82 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



"The difficulties to which the whaling fleet is exposed are often 

 aggravated by the position of our consuls j for if engaged in 

 trade, as they almost always are, they lose that influence and 

 standing with the authorities which they otherwise would 

 have, whether civilized or savage, as well as with their own 

 countrymen. 



"The whole system is wrong: those appointed to such situ- 

 ations should not be suffered to engage in trade, but should 

 receive a salary adequate to their support." ^'^ 



Instances of consular prejudice and injustice were many. 

 One episode, unusual only in that the decision of the consul 

 was later reversed by higher authority, occurred at the Ha- 

 waiian Islands. While cruising in the Pacific the captain of a 

 whaler had attempted to flog one of the foremast hands as a 

 punishment for fighting. The remaining members of the 

 crew, insisting correctly that flogging was forbidden by law, 

 rescued the man and refused duty. After an armed truce 

 which continued for several days, the master finally agreed to 

 make for Hawaii and to refer the matter to the consul for set- 

 tlement. Upon arrival, that official completely ignored the 

 request for a trial, blustered and browbeat the men, and ter- 

 minated the matter by sending an entire boat's crew to prison 

 for six months. After some six weeks, however, the affair 

 chanced to come to the attention of the commanding officer of 

 the sloop-of-war Peacocky who held that the men had been 

 improperly confined and ordered their immediate release. 

 The captain of the whaler, who had placed three men in irons, 

 was held liable for false imprisonment j and subsequently the 

 seamen were enabled to recover the earnings due them by 

 means of an action in the federal courts. ^^ 



Another case which was more truly typical, in that it failed 

 to result in a vindication of the rights of the foremast hands, 

 was that of a whaler which put into the port of Zanzibar in 

 1838. The men had been flogged, beaten, abused, and 

 starved by a drunken captain for many months j and such ex- 

 orbitant prices had been charged for slop-chest articles that 



1^ Wilkes, Charles, "Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition," V, 

 p. 500. 

 18 Davis, W. M., "Nirarod of the Sea," pp. 220 et passim and p. 323. 



