The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-16 00:00:00

TILE OUTBREAK AT PORTSMOUTII.

We have received the following explanation,
from unquestionable authority, of _the unfortunate
outbreak by the crew of her Majesty's ship Princess
Royal, at Portsmouth, on the 12th inst. Saturday,
the 12th, being the day set apart for the launch of
the Victoria, in the presence of her Majesty, was
kept as a holiday in the dockyard, all work being,
of course, suspended on board the Princess Royal,
and the men's wives and friends were allowed on
board for the day. After the visitors had left the
ship, one watch of the ship's company were granted
leave ashore for the night, and were marched to the
gate of the dockyard with an officer to pass them
out, which he was about to do, when an order ar-
rived from the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Bowles,
That no man was to leave the ship, and all who were
about to go for the night were to return to
the ship. This order was in consequence of
the remainder of the crew who had been left on
board also requesting leave to go on shore,
and, on its being refused, showing great discontent.
Shortly after the men had been got aboard Captain
Baillie arrived from the Admiralty-house, and piping
the petty officers on the poop, explained to them
the circumstances under which the men could not
leave that night, it being the Admiral's order, in
consequence of the dissatisfaction shown by the
remainder -of the ship's oompany after one watch
had leave granted them. While Captaiu Baillie
was addressing the petty officers, however, the most
discordant yells and noises issued from the lower
deck, and the officers of the ship at once had the crew
beat to quarters. The lights were extinguished by
the men on the lower deck, so that it was impossible
to pick out the ringleaders from the better disposed
portion of the crew. All those men who had nothing
to do with the disturbance were now piped on deck
and their names taken down, and afterwards
marched out on the jetty alongside which the ship
was made fast for the purpose of landing her k,tores
and gear. About 140 of the most worthless of the
crew remained below, and refused to pay any atten-
tion to their officers' commands or entreaties. They
were inimcdiately,us far as possible, battened down ,
on the lower deck, on which they were committing
the most outrageous excesses. The marines of the
ship stood by their officers manfully, and had to be
kept back from the men, or blood would most
undoubtedly have been Ad. The men now on the
lower deck were a pack of infuriated madmen, and
whenever an officer appeared near any hatchway
which had not been battened down, a piece of
crockery, a naked cutlass, even muskets with bayo-
nets fixed, were thrown up at him. The marines
from the different ships in the harbour arrived in
about an hour from the first commencement of the
mutiny, and formed on the jetty alongside the ship in
readiness to reduce the men, if necessary, by force.
The officers new addressed the men and pointed out
to them that it was only a question of a few moments,
that they must surrender and at once, if not
voluntarily, to the use of other means. The men
seeing there was no hope of escape, every porthole
being carefully guarded on the outside of the ship,
at length came up from below and surrendered
themselves, when they were immediately secured
and conveyed on board the St. Vincent guardship
of ordinary in the harbour, where they will await
instructions respecting them from the Admiralty.
Thus this most serious affair rests at present. The
men up to that time since their arrival in port had
behaved themselves well and worked as hard as it
was possible for men to work. On that day, how-
ever, a large number of the men's wives and friends
had been on board, and they had been enjoying
themselves together, dancing on the deck and other-
wise amusing themselves. A little extra drink they
no doubt obtained as well, and this with the excite-
ment of meeting Mends after a long absence, the
holiday on account of the Queen's presence in the
dockyard, &c., may have contributed largely to the
men's frenzy, although it cannot excuse their in-
subordinate conduct, which has been under rather
than over stated. Many of the men's wives who
had been on board during the day were waiting for
their husbands outside the dockyard gates, knowing
there was to be leave, when the men were ordered
back to the ship, and this is stated to have greatly
exasperated them.