A Voyage Round the World, from 1806 to 1812

In the appendix to Sir George Staunton’s account of the Penal Code of China, there is a detailed statement of the proceedings of the Chinese court in this case. The editor has had no opportunity of seeing the work; but the following abstract, taken from the Quarterly Review, Vol. III. p. 315, will show how the cause terminated.

“The British factory was fitted up as a court of justice; the great officers of state, and the judges attended; and the result was, the singling out of eleven men, as having been the most active in the affray. On a re-examination of these men, they endeavoured to prevail on some one to plead guilty, under an implied promise that he should not be punished. This failing, it was suggested that the affair might be got over, if the officers of the Neptune would depose that they had seen a sailor carrying a bamboo stick over his shoulder, against which, in the hurry and confusion, a Chinese had accidentally run his head. The proposal of so ridiculous and pitiful expedient met with the contempt it deserved. The next suggestion was, that some one of the sailors should be prevailed on to state, that finding an attempt made on his pocket, he had struck behind him, and might thus have wounded the deceased. This expedient meeting with no better success, they proceeded in their examination, and dismissed all except two, Julius Cæsar, and Edward Sheen. It appeared that Julius Cæsar had a small cane in his hand on the day of the riot, but was not outside of the factory; and that Edward Sheen was outside of the factory, but did not carry a stick; he confessed, however, that he had a Chinese tobacco pipe in his hand, the tube of which was of bamboo, the court, therefore, decided that he carried a stick, and, consequently, that he was the culprit. Having got thus far over the ground, a long negotiation took place as to the disposal of Edward Sheen, until the final decision of the case should be received from Pekin; and it was at length agreed that he should be left behind in charge of the supercargoes.

“Having thus briefly stated the leading facts, we shall now see in what manner the case was represented to the supreme court at Pekin, and its decision thereupon. It is contained at full length in No. II. of the appendix, p. 521.

“The viceroy of Canton states, for the information of the supreme court, that Edward Sheen, an Englishman, being in the upper story of a warehouse which overlooked the street, and in which there was a window opening with wooden shutters, did, on the 18th day of the first moon, employ a wooden stick, in an oblique direction, to keep open the shutter; and that, in doing this, the wooden stick slipped and fell downwards; that Leao-a-teng, a Chinese, passing at the moment, was struck and wounded by the falling of the said stick upon his left temple, and that on the evening of the following day he died in consequence of the wound. That repeated orders had been given to the chief of the English factory to deliver up the man to justice; that, in reply, it was alleged the said criminal was sick of an ague and fever, and under medical treatment; that on his recovery, he was confronted with the relations of the deceased; that after repeated examinations, the said criminal, Edward Sheen, had acknowledged the truth of all the facts here stated, without reservation; that he had, consequently, been proved guilty of accidental homicide, and ought, therefore, to be sentenced to pay the usual fine, to redeem himself from the punishment of death by strangulation.

“Upon this report the supreme court observes, that the case appears to be one of those acts, of the consequences of which, neither sight, hearing, or reflection, could have given a previous warning; that the said Edward Sheen should, therefore, be allowed to redeem himself from the punishment of death by strangulation, by the payment of a fine (amounting to about 4l. 3s. sterling) to the relations of the deceased, to defray the expenses of the burial, and then be dismissed to be governed in an orderly manner in his own country.”

It appears that the bribe necessary to procure acquiescence of the parties interested, to this mockery of justice, did not cost the security merchants less than £50,000.

1

Dr. Douglas, Bishop of Salisbury.

2

For some account of these papers, see Note A.

3

The concluding sentence in Captain Cook’s journal affords a striking proof of the high value he attached to “a discovery, which, though the last, seemed in many respects the most important of any that had hitherto been made by Europeans throughout the extent of the Pacific Ocean”.

4

A short historical account of the revolutions that have taken place in the Sandwich Islands, from their discovery in 1779, till the arrival of the author in 1809, collected from the voyages of Cook, Meares, Portlocke, Vancouver, Broughton, Turnbull, and Lisianski, will be found in the Appendix, No. IV.

5

Edinburgh Review, Vol. IX. p. 332.

6

For an account of the dispute, see Appendix, No. IV. Note B.

7

It appears from Dr Langsdorf’s Voyage, that the amour propre of the Russian ambassador, Von Resanoff, was so much mortified by his reception at Japan, that he despatched in October, 1806, an expedition against the most southern of the Kurile islands, where the Japanese have settlements. A second expedition was undertaken in May, 1807. —Vide Langsdorf, Vol II. p. 298.

8

Those friendly invitations seem to be somewhat inconsistent with the inhospitable character of the Japanese. It is most likely, however, that the author is mistaken in the nature of the signals they made, which were more probably those of reproach than kindness, similar to those captain Saris was assailed with – “Core, core cocori ware,” – “you Coreans, with false hearts.”

Vide Quarterly Review, Vol. IV. p. 379.

9

The inscriptions will be found in Captain Krusenstern’s Voyage. The Monument was erected by the officers of his ship, the Nadeshda, near the tree where Captain Clerke was buried.

Krusenstern, Vol II. p. 203.

10

It appears from Captain Krusenstern’s voyage, that this was the Slawa Rossii, the ship commanded by Captain Billing, and afterwards by Admiral Sarytscheff.

Krusenstern, Vol. II. page 29.

11

This observation, made without the assistance of an ephemeris, or tables of declination, can only be considered as an approximation. It however proves that Sannack and Halibut island is the same, the latitude of that island, as ascertained by captain Cook, being 54 deg. 27 min. As the observation was made about the time of the equinox, the correction for declination might be estimated within a few minutes.

12

Captain Mears, in the Snow Nootka, navigated this strait in 1786; he named it Petrie’s Strait. In the chart affixed to Coxe’s Russian Discoveries, and by Dr. Langsdorf, it is named the Strait of Chelekoff.

13

A verst is about two thirds of a mile.

14

The dates in this part of the work, are according to the Russian style.

15

This place is named St. Paul by Captain Lisianski. We must suppose that since his visit in 1803, the name has been changed in honour of the present Emperor. Dr. Langsdorf merely calls it the new harbour of Kodiak.

16

This Company was established in the reign of the Empress Catharine II. for the purpose of giving solidity and effect to the fur trade; and the better to promote these purposes, all the islands lying between Kamschatka and the Russian part of the northwest coast of America, were granted them in perpetuity. His present majesty, Alexander I. has extended the privileges of the Company, and graciously declared himself their immediate patron.

Lisianski, p. 13.

17

This ship sailed round the world in the Russian expedition under captain Krusenstern, and was commanded by captain Lisianski, who has published an account of the voyage. He talks in raptures of her good qualities. “As to the Neva itself, I shall be excused if, with the warmth of a sailor, I declare, that there never sailed a more lovely vessel, or one more complete and perfect in all its parts. So little had it suffered from the length of the voyage, and even from the disaster of striking on the coral rocks at our newly discovered island, that, in a few weeks, it was again ready for sea, and was despatched to the north west coast of America.”

Lisianski’s Voyage, p. 317.

18

Captain King estimates the height of this mountain at not less than 18,400 feet; exceeding the peak of Teneriffe, according to the computation of the Chevalier Borda, by nearly 6,000 feet. The result of a trigonometrical measurement by the latter, gives 1,742 toises, as the altitude of that mountain above the level of the sea. Vide Cook’s Third Voyage, vol. iii. p. 103. and Voyage fait par ordre du Roi, an 1771-2, tom. i. p. 119.

19

According to the admeasurement of Dr Horner, astronomer to the Russian expedition under captain Krusenstern, in 1804, the height of Mouna-roa is 2,254 toises. Krusenstern’s Voyage, vol. 1. p. 193.

20

Scotice, “on his hunkers.” The emphatic word used by the author in describing this particular mode of genuflexion, and which has no English synonyme into which it can be translated, is thus defined by Jamieson: “to sit with the hips hanging downwards, and the weight of the body depending on the knees.” —Scot. Dict. verb Hunkers.

“Wi’ ghastly e’e, poor Tweedle-dee,Upon his hunkers bended.” – Burns.

21

The author was obliged to employ a boy to work the treadles, not being able to work them himself from the loss of his feet.

22

During the thirteen months the author remained on the island, there were at least twelve ships called at Wahoo, of which two were English, the Duke of Portland, captain Spence; and the Otter, Jobelin. One Russian, the Neva; and the remainder Americans, viz. the Catherine, Blanchard; O’Kean, Winship; Otter, Hill; Vancouver, Swift; Liddy, Brown; Dromo, Woodward; and three or four more, when he was at Pearl river, whose names he does not remember.

23

Captain Portlocke distinguishes the first of these points by the name of Point Dick, and the latter by that of Point Banks.

Portlocke, p. 75.

24

Captain Broughton mentions a harbour which he surveyed, called Fair Haven, which lies five or six miles E. S. E. of Whyteete; it is formed by an opening through the reefs, with a clear channel, in a N. N. E. direction. The wind generally blows fresh out of it, rendering it necessary to warp in, as there is no room for working. The harbour, though of small extent, is safe and convenient, with five fathoms sandy bottom within the spits. A fine stream of fresh water empties itself at the head. It was discovered in 1794 by Mr. Brown, master of the Butterworth, the same who was afterwards murdered by the natives at this place. Vide Broughton’s Voyage, p. 39.

25

Hairbottle had been fifteen years on the island, he was mate of the Jackall, which arrived about the end of 1794. Vide Broughton.

26

This inlet is evidently the same which Captain Vancouver surveyed, and which, he says, is named Oropoa; finding that, in consequence of the bar, it was only navigable for small craft, the survey was not continued. He merely says, that within “it seemed to spread out, and to terminate in two bays about a mile farther to the northward.” He mentions another opening to the eastward, called by the natives Honoonoona, which must be either Bass’s harbour or Hanaroora. From the similarity of the name, it is more probably the latter place; but he passed it without examination, being informed that it was shallower than the other inlet.

27

Tamaahmaah is so dexterous in the use of the spear, that he probably runs little risk in thus exposing himself. Vancouver relates, that in a sham-fight he saw him ward off six spears that were hurled at him almost at the same instant. “Three he caught as they were flying with one hand; two he broke by parrying them with his spear; and the sixth, by a trifling inclination of his body, passed harmless” —Vancouver, Vol. III. p. 254.

28

Captain Lisianski relates the same practice as prevalent among the Aleutian women: if he is not mistaken in ascribing it to them instead of the Sandwich islanders, or if our author has not fallen into the opposite error, the coincidence is remarkable.

Campbell, upon being questioned, related several instances of its having occurred in Wahoo. He cannot say as to the practice of the Aleutian islands.

29

The editor has not thought himself at liberty to alter the orthography of the king’s name adopted by Vancouver and Broughton. Although, to his ear, it would be more correctly Tameamea. Every voyager has spelt it in a different manner. Captain King has spelt it Maiha Maiha; Mr. Samwell, the surgeon of the Discovery, who published an account of Captain Cook’s death, Cameamea; Portlocke, Comaamaa; Meares, Tomyhomyhaw; Vancouver and Broughton, Tamaahmaah; Lisianski, Hameamea; Langsdorf, Tomooma; and Turnbull, Tamahama. As the hard sound of C and T is scarcely to be distinguished in the pronunciation of the language, and the h is silent, the reader, from a comparison, will be able to ascertain the most correct way.

30

The postscript was added in Latin, at the request of the author, when the surgeon read the case to him, Archibald Macbride being the name he assumed when he entered the American ship. Vide p. 17.

31

It is not easy to ascertain the name, or even the identity of this chief, called by captain King Tewarro; by Vancouver Teamawheere; and by Lisianski, Kiava.