Page 550 - INDIANNAVYV1

518 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAAT. ——

exonerated liiin from any charf^e beyond error of jiid,<^ment.*
In their letter of the 29th of February, 1832, to the Jioiiibay
Government, stating that the lioyal warrant for Comn)ander
Hawkins' pardon had been issued, they reviewed the conduct
of the parties concerned, in the following terms :
" Para. 6. On a review of the whole transaction, we do not
think that the conduct of Mr. Hawkins ought to be confoutided
with those which form the ordinary course of a trafiic in slaves.
He was not actuated by mercenary motives, but, as it would
appear, by a genuine though misguided zeal for the perform-
ance of a public service for which he had been specially
selected. Relying on the obvious tenor of his instructions, he
engaged in the enterprise, anxious only to prove himself worthy
of the trust reposed in him.
"Para. 7. The apology for his conduct, which he attempted
to derive from the benefit conferred on the youths whom he
purchased, cannot be admitted on any social principle of
morality, nor on any enlightened view of the public interest;
yet it may be acknowledged that it was sufficiently plausible to
perplex and mislead the judgment of a man probably not much
practised in the consideration of such questions, and taught by
his professional duty to execute rather than to canvass the
order of his superiors.
"Para. 8. At the same time, he is entitled to the benefit of
the fact, that, in the fulfilment of those orders, he conducted
himself with all the humanity compatible with the nature of
the mission.
"Para. 9. There is undoubtedly a distinction to be drawn
between wilful delinquency, and an honest, though heedless,
zeal for the public service.
* The following is a copy of a letter addressed by Sir John Malcolm to the
father of Commander Hawkins, dated the 1st of October, 1831 :
" I have received your letter of the 18th Septembei-. I can give you the most
satisfactory account of your son, Captain Hawkins ; he is an excellent man and a
good officer ; he ei'red from the want of a knowledge it was hardly possible for
him to possess, and in the zealous and honourable performance of his duty vio-
lated the ivordx of a statute which was never meant—I must believe—to apply
to a case where the decided object was to liberate, not enslave—and to improve
and elevate degraded and miserable ci-eatures, and in all probability to render
them, after the service of a few years, the happy instruments of benefiting others
of their counti-ymen. Of the causes which have led to the disappointment of
these expectations I will not speak, but merely inform you that your son has
been pronounced by the judge to leave the bar without a stain upon his character.
The Government have given him his full pay and allowance, and propose to
request his pardon ; for this also there are petitions from the inhabitants of
Bombay and from his own Service. It will, I make no doubt, be granted the
moment the Grovernment despatch is received, for the Court of Directors see his
conduct in the same favoux-able light. In short, my dear Sir, however distressing
the sentence, the whole affair has given your son an opportunity of displaying a
character that will, I trust, promote his future success in life— in my brother,
Sir Charles Malcolm, and myself he will ever find warm friends.
" P.S.—You are at perfect liberty to communicate to any person the sentiments
expressed in this letter."