from the magazines, but was unable to +take off more than one-third of what was in them; and I have good +reason for supposing that other magazines equally stored are to be +found in the town, about an hour's distance. +</p> + +<p> +Here there were only a dozen Turks, who fled at our approach. +In the evening no less than nine small vessels were seen standing +in to Kumi. I weighed and boarded six of them; three being +entirely empty, I allowed to pass; two I detained and have +brought with me. +</p> + +<p> +The want of men, of time, &c., has prevented my putting a +finishing hand to this infamous traffic; but I have no doubt your +lordship will see the propriety of sending a vessel of war without +delay to destroy these depôts. It is idle to talk of blockading +the Gulf of Negropont whilst such an extensive commerce is +carrying on at other points of the island. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +VII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, April 28th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Captain St. George going to join you, I take the opportunity +of informing you, besides what my other letters contain, that my +information from Kumi imports that Negropont contains two +months' provisions for the army of Kutayi and fortress, and that +all their hopes are in the Turkish fleet, expected daily. It seems +to me of the first importance that the Greek fleet should be ready +to encounter the Turks; and the Gulf is a place particularly +favourable to the smaller, lighter, and more skilful party. Might +I suggest, my lord, the propriety of sending a couple of light +vessels upon whom you could depend to cruise off the Dardanelles, +and give information in time? The corvette, brig, and schooner +off Tricheri requested me to represent their want of provisions, and +the necessity they have of paying their crew regularly; many I +suspect have already quitted them: with Greek sailors no arrears +of pay can exist—hitherto they have been accustomed to receive +their wages in advance; if they can be made to go to sea without +that advance it is a great point gained; to omit fulfilling the +engagement would be to ruin all confidence and oblige the sailors +to return to their ancient demands. +</p> + +<p> +With respect to Kumi, I beg leave to urge the necessity of +sending a vessel (perhaps better Captain St. George than a Greek, +who probably would not dare do his duty there, was he so disposed) +to destroy the infamous traffic existing there. May I beg of your +lordship to order here the Marine Tribunal from Napoli to adjudge +the prizes taken; also to issue a public order respecting the +distribution of prize-money, by which I may be guided in my +payments? You will observe that in my letter respecting the affair +of Tricheri I mention simply having burnt the brig-of-war without +saying how. That letter being a despatch for publication, I thought +it as well not to proclaim to the enemy the use we made of +red-hot shot. It was by those I burnt the brig, and could quite +as easily burn by the same means the largest ship ever built. +Might I suggest the advantage that would result from using the +same projectile from almost every ship? each vessel might as well +as me have a furnace in her hold for the feeding of two of her +guns—the effect would be tremendous. If the fleet was ready +before the Turks came out, a slight excursion to Salonica might +be attended with profit and advantage. I shall require a little +time to repair damages. I have lost my larboard cat-head, my +jib-boom, second topmast, main-gaff, bowsprit shot through, and +the engine requires various repairs—the steam waste-pipe is +completely gone, and I must get another made. I hope and trust +your lordship has still the intention of forming a national fleet +and a dockyard; without this your difficulties will be multiplied +beyond measure. I merely mention this because I hear intrigues +are on foot to prevent such measures. I, a stranger, who belong +to no party, and who neither fear nor love the Hydriots and +Spetziots, will tell you the truth on these points. Although your +orders prescribed for me to remain a fortnight on the blockade +of the Gulf of Negropont, I was forced to return—wanting ammunition, +fuel, provisions, and various repairs. I shall use my +endeavours to be ready for sea as speedily as possible. Before +I conclude, give me leave to congratulate your lordship upon your +brilliant success at the Piræus. I have no doubt it is but a +prelude to more important successes. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +VIII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, April 30th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +May I beg leave to present to you my very particular friend, +Mr. Nicolo Kalergy? You will find him a young man of good +education, talent, and, what is of still greater value, of great +probity. I have known him many years, and esteemed him +equally long. By his private fortune he is independent, and has +consequently always refused to meddle in the intrigues he regrets +so much to see cause the misfortunes of his country. So much for +introduction. Mr. Nicolo Kalergy has been good enough to wait +upon you to receive your orders respecting the prizes I have lately +captured. These vessels contain grain chiefly, and therefore would +in that state be of no use to you. Your commissaries must +turn it into biscuit before it is sent to the Piraeus. The Government +has sent for the Admiralty Court from Napoli to sit here upon +the judgment of vessels detained. As to the sale, I am of opinion +that to appease the jealousy of the seamen a public sale should be +held, and your commissaries purchase it if they please. They +will thus always obtain it cheaper than they could buy it at Syra, and +thus nobody can complain. I am anxious to receive from your +lordship an order respecting the distribution of prize-money, and +this, I think, should be public. Hitherto the Government has +received fifteen per cent. upon all prizes. Of course your lordship +will arrange as you think proper upon this subject; but if +any part of a prize goes to the public purse, it is only but just it +should aid in the payment of the wages of seamen. I am now paying +a month's wages out of my own pocket, which I hope and trust +your lordship will reimburse me, as I cannot continue this +system. Anything can be done in Greece by prompt payments; +with arrears nothing is to be done. My friend has much and +various information respecting every part of Greece, and can +furnish you with much useful matter. I do not doubt but you will +shortly appreciate his merit. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p> +P.S.—May I beg of you, my lord, to furnish me with a commission +of lieutenant for Mr. Darby, the only officer doing duty as a +sailor on board—in truth, he is no sailor, and does not pretend, +but he is brave, diligent, and a gentleman, and has served with me +for about four months? +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +IX. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, April 30th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I had the honour to receive your orders of the 28th inst. +Your lordship will have observed, by the letters I had the honour +of transmitting to you, that the condition of this vessel is such as +to render it impossible for her to put to sea immediately. Dr. +Gosse last night was occupied sending you off 68-pounders, and +I am happy to hear this morning that the monastery has fallen +without them. I must again repeat how indispensable it is that +this fleet should be in readiness to encounter the Turks, who cannot +now delay long their departure. +</p> + +<p> +It is with deep regret I see the extreme discontent existing on +board the <i>Sauveur</i> brig, which seems to me to be greatly augmented, +if not entirely owing to the Greeks being paid in advance and the +English being in arrears of wages. In this country, my lord, +I must repeat, nothing can be done without regular payments. +By paying out of my own funds, when others could not be obtained, +I have established the confidence of the Greeks and English in this +vessel, as far as money is concerned; but I cannot continue to pay +out of my own pocket. If funds are not forthcoming for the wages +of this vessel, I must beg leave to resign. Whilst I am on board +my people will always consider me personally responsible for their +wages; and I must again remark I have suffered already much too +severely in my private fortune to admit of my making further +sacrifices. Besides wages for the crew, I have various expenses +here to repair damage sustained by the <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'vessel,'" id="corr2"> +vessel. +</ins> +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p> +P.S.—It seems to me necessary to relieve the vessels at Volo, or +they will quit their station. Greek sailors on board their own ships +will not remain more than a month at sea. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +X. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, May 6th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I do myself the honour of enclosing for your perusal two +different extracts from public papers sent me lately from Zante. +I am now ready for sea, excepting powder, of which I have only +two quarter-casks of very vile French stuff, received from Captain +St. George. Mr. Hesketh, amongst the other prizes made at +Napoli, has brought some flannel cartridges for our guns filled, +and forty casks of powder. Would your lordship have the goodness +to cause an order to be sent me to receive this powder? There +is still a great quantity of the stores sent out from England missing. +I have the bills of lading, and can give copies to Mr. +Hesketh, if you think proper to send to Hydra, Spetzas, and +Napoli again to collect them. I suspect the Hydriots have now in +their possession about one hundred and sixty carbines such as I +have on board. +</p> + +<p> +It appears strange to everybody here that all the Commissary +Department should be absent. I am informed provisions are +wanted, and yet nobody comes to buy the prize provisions. As +every Greek is by nature a thief, things disappear daily; and if they +remain much longer, nothing will be forthcoming. Already my +Greeks have petitioned me about the prizes; and everybody acquainted +with Greek sailors must be aware they will not go to sea +again until they have been paid their prize-money. Till now there +never was no example of a ship quitting her prize until sold and +the proceeds distributed. I am sorry to be obliged to remind your +lordship again that on my arrival here I paid my crew one month's +wages, due the 16th of last month, and in ten days more another +month's wages are due, and pay I must, for, as I have frequently +remarked to your lordship, no arrears can exist in this country. +The wages also is not the only expense. I was obliged to purchase +about one hundred tons of firewood at Scopulo. Fresh meat in +harbour runs away with great sums; and when the engine works, it +consumes about half a dollar a day of oil. Besides all this, I have been +obliged to hire three carpenters for ten days to repair damages +done in late expedition. I had a fluke shot off a bower anchor at +Tricheri, and ought to have another one. I must get a new main-sail +made here. It is disagreeable to me to torment your lordship +with all these statements, but you must be aware that a vessel like +this cannot be sailed without great expense. There are here a +number of seamen from the brig who want to enter with me. I +have as yet refused to receive them; but, if you thought proper to +give me an order, I should then be justified in so doing. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XI. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Spetzas, May 30th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Having lost my two masts in a squall off Cape Malea, and +having business at Poros requiring my presence, I have thought it +the most expeditious way to go myself to purchase other masts +at Hydra, and settle my affairs at Poros. I therefore do myself +the honour to transmit to your lordship a report of my proceedings +after you left me near Stamphane. At sunset I lighted the fires, +and, as soon as steam was up, steered for the passage between Zante +and the Morea. The wind freshening much in a contrary direction, +I found myself about ten miles to the southward of Zante in +the morning. About three <span class="sc">a.m.</span> we perceived a large vessel standing +towards us from the Morea, and we went to quarters for her. +I thought at first she might be the <i>Hellas</i>; but on approaching +she stood back to the mainland, which made me conclude that it +was a stranger; the wind increasing, I could not remain head to +wind, and made sail under the lee of Zante. In the forenoon I saw +a large ship under the land far off steering to the south, which +I concluded was a Turkish or neutral ship of war. The wind +abating, I steamed up round the eastern point of Zante, and not +finding the <i>Hellas</i> on the other side of the island, I stood towards +Cephalonia, opening out the two Turkish frigates laying at Clarenza. +In the evening I saw a large ship very far astern coming +northward, and supposed she was the <i>Hellas</i> and the same I had +seen in the forenoon under the land. At sunset I altered course +and steered for Clarenza, and in the first watch we saw a good +deal of firing in that direction. The wind and sea augmenting, I +was unable to keep the ship head to sea, and therefore bore up +for the <i>rendezvous</i> of Oxia. Not finding the <i>Hellas</i> at this station, +the wind augmenting, the starboard wheel being out of repair, and +threatening to come to pieces if not looked to, the water requiring +to be drawn off the boilers, &c., all these things made it necessary +for me to search a port. I looked inside Oxia, but found it +unsafe, and therefore bore up for the Port of Petala, where I put +things to rights as well as I could; but found on examination we +had but three days and a half's coals, little water, and only a few +days' bread. Under these circumstances, I felt myself called upon +to return whilst the means were still left me of hoping to accomplish +it. Having obtained an offing west of Cephalonia, I took off +the paddles and sailed, which gave us an opportunity of again +repairing the wheels—again in an unsound condition—and saved +our fuel. The wind and sea calming, I got up my steam; and there +being every appearance of calm weather, I stood within five or six +miles of Modon, hoping to meet the two frigates we saw off there +when we passed northward. However, we saw nothing but a brig +inside the harbour, sailing close along the land. Late on the +evening of the 28th, when rounding Cape St. Angelo, a squall +from the high land carried away our fore and second masts, and +left us in a very unenviable situation, considering we had but a +few hours' coals on board. However, a breeze favouring us all +night, we arrived here at ten A.M., 29th May. Upon the foremast +we lost one man—Jani Patinioti. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Spetzas, June 7th, N.S., 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I had the honour of sending you a report of my proceedings +since I left you, and hoped to have found you here on my return +from Poros, that I might receive your further orders. I returned +last night, having been subjected to more delay and vexation than +can be imagined or expressed, respecting the prizes taken at Volo. +I could only procure one mast at Poros, sold me by Tombasi—others +there were both at Hydra and Poros, but the proprietors +would not part with them; I have therefore been obliged to +purchase one here, considerably too large and expensive, but there +is no remedy. I hope to be ready for sea in three days, but fear +I shall have some embarrassment about money matters. The +purchase of masts, of salt provisions, sails, &c., besides the pay +due to crew, puts me to considerable straits, particularly as I +had lent all the ready money I possessed to Kalergy to redeem +his brother; however, I shall do my utmost to get to sea, and I +am anxious to know how, when, and where, I can have the honour +of rejoining your lordship. A fireship that departs to-day will +deliver you this letter, and your lordship may perhaps think it +worth while to send a vessel here with orders for my further +guidance. May I beg of you also to add a private signal by which +I may know all Greek vessels at a tolerable distance by day—also +a night private signal? +</p> + +<p> +The British squadron is assembled at Smyrna, awaiting the +admiral. The camp at Phalerum is broken up, and General +Church is returned to Egina. The puppet of Government is +occupied voting for the nomination of ministers, if possible more +incapable than themselves; they talk of going to Napoli—Griva +and Fotomana propose this. The former as usual seized upon an +American ship; and Dr. Howe, charged with the distribution of the +cargo, applied to Captain Patterson of the <i>Constitution</i>, who is now +at Napoli guarding it. I am sorry to add that Mr. Lee received +a letter from England announcing that the <i>Enterprise</i> having sailed, +her boilers burst opposite Plymouth, and she was towed into that +port by a brig-of-war. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XIII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Spetzas, June 9th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I had the honour to receive your order of the 7th, enjoining +me to repair to your lordship without delay, if ready for sea. A +variety of circumstances (unavoidable in a country deprived of +even the shadow of organization) has prevented my being yet +ready to sail. I received my foremast on board to-day, but the +majority and best of my crew has left me. I must look for others, +and intend to weigh to-night and go to Poros, where I was tormented +by hundreds to take them. Here I can get men—but shall +confine myself to half-a-dozen, as I find it necessary to mix my +crew. In going to Poros I shall not delay anything, since I shall +be occupied getting up my masts and rigging there, making sails, +&c., &c., <i>en route</i>, and I can water more easily at Poros than here. +I have informed the captain of the brig that brought this, that if I +am ready to sail before any further orders of yours arrive, I shall +repair to Cerigotto, and there await instructions from you; if I am +not at Cerigotto I shall be found here. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XIV. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Syra, August 1st, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +In hopes of seeing your lordship here I have waited two +days, since which, although not finished, all the work of our +machinery can be done on board. There are two things which +retain me, namely, money, of which I require about seven hundred +dollars, and the fire-bars, which they continually civilly refuse me—acting +the true Greek or in other words, the dog in the manger. +If your lordship remains long absent, I shall be sadly puzzled how +to act. Without new fire-bars we cannot steam again. The local +authorities here are so afraid of the Hydriots and Spetziots that +they dare not take any steps against them. To leave this without +the fire-bars is useless. If I can obtain these bars, and your +lordship does not arrive, I will pay myself the necessary sums to +get the vessel out of this port, hoping you will reimburse me—but +to go without the bars is only going to return again. What +I can do to forward the service I will readily perform, and anxious +enough I am to get away from this place. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XV. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, August 19th, 1827, +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +On my arrival here I wrote to Hydra to request the local +authorities there to send me the necessary coals, since you do not +wish the last cargo to be used. I have received no answer, and +upon inquiring yesterday from persons arrived from Hydra, I find +they are not taking any measures to forward them to me. My +officer wrote me under date of the 15th from Napoli that he hoped +to be able to cast the bars there, in which case I shall have to wait +for the coals from Hydra. The impertinence of these shopkeepers +has at length attained a pitch that is scarcely endurable—it is +to be hoped your lordship will make them send the coals—[The +remainder is lost.] +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XVI. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, August 20th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I am delighted to find you have an expedition in progress. +This vessel shall be ready to accompany your lordship, whether +I can get the bars cast at Napoli or not. The ones we now have +can be made to answer for twenty-four hours. I shall write to +Napoli to order the engineers to be here by the 23rd, whether they +succeed in casting the bars or not. The coals I wrote for from +Hydra are Government coals; and it is well they should be used the +first, as I have been informed they are greatly diminishing without +our consumption. I should like to complete as speedily as +possible, and there is no time to spare between this and the 24th +for shipping 100 tons of coal from Hydra. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XVII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Poros, August 22nd, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I am making a sail according to your lordship's plan, to +becalm the hull of the ship, but want sailcloth for completing it. +I understand M. Koering has some in store; would your lordship +be kind enough to allow me to take a hundred piques? I have a +good deal of very bad French powder on board, and even of +Turkish, I suspect, put into French barrels, which I received from +Methana—could your lordship permit me to exchange it against +English powder? It is of very great importance that our +cartridge powder should be good. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XVIII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Gulf of Lepanto, Sept. 27th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to transmit you a report of my proceedings +from the day I left you till this moment. Captain +Thomas, of the <i>Sauveur</i>, joined me the 21st, and proposed with +much gallantry to go into the Gulf in the daytime. The wind +being usually out at night I consented with some difficulty, in +consequence of the little dependence I can place on my engine, +which might render it impossible for me to follow him immediately. +The <i>Sauveur</i>, with gunboat <i>Bavaroise</i> in tow, and accompanied by +two schooners (you had left to keep the blockade at Missolonghi, +but who, contrary to my knowledge, thus disobeyed your orders), +passed into the Gulf the evening of the 21st in most gallant style, +in despite of the enemy's very formidable batteries and one brig of +war and two schooners at the Morea Castles, and several vessels at +Lepanto. I attempted to steam in that night, but the engine failed +me within two miles of the Castles. The next day, the wind being +strong in, I attempted to sail in, but when within gunshot of the +Castles the wind failed me, and it was not until the evening of the +23rd that I could get passed, towing after me the <i>Philhellene</i> gunboat, +of whose commander I have always had particular occasion +to be satisfied. All our damage amounted to a few ropes cut. On +communicating with the Morea, the 24th, I was informed that the +enemy had nine vessels at Salona, and there were three Austrians +there, that Captain Thomas had attacked them the 23rd, but in consequence +of unfavorable weather he had not made any impression, +and that he retired to Loutraki. I immediately despatched a +mistico to desire Captain Thomas to join me with all the vessels +he could collect; but not seeing him on the 26th, and fearing that +the Turks might strengthen themselves during a delay, I stood in +on the 26th with the gunboat <i>Philhellene</i>; but we no sooner approached +than the wind came so strong out that we could not keep +the ship head to wind, and found it necessary to retire. The +Turks have at Salona a very fine Algerine schooner brig, of fourteen +guns, brig of sixteen guns, bearing an admiral's flag, three smaller +schooners, two armed transport brigs, and two large boats with guns, +and they have a battery on shore. There are also three Austrians. +While under their fire one of my engineers was slightly wounded. +I am now waiting for the arrival of Captain Thomas, for whom I +have sent again, and preparing for a final trial. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XIX. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Loutraki, Oct. 7th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Captain Thomas arrived here after our affair at Salona with +the prizes, and sent off immediately to Poros for provisions and +ammunition. I could not (notwithstanding your orders for him to +remain only seven days in the Gulf) allow him to depart in the +state he then was—having only five days' provisions, and four +cartridges a gun. He received some powder and provisions +yesterday, and in consequence of your order of the 27th, which he +received yesterday, departs immediately. If the length of time +Captain Thomas has remained in the Gulf is contrary to your +intentions, I am alone responsible; he was always anxious to +depart. My crew is in a very discontented state, in consequence of +the month being expired without their receiving their wages. +Twelve have left me, and if I do not get money I fear the whole +crew will follow their example. I have sent an officer to Poros for +provisions, ammunition, and money, if possible. I understand the +English are about to prevent any offensive operations of General +Church, and if not, he would never be able to undertake any, +situated as he is for money and provisions. This seems to render +my remaining here any longer of no use. As soon as I can get +any money and provisions and arrange about the prizes I will quit +the Gulf; but as I have no orders from you where to go, I shall +return to Poros unless you contrive to send me some directions in +the interim. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XX. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Loutraki, Oct. 8th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to receive your letter of the 3rd, and am +happy to hear that the <i>Enterprise</i> is arrived. I have also received +one thousand dollars with the stores, &c., which are very acceptable. +I despatched the <i>Sauveur</i> yesterday, according to your order +of the 27th ult. I still retain the gunboats, which are very +useful. I wish further orders from your lordship to know +whether we are to remain in the Gulf, and if you wish us to go out. +There is yet at the Castles a brig and three or four Turkish +schooners. I do not exactly know their position. I intend to run +down there one of these days and see what can be done with them; +if close under the walls of the Castles, which are very strong, we +could burn them some dark night if you would send me a dozen +rockets. I would go with a small boat close to them and do their +business. Mr. Hane announces to me that your lordship proposes +coming up to Corinth, in which case I will do myself the honour +of waiting upon you, and receiving your further orders. I have +despatched a gunboat to General Church to inform him of your +intention, and to bring him here if he wishes to confer with your +lordship. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXI. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Loutraki, Oct. 14th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Hane writes me that the Turkish fleet is off Patras. +From time to time I have received vague accounts of vessels off +there, but nothing certain. I shall fortify myself either here or +at the port on the other side, under the village of Pera Xora—I +think the latter. I want fuzes for shells. A box was sent (I suppose +in mistake for fuzes), but it contained blue lights. Pray give +an officer an order to send me at least five hundred fuzes. In my +last to your lordship I mentioned of what service rockets would be +to us as means of attack on the enemy's vessels at the Castles; they +will be of no less service as weapons of defence. Pray, my lord, +let me have as large a quantity as possible. I understood you were +coming to Corinth, which has detained me here, or I would by this +have been at the other end of the Gulf to gain information, and see +after the brig, for I fear Thomas is not too prudent. I have just +been informed that much cannonading was heard in the quarter of +Lepanto the day before yesterday. I hope no misfortune has +befallen him. I have the two gunboats and one mistico out to bring +me information, and I can receive nothing. Pray let me have the +rockets. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Port Strava, Gulf of Lepanto,<br />Oct. 17th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +Not having received any orders from your lordship, I am +still in the Gulf. In consequence of an order from your lordship +to Captain Thomas, I despatched the <i>Sauveur</i> on the 7th inst., and +sent the gunboat <i>Philhellene</i> with her with letters to General +Church, and orders to wait and bring me information how the +<i>Sauveur</i> got past the Castles; for I was a good deal anxious on +her account, and should have gone myself to give her any assistance +in case of need, but that I understood you intended coming over to +Corinth. Mr. Hane bringing me letters for General Church, I despatched +the other gunboat, <i>Bavaroise</i>, with these, and also some for +the <i>Sauveur</i>, in case she was still in the Gulf. Mr. Darby, the +commander of the <i>Bavaroise</i>, had directions to bring General +Church if he was anxious to communicate personally with your +lordship. Day after day I awaited anxiously an answer, till at +length the mistico I had sent three days ago to General Church, to +learn something of the fleet outside, which Mr. Hane wrote me for +certain was Turkish, returned yesterday evening, informing me that +the <i>Sauveur</i> and two gunboats had gone out on Wednesday. General +Church writes me that he positively intends passing into +Roumelia, and wants my aid; but I am now quite alone (except the +mistico, with whom I know not what to do). He continually +applies to me for provisions, and will soon probably for money. +What am I to do about him? Although wishing to aid General +Church and the service in all I can, I must acknowledge I have +no confidence in his intended movement, more particularly as he +tells me he has no provisions, and wants me to seize by force what I +find in boats. All I could get by this discreditable way of raising +provisions would not certainly feed one hundred men for three +days, and therefore could not aid General Church, and would be +a gratuitous vexation of these miserable peasantry. If General +Church had money and provisions, much is to be done in Roumelia, +but without these nothing can be achieved anywhere. As soon as +I have got the prizes back to Loutraki, and formed batteries, I will +go and visit General Church, and learn more particulars. But I +am very anxious for some orders from your lordship, having +received nothing but the official letter of thanks since I left you. +I write in haste, and beg your lordship to let me have an answer as +soon as possible. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXIII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Loutraki, Oct. 27th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I am ready to do all and anything for the good of the service, +but I fear General Church has no means. I had him on board +for two days, making reconnaissances round the Gulf, and from +what I can gather, the money said to be at Corfu is a chimera. I +suspect he has not a shilling anywhere, and cannot stir. He talks, +it is true, of expeditions, and I have always assured him of my readiness +to aid him, but we cannot be consuming months after months +in the hopes of his receiving supplies. I must limit the period of +his embarkation, and if he cannot then act, I think I shall be justified +in quitting him. I shall try, however, to destroy the other +vessels in the Gulf first. We are in great want of fire-bars. I am +laying in a stock of wood, but we have not yet been able to succeed +perfectly with it. I have taken out the bars and filled the ash-pits; +this we find does better than with any bars in, but we cannot as +yet keep up steam with it. I hope, however, ultimately to succeed—in +fact our coals are nearly finished. To show you how General +Church goes on—his gunboat has only advanced twenty feet from +the beach, and yet he will not send away that swindler Allen, who +commands her. I told him I would not meddle with her until he +dismissed that man, and things remain thus. General Church, +while on board, received letters announcing the unlooked-for destruction +of the Turkish fleet; still I have not entirely credited +it, and I am in anxious expectation of some decisive information +about it. I am obliged to your lordship for the fuzes, and hoped +to have had also some rockets. We are beginning to get short again +of provisions, viz., biscuit. The loaded prize is condemned, with +a ridiculous clause for me to pay the crew. They say nothing of +the other vessels. I send Captain Hane to Egina, to hasten the +condemnation of the light vessels and counteract the intrigues +which I have no doubt Tombasi has recommenced. I shall also +endeavour by him to have more biscuit; we have now but for a +fortnight. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXIV. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Loutraki, Nov. 8th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +The General Church has at length put himself in motion. +Some provisions and money have arrived on the other side for him +(I mean at Calamachi), and I hope to sail with it to join him to-night. +I fortunately received a fortnight's provisions yesterday, +when I had only one day's biscuit on board. After destroying, or +ascertaining that I cannot destroy, the vessels at Lepanto, I will go +outside the Gulf and blockade Missolonghi, Patras, and the Gulf, +hoping the General will blockade them by land. I fear much, +however, for provisions; I will endeavour to get some from the +Ionian Islands; but money and everything else is scarce with me,—but +I hear your lordship is in the same predicament, and therefore +I cannot complain. May I beg of your lordship to grant a +commission of naval lieutenant to M. Falanga, who has served on +board this vessel from 29th March, 1827, and is a most deserving +officer? he is the only sailor officer I have, and was always the only +one of any use in that capacity. He behaved extremely well both +at Volo, Tricheri, and Salona, at which latter place he was wounded +in the neck with a musket-ball, while setting fire to one of the +abandoned vessels. I may really say he is the only Greek I ever +saw who seems to conceive what an officer ought to be. Although +he would be a great loss to me, and I should be sorry to part with +him but for his own advantage, I can strongly recommend him for +promotion in the command of a vessel, since (as I hear) your lordship +is in such dreadful want of officers to command. I am sure +he would give you the highest satisfaction. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXV. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Nov. 17th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to announce to you that, after much delay +and disappointment—usual in Greece—I am about to proceed to +Lepanto to-morrow, and endeavour to destroy the Turkish vessels +there. I then go outside, to pass General Church over into Roumelia, +and afterwards blockade Missolonghi, Patras, and Lepanto. +The want of the gunboats here is much felt by me at this moment, +as, in going out, I must leave the Gulf to the Turks; who, even +should I be fortunate enough to destroy the enemy's vessels at +Lepanto, will always have here armed boats enough to command +the Gulf. +</p> + +<p> +I must also beg of your lordship to consider us in money matters. +I am now seven thousand pounds out of pocket by Greek affairs, +and I am daily now expending my own money for the public service. +Our prizes are serving for transports for the army, and I +must either shortly abandon this important position or be paid. +</p> + +<p> +It is most likely that if all the important points I have mentioned +could be blockaded, the Turks would be soon reduced, from +the blockade being so much more easily maintained than elsewhere. +Without money, you must be aware I cannot maintain this vessel; +and all to be expected from General Church, you must be aware, +is plenty of promises. The General is already overwhelmed with +expectants, and if he had millions would not be able to command +a farthing. I will do all I can; but I must repeat, it is not quite +fair I should end a beggar after all the labour, vexation, and disappointment +I have experienced for so many years. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXVI. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, off Cape Papas, Nov. 20th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to inform you I passed the Castles on the +18th, with the three prizes and mistico in company. I lost two +men killed and one wounded in passing; the other vessels passed +without suffering any damage. It had been my intention to attack +the Turkish squadron at Lepanto, but the wind was so strong on +the land, that I felt I could not effect my object; and, anxious to +profit by the same wind to go out and aid the operations of the +army outside, and blockade the fortresses, I passed through without +waiting a more favourable moment of attack. At Patras I found a +schooner, whose suspicious conduct—in abstaining for a long time +from hoisting any colours, and, when she afterwards showed Austrian, +persisting in drawing closer under the Turkish battery—induced +me to fire and bring her out. After waiting a little, and +finding no attention paid to my warning, I fired again, and sunk +her. I hear she was Austrian. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXVII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Petala, Dec. 2nd, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I had the honour to write to you from Cape Papas, informing +you that I had come out of the Gulf of Lepanto, and was waiting +to embark the troops of General Church. I now beg leave to +acquaint you that I arrived at Dragomestre the day before yesterday +with the three prizes, which have been serving as transports to +General Church's army for six weeks. We brought over six hundred +soldiers, artillery, horses, &c.; and I am now returning to Cape +Papas to embark a second division. I heard of the gunboat <i>Helvetia</i>, +M. Fabricius, being at Kataculo, and I sent immediately to +order him to join me, which he did, and is now at Cape Papas. +While at Kataculo, the gunboat was attacked by a Turkish brig of +twenty-four guns. M. Fabricius defended himself with much +spirit, and obliged the brig to retire. I have since heard that the +same brig is now off Previsa. If the service here will permit my +absence, I think of going to look after her. The Gulf of Lepanto +is now left entirely in the hands of the Turks, and I wish to send +the gunboat in to assist the expedition against Salona, but the +crew having been so long about here, suffering much hardship and +without pay, are very dissatisfied. I have given the boat a new +mast, anchor, cable, provisions, ammunition, &c., and I will even +advance them a little money, if they will go into the Gulf. I should +hope, however, that your lordship will reimburse me for these expenses, +extra of my own vessel. As you may imagine, I am almost +entirely without coals, and cannot get a sufficient quantity of the +pitch-pine to burn; the other pine will not answer, and therefore I +am reduced to sails. General Church had ordered round here a +Psariot brig he had at Kenkness, and I wrote to M. Koering to +request him to put coals on board of her, which, I understand, M. +Koering refused. From the manner in which I have been frequently +treated, one would imagine that this vessel was not a Greek +but an enemy's vessel. I trust your lordship will remedy this, and +put me on a fair footing with the other Greek national vessels. I +wish your lordship could also contrive to let me have some money, +to cover the expenses of this vessel, which, for three months that +we have been absent from Poros, cannot be supposed trifling. As I +conceive it important, under existing circumstances, to keep the +blockade of Patras, Missolonghi, and the Gulf, I will remain as long +as my destitute situation will permit me. Since I have been here +I do not think any vessels have entered the Gulf. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXVIII. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Dragomestre, Dec. 8th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to inform you that I have passed over the +army of General Church to this port, amounting to about twelve +hundred men, with six pieces of artillery, and about sixty horses, +mules, &c. The General has been joined by Maori and some other +captains, which may have increased his force to two thousand men. +He is in hourly expectation of being joined by Zouga, and even +Varnachioti is expected to come over. The Monastery of Ligovitza, +on the road from Arta to Lepanto and Missolonghi, is said to +have been possessed by the troops of the General. This post is of +importance. The troops have all marched from Patras to Navarino, +and nothing remains but some Albanians and the inhabitants. +Lepanto is thinly peopled; all have little provisions as well as +Missolonghi. From what I know of Lepanto and the Castles, I am +confident that, if your lordship was to attack it with the squadron +you command, and General Church was to make even a demonstration +of attack by land, it must fall in forty-eight hours' time. Lepanto +lies on the face of a hill open to the sea; every shot and shell +and rocket must tell somewhere, and they would readily capitulate. +We must not take the Monastery of the Piraeus as an example. At +Lepanto the Turks have their families—this particular always +operates upon them; but whether it did or not, the place would +be taken, and I am not one who overrates the capabilities of the +Greeks. I fear, however, that General Church has other projects, +and such as, according to my opinion, are very unlikely to succeed. +So much so that, if your lordship does not arrive or send me orders, +I shall return to the Archipelago, rather than lend myself to +measures which appear to me worse than useless. I must again beg +of your lordship not to forget us in the way of money, provisions, +ammunition, coals, &c. We are now more than three months +absent from Poros. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXIX. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, off Vasiladhi, Dec. 27th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have now been twelve days before Vasiladhi, and since our +arrival I have every reason to believe they have neither received +provisions nor water. The weather has usually been so bad, that I +have only been able to bombard it twice, and the gunboat having +few shot, I have exchanged her 32 for one of our 68's, with shells; +since which I have not been able to batter it, owing to the weather. +I am satisfied they are now at their last shifts in the fort; and if I +could remain before it a week longer, and bombard it for a couple +of days, I doubt not it would fall into our hands. I regret of all +things not having the flat-bottomed gunboat here; with her we would +have had the fort before this. General Church was to have attacked +Anatolico, and might have taken it, in the first instance, with little +or no resistance; but he delayed till too late, and then came +without an ounce of provisions, and returned the day after to +Dragomestre. This man is such an insufferable quack, that I cannot +act any longer with him; he affects to command the navy as well +as the army; and although I have given him one or two rather +rough lessons, he, the other day, captured with a boat of his a spy +of mine, on his way to me, and carried him off without mentioning +a word of it to me. The man merely came here the other day, +supposing Vasiladhi about to surrender, that he might say he +took it. God knows there is no merit due, unless to the boats +blockading inside. I have received letters to-day from the Gulf, and +I find the expedition at Trisonia is in alarm of being blockaded by +the Turkish vessels at Lepanto. The loss of the gunboats from the +Gulf is almost irreparable. If your lordship could send them +round here with a brig, it would be of infinite service. I am +so in want of ammunition, provisions, fuel, &c., that I hardly know +what to do, but if possible I will re-enter the Gulf to assist them +there. I wrote by Mr. Finlay, announcing to your lordship that +if the whole squadron was to come round here, I am satisfied that +Missolonghi, Patras, Lepanto, and the Castles might be taken. +They are much straitened for provisions at all, but particularly at +Missolonghi and Lepanto, and the Castles could be taken by force. +Patras is now provisioned daily by one of Church's generals, +Neneka, from Zante, <i>viâ</i> Clarenza. Dr. Gosse informs me how much +you are in want of money. I trust, however, if you obtain any, I +shall not be forgotten. I have only received six hundred dollars +from General Church, and my expenses have been enormous, for +fuel, provisions, &c. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXX. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, off Vasiladhi, Dec. 29th, 1827. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to inform you that, after having transported +the troops of General Church from Cape Papas to Dragomestre, +I undertook the blockade of Vasiladhi, for which purpose I +put in requisition the small craft after-mentioned, and employed them +to intercept all communication with Vasiladhi. This flotilla I placed +under the orders of my first lieutenant, M. Falanga; and on the +night of the 16th they entered, and commenced the blockade, which +has been so strictly observed up to this day, that nothing had entered +Vasiladhi. One boat, with a letter and fresh provisions, was captured +by our flotilla. I anchored, the gunboat <i>Helvetia</i> in company, +outside Vasiladhi. Your lordship is aware that the <i>Helvetia</i> was +armed with a long 32-pounder, which, in my opinion, is very +inferior in every point of view to a 68, but indisputably so for +cannonading a fort only to be reduced by shells. For this reason I +changed her 32-pounder long gun for a 68-pounder cannonade. On +the 22nd I bombarded Vasiladhi alone (the gunboat having been +detached), with little effect, the weather being unfavourable; nor +could I recommence until to-day, when, considering the distance +we were off (about one and three-quarter mile), and the diminutive +size of the object fired at, better practice has rarely been displayed: +four shells out of seven from this ship and gunboat exploded in, and +one blew up, their magazine. I immediately ordered an assault, +in which all the boats took part. The Turks, intimidated by the +explosion, and by our attitude of attack, called for quarter, which +I granted them, although they had previously forfeited their lives +by firing on a flag of truce I sent to them with terms of capitulation. +I embarked the prisoners on board this ship, and from thence +conveyed them in safety to near Missolonghi. They were thirty in +number; and one Greek badly wounded I have retained on board to +be treated by our surgeon. The original number was from forty to +fifty, the deficit having been killed off by our previous cannonading +and by the explosion. I am happy, my lord, to testify to the +exemplary conduct of the Greeks during the whole of this service; +they have borne the fatigues and privations of a winter's blockade +in open boats with extraordinary patience, and the forbearance +they displayed towards the Turks rendered any interference of +mine in their favour superfluous. Of my officers, Lieutenant +Falanga and Captain Hane, M.A., I have only to repeat the often-told +tale of their meritorious conduct. To M. Fabricius, commanding +the gunboat <i>Helvetia</i>, I feel much indebted for his zeal +and activity, and I am happy to have so deserving an officer under +my orders. The fort of Vasiladhi mounts twelve guns, three +of which are of that remarkably useful piece of ordnance, the +Turkish licorne. I have offered to deliver the Fort of Vasiladhi to +General Church upon his remunerating for their services those +employed in taking it. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<p> + List of small vessels employed in taking Vasiladhi. +</p> +<ul style="list-style-type:none;"> + <li> A mistico, Galaxidhiote, Captain Urgaki; the same sent with me into + the Gulf of Lepanto, and who has served with me ever since.</li> + + <li> A mistico, Galaxidhiote.</li> + + <li> A bonée.</li> + + <li> An armed row-boat.</li> + + <li> Two of my prize launches, armed each with a 9-pounder.</li> + + <li> A bratsiera.</li> + + <li> Five monoxolies, or canoes, for the shallows.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="ctr gap"> +XXXI. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +<i>Karteria</i>, Dragomestre, Jan. 7th, 1828. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p> +I have the honour to acquaint you that General Church +arrived before Vasiladhi on the 2nd inst.; and I resigned to him +that fort on the third, requesting him to refund the expenses of +taking it; these consist of five dollars per man bounty, besides the +provisions of the flotilla employed in the blockade. The General +has promised to repay this, although not without expressing some +surprise at the demand; yet the guns he receives in the fort would +pay the whole sum. +</p> + +<p> +On the same day I received an official letter from General +Church, requesting me to inform him what co-operation he might +expect from the navy in a projected attack of his on Anatolico. +According to the wish of General Church, I agreed to send all the +boats at my disposal that night, to attempt to capture an island +named Poros, commanding the entrance into the Lake of Anatolico, +where the Turks had a post, and we heard he was filling up the passage, +and about to place guns on another island, which would +render him entirely master of the entrance. I soon discovered +that what General Church calls the cooperation of the navy is in +reality the navy executing the service, and the army looking on at +its leisure, ready to take possession if success attended the arms of +the former. I had understood that I was to be supported by two +rocket-boats of General Church, and by the launch of the Psarian +brig, carrying a carronade to throw grenades; but these did not +appear. A dozen policaries arrived from General Church, and +were embarked in the expedition. At half-past three <span class="sc">a.m.</span> of the +4th inst. I arrived with five boats out of nine (the rest having unaccountably +kept behind) at a narrow part of the passage of the lake, +across which the Turks had built a wall, and stationed a gunboat +behind it. The Turkish boat was soon put to flight; the sailors +jumping into the water soon cleared away a passage for the boats, +and the five of our boats rowed upon Poros, the Turks keeping up +a brisk fire of musketry from that island, and of cannon from +Anatolico. We were now within pistol-shot of Poros, when I +found, to my surprise, a fort on it—which I had been assured there +was not, or I would not have attempted the attack, knowing that in +our warfare their holds are not to be thus taken. Seeing no reasonable +hope of succeeding, I ordered a retreat; and having repassed +by the way we entered, found General Church's detachment +lying flat in the bottom of their boats out of gun-shot. To +say that my officers, Captain Hane, M.A., and Lieutenant Falanga, +also M. Fabricius, commanding the gunboat <i>Helvetia</i>, accompanied +me, is to commend them for their accustomed zeal and gallantry. I +cannot conclude without mentioning the name of Chrysanto, who, +after having aided at Vasiladhi, was with me here in his own boat, +and displayed much courage. He had one man wounded, the only +loss we sustained. Perceiving that Anatolico was not to be taken +by us; that General Church's troops were (without provisions) +somewhere in a marsh, where our boats could not get to embark +them, and that they might have marched on the mainland close +to Anatolico; being without provisions in this ship, and seeing no +possibility of rendering any service by remaining longer before +Vasiladhi, I returned to this port to provide for our immediate +wants, and in the hopes of meeting Dr. Gosse, and procuring from +him some funds for the maintenance of my crew, which I think +your lordship will see the necessity of providing me with, as I have +not received more than two thousand dollars during five months, +and I have latterly been maintaining this ship in provisions and +fuel, besides furnishing money and provisions to the gunboat and +flotilla inside Vasiladhi. +</p> + +<p class="middle"> +I have the honour to be, &c., +</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="sc">F. A. Hastings</span>. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="small ctr"> +LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. +</p> + +<hr /> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2>Footnotes</h2> + +<p> +<a href="#ref01" id="fn01">[1]</a> "These men," says the same authority, "generally speaking, from +their complexions, evinced that they had been mariners all their lives, the +sun having well tanned them. They wore small red caps, from which +their hair flowed wildly down their shoulders. On the upper lip they +wore very long mustachios, which the older ones were continually curling, +and bringing out the point. They wore trousers of blue cotton, and a +jacket; and by the immense capacity of the former, I should suppose they +must have contained at least twelve yards. This was gathered into plaits +round the waist, and only descended to the knees, which were left open. +The hinder part presented a most singular appearance. It hung down +almost trailing upon the ground in a huge bag, which kept moving backwards +and forwards in a ludicrous manner at every motion of the body. +They wore shoes, but no stockings; and their legs were as dark as their +countenances, and covered with hair. Round their waist they wore a large +red sash in several folds. Their jacket was similar to a waistcoat, with +sleeves, and ornamented with small buttons from the wrist to the elbow, +and the same on the bosom."—"Wanderings in Greece." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref02" id="fn02">[2]</a> See especially Trikoupes, vol. iv., p. 126, and Gordon, vol. ii., p. 364. +Mr. Finlay approves of the choice, but, not caring to say anything in favour +of Lord Cochrane, makes no mention of his share in the work. Vol. ii., +p. 139. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref03" id="fn03">[3]</a> Gordon, vol. ii., p. 386. As Gordon was with Lord Cochrane at the +time, and on intimate relations with him, it is strange, unless he himself, +with far less excuse, shared the error for which he blamed him, that he did +not advise him to pursue his former plan. Compare Trikoupes, vol. iv., +p. 137, who blames and involuntarily acquits Lord Cochrane almost in the +same breath. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref04" id="fn04">[4]</a> Trikoupes, Gordon, Finlay, and all the other authorities, say that +Lord Cochrane had 20,000<i>l</i>. He had only been supplied with 8,000<i>l</i>; +and nearly all this sum had been already disposed of in fitting out the fleet +at Poros, and paying the seamen's wages. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref05" id="fn05">[5]</a> Finlay, vol. ii., p. 148. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref06" id="fn06">[6]</a> Trikoupes, vol. iv., p. 152. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref07" id="fn07">[7]</a> Gordon, vol. ii., p. 392. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref08" id="fn08">[8]</a> "The admiral," says Gordon, "weighed with the <i>Hellas</i> and <i>Karteria</i> +alone, leaving the rest of his squadron to draw pay and rations at Porto Kheli" +(vol. ii., p. 415). The fact was that all the rest of his squadron that was fit +for service was sent to the Negropont; and Lord Cochrane left directions +that the other vessels, as soon as there were men to be rationed and funds +for paying them, should follow him to Clarenza. But they only came to +run away. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref09" id="fn09">[9]</a> It is singular that at this early date Lord Cochrane should thus have +advised and prognosticated the construction of the Suez Canal. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref10" id="fn10">[10]</a> "The admiral," says Gordon (vol. ii., pp. 421, 422), "was less gratified +at his victory than mortified that so inferior a vessel should have fought +the <i>Hellas</i> for three-quarters of an hour, and disgusted at the backwardness +of his crew. In his first cruise he carried with him four hundred men +recruited in the Cyclades; but as they ran below in his engagement with +the two Egyptian corvettes, he discharged them and took Hydriots alone. +These last, though better mariners, and really more courageous, were disconcerted +by his system of reserving fire till within pistol-shot—so different +from their own plan of cannonading at a mile's distance. 'The boys,' said +Cochrane, 'behaved pretty well; but the oldest, and ugliest, and fiercest-looking +bravoes of Hydra ran to the other side of the deck, roaring like +market-bulls.' His lordship took summary satisfaction by knocking them +down with his fists, right and left." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref11" id="fn11">[11]</a> Gordon, vol. ii., pp. 403, 404. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref12" id="fn12">[12]</a> See <a href="#app">Appendix</a>. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref13" id="fn13">[13]</a> Dr. Gosse had remained in Greece during Lord Cochrane's absence, +and he continued to reside in Greece for a few months after his friend's +final departure. He won for himself much gratitude, not only by his +zealous work in war time, but by the skill and patience with which he +sought to reduce the plague which raged in Greece in 1827 and 1828. +Two proofs of the popularity which he fairly won are as follows. The +first, dated the 17th of June, 1828, was signed by twenty-three leading +inhabitants of Poros. +</p> + +<p> +"Nous citoyens de Poros, reconnaissant dans la personne de M. le +Docteur Louis André Gosse, un homme animé du philhellénisme le plus +sincère et doué de vertus éminentes, considérant son zèle ardent et infatigable +pourtant en ce qui concerne le bien de la patrie et pour la cause +sacrée de la Grèce et en particulier témoins des soins philanthropiques +qu'il a prodigués aux indigens, persuadés d'autre part que ses qualités rares +contribueront à l'amélioration de la morale du peuple Grec, et animés du +désir d'attacher à notre Ile cette homme vertueux; d'une voix unanime et +d'un accord commun concédons le droit de bourgeoisie au susdit M.L.A. +Gosse, pour qu'il jonisse dorénavant du titre et des droits de citoyen +Poriote indigène. En foi de quoi nous lui avons délivré la présente." +</p> + +<p> +The other document was issued by President Capodistrias on the 23rd of +February, 1829. +</p> + +<p> +"La lettre que vous venez de m'adresser, datée du 21 Février, et les +comptes qu'elle renferme, sont une nouvelle preuve du zèle et de l'extrême +exactitude, par laquelle vous vous êtes toujours montré digne de la confiance +des amis généreux de la Grèce. +</p> + +<p> +"Je n'ai pas besoin de vous répéter combien la nation sait apprécier les +services que vous lui avez rendus, et combien de reconnaissance je vous +dois en particulier. C'est à mon instance que vous avez prolongé d'un an +votre séjour en Grèce. Dans cet espace, et surtout dans l'été dernier, la +peste et les maladies qui vinrent augmenter nos malheurs et nos souffrances, +vous ont fourni l'occasion de co-opérer par un noble dénouement a l'accomplissement +des mesures sanitaires qui à l'aide de la Providence ont +conjuré les manx majeurs, dont la Patrie était menacée. +</p> + +<p> +"Maintenant vous devez remplir des désirs qui honorent vos sentiments, +vous allez retourner dans votre heureuse patrie, auprès de votre mère. +Mes voeux vous y accompagneront, je vous souhaite toute sorte de bonheur. +La Grèce ne peut dans ce moment vous exprimer d'autre manière sa +reconnaissance, mais un jour viendra, je l'espère, dans lequel elle le pourra +et son Gouvernement s'empressera alors d'acquitter sa dette envers vous, +ainsi qu'envers les autres étrangers, qui sincèrement et généreusement ont +servi sa cause sacrée. +</p> + +<p> +"Lorsque vos affaires et vos intérêts le permettront, vous vous occuperez +toujours du bien de la Grèce; vous lui serez toujours utile partout où vous +vous trouverez; mais si vous voulez lui être utile plus directement, revenez +encore au milieu d'un peuple qui vous connaît et qui vous aime, et +son gouvernement se hâtera de vous mettre à même de lui rendre encore de +grands services. +</p> + +<p> +"Recevez en attendant l'expression de ces sentiments, avec l'assurance de +la considération le plus distinguée." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref14" id="fn14">[14]</a> "My dear Lord Durham," wrote the Earl of Dundonald, on the 15th +of April, "allow me most sincerely to congratulate you on the attainment +of the great object which the present Administration has now, so honourably +for themselves and so fortunately for the country, brought to a pass wherein +no retrograde movement can take place, whatever may be the obstructions +offered by the interested proprietors of borough influence, or by persons +whose ideas of Government have been formed under the tuition of preceding +Administrations. It is rare felicity for a nation to be governed by men +having the liberality and justice which induce them to confer free institutions +peacefully on the country; institutions which merit the gratitude +of all who now exist, and will receive the unqualified applause of future +generations. The page of history affords no parallel to the present event." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref15" id="fn15">[15]</a> It is interesting to note that the recent introduction among us of the +Turkish bath was due to Lord Dundonald. "Having recovered," says +Dr. Gosse, in his treatise "Du Bain Turc," p. 58, "from two attacks of +intermitting fever, I visited the islands of the Archipelago until summoned +to Nauplia by Admiral Cochrane, who was then on board the little steam-vessel +<i>Mercury</i>. There the air of the gulf, and the marshy miasma, +brought on another attack of fever, from which I feared a fatal issue. Lord +Cochrane had the kindness to take me in his arms, and to place me in +the current of steam, which caused me to perspire freely. My illness +disappeared as by enchantment." A similar service was rendered by Lord +Dundonald to Mr. David Urquhart, whose attention was thus called to the +advantages of the Turkish bath, and who became its great advocate. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref16" id="fn16">[16]</a> John Bourne. "A Treatise on the Steam-Engine" (1861), p. 392. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref17" id="fn17">[17]</a> John Bourne. "A Treatise on the Screw Propeller, Screw Vessels, +and Screw Engines" (1867), p. 42. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref18" id="fn18">[18]</a> John Bourne. "A Treatise on the Steam Engine" (1861), p. 233. +These boilers, extensively used in London, America, and elsewhere, and +now introduced in the Admiralty ship-building, have been greatly improved +by Lord Dundonald's son, Captain the Hon. A. A. Cochrane, C.B. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref19" id="fn19">[19]</a> The following statement of Lord Dundonald's "axiom" accompanied +the model which was submitted to the Admiralty:—"It is universally +admitted that a sharp <i>bow</i> and a clear <i>run</i> contribute to the speed of +vessels; but what the consecutive lines ought to be, in order to constitute a +perfect <i>bow</i>, or what those to form the <i>run</i>, no builder has yet exemplified +by uniformity of practice, or theoretically defined. Ship-delineators profess +the art as a mystery, and arbitrary forms are assumed as the result of +science. These lines ought to be, by an axiom, founded on a law imposed +by Infinite Wisdom for the perfect guidance of inanimate matter. Projectiles, +thrown obliquely, take their flight in convex parabolic curves, +wherein resistance is overcome by a minimum of force; and elastic surfaces +obey the converse of that law in opposing certain external influences. It +is a property of conic sections that a straight line, centred in the apex, and +caused to circumscribe the surface of the cone, will apply itself continuously +to all consecutive parabolic curves. Hence curves similar to the flight of +projectiles, and to those formed by the flection of elastic surfaces, may be +described on a large scale simply by causing a straight line or beam to +revolve as on the axis of a cone, in contact with a parabolic or elliptical +section. Thus a consecutive series of convex parabolic or elliptical curves +may be substituted in ship-building for hollow fantastical lines. The +benefits from which application are, increased velocity, capacity, strength, +buoyancy, facility of steering, ease in hard seas, and exemption from +breaking or 'hogging.'" Diagrams and explanations thereof accompanied +this concise statement of the principle. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref20" id="fn20">[20]</a> Part of a letter which Lord Dundonald received on this subject four +years afterwards from Mr. Joseph Hume, though quoted in his "Autobiography," +is too important to be here omitted. "I considered," wrote +the great champion of public economy, on the 10th of May, 1852, "that +you were incapable of taking the means that were resorted to by Mr. Cochrane +Johnstone, and for which you suffered; and I was pleased to learn +that you had been restored to your rank. I considered that act a proof +that the Government which had restored you to the rank and honours of +your profession, and had afterwards appointed you to the command in the +West Indies, must have come to the same conclusion; and, until the +perusal of your draft petition, I concluded that you had all your arrears +paid to you as a tardy, though inadequate, return to your lordship, whose +early exploits did honour to yourself, and gave additional lustre to the +naval service of the country to which you belonged.... His Majesty +King William IV. was satisfied with the innocence of Sir Robert Wilson, +and he was restored to the service—was, I understand, paid all the arrears +of pay and allowances during his suspension, and afterwards appointed to +the command of Gibraltar. I was pleased at the result; and it would give +me equal pleasure to learn that your application to her Majesty should be +attended with an act of justice to you equally merited." Lord Palmerston +subsequently, in answer to an application from Lord Dundonald—forgetting +Sir Robert Wilson's case—said there was no precedent for such an act. +Lord Dundonald answered that there was no precedent for such injustice as +had been done to him. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref21" id="fn21">[21]</a> The great Chartist who, having been tried and sentenced to +transportation, had been sent to Bermuda in May, 1848. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref22" id="fn22">[22]</a> Published in 1861 as a pamphlet, entitled, "Notes on the Mineralogy, +Government, and Condition of the British West India Islands and North +American Maritime Colonies." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref23" id="fn23">[23]</a> The following patents, for the use of the Trinidad bitumen, were taken +out by Lord Dundonald:—1851. "Improvements in the construction and +manufacture of sewers, drains, waterways, pipes, reservoirs, and receptacles +for liquids or solids, and for the making of columns, pillars, capitals, pedestals, +bases, and other useful and ornamental objects, from a substance +never heretofore employed for such manufactures."—1852. "Improvements +in coating and insulating wire."—1852. "Improving bituminous substances, +thereby rendering them available for purposes to which they never +heretofore have been successfully applied."—1853. "Improvements in +producing compositions or combinations of bituminous, resinous, and +gummy matters, and thereby obtaining products useful in the arts and +manufactures."—1853. "Improvements in apparatus for laying pipes in +the earth, and in the juncture of such pipes." +</p> + +<p> +The "Observations on the long-desired, yet still unaccomplished +proceeding, whereby to effect the embankment of the Thames and free +the river from pollution," by the Earl of Dundonald, are especially interesting +at the present time:—"It will probably be admitted that the +Thames above bridge is unnecessarily broad, unless considered as a recipient +for back-water; and that the long margin of shallow water between London +Bridge and that of Vauxhall is of little importance, even for that purpose, +as gravel, sand, and other substances, may advantageously be removed +from the central bed of the river, fully to compensate for the water that +would be excluded by an embankment of one-sixth on both sides of the +channel. +</p> + +<p> +"An easy method of accomplishing this object would be to cut a ditch +on each shore, equidistant from the centre, and fill it with bituminous +concrete, as the foundation of a parapet or wharf to be formed of similar +materials. Within this a main sewer might be excavated, and constructed +in like manner of conglomerated gravel and sand from the spot. +</p> + +<p> +"It will of course occur that, although roads may be carried over the +entrances of the various docks by swing-bridges, yet these entrances present +obstacles to a direct line of sewers. +</p> + +<p> +"To enable this difficulty to be overcome, very solid tunnels, floored with +hard pavement stones, set in bitumen, may be caused to descend in subverted +curves below the entrances of the docks, whence all matters deposited +may occasionally be removed by see-saw locomotive dredges on wheels, +worked either by mechanical power, or by the current acting directly on +the dredge." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref24" id="fn24">[24]</a> The following letter, dated "Buckingham Palace, March 4, 1859," +gave pleasure to Lord Dundonald:—"My Lord,—I have received the +commands of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort to return you his best +thanks for the copy of your 'Narrative,' which you have been good enough +to send to his Royal Highness, and upon which his Royal Highness will +place a high value. I am directed further to say that it would add materially +to that value if you would have the kindness to write in the first +page of the accompanying volume that it was presented by your lordship to +the Prince. I have the honour to be, my lord, your most obedient humble +servant,—C.B. Phipps." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref25" id="fn25">[25]</a> Almost the last letter written by Lord Dundonald was this to +Lord Brougham:—"My dear Lord Brougham,—I have the pleasure to +forward you the second volume of my 'Autobiography,' in which you will +find that use has been made of the kind expressions towards myself contained +in your works. Of the injustice done to me I need not tell you, +who are so well acquainted with the subject. If the accompanying volume +succeeds in impressing on the public mind the sentiments so unflinchingly +set forth in your works, it will have answered its purpose; and that it will +do so I see no reason to doubt, now that the subject can be canvassed apart +from political rancour. I am, my dear Lord Brougham, ever faithfully +yours,—Dundonald." Lord Brougham's answer was dated from Paris, on +the 31st of October, the very day of his friend's death. "I have just received +your very kind letter, and I daresay the volume will very speedily +reach me.... One thing I fear you do not come down late enough to +relate. I mean the impression made upon all present when I took you to +the Tuileries; and when the name of Cochrane, so well known to them +(and which I cannot bring myself to change for your present title), was no +sooner heard than there was a general start and shudder. I remember +saying, as we drove away, that it ought to satisfy you as to your disappointment +at Basque Roads; and you answered that you would rather +have had the ships." +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#ref26" id="fn26">[26]</a> These lines, by Mr. Tom Taylor, were published in "Punch." +</p> + +<div class="notes gap"> +<p> +<strong>Transcriber's note:</strong> +</p> +<p> +The following typographical errors were corrected: +</p> +<ul> +<li> +<a href="#corr1">Chapter VII, page 25</a>: "intrusted" changed to "entrusted" +</li> +<li> +<a href="#corr2">Appendix, letter IX, page 380</a>: "vessel," changed to "vessel." +</li> +</ul> +</div> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE ***</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 26067-h.htm or 26067-h.zip</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/6/26067/</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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