The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-06 00:00:00

CAPTAIN 147ILKES.

The English friends of this officer have doubtless
felt more pain than surprise at his having once
more got into hot water before his long naval career
is ended. He must be one of the oldest officers in
the United States' service—and that service never
had one more royal—but his sagacity, judgment,
and knowledge, are not equal to his moral qualities.
The readers of his Narrative of the Exploring Ex-

pedition, of which he was commander, must be well
aware of this ; and, few and short as are his refer•
ences in that work to his troubles in thatcommand

they leave a painful impression of either incapacity
on his part, or something worse in others. His
courageous readiness to assume responsibility is no
atonement for mistakes which cannot be repaired.
The exploring expedition was projected in 1836, and
the command of it offered to Captain Wilkes. He
agreed to repair to London, in order to obtain infor-
mation, and to procure the best nautical instruments
and other scientific aids ; but he suspended his
acceptance of the command till he should be satis-
fied that he would have adequate powers and sup-
port. In London he was welcomed with a kind-
ness which made a deep impression on him, as ap-
pears in his Narrative, and as his English friends do
not forget. He was by marriage a relative of Lord
Jeffrey. He was cordially aided and advised at the
Admiralty, and a good deal of attention was natu-
rally fixed on his adventure, when the expedition
finally started in 1838. Our readers may remember
the collisions which were reported from time to
time—the disputes about Antarctic discoveries—
not only about the rival claims of British and
American commanders, but about the actual
facts of the reported American discoveries.
Then there were rumours of difficulties and
dissensions on board the ships of the squadron,
and of great severity on the commander's part in
suppressing mutiny. He spoke on that occasion as
he speaks now. He publicly said that he meant to
do his duty, that he believed he had done it, and
that if he was wrong he was ready to bear the

consequences. The whole transaction exhibited the
character of the man—loyal to duty, and to his Go-
vernment conscientious and courageous. His corn.
plaints of enemies on every hand, and of their ma-
chinations, seem to show a radical incapacity for
propitiating other men's judgment and feelings. It
could be nothing worse than was thus indicated, for
he is a man of generous spirit and amiable temper.
Conscientious and amiable as he is, he was brought
before successive courts-martial on his return from
the expedition, and for three weeks a court of 13
members was engaged in investigating 11 charges,
expanded into 36 specifications, against Commodore
Wilkes' acts at various periods of the long voyage.
This is his own published statement ; and he adds
that on only one
point was he judged to have trans-
gressed the laws of the navy—that point being
merely the amount of punishment he had awarded
to certain of his crew under urgent circumstances.
Yet ho himself evidently retained an irritating
sense of ill-usage throughout the whole transaction,
while leaders and observers were generally im-
pressed with his being unfortunate in a certain
weakness or perverseness of judgment, aggravated
Ly lack of sufficient knowledge for a position like
his. Those who are best acquainted with his mind
and character will probably agree as to what he
will feel and do on the present occasion. He willbe
surprised that he never heard of Madison's depreca-
tion of the honour of any flag being at the mercy
of any patty commander. He will be astonished to
find that it was a mistake to seize the men and
leave their despatches behind. He will declare that
he desired every courtesy to be shown to the British
officers. He will insist that it was the great object
of the hour to get hold of the commissioners, and
that he could have no doubt of its being hie duty to