76 PBIVATE TBADE ON THE FALMOUTH PACKETS. 



Irregularities such as these are serious enough when found 

 in connection with a service so vital to the interests of the 

 country, as was the safe carriage of the foreign mails and 

 despatches in time of war. Indolence and want of zeal were 

 however to be expected among a body of men who perceived 

 that the actions of their superior officers were governed by self 

 interest ; and it is not surprising that the Falmouth captains as 

 a body did not at once respond to the changed tone at head- 

 quarters, and exert themselves to promote the reforms conceived 

 in London. One thing might have been expected from them — 

 that they should fight when they could not otherwise save the 

 mails. Let us now see what actually happened. 



Between the outbreak of war in February, 1793, and the 

 peace of 1802, thirty-two Falmouth packets were captured by 

 the enemy. I cannot find that any one of them made a good 

 fight before she struck her flag. 



I do not of course charge cowardice against the officers of 

 all or any of these packets. Some were captured by squadrons 

 of frigates, which could have blown them out of the water 

 with ease had they dared to resist. Some were lost under 

 circumstances which shew clearly that their officers were not to 

 blame. By far the larger part of them were captured among 

 the West Indian Islands, in seas where French privateers were 

 found in almost countless numbers. In many cases, only the 

 bare circumstance that the ship was captured is recorded ; but 

 after every allowance has been made, the broad fact remains 

 that in the nine years mentioned thirty-two packets were lost, 

 and that not one of them made a really gallant resistance. 



That there was no serious fighting in any of these cases is 

 not an unwarranted assumption. It was usual whenever a 

 packet distinguished itself in action to distribute rewards among 

 the officers and crew, proportionate to the bravery displayed. 

 These rewards were not granted for a running fight, but for an 

 action fought close alongside, whether successful or unsuccessful. 

 They were granted in only three cases between 1793 and 1802, 

 and in each of those cases for a successful action. 



It will perhaps be said that though it was unfortunate that 

 so many packets were captured, no ground has been alleged for 



