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NEW PUBLICATIONS.
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demands instant attention . It was urged by several members , that & fleet could not be immediately manned b y volunteers , on an emergency ; impressment was , therefore , though a cruel , a necessary evil . —A hundred sail of the line could not be manned in a few months ; and it required more than a few months to build them . Mend the system , and a large jleet might be manned easily , without resorting to your old diabolism . Does not Captain Elliott—does Mot Admiral Codrington know , that a British man-of-war was called , what it was dreaded , and too often felt to be , a ' hell afloat ? ' not so called from an absence of religion , or a profusion of cursing ; not from a spirit of recklessness in the seamen , or a redundancy of huge-mouthed oaths ; nor for any blight on the moral Senses . Both these officers well know what tvere the
ingredients and the constituents of these so much dreaded ' hells . ' The condition ot seamen iu ships of war is vastly improved——their sufferings and hardships are much ameliorated in every way . In 1811 , an Admiralty order directed a quarterly return of ail punishments to be transmitted to the board . This operated wondrously in some ships : in the brave and humane man , under whose command it was my good fortune to serve , it effected no change ; but , oh , it caused the lip gnawing of many other commanders . An extension of the spirit which emanated in that order , would make impressment unnecessary . The extension which that spirit has obtained elsewhere , will make impressment dangerous ; captains and officers , who have not caught the spirit , will each sit hourly on a parrel of gunpowder . But let me show a single instance , in which this dread of * hell afloat' was conquered by the knowledge that the commander was just and humane .
When the A was stript , to be put out of commission , in 1812 , several of the best seamen in the ship applied for their discharge : they were not only willing , but joyously anxious to sacrifice the whole of their earnings through five years of toil and peril ( so long was the A abroad ) for the purpose of escaping from a man-of-war ; and the sum which was necessary to effect this valued freedom , would have engrossed their last shilling ; but on this they had not a moment ' s hesitation : it was a choice of ills , at one of which they could laugh , but the other wore so horrible an aspect , that , at all hazards , it was to be avoided , if possible . An Admiralty communication first made their intention known to Captain M . He really respected the characters of the
men—they were among the steadiest , best tried , and well known of the crew ; and he expressed his desire that I would learn from them if there were any cause which made them dislike to be under his command . 1 did so ; singly and all , they replied , Oh , no , sir , that ' s not it . ' These men had been rny shipmates more than five years . I need not say that I respected—indeed , I had an affection for them . ' But / said they , ' the ship is going to be paid off , and we shall be drafted—God knows where . ' I replied , * Captain M . will have the D j have you any objection to her ? ' ' Not
at all ; if we could be sure of going with him , we don't want to leave the service . ' I took upon me to say , they might be sure of it ; and hastened to Captain M . at his lodgings , to make my report ; on hearing it he said , ' That ' s well , indeed—very wellreturn on board , and tell them , they shall go with me 1 ' I ventured to suggest , how much more it would gratify them , were he to tell them so . * Right , very right ; 1 * 11 be on board directly ! ' He did tell them so , ; and I wish every captain in the navy would acquire the right to feel as he then felt . They did go with him ; and againwhen their old ship , the A ... ., left her ribs and trucks in Gas par Straits . P . V .
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Impressment . 657
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The Van Diemen's Land Annual and Hobart Town Almanack for 1833 . 10 * . ( 1 . )
New Publications.
NEW PUBLICATIONS .
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( 1 . ) This is a pleasant importation , an excellent return for many of the exports which we ship to the place from which it came . It does credit to the mechanical and editorial superintendence of Mr . James Ross , the Hobart No . 81 . 3 A
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1833, page 657, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2622/page/73/
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