Page 549 - INDIANNAVYV1

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 517

secret from every living soul during all my suspense and
anxiety, I was at last tried beyond my patience.''
Lord Clare,* the Governor of Bombay, tried to induce Com-
TTiander Hawkins to remain in prison at Bombay until the
King's pleasure was known as to the granting of a free pardon
for which application would be made to His Majesty; his lord-
ship sent an aide-de-camp to the unfortunate ollicer, and, after
the latter had decided to undergo the sentence, he sent him
again with a message that he should sail in a ship of the Indian
Navy, and that a brother officer should be his gaoler, with in-
structions to treat him as an officer and a gentleman. Accord-
ingly, Commander Hawkins sailed for Sydney on May loth, 1831,
on board the Hon. Company's sloop-of-war ' Coote,' Commander
Pepper. The ' Cooto' touched at Madras, where Connnanders
Pepper and Hawkins were feted for three days by the commu-
iiit}', and thence she proceeded to Batavia, where Commander
Pepper found despatches of importance awaiting to be for-
warded by the first ship to England. The Captain of the
' Coote' said to his charge, " here's a glorious opportunity to go
straight to England," and, though Commander Hawkins was
averse from this course, fearing that it might be considered as
done at his instance, and thus })rejudice his case, the former
took upon himself the responsibility, and, accordingly, to
Englanil the '(/oote' proceeded. Commander Pepper had with
him a copy of the petition to the King sent by Lord Clare, and
signed largely by officers of the Indian Navy and of the
]\iilitary and Civil services, and also the letter from his lordship
to the Governor of Sydney, requesting that Commander
Hawkins might be treated as a g(;ntleman, and with these he
liastened up to London. Lord Melville, to whom he showed
them, innnediately proceeded to Windsor, and obtained an
interviev>^ with the King, who promised to grant Connnander
Hawkins a free pardon,! and graciously commanded that he
should appear at the next levee.
Commander Hawkins obeyed the royal mandate, when His
]\Iajesty received him with great kindness, and converseil with
him. The Directors asked him how soon he wouhl be ready to
return to his duty, upon which he replied that he shouhl memo-
rialize the Hon. Court for si.K months' leave to recruit his
health, which had sutFered in the prison at Bombay, and then
he should again memorialize for a further period of six months,
and also for his full pay as captain of the *Clive' for the time
of his confinement and passage to Kngland. And he succeeded
in obtaining these demands, thus showing^ that his masters

* This nobleiuan wus tlio sclioolfollow and friciul of Lord Byron, n«gariliug
whom ho wrote tlie exquisite stiiiizns in hi» " Jloiir:) of Mlonesa."
t This docmneut wus luUlressed to the Goveriior-Gom-nii, mid wtijt daU<d frmn
St. James's Talace, oii the 'Jth ol" Movcmbor, 1831.