The Sun.
London, England, 1830-10-11 00:00:00

I'MPLLESSNENT OF SEAMEN.

In speaking of impressment for the King's
naval service, , we have admitted that at all events
the navy, must be metnnerL The only question,
then, is, can seamen itr sufficient numbers be
procured by any means less inhuman than nn-
presstnetia
A short' but:able essay on this subject was
published by Ridgway in 1827, and entitled
Hints on the Impressment of Seenen. It is
the work, we are toll, of a distinguished officer,
and hears throughout the features of its- noble
birth.

After stating that the practice referred to can
be justified no otherwise than by necessity, 'and
aught therefore to be limited by that necessity,
the author proceeds to examine why it is " that
the seamen of England are so unwilling to serve
on board his Majesty's ships ?" He avers, and
proves, that it cannot be the fear of the elements
or of the enemy, inasmuch as danger from the
winds and waves are more imminent in merchant-
ships than in men of war, and the idea of an
enemy is but pastime-to a tar, But the gallant
author ascribes that repugnance to the indefinite
period of imprisonment on board a King's ship,
and to the power of aibitrirry punishment to
which sailors are subject,' while so imprisoned.
We quote some passages from this work,
which appear to us worthy of grave attention,
and especially those which mark the contrast be-
tween the condition of the seamen on board
King's ships and those qn board merchant-ves-
sels, 'in respect, of the 'very important circum-
stances of pay, comfort, freedom, and exemption
from corporal punishment.

" Inhuman and unjust, must be the custom that
forcibly interferes with the industrious- and peace-
able occupations of the poor man, disperses his
hopes, piralyzes his endeavours' steps between him
and every feeling of family affection, and finally
obliges him,to curse the service;--that of his. country
—into svhieh he is forced, an unwilling victim, and
which he cimnot quit without a crime! His father,
mother, wife, or children,.may be in, distress, in ex-
treme misery, from which the ;high wages he could
earn are sufficient to remove them; he knows this,
and he deserts that service into which he was un-
justly dragged ; no man, with the commbn feelings
of humanity, can blame him; and where is the man
with a spark of freedom in his composition, that
would not do the same ?

" This picture is not fancy; such events were
but too common during the late war: we recollect
an instance of a seaman belonging to one of his
Majesty's ships (we believe a pressed man), who
happened, after some years' absence, to touch at tt)e
port where he watt born ; his aged father and
mother, and his sisters, came alongside 'the ship to
see him with all the eagerness oflamily affection,
heightened by long separation. . Unluckily, howeyer,
an order had been issued to prevent any woman from
;coming on board—it was• not relaxed in their favour;
he then. naked permission to go on shore with his
family for as few hours, as he was on the eve of a
long voyage.; was refused: upon which
,the poor man, at all lilacs, determined to pay a last
,visit to• his friends, and swam on shore that night. He
returned, however, in the morni►►g, but not before
his abseneewas taken notice of. • . _ _

" The Captain, who was one of those who think
the eat-o'nine-tails a sovereign remedy, determined
to try him by a Court-martial, in order to make a
severe example; .ha was„sentenced to—we don't
know how, many lashes, by, the Court; but.as few
es could well he given for the offence, all circum-
stances considered; sued the Commodore, a man
of humanity., ordered the prisoner on board his own.
ship, where the sentence never was put in execu-
tion.: This man's behaviour waaiinvariably good
during the whole time he remained on board the
Commodore.' .

" It will be readily admitted, that,gie compe-
tition for labour should be as free,,ath'iegard, to
seamen,-as with tiny other trade or prilestion4
and even were it granted, that,
in t ties of peci'dial:
emergency, the Government should be armed with
the power of compelling the service of Certain classes,
the doctrine of its right to avail itaeli,ofiltat „service
at less than the market price, can. never surely be
maintained with any appearance of
justice or good
policy, when;the obvious alias attach tieysteavere
aversion, flight, and concealment. in the. United
States' navy, where-the discipline is generally con-
sidered more severe than in ours, there is no swarthy
of men; they•tairer loft climited time, and: the sea-
Mun's pay is regulated by the fluctuation a the met-
chent's wages, or, in other words, it follows the
market price; though, we'believe, never is fully up
to its level. From 1800 to 1816, it varied from 10
to 17 dollars ii month; the smallest of these sums
la nearly one-third, more titan the fax of en able
seaman in the British navy;: and the largest a great
deal mote than. double,, while the ncoeasarlee of life
are generally much cheaper in fba(tountry than
this*. • _ ,

••• . • •
4, We are told that, were it no tor impressment,
we shnuldost the commencemenqof 4 war, be in
want of MOW to equip our ships that they would'
remain sailorlesa—inert masses,eating on the face
of the waters : in short, that 'while out Beets con.
tinued stagnating in port, those of our enemlis
would be riding triumphant over the ocean. In the
first place, it is by no means apparent why our ad-
versaries should be before-hand with us, Unless their
system be preferable to ours; and if so, let us profit.
by their example. Let us change this illiberal
that a conduct-eminently open
system; after this narrow and penurious policy;
give the maritime part of the Community, fair play;
troops beyond
the Nuerdyk, the return of our prisoner'', and other
ipinredssiieeertao4th_titsmitmr:thoeft
retreat
of
the
popular acts, might ;perhaps lessen the public indig-
make the only difference between a. man-of war and

pepys tells tui, in his Diary, that it seaman's pay, in
;662, was V4‘. per month.;; it is now only 84s. Wheat
was about 64. blishel at that time ; it tr naw batwou
is, and 80., A. seaman then culti itt pay and.viptuals, 48s.
a mooch, aeciiiiiiiig to Sir William_ petty, while a la.
hourel'a pay, was ts. a week withouthi4 board, or 2e. with
juttlie4nialeit pay and victual. amount., Inowlks6.6*. a,

a merchant-man the superior discipline of the
former; and let the restraints necessary to ensure
that discipline be no greater than will 'effect that
object. .You will then find little difficulty in giving
animation to those splendid bulwarks of the Britiih
em'pire, and they will become"more like palaces than
prisons.

" Let us now endeavour to discover • the reason
that occasions such unwilliegatess in the seamen of
England to serve on board his Majesty's ships.
." It cannot be either the fear of hinds, or of waves,
nor yet of the enemy; for the dangers of the former
are still more imminent and threatening in the 'mer-
chant-ships ; and it is hardly necessary to say that
the latter is tinthought of: besides, the marines
have no difficulty in recruiting, and are even pre-
ferred to the line. Neither is it altogether the dis-
cipline, for that applies equally to the marines; and
its severity, if impartially considered, is verbal),
greater in that corps and in the regithus, than in the
navy;' but it is there carried on with infinitely more
form, with a more visible appearance of justice, if tio;
with more real equity than • in: the latter service
because, however revolting: corporeal puitiehment
may be to the natural disposition and feelings of a
captain of a man-of-war, however anxious he may he
to dispense strict and impartial justice, 'let him be
ever so much convinced of the rectitude of his
intentions, of the purity of his motives, or the ne-
ceseity of his acts, he is still a human being, sub,
ject to error, passion, and partialities, and, conse-
quently, in his weaker moments, liable to let the
warmth of his own feelings warp and bias his
cooler judgment, and the more so if he feels his mo-
tives to be good end his, ends tiseful. It requires
no common exertion of mind to
,bear cote radiction
and crossing ; to see plans, undertaken with the
purest intentions, and leading to the best results,
Thwarted; to find orders, issued for the general
gool, unheeded, or languidly obeyed; to observe a
favourite scheme, the object of much labour and
anxiety, confused and disordered by some unpardon-
able neglect; , and all this: when 'power • is in his
hands, and punishment follows
.his nod.
" Experience dictates what is here said; and nit
appeal is made to any and every officer who has
commanded a man-of-war candidly to declare wile-
.ther,on cool review of his own conduct, he has
not been sometimes forced to acknowledge that the
feelings of the moment have, at times, materially
influenced his decision in the infliction of punish-
ment; unconsciously, perhaps, at the moment, bet,
even nit that account, the more dangerous; and
though:many officers lay it down as a rule never to
punish until 21, hours after a crime has been com-
mitted, still so salutary a regulation does not always
protect a man front the effects of his own passions
and weakness.
the army, an investigation on oath inva-
riably takes place previous to sentence being passed
upon an offender. Whether it really diminishes the
amount of punishment, is not here 'of consequence:
it is sufficient that the mind is soothed by the forms
and appearance of justice; for, let a man feel him:.
self ever so guilty, he still likes to give his officers
the trouble of proving him so; the crime, more-
over, is made apparent to his 'companions, and the
murmurs of secret discontent arc dispersed by the
publicity of the inquiry, and clearness of the proof.
" The natural desire of bettering our condition by
hottest industry, is the inducement to a seafaring
life, in common with other professions; and this
is,of course, equallY'applicable to the king's end
the merchant service. In time of war, the flatter-
ing, but often delusive hope of prize-money,—the
natural desire of glory,---the personal spirit of en-
terprise', -so. conspicuous throughout our maritime
districts, together with the prospect of a pension
after a zed period of service," ire additional incen-
tives to enter the Royel,Navy in peace, most of
these lose their farce, or, indeed, no looger exist;
and Consequently the two services are more nearly
ou it par, while the prospective advantagei are father
in fitiour of that of the merchant. There a man
may; with well-grounded hope, look for Ward to be
mate, 'miter, and, eventually, even part-oweer of
the vessel in which he embarks; but excepting
thiti„ he has nothing to which he may look forward
beyond his present contract; these, however, are no
trifling inducements, and naturally attach the
steadiest and beat seamen to that service in which
their fair and honest expectations have the most
probable and earliest chance of consummation, unless
prematurely blighted by their own misconduct.
• • • • • • •

" i irhrei'y-; a ahrne
asingrenintaersoti contract liotaordperaform
merchantman
stipulated
voluntarily;
duties for a specified remuneration, and subjects
nla
himself to certain penalties in cue of nOn-perform-
once ; he can discontinue his services when the
contract is ended, or previously, if he choose to for.;
feit his wages; he in a word, completely un•
fettered, and entirely master of his own movements.
He is, moreover, well fed, and, receives high wages;
or,'at least, wages equal to the value of his skill and
industry ; his engagements are rarely of long dura-
tion, and he is not subject to. corporal punishment.
" Should he feel himselluncotnfortably situated,
or fancy that he can improve his condition, he is free
to change; but be is not-subject to be shifted from
ship to ship, at the pleasure of the master or owner,
except in a case of mutiny, or extreme insubordina-
tion, when he may be sent on boaid a man-of-war,
which it is unfortunately so much the custom, in
England, to consider as the proper 'receptacle for
every thing that is infamous; and then there are
wonderand clamour at the necessity of flogging, and
the general severity of the discipline.
" The merchant-seaman's prospects are not
visionary, nor very remote : they are the probable
result of a reasonable calculation, founded on the
basis of his own industry and zeal, unmixed with the
adventitious aid of birth and great' connections. The
inclinations are unconfined, the energies unshackled,
and the man is left at full liberty to reach the level
of his own powers. It may even be said, that met-
chant-seamen,haie more freedom of action than the
Irilieiduals of Moat other trades, for they can seek
end find employment amongst the surrounding
nations with 411 the tools they want, their knife and
marline-spike, tekthout running risk of violating the
laws of their country. ,
" It ief neeittbeleas, far from our intention to set
up the merchanwervice as a sort of nonpareil; on
the contrary, the' seamen' are" frequently ill-treated
and imposed upon; and the instances of their pre-
ferring a man-of-war, particularly in foreign coun-
tries, are too numerous, and too well known by pro-
fessional men, to he here mentioned.
" This, however, rather strengthens than weakens
the Argument ; for it is this very power of chino,
that attaches them; bitsidea, in these instances they
are generally moved by resentment, by the fear of
imprisontrient for "'tome real or alleged rnileonduet,
ibehyoamtt e
strong-
hope
oollurrd
antagonist,'
nsf
aeg, gettingon is their
inherent
t:,c os arrearsnwohuart
taotfwu ;oaf:rid
over-'t'bhy;
t
ill.
one service they may often be most abominably_
oiled ; it frequently happens that they_ are so; but
they are free to rehunge: in the.other, injustice is
now rare, but freedom of will, is Antknown. It bas
been asked, what are the peculiarities that disfigure
the King's service, and render it .sit disgusting to the
merchant-seamen ? The general answer may be,
the severity of the discipline,--the impossibility of
quitting it without committing a erinie,-;.-the *com-
paratively low rate of pay,--and the positive eon-
finement. • , . ,
of
respect to that monstrous nod internal
mo e Of ptimsliment, common to both arm and
navy,—we mean the cat,o'-uitte-tails,—they no-
tice which we have already bestowed upon it has
drawn upon us a crowd of favotirs front corres-
pondents, from which we have taken, almost at
haphazard, a few for publication. It is really
time that the Legislature ahould revise a system
So utterly abhorrent to
.the.feelings of the Eng-
lish nation.

But the whole question of naval discipline is
handled by this author with so much truth and
ability, that we shall take further opportunitiex
of extracting from his may, or of commenting

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