The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: Its Cause And Consequences Part 12

The Court was then opened and audience admitted, and sentence pa.s.sed accordingly.

CHAPTER VII

THE KING'S WARRANT

Well, believe this-- No ceremony that to great ones 'longs, Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword, The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, Become them with one half so good a grace, As mercy does.

It was a very common feeling that Heywood and Morrison, the former in particular, had been hardly dealt with by the Court in pa.s.sing upon them a sentence of death, tempered as it was with the recommendation to the king's mercy. It should, however, have been recollected, that the Court had no discretional power to pa.s.s any other sentence but that, or a full acquittal. But earnestly, no doubt, as the Court was disposed towards the latter alternative, it could not, consistently with the rules and feelings of the service, be adopted. It is not enough in cases of mutiny (and this case was aggravated by the piratical seizure of a king's s.h.i.+p) that the officers and men in his Majesty's naval service should take no active part;--to be neutral or pa.s.sive is considered as tantamount to aiding and abetting. Besides, in the present case, the remaining in the s.h.i.+p along with the mutineers, without having recourse to such means as offered of leaving her, presumes a voluntary adhesion to the criminal party. The only fault of Heywood, and a pardonable one on account of his youth and inexperience, was his not asking Christian to be allowed to go with his captain,--his not _trying_ to go in time. M'Intosh, Norman, Byrne, and Coleman were acquitted because they expressed a strong desire to go, but were forced to remain. This was not only clearly proved, but they were in possession of written testimonies from Bligh to that effect; and so would Heywood have had, but for some prejudice Bligh had taken against him, in the course of the boat-voyage home, for it will be shown that he knew he was confined to his berth below.

In favour of three of the four men condemned without a recommendation, there were unhappily no palliating circ.u.mstances. Millward, Burkitt, and Ellison were under arms from first to last; and Ellison not only left the helm to take up arms, but, rus.h.i.+ng aft towards Bligh, called out, 'D--n him, I'll be sentry over him.' The fourth man, Muspratt, was condemned on the evidence of Lieutenant Hayward, which, however, appears to have been duly appreciated by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and in consequence of which the poor man escaped an ignominious death.

The family of young Heywood in the Isle of Man had been buoyed up, from various quarters, with the almost certainty of his full acquittal. From the 12th September, when the court-martial first sat, till the 24th of that month, they were prevented, by the strong and contrary winds which cut off all communication with England, from receiving any tidings whatever. But while Mrs. Heywood and her daughters were fondly flattering themselves with everything being most happily concluded, one evening, as they were indulging these pleasing hopes, a little boy, the son of one of their particular friends, ran into the room and told them, in the most abrupt manner, that the trial was over and all the prisoners condemned, but that Peter Heywood was recommended to mercy; he added that a man whose name he mentioned had told him this. The man was sent for, questioned, and replied he had seen it in a newspaper at Liverpool, from which place he was just arrived in a small fis.h.i.+ng-boat, but had forgotten to bring the paper with him. In this state of doubtful uncertainty this wretched family remained another whole week, hara.s.sed by the most cruel agony of mind, which no language can express.[26]

The affectionate Nessy determined at once to proceed to Liverpool, and so on to London. She urges her brother James at Liverpool to hasten to Portsmouth: 'Don't wait for me, I can go alone; fear and even despair will support me through the journey; think only of our poor unfortunate and adored boy, bestow not one thought on me.' And she adds, 'yet, if I could listen to reason (which is indeed difficult), it is not likely that anything serious has taken place, or will do so, as we should then certainly have had an express.' She had a tempestuous pa.s.sage of forty-nine hours, and to save two hours got into an open fis.h.i.+ng-boat at the mouth of the Mersey, the sea running high and was.h.i.+ng over her every moment; but, she observes, 'let me but be blessed with the cheering influence of _hope_, and I have spirit to undertake anything.' From Liverpool she set off the same night in the mail for London; and arrived at Mr. Graham's on the 5th October, who received her with the greatest kindness, and desired her to make his house her home.

The suspense into which the afflicted family in the Isle of Man had been thrown, by the delay of the packet, was painfully relieved on its arrival in the night of the 29th September, by the following letter from Mr. Graham to the Rev. Dr. Scott, which the latter carried to Mrs.

Heywood's family the following morning.

'_Portsmouth, Tuesday, 18th September_.

'SIR,--Although a stranger, I make no apology in writing to you. I have attended and given my a.s.sistance at Mr. Heywood's trial, which was finished and the sentence pa.s.sed about half an hour ago. Before I tell you what that sentence is, I must inform you that his life is safe, notwithstanding it is at present at the mercy of the king, to which he is in the strongest terms recommended by the Court. That any unnecessary fears may not be productive of misery to the family, I must add, that the king's attorney-general (who with Judge Ashurst attended the trial) desired me to make myself perfectly easy, for that my friend was as safe as if he had not been condemned. I would have avoided making use of this dreadful word, but it must have come to your knowledge, and perhaps unaccompanied by many others of a pleasing kind. To prevent its being improperly communicated to Mrs. or the Misses Heywood, whose distresses first engaged me in the business, and could not fail to call forth my best exertions upon the occasion, I send you this by express. The mode of communication I must leave to your discretion; and shall only add that, although from a combination of circ.u.mstances, ill-nature, and mistaken friends.h.i.+p, the sentence is in itself terrible, yet it is inc.u.mbent on me to a.s.sure you that, from the same combination of circ.u.mstances, everybody who attended the trial is perfectly satisfied in his own mind that he was _hardly guilty in appearance, in intention he was perfectly innocent_. I shall of course write to Commodore Pasley, whose mind, from my letter to him of yesterday, must be dreadfully agitated, and take his advice about what is to be done when Mr. Heywood is released. I shall stay here till then, and my intention is afterwards to take him to my house in town, where I think he had better stay till one of the family calls for him: for he will require a great deal of tender management after all his sufferings; and it would perhaps be a necessary preparation for seeing his mother, that one or both his sisters should be previously prepared to support her on so trying an occasion.'

On the following day Mr. Graham again writes to Dr. Scott, and among other things observes, 'It will be a great satisfaction to his family to learn, that the declarations of some of the other prisoners, since the trial, put it past all doubt that the evidence upon which he was convicted must have been (to say nothing worse of it) an unfortunate belief, on the part of the witness, of circ.u.mstances which either never had existence, or were applicable to one of the other gentlemen who remained in the s.h.i.+p, and not to Mr. Heywood.'[27]

On the 20th September Mr. Heywood addresses the first letter he wrote, after his conviction, to Dr. Scott.

'HONOURED AND DEAR SIR,--On Wednesday the 12th instant the awful trial commenced, and on _that_ day, _when in Court_, I had the pleasure of receiving your most kind and parental letter,[28] in answer to which I now communicate to you the melancholy issue of it, which, as I desired my friend Mr.

Graham to inform you of immediately, will be no dreadful news to you. The morning lowers, and all my hope of worldly joy is fled. On Tuesday morning the 18th the dreadful sentence of death was p.r.o.nounced upon me, to which (being the just decree of that Divine Providence who first gave me breath) I bow my devoted head, with that fort.i.tude, cheerfulness, and resignation, which is the duty of every member of the church of our blessed Saviour and Redeemer Christ Jesus. To Him alone I now look up for succour, in full hope that perhaps a few days more will open to the view of my astonished and fearful soul His kingdom of eternal and incomprehensible bliss, prepared only for the righteous of heart.

'I have not been found guilty of the slightest act connected with that detestable crime of mutiny, but am doomed to die for not being active in my endeavours to suppress it. Could the witnesses who appeared on the Court-martial be themselves tried, _they_ would also suffer for the very same and only crime of which I have been found guilty. But I am to be the victim. Alas! my youthful inexperience, and not depravity of will, is the sole cause to which I can attribute my misfortunes. But so far from repining at my fate, I receive it with a dreadful kind of joy, composure, and serenity of mind; well a.s.sured that it has pleased G.o.d to point me out as a subject through which some greatly useful (though at present unsearchable) intention of the divine attributes may be carried into execution for the future benefit of my country.

Then why should I repine at being made a sacrifice for the good, perhaps, of thousands of my fellow-creatures; forbid it, Heaven! Why should I be sorry to leave a world in which I have met with nothing but misfortunes and all their concomitant evils? I shall on the contrary endeavour to divest myself of all wishes for the futile and sublunary enjoyments of it, and prepare my soul for its reception into the bosom of its Redeemer. For though the very strong recommendation I have had to his Majesty's mercy by all the members of the Court may meet with his approbation, yet that is but the balance of a straw, a mere uncertainty, upon which no hope can be built; the other is a certainty that must one day happen to every mortal, and therefore the salvation of my soul requires my most prompt and powerful exertions during the short time I may have to remain on earth.

'As this is too tender a subject for me to inform my unhappy and distressed mother and sisters of, I trust, dear Sir, you will either show them this letter, or make known to them the truly dreadful intelligence in such a manner as (a.s.sisted by your wholesome and paternal advice) may enable them to bear it with Christian fort.i.tude. The only worldly feelings I am now possessed of are for their happiness and welfare; but even these, in my present situation, I must endeavour, with G.o.d's a.s.sistance, to eradicate from my heart, how hard soever the task. I must strive against cheris.h.i.+ng any temporal affections. But, my dear Sir, endeavour to mitigate my distressed mother's sorrow. Give my everlasting duty to her, and unabated love to my disconsolate brothers and sisters, and all my other relations. Encourage them, by my example, to bear up with fort.i.tude and resignation to the Divine will, under their load of misfortunes, almost too great for female nature to support, and teach them to be fully persuaded that all hopes of happiness on earth are vain. On my own account I still enjoy the most easy serenity of mind; and am, dear Sir, for ever your greatly indebted and most dutiful, but ill-fated,

'PETER HEYWOOD.'

His next letter is to his dearly beloved Nessy.

'Had I not a strong idea that, ere this mournful epistle from your ill-fated brother can reach the trembling hand of my ever dear and much afflicted Nessy, she must have been informed of the final issue of my trial on Wednesday morning, by my honoured friend Dr. Scott, I would not now add trouble to the afflicted by a confirmation of it. Though I have indeed fallen an early victim to the rigid rules of the service, and though the jaws of death are once more opened upon me, yet do I not now nor ever will bow to the tyranny of base-born fear.

Conscious of having done my duty to G.o.d and man, I feel not one moment's anxiety on my own account, but cherish a full and sanguine hope that perhaps a few days more will free me from the load of misfortune which has ever been my portion in this transient period of existence; and that I shall find an everlasting asylum in those blessed regions of eternal bliss, where the galling yoke of tyranny and oppression is felt no more.

'If earthly Majesty, to whose mercy I have been recommended by the Court, should refuse to put forth its lenient hand and rescue me from what is _fancifully_ called an ignominious death, there is a heavenly King and Redeemer ready to receive the righteous penitent, on whose gracious mercy alone I, as we all should, depend, with that pious resignation which is the duty of every Christian; well convinced that, without His express permission, not even a hair of our head can fall to the ground.

'Oh! my sister, my heart yearns when I picture to myself the affliction, indescribable affliction, which this melancholy intelligence must have caused in the mind of my much honoured mother. But let it be your peculiar endeavour to watch over her grief and mitigate her pain. I hope, indeed, this little advice from me will be unnecessary; for I know the holy precepts of that inspired religion, which, thank heaven! have been implanted in the bosoms of us all, will point out to you, and all my dear relatives, that fort.i.tude and resignation which are required of us in the conflicts of human nature, and prevent you from arraigning the wisdom of that omniscient Providence, of which we ought all to have the fullest sense.

'I have had all my dear Nessy's letters; the one of the 17th this morning, but alas! what do they now avail? Their contents only serve to prove the instability of all human hopes and expectations; but, my dear sister, I begin to feel the pangs which you must suffer from the perusal of this melancholy paper, and will therefore desist, for I know it is more than your nature can support. The contrast between last week's correspondence and this is great indeed; but why? we had only hope then; and have we not the same now? certainly. Endeavour then, my love, to cherish that hope, and with faith rely upon the mercy of that G.o.d who does as to Him seems best and most conducive to the general good of His miserable creatures.

'Bear it then with Christian patience, and instil into the mind of my dear and now sorrowful sisters, by your advice, the same disposition; and, for heaven's sake, let not despair touch the soul of my dear mother--for then all would be over.

Let James also employ all his efforts to cheer her spirits under her weight of woe. I will write no more. Adieu, my dearest love! Write but little to me, and pray for your ever affectionate but ill-fated brother.

'P.S.--I am in perfect spirits, therefore let not your sympathizing feelings for my sufferings hurt your own precious health, which is dearer to me than life itself. Adieu!--'

In a letter to his mother he a.s.sures her of the perfect tranquillity of his mind; advises her not to entertain too sanguine hopes, but at the same time not to be uneasy; and he adds, 'A minister of the gospel, who now attends me, has advised me not to say too much to any of my dear relations, but now and then I cannot avoid it.' To his dearest Nessy, who encourages him to take hope, he says, 'Alas! it is but a broken stick which _I_ have leaned on, and it has pierced my soul in such a manner that I will never more trust to it, but wait with a contented mind and patience for the final accomplishment of the Divine will....

Mrs. _Hope_ is a faithless and ungrateful acquaintance, with whom I have now broken off all connexions, and in her stead have endeavoured to cultivate a more sure friends.h.i.+p with _Resignation_, in full trust of finding her more constant.' He desires her to write through her brother James who is with him; and says that the reason for his having desired her not to write much was, lest she might hurt herself by it; and he adds, 'from an idea that your exalted sentiments upon so tender a subject ought not to be known by an inquiring world; but,' he continues, 'do just as you like best: I am conscious that your good sense will prompt you to nothing inconsistent with our present circ.u.mstances.' To this she replies, in the true spirit of a character like her own. 'Yes!

my ever dearest brother, I _will_ write to you, and I know I need not add, that in _that_ employment (while thus deprived of your loved society) consists my only happiness. But why not express my sentiments to yourself? I have nothing to say which I should blush to have known to all the world;--nothing to express in my letters to you but love and affection, and shall I blush for this? Or can I have a wish to conceal sentiments of such a nature for an object who I am so certain merits all my regard, and in whom the admiration of surrounding friends convinces me I am not mistaken. No, surely; 'tis my pride, my chiefest glory, to love you; and when you think me worthy of commendation, _that_ praise, and _that_ only, can make me vain. I shall not therefore write to you, my dearest brother, in a private manner, for it is unnecessary, and I abhor all deceit; in which I know you agree with me.'

To her sister Mary in the Isle of Man she says, 'With respect to that little wretch Hallet, his intrepidity in court was astonis.h.i.+ng; and after every evidence had spoken highly in Peter's favour, and given testimony of his innocence, so strong that not a doubt was entertained of his acquittal, _he_ declared, unasked, that while Bligh was upon deck, he (Hallet) saw him look at and speak to Peter. What he said to him Hallet could not hear, (being at the distance of twenty feet from Bligh, and Peter was twenty feet farther off, consequently a distance of forty feet separated Mr. Bligh and my brother); but he added that Peter, on _hearing_ what Mr. Bligh said to him, _laughed_ and turned contemptuously away. No other witness saw Peter laugh but Hallet; on the contrary, all agreed he wore a countenance on that day remarkably sorrowful; yet the effect of this cruel evidence was wonderful upon the minds of the Court, and they concluded by p.r.o.nouncing the dreadful sentence, though at the same time accompanied by the strongest recommendation to mercy. a.s.sure yourselves (I have it from Mr. Graham's own mouth), that Peter's honour is and will be as secure as his own; that every professional man, as well as every man of sense, of whatever denomination, does and will esteem him highly; that my dear uncle Pasley (who was in town the night before my arrival) is delighted with his worth; and that, in short, we shall at length be happy.'

From this time a daily correspondence pa.s.sed between Peter Heywood and his sister Nessy, the latter indulging hope, even to a certainty, that she will not be deceived,--the other preaching up patience and resignation, with a full reliance on his innocence and integrity. 'Cheer up then,' says he, 'my dear Nessy; cherish _your hope_, and I will exercise _my patience_.' Indeed so perfectly calm was this young man under his dreadful calamity, that in a very few days after condemnation his brother says, 'While I write this, Peter is sitting by me making an Otaheitan vocabulary, and so happy and intent upon it, that I have scarcely an opportunity of saying a word to him; he is in excellent spirits, and I am convinced they are better and better every day.'

This vocabulary is a very extraordinary performance; it consists of one hundred full-written folio pages, the words alphabetically arranged, and all the syllables accented. It appears, from a pa.s.sage in the _Voyage of the Duff_, that a copy of this vocabulary was of great use to the missionaries who were first sent to Otaheite in this s.h.i.+p.

During the delay which took place in carrying the sentence into execution, Commodore Pasley, Mr. Graham, and others, were indefatigable in their inquiries and exertions to ascertain what progress had been made in bringing to a happy issue the recommendation to the fountain of mercy: not less so was Nessy Heywood: from Mr. Graham she learnt what this excellent man considered to be the princ.i.p.al parts of the evidence that led to the conviction of her unhappy brother, which, having understood to be the following, she transmitted to her brother:--

_First_. That he a.s.sisted in hoisting out the launch.

_Second_. That he was seen by the carpenter resting his hand upon a cutla.s.s.

_Third_. That on being called to by Lieutenant Bligh, he laughed.

_Fourth_. That he remained in the _Bounty_ instead of accompanying Bligh in the launch.

On these points of the evidence, Mr. Heywood made the following comments, which he sent from Portsmouth to his sister in town.

'Peter Heywood's Remarks upon material points of the evidence which was given at his trial, on board the _Duke_, in Portsmouth Harbour.

'_First. That I a.s.sisted in hoisting out the launch._--This boat was asked for by the captain and his officers, and whoever a.s.sisted in hoisting her out were their friends; for if the captain had been sent away in the cutter (which was Christian's first intention), he could not have taken with him more than nine or ten men, whereas the launch carried nineteen. The boatswain, the master, the gunner, and the carpenter say, in their evidence, that they considered me as helping the captain on this occasion.

'_Second. That I was seen by the carpenter resting my hand on a cutla.s.s_.--I was seen in this position by no other person than the carpenter--no other person therefore could be intimidated by my appearance. Was the carpenter intimidated by it?--No. So far from being afraid of me, he did not even look upon me in the light of a person armed, but pointed out to me the danger there was of my being thought so, and I immediately took away my hand from the cutla.s.s, upon which I had very innocently put it when I was in a state of stupor. The Court was particularly pointed in its inquiries into this circ.u.mstance; and the carpenter was pressed to declare, on the oath he had taken, and after maturely considering the matter, whether he did, at the time he saw me so situated, or had since been inclined to believe, that, under all the circ.u.mstances of the case, I could be considered as an _armed man_, to which he unequivocally answered, No; and he gave some good reasons (which will be found in his evidence) for thinking that I had not a wish to be armed during the mutiny.

The master, the boatswain, the gunner, Mr. Hayward, Mr.

Hallet, and John Smith (who, with the carpenter, were all the witnesses belonging to the _Bounty_), say, in their evidence, that they did not, _any of them,_ see me armed; and the boatswain and the carpenter further say, in the most pointed terms, that they considered me to be one of the captain's party, and _by no means_ as belonging to the mutineers: and the master, the boatswain, the carpenter, the gunner, all declare that, from what they observed on my conduct during the mutiny, and from a recollection of my behaviour previous thereto, they were convinced I would have afforded them all the a.s.sistance in my power, if an opportunity had offered to retake the s.h.i.+p.

'_Third. That, upon being called to by the captain, I laughed_.--If this was believed by the Court, it must have had, I am afraid, a very great effect upon its judgement; for, if viewed in too serious a light, it would seem to bring together and combine a number of trifling circ.u.mstances, which by themselves could only be treated merely as matters of suspicion. It was no doubt, therefore, received with caution, and considered with the utmost candour. The countenance, I grant, on some other occasions, may warrant an opinion of good or evil existing in the mind; but on the momentous events of life and death, it is surely by much too indefinite and hazardous even to listen to for a moment. The different ways of expressing our various pa.s.sions are, with many, as variable as the features they wear. Tears have often been, nay generally are, the relief of excessive joy, while misery and dejection have, many a time, disguised themselves in a smile; and convulsive laughs have betrayed the anguish of an almost broken heart. To judge, therefore, the principles of the heart, by the barometer of the face, is as erroneous as it would be absurd and unjust. This matter may likewise be considered in another point of view. Mr. Hallet says I laughed in consequence of being called to by the captain, who was abaft the mizen-mast, while I was upon the platform near the fore hatchway, a distance of more than thirty feet: if the captain intended I should hear him, and there can be no doubt that he wished it--if he really called to me, he must have exerted his voice, and very considerably too, upon such an occasion and in such a situation; and yet Mr. Hallet himself, who, by being on the quarter-deck, could not have been half the distance from the captain that I was, even he, I say, could not hear what was said to me: how then, in the name of G.o.d, was it possible that I should have heard the captain at all, situated, as I must have been, in the midst of noisy confusion? And if I did not hear him, which I most solemnly aver to be the truth, even granting that I laughed (which, however, in my present awful situation I declare I believe I did not), it could not have been at what the captain said.

Upon this ground, then, I hope I shall stand acquitted of this charge, for if the crime derives its guilt from the knowledge I had of the captain's speaking to me, it follows, of course, that if I did not hear him speak, there could be no crime in my laughing. It may, however, very fairly be asked, why Mr.

Hallet did not make known that the captain was calling to me?

His duty to the captain, if not his friends.h.i.+p for me, should have prompted him to it; and the peculiarity of our situation required this act of kindness at his hands.[29] I shall only observe further upon this head, that the boatswain, the carpenter, and Mr. Hayward, who saw more of me than any other of the witnesses, did say in their evidence, that I had rather a sorrowful countenance on the day of the mutiny.

'_Fourth. That I remained on board the s.h.i.+p, instead of going in the boat with the captain_.--That I was at first alarmed and afraid of going into the boat I will not pretend to deny; but that afterwards I wished to accompany the captain, and should have done it, if I had not been prevented by Thompson, who confined me below by the order of Churchill, is clearly proved by the evidence of several of the witnesses. The boatswain says, that just before he left the s.h.i.+p I went below, and in pa.s.sing him said something about a bag--(it was, that I would put a few things into a bag and follow him); the carpenter says he saw me go below at this time; and both those witnesses say that they heard the master-at-arms call to Thompson "_to keep them below_." The point, therefore, will be to prove to whom this order, "_keep them below_," would apply.

The boatswain and carpenter say they have no doubt of its meaning me as one; and that it must have been so, I shall have very little difficulty in showing, by the following statement:--

'There remained on board the s.h.i.+p after the boat put off, twenty-five men. Messrs. Hayward and Hallet have proved that the following were under arms:--Christian, Hillbrant, Millward, Burkitt, Muspratt, Ellison, Sumner, Smith, Young, Skinner, Churchill, M'Koy, Quintal, Morrison, Williams, Thompson, Mills, and Brown, in all eighteen. The master (and upon this occasion I may be allowed to quote from the captain's printed narrative) mentions Martin as one, which makes the number of armed men nineteen, none of whom, we may reasonably suppose, were ordered to be kept below. Indeed, Mr.

Hayward says, that there were at the least eighteen of them upon deck, when he went into the boat; and if Thompson, the sentinel over the arm-chest, be added to them, it exactly agrees with the number above-named; there remains then six, to whom Churchill's order, "_keep them below,"_ might apply, namely, Heywood, Stewart, Coleman, Norman, M'Intosh, and Byrne.

'Could Byrne have been one of them? _No_, for he was in the cutter alongside. Could Coleman have been one of them? _No_, for he was at the gangway when the captain and officers went into the launch, and aft upon the taffrail when the boat was veered astern. Could Norman have been one of them? _No_, for he was speaking to the officers. Could M'Intosh have been one of them? _No_, for he was with Coleman and Norman, desiring the captain and officers to take notice that they were not concerned in the mutiny. It could then have applied to n.o.body but to Mr. Stewart and myself; and by this order of Churchill, therefore, was I prevented from going with the captain in the boat.