Page 316 - INDIANNAVYV1

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284 HISTORY OP THE INDIAN NAVY. ;

In 1815 occurred a circuinstancc which, at the same time,
stamps with honour the name of a gallant officer of the J:)(jinbay
Marine, and with ignominy that of his opponent, a Captain in
the Navy of the United States, with which nation this country
had been at war during the previous three years. On the oOtli
of June, 1815, the Hon. Company's cruiser 'Nautilus,' of four-
teen guns, commanded by Lieutenant Boyce, while off Anjier

i-eason we liave sent you thiswitli oar thanks, as well as those of the inliabitants,
wliose report is enclosed. Y"ou have saved them ; they are pleased ; and
in seeing them happy, we are ourselves most happy. What can we say
moi'e ?"
The second letter, which is signed by one hundred of the Native inhabitants of
the afflicted district, and is addressed to Captain Grant, " the Protector of the
Poor," is in the following terms :
" From the bankers, traders, and other inhabitants of this place, this is
our Report. The trouble you took when we were attacked by the pestilence,
in administering to the poor of tliis place, not only medicine, but relief
of all kinds from your own resources, by wliicli means you not only saved a great
many persons from death, but as if inspired by heaven, treated them with all
manner of kindness. How much can we thank you for these favours. Out of
seven hundred persons who were seized with this distemper, seventy-five only
died, and of those fifteen or twenty only died after the remedy had been applied,
and twenty-five others died before any assistance was given ; in the other thirty
it appeared to liave been too long delayed ; but six hundred and twenty-live
persons were, by the favour of heaven and your exertions, rescued (called again
to life.) For all tliis, what can we give you but thanks and prayers to God
for your prosperity and long life ; the reward is with Him, and our thanks
that he permitted so valuable a person to reside amongst us ; it is indeed
fortunate. Fi-ora far and near they came unto you, and were relieved
pray God that it may be returned tenfold. And as long as you remain with
us, we look up to you for protection, for if it had not been for you we should
have had no assistance. Believe this, we pray, and continue your kindness
towards us."
As assistant to the Master-Attendant at Surat, Captain Grant received the
thanks of Government for saving the Hon. Conipany's ship 'Duke of York,' off
the entrance of the harbour during the south-west monsoon. Likewise he
received the thanks of the merchants for saving from destruction on the south-
west prong, the ship ' Milford,' of Bombay. Captain Grant continued in the
Master-Attendant's office until 1828, when he was appointed Senior Naval
Officer on the Surat station.
In bringing his services to tlje notice of the Bombay Government, Captain
Crawford, Superintendent of the Marine, says, under date of the 19th of March,
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1833 " This officer always displayed great courage, talent, and energy, for
which he invariably received the warmest approbation of his immediate superiors
in the Civil, Military, and Naval Services ; even recently the Hon. Ihe Court of
Directors, in their despatch in the Public Department, under date of the 24th of
August, 1831, esijecially notices the exertions of Captain Grant and Commander
Cogan, in securing pirates and recovering plundered property." In 1833 he pro-
ceeded to England on sick leave, and in 1836, when his health had been restored,
the Court of Directors appointed hnn to the command of the new steam sloop
' Berenice.' This vessel he took to Bombay in the year 1837, she being the
second shijj (the ' Atalauta ' having sailed a few months before) that was pro-
pelled by steam the whole voyage round the Cape of Good Hope from England
to India. Soon after Captain Grant's arrival in Bombay, in June, 1837, his
health failed, and he was again obliged to return to England, where he arrived in
the beginning of 1838, after whicli he resigned the Service, having served twenty-
three years in India, and altogether in the Service twenty-eight years. He soon
after succeeded to tlie Senior Pension list of £800 per annum, which the gallant
old officer enjoyed for a period of thirty-six years."