Section 18 of 28 - Table of Contents
_Lieutenant Corner_, of the _Pandora_, merely states his being sent to
bring the rest of the mutineers on board, who were at some distance from
Matavai Bay.
The prisoners being called on for their defence, the witnesses were
again separately called and examined on the part of the prisoners.
_Mr. Fryer_, the master, called in and examined by Mr. Heywood.--'If you
had been permitted, would you have stayed in the ship in preference to
going into the boat?' _Witness_--'Yes.' _Prisoner_--'Had you stayed in
the ship in expectation of retaking her, was my conduct such, from the
first moment you knew me to this, as would have induced you to intrust
me with your design; and do you believe I would have favoured it, and
given you all the assistance in my power?' _Witness_--'I believe he
would: I should not have hesitated a moment in asking of him when I had
had an opportunity of opening my mind to him.'
The same question being put to _Mr. Cole_, the boatswain, _Mr.
Peckover_, the gunner, and _Mr. Purcell_, the carpenter, they all
answered in the affirmative.
Mr. Heywood asked, 'What was my general conduct, temper, and disposition
on board the ship?' _Witness_--'Beloved by everybody, to the best of my
recollection.' To the same question, _Mr. Cole_ answers, 'Always a very
good character.' _Mr. Peckover_--'The most amiable, and deserving of
every one's esteem.' _Mr. Purcell_--'In every respect becoming the
character of a gentleman, and such as merited the esteem of everybody.'
_Mr. Cole_ being examined, gave his testimony,--that he never saw Mr.
Heywood armed; that he did not consider him of the mutineers' party;
that he saw nothing of levity or apparent merriment in his conduct; that
when he was below with Stewart, he heard Churchill call out, 'Keep them
below,' and that he believes Heywood was one of the persons meant--has
no doubt of it at all; that Bligh could not have spoken to him, when on
the booms, loud enough to be heard; that Hayward was alarmed, and Hallet
alarmed; that he by no means considers Heywood or Morrison as
mutineers.
_Mr. Purcell_ being examined, states,--that, respecting the cutlass on
which he saw Mr. Heywood's hand resting, he does not consider him as
being an armed man; that he never thought him as of the mutineers'
party; that he never heard Captain Bligh speak to him; that he thinks,
from his situation, he could not have heard him; that he was by no means
guilty of levity or apparent merriment; that he heard the master-at-arms
call out to keep them below; that Mr. Hallet appeared to him to be very
much confused; and that Mr. Hayward likewise appeared to be very much
confused.
_The Court_ asked,--'As you say you did not look upon the prisoner as a
person armed, to what did you allude when you exclaimed, "Good God,
Peter, what do you do with that?"' _Witness_--'I look upon it as an
accidental thing.'
_Captain Edwards_, being asked by Heywood--'Did I surrender myself to
you upon the arrival of the _Pandora_ at Otaheite?' _Witness_--'Not to
me, to the Lieutenant. I apprehend he put himself in my power. I always
understood he came voluntarily; our boats were not in the water.'
_Prisoner_--'Did I give you such information respecting myself and the
_Bounty_ as afterwards proved true?' _Witness_--'He gave me some
information respecting the people on the island, that corroborated with
Coleman's. I do not recollect the particular conversation, but in
general it agreed with the account given by Coleman.' _Prisoner_--'When
I told you that I went away the first time from Otaheite with the
pirates, did I not at the same time inform you that it was not possible
for me to separate myself from Christian, who would not permit any man
of the party to leave him at that time, lest, by giving intelligence,
they might have been discovered whenever a ship should arrive?'
_Witness_--'Yes, but I do not recollect the latter part of it,
respecting giving intelligence.'
_Mr. Fryer_ again called in and examined by Mr. Morrison.--Mr. Fryer
states, he saw him assist in hoisting out the boats; that he said to him
(Fryer), 'Go down below.' _The Court_ asked, 'Whether it might not have
been from a laudable motive, as supposing your assistance at that time
might have prevented a more advantageous effort?' _Witness_--'Probably
it might: had I stayed in the ship, he would have been one of the first
that I should have opened my mind to, from his good behaviour in the
former part of the voyage': states his belief, that he addressed him as
advice; and that, in hoisting out the boat, he was assisting Captain
Bligh.
_Mr. Cole_, the boatswain, states, that he ordered Morrison to go and
help them with the cutter; that he told him the boat was overloaded;
that Captain Bligh had begged that no more people should go in her, and
said he would take his chance in the ship; that he shook Morrison by the
hand, and said he would do him justice in England; that he had no reason
to suppose him concerned in the mutiny.
_Lieutenant Thomas Hayward_ states, that Morrison appeared joyful, and
supposed him to be one of the mutineers; on being asked by Morrison if
he could declare before God and the Court that what he stated was not
the result of a private pique? _Witness_--'Not the result of any private
pique, but an opinion formed after quitting the ship, from his not
coming with us, there being more boats than one; cannot say they might
have had the cutter.' This witness was pleased to remember nothing that
was in favour of the prisoner.
_Lieutenant Hallet_ states, he saw Morrison under arms; being asked in
what part of the ship, he says, 'I did not see him under arms till the
boat was veered astern, and he was then looking over the taffrail, and
called out, in a jeering manner, "If my friends inquire after me, tell
them I am somewhere in the South Seas."'
_Captain Edwards_ bore testimony that Morrison voluntarily surrendered
himself.
_Mr. Fryer_ did not see Morrison armed; he was in his watch, and he
considered him a steady, sober, attentive, good man; and acknowledged,
that if he had remained in the ship, with the view of retaking her,
Morrison would have been one of the first he should have called to his
assistance.
_Mr. Cole_ gave testimony to his being a man of good character,
attentive to his duty, and he never knew any harm of him.
_Mr. Purcell_ bore witness to his good character, being always diligent
and attentive; did not see him under arms on the taffrail; never heard
him use any jeering speeches. Respecting the prisoner _Muspratt, Mr.
Cole's_ evidence proves that he had a musket in his hands, but not till
the latter part of the business; it is also proved that he assisted in
getting things into the launch. _Mr. Peckover_ saw him standing on the
forecastle doing nothing--he was not armed.
_Lieutenant Hayward_ saw Muspratt among the armed men: was asked, when
Captain Bligh used the words, 'Don't let the boat be overloaded, my
lads'--'I'll do you justice'; do you understand the latter words, 'My
lads, I'll do you justice,' to apply to clothes or to men, whom he
apprehended might go into the boat? _Witness_--If Captain Bligh made use
of the words "my lads," it was to the people already in the boat, and
not to those in the ship.' _The Court_--'To whom do you imagine Captain
Bligh alluded: was it, in your opinion, to the men in the boat with him,
or to any persons then remaining in the ship?' _Witness_--'To persons
remaining in the ship.'
Against the prisoners Ellison, Burkitt, and Millward, the evidence given
by all the witnesses so clearly and distinctly proved they were under
arms the whole time, and actively employed against Bligh, that it is
unnecessary to go into any detail as far as they are concerned.
The Court having called on the prisoners, each separately, for his
defence, Mr. Heywood delivered his as follows:--
'My lords and gentlemen of this honourable Court,--Your
attention has already been sufficiently exercised in the
painful narrative of this trial; it is therefore my duty to
trespass further on it as little as possible.
'The crime of mutiny, for which I am now arraigned, is so
seriously pregnant with every danger and mischief, that it
makes the person so accused, in the eyes, not only of military
men of every description, but of every nation, appear at once
the object of unpardonable guilt and exemplary vengeance.
'In such a character it is my misfortune to appear before this
tribunal, and no doubt I must have been gazed at with all that
horror and indignation which the conspirators of such a mutiny
as that in Captain Bligh's ship so immediately provoke; hard,
then, indeed is my fate, that circumstances should so occur to
point me out as one of them.
'Appearances, probably, are against me, but they are
appearances only; for unless I may be deemed guilty for
feeling a repugnance at embracing death unnecessarily, I
declare before this Court and the tribunal of Almighty God, I
am innocent of the charge.
'I chose rather to defer asking any questions of the witnesses
until I heard the whole of the evidence; as the charge itself,
although I knew it generally, was not in its full extent, nor
in particular points, made known to me before I heard it read
by the Judge Advocate at the beginning of the trial: and I
feel myself relieved by having adopted such a mode, as it
enables me to set right a few particulars of a narrative which
I had the honour to transmit to the Earl of Chatham,
containing an account of all that passed on the fatal morning
of the 28th of April, 1789, but which, from the confusion the
ship was in during the mutiny, I might have mistaken, or from
the errors of an imperfect recollection I might have
mis-stated; the difference, however, will now be open to
correction; and I have great satisfaction in observing, that
the mistakes but very slightly respect my part of the
transaction, and I shall consequently escape the imputation of
endeavouring to save myself by imposing on my judges.
'When first this sad event took place I was sleeping in my
hammock; nor, till the very moment of being awakened from it,
had I the least intimation of what was going on. The spectacle
was as sudden to my eyes, as it was unknown to my heart; and
both were convulsed at the scene.
'Matthew Thompson was the first that claimed my attention upon
waking: he was sitting as a sentinel over the arm-chest and my
berth, and informed me that the captain was a prisoner, and
Christian had taken the command of the ship. I entreated for
permission to go upon deck; and soon after the boatswain and
carpenter had seen me in my berth, as they were going up the
fore-hatchway, I followed them, as is stated in their
evidence. It is not in my power to describe my feelings upon
seeing the captain as I did, who, with his hands tied behind
him, was standing on the quarter-deck, a little abaft the
mizen-mast, and Christian by his side. My faculties were
benumbed, and I did not recover the power of recollection
until called to by somebody to take hold of the tackle-fall,
and assist to get out the launch, which I found was to be
given to the captain instead of the large cutter, already in
the water alongside the ship. It were in vain to say what
things I put into the boat, but many were handed in by me; and
in doing this it was that my hand touched the cutlass (for I
will not attempt to deny what the carpenter has deposed),
though, on my conscience, I am persuaded it was of momentary
duration, and innocent as to intention. The former is evident,
from its being unobserved by every witness who saw me upon
deck, some of whom must have noticed it had it continued a
single minute; and the latter is proved by the only person who
took notice of the circumstance, and has also deposed that, at
the moment he beheld me, I was apparently in a state of
absolute stupor. The poison, therefore, carries with it its
antidote; and it seems needless to make any further comment on
the subject, for no man can be weak enough to suppose, that if
I had been armed for the purpose of assisting in the mutiny, I
should have resumed a weapon in the moment of triumph, and
when the ship was so completely in the possession of the
party, that (as more than one witness has emphatically
expressed it) all attempts at recovering her would have been
impracticable.
'The boat and ship, it is true, presented themselves to me
without its once occurring that I was at liberty to choose,
much less that the choice I should make would be afterwards
deemed criminal; and I bitterly deplore that my extreme youth
and inexperience concurred in torturing me with apprehensions,
and prevented me from preferring the former; for as things
have turned out, it would have saved me from the disgrace of
appearing before you as I do at this day--it would have spared
the sharp conflicts of my own mind ever since, and the
agonizing tears of a tender mother and my much-beloved
sisters.
'Add to my youth and inexperience, that I was influenced in my
conduct by the example of my messmates, Mr. Hallet and Mr.
Hayward, the former of whom was very much agitated, and the
latter, though he had been many years at sea, yet, when
Christian ordered him into the boat, he was evidently alarmed
at the perilous situation, and so much overcome by the harsh
command, that he actually shed tears.
'My own apprehensions were far from being lessened at such a
circumstance as this, and I fearfully beheld the preparations
for the captain's departure as the preliminaries of inevitable
destruction, which, although I did not think could be more
certain, yet I feared would be more speedy, by the least
addition to their number.
'To show that I have no disposition to impose upon this Court,
by endeavouring to paint the situation of the boat to be worse
than it really was, I need only refer to the captain's own
narrative, wherein he says that she would have sunk with them
on the evening of the 3rd May, had it not been for his timely
caution of throwing out some of the stores, and all the
clothes belonging to the people, excepting two suits for each.
'Now what clothes or stores could they have spared which in
weight would have been equal to that of two men? (for if I had
been in her, and the poor fellow, Norton, had not been
murdered at Tofoa, she would have been encumbered with our
additional weight), and if it be true that she was saved by
those means, which the captain says she was, it must follow
that if Norton and myself had been in her (to say nothing of
Coleman, M'Intosh, Norman, and Byrne, who, 'tis confessed,
were desirous of leaving the ship), she must either have gone
down with us, or, to prevent it, we must have lightened her of
the provisions and other necessary articles, and thereby have
perished for want--dreadful alternative!
'A choice of deaths to those who are certain of dying may be a
matter of indifference; but where, on one hand, death appears
inevitable, and the means of salvation present themselves on
the other, however imprudent it might be to resort to those
means in any other less trying situation, I think (and hope
even at my present time of life) that I shall not be suspected
of a want of courage for saying, few men would hesitate to
embrace the latter.
'Such, then, was exactly my situation on board the _Bounty_;
to be starved to death, or drowned, appeared to be inevitable
if I went in the boat; and surely it is not to be wondered at,
if, at the age of sixteen years, with no one to advise with,
and so ignorant of the discipline of the service (having never
been at sea before) as not to know or even suppose it was
possible that what I should determine upon might afterwards be
alleged against me as a crime--I say, under such
circumstances, in so trying a situation, can it be wondered
at, if I suffered the preservation of my life to be the first,
and to supersede every other, consideration.
'Besides, through the medium of the master, the captain had
directed the rest of the officers to remain on board, in hopes
of retaking the ship. Such is the master's assertion, and such
the report on board, and as it accorded with my own wishes for
the preservation of my life, I felt myself doubly justified in
staying on board, not only as it appeared to be safer than
going in the boat, but from a consideration also of being in
the way to be useful in assisting to accomplish so desirable a
wish of the captain.
'Let it not--for God's sake--let it not be argued that my
fears were groundless, and that the arrival of the boat at
Timor is a proof that my conduct was wrong. This would be
judging from the event, and I think I have plainly shown that,
but for the death of Norton at Tofoa, and the prudent order of
the captain not to overload the boat, neither himself nor any
of the people who were saved with him, would at this moment
have been alive to have preferred any charge against me, or
given evidence at this trial.
'If deliberate guilt be necessarily affixed to all who
continued on board the ship, and that in consequence they must
be numbered with Christian's party--in such a strict view of
matters it must irrevocably impeach the armourer and two
carpenter's mates, as well as Martin and Byrne, who certainly
wished to quit the ship. And if Christian's first intention of
sending away the captain, with a few persons only, in the
small cutter, had not been given up, or if even the large
cutter had not been exchanged for the launch, more than half
of those who did go with him would have been obliged to stay
with me. Forgetful for a moment of my own misfortunes, I
cannot help being agitated at the bare thought of their narrow
escape.
'Every body must, and I am sure that this Court will, allow
that my case is a peculiarly hard one, inasmuch as the running
away with the ship is a proof of the mutiny having been
committed. The innocent and the guilty are upon exactly the
same footing--had the former been confined by sickness,
without a leg to stand on, or an arm to assist them in
opposing the mutineers, they must have been put upon their
trial, and instead of the captain being obliged to prove their
guilt, it would have been incumbent upon them to have proved
themselves innocent. How can this be done but negatively? If
all who wished it could not accompany the captain, they were
necessarily compelled to stay with Christian; and being with
him, were dependent on him, subject to his orders, however
disinclined to obey them, for force in such a state is
paramount to every thing. But when, on the contrary, instead
of being in arms, or obeying any orders of the mutineers, I
did every thing in my power to assist the captain, and those
who went with him, and by all my actions (except in neglecting
to do what, if I had done, must have endangered the lives of
those who were so fortunate as to quit the ship) I showed
myself faithful to the last moment of the captain's stay, what
is there to leave a doubt in the minds of impartial and
dispassionate men of my being perfectly innocent? Happy indeed
should I have been if the master had stayed on board, which he
probably would have done, if his reasons for wishing to do so
had not been overheard by the man who was in the bread-room.
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