The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald, Vol. I

by Earl of Thomas Barnes Cochrane Dundonald; H. R. Fox Bourne

In that letter Lord Cochrane conceded more than ought to have been expected of him. In a supplementary letter written on the same day he added: "I again assure you that I am ready to do whatever is reasonable for the interest of Greece; but it cannot be expected that for such interest I ought to sacrifice totally those of my family and myself, as would be the case were I to give up both the means I possess to obtain justice in South America and my indemnification, on so slender a security as that offered to me. Believe me, I should have tendered the 37,000£, without reference to the Greek scrip I had purchased, had it not been evident to me that, under such circumstances, the security of your public funds would be dependent on chances which I cannot foresee, and over which I should have no control."

Thus temperately rebuked, the Greek deputies did not urge their proposal any further. They only wrote to promise all possible expedition in completing the steam-vessels. Lord Cochrane, however, voluntarily acceded to one of their wishes. Hearing that the largest of the steamers, the Perseverance, was nearly ready for sea, and that Mr. Galloway had again solemnly pledged himself to complete the others in a short time, he determined not to wait for the whole force, but to start at once for the Mediterranean. It had been all along decided that the Perseverance should be placed under Captain Hastings's command; and it was now arranged that he should take her to Greece as soon as she was ready, and that Lord Cochrane should follow in a schooner, the Unicorn, of 158 tons. It was not intended, of course, that with that boat alone he should go all the way to Greece; but it was considered—perhaps not very wisely—that if he were actually on his way to Greece, the completion of the other five steamships would be proceeded with more rapidly; and he agreed that, as soon as he was joined in the Mediterranean by the first two of these, the Enterprise and the Irresistible, he would hasten on to the Archipelago, and there make the best of the small force at his disposal. Not only was it supposed that Mr. Galloway and the other agents would thus be induced to more vigorous action: it was also deemed that the effect of this step upon the Hellenic nation would be very beneficial. "As soon as the Greek Government know that your lordship is on your way to Greece," wrote the London deputies on the 13th of April, "their courage will be animated, and their confidence renewed. We may with truth assert that your lordship is regarded by all classes of our countrymen as a Messiah, who is to come to their deliverance; and, from the enthusiasm which will prevail amongst the people, we may venture to predict that your lordship's valour and success at sea will give energy and victory to their arms on land."

With the new arrangements necessitated by this change of plans the last two or three weeks of April and the first of May were occupied. Lord Cochrane put to sea on the 8th of May. "As a Greek citizen," one of the deputies in London, Andreas Luriottis, had written on the 17th of April, "I cannot refrain from expressing my sincere gratitude towards your lordship for the resolution which you have taken to depart almost immediately for Greece. This generous determination, at a moment when my country is really in want of every assistance, cannot be regarded with indifference by my countrymen, who already look upon your lordship as a Messiah. Your talents and intrepidity cannot allow us for a moment to doubt of success. My countrymen will afford you every assistance, and confer on you all the powers necessary for your undertaking; although your lordship must be aware that Greece, after five years' struggle, cannot be expected to present a very favourable aspect to a stranger. Your lordship will, however, find men full of devotion and courage—men who have founded, their best hopes on you, and from whom, under such a leader, everything may be expected. Your lordship's previous exploits encourage me to hope that Greece will not be less successful than the Brazils, since the materials she offers for cultivation are superior. With patience and perseverance in the outset, all difficulties will soon vanish, and the course will be direct and unimpeded. The resources of Greece are not to be despised, and, if successful, she will find ample means to reward those who will have devoted themselves to her service and to the cause of liberty."

CHAPTER XV.

LORD COCHRANE'S DEPARTURE FOR GREECE.—HIS VISIT TO LONDON AND VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.—HIS STAY AT MESSINA, AND AFTERWARDS AT MARSEILLES.—THE DELAYS IN COMPLETING THE STEAMSHIPS, AND THE CONSEQUENT INJURY TO THE GREEK CAUSE, AND SERIOUS EMBARRASSMENT TO LORD COCHRANE.—HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH MESSRS. J. AND S. RICARDO.—HIS LETTER TO THE GREEK GOVERNMENT.—CHEVALIER EYNARD, AND THE CONTINENTAL PHILHELLENES.—LORD COCHRANE'S FINAL DEPARTURE, AND ARRIVAL IN GREECE.

[1826-1827.]

Lord Cochrane, having passed from Brussels to Flushing, sailed thence in the Unicorn on the 8th of May, 1826. Before proceeding to the Mediterranean, he determined, in spite of the personal risk he would thus be subjected to through the Foreign Enlistment Act, to see for himself in what state were the preparations for his enterprise in Greece. He accordingly landed at Weymouth, and hurrying up to London, spent the greater part of Sunday, the 16th of May, in Mr. Galloway's building yard at Greenwich.

He found that the Perseverance was apparently completed, though waiting for some finishing touches to be put to her boilers. "The two other vessels," he said, "were filled with pieces of the high-pressure engines, all unfixed, and scattered about in the engine-room and on deck. The boilers were in the small boats, and occupied nearly one half of their length, Mr. Galloway having, through inattention or otherwise, caused them to be made of the same dimensions as the boilers for the great vessels, which, by the by, had been improperly increased from sixteen feet, the length determined on, to twenty-three feet." The inspection was unsatisfactory; but Mr. Galloway pledged himself on his honour that the Perseverance should start in a day or two, that the Enterprise and the Irresistible should be completed and sent to sea within a fortnight, and that the other three vessels should be out of hand in less than a month.

Trusting to that promise, or at any rate hoping that it might be fulfilled, and after a parting interview with Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Ellice, and other friends, Lord Cochrane left London on Monday, and joined the Unicorn, at Dartford, on the 20th of May. It had been arranged that he should wait in British waters for the first instalment of his little fleet, at any rate. With that object he called at Falmouth, and, receiving no satisfactory information there, went to make a longer halt in Bantry Bay. At length, hearing that the Perseverance had actually started, with Captain Hastings for its commander, and that the other two large vessels were on the point of leaving the Thames, he left the coast of Ireland on the 12th of June.

He vainly hoped that the vessels would promptly join him in the Mediterranean, and that within four or five weeks' time he should be at work in Greek waters. The journey, however, was to last nine months. The mismanagement and the wilful delays of Mr. Galloway and the other contractors and agents continued as before. The urgent need of Greece was unsatisfied; the funds collected for promoting her deliverance were wantonly perverted; and the looked-for deliverer was doomed to nearly a year of further inactivity—hateful to him at all times, but now a special source of annoyance, as it involved not only idleness to himself, but also serious injury to the cause he had espoused.