TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



79 



had him marched to the guard room and confined in 

 the cells. He then spoke to the band of disaffected 

 men and sent them to their barracks where they were 

 quietly deprived of their arms. By this courageous 

 act, which often distinguishes the weak from the 

 strong mind, the danger of a mutiny was aver- 

 ted and the regiment was in due course disbanded, 

 only retaining their ordinary uniform, they having 

 no other clothing. 



The matter of the mutiny was reported to the 

 War Office and Captain Picton 's courageous conduct 

 became known to the King, who gave orders that his 

 approbation should at once be communicated to 

 Captain Picton for 6 1 the courage and true military 

 spirit which he displayed in quelling the mutiny in 

 the 75th Regiment/' 



When this regiment was disbanded Captain 

 Picton was placed on half pay, which meant that he 

 would be obliged to stroll about doing nothing to 

 serve his country, and for this delightful employment 

 his grateful country accorded him the munificent 

 sum of 5/- per day— the amount of a captain's half 

 pay. 



Reader, I wonder if you know what an inactive 

 life means to an active-minded man such as Picton 

 was, ready and willing to work, and work hard, no 

 matter how hard, so that he might be employed. I 

 can sympathise with him, even although I have con- 

 siderably more than what his half -pay amounted to, 

 for the conviction is strong upon me that no active- 

 minded man wishes to be idle. This I know from 



