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diff --git a/26067-0.txt b/26067-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b1d098 --- /dev/null +++ b/26067-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10030 @@ +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 + +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 +www.gutenberg.org. 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. + +Title: The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald, Vol. II + +Author: Thomas Lord Cochrane + H. R. Fox Bourne + +Release Date: July 15, 2008 [eBook #26067] +[Most recently updated: January 23, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: Stefan Cramme, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE *** + + + + +THE LIFE OF + +THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE, + +TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B., ADMIRAL OF THE RED, +REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET, ETC., ETC., + +COMPLETING "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN." + +BY + +THOMAS, ELEVENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, + +AND + +H. R. FOX BOURNE, + +AUTHOR OF "ENGLISH SEAMEN UNDER THE TUDORS," ETC. ETC. + +_IN TWO VOLUMES._ + +VOL. II. + + +LONDON: +RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, +Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. +1869. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. + + + PAGE + +CHAPTER XVII. + +[1827.] + +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 1 + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +[1827.] + +The Siege of Athens--The Defenders of the Acropolis.--The Efforts of +Gordon and KaraÔskakes.--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 KaraÔskakes.--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.--KaraÔskakes'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 KaraÔskakes.--The March to the +Acropolis.--Its Failure through the Perversity of the Greeks.--The +Battle of Athens.--The Fall of the Acropolis 31 + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +[1827.] + +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 77 + + +CHAPTER XX. + +[1827.] + +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 114 + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +[1827-1828.] + +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 134 + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +[1828-1829.] + +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 + 162 + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +[1828-1832.] + +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 197 + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +[1833-1847.] + +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 _Janus_.--The Beneficial Results of his Experiments + 221 + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +[1833-1848.] + +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 246 + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +[1839-1848.] + +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 273 + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +[1848.] + +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 294 + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +[1848-1850.] + +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 307 + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +[1851-1853.] + +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 + 328 + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +[1851-1860.] + +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 337 + + * * * * * + +APPENDIX. + +(Page 161.)--Captain Frank Abney Hastings's Letters to Lord Cochrane +(1827) 370 + + + + +THE LIFE + +OF + +THOMAS, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +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. + +[1827.] + + +Lord Cochrane entered the Egean Sea with his little schooner _Unicorn_ +and the French brig _Sauveur_ 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." + +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." + +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." + +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 _Unicorn_ 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.[1] 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 _Hellas_ +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 _Hellas_, 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." + + [1] "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." + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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." + +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.'" + +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." + +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. + +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." + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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.[2] 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 +entrusted to a Vice-governing Commission composed of three inefficient +men, Georgios Mavromichales, Milaites of Psara, and Nakos of Livadia. + + [2] 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. + +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." + +The election of Sir Richard Church as Generalissimo of the Land Forces +was, in like manner, completed on the 15th of April. + +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. + +"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." + +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." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE SIEGE OF ATHENS.--THE DEFENDERS OF THE ACROPOLIS.--THE EFFORTS OF +GORDON AND KARAœSKAKES.--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 KARAœSKAKES.--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.--KARAœSKAKES'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 KARAœSKAKES.--THE MARCH TO THE +ACROPOLIS.--ITS FAILURE THROUGH THE PERVERSITY OF THE GREEKS.--THE +BATTLE OF ATHENS.--THE FALL OF THE ACROPOLIS. + +[1827.] + + +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 KaraÔskakes and Fabvier, each with a strong body of troops, +who diverted the enemy by formidable attacks in the rear. KaraÔskakes +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. + +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 KaraÔskakes, with some two thousand five +hundred followers, was stationed at Keratsina, on the other side of +the PirÊus. 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. + +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 KaraÔskakes, 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, KaraÔskakes 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." + +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."[3] 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 KaraÔskakes, to +co-operate in the direct attack upon the enemy in the PirÊus. "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." + + [3] 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. + +Something was done by Lord Cochrane at once, however, towards the +fulfilment of his first design. He despatched Captain Abney Hastings, +with the _Karteria_ 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. + +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 _Hellas_ 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." + +On the 17th of April, Lord Cochrane passed from Poros to Salamis in +the _Hellas_, 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. + +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 _Hellas_ from KaraÔskakes, 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. + +Lord Cochrane's popularity with the troops and their leaders, for the +time at any rate, was unbounded. KaraÔskakes, 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, KaraÔskakes 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. + +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. + +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 KaraÔskakes 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." + +That letter to KaraÔskakes 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 +KaraÔskakes 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 KaraÔskakes 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 KaraÔskakes'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 KaraÔskakes's way than the church of Poros. + +"Since writing the above," Lord Cochrane added, "I have received your +note requesting that six hundred men shall be transported hence to +KaraÔskakes'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 +KaraÔskakes'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 KaraÔskakes'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 KaraÔskakes 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." + +The "bugbear of a convent," which KaraÔskakes 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 PirÊus, 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 KaraÔskakes 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. KaraÔskakes, +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. KaraÔskakes 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 8,000l. supplied to him out of the +Greek loan for naval purposes.[4] It may be that KaraÔskakes--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." + + [4] Trikoupes, Gordon, Finlay, and all the other authorities, say that + Lord Cochrane had 20,000l. He had only been supplied with 8,000l; and + nearly all this sum had been already disposed of in fitting out the + fleet at Poros, and paying the seamen's wages. + +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 PirÊus, "to carry you all over to the +rear of the enemy, if KaraÔskakes'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 KaraÔskakes'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 KaraÔskakes's men without food, taking all +the provisions to the advanced post, leaving him to starve or come +on." + +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. + +"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." + +By this success the Turks, with exception of the garrison in the +convent, were driven back to the neighbourhood of Athens, and +KaraÔskakes was encouraged to remove his camp from Keratsina to the +PirÊus. At a council of war held the same evening Lord Cochrane urged +a sudden and united attack upon the Turkish camp on the morrow. +KaraÔskakes, 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. + +Early next morning the bombardment of the monastery was begun. The +_Hellas_, 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 KaraÔskakes on land. But its +garrison held out with excellent bravery. Thrice the Greeks tried to +storm it; but thrice they were driven back. + +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 KaraÔskakes 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 +KaraÔskakes to continue storming it by land. + +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 KaraÔskakes, "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." + +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." + +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. +KaraÔskakes is at this moment going round his outposts. As soon as he +returns, I shall send for him and combine with him, _bon grÈ mal grÈ_, +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." + +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 KaraÔskakes +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 KaraÔskakes 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 KaraÔskakes." + +KaraÔskakes 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 _Hellas_. 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. + +The Turks had again sent offers of capitulation, and KaraÔskakes, 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. KaraÔskakes 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. + +Lord Cochrane watched their proceedings from the deck of the +_Unicorn_, 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."[5] + + [5] Finlay, vol. ii., p. 148. + +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 KaraÔskakes to the Moslems, after vainly trying to stay the +slaughter; "I can do nothing more for you." + +"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." + +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. KaraÔskakes found himself unable to establish order, and +had to entreat Sir Richard Church to take back his surrendered +authority. + +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 KaraÔskakes, 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." + +KaraÔskakes'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." + +"I am making my last effort," wrote Lord Cochrane to Dr. Gosse, "to +get KaraÔskakes 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." + +The letter to KaraÔskakes 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. + +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 KaraÔskakes. 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 KaraÔskakes's tambourias. If, +however, you judge well to have volunteers from KaraÔskakes'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 +KaraÔskakes deserted, and the whole mob at the gates of Athens. All +the vessels are at your service." + +Sir Richard Church feared to undertake the exploit without the +co-operation of KaraÔskakes, 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." + +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. KaraÔskakes, 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. KaraÔskakes, 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 KaraÔskakes." 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. + +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 KaraÔskakes. 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. + +With some bitterness, Lord Cochrane replied that such an excess of +grief was inopportune, and that their love for KaraÔskakes 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. + +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,"[6] and another "an insane scheme."[7] + + [6] Trikoupes, vol. iv., p. 152. + + [7] Gordon, vol. ii., p. 392. + +"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." + +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 PirÊus 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. + +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." + +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 KaraÔskakes," 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." + +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 _Hellas_, 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. + +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. + +Those falsehoods had been particularly mischievous. By them, as has +been shown, Lord Cochrane was induced to listen to the entreaties of +KaraÔskakes 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. + +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. + +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 KaraÔskakes 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. KaraÔskakes 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." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +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. + +[1827.] + + +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 PirÊus 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. + +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." + +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. + +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." + +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 8000l. 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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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 _Hellas_, attended by the +_Karteria_, under Captain Abney Hastings, in the direction of Cape +Clarenza, the north-westernmost point of the Morea, opposite to +Zante.[8] + + [8] "The admiral," says Gordon, "weighed with the _Hellas_ and + _Karteria_ 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. + +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 _Hellas_ 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." + +One capture, however, the _Hellas_ 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." + +A formal acknowledgment of that letter was all the answer received by +Lord Cochrane. + +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. + +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. + +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 _Karteria_ had been disabled by a squall, which took away both +her masts, and so had to return to Poros; and with the ill-manned +_Hellas_ 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. + +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." + +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 _Hellas_ 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. + +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 PirÊus--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. + +He collected all the vessels he could muster in the neighbourhood of +Cape Saint Angelo. His force consisted, besides the _Hellas_, of one +corvette, the _Sauveur_, which he had brought from Marseilles, +commanded by Captain Thomas, of fourteen Greek brigs and of eight +brulÙts or fireships. With these he started for Alexandria on the 11th +of June, the _Hellas_ 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." + +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 _Hellas_ and the +_Sauveur_, 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 _Hellas_ and the _Sauveur_ 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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +"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.[9] 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." + + [9] It is singular that at this early date Lord Cochrane should thus + have advised and prognosticated the construction of the Suez Canal. + +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." + +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 _Hellas_ 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. + +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 _Hellas_. 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. + +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 _Hellas_," 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. + +"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." + +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. + +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 _Hellas_ 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." + +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. + +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." + +"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." + +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." + +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 _Hellas_, on the 28th of July, for the +western side of the Morea. + +On the 29th, when near Cape St. Angelo, he fell in with the _Sauveur_, +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. + +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.[10] 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 _Sauveur_, +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. + + [10] "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 _Hellas_ 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." + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +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. + +[1827.] + + +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. + +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."[11] + + [11] Gordon, vol. ii., pp. 403, 404. + +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 +_Hellas_ 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. + +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. + +On the 24th he obtained a little further assistance. Mr. George +Cochrane, whom he had sent to Marseilles in the _Unicorn_, 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 5000l., which, though +altogether inadequate to the work to be done, made possible some work +at any rate. + +In the _Unicorn_ 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." + +His stay in Greece, however, was very brief. On the morning of the 6th +of September, all on board the _Hellas_ 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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +On the 7th of September, Lord Cochrane was able to start on another +warlike cruise. His force comprised the _Hellas_, the _Karteria_, the +_Sauveur_, 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. + +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 _Hellas_ 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 _Hellas_, and saw him depart." Thus Lord Cochrane's life was +saved. + +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!" + +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 _Karteria_, the _Sauveur_, 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 _Hellas_ 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." + +The communication referred to was conveyed by Lord Ingestre, commander +of the _Philomel_, who hailed the _Hellas_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +_Karteria_, under Captain Abney Hastings, the _Sauveur_, 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 _Sauveur_ and the gunboats soon silenced the +batteries; the red-hot shells of the _Karteria_ made havoc of the +enemy's vessels, four being defeated within half-an-hour. Soon the +_Sauveur_ and the gunboats joined in the attack on the shipping, and, +in the end, seven vessels were destroyed and three captured. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +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. + +[1827-1828.] + + +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. + +He was at Poros at the time of the battle. On his way thither he had +fallen in with the _Enterprise_, 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 _Enterprise_ +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 _Hellas_, 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 _Hellas_ 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 _Enterprise_; 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. + +On the 27th of October, Lord Cochrane again set sail from Poros in the +_Hellas_, accompanied by the _Sauveur_, and the corvette which he had +lately taken from the Turks, to which the name of _Hydra_ 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." + +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." + +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. + +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 _Hellas_ 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 _Hydra_ was directed to enter +by the northern passage, whilst the _Hellas_ 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." + +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." + +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. + +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 +_Pelican_, 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 _de facto_' +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." + +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. + +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 _Hellas_ 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. + +"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 _de facto_ 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." + +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. + +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. + +The first was addressed, on the 13th of December, to Captain Le Blanc, +commander of the _Junon_. "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." + +The second letter, dated the 5th of January, 1828, was to the +commander of the Russian frigate _Constantine_. "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." + +The third letter was to Commodore Hamilton, of the _Cambrian_, 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." + +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." + +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. + +"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 _Hellas_. 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. + +"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 +_Hellas_, 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 +_Hydra_, without hitting the hull of that vessel four times, although +she was within a hundred yards of the _Hellas_. 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 +_Hellas_ 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. + +"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 _Hellas_ 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." + +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 _Hellas_. 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." + +In accordance with his new resolution, Lord Cochrane transferred the +command of the _Hellas_, and such control of the whole navy as was +possible, to Admiral Miaoulis. He left Poros in the little schooner +_Unicorn_, 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 _Hellas_ 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. + +"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."[12] + + [12] See Appendix. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +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. + +[1828-1829.] + + +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. + +"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." + +"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." + +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. + +"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." + +No answer came from Capodistrias. He sent a message to Lord Cochrane +asking him to sell him the little _Unicorn_, 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. + +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." + +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 37,000l. paid to him, on the plea that by leaving +Greece he had broken his contract. + +"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 _Hellas_ +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 _Hellas_ 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." + +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 _Mercury_, 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 _Mercury_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 _Hydra_, and schooner-of-war +_Athenian_, captured from the enemy; and further by absolving the State +from any and every obligation whereby the sum of 20,000l. 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." + +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 _Hydra_ and the schooner _Athenian_, and +in the 20,000l. 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." + +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 +2,000,000l. 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." + +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. + +Having transferred the _Mercury_, 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 _Proserpine_ 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. + +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." + +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 _Azoff_, 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 _congÈ_. 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." + +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 _Mercury_, 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 _Mercury_. 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." + +"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." + +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 _Proserpine_. 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,[13] "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." + + [13] 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. + + "Nous citoyens de Poros, reconnaissant dans la personne de M. le + Docteur Louis AndrÈ Gosse, un homme animÈ du philhellÈnisme le plus + sincËre et douÈ de vertus Èminentes, considÈrant son zËle ardent et + infatigable pourtant en ce qui concerne le bien de la patrie et pour + la cause sacrÈe de la GrËce et en particulier tÈmoins des soins + philanthropiques qu'il a prodiguÈs aux indigens, persuadÈs d'autre + part que ses qualitÈs rares contribueront ‡ l'amÈlioration de la + morale du peuple Grec, et animÈs du dÈsir d'attacher ‡ notre Ile cette + homme vertueux; d'une voix unanime et d'un accord commun concÈdons le + droit de bourgeoisie au susdit M. L. A. Gosse, pour qu'il jonisse + dorÈnavant du titre et des droits de citoyen Poriote indigËne. En foi + de quoi nous lui avons dÈlivrÈ la prÈsente." + + The other document was issued by President Capodistrias on the 23rd of + February, 1829. + + "La lettre que vous venez de m'adresser, datÈe du 21 FÈvrier, et les + comptes qu'elle renferme, sont une nouvelle preuve du zËle et de + l'extrÍme exactitude, par laquelle vous vous Ítes toujours montrÈ + digne de la confiance des amis gÈnÈreux de la GrËce. + + "Je n'ai pas besoin de vous rÈpÈter combien la nation sait apprÈcier + les services que vous lui avez rendus, et combien de reconnaissance je + vous dois en particulier. C'est ‡ mon instance que vous avez prolongÈ + d'un an votre sÈjour en GrËce. Dans cet espace, et surtout dans l'ÈtÈ + dernier, la peste et les maladies qui vinrent augmenter nos malheurs + et nos souffrances, vous ont fourni l'occasion de co-opÈrer par un + noble dÈnouement a l'accomplissement des mesures sanitaires qui ‡ + l'aide de la Providence ont conjurÈ les manx majeurs, dont la Patrie + Ètait menacÈe. + + "Maintenant vous devez remplir des dÈsirs qui honorent vos sentiments, + vous allez retourner dans votre heureuse patrie, auprËs de votre mËre. + Mes voeux vous y accompagneront, je vous souhaite toute sorte de + bonheur. La GrËce ne peut dans ce moment vous exprimer d'autre maniËre + sa reconnaissance, mais un jour viendra, je l'espËre, dans lequel elle + le pourra et son Gouvernement s'empressera alors d'acquitter sa dette + envers vous, ainsi qu'envers les autres Ètrangers, qui sincËrement et + gÈnÈreusement ont servi sa cause sacrÈe. + + "Lorsque vos affaires et vos intÈrÍts le permettront, vous vous + occuperez toujours du bien de la GrËce; vous lui serez toujours utile + partout o˘ vous vous trouverez; mais si vous voulez lui Ítre utile + plus directement, revenez encore au milieu d'un peuple qui vous + connaÓt et qui vous aime, et son gouvernement se h‚tera de vous mettre + ‡ mÍme de lui rendre encore de grands services. + + "Recevez en attendant l'expression de ces sentiments, avec l'assurance + de la considÈration le plus distinguÈe." + +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. + +On the 20th of December Lord Cochrane left Poros in the Russian +corvette _Grimachi_, 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 _Racer_, or, in a week's time, a passage +direct to Marseilles in the _Etna_. 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. + +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 _now_ they would be considered as oppressors; +_then_ 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." + +"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." + +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 20,000l. 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 37,000l. paid to him on his engagement. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +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. + +[1828-1832.] + + +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. + +He entered that profession at the age of seventeen. In 1800, when he +was twenty-four, he was promoted to the command of the _Speedy_. 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 _Gamo_--carrying four times the tonnage, six times +the number of men, and seven times the weight of shot possessed by the +_Speedy_--which was soon followed by the taking of two other Spanish +privateers heavily armed. On the 9th of June, the _Speedy_ 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 _Speedy_ 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 PalliËre, 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. + +His next ship, the _Arab_, was made to serve during fourteen months in +seas in which there was no work to be done; but for the _Pallas_, 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 _Tapageuse_, 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 _Pallas_ +had her famous engagement with the French frigate _Minerve_ and three +brigs, the _Lynx_, the _Sylph_, and the _Palinure_, carrying +eighty-eight guns in all, wherein she was so disabled that she was +forced to return to Portsmouth to be refitted. + +The _Imperieuse_ 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." + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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. + +"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. + +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. + +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." + +"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." + +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. + +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?" + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +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." + +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. + +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." + +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.[14] 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." + + [14] "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." + +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. + +In that capacity he was presented to King William IV. at the levÈe +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +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. + +[1833-1847.] + + +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. + +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;[15] 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. + + [15] 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 _Mercury_. 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. + +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 _Rising Star_, 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. + +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." + +"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."[16] + + [16] John Bourne. "A Treatise on the Steam-Engine" (1861), p. 392. + +"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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +"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." + +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 _Firefly_, 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. + +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."[17] + + [17] John Bourne. "A Treatise on the Screw Propeller, Screw Vessels, + and Screw Engines" (1867), p. 42. + +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."[18] + + [18] 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. + +"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 16,000l. 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." + +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. + +"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. + +"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."[19] + + [19] The following statement of Lord Dundonald's "axiom" accompanied + the model which was submitted to the Admiralty:--"It is universally + admitted that a sharp _bow_ and a clear _run_ contribute to the speed + of vessels; but what the consecutive lines ought to be, in order to + constitute a perfect _bow_, or what those to form the _run_, 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. + +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 _Vanguard_ or the +_Queen_ 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." + +Through the latter part of 1843 and the whole of 1844, Lord Dundonald +was chiefly occupied with the construction of the _Janus_, 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 _Janus_ 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 _Firefly_." "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 _Janus_'s +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 _Janus_ 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 _Janus_," 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 28-1/2, 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 _Janus_; +"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 _Janus_, 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." + +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. + +By them, the _Janus_ 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 _Janus_, 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 _Janus_ 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." + +The days became weeks and the weeks months, and still the _Janus_ 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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +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. + +[1833-1848.] + + +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. + +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. + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +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." + +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. + +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." + +"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 _esprit de +corps_, 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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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 12,000,000l. or 20,000,000l. 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. + +"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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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 ‡ 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." + +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?" + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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. + +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. + +Fortifications, he considered, were only desirable for the protection +of the special ports and depÙts 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. + +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. + +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 +_Speedy_ 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." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +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. + +[1839-1848.] + + +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. + +"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." + +"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." + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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." + +"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." + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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. + +"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." + +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.[20] + + [20] 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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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." + +"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." + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +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. + +[1848.] + + +Lord Dundonald left London for Devonport on the 16th of March, 1848, +and on the following day hoisted his flag on board the _Wellesley_ 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. + +"I am very much pleased with your letter of the 19th," wrote Lord +Auckland, on the 21st of March, while the _Wellesley_ 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." + +"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." + +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 _Alarm_, 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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +"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[21] 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." + + [21] The great Chartist who, having been tried and sentenced to + transportation, had been sent to Bermuda in May, 1848. + +"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 _Scourge_ 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." + +"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." + +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." + +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." + +"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." + +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." + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +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. + +[1848-1850.] + + +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.[22] 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. + + [22] 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." + +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 _Wellesley_ 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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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. + +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." + +"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. + +"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." + +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." + +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." + +"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." + +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. + +"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." + +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." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +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. + +[1851-1853.] + + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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."[23] + + [23] 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." + + 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. + + "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. + + "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. + + "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." + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +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. + +[1851-1860.] + + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +"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." + +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. + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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." + +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. + +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." + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +"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." + +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." + +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. + +"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." + +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." + +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. + +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."[24] 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.[25] + + [24] 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." + + [25] 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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + + Ashes to Ashes! Lay the hero down + Within the grey old Abbey's glorious shade. + In our Walhalla ne'er was worthier laid + Since martyr first won palm, or victor crown. + + 'Tis well the State he served no farthing pays + To grace with pomp and honour all too late + His grave, whom, living, Statesmen dogged with hate, + Denying justice, and withholding praise. + + Let England hide her face above his tomb, + As much for shame as sorrow. Let her think + Upon the bitter cup he had to drink-- + Heroic soul, branded with felon's doom. + + A Sea-King, whose fit place had been by Blake, + Or our own Nelson, had he been but free + To follow glory's quest upon the sea, + Leading the conquered navies in his wake-- + + A Captain, whom it had been ours to cheer + From conquest on to conquest, had our land + But set its wisest, worthiest in command, + Not such as hated all the good revere. + + We let them cage the Lion while the fire + In his high heart burnt clear and unsubdued; + We let them stir that frank and forward mood + From greatness to the self-consuming ire, + + The fret and chafe that wait on service scorned, + Justice denied, and truth to silence driven; + From men we left him to appeal to Heaven, + 'Gainst fraud set high, and evidence suborned-- + + We left him, with bound arms, to mark the sword + Given to weak hands; left him, with working brain, + To see rogues traffic, and fools rashly reign, + Where Strength should have been guide, and Honour lord-- + + Left him to cry aloud, without support, + Against the creeping things that eat away + Our wooden walls, and boast as they betray, + The base supporters of a baser Court, + + The crawling worms that in corruption breed, + And on corruption batten, till at last + Mistaken honour the proud victim cast + Out to their spite, to writhe, and pant, and bleed + + Under their stings and slime; and bleed he did + For years, till hope into heart-sickness grew, + And he sought other seas and service new, + And his bright sword in alien laurels hid-- + + Nor even so found gratitude, but came + Back to his England, bankrupt, save of praise, + To eat his heart, through weary wishful days, + And shape his strength to bearing of his shame, + + Till, slow but sure, drew on a better time, + And Statesmen owned the check of public will; + And, at the last, light pierced the shadow chill + That fouled his honour with the taint of crime. + + And then they gave him back the knightly spurs + Which he had never forfeited--the rank + From which he ne'er by ill-deserving sank, + More than the Lion sinks for yelp of curs. + + Justice had lingered on its road too long: + The Lion was grown old; the time gone by, + When for his aid we vainly raised a cry, + To save our flag from shame, our decks from wrong. + + The infamy is _theirs_, whose evil deed + Is past undoing; yet not guiltless we, + Who, penniless, that brave old man could see, + Restored to honour, but denied its meed. + + A Belisarius, old and sad and poor, + To _our_ shame, not to _his_--so he lived on, + Till man's allotted fourscore years were gone, + And scarcely then had leave to 'stablish sure + + Proofs of _his_ innocence, and _their_ shame, + That had so wronged him; and, this done, came death, + To seal the assurance of his dying breath, + And wipe the last faint tarnish from his name. + + At last his fame stands fair, and full of years + He seeks that judgment which his wrongers all + Have sought before him--and above his pall + His flag, replaced at length, waves with his peers. + + He did not live to see it, but he knew + His country with one voice had set it high; + And knowing this he was content to die, + And leave to gracious Heaven what might ensue. + + Ashes to ashes! Lay the hero down, + No nobler heart e'er knew the bitter lot + To be misjudged, maligned, accused, forgot-- + Twine martyr's palm among his victor's crown.[26] + + [26] These lines, by Mr. Tom Taylor, were published in "Punch." + +"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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +(Page 161.) + +CAPTAIN ABNEY HASTINGS'S LETTERS TO LORD COCHRANE + + +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. + + +I. + + _Karteria_, Hydra, March 26th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +II. + + _Karteria_, Poros, April 9th, 1827 + +MY LORD, + +I have the honour to transmit you an account of the _Karteria_ +steam-vessel up to March 16th, by which you will perceive that with +the 500l. 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +III. + + _Karteria_, Scopulo, April 19th, N.S., 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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 +_‡ force d'argent_--however, I hope to be with them to-morrow. + +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--_tout bÍtes comme ils +sont_--can inform your lordship of these things. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + +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. + + +IV. + + _Karteria_, off Tricheri, Monday, + April 23rd, N.S., 1827. + +MY LORD, + +I have the honour to inform you that in pursuance of your orders, I +carried the squadron under my command, consisting of corvette +_Themistocles_, brig _Aris_, schooner _Aspasia_, and schooner +_Panayia_, before the port of Volo, the evening of the 20th. I found +eight vessels at anchor in the port; immediately I directed the +_Themistocles_ and _Aris_ to anchor off a battery at the point, and +cannonade it whilst I entered the harbour with boats and schooners. At +4.30 P.M. 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 P.M. 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 _Themistocles_, _Aris_, and _Aspasia_, 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 _Aspasia_, 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. Hastings. + +P.S.--As the schooner _Panayia_ will participate in the prizes, I have +ordered her to remain on the blockade, although not sent by your +lordship. + + +V. + + _Karteria_, at Sea, April 24th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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., _Themistocles_, _Aris_, _Panayia_. + +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. + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + +A return of the killed and wounded on board of the Greek +squadron, at Tricheri, April 23rd./11th. + + _Karteria_, killed . . . one seaman, Ralph Hall. + _Aris_, killed . . . . . one seaman. + " wounded . . . . . . two seamen. + _Panayia_, wounded . . . one seaman. + Total . . . . . . . two killed and three wounded. + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +VI. + + _Karteria_, at Sea, April 26th, N.S., 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + +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. + +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 depÙts. 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +VII. + + _Karteria_, Poros, April 28th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + +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 PirÊus. +I have no doubt it is but a prelude to more important successes. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +VIII. + + _Karteria_, Poros, April 30th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + +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? + + +IX. + + _Karteria_, Poros, April 30th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + +It is with deep regret I see the extreme discontent existing on board +the _Sauveur_ 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 vessel. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + +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. + + +X. + + _Karteria_, Poros, May 6th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XI. + + _Karteria_, Spetzas, May 30th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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 A.M. 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 +_Hellas_; 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 _Hellas_ 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 _Hellas_ 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 _rendezvous_ of Oxia. Not +finding the _Hellas_ 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XII. + + _Karteria_, Spetzas, June 7th, N.S., 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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? + +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 +_Constitution_, who is now at Napoli guarding it. I am sorry to add +that Mr. Lee received a letter from England announcing that the +_Enterprise_ having sailed, her boilers burst opposite Plymouth, and +she was towed into that port by a brig-of-war. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XIII. + + _Karteria_, Spetzas, June 9th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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., _en route_, 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XIV. + + _Karteria_, Syra, August 1st, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XV. + + _Karteria_, Poros, August 19th, 1827, + +MY LORD, + +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.] + + +XVI. + + _Karteria_, Poros, August 20th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XVII. + + _Karteria_, Poros, August 22nd, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XVIII. + + _Karteria_, Gulf of Lepanto, Sept. 27th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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 _Sauveur_, +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 _Sauveur_, with gunboat _Bavaroise_ 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 _Philhellene_ +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 _Philhellene_; 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XIX. + + _Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 7th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XX. + + _Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 8th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +I have the honour to receive your letter of the 3rd, and am happy to +hear that the _Enterprise_ is arrived. I have also received one +thousand dollars with the stores, &c., which are very acceptable. I +despatched the _Sauveur_ 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXI. + + _Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 14th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXII. + + _Karteria_, Port Strava, Gulf of Lepanto, + Oct. 17th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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 _Sauveur_ on the 7th inst., and sent the gunboat +_Philhellene_ with her with letters to General Church, and orders to +wait and bring me information how the _Sauveur_ 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, +_Bavaroise_, with these, and also some for the _Sauveur_, in case she +was still in the Gulf. Mr. Darby, the commander of the _Bavaroise_, +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 _Sauveur_ 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. Hastings. + + +XXIII. + + _Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 27th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. Hastings. + + +XXIV. + + _Karteria_, Loutraki, Nov. 8th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. Hastings. + + +XXV. + + _Karteria_, Nov. 17th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + +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. + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXVI. + + _Karteria_, off Cape Papas, Nov. 20th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXVII. + + _Karteria_, Petala, Dec. 2nd, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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 _Helvetia_, 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXVIII. + + _Karteria_, Dragomestre, Dec. 8th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXIX. + + _Karteria_, off Vasiladhi, Dec. 27th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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, _vi‚_ 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + +XXX. + + _Karteria_, off Vasiladhi, Dec. 29th, 1827. + +MY LORD, + +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 _Helvetia_ in company, outside Vasiladhi. Your +lordship is aware that the _Helvetia_ 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 _Helvetia_, 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + List of small vessels employed in taking Vasiladhi. + + A mistico, Galaxidhiote, Captain Urgaki; the same sent with me into + the Gulf of Lepanto, and who has served with me ever since. + + A mistico, Galaxidhiote. + + A bonÈe. + + An armed row-boat. + + Two of my prize launches, armed each with a 9-pounder. + + A bratsiera. + + Five monoxolies, or canoes, for the shallows. + + +XXXI. + + _Karteria_, Dragomestre, Jan. 7th, 1828. + +MY LORD, + +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. + +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 A.M. +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 _Helvetia_, 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. + + I have the honour to be, &c., + + F. A. HASTINGS. + + * * * * * + +LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND +CHARING CROSS. + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +The following typographical errors were corrected: + + * Chapter VII, page 25: "intrusted" changed to "entrusted" + * Appendix, letter IX, page 380: "vessel," changed to "vessel." + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE *** + +***** This file should be named 26067-0.txt or 26067-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/6/26067/ + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +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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