Peter Simple; and, The Three Cutters Part 54

I had just sealed the letter, when Mrs Trotter, who had attended the ship since our return to Portsmouth, begged to speak with me, and walked in after her message, without waiting for an answer. "My dear Mr Simple," said she, "I know all that is going on, and I find that you have no lawyer to a.s.sist you. Now I know that it is necessary, and will very probably be of great service in your defence--for when people are in distress and anxiety, they have not their wits about them; so I have brought a friend of mine from Portsea, a very clever man, who, for my sake, will undertake your cause, and I hope you will not refuse him. You recollect giving me a dozen pair of stockings. I did not refuse them, nor shall you refuse me now. I always said to Mr Trotter, 'Go to a lawyer;' and if he had taken my advice he would have done well. I recollect, when a hackney-coachman smashed the panel of our carriage-- 'Trotter,' says I, 'go to a lawyer;' and he very politely answered, 'Go to the devil!' But what was the consequence!--he's dead and I'm b.u.mming. Now, Mr Simple, will you oblige me?--it's all free gratis for nothing--not for nothing, for it's for my sake. You see, Mr Simple, I have admirers yet," concluded she, smiling.

Mrs Trotter's advice was good; and although I would not listen to receiving his services gratuitously, I agreed to employ him; and very useful did he prove against such charges, and such a man as Captain Hawkins. He came on board that afternoon, carefully examined into all the doc.u.ments and the witnesses whom I could bring forward, showed me the weak side of my defence, and took the papers on sh.o.r.e with him.

Every day he came on board to collect fresh evidence and examine into my case.

At last the day arrived. I dressed myself in my best uniform. The gun fired from the admiral's ship, with the signal for a court-martial at nine o'clock; and I went on board in a boat, with all the witnesses. On my arrival, I was put under the custody of the provost-marshal. The captains ordered to attend pulled alongside one after another, and were received by a party of marines, presenting their arms.

At half-past nine the court was all a.s.sembled, and I was ushered in.

Courts-martial are open courts, although no one is permitted to print the evidence. At the head of the long table was the admiral, as president; on his right hand, standing, was Captain Hawkins, as prosecutor. On each side of the table were six captains, sitting near to the admiral, according to their seniority. At the bottom, facing the admiral, was the judge-advocate, on whose left hand I stood, as prisoner. The witnesses called in to be examined were stationed on his right; and behind him, by the indulgence of the court, was a small table, at which sat my legal adviser, so close as to be able to communicate with me. The court were all sworn, and then took their seats. Stauncheons, with ropes covered with green baize, pa.s.sed along, were behind the chairs of the captains who composed the court, so that they might not be crowded upon by those who came in to listen to what pa.s.sed. The charges were then read, as well as the letters to and from the admiral, by which the court-martial was demanded and granted: and then Captain Hawkins was desired to open his prosecution. He commenced with observing his great regret that he had been forced to a measure so repugnant to his feelings; his frequent cautions to me, and the indifference with which I treated them; and, after a preamble composed of every falsity that could be devised, he commenced with the first charge, and stating himself to be the witness, gave his evidence. When it was finished, I was asked if I had any questions to put. By the advice of my lawyer, I replied, "No." The president then asked the captains composing the court-martial, commencing according to their seniority, whether they wished to ask any questions.

"I wish," said the second captain who was addressed, "to ask Captain Hawkins whether, when he came on deck, he came up in the usual way in which a captain of a man-of-war comes on his quarter-deck, or whether he slipped up without noise?"

Captain Hawkins declared that he came up as he _usually did._ This was true enough, for he invariably came up by stealth.

"Pray, Captain Hawkins, as you have repeated a good deal of conversation which pa.s.sed between the first lieutenant and the gunner, may I ask you how long you were by their side without their perceiving you?"

"A very short time," was the answer.

"But, Captain Hawkins, do you not think, allowing that you came up on deck in your _usual_ way, as you term it, that you would have done better to have hemmed or hawed, so as to let your officers know that you were present? I should be very sorry to hear all that might be said of me in my supposed absence."

To this observation Captain Hawkins replied, that he was so astonished at the conversation, that he was quite breathless, having, till then, had the highest opinion of me.

No more questions were asked, and they proceeded to the second charge.

This was a very trifling one--for lighting a stove, contrary to orders; the evidence brought forward was the sergeant of marines. When his evidence in favour of the charge had been given, I was asked by the president if I had any questions to put to the witness. I put the following:--

"Did you repeat to Captain Hawkins that I had ordered the stove to be lighted?"--"I did."

"Are you not in the custom of reporting, direct to the captain, any negligence, or disobedience of orders, you may witness in the ship?"--"I am."

"Did you ever report anything of the sort to me, as first lieutenant, or do you always report direct to the captain?"

"I always report direct to the captain."

"By the captain's orders?"--"Yes."

The following questions were then put by some of the members of the court:--

"You have served in other ships before?"--"Yes."

"Did you ever, sailing with other captains, receive an order from them to report direct to them, and not through the first lieutenant?" The witness here prevaricated.

"Answer directly, yes or no."--"No."

The third charge was then brought forward--for sending away boats contrary to express orders. This was substantiated by Captain Hawkins'

own evidence, the order having been verbal. By the advice of my counsel, I put no questions to Captain Hawkins, neither did the court.

The fourth charge--that of holding mutinous conversation with the gunner, and allowing him to accuse the captain of unwillingness to engage the enemy--was then again substantiated by Captain Hawkins, as the only witness. I again left my reply for my defence; and only one question was put by one of the members, which was, to inquire of Captain Hawkins, as he appeared peculiarly unfortunate in overhearing conversations, whether he walked up as usual to the taffrail, or whether he _crept up._ Captain Hawkins gave the same answer as before.

The fifth charge--for insulting expressions to Captain Hawkins, on my rejoining the brig at Carlscrona--was then brought forward, and the sergeant of marines and one of the seamen appeared as witnesses. This charge excited a great deal of amus.e.m.e.nt. In the cross-examination by the members of the court, Captain Hawkins was asked what he meant by the expression, when disposing of the clothes of an officer who was killed in action, that the men appeared to think that his trousers would instil fear.

"Nothing more, upon my honour, sir," replied Captain Hawkins, "than an implication that they were alarmed lest they should be haunted by his ghost."

"Then, of course, Mr Simple meant the same in his reply," observed the captain sarcastically.

The remainder of the charges were then brought forward, but they were of little consequence. The witnesses were chiefly the sergeant of marines, and the spy-gla.s.s of Captain Hawkins, who had been watching me from the sh.o.r.e.

It was late in the afternoon before they were all gone through; and the president then adjourned the court, that I might bring forward my own witnesses, in my defence, on the following day, and I returned on board the _Rattlesnake_.

Chapter LXII

A good defence not always good against a bad accusation--Peter wins the heart of his judges, yet loses his cause, and is dismissed his ship.

The next day I commenced my defence, and I preferred calling my own witnesses first, and, by the advice of my counsel, and at the request of Swinburne, I called him. I put the following questions:--"When we were talking on the quarter-deck, was it fine weather?"--"Yes, it was."

"Do you think that you might have heard any one coming on deck, in the usual way, up the companion ladder?"

"Sure of it."

"Do you mean, then, to imply that Captain Hawkins came up stealthily?"

"I have an idea he pounced upon us as a cat does on a mouse."

"What were the expressions made use of?"

"I said that a spy captain would always find spy followers."

"In that remark were you and Mr Simple referring to your own captain?"--

"The remark was mine. What Mr Simple was thinking of, I can't tell; but I _did_ refer to the captain, and he has proved that I was right." This bold answer of Swinburne's rather astonished the court, who commenced cross-questioning him; but he kept to his original a.s.sertion--that I had only answered generally. To repel the second charge I produced no witnesses; but to the third charge I brought forward three witnesses to prove that Captain Hawkins's orders were that I should send no boats on sh.o.r.e, not that I should not send them on board of the men-of-war close to us. In answer to the fourth charge, I called Swinburne, who stated that if I did not, he would come forward. Swinburne acknowledged that he accused the captain of being shy, and that I reprimanded him for so doing. "Did he say that he would report you?" inquired one of the captains. "No, sir," replied Swinburne, "'cause he never meant to do it." This was an unfortunate answer.

To the fifth charge, I brought several witnesses to prove the words of Captain Hawkins, and the sense in which they were taken by the ship's company, and the men calling out "Shame!" when he used the expression.

To refute the other charges I called one or two witnesses, and the court then adjourned, inquiring of me when I would be ready to commence my defence. I requested a day to prepare, which was readily granted; and the ensuing day the court did not sit. I hardly need say that I was busily employed, arranging my defence with my counsel. At last all was done, and I went to bed tired and unhappy; but I slept soundly, which could not be said of my counsel, for he went on sh.o.r.e at eleven o'clock, and sat up all night making a fair copy. After all, the fairest court of justice is a naval court-martial--no brow-beating of witnesses, an evident inclination towards the prisoner--every allowance and every favour granted him, and no legal quibbles attended to. It is a court of equity, with very few exceptions; and the humbler the individual, the greater the chance in his favour.

I was awoke the following morning by my counsel, who had not gone to bed the previous night, and who had come off at seven o'clock to read over with me my defence. At nine o'clock I again proceeded on board, and in a short time the court was sitting. I came in, handed my defence to the judge-advocate, who read it aloud to the court. I have a copy still by me, and will give the whole of it to the reader.

"Mr President and Gentlemen,--After nearly fourteen years' service in his Majesty's navy, during which I have been twice made prisoner, twice wounded, and once wrecked; and, as I trust I shall prove to you, by certificates and the public despatches, I have done my duty with zeal and honour; I now find myself in a situation in which I never expected to be placed--that of being arraigned before and brought to a court-martial for charges of mutiny, disaffection, and disrespect towards my superior officer. If the honourable court will examine the certificates I am about to produce, they will find that, until I sailed with Captain Hawkins, my conduct has always been supposed to have been diametrically opposite to that which is now imputed to me. I have always been diligent and obedient to command; and I have only to regret that the captains with whom I have had the honour to sail are not now present to corroborate by their oral evidence the truth of these doc.u.ments.

Allow me, in the first place, to point out to the court, that the charges against me are spread over a large s.p.a.ce of time, amounting to nearly eighteen months, during the whole of which period Captain Hawkins never stated to me that it was his intention to try me by a court-martial; and, although repeatedly in the presence of a senior officer, has never preferred any charge against me. The articles of war state expressly that if any officer, soldier, or marine has any complaint to make he is to do so upon his arrival at any port or fleet where he may fall in with a superior officer. I admit that this article of war refers to complaints to be made by inferiors against superiors; but, at the same time, I venture to submit to the honourable court that a superior is equally bound to prefer a charge, or to give notice that the charge will be preferred, on the first seasonable opportunity, instead of lulling the offender into security, and disarming him in his defence, by allowing the time to run on so long as to render him incapable of bringing forward his witnesses. I take the liberty of calling this to your attention, and shall now proceed to answer the charges which have been brought against me.

"I am accused of having held a conversation with an inferior officer on the quarter-deck of his Majesty's brig _Rattlesnake_, in which my captain was treated with contempt. That it may not be supposed that Mr Swinburne was a new acquaintance, made upon my joining the brig, I must observe that he was an old shipmate, with whom I had served many years, and with whose worth I was well acquainted. He was my instructor in my more youthful days, and has been rewarded for his merit, with the warrant which he now holds as gunner of His Majesty's brig _Rattlesnake_. The offensive observation, in the first place, was not mine; and, in the second, it was couched in general terms. Here Mr Swinburne has pointedly confessed that _he_ did refer to the captain, although the observation was in the plural; but that does not prove the charge against me--on the contrary, adds weight to the a.s.sertion of Mr Swinburne, that I was guiltless of the present charge. That Captain Hawkins has acted as a spy, his own evidence on this charge, as well as that brought forward by other witnesses, will decidedly prove; but as the truth of the observation does not warrant the utterance, I am glad that no such expression escaped my lips.

"Upon the second charge I shall dwell but a short time. It is true that there is a general order that no stoves shall be alight after a certain hour; but I will appeal to the honourable court, whether a first lieutenant is not considered to have a degree of licence of judgment in all that concerns the interior discipline of the ship. The surgeon sent to say that a stove was required for one of the sick. I was in bed at the time, and replied immediately in the affirmative. Does Captain Hawkins mean to a.s.sert to the honourable court, that he would have refused the request of the surgeon? Most certainly not. The only error I committed, if it were an error, was not going through the form of awaking Captain Hawkins, to ask the permission, which, as first lieutenant, I thought myself authorized to give.

"The charge against me, of having sent away two boats, contrary to his order, I have already disproved by witnesses. The order of Captain Hawkins was, not to communicate with the sh.o.r.e. My reasons for sending away the boats"--(Here Captain Hawkins interposed, and stated to the president that my reasons were not necessary to be received. The court was cleared, and, on our return, the court had decided, that my reasons ought to be given, and I continued.) "My reasons for sending away these boats, or rather it was one boat which was despatched to the two frigates, if I remember well, were, that the brig was in a state of mutiny. The captain had tied up one of the men, and the ship's company refused to be flogged. Captain Hawkins then went on sh.o.r.e to the admiral, to report the situation of his ship, and I conceived it my duty to make it known to the men-of-war anch.o.r.ed close to us. I shall not enter into further particulars, as they will only detain the honourable court; and I am aware that this court-martial is held upon my conduct, and not upon that of Captain Hawkins. To the charge of again holding disrespectful language on the quarter-deck, as overheard by Captain.

Hawkins, I must refer the honourable court to the evidence, in which it is plainly proved that the remarks upon him were not mine, but those of Mr Swinburne, and that I remonstrated with Mr Swinburne for using such unguarded expressions. The only point of difficulty is, whether it was not my duty to have reported such language. I reply, that there is no proof that I did not intend to report it; but the presence of Captain Hawkins, who heard what was said, rendered such report unnecessary.