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484 — HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.

longed to a merchant ship ; they could not, therefore, he expected,
from their hahits, and the different duties the}' had to execute,
to i)e proper judges. The degradation and insult oflfered in this
instance to the Marine officers, were evident and studied, because
there was no want of Marine officers to form a proper Court."
After alluding to the sale of the ' Mornington,' twenty-two
guns, "Tor two-thirds of her probable value," Captain Maxfield
continued :
When she was got rid of, the largest vessel remaining was
•'
the ' Teignmouth,' of 250 tons, which, in H.M.'s service, would
have only ten or twelve guns ; but she was absurdly crammed
Avitli eighteen guns, and at one time, twenty. It was as in-
judicious as cruel so to equip her, as it rendered her unsafe,
and in the event of capture insured the disgrace of whoever
commanded her. The rest of the vessels were of the same
stowage, except that they were much smaller, and one, the
'Ariel,' a brig of IGO tons, carrying ten guns, was so crank
that she overset and sank in a squall in the Persian Gulf, and
of her crew only three men were saved. These were facts
Avhich could not be denied, and which the records of that house
fully established. In October, 1814, the 'Vestal' being under
orders to carry despatches to Bussorah, her commander. Lieu-
tenant Phillips, was directed to receive on board (by the orders
of the Superintendent) a certain number of bales belonging to
private merchants at Bombay. on freight. That officer repre-
t>ented the utter incompetency of his vessel to carry any cargo,
as it was with diflficulty he could stow his provisions and water
for the crew. His objection was overruled, and the bales sent
on board, which he (sooner than deprive the crew of their
Avretched accommodation) stowed in his own cabin. By the
orders of 1798, all freight except bullion was prohibited to be
carried in the Company's cruisers; but this disregard of orders
by the Superintendent, brought into the Bombay Treasury the
pitiful sum of 160 rupees. The ' Vestal' was a small sharp
brig, 160 tons burthen, mounting ten guns, and scarcely
able to carry ten weeks' provisions and water ; and, as the
Superintendent long commanded one of their large Indiamen,
he could not plead ignorance of the utter inability of the 'Vestal'
'to carry any cargo whatever, and his motives therefore could
not be mistaken. What was the consequence ? Not mere dis-
comfort to the unfortunate commander, but death The
' Vestal's ' cabin was very small, and had neither port nor
scuttle. The Persian Gulf, they knew, was dreadfully un-
healthy. Such stowage induced a liver complaint, and an
officer of distinguished merit, who had served for nearly twenty
years, fell a victim—not to the cause of his country, but to in-
justice and cruelty. Now it was well known to all who heard
him, that in every kind of ship- or vessel, from the privateer to