The Glasgow Chronicle. — 1849-09-19 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

PITMAN, RN.  F  Was  A commander in her Majesty's navy is at this moment taking his trial upon charges, which in the present day we may truly call unparalleled and extraordinary. The indictment against him is for "general cruelty and oppression during a period commencing on the 4th of Sept. 1846, and ending the 20th of May, 1849," for "false iltements in the log book of his ship," and for "false expenditure of stores." Prosecutions of this character are not uncommon in the metropolitan police courts against the masters of merchant vessels, and there are but too many people now living who can recollect when the grossest tyranny was practised with comparative impunity. But since the conclusion of the war, and the introduction of new orders and regulations, all tending to the improvement of the seamen's condition, and the limitation of his superiors, caprices, we have seen no example of such a nature as that to which we now refer, In support of the charges specified, it has been already given In evidence that during the above-mentioned period of Captain Pitman's command eleven commissioned officers quitted his ship, either by invaliding or exchange, two commissioned officers actually deserted, one private marine and one midshipman's steward committed suicide, one marine became insane, one sailor died in his hammock, attributing his death to the severity with which he had been treated, and numerous seamen deserted the ship as opportunies occurred. How far these depositions may appear to the court as established or to what extent they may be qualified by the arguments of the defence, remains to be seen; but they have at least been put deliberately on record. It would ill become our public duties to prejudge a pending case of so serious a character; but we are warranted by the course of the trial madding that punishments and practices of an extraordinary nature were certainly in use on board the Childers. The evidence, indeed, recalls, as we have said, rather the reports of the Central Criminal Court, than the usual proceedings of a court martial. Men were sent forward in all weathers to be scrubbed with sand and canvas; others were kept standing several hours at night, with their hammocks on their shoulders, general sickness at the time being prevalent in the ship. Sometimes, again, men were paraded with funnels on their heads or with handspikes or with other loads on their backs, such penalties being made severe as well degrading by the rigorous exaction at the same time of all their ordinary duties. It is no matter of wonder that such "secondary punishments" as these, added to a liberal use of the lash, should have introduced insubordination and disorder. Without prejudging the actual deserts of the parties concerned, it seems at least beyond doubt that the suicides of the two men were immediately connected with their apprehension of severe treatment at the hands of their captain. It has been attempted, by cross-examination on behalf of the prisoner, to show that the crew of the Childers was a bad one, and we have no doubt that such was actually the case. But the question then arises, from what circumstances did this general disorder result? If misrule and ill-treatment produced, as they infallibly will, insubordination and mutiny, then mutiny and insubordination are not to be cited in defence of ill-treatment and misrule. The discipline of the Childers, notwithstanding ' all this severity: was lax; and a very competent and, as we presume, unprejudiced witness, directly attributed such laxity "to the severity of punishments and frequent change of Aura." The witness to whom we allude i' was Mr. Carter, who served as Captain Pitman's first tlieutenant for six or seven months of his command. This officer considered the commander's conduct to have been "inconsistent and severe," the same offences being at one time serious and at another slight. He i had "often heard officers complain of the ship, and wish ' they were out of it," and he himself " lef t because he wished to rot in home, and v 15144 of any opportunity to get