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THE JAVA AND CONSTITUTION.

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Captain Henry Lambert, one of our most distinguished officers, whom we have had occasion to mention with peculiar honour in the East Indies, as captain of the Psyche and St. Fiorenzo. The Java, on her way to the East Indies, had sailed from England late in the year. She was newly equipped, with a crew composed of different portions of the men of other ships, and a sad mixture from the guard-ships at the Nore, and in Hamoaze: such at the close of the war were the generality of She had but a small proportion of seamen, and 19 of her men were away in a prize.

our crews.

On the 29th of December, when off St. Salvador, on the coast of South America, the Java fell in with the Constitution, commanded by Commodore Bainbridge. At first, the Constitution, on making out the Java to be a British frigate, stood away from her under all sail upon a wind. The Java pursued and gained on her, when the American hoisted her colours. shortened sail, and, bearing up, placed herself on the lee-bow of the Java. At 10 minutes past two she began to fire, when half a mile distant from her enemy, giving her larboard broadside. This was not returned by the Java until close upon the weather-bow of the Constitution, when a determined action ensued. The American avoided close fighting, and fired high to disable the Java, in which he too well succeeded: by cutting away the head of her bowsprit, and most of her running rigging, he obtained the weather-gage, and at length raked the Java, with a heavy and destructive fire. Captain Lambert had ordered his ship to be laid on board the enemy, but at the very moment his foremast fell, and soon after the main-topmast, while the stump of the Java's bowsprit passed over the Constitution's taffrail. It was now easy to perceive that the day was gone the only hope was by boarding, which the enemy was too wary to allow; having all his masts standing. At halfpast three, Captain Lambert received a mortal wound in the breast, and was carried below. The command devolved on Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads, the first lieutenant. Many of the guns of the Java were disabled: two or three were all that could be brought to bear until a quarter-past four, when her mizen-mast falling, she broke off a little, and brought her starboard guns to bear, and the enemy's rigging being much cut, she could not avoid shooting a-head, which brought the two ships fairly alongside of each other. In this position they continued engaging until 35 minutes past four, when the Java's main-yard went in the slings; and she was frequently on fire, owing to the wreck hanging over her guns on the fighting side. The American now made sail a-head, and remained out of gun-shot for one hour, while the Java lay an unmanageable

wreck, with nothing standing but her main-mast, and that expected to fall every moment. The Java was, however, not yet given up, though in a condition in which few would have thought a defence practicable; still, like the Guerrière, they rigged a small jury-foremast, cleared the wreck from their guns, and spared no exertion to be ready to renew the action. A small sail was set on the bowsprit : the weather half of the main-yard remaining aloft, the main-tack was hauled on board, and the helm put up in hopes of getting before the wind, but, the ship rolling very heavily, the main-mast fell, and nearly covered with its wreck the whole of the starboard guns. What more could be done by the bravest? a useless sacrifice of those who, while a hope remained, freely devoted themselves to the cause of their country, would have been an ungrateful return for their patriotism; and, as the Constitution approached within hail to rake them, the officers of the Java agreed with Mr. Chads, that it would be proper to surrender, and at five minutes past five the colours were struck. No sooner were the wounded men taken from the ship, than the American captain, seeing she could not float, set her on fire, and she went down. The reader will be struck with the remarkable similarity between this action and that between the same American frigate and the Guerrière; and the result of the whole forms a mass of undeniable evidence, proving that neither courage, discipline, nor seamanship, was wanting on our side, but that these frigates were taken, simply because they were opposed to ships as much their superiors in every respect as a British firstrate is to an 80-gun ship. The killed on board the Java amounted to 22, viz., five mates and midshipmen, a clerk, and 16 seamen and marines; besides the captain, who died a week after. The first lieutenant, master, and 75 seamen, Lieutenant Davies, of marines, two sergeants, two corporals, and 17 privates, were wounded.

Captain John Marshall, of the royal navy, a passenger, Lieutenant James Saunders, of the navy, and Captain Wood (aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-general Hislop, who was also on board), were wounded.

Mr. Chads wrote a very modest letter, accounting for the capture of the Java, in which he detailed the action in the language, not only of a seaman, but of a scholar and a gentleman. He spoke of the support he had received from Lieutenantgeneral Hislop, Major Walker, and Captain Wood; of Captain John Marshall, R. N.; of the Lieutenants Hetheringham and Buchanan; of Mr. Robinson, the master, and Lieutenants Mercer and Davies, of the marines; and of the Lieutenants Aplin and Saunders, R. N., who were passengers. He diffi

THE JAVA AND CONSTITUTION.

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dently offered a tribute of praise to his gallant and lamented captain, whose remains were interred with military honours at St. Salvador. Commodore Bainbridge behaved with great kindness to the officers of the Java; but Mr. Chads states that the crew were plundered of everything by the Americans, and confined in irons. This latter instance of rigour might only have been an effect of caution, as Captain Broke was obliged to confine the Americans, and Captain Hull the crew of the Guerrière. A monument in St. Paul's cathedral deservedly commemorates the name of Captain Henry Lambert as a young and deeply-regretted naval hero.

The Constitution received in this action so much damage, that a very little more resistance, had it been possible to have made it, would have at least reduced her to a wreck, if not have compelled her to submit to an 18-pound frigate. Her fore-mast, mizen-mast, and main-topmast, were much cut, as were her yards and rigging. She had 10 men killed and 46 wounded, four of whom died within the week. The commodore and his fifth lieutenant were also wounded.

The remaining officers and crew, who survived from the Java, were speedily conveyed to England, where, in the month of April following, they were brought to a court-martial for the loss of the ship. The trial took place on the 13th of April. Sir Graham Moore, one of the best judges of naval merit in our service, was the president of the court. After all the evidence had been gone through, and the defence concluded, the prisoners were most honourably acquitted, and Rear-admiral Moore thus addressed Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads :

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I have much satisfaction in returning you your sword. Had you been an officer who had served in comparative obscurity all your life, and never before heard of, your conduct on this occasion has been sufficient to establish your character as a brave, skilful, and attentive officer.

The same observations made on the capture of the Guerrière will apply to the Java; both ships were overmatched, and both were taken by the assistance of British seamen. Let us endeavour to attach that class of men more firmly to their country by every act of kindness and justice, and we need not then be jealous of America, or fear any nation on earth.

Lieutenant Chads was promoted to the rank of commander, and in 1825 to the rank of captain, for his brilliant services in the Irrawaddy during the Burmese war, of which we are shortly to speak.

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CHAPTER XIX.

1. Debates in Parliament on the American war-Treaty with Sweden, and union of Sweden and Norway-Losses of the French in the Russian campaign-Prussia and Austria join the allies-Successes of their arms-Lord Wellington defeats the French at Vittoria, and enters France Capture of Cuxhaven, Stadt, and Gluckstadt-Position of the allied armies-Counter-revolution in Holland-Prince of Orange embarks on board the Warrior, and lands in his dominions.

2. Channel.-Capture of the Argus, American brig of war, by the Pelican-Capture of the Weser and Trave, French frigates-Defence, capture, and re-capture of the fortress of Castro.

3. Mediterranean. Various achievements-Conduct of Captain Black in the Weasel-Attack on the Col de Belaguer-Storming of St. Sebastian-Capture of Fiume by Rear-admiral Fremantle-Capture of Cattaro, D'Anzo, and Lucca-Attempt on Leghorn.

4. North America, &c.-Action between the Hornet and Peacock-Nondescript frigates sent out-Despondency of the British nation on the supposed decline of its marine-Action between the Shannon and Chesapeake Observations on the clock-machines and torpedoes-Horrible plot of some Americans to blow up the Ramillies-Destruction of a lieutenant and ten seamen-Capture of the Boxer gun-brig-Death of Captain Blythe-Operations on the Coast of North America conducted by Rear-admiral Cockburn-Destruction of Havre de Grace-Capture of Kent Island-Proceedings on the lakes-Actions with American flotilla-Capture of the British vessels Detroit and Queen Charlotte.General Remarks-Action between the Amelia and Arethuse.Successes of Captains Dashwood and Pell.

THE war with America was the question which engrossed the attention of the British Parliament. On the 18th of February Lord Castlereagh delivered to the House of Commons a most able, luminous, and satisfactory account of the whole correspondence with that country, and the transactions which had led to the commencement of hostilities. His lordship's speech was founded on the declaration of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, dated on the 19th of January preceding. This declaration completely disproved every assertion of Mr. Madison, in his message to the Senate of the 4th of November, 1812, Lord Castlereagh observed, "that the Americans, in their complaints against this country, had assumed that Great Britain had impressed 15,000 or 20,000 citizens of the United States; but, upon particular inquiry by the Admiralty, it had

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appeared, that out of 145,000 seamen employed in the British service in January, 1811, the whole number claiming to be American subjects amounted to no more than 3,300, of whom not more than one in four could prove their citizenship; so that the real number would have been reduced to 1,600, or 1,700," the whole of whom, his lordship might have added, were discharged as soon as their claims were proved. "Nor could the House of Commons believe," said his lordship, "that for such a consideration as 1,700 seamen, his Majesty's Government would irritate the feelings of a neutral nation, or evade public justice." Having convinced the great majority of the house of the moderation and propriety of the measures pursued by the Government, his lordship concluded by moving an humble address to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, assuring his Royal Highness of the entire approval of the resistance which had been made by the British Government to the unjustifiable pretensions of America; being satisfied that those pretensions could not be admitted without surrendering some of the most ancient, undoubted, and important rights of the British empire. This subject should, however, be very clearly understood; and if we so justly value these rights in our own case, let us also respect them in that of our neighbours; this is no more than strict justice demands. A case of necessity, no doubt, might arise when it would be necessary to impress men, and even horses and carriages for their conveyance to the scene of action; but we must be certain that the necessity really exists before we have recourse to such violent, and otherwise unjustifiable, measures; and we must also be prepared for the consequences, both of resentment and resistance. No nation will submit which has the power to resist; and if the certain consequence of the act be war, it behoves us to look well, and calculate the cost beforehand. It would have been infinitely cheaper to have given our sailors double pay, and thus outbid the American Government, than to have gone to war for the recovery of a few hundred seamen. If these men are necessary for our defence, pay them well, and do them justice, and your ships will be crowded with volunteers as soon as your regiments. Let us be just, and leave our cause to God.

On the 12th of March the Marquis Wellesley, no longer in office, made his motion relative to the retreat of the British army under Lord Wellington, from Burgos, at the latter end of the preceding year, contending that Lord Wellington had not been supported by a sufficient supply of troops to enable him to face the enemy. His lordship was answered by Earl Bathurst and the Earl of Liverpool, and his motion was lost by a great majority.

VOL. II.

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