In his _Narrative_ Bligh describes the mutiny as "a close-planned act of
villainy," and attributes the conspiracy not to his own harshness, or to
disloyalty provoked by "real or imaginary grievances," but to the
contrast of life on board ship, "in ever climbing up the climbing wave,"
with the unearned luxuries of Tahiti, "the allurements of dissipation
.
villainy," and attributes the conspiracy not to his own harshness, or to
disloyalty provoked by "real or imaginary grievances," but to the
contrast of life on board ship, "in ever climbing up the climbing wave,"
with the unearned luxuries of Tahiti, "the allurements of dissipation
.
Byron
--[MS.
D.
erased.
]
[ey] ----_their doubtful shimmer from the deep_. --[MS. D. erased]
[352] [William Bligh, the son of Cornish parents, was born September 9
1754 (? 1753). He served under Cook in his second voyage in the
_Resolution_, 1772-75, as sailing-master; and, in 1782, fought under
Lord Howe at Gibraltar. He married a daughter of William Betham, first
collector of customs in the Isle of Man, and hence his connection with
Fletcher Christian, who belonged to a Manx family, and the midshipman
Peter Hayward, who was the son of a Deemster. He was appointed to the
_Bounty_ in December, 1787, and in 1791 to the _Providence_, which was
despatched to the Society Islands to obtain a fresh cargo of bread-fruit
trees in place of those which were thrown overboard by the mutineers. He
commanded the _Glatton_ at Copenhagen, May 21, 1801, and on that and
other occasions served with distinction. He was made Governor of New
South Wales in 1805, but was forcibly deposed in an insurrection headed
by Major Johnston, January, 1808. He was kept in prison till 1810, but
on his return to England his administration of his office was approved,
and Johnston was cashiered. He was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral
of the Blue in 1814, and died, December 7, 1817.
In his _Narrative_ Bligh describes the mutiny as "a close-planned act of
villainy," and attributes the conspiracy not to his own harshness, or to
disloyalty provoked by "real or imaginary grievances," but to the
contrast of life on board ship, "in ever climbing up the climbing wave,"
with the unearned luxuries of Tahiti, "the allurements of dissipation
. . . the female connections," which the sailors had left behind. Besides
his own apology, there are the sworn statements of the two midshipmen,
Hayward and Hallet, and others, which Bligh published in answer to a
pamphlet which Edward Christian, afterwards Chief Justice of Ely, wrote
in defence of his brother Fletcher. The evidence against Bligh is
contained in the MS. journal of the boatswain's mate, James Morrison,
which was saved, as by a miracle, from the wreck of the _Pandora_, and
is quoted by Sir John Barrow, Lady Belcher, and other authorities. There
is, too, the testimony of John Adams (Alexander Smith), as recorded by
Captain Beachey, and, as additional proof of indifference and tyrannical
behaviour, there are Bligh's own letters to Peter Hayward's mother and
uncle (March 26, April 2, 1790), and W. C. Wentworth's account of his
administration as Governor of New South Wales (see _A Statistical
Description_, etc. , 1819, p. 166). It cannot be gainsaid that Bligh was
a man of integrity and worth, and that he was upheld and esteemed by the
Admiralty. Morrison's Journal, though in parts corroborated by Bligh's
MS. Journal, is not altogether convincing, and the testimony of John
Adams in his old age counts for little. But according to his own
supporters he "damned" his men though not the officers, and his own
_Narrative_, as well as Morrison's Journal, proves that he was
suspicious, and that he underrated and misunderstood the character and
worth of his subordinates.
[ey] ----_their doubtful shimmer from the deep_. --[MS. D. erased]
[352] [William Bligh, the son of Cornish parents, was born September 9
1754 (? 1753). He served under Cook in his second voyage in the
_Resolution_, 1772-75, as sailing-master; and, in 1782, fought under
Lord Howe at Gibraltar. He married a daughter of William Betham, first
collector of customs in the Isle of Man, and hence his connection with
Fletcher Christian, who belonged to a Manx family, and the midshipman
Peter Hayward, who was the son of a Deemster. He was appointed to the
_Bounty_ in December, 1787, and in 1791 to the _Providence_, which was
despatched to the Society Islands to obtain a fresh cargo of bread-fruit
trees in place of those which were thrown overboard by the mutineers. He
commanded the _Glatton_ at Copenhagen, May 21, 1801, and on that and
other occasions served with distinction. He was made Governor of New
South Wales in 1805, but was forcibly deposed in an insurrection headed
by Major Johnston, January, 1808. He was kept in prison till 1810, but
on his return to England his administration of his office was approved,
and Johnston was cashiered. He was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral
of the Blue in 1814, and died, December 7, 1817.
In his _Narrative_ Bligh describes the mutiny as "a close-planned act of
villainy," and attributes the conspiracy not to his own harshness, or to
disloyalty provoked by "real or imaginary grievances," but to the
contrast of life on board ship, "in ever climbing up the climbing wave,"
with the unearned luxuries of Tahiti, "the allurements of dissipation
. . . the female connections," which the sailors had left behind. Besides
his own apology, there are the sworn statements of the two midshipmen,
Hayward and Hallet, and others, which Bligh published in answer to a
pamphlet which Edward Christian, afterwards Chief Justice of Ely, wrote
in defence of his brother Fletcher. The evidence against Bligh is
contained in the MS. journal of the boatswain's mate, James Morrison,
which was saved, as by a miracle, from the wreck of the _Pandora_, and
is quoted by Sir John Barrow, Lady Belcher, and other authorities. There
is, too, the testimony of John Adams (Alexander Smith), as recorded by
Captain Beachey, and, as additional proof of indifference and tyrannical
behaviour, there are Bligh's own letters to Peter Hayward's mother and
uncle (March 26, April 2, 1790), and W. C. Wentworth's account of his
administration as Governor of New South Wales (see _A Statistical
Description_, etc. , 1819, p. 166). It cannot be gainsaid that Bligh was
a man of integrity and worth, and that he was upheld and esteemed by the
Admiralty. Morrison's Journal, though in parts corroborated by Bligh's
MS. Journal, is not altogether convincing, and the testimony of John
Adams in his old age counts for little. But according to his own
supporters he "damned" his men though not the officers, and his own
_Narrative_, as well as Morrison's Journal, proves that he was
suspicious, and that he underrated and misunderstood the character and
worth of his subordinates.
