86 



could have endured it any longer ; secondly, that Christian's antecedents 

 raise a fair presumption that he was naturally incapable of breaking the 

 most time-honoured traditions of the service, and the most inflexible 

 laws of his country, except as a last resort against misused authority ; 

 and thirdly, that the mutiny was enacted not only with humanity, but, 

 comparatively speaking, with moderation and indulgence towards the 

 victims. 



As to the amount of provocation received by Christian, the narrative 

 of Morrison is pretty conclusive of itself; and the opinion of Peter 

 Heyvvood (wlio was Christian's fellow-offiicer and a man of strict truth- 

 fulness), on the subject is, I know from his step-daughter, Lady Belcher, 

 fairly represented in her reflections upon the scene of the mutiny. She 

 says : " What a contrast was there between the stillness of nature and 

 the terrible conflict raging in the breast of Fletcher Christian, as he 

 paced the deck, brooding over his wrongs, and goaded as it were to 

 madness by the coarse unfounded accusations of the preceding morning. 

 For months these indignities had been borne with patience and forbear- 

 ance ; but now it seemed as if endurance had passed its utmost limits." 

 That Christian's previous character was such as to indicate that he would 

 not have resorted to mutiny without a reason sufficient to his own 

 conscience, there is abundant evidence to prove. You have heard 

 already Isaac Wilkinson's tribute to. his youthful virtues ; and there is 

 every reason to infer that in this respect the child was father to the man. 

 Captain Bligh, in his account of the mutiny, has not a word to say 

 unfavourable to Christian's antecedents ; but he describes him and 

 Heywood as young men of great abilities who promised to be a credit 

 to their country, and who had been the objects of his particular regard 

 and attention. 



After the trial of some of the mutineers three years later, when all 

 England rang with the misfortunes of Bligh, and Christian was generally 

 looked upon as the villain of the drama, Peter Heywood, who had just 

 been condemned to death for his share in the mutiny but had received 

 the royal pardon, wrote thus to Edward Christian (November 5th, 1792) 

 — "Your brother was not that vile wretch, void of all gratitude, which 



