376 
KETUEN TO PEEBTANDO PO. 
‘ Wilberforce’ and ‘ Amelia’ anchored once more in 
Clarence Oore, having been absent exactly one month. 
The latter, which had become quite unfit for H.M. 
service, was sold at Fernando Po ; and as there was no 
further object in detaining as prisoners, the two natives 
of Brass River and Obi’s messenger, they were libe- 
rated, and a passage to their own country arranged for 
them. The necessary repairs were made, as far as it 
was possible to be done ; and after searching unsuc- 
cessfully for the Senior Officer, Lieutenant Webb con- 
sidered it more prudent to bring the vessel to England ; 
the ‘Wilberforce’ arrived at Plymouth on the 17th 
November, 1842. This course, indeed, was rendered 
imperative, as the engineers had only been enabled to 
secure the iron rivet-heads outside, very superficially 
and imperfectly, and delay would only have added to 
the danger by the corrosion, which must have taken 
place, immersed in water as the injured parts were ; 
besides, there was no part of the station where the 
damages could have been properly rectified. 
All the Europeans employed on that occasion, suf- 
fered more or less severely from fever, and two of the 
number (eight) fell victims to it, — Mr. J. H. Webb, 
clerk-in-charge, a most amiable and enterprizing young 
officer, and Mr. Waddington, boatswain, a noble speci- 
men of a British seaman, — active, daring, and good- 
natured. Both of these unfortunate persons had, 
throiighout the difficulties of the expedition, conducted 
themselves in a manner it would be impossible to 
