towards that excellent establishment, the Seamen's Hospital Ship, in the river. She sailed thence on Sunday the 10th, for the West Indies, with despatches for Vice-Admiral Sir George Cockburn, Commander-in-chief on that station. The Cruizer has since put in at Plymouth, to make good some small defects, before proceeding to her final destination. On the 7th, the Salamander, steam-vessel, Commander Austin, lying at Sheerness, proceeded to the Nore, and towed the Mountaineer, freight-ship, to Chatham; the next day she returned to this port, but was immediately ordered to convey troops from Chatham to Jersey. After having, on the 11th, embarked the depôt companies of the 1st battalion of the Rifle Brigade, she proceeded to Jersey, whence she took the depôt of the 73d regiment to Dover. She arrived at the latter place on the 15th, and has since returned with the 2d batt. of the Rifles from Dover. On the 8th Nov. the Dee steamvessel, was paid off at Chatham, and on the following day, she, the Phoenix, and Jaseur, were commissioned; the two former at Chatham, by Commanders Stanley and Oliver; and the latter at Sheerness, by Commander John Hackett. On the 19th, the Hermes, steam-vessel, Lieut. Wright, arrived at this port, with some volunteers for his Majesty's ship Thunderer, 84, Capt. Wise, C.B.; and on the following day proceeded to Woolwich, to undergo a thorough repair. We have now the following ships in the Medway-the Chatham, yacht, Capt. Sir James A. Gordon, K.C.B.; the Phoenix, new steam-vessel, Commander R. Oliver (b); and the Dee, Commander E. Stanley, at Chatham; and the Ocean, 80 (flag-ship); the Thunderer, 84; and Jaseur, 16, fitting out at Sheerness. It is generally reported here, that the Howe, 120, and Hercules, 74, are to be commissioned, but this rumour wants confirmation.

I am, Sir,

Your humble servant,

BETA.

St. Helena, Aug. 24, 1833.

MR. EDITOR,-Pro bono publico, I think it but fair to bring to general notice, through the instrumentality of your widely-circulated Journal, an old and absurd custom of stopping vessels of all nations entering this port. On approaching a battery called Banks's, a blank gun is fired, to notify that a boat must be sent to communicate; if this signal be disregarded, a shot is fired a-head, and repeated till the ship heaves to. As St. Helena lies in the trade winds, and a rapid current constantly prevails from the south-east, the poor stranger (often greatly in want of refreshments) falls to leeward, and either gains the anchorage after much exertion, or is compelled to continue her voyage from an utter inability to reach the harbour. It frequently happens too, that when a ship sends a boat, the latter is in such a leaky state, from exposure to the sun during a long voyage, that when she arrives near the battery she is almost sinking, and by the time she returns to the vessel is nearly swamped, and the crew so much exhausted from baling out the water, that it is with great difficulty they regain their ship. Indeed, I remember one instance of a boat being absolutely under water, and her men swimming about until rescued from an untimely death by assistance from the vessel. No ship is admitted to the anchorage after sunset; she has, therefore, the disagreeable alternative of beating to windward all night; and if the captain chances to be unacquainted with the strong currents off the island, ten to one but he will go to leeward. To confirm this remark, I have known vessels (which could otherwise have got into the bay in half-an-hour) to be two days before they came to anchor. The number of ships which annually visit our island, is about four hundred; and that number of blank cartridges, and a great many shot, are unnecessarily expended. For English ships, this expense is borne by the East India Company; but foreigners are compelled to pay for

every pound of powder and shot wasted on their account. I am thus prolix on this subject, from the conviction that there is no occasion for all this inconvenience and annoyance to shipping; and I am confident that the grievance requires only to be known at the India House to meet redress. The agricultural and commercial interests of the community suffer materially from ships being frightened away in the manner above alluded to, and I have frequently seen vessels (when fired at on rounding the point) up helm, and indignantly dash away. To conclude these strictures on the inhospitable reception given to our sea-faring fellow creatures, I cannot avoid amusing you with the following incident. About the time that the throne of France was vacated by the Bourbons, a laughable scene occurred here; a French merchant ship was rapidly nearing the shore, when the startling gun was fired from the formidable battery. The poor, astonished, and terrified skipper doused his white flag, and up went the tri-coloured one in its place. Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur cum illis." I remain, Mr. Editor, Your obedient servant,

66

A WELLWISHER TO SEAMEN.

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL.

Grievances of a Veteran.

MR. EDITOR,-I entered the army in the year 1802, by the purchase of an Ensigncy in the ***** regiment, and I thus have served my country upwards of thirty years as a commissioned officer; yet my present rank, which I have held these twenty years, is merely that of a humble Captain of Foot. Alas! I was not begotten by a lord or a banker,-and thus I have had neither interest nor money to push me on; and consequently, the leap-frog jumpings that have taken place over my head, were they to be related to military men of the continental armies, could, indeed, not possibly be believed by them.

When I entered the service, the regiment I was appointed to had two battalions, and in that regiment I obtained my present rank; but was reduced after the peace, upon the disbandment of the second battalions. However, after some lapse of time, I was re-appointed to the *****, wherein I now serve. Seven Ensigns in one run, and ten Lieutenants, purchased over me in my first regiment; and six Captains have. in like manner,* jumped over my head as Majors in my present corps. Of the two Majors now in the regiment, one entered the army when I was already a Captain of some years' standing; and the other was then "puking in his nurse's arms; for he is at this moment not above twenty-five years of age. But such is the British Service,-and I am by no means a solitary example of its parental tenderness for the welfare of its senior sons and operative classes.

I now have to state to you, Mr. Editor, and I state it with becoming pride, that I have, indeed, been an operative soldier of all works, and not at any time a depôt, or as it is now called, a reserve, or rather preserve man. And although I have no medal on my breast,- for I am not a Waterloo-man,yet in the record of my past services, appear the names of Copenhagen, Corunna, Talavera, Busaco, Salamanca, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, and Toulouse, where, in the hour of deadly havoc, I can say that I behaved like a Briton; and, believe me, Mr. Editor, there was as little of joking in those bloody field days as there was at Waterloo; and let me tell whom it may

concern, that every one present in any of the actions I have stated, and many others where I happened not to be, surely deserves a red and blueedged ribbon, as well as the more fortunate Waterloo-man, who may not have been within hearing of the cannons' roar on that day of blood.

I now shall briefly conclude the enumeration of my services in the prescribed military record style, by stating, that after my Peninsular campaigns, I served ten years in America, two years in the West Indies, and the remainder at home. And, let me here observe, Mr. Editor, that home service in Ireland is not a joke either, as all my brother officers of the army, who have been marched and counter-marched by day and by night, in the counties of Galway, Clare, and Kilkenny,-who have been obliged to bivouac upon mountains and on bogs,-ad terrorem of Terry Alts, White Boys, et hoc genus omne,-will readily bear witness. All this, Mr. Editor, you will say is very bad, and so indeed it is. However, to recur to myself and my own sorrows, I can truly say that I am no longer an ambitious man. I have given up all gaudy fancies, and, if I may be allowed to paraphrase Hamlet's words to Guildenstern, "Ribbons delight me not, nor Crosses either."

An old Captain of thirty years' service is no longer perplexed with chimeras of ambition; but, like that of all old folks, his remaining faculties become quintessentially avaricious, and I confess it," homo sum.' I am, therefore, most sorely affected by the continual paltry deductions made from our meagre pay. In former days, when an officer was sent on some travelling duty, he received 9d. a mile; now they give us but 6d. But I will not enter into a minute detail of the dirty parings, by and for the benefit of War-Office clerks. Depend upon it, they will not lessen the burden of John Bull; and that honest personage, I am convinced, does not sanction these miserable doings. He, indeed, does not profit or prosper by such paltrinesses, (to coin a new word.) I wish, Mr. Editor, that some regimental Paymaster would take pen in hand and give an account how these Secretary-atWar-Office harpies befoul all the abstracts and pay-lists.

I have been told, that we are shortly to pay for some book of new fieldexercises. In the name of goodness, is the War Office also infected with the book-making mania of the day? Mr. Editor, we fought and we conquered the most warlike nations of Europe (not to mention those of Asia) under the system of old Dundas;-Dundas was my horn-book of military prowess in the days of my youthful ardour for glory and renown; and when laid in my coffin, Dundas, bound in morocco, shall be placed under my head for my sleeping-pillow. Well then, sir, some years ago the then adjutant-general compiled a work, which became the laughing-stock of military men;-the contradictions, blunders, and absurdities in that book were numberless indeed, and yet every officer in the service was bound to be provided with, and to show at all inspections, the said absurd book, for which we were charged by the orderly-room, 8s. Now, sir, when that book came out, there were about 140 battalions, taking veteran ones, West India regiments, and colonial corps in the account; there was besides, the militia-staffs, the general staff, &c. &c.; moreover, the officers of the E.I. Company's numerous army, each of whom was obliged to purchase a Torrens; and I am within bounds when I say, that 8000 individuals paid 8s. a piece for that book. Now, 8000 at 8s. gives the sum of 32007.; and a bookseller, an honest, goodnatured fellow, with whom I sometimes converse, assured me, that 8000 copies of that book, paper, printing, binding and all, could not possibly have cost a thousand pounds. Into whose pockets then went the surplus 22007.? The new book, which now is to supersede the blundering one of Torrens, I have no doubt, will be given to us at the prime and real cost; for I cannot bring myself to think, for one moment, that our present worthy Adjutant General could possibly become an abettor of pecuniary jobs, and allow anybody to pilfer any thing from the meagre pittance of an officer.

I fear, Mr. Editor, I have tired you with my doleful lucubrations, and shall

therefore conclude: but, before I do so, allow me to tell you, that the military world looks upon you as its protecting Hercules. We all know that the club of that beneficent hero is in your possession, and that you are fully qualified to wield it, and although you have not hitherto seen cause to take that almighty club into your hands, I was glad to hear from an old trentagenerian neglected veteran, like myself, who for ever, poor soul, expecting better days, is on the look out, that some how or other he had perceived symptoms of your intentions to try, on some early occasion, the goodness of your club. How happy shall we be when, in strict imitation of your great prototype, we shall see you engaged in the immortal labour of cleansing the Augean stable of the army, and of knocking the hydras of selfishness, peculation, and injustice on the head!

Go to it then, most worthy Sir. The best wishes and, in time of need, the united energies of an uncorrupted army will assist you. CENTURIO PENINSULARIS.

Patten v. Parke, in answer to Tyro:

MR. EDITOR,-The affair between Lieutenants Patten and Parke, discussed by Tyro" in your last Number, should at least be fairly put before the Services, and then be judged by them; and I so far agree with "Tyro" in opinion, that by such judgment the parties should stand or fall. I have paid some attention to this subject, and, in the absence of Lieut. Patten from England, think it but justice to request you will insert these few remarks.

་

Various statements have been put forth by Mr. Parke and Mr. Lamont, and their friends, but the editorial remarks in the Morning Chronicle of the 17th of August last, is the only statement I have seen on behalf of Lieut. Patten; and I think those remarks must have satisfied a large portion of the military and naval public, that Lieut. Patten had done all that may become a man," who dares do more, is none,"—and not only a man but an officer and a gentleman. It is not my intention to trouble you, Sir, with a recapitulation of the circumstances which induced Captain Markland, of H.M.S. Briton, to bring his second lieutenant of marines to a court-martial. The proceedings of that court, which have been published at length, can always be referred to; and it is well for the sake of truth and common justice that they can, as I shall presently show. Taking Tyro's statement seriatim, he says, first, the assault on Lieut. Patten, for which Mr. Parke was recently tried at Portsmouth," was merely an issue between two persons occupying in society the position of gentlemen-merely a difference of opinion on the mode of answering an insult." "Tyro" affects a great concern for the honour of the service, and yet he upholds a man to the rank of a gentleman who has been dismissed the service for "conduct unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman;" this being the second and proved charge against Mr. Parke. Indeed, the evidence of Mr. Coxe is represented in the proceedings of the court on this charge, and declared by the reporters of the press, to be too disgusting for publication; and yet a ruffianly attack by a person who had been thus dismissed for conduct unbecoming the character of a gentleman-an attack made from behind, and without any previous warning,-is described as "merely a difference of opinion in the mode of answering an insult by a gentleman!!” “Tyro" then proceeds to say, that " argument at the gun-room table, it seems, waxed hot between the first lieutenant Patten, and the second lieutenant of marines, Lamont, the former being Irish, and the latter Scotch; and that Lieut. Patten closed it by saying, he would not be sworn at by such a coxcombical puppy as him,"-meaning Lamont. Now, Sir, it is impossible for any one who has read the court-martial, or is at all acquainted with the facts of the case, not to see through this. Let your readers refer to the court-martial published in the Portsmouth paper of February, 1833, and see if they find a tittle of evidence to prove the case, as the case is here put.

The conversation, it appears by the evidence, was upon the relative merits of the Duke of Wellington and Sir John Moore, Lamont defending Sir John.

To suit his purpose," Tyro" makes Patten an Irishman in order to show that he had other motives besides purity of sentiment in supporting his opinion of the Duke of Wellington. "Tyro" pretends to know nothing of either party, it may be so;-certainly he knows nothing of Lieut. Patten's birth-place, who has not the honour of being an Irishman, nor is he stated in the evidence to be one, although it might suit "Tyro's" purpose on the present occasion. Then, sir, "Tyro" would have us believe, that "Lieut. Patten insults Mr. Lamont, and afterwards shelters himself behind his rank." Here we must go again to the evidence. Lieut. Parnel, R.N. says, that during this conversation at the gun-room table, Mr. Lamont, addressing Lieut. Patten, said, "Who cares a damn what you say or think?" or words to that effect. Pray, sir, let me ask, was not this the first insult? Lieut. Patten's answer, it must be contended, was not an insult, or intended as such, but only the reply to an insult, proceeding from a person by many years his junior, setting aside his inferiority of rank, and that Lieut. Patten was his commanding officer at that table. Then, sir, what becomes of Tyro's conclusion to his own quære, viz., " ought Lieut. Patten, putting the service on one side, to have refused giving satisfaction," &c. Will "Tyro" take the trouble of referring to the evidence; and, if I have not misstated the facts, ask himself what he would have done had such an observation as the one above quoted, been addressed to him?" Tyro" states he views the matter as a "service question;" if so, he must know, that in point of service, it was his, Lieut. Patten's, duty immediately to have reported Second Lieutenant Lamont to the Captain. Did he do this?-No; his reply told Mr. Lamont at once, that he did not chuse to be sworn at, and he would not, and did not take advantage of his rank by reporting him. “Tyro" then next proceeds to say, with something of a jeer, "some officers there are, no doubt, who in Lieut. Patten's situation would have said,” (said on a message being brought to him on the quarter-deck when in harbour at Portsmouth, by Mr. Parke,)" Wait, my dear fellow, till the ship is paid off, and you shall have your fill of satisfaction."

So, sir, the first lieutenant of a frigate is to be insulted by an inferior officer, which I have shown he was. He does not take advantage of his rank and report him, but merely tells him he will not be sworn at by him, and then he is to offer to give satisfaction when the ship is paid off!-Satisfaction! for what? "Tyro," in conclusion, " without" (he says) "in the remotest degree wishing to insinuate aught against Lieut. Patten, (!) holds him up to the service as a precedent where a senior officer at a mess-table may insult an inferior without other restraint than the prospective of a court-martial, (which for the sake of discipline will support him,) and without nevertheless affecting his caste' as a gentleman.' The answer to this, sir, may be summed up in a very few words. I have already shown, that, in this case, the inferior officer was the person who gave the insult. I have also shown that the senior could not have meditated a court-martial, or he would immediately have reported the inferior to the captain; and I now add, that I have never heard his “caste” as a gentleman has ever been called in question by any one bearing that character, who has had the manliness to tell him so. In conclusion, sir, I would wish to impress on the minds of the service in general, that the courts-martial, both on Mr. Lamont and Mr. Parke, were of their own seeking. Tyro" seems to sympathise with Lieut. Patten for not having had a "sound friend" near him at the time. If, however, Mr. Lamont had had such a friend to whisper to him in "Tyro's" words, "Wait, my dear fellow, till the ship is paid off, and then seek your satisfaction," instead of that friend madly going (himself an officer in uniform) from the Portsmouth garrison to Lieut. Patten on the quarter-deck, and, in the presence and hearing of the captain demanding it,-if he had used this dis