On June 10th two of the ships, the Leopard and Repulse, hauled down the flag of mutiny, and sailed into the Thames; their example was soon followed by others. Parker and his cause were lost.
On the evening of June 14th this miserable affair was at an end. The crew of the Sandwich, Parker’s own ship, brought that vessel under the guns of the fort at Sheerness, and handed him as a prisoner to the authorities. Sixteen days afterwards he was hanged. His wife presented a petition to the queen in favour of her wretched husband, and is stated to have offered a thousand guineas if his life could be spared. But he, of all men who were ever hanged, deserved his fate, for he had placed the very kingdom itself in peril. Other executions took place, but very few, considering the heinousness of the crime committed. Still, the Government knew that the men had been in the larger proportion of cases more sinned against than sinning; and when later, Duncan’s victory over the Dutch fleet provided an occasion, an amnesty was published, and many who had been confined in prison, some of them under sentence of death, were released. En passant, it may be remarked that three marines were shot at Plymouth on July 6th of the same year, for endeavouring to excite a mutiny in the corps, while another was sentenced to receive a thousand lashes.
The mutinous spirit evinced at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and the Nore spread, even to foreign stations. Had it not been for Duncan’s manly and sensible appeal to his crew, where there were some disaffected spirits, our naval supremacy might have been seriously compromised as regards the Dutch. On board the Mediterranean Fleet, then lying off the coast of Portugal, the mutineers had for a time their own way. The admiral commanding, Lord St. Vincent, was, however, hardly the man to be daunted by any number of evil-disposed fellows. He had only just before added to his laurels by another victory over the enemies of his country. The ringleaders on board the flagship St. George were immediately seized, brought to trial, and hanged the next day, although it was Sunday, a most unusual time for an execution. Still further to increase the force of the example, he departed from the usual custom of drawing men from different ships to assist at the execution, and ordered that none but the crew of the St. George itself should touch a rope. The brave old admiral, by his energy and promptitude, soon quieted every symptom of disaffection.
LORD ST. VINCENT.
The last of the mutinies broke out at the Cape of Good Hope, on October 9th of the same year, when a band of mutineers seized the flagship of Admiral Pringle, and appointed delegates in the same way as their shipmates at home, showing plainly how extended was the discontent in the service, and how complete was the organisation of the insurgents. Lord Macartney, who commanded at the Cape, was, however, master of the occasion. Of the admiral the less said the better, as he showed the white feather, and was completely non-plussed. Macartney manned the batteries with all the troops available, and ordered red-hot shot to be prepared. He then informed the fleet that if the red flag was not at once withdrawn, and a white one hoisted, he would open fire and blow up every ship the crew of which held out. The admiral at the same time informed the delegates that all the concessions they required had already been granted to the fleets at home, and of course to them. In a quarter of an hour the red flag was hauled down, and a free pardon [pg 257]extended to the bulk of the offenders. The ringleaders were, however, hanged, and a few others flogged. The mutinous spirit never re-asserted itself.
Since that time, thank God! no British fleet has mutinied; and as at the present day the sailors of the Royal Navy are better fed, paid, and cared for than they ever were before, there is no fear of any recurrence of disaffection. One need only look at the Jack Tar of the service, and compare him with the appearance of almost any sailor of any merchant marine, to be convinced that his grievances to-day are of the lightest order. The wrongs experienced by sailors in a part of the merchant service have been recently remedied in part; but it is satisfactory to be able to add that there is every probability of their condition being greatly improved in the future. On this point, however, we shall have more to say in a later chapter.