The Wabash Courier, Volume 11, Number 31, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 8 April 1843 — Page 2

eof

ES.fe»Kisr» SjO1?^SSZZSSEInMrwm. will., .l» cr». Her hold wasnlled to its uttnost capacity by halls rt, waiertiokf. nmmanitioa, KoMi and otbwr iiece**7Jm&rnvessel of war in actual wrv.ce. There was um foot of room for confining prisoner* the hold and had there been room there, no

efectnaHy separating it

_V,

lart«1.

fro™

jltjie

crew J£pt and ale the berth-deck being divided from the hold only loo«e moveable batches, which ooDld hive been either lifted op from above, or knocked np frofn below try ibe •malleot boy on board. The berth-de«k.the steemge, the wanl-room, and the "rabin. formed the fonr owTrtmenta bdow-dcck. The

Three last were very small rooms and all the apartments below were aeparated from each other by only thin and frail partitions, through which a strong man could force hie way front the brig's atom to her stern hv the shove of the should#*, or the push of the foot.— Wat was

there

for

-T ^e

sufficient enbstsnce in the thin and frail

toartitions below deck to prevent communication in f£, ordinary tone of voice, or even by a whisper. -W]ie

mfcst

CCBeir,{y

place of confinement on boa id he Somen

was therefore the open detk in the after part of which the mutineers were in fact confined. Bot the deck ia flttbh fore and aft and there the prisoners ne-

remained Within a few feet of each other and in full sight of the crew. To prevent the prisoners communicating with each other, and with the rest of the crew by words, wns difficult', to prevent such comma* nication by signs was impossible. The officers pereeived that the art of Secret and silent communication was not only understood bat practised on board the ftumers atta they were riot surprised to le

.j learn on rea

chinchotne, thSf-Mr. fencer had taken lessons and became an etpert fn the Srt, whieh no doubt he'taught

his sBSftfeTates in the conspiracy. It wonld have been on! the work of a minute fir the uneonfined malcontents* had they made rush on the after part or the deck, ro have struck off the Irons of the prisoners, and placed them at their head. And had the rash overcome the ofFiceni on deck, the officers below could scarcely have come to the rescue, Ss thry must have ascended the narrow steps, and (trough the small com uaniotr scuttles, at which tWo or three resolute wen might easily have cloven them down.

When the mutinous conspiracy hrst reached the ears of the commander of the Somen throuarh Mr. Wales, it had attained A fbrmtdoWe growth. Until the arrtv? al of thebfij» at Madeira, on the nuiward voyage, the conduct and demeanor of the crew had been correct.— From her soiling thence a difference was observed and -after leaving the coast of Africa on the homeward voyage their conduct and djujjeanor became worse and worse. These facts are riffled by the witnesses for the defence The cause of this remarkable change was for a time veiled in mysteif* It was well known that thai there had been no variation in tliq conduct of the commander that his government throughout the voyage, though firm, had been uniformly pa'ernal. But the discovery of the plot solved the mystery, and demonstrated that the mntinoos conspiracy had been the sole cause of this change of conduct and demeanor.—

The extent of the change clearly evinced the powerful and wide-spread, though silent operation of the cause which produced it. The conclusion was inevitable, that the poison of the mutiny had already pervaded a large portion of the ship's company. According to Mr. Spencer's statement, proved by the change in the conduct and demeanor of the crew not to have been exaggerated, he already numbered twenty determined associates, comprising of course, the eldest and strongest- For Mr. Spencer had declared to Mr. YVales that he would have none ol the "small fry," as he termed the lesser boys 'hat they were useless on board and that he would get rid of them when he came into power, by making them "walk the flank?

And yet the

lesser boys composed a large portion of the crew. I ne foundations of the mutinous conspiracy had been laid deep, and broad, and firm, for an officer of the brig had been the chief architect. He, though bound in duty nhd in honor to use his beet eftorts to promote the discipline, and elevate the mental and moral character ot the crew, had been for weeks sedulously employed in sinking them to the lowest depths ol insubordination and crime and to this nefarious object had been devoting, but too successfully, all

the

weight derived from

hisVirth and official rank, and all the influence of talents, manners and acquirements, well fitted for the work of demoralization.

It is well known that a mutiny, unless suppressed al its very outset, usually increases as it goes on, ins fearful rapid ratio, especially when thus

American youth—the laurels of honest fame, and the sweet delights of domestic love—his country's plaudits and his parent's smiles— for the wild and tragic drama of a pirate's life How rrsis?'?s8 must have been the influence of this pernicious example on the lowly, credulous, reckless, spirits of the ship's berthdeck, to whom ihe path of virtue might have seemed to fromisenothing but unremitting toil and unrelenting poverty, and to each of whom their tempers might have said, "'The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law" It was impossible for the officers to draw a line of separation between the sound and the unsound pans of the crew. They slept and ate in the aame apartment, unattended by any^ officer. They watched and worked In groups- The life of common seamen on shipboard is necessarily gregarious. They can communicate with each other by whispers, by.

The officers could no more check the progress of mutiny among tho crew than the progress ot contagious disease. Nor could they ascertain how far the mutiny had extended. They knew that the moral malady haWeen cons'anily on ths increase since the day when Mr. Spencer had iHwstcd that he had arreedy twenty associates at his call and it required the omniscient eyo to select those, if any, on wlmm the officers might now rely. To have held an tnnnesrwith the view to ascertain the names of ths unwnfinedmal-, cfactora would have been worse than useless. Their universal asseveration* of innoeency could not have gained credence against the daily and houtly demonstrations or their guilt. And had the names of the tinconfined malefactors been truly ascertained, thefe could have been no action on the discovery. 1 hero ::*a» not space to hold, or force to guard, arty increased

Number of prisoners. And to have singled Out the culprits by name,and branded them by a sort of anticipated conviction, ind yet have permuted them" to roam at large, intermingling freely with the crew, with the /^halter of the law about their necks, would only have J^mads ths culprits themselves more infuriated and desperate whilat the government of the ship, by exposing its own imbecility, would have sunk into disrepute and contempt.

Between the arrest of Mr. Spcneer and the execu.jitJon. the mutinous indications were ttnccesing Yet towers they deep rather than loud. The fins beneath the ^surface which causes earthquakes, reserve* for the hour ^Jol explosions, its more palpable and awful demons* ra* tons- Iti this instance especially, the mutiny had now

ll«W.u» VTOVcirOT mhu «u(v mjru .vj bursting forth was near st hand. disobedience of orders when fin* announced, and the "jstern defiame with which they were obeyed when more ^peremptorily repeated the (reqaent gathering of the older and stronger of the crew in groups for secret consuhationa, and their stealing awmy at the approach »f

an officer, or else changing the discourse to some indif^fetsot subject, and raising their voices to the ordinary key: the carrying away ot the main top gallant mast

by the sodden and violent jerk of the weather royal brace by Small, who had hwt left the aide of Cromwell, evidently by dretgn, aa« with tha intent to threw overboard the boy on U» royal yard, that confusion fand a cbanea for the outbreak imahi theses esaw the .Mmuitaneoos mustering of the chief conspire ton at the ^mam top mast head on that octagon, watelwa* the moment fo* odkw, to whieh paint wnatao directed *tt» fixed and aM*w»«»e of Mr Speneer thesefueal

the men to eoma alt at first Swt wwiil 4he#e to ^aid ta aending «p the new top gallant meat, and then the ttnaaltuotsa rushing thither %y nearly all the crew, stamping with their Seel—an outrage ma*» mm nirioaebv tie hafiDenirur ufter dttk th» MMtiii

»w« mMf

Smli -*S£AS-

of the muster without excuse by thoee named in this Greek paper, in defianoe of the government of the ship the mysterious removal ot the handspikes, leavers and holr-stonea, so an to make them accessible to the conspirators at tfee moment of neod, and tin ^tarpeningof the African knife and battle axe tbestea'lhy glances oC tbe aonspiraton towards the places in the where thp ^c^s aration by otih of thecon

ward-room and kept their arms the apirators that he woald liketo get'this African knife into the hands of Mr. Spcpcer, and that the knife would ya| have todpagralt dea^of slaughter the raising of a haridspikc in a threatening manner the same con^iritor against'an officer

hourly,

fomented

impelled. Nevertheless, thecommnhder of the Somers proceeded with great caution. He first caused Mr. Spencer to be put into irons, which was done on the 26th ol November. This, so far from intimidating, only irrttiued the mutinous spirit. The next day Cromwell and Small were arrested. Still the mutinous spirit continued to gather strength. Then four other delinquents were added to ho number of prisoners. And how the cause of irritation was multiplied seven-fold the discontented of the crew had seven objects or supposed oppression before them seven themes upon which to appeal to their yet uncontammated shipmates Msv»n common wrongB to revenge. Besides, the uneonfined guilty feared that their own turn might come next Tne Court Martinis aqd gallows at home haunted their morbid imaginations- Seven of their accomplices were in irons, either of whom, byturmng Slate !s iwitne*. might ensure thsir owa-convietion. To sirive in port was to come -wrrtrrft tire jftws of danger, orobably of death. The wprds of the commander that tho offenders would be taken homo for trial, were peruclually aoundingin theireaw. They became convinced that the boldest course was to them the safeet one —that the pirates black flag was now the surest protection against tha violated laws of their country.

Never was a crew where malcontents could have had a fairer chance ol making proselytes. The crew of the Somers were almost all apprentices many or them men in physical strength, but all of them boys in mind. Their youthful Coalings werepeculiarly open to sympathetic appeals their undisciplined imaginations liable to bo easily beguiled by seductive pictures ol the freedom of the rover's course. The seas*n of youth, especially or untutored youih, is proverbially exposed to leinptationa. How impressive, then, must nave been the mutinousappeals to the crew of the Somers, carried home as they were, by the corrupting example of the chief conspirator. Highly horn and educated, he had renounced hopes as brilunnt and dear as ever glittered before the eye or touched the heart of

ami

mmwm

pfcioosby us happening after dartt the repetition the sameasdiuoae cowtoct ot* the tolWing aventng, *:.«hs« IN tnt w*«« called aft to tha main try*«tl abeat. with the farther dixasroetanee that the raatiini sft waa CMttiaaad wts after tha crew had hem d*. uaetiyoidefed io rstan f«w»rd, the repeated jntehftg

whom he sought

to take unawares the ceaseless efforts of those named in'he Greek paper to steal aft under pretence of some call of duty so as to be near the prisoners, watching an opportunity for communication with them, and the frequent interchange of significant glances between the prisoners snd thou the sullenness and morosencss or the chsw their Whisperings Ihe seditious expresstons which were occasionally overheard the insolent and menacang tone assumed by them their ominous expressions of displeasure at tbe prisoners being kept if irons sre among the numberless eircumstanocs, which collectively force on the intelligent and: experienced observer the full conviction that the mutiny was rapidly maturing for its'final outbreak.

Add to these the dark and portentous looks of the crew, which, like the lowering sky presaging a tornado. a seaman's eye could defect and appreciate, but which a seaman's tongue cannot adequately describe. Tbe snllennesi and morosenees, tbe violent and menacing demeanor, and the portentous lookaof the crew between the arrest of Mr. Spencer and the.execution are not tbe creation of fancy. Every officer and manv of the seamen hars sworn to their existence- All these witnesses wduld not league together to deceive iron and they could not have been themselves deceived. They are nautical men, well acquainted, usual with the manners, demeanor and Idoks jf seamen, and were eye witnesses to what they state,, TThey observed the ominous appearances from hoar to hour, and from day to day, and watched, with care their fearful progress. That one witness might be tnistaken.in such a case is not very unlikely thsta number of witnesses shonSdhe so mistaken is against all probability. To reject their united evidence as fabuloua or imaginative, would be to destroy that faith which man, from'his Social relations is bound to place in the testimony of his fellow men.

But to oppose all these accumulated proofs, McKinley, McKce, Green, and some others, whose names appear on the Greek paper, have been introduced on the part of the prosecution, and elevated.to the rank of witnesses in a court of justice. By that paper McKinlev and McKee had prominent posts especially assigned them in the meditated massacre. They, with Greeh, were brought home in irons and all the conspirators stand candidates for trial before the proper tribunal of their country, for life or death. Their own safety required that they should boldly deny the'existence of the mutiny and if Mr. Spencer correctly estimated th-if character, their denial was not likely to falter though any delicacy of conscience. To felons leagued in a conspiracy of murder and of piracy, it would seem a slight thing to superadd the crime of wilful falsehood. Comment upon the witnesses wonld be a useless waste of lime nor is it worth while to marshal against them the phalanx of opposing testimony they are left to sink under their own weight.

The omission to examine Wileon, to whom the Greek paper likewise assigned a chief place in the meditated massacre, and who was the actor in the scenes of the African knife, the hand-spike, and the battle-axe, and who was also brought home in irons, is a virtual admission that the prosecutor was atraid to examine him—that if examined, he would have betrayed tecrets fatal to the prosecution, and which are still locked np in the breasts of the conspirators.

The slander sometimes suggested, that the officers of the Somers were rendered nervous by unmanly fear, betrays an ignorance of the case and of the true character ol the American naval officer. Of himself, the commander would, in this respect, say nothing. But of his eleven associate officers, lie is bound to say that never were men, in perilous circumstances, more cool, collected and temperate than they. They proposed no hasty effusion of blood, though conscious that their own lives were in momentary peril. After the discovery of the mutiny, five days and nights were given to dispassionate and solemn deliberation. Nor wss the execution recommended until it had been gradually ascertained by metancholy proofs, accumulating daily and

that the experiment of reiterated arrests,

instead of breaking the heart of the conspiracy, hnd only rendered it more ferocious and desperate. Unmanly fear, it is believed, is not wont to be an inmate in the bosoms of American naval officers. Our youthful navv has produced if any heroes perhaps few cowards. unmanly fear would heretofore have been thought a siranse malady in our naval service^ It did not "in times that tried men's souls" display itself in our vessels of war on the lake or on the ocean. That this malady should have had its first outbreak in the Somers that it should have spread at once from officer to officer until all were infected without one exception and that iis morbid influence should, in every instance, have destroyed the healthful exercise of the mental visions the judgment and strength of a supposition which, to gain credence, would contain something besides mere suggestion.

From tbe arrest of Mr. Speticer io tfie execution, tho officers of the Somers had upon them a heavy weight of labor and responsibility. They stood iienline's on the deck, and ultimately had no alternative but to remain there under arms day and night, wotcli and watch about. To the refreshing influence of quiet sleep they had become stranger* Fatigue and consuming care were wasting away their youthrul frames. Nature would have endured tht struggle but little longer. And while their physical strength was hourly becoming less and less, the danger was hourly becoming greater and greater. It was not manifest that the government of inc brig hnd been despoiled of its moral power. It lost that interest of discipline, that royalty to authority, "that subordination of the heart" which form the conservative elements in that littlefloating world, a natural ship Anarchy, deep and wide spread, was predominant and physical force had become the sole arbitress The conspiracy, confident in its strength, matured in its counsels, and murderous in its resolves, was now ripe for action. Implements of wood and of iron were atways at hand, well suited to arm the malefactors for a hasty and close combat. A sudden accident abstracting the attention of the officers or the confusion incident to a squall at sea or even tho cover of a dark night, might at any moment have brought the mutiny to a successful issue. And what would have been the consequence? I pass over the murder of the officers and faithful of the crew as comparatively a very little thing. Tho lives of military men, whether on land or at sea, are plighted- to their country and compared to the honor of that country, individual life is as a drop of the ocean. But the nation's honor was now at stake. An American vessel of war was about to become a practical cruiser A vessel which liad been born into our naval family, and consecrated as a defender of lier country's glory, and onool the protectors of the great commonwealth of civilized man, was about to be torn from her sphere and let loose a lawless wanderer upon the deep, carrying along in her devious course, like a comet loosened from its orbit, devastation, and terror, and deith. Perhaps no vessel could be found better fitted to become the best of the ocean. Seldom surpassed in speed by auy thing propelled by sails o£sufficient strength to overcome merchantmen so small and light that, if pressed by superior force she might retire beyond their reach and hide herself in shoal water capable of supplying herself fr»m her prises with men, naval stores, provisions and water, she might have made her home on the seas without ever entering port. There, swift and destructive as the pestilence, by turns showing herself on the Atlantic, and then in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, she might have been the world's terror for years, without its being known from whence the scourge came or whither it went.

Under these circumstances what was the commander of the Somers to do? He was alone on the ocean. He could not invoke a regular court martial. He ssked the best and only counsel within his reach. He made a written appeal to his officers for their advice. His officers, after examining the witnesses, and with run deliberation, returned him their written, unanimous, and solemn judgment, that the execution of the three ringleaders of the mutiny was indispensably necessary for the satiety of the vessel, and the lives of the faithful onboard. With this judgment of the only coo" within his reach, his own opinion concurred. The high seas furnished no learned jurists with whom he might consult. But he had with him a Volume of Nature's laws, written by the finger ol God on the human heart. In that volume he read that necessity ordains its own controlling canons that they who sew unlawfully to slay, may themselves be slain without formal process, wben the self-preservation of the assailed renders the sacrifice inevitable. And, above all. he found, in that same volume the natural elements of national jurisprudence and there he read, that when, on some remote nation, or oa tho solitary deep tho commanding officer, by land or sea, bound as it were,, by an oath to protect, at the expense of life, o# hundreds or lives, the vita* interests, and sacred honor of his country, shall find those vital interesft and that aaered honor about to he deeply and inenrably wounded by a band of apostate Wow. and that tha evtl «o«ot be averted bothy the death of these felons, without the formalities of law, he is in duty bound «o reuse up his spirit to the majesty of that occasion, and pomaf himself on his own magnanimity, grasp with unfaltering hand the sword of righteous, thoagh Mmmary, rstrftmtion. The execution took place. It waa leieaecn,. that the rAnedv would be decisive for of the maleon t«fttc them were none, save Mr. Spencer, Cromwell, and Small, who could navigate the vessel and was know* tfcat guilt wonld not trust itself to the brand ocean sKiSont a naviaator.

The commander or ihe Somers was influenced by no private motive*. He had no feafing of personal Imatifity against the prieorww. To tbe deep agony which thttr fate caused him his officers fans* bonks witness. He wne oonsbons that the nation which hesatvad was }sa1sosly alrva to any unusual ensrtion of power sad that upon but morn IftMte he wonld -be catfcai to a stmt noemmt for the shsddmc of blood not drawn from ths public ami detUrsd snsmiss of bin wintry.

He was not unmindful that the d»t'ngttishcd felh* the chief culprit held an office «f htgj» tbority, and that the hostile influence of ttot bther would be an evil not lightly to be ^encountpred- Wt tbe exigency of the jt was p.* ofJtonw plain. There wasao bye path tefhe the left by wlfich he CtouW escape. Airfheirwttthat tad ief culprit teen of iis own Wood, hfwonia altered in'the ctttder of duty-

the chief have faltered tne career oi umjr-

Iris return hotne^ the comttnnow -^y

Upon his return home^ the con0*™®^ iwi Shewed tise law of natupi, which he still studjedand was al

A l«w otitis country,

tl» law of tiie cifflraed world. WHiapa nil stands nigher in British jurisprudence tton_ths ward Law,afterwards Chief Justice of fcagJV»d, by the title of Lord Elleuborough- In January less than three months beforehe was promourf»M^ bench,b General. an alleged murder at tfep which place he had beeii Governor. The act complained cdf was one of needfesiand atrocious ctuS*tyder the pretence of a mutiny «rf donbtful SJOTMBB*** without a general or regimental court martial, of wnicn the materials were at band, and without any^epesiaty urging immediate action, aa the mutiny if any .was past, the Governor had earned a soldier to be whipped 800 lashes with a rOpe eight limes as thick as the ordinary cato'-nine tails.

To do the work effectually, hs had employed u*e or six strong negroes, specially selected for the" *purposri he pi it of at a a his might till he woe tired, and then psfsw the rope to fresh hand and ihus the rope went

Lord Chief Baron Macdonald, who presided this trial (assisted by Justices Lanrence and Rooke) une-

The very words used by General Washingtowin his letter to General Howe, dated 23d January, 17fl, ara as follows:—"If you succeed in bringing the re|olted\ troops to surrender, you will inscatOlt/ execute

The following is an extract from the joint remarks of Lord Mansfield and Loughborough in the eaa» of Johnstone against Sutton. "The salvation of this country depends upon ''the discipline of the fleet without discipline, they would be a rabble, dangerous only to their friends, and harmless to the enemy commanders in a day of battle," (and the same remark applies perhaps more stroneljr to a day ol pressing mutiny,) "must act upon delicate suspicions upon the evidence of their own eye. II

Only one more authority will be cited. Sir James Merriott, the distinguished Admiralty judge, a charge delivered by him to the jury in l792, expi himself as follows: "You will call to "Wind continually the slate ind condition of the parties concerned, the nature of their lives, business, and necessities. Consequently, in judging of matters committed upon the high seas, you will take into view the state of society upon that element, where all is violence. This consideration make* a great difference between actions at sea, and actions on land, where every thing comes within the sight and knowledge of the neighborhood, and where tho pehce and tranquility of the subject is generally secure under a mild and moderate government. You have to judge

of ferocious men, possessed of few but strong ideas, culiar to their employment of men hardened get,

arar rsrs KUt^tB

USSoi Vsni all on board ofa sfnp Is too often a« of misery, tenor, disorder, license, resentment and if-

notion recently suggested. ths the

the officers aa beard the Somen shoeW t«ve

c»w.ag«mi«b.im1si»d

ths law. The two iave*igati#apof llw cMe ctt

have ocropMW- that beiwe

tllit

hurts

and the bru

tal Governor was condemned and .executed. B»l even on that occasion, when the torrent qf righteous indignation seemed to be bearing all bofintit, the Attorney General rose above his feelings as a man to a-*ftSe ot his duty as ihe representative of his king apd country, and carefully laid down to the jury, aaa landmark tor their government, the great principle contained in the following extract from his speech. Tbe application ot the extract to the case of theSomers, generally ado specially, in all its parts and bearings, w'JOO obvions to need comment: -4

"But let it not,11 says he, "be understoodv^s AH*t ac-

count that there may not be circumstances—it will be j-rom for Governor Wall to show that such circunMtances

exndn?h,lch l?ay

court-martial for there be that degree or eminent

necessity which supercedes the recourse to any ordina- ,Bithf||i

ry tribunal if there be actually existing that flagrant .# j,

mutiny which must either be suppressed py force, ^ana-

just, now pronouncing become comes, it "more regular and appropriate course of proceeilRng isularand

such cases cannot be"restored to, itself regular and capable of being justified upon every principle of public duty for it imports the public safety that the means resisting an enormous aud

overbearing

be as strong, sudden, and capable of application

mill aiaolf is AanalJa At immaniofo mifif^nlAVAllll ftttfeCli

evil itself is capable of immediate mischievous effect and if this has been the case here, it will carry its own justification with it. Gentlemen, upon this o&asion, therefore, it will be most important tor the prisoner to

establish that there existed, in point of f»«, a mutiny.

When he has established in point of fact (if he can do

so) that there existed a mutiny if he can go_ fcrther, and show that the ordinary modes of trial could not be resorted to, and that, upon conference with the officers, that, what on the emergency was thought best to be done, was done, and that there was no wantniWbiMe of power in the infliction of the punishment, the oue'r will be entitled to go quit of the charge made upon him by his indictment."

quivocally ratified the rule of law as laid down by the seasonably urged, by ihe unanimous voice of your Attorney General. trusted officers, to save their lives, the lifes of your The great principle of universal jurisprudence thus faithful seamen, and the honor of your country, by the id down by the future Lord Ellenborough to the

Martial more than forty days and had the proposed regular trial at sen continued but one tenth of the Shortest of those times, it would, to amoral certsinty have been interrupted and anserceded by the threatened catastrophe, which, in the twinkling of an eye, would have substitued for the reign of law, "the reign of terror.*' The very exposure ot the fact that the trial of the mutiny waa formally going on for life or fbidenfh, implicating of ooorae the uneonfined as well

SkL

S. ft. 0

tht confined guilty, would of itself hate produced a cMensKoa that could noi^ have failed to hsaten on ths

hss

sometimes Thomw, in

h^rsleft

even, feiy.

round

unwng tne

negroes In succession until the whole number of »Wes W been inflicted. The Governor tod stoo^ by to enjoy the scene, repeatedly urging the nejgrwn.M w.j»P harder—*'to cut him to the liver, to cut htW *o taS heartThe soldier had died in his

timely

English jury, and confirmed by the English court, been previously recognised as apart of the Anwri«»u manded by ..... code, and carried into practice by Washington himself

a few of

the most active and inccndiary Teasers."t Thto^order for instantaneous execution could not have comteiSplated either a general or regimental Court Martial the formation and action of .which were always attended with-some delay. It is true that Gen. Howe say* that "a field Court martial was presently held." Bui this, field, or as it is more generally called, drum head Court Sfariial, is not known to thestatute law of this country or of England. It is the mere creature of urgent necessity, which, as in the case ot the Somers, may not brook delay, and it is of no more validity thai the consultation of officers on board that vessel. It! design is simply to aid the judgement of the commawler, ami to show the world that he Was acted with thewst advice allowed by the exigency of the case.. On. the trial or Governor Wall, the learned Attorney General, in speaking of afield or drum-head Court Maflial, says: "It is not a trial, but something that the? necessity or the case overlooks."!

leas,Jei'dte

and fearless by habit. The subjects of your

eration are actions done oo a sudden vehement from nature and necessity of the occasion. The preservation of stvps and lives depends often upon some act of severe, but necesearv discipline- 'these scenes of violence present no very amiable picture of human nature ant such violence is frequently justifiable, sometimes absof lutely necessary because, without It, no commerce.ino lutel necessary because, navigation, no defence of tbe kiMdotfi, uincd. The considemtiOH of turn «ho

can bei ild soften

riaor of judgment, which might otherwiseTajnadoj land by persons ignorant ana inexperienced of wna done at sea. It is painful to observe that, without greatest care in weighing of. evidence.

coJ"p**ni

Or officer ofa ship can be safe upon bis tm!. In of the Hires and properties of other »nen, wnt with the most ferocious, upon aa uftgoveroatue eytnent. of the eminent compressed ti there can be no hopes of security forsay MMI «RbeM, without a rapid and strong absolute power placed in one man. ^keothergovwtments and situations, the CO««P*»*

on the accused, should haimc^Bcied|y Mminal pwty here rinks into comin their prssenoa, snl^ nrative nainportanes, sad the Amencsn nauon ran mnd

regalar defence, otmtd »ot ns august form, eotreaung t^t her yoonge*, her &-

eflfcet Bach of ihe three WW-, -I" .7- iSri 1»r «hf1 sprite nftpriiMt msy be saved from its wont eaemf— time of his srrey, been diMi^y iP^Mww^^^

lid that the Somers might custody of the Govern^

the prisoners who caused the danger. The

gf such a course may be thought doubtful the brig could have reached that Island in An Atnerican ship'Of War is always deemed to meet an enemy from without of a force _r to har own much more must she be

But those speculations are foreign to the pending. trial. The evidence repels the supposition.that the Somers could hsve reached St. Thomas in safety with •II the prisoners alive. There was every rcsson.to believe that what the conspirators intended to do, they would do quickly. Mr. Wales had understood from Mr. Spencer that tho mutiny was to take effect very shortly, and even before their arrival at St. Thomas* The arrest of Mr- Spencer and six of his associates, in•tend of retarding was likely to accelerate the catastrOphe- Under the exasperation caused by their srrest, evdty thing indicated an immediate outbreak- The forebodings of the uneonfined culprits that the commander might invoke even the arm of foreign law at 9t* Thomas, and cause them to be sent home in irons, by safe conveyances, to meet their country^ doom, lent the stimu'ent of desperation to the other causes of excitement and it is more than probable that had the execution not taken place when it did, the squall which followed in the evening of that day would have been the signal for the final explosion. The bearing away of the Somers for some other West India Island, would have been a still more dangerous expedient.

The brig would not have escaped tbe risks incident and thesi to the passage to St. Thomas and the sudden departure !ne known course of the voyage would have been

virlUll„y a|J officja,

and full defence for a military officer,I ing away was but a flight from the dresded danger to of punishment, without either a general or reg^menta

cr»w

'tection

a[) adn* is8iol, w{,ile

(he

if the in

evil should it ^wnjn_

&nd

admission that'the mutiny was too

strong for the authorities of theship, and that the bear-

from the

coaid not

government on shore. Such

it would have disheartened the

have failed to give strength" to tbe

faithlees. It would have confirmed the

beyond doubt. The conspirators little in the choice of the two paths before them—the ORe leading to the irone,ihe prison, and the gallows of the law the other conducting, as they would then hsve boldly expectedt through blood and massacre, to a sure and* prompt victory, sweetened by revenge and

af| thetr

the

despsrate hopes.

To e(1»b)ethe

ii,e beller

judge of the

I I

(he of the 0fficer8 an(j crew

execution of these malefactors, who deserved to

court, had die, and whose immediate death \va# imperiously deAmerican

manded

not

in the case,of the Jersey mutiny in 1781.'The follow- ciates In authority— ing is extracted from Marshall's Life of Washington. "General Washington, who though satisfied with the conduct both of me civil and military office^, had been extremely mortified at the issue of the mutiny in the Pennsylvania line, and who wss now confident of the reliance to be placed in the fidelity of the Eastern troops who were composed of natives determined by strong measures, to stop the further progress of sapirit which threatened the destruction of the srmv. Iff pursuance of this determination he immediately ordered a detachment to march against the mutineers, and to bring them to uncondifional submission. Gen. Howe, who commanded this detachment, woS instructed to make no terms- with the insurgents, while thej^had arms ia their bauds, or were in a state of resistance and soon at they thould tuntnder, to seise a Ao qf tKe most active leaders and execute them on AS Jpot. These oWers being promptly and implicitly cpeyed, the Jersey mutineers were compelled to return to^heir duty."

by the exigencies of the case Why did you ', the earnest counsel of your sssoyour constitutional advisers—with whose opinion yOttr own too concurred? You did not, because you dajre not.

heed the counsel, the earnest counsel or your esso

You faltered in the path of

known and acknowledged duty, because you wanted moral courage (0 tread it. On you, in the judgment conscience, oeVojl^n the responsibility of those murders, which you mighbJind ought to have prevented. On yuu recoils the disgrace of that flag which never sustained a blot until it iftn committed to your charge."

To finish the picture, permit me to fill up another part of the canvass. Suppose that the Somers, now turned pirste, while cruising off our coast, had been permitted by Heaven, in an evil hour, to capture some vessel plying between this and Europe, freighted with the talent and beauty of the land. The men are aQ murdered, and the females, including perhaps the new made wife, and maidens just blooming into womanhood are lorced to become ike bride* of pirates. An universal shriek of agony bursts from the American people throughout alt their vast domains, and the wailing is echoed back from the whole civilised world.— And where then could the commander of the Somers have hidden hie bead, branded as |t would have been, by a mark of infamy as indelible ss that stamped on tne forehead of Cain!

The case of the Somers may form an epoch in our naval history. Should the course or the commander be approved by his country, mutinies in our ships of wsr wil! probably hereafter be of rare occurrence. But should thisjCourt, or the high tribunal of public opin cours. ctfully

ion, pronounce sentence oi condemnation on the course which hfc felt himself bound to pursue, it is respectrully yet solemnly submitted, thai the sentence will be the signal for general prevalence^ insubordination in onr navy. The means and subjects of mutinous excitements are alwars at hand, rilled with men or mixed national character crowded with spirits as turbulent as the element on which they dwell, the ship's berth deck ever abounds in material of combustion, which a single spark may ignite. The commander must quench the flame, even ir it is sometimes done by the sacrifice of life. He must suppress a mutiny in his little empire by the application of all needful force. No degree of force is superfluous or unlawful, that is necessary for the suppression Effectual suppression is tho only point at which he can rightfully stop. He must move to that point with a cantious, not with a faltering step. He must employ ntle means, ir they will reach tho evil if not, be must resort to severer measures, and if need be, even to the severest. He may give such time to mild expedients as the safety of the ship will allow not a moment longer.

But if his country's reproach is to be the meed of his faithfulness, other commanders will take warning from his example. They will suffer the rage of mutiny to pursue its fearful course, rather than arrest it the sure sacrifice of their own character. They wil risk the chance of being cloven down at sea bv the weapons of the mutineers, leaving to them the choice of time, place, and mode of attack, rather than incur

tbe certain fate of perishing at home by the daggers of "icy love their country for their native would cheerfully die but they cannot, even

calumny. They love their country land they would cheerfully die bn: for that beloved country, wiUingly lose for ever their own most precious character. Tne love of character is not the least of the motives which have induced them to relinquish their peaceful hearths, and make their borne on the unquiet seas. And to sacrifice their good name—"the immediate jewel of their souls"—even on the altar of public weal, requires a sublimity of patriot ism beyond tbe flight of ordinary men.

Discipline is the first and second and third virtue in the naval code. It was discipline, perhaps more than even courage, which, during tbe fast war oarage, which, a land, enabled our little navy to work its mircles on the lakes and upon the ocean. Of these glorions achievements tbe commander of tbe Somen may speak without egotism, for he was not then of age to psrtici-

with Bng-

Tbeewsci

pate ta their dangers or their fame. The electric shock then communicated to an astounded world can never be fofgotten for it has passed into the immortal pages of history. The peat British historian of the present •sntury speaks of it in these glowing terms when therefore," be says, it was seen that in-repeated instances of combats of single vessels of the Mine crass against lach other, the ship* of tbe DnitedSkatss had proved victorious, the English were stunned ss by the •hock of an eartbouaibe the Americans were imrneas*nbly and withgood reason, elated and the other SiStaE^ thought they discerned at last the —«n dond arisineover tbe ocean which was to involve the British maritime power in destruction."* And the ciase of those discomfit ares the same sutbor more than hints at ia ths next page bat one. He there says-

Experience bad now proved that long continued and unexampled success had produced its wonted effect in relaxing the binds of British ns«l preparation and that they had mocfa need to recollect that, in the l«nraace of the ancient conquerors of the worm, Uie word for aa mrmv

was derived from tbe verb to

Win.

the' Cewrt of Inqauy before the present

§Mmi

Howef

excrctee"—

It was, thai, tbe Spartan discipline of our navy, no

leas its spartan valor, that enabled it io maopti

^T^Ssoidinrfonm he regMtled ss itsflwet snchor-.

iet oever

fee fagotton that subordination ia the mutiny the death of discipline. In this *iew

j, jrom the dsnsoralixtng, destras*

two1trve infioeooe of msubordination. AJB of which ia respect fully ssfauitted. ALEXANDER 3LIIJELL MACKBNZIt before tfe* eo«« H/peetaM try HaSnMtyatoodt

State Trisis,

fiO.

Marshal 1% WnriwagtoB, MS. ion, 381.

•IV tSperk* Wi tHoweirs Siate |1- Darnford and

Fashijunon, 3! State

Trials,

101. M9.

erdandBsn^

Beer*s Rcoort, 110 •••X AQison's History of Enropa, Sit.

THE UNITED STATES ARMY*' By the annual returns for 1842, to Hie lat of December, the Array consisted of622 commissioned officers, 8.868

Oep.

non

Inder^rovV'"

Carolina, and Georgia Dep. 9, under Brig. Gen. teen posts in Florida,

neces

sity of the execution, permit me to bring the case to another test. Suppose that the execution had not taken place that the uneonfined malcontents had risen and released the prisoners that the mutiny had triumphed,

the briR then turned into a piratical cruiser that

had been all mas-

sacred, except the commander alone that from a refinement in cruelty, the pirates had spared his wretched life, and sent him on shore that he might be forced to wend home bis solitary way, and to become himself the disgraced narrator of what would then indeed h&ve been the "tragedy of the Somers." With what a burst of indignation would the country have received his narrative! How would the American press with its thousand tongues, have overwhelmed him with exclamations and interrogatories like thesei "You were

-commissioned

officers, musicians, artificers and privates^,U* tat, 9,490 distributed as follows Dep. 1, under command of Major General

Gains, nine posts jn Florida, Alabana and Louisiana, numbering in officers and

men,

Taylor, five posts in Arkanans, Dep. S, under Col. 8. W", Koamey, eight posts in Missoorti, Iowa, and

Wisconsin,

maintaiiting her own discipline, sheoaghtjiot to be dv, six posts in Wisconsin, and heW worthy to fight her country's battles. Michigan, seem to be a degradation to our flag for an American shtp-of-war to invoke the aid of a foreign government Dep. 5, under Brig. lien. to sustain tho discipline, or quell the insurrection of teen posts in N. her own crew.

six posts in

Michis&ny

posts in IS. York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, Dep. 6, under Brev. Brig. Gen. Eustis, seven poets in Massachusetts,

New Hampshire and Maine, Dep. 7, under Col. Walbach, four posts in Maryland aud Virginia, Pep. 8, under Brig. Gen. Armstead, six posts in North Carolina, South

1,020

The transaction is connected with the heavy operations in Exchange now going on be* tween New Orleans and Boston and New York. It was taken to Baltimore by their own Express, thence by Rail lload to Cumberland—Express to Wheeling—Steam Boat Importer to Cincinnati—immediately re*shipped here on the Diamond for New Orleans.

This is the first attempt of Harnden & Co. to extend the benefits of their great Express Line from Boston through the Western Route to New Orleans, via Cincinnati, and which line they, intend to continue, if supported by the public. It is thought they will be able to anticipate the Mail, on the Atlantic route to New Orleans, from two to three day3. This will prove a benefit to Merchants and all oth* ers doing business on the route, who wish par* eels, &c., delivered, or any other business transacted, second in importance only to the Post Office Department itself,

932

1,012

^W1

Wool four-

1,673

553

722

873

Worth thir-

1,644

9,490

PRIVATE ENTERPRISE.

The Cincinnati Gazette of the 23d instant states that a messenger, connected with Harnden's Express, passwl through that city on the 23d, with 9330,000 in American gold, fqr New Orleans. The Gazette adds—

*ir

The ramifications of Harnden's Express extend throughout noarly the whole Continent of Europe, where it is fostered by the differ* ent Governments. He wishes to embrace in his arrangements, all the great commercial points in the United States, though Congress made an unsuccessful attempt last winter to suppress his whole business.

RIVAL TO FATHER MILLER* The Millenium preacher whose doctrines are creating such an intense and lamentable excitement in various parts of the country, has found a rival in the editor of the Madisonian, from whose columns we copy the following startling announcement. ui "American Freedom is in danger! We solemnly proclaim it to the Republicans of America that their glorious Government, or* ganized in the days of Ihe illustrious Washington, is in danger of being subverted by a link* *d band of unprincipled and pwerful Party Tyrants."

There is out one comfort in this awful eitfergency. The Madisonian points out a way of escape. The election of Mr. Tyler will save the country, and nothing else will do it, under any sort of circumstances. This inestimable gentleman it seems is the only pure politician in the country. All others, demo* crats and wliigs, are alike corrupt.

'President Tyler,' says the Organ, 'has no end in view but his country's good-' 'He on ly studies to obey the voice of the people.'— 'He is continually devising schemes for the benefit of the country.' 'He would restore the people to Iheir ancient freedom.'rf ,'He would preserve the Republic. i"'

The country is to be congratulated in hAV ing a President so patriotic—and the Presi dent is very fortunate in having such an eulogi«t«

SOMETHING RICH

The Madisonian of Saturday has this par agraph "Mr. Webster has' expressed a wish, be causo of certain considerations, well under stood between the President and himself, am which did not, in the least, affect their public or private relations, to retire from the Cabi neJ. The President had been pleased to grant him permission to retire. This fact publicly stated in the Senate and it was declared by a Senator, au ihorized to do so, that Mr. Web ster

would

to shawls.

Old Herbeault, of Peris, *bo his WppHed die ladies of the courts of Europe with their head dresses for the last 20 years, mode a journey all the way to JLoodon to see it.

Thi Mbaig aAsts tiff Bacon writes as follows on despatch: "I kacw a man that bad it for a by-word, wbeo be saw OHM hasten to a conclusion: "Stay a tittle* that we may make an end the soon |er.w 1

retire in thirty days after Mr. Cush

ing's confirmation." "The President"—John Tyler, to-wit I "had been pleased to grant him"—Daniel Webster, to-wit 1!-—"permission to retire." Can the ridiculous be carried any further?

By-the-bye, since the rejection of Mr. Cush ing is, according to just inference from this paragraph, to have the effect of keeping Mr. Webster in the Cabinet, it should be look/sd upon with favor by those who consider Mr. Webster's staying there, no matter under what circumstances of humiliation or honor, advantageous.—N. Y* Atnw*

SOMETHING NEW.—It is Stated in tbe Lon don Court Journal that among the new things which Sir Henry Pottenger found at Nankin, and sent as presents to the Queen, was a Chinese head dress, or bonnet worn by the ladies of court, aw! different in material from any thing which bas before appeared in Europe.

It is made by interweaving tbe pearl white hair of the Arabian horse, or camel, with a new and beautiful substance, which bas all tbe brilliancy of diamonds, emeralds and amethysts, spun into threads and wove. The effect as chaste as it is beautiful. Tbe London chemists and manufactures are trying to imitate it. If they succeed, the Chinese bonnet will be to bonnets what tbe Cashmere shawl

tJawltyoflWWIUsaf^lMTCtftni Some of the Locofbctr parpers have beep the impression, says Hm*

impression, thtft

trying to create Lynchburg Virpniin

McL

would be a thorn in oujt-side. Wefear notft*

ing from that source—lor we have never seen that Whig paper yet that did not go fat HAR8T OF THE WESTV There seems to be the greatest vnanmity on that subject. We only have to hold a Natioimil Convention for .the purpose of nominating1 a candidate for the' Vice Presidency. We freely endorse the iangtiage of the Alexandria Gazette, that *a mid the turmoil and.contention of political partieJ and foctions,ilt gives us great pleasure to obeerve that the fHende of HENRY CLAY continue firm and united, and grtfw more determined and sealous every day. They look upon their candidate as superior in his abilities for government to any other man whose name has been mentioned and they are confident that his measures and policy would bring relief and prosperity td the country—as far aa they tould, possibly, hr.ve an influence upon the concerns of the people. HENRY CLAY is their man for President, before every body else. The Statesman, the Orator, the Patriot, is their pride and their boast.— They can do justice to other citizens nnd wish to detract from the merits of none, but they regard HENRY CLAY'S claims as paramount for nextPresident.'" '"I ,t

WHIG PROM!8ESFULFILLTD. So fur as the Whigs have bad the means of redeeming tlieir pledges to tie people, they have been honorably performed. But one cloud rests upon their brief responsibility— the Repeal of the Bankrupt Act. They promised the people in the campaign of 1840, that the extravagant expenditurea of the gor» ernment should be curtailed. They have ta* ken up their bond! In 1837—-under Van

Buren—the appropriations amounted to $&7,775,606 In 1838, they wore 934,126,807! In 1839, they were #33,138^1711! Now see lo what they have been raduoad, under a Whig Congress. The appropriations for 1842, were 323,177,921—and for 1843,324,499,25511! For the two first years of Van Buren's reign, the expenses of* the Government amounted to the enormoua sum of 971,* 902,4131 Under the two years supervision of a Reform Whig Congress, they have been reduced to 347,677,17611 Tbe saving a* mounts to $23,225,237 HI This is something pondered upon by another turn at

be right again.

THE OREGON TERRITORY. A Bristol (England) papor conlains the following remarks on this subject: "In strict justice neither the United States nor Great Britain have any right whatever to any part of the territory in question. It belongs of right to the native tribes who occupy it some of whom, especially the Haidaths, to the north, have evinced great aptitude for adopting the habits of settled and civilized men* The only plea which either Great Britain or the United States oan advance for as# sumingthe sovereignty of the territory, or sharing it between them, is this: As settlements of Europeans are forming along ther coast, it is desirable that the region should bogcomprehended within the limits of some re-^.~. cognized state! all the other nations of thee"' civilized world would have waved'their ddflsjT to it Russia remaining toorth 54 deg. 40| min., and Mexico remaining south of 42 deg England and the United States ought, therefore, either to divide it, or cede it entirely the one or the other."

CAPTAIN SPENCEK.—Capt.Spencer, tbe brother of the Hon. John C* Spencer, and uncle to the late Midshipman Spencer, has arrived in New York, from the American squadron in the Mediterranean. It is said that he has resigned his commission in the navy. Many rumors respecting bis purpose in doing so are in circulation* I /II -. .•

He probably felt, that proper delicacy of feeling and regard for the navy should keep all young Spencer's relatives out of the Navy, or any other office of trust. f\f honest Confession is good for the Monl."

From the Spirit qf the Times.

"To our shame be it spoken, alnioti every one of the multitude of Banks that infefet this Commonwealth—institutions that more than any thing else, have contributed to degrade the reputation, embarrass the finances, and destroy the fair prospects of Pennsylvania— owe their origin to Democratic Legislatures! With a majority of professing Democrats in both Houses, still the Banks can do as they please, conform to, or defy with impunity, just such laws as they please. Their managers make it a boast that they can always buy o* ver enough Democrats to their interest, to secure the passage of any bill whieh it may suit them to originate I"

This is beyond question, the fact* Ail the vast monopolies, whether created by the Nations 1 or State Legislature, have been elected by the party which calls itself Democrat-' ic. Like the wotf in the fable, they pollute the stream themselves, and then make it. a ground of quarrel with the innocent, that it polluted. They build up and break down from the same motives—tne love of lucre and we rejoice to find that there are those among them who—-notwithstanding ail the hypocriticai cant about tbe Bank party—are willing* to admit that the Locofoco is the real Bank, 4_. party—that they have created "almost etqry- ds: one of the maltitede of Banks"—and that£," they have done this, not from principle, bu because they were corrupted and bribed tod it* A precious set are these same Locofecos# according to their own accounts.—Philadelphia JFbruwi. "'4 i.

am losing flesh," as the btftchfer remaHeed when his cart was robbed.

COPARTNERSHIP l*KAfT hasassoeistsdwhh himself H. BUCKINGHAM.

pMtaer in the Basin*.*r

Maeafnetartaf Chairs, snd will eeatiaae to carry on thst badness at their new shew, and old stand of J. East, on Fonrtb street. North of the Cumberland road Street, trader the firm of

BA8TfcBl}CKINGHAM

whsrstbejr intend to keep on hsnd a general assortment of FANCY and wiNDgoii CHAIBS, net inferior to any in tbe west,all of which the vwifr sallon accommodating terns. They also solicit the patronsge of thf JIBWie.

All

sbovt aotise. s,

orders attended to sn

,EAflS BUCKINGHAM.

Terrd-Hattts. Ann 118—33-tf Watasla, rpBE INDIAN ears for Coaghs. Comanption^ A

Spitting of Blood, Asthma,

and

EK.csnerstfy For sal

Langs, gsnsralff Terrs-Hants, March

'r t|

AVIS, and all will

I. il

Disessen of tho

oat toe DRA^ Store of

13-tt-tf

F. KING.

•y

...