366 THE FALMOUTH MUTINY OF 1810. 



These two men were, at that time, in a high, state of 

 exultation. The consultations held upon their case had led to 

 the conclusion that they could not legally he punished; and 

 there was no alternative but to set them at liberty. It was not 

 to be expected that, under the circumstances, they would let slip 

 the opportunity of making capital out of their arrest, and they 

 promptly commenced an action for false imprisonment against 

 the Secretary of the Post office, laying the damages at the 

 modest sum of £5,000 each. In order to obtain the funds 

 necessary for the preliminary steps in this matter, they issued 

 an appeal at Falmouth. It was headed, "to the friends and 

 advocates of justice "; and described in feeling terms the suffer- 

 ings endured by the delegates, "during their confinement of three 

 days in a dreadful gaol, having nothing to make use of, not even 

 straw to lie on." It does not appear what response this appeal 

 met with. 



The mayor and his companions passed many days in town, 

 and at last returned to Cornwall without having obtained any 

 pledge concerning the return of the packets to Falmouth. 

 There was, in fact, a strong effort made at this time by persons 

 interested in the port of Fowey, to persuade the Post Office 

 that that harbour was better suited for a packet station than 

 Falmouth. There was never any great prospect that this 

 contention would prevail, but it deserved consideration, and it 

 was thought desirable to have a full report upon Fowey made 

 by a competent engineer. 



That report when received was unfavourable, and by the 

 end of the year there was no longer any doubt in the minds of the 

 government, that no harbour existed which combined so many 

 advantages for the purposes of a packet station, as Falmouth. 

 It was not thought, however, that the town had been sufficiently 

 punished; and it was not until the end of January, 1811, that 

 the Treasury sanctioned the return of the packets. Long before 

 that time, the action threatened by Pascoe and Parker had 

 been dropped. Pressure was applied to them by the townspeople, 

 who rightly judged that it was their interest to conciliate the 

 Post Office, rather than fight it. The first result of this 

 pressure is shewn in the following curious letter, addressed 

 apparently to the attorney who had charge of the case : — 



