The nomination of Spry was, no doubt, meant to control my efforts in the future expedition to Peru, the credit of which, if any, was to be reserved for the army. As far as I knew anything of Captain Spry, I had no personal objections to him, but, restricted as I had been by the Minister of Marine Zenteno, I had great doubts as to the motives for appointments of his making, being convinced that his principal aim was to prevent me from doing anything beyond keeping the Spaniards in check, an operation to which I was by no means inclined to accede, as had been evinced by the recent conquest of Valdivia, in excess of his instructions.
Encouraged by the annoyance given to me by the Minister of Marine and his party, one or two of my captains thought themselves at liberty to manifest a disregard to my authority, which, as their admiral, I did not choose to tolerate. The most influential of these was Captain Guise, who, having been guilty of several acts of direct disobedience and neglect of duty, was, by my orders, put in arrest, pending a demand made by me that the Government should institute a court martial for the investigation of his conduct. This act greatly irritated Zenteno, who desired to support him, and refused consent to the inquiry; thus establishing a precedent for the captain of any ship to consider himself independent of the admiral.
Such an act of folly in violation of the discipline of the navy, no less than of personal insult to myself, determined me to have nothing more to do with the Chilian administration, and on July 16th, I once more transmitted to the Government my resignation, at the same time demanding my passport to quit the country, notifying to the officers of the squadron that on the receipt of the same I should cease to command. A meeting was immediately held amongst them, and on the same day, I received—not a valedictory address, as might have been expected—but two letters, one signed by five captains, and the other by twenty-three commissioned officers, containing resolutions of abandoning the service also, at the same time handing in their commissions. To this proof of attachment, I replied, by requesting that they would not sacrifice their own positions on my account, and recommended them not to make their resolutions public till they had further considered the matter, as it might be seriously detrimental to the interests of the country.
The following letter was addressed to me on this occasion by the officers of the squadron:—
"On board the Independencia, July 18, 1820."
My Lord,
The general discontent and anxiety which your Lordship's resignation has occasioned amongst the officers and others of the squadron, afford a strong proof how much the ungrateful conduct of the Government is felt by those serving under your command.
"The officers whose names are subscribed to the enclosed resolutions, disdaining longer to serve under a Government which can so soon have forgotten the important services rendered to the State, beg leave to put in your hands their commissions, and to request you will be kind enough to forward them to the Minister of Marine. At the same time that we are thus forced to withdraw ourselves from the service, our warmest wishes will be offered up for the prosperity and liberty of the country."
"Signed by 23 Commissioned Officers."
The following resolutions accompanied this letter:—