218} ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
trith the mutinous seamen, was 
dnimadverted on by sir John Sin- 
clair, who recornmended the union ' 
of conciliation with terror, and sug- 
gested the appoiatinent of commis- 
sioners, to grant pardons under par- 
ticular circumstances. 
The penal’ clause proposed for 
wilful and advised communication 
was death, This was opposed by 
Mr. Nichol, on the ground, that 
the intercourse with a person guilty 
ef high treason, was not, by law, 
even a misdemeanour, provided it 
were not accompanied by ‘open 
acts of aiding and abetting ; the 
guilt incurted by such communi- 
€ation ought not, therefore, to ex- 
tend, at most, beyond a misdemea- 
nour,;.and the penalty not farther 
than cases-of this kind, and never 
beyond ‘transportation at the very 
farthest. 
To this’ modification of the se- 
‘crity proposed by the minister, 
Mr, Adair replied, that the punish- 
ment was only to attach to those 
who should hold” communication, 
and intercourse, with persons de- 
clared in a state of mutiny, after the 
prohibition to communicate with 
them had been published; but Mr. 
Nichol observed, that the commu- 
nications; liable to the penalty in- 
tendéd, ought to be more’ explis 
citly specified. To this observa- 
tion the minister made answer, that 
¢ommunications by letters, or other- 
wise; which previously to a prohi- 
bition might have been innocent, 
came, nevertheless, under the im- 
Futation of guilt, after they had 
been prohibited. His opinion was, 
that men guilty of such atrocious 
acts of rebellion asthe mutineers, 
ought to be completely separated 
from that country of which they 
had abandoned the cause. If they 
valued the intercourse and commu 
nication with a parent, a wife, and 
other relatives and friends, they 
ought, before they were permitted 
to enjoy the sweets of those en- 
dearing connections, to reconcile 
themselves to their offended coun 
try, by returning to the allegiance 
they owe it. If we could, Mr. Pitt 
added, obtain new avenues to the 
hearts of those brave but delnded 
mea 3 if we could rouize their gene 
rous feelings, and, by awakening 
the tender affections of nature, re- 
call them to a sense of their duty, 
when they reflected on the happi- 
ness they were deprived of by de- 
parting from it, we shoald have 
made an effectual progress in bring 
ing ‘them to repentance and ae 
mission, ‘These arguments prevail- 
ed, and the provisions in the bill 
were admitted as thé minister had 
otiginally proposed, with the addi. 
tion of the penalties annexed to 
piracy, which were moved by the 
solicitor-general, Several other 
clauses were added, for the purposes. 
of punishment, or of pardon, as cir- 
cumstances might require; ‘and the 
duration of this act was, like the 
preceding one, against the seduction 
of people in the army or navy from 
their duty, limited to one month 
after the commencement of the next 
parliamentary session. | © 
Two members opposed the pass- 
ing of this bill, sir Francis Burdet 
and Mr. Sturt. ‘The former object-_ 
ed to it, as tending to irritate the 
seamen, and drive them to acts of 
desperation and revenge, that might 
be attended with the most fatal con- 
sequences, aad preclude all recon- 
ciliation: the latter*insisted, that 
conciliatory measures would alone 
be effectual, in producing that cor- 
dial and speedy submision which the 
present 
