Ramage’s Mutiny r-8

by Dudley Pope

  "I, James Edwards, do swear that I will duly administer justice according to the Articles of War and orders established by an act passed in the twenty-second year of the reign of His Majesty King George II ... without partiality or favour or affection; and if any case shall arise which is not particularly mentioned in the said Articles and orders, I will duly administer justice according to my conscience, the best of my understanding, and the custom of the Navy in like cases ..."

  Gowers then administered the oath to the other captains in order of seniority, and then himself took an oath that he would never "disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of this court unless thereunto required by act of Parliament."

  Now the court was legally in existence, and Gowers sorted through his papers once more, found what he wanted and, when he glanced across at Captain Edwards, received an approving nod. He half turned towards the four prisoners and as if guessing what was coming, three of them stared down at the deck; the fourth, standing at the far end of the line and the oldest among them, almost bald with the round face of a village grocer, kept his eyes on the deputy judge advocate.

  It was not the stare of defiance, Ramage was certain of that. The other three now seemed to be shrinking, as though fear was slowly wilting them, but the fourth man appeared to be gaining confidence as the others were losing it.

  Gowers began reading out the charge. It was brief. After naming the four men and saying they had been part of the Jocasta's ship's company on the day of the mutiny, it first accused them of taking part in the mutiny and "aiding and assisting" in the murder of Captain Wallis, four lieutenants, master, midshipman, surgeon and the lieutenant of Marines. It then went on to accuse them of "aiding and assisting" in running away with the ship and handing her over to the enemy, deserting, "holding intelligence with the enemy", and "concealing mutinous designs". All, the charge concluded, in breach of the third, fifteenth, sixteenth, nineteenth, twenty-eighth and thirty-sixth Articles of War.

  That death was the penalty in all but one case the men well knew, having heard the Articles read to them at least once a month. Ramage had watched the four closely while Gowers was reading, and the deputy judge advocate had, probably without realizing it, given a slight emphasis to each key word - mutiny, murder, deserting - like a carpenter - hammering home the nails of a box. Three men had gone pale; perspiration was now running down their faces. The fourth man was calm, as though his conscience was clear or, perhaps, because he knew he had a cast-iron defence.

  It was getting hot in the great cabin: the ship being moored with her stern towards the beach presented her broad transom to the east, and the sun was beating through the sternlights on to their backs. As soon as Gowers finished reading the charges, Captain Edwards signalled the provost marshal to have the curtains drawn. The material was thick - it had to stop light escaping at night when the Admiral was at sea and wanted lanterns in his cabin - and the cabin was soon only dimly lit by sunlight sparkling on the water and reflecting through the four gun ports.

  Captain Edwards tapped the table with his gavel: "All witnesses save the first will withdraw." He said it with a curious intonation which made Ramage glance up: as far as he knew Aitken was the only witness, yet three officers rose from the chairs behind the prisoners and left the cabin. They left noisily, scraping the chairs, and all the prisoners glanced behind them, alarmed and curious, obviously puzzled over who they could be.

  Captain Edwards was obviously going to be a good president of the court: his voice was authoritative but not abrupt, his orders brief without being curt. "Call the first witness, " he said.

  "Lieutenant James Aitken, " Gowers said, picking up the Bible and selecting a card, which he handed Aitken. "Place your right hand on the Bible and make the oath written here."

  Aitken took the oath and then went to the chair facing the president and only six or eight feet from Ramage.

  "You are James Aitken, a lieutenant of the Royal Navy, and formerly the acting commanding officer of the Juno frigate on the fifth of June this year?"

  "I am, " Aitken replied, only the broadness of his Scottish burr betraying his nervousness.

  Edwards leaned forward, indicating that he was about to take over the questioning: "Relate to the court what happened on the fifth day of June."

  "The Juno was on passage from off Martinique to Antigua and we were four leagues west of the north-western tip of Guadeloupe. We sighted a brig to the east of us and gave chase."

  "What colours was she flying?"

  "None at first, but she soon hoisted an American flag."

  "Did she try to avoid you?"

  "No, sir. We came up to her and I ordered her to heave-to."

  "What was your purpose in doing that?"

  "I wanted to see if she had any British subjects in her ship's company, sir."

  "Very well, then what happened?"

  "I boarded her with ten men. I was short of officers, " he explained. "I took the list of the Jocasta’s ship's company and inspected the American brig's papers."

  "Did you find any of the Jocasta's men on board?"

  "At first I found one name, Albert Summers. I told the American master that this man was a mutineer from the Jocasta and demanded that he be produced."

  "Was he produced?"

  "Yes, sir, and at the same time - or, rather a few minutes before, because he was waiting nearby - another man came up to me and said he was from the Jocasta and wanted to give himself up."

  "What was his name?"

  "He said it was George Weaver."

  "Did that name appear on your list?"

  "No, sir."

  "Point him out."

  Aitken indicated the round-faced man at the other end of the line.

  "What did you do then?"

  "When Albert Summers was brought before me I accused him of being one of the Jocastas and told him I was putting him under an arrest."

  "Then what happened?" Edwards asked quietly.

  "He became very excited. He admitted he had served in the Jocasta but said he wasn't the only one."

  "What did you understand by that?"

  "It was a slip of the tongue but I assumed from his manner and gestures that there were others on board the brig using false names. I told him to identify them, but he refused."

  "How did you discover them?"

  "I asked the American master where his men had been signed on. Weaver and Summers were among the last names in the ship's articles, so I suspected they had been signed on while the ship had been in La Guaira or Barcelona - the log showed they were her last ports."

  "What did you do then?"

  "I instructed the American master to muster all the men he had signed on in any port on the Main."

  "And he did so?"

  "He did not agree readily, " Aitken said dryly, "but Weaver offered to point them out - the former Jocastas."

  "Did he do so?"

  "After a few minutes. He was most savagely attacked by Summers, who tried to strangle him and called him a traitor."

  "Point out the prisoner Summers."

  Aitken indicated the man nearest to him. Ramage had been speculating which of the men he was, and had finally guessed he was this man who had an air of evil and viciousness about him. Thin-faced with thinning black hair, his eyes too close together and his nose long and thin, the skin over the bridge stretched tight, he was the man that any officer would watch. Shifty, lazy, troublesome, he was typically the worst in a press-gang's harvest. Indeed, Ramage thought, he was probably a jailbird, released from prison into the custody of the press-gang.

  Edwards nodded and Aitken resumed his evidence. "We secured Summers and tended Weaver. He then pointed out two more men - the other prisoners, " he said, gesturing to the two standing in the middle of the line. "I asked the American master if he had signed those men on in La Guaira, and he admitted taking on two there and two at Barcelona. That agreed with what was written in the ship's articles."

  "Only th
ese four, then?"

  "So he said, and Weaver confirmed it, sir. The master signed a document to that effect, and his mate witnessed the signature."

  As Aitken produced a paper from his pocket Gowers interrupted: "The witness must speak more slowly. I have to write down every word, and . . ."

  The paper was handed over the table to the president, who read it and passed it to Gowers. "This is an exhibit, so keep it safely." Gowers gave a sniff, as though the instruction was a slur on his competence.

  "What did you do then?" Edwards asked Aitken.

  "I took the four men in custody. The American master demanded a receipt for them, saying he would protest to the American government. I gave him one - and warned him of the dangers of signing on mutineers."

  "Very sound advice, " Edwards commented dryly. "That completes your evidence?" When Aitken nodded, Edwards looked up at the prisoners. "Do any of you have any questions to ask this witness?"

  Weaver shuffled forward a pace - a move which made one of the Marine sentries swing round to watch him.

  "By your leave, sir, I do."

  "Carry on, then, but speak slowly so the deputy judge advocate can write it all down."

  "I came up to you the moment you boarded, didn't I, sir?" Weaver asked Aitken.

  "I think you did, " Aitken answered. "I can't be sure because I was looking for the master. But you were waiting to speak to me, that was obvious."

  "Was my name on your list, sir?"

  "The name George Weaver was not."

  "Did you -" the man paused. The careful way that the president, Gowers and Aitken had been speaking, lapsing from time to time into the jargon of courts martial, was obviously bothering him, and the president said quickly: "Just phrase your questions clearly, as though you were talking to a shipmate."

  "Aye, thank'ee, sir. Did you ask any of the others - these three here - who I was?"

  "Yes, they all said they knew you only as George Weaver, and you were the captain's steward."

  "Did you ask them when I joined the ship, sir?"

  Aitken nodded. "Yes I did, because of your claim."

  Edwards leaned forward and looked directly at Aitken. "What claim was this?"

  "Well, sir, he claimed he had nothing to do with the mutiny and that no one else - no one not serving in the Jocasta at the time that is - could have known he was on board."

  "That's it, sir, " Weaver said excitedly, taking another step forward and being pushed back by a Marine.

  Ramage guessed that Edwards knew all about the claim, but what he knew from Aitken's original report was not evidence: the truth of the affair was, legally, what appeared in the court martial minutes that Gowers was keeping, and this laborious question-and-answer procedure was the only way of recording it.

  "Wait a moment, Weaver; I am questioning Mr Aitken, " Edwards said. "Now, tell the court about this matter, and remember the rule about hearsay evidence: what Weaver told you is evidence, but what Weaver said someone else told him is not."

  "Quite, sir. Well, Weaver said that after the Jocasta sailed from Jamaica, and before the mutiny, she fell in with a British merchant ship and pressed five men. Among them was Weaver."

  Aitken paused as Gowers waved his quill frantically, warning him to speak slowly, and Ramage suddenly realized the point Weaver was trying to make. As far as the Admiralty was concerned, Weaver did not exist - at least, not as a Jocasta.

  "Weaver claimed that because the mutineers destroyed the Jocasta's latest muster book, the Navy did not know that he was on board. The Navy only knew the men who were on board when the ship was in Jamaica, when the previous muster book was sent in."

  The five captains understood exactly what Weaver meant, but it had to be explained more fully for the minutes. "Did Weaver know that muster books are sent to the Admiralty from time to time?" the president asked.

  "Yes, sir. He told me that a new muster book had been started a week before the Jocasta sailed from Jamaica, so that the only record the Admiralty had of the men on board during the mutiny came from the previous muster book."

  "Did he know of any men who had left the ship after the new muster book was started but before the ship left Jamaica?"

  That was a shrewd question, Ramage noted; Captain Edwards was as concerned with the truth of the whole mutiny as he was with trying these four men. His question could avoid a man being wrongly accused of being on board the ship.

  "Yes, sir. He mentioned three men who had been discharged dead just before the mutiny."

  "He gave the names?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Were these dead men's names on the list of mutineers you had in your possession?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Very well. Now, Weaver, have you any more questions to ask this witness?"

  "Yes, sir." He turned towards Aitken. "Did I say to you that I was giving myself up, sir?"

  "You did."

  "And wasn't you taken aback, like, and didn't you go right through your list and ask me if the name 'George Weaver' was an alias?"

  "I was puzzled at first, yes, and I did check the list again."

  "Why, sir?"

  There was a sudden silence in the cabin: Gowers's pen stopped squeaking and every man's eye was on Aitken. Even the Marine sentries realized how much depended on the Scots officer's reply.

  "Because you'd have been left in the American brig if you had kept silent. At least, unless one of the other prisoners gave you away."

  Captain Edwards held up his hand. "Summers refused to denounce the other two. Do you think he would have denounced you?"

  "Yes, sir, providing he was asked direct; we'd had a falling out, " Weaver said simply, obviously realizing that the question and answer did much to destroy his defence. "But, sir, I went up to this gentleman to give myself up the minute he boarded. I didn't know why he was coming on board. No one did. It just seemed routine. No one knew he was looking for Jocastas - why, all that happened two years ago. I didn't know he'd find Summers."

  Ramage leaned forward to catch the president's eye and Edwards nodded, giving permission for him to ask a question.

  "Why did you sign on board the American brig?" Ramage asked.

  "T'was the only way I could get away from the Main, sir."

  "Why did you want to get away from the Main?"

  Weaver looked puzzled and went to scratch his head, but his hands were manacled. "Well, sir, I was trying to get back to my own folk."

  That was what Ramage had expected, but Weaver was taking too much for granted; he was expecting the court to understand instinctively why he had done certain things. More questions were needed so that Weaver's answers filled in the story.

  "But you were in an American ship, bound for an American port."

  "Aye, sir, I were; but the Jonathans are the only ones what come into ports on the Main. I was reckoning on getting to England from Charleston, or maybe back down to Jamaica."

  "Supposing you reached England or Jamaica - what did you Intend to do?"

  "Do, sir? Why, report to the authorities - just like I did when this gentleman came on board the brig."

  "Why did you think the Lieutenant boarded the brig?"

  "I dunno, sir. Mebbe to press some men, like when I was pressed into the Jocasta. But the minute I saw the Juno was a British ship I told my mate I was going to try to get on board."

  "Your mate?"

  "The friend of mine I met in Barcelona: the one what got me signed on."

  "Was he an American or one of these prisoners?"

  Weaver looked dumbfounded. "An American, sir. Why, if these fellers -" he nodded towards the other three men "- if they'd known what I was going to do they'd 'ave done me in. Why, you saw that Summers tried to throttle me. Well, you didn't, sir, but the Lieutenant did."

  Edwards tapped the table lightly with his gavel.

  "Are you prepared to give evidence against the other prisoners?" he demanded.

  "Why, yes, sir, of course."

  "Clear the cour
t, " Edwards said briskly.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The four prisoners were marched out, the onlookers left the cabin and the provost marshal shut the door with a flourish as he ushered the last man out. Captain Edwards gave a sigh of relief. "Well, we've got our witness! "

  "What was all that business earlier on?" Marden asked. "Those three lieutenants going out when you ordered all but the first witness to leave the court?"

  Edwards grinned and confessed: "That was in case none of the prisoners turned King's evidence. If they thought Aitken was the only witness against them, they'd know that if they kept their mouths shut they'd be safe. The fact that three officers left at that moment was a fortunate coincidence."

  "Indeed it was, " Marden said. "I'm glad they could take a hint! "

  "Ah well, " Edwards said, "we now have to consider what to do next. Are we agreed that Weaver should be allowed to turn King's evidence?"

  The four captains agreed, and Edwards asked Gowers: "Are we following the correct procedure?"

  "I think so, sir, " the deputy judge advocate said. "We haven't made him any promises."

  "Indeed not! " Marden exclaimed. "As far as he knows he'll be strung up from the foreyardarm as soon as he's told his story."

  Captain Teal coughed. "His story might be quite detailed if he gives enough evidence to convict those men."

  Edwards shrugged his shoulders and, to Ramage's relief, said flatly: "As president of this court I intend to give these men a fair trial. I'm not concerned with whitewashing anyone. Anyone at all, " he added heavily, and the four captains knew that he included the unfortunate Wallis and his Commander-in-Chief, Vice Admiral Sir Hyde Parker. Did Admiral Davis and Edwards consider that Sir Hyde should have put a restraining hand on Wallis's shoulder? Ramage was not sure.

  Edwards looked left and right at his fellow captains. "Very well, since we're all agreed about this man Weaver, we'll call him as our next witness. Gowers, is one witness sufficient to convict on a capital charge?"

  The purser opened a book in front of him, looked up the index and turned to a page. "Ah, here we are, sir - 'As a prisoner ... by the rules of common law may be found guilty on the uncorroborated evidence of a single witness, so, if the court or jury believe the testimony of an accomplice - 'that word is in italic type, sir'- though such testimony stand totally uncorroborated, a prisoner may be found guilty of a capital crime.'"