282 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



notice : if the business was brought 

 into court he should do his best to 

 defend himself ; and if he did not 

 succeed, he had an ample fortune, 

 and could pay the fines." This let- 

 ter was dated from Constantinople. 

 On cross-examination the captain 

 said that it was usi^al for men on 

 foreign stations to offer themselves 

 for other service ; and that he be- 

 lieved Lord Sligo had offered per- 

 mission to search his ship. 



William Elden, next examined, 

 deposed, that he had been gun- 

 ner's mate on board the Mon- 

 tague, lying off Malta, in May, 

 1810. He was on shore with 

 leave on the 13th, when being 

 about to return to his ship, he saw 

 at a public house two persons in 

 livery whom he afterwards found 

 to have been the Marquis of Sligo's 

 servants. He drank with them, 

 and became so intoxicated, that he 

 does not know how he got on 

 board the Pylades, in the pump- 

 well of which vessel, under weigh, 

 he found himself when he became 

 sober. He there saw two of his 

 shipmates; and going upon deck, 

 he saw several more. Lord Sligo 

 asked him and his companion their 

 names, which he changed for 

 them. At Palermo he got leave 

 to go on shore to get clothes, and 

 received twenty dollars for wages, 

 and then returned. At Messina 

 he begged leave to quit the Py- 

 lades, and offered to return the 

 money and clothes he had receiv- 

 ed ; but his lordihip would not 

 suffer him, and foreign sentinels 

 with arms were placed over him. 

 Lord Sligo at Palermo told the 

 crew that he had procured a pro- 

 tection from Admiral Martin, hav- 

 ing pledged his honour that he 

 had no men-of-war's men on 



board. They were afterwards chased 

 by the Active frigate, and brought 

 to, when a king's boat came along- 

 side. Lord Sligo desired him to 

 go below, but he said, he had ra- 

 ter stay where he was. He was 

 however, compelled to go down 

 into the after-hold under the ca- 

 bin, where were the rest of the 

 seamen of the Warrior and Mon- 

 tague : the hatch was closed over 

 them, and a ladder placed at top. 

 In about half an hour they were 

 called up again. At Patmos he 

 and some others had leave of ab- 

 sence for a few days, but the next 

 day his lordship sailed without 

 giving them any notice, and left 

 him and six more in great distress. 

 They got in a boat to Scio, and 

 went with the British consul to the 

 Pylades; but Lord Sligo refused to 

 take them in, and threatened to 

 fire at them: he took four of them 

 on board, the carpenter, the sur- 

 geon, a man of the Warrior, and 

 the sail-maker. He himself had 

 since been tried, and sentenced to 

 receive 200 lashes, but his punish- 

 ment was remitted. 



Some other sailors gave testi- 

 mony to a similar effect, but ad- 

 mitted that at Patmos the signal 

 for sailing had been hoisted, and a 

 gun fired. One of them confessed 

 that on Lord Sligo's refusal to take 

 them in, he said that it should be 

 a sorrowful day for him. 



Captain Hayes, who was lieute- 

 nant of the Active at the time of 

 the search, said, that having told 

 Lord Sligo that the reason of his 

 coming on board was to search for 

 deserters, his lordship told hira 

 there were none, and desired hira 

 to search. He inquired for the 

 ship's articles; Lord Sligo told him 

 there were none, but gave him the 



watch- 



