Letter to Dr. Scott Home Peter Heywood Letter to Edward Christian
Revised May 28 2021
Peter Heywood's Remarks upon material points
of the evidence which was given at his trial,
on board the Duke, in Portsmouth Harbour.
First. That I assisted in hoisting out the launch.—This boat was asked for by the captain and his officers, and whoever assisted in hoisting her out were their friends; for if the captain had been sent away in the cutter, (which was Christian's first intention,) he could not have taken with him more than nine or ten men, whereas the launch carried nineteen. The boatswain, the master, the gunner, and the carpenter say, in their evidence, that they considered me as helping the captain on this occasion.
Second. That I was seen by the carpenter resting my hand on a cutlass.—I was seen in this position by no other person than the carpenter—no other person therefore could be intimidated by my appearance. Was the carpenter intimidated by my appearance?—No. So far from being afraid of me, he did not even look upon me in the light of a person armed, but pointed out to me the danger there was of my being thought so, and I immediately took away my hand from the cutlass, upon which I had very innocently put it when I was in a state of stupor. The Court was particularly pointed in its inquiries into this circumstance; and the carpenter was pressed to declare, on the oath he had taken, and after maturely considering the matter, whether he did at the time he saw me so situated, or had since been inclined to believe, that, under all the circumstances of the case, I could be considered as an armed man, to which he unequivocally answered, No; and he gave me some good reasons (which will be found in his evidence) for thinking that I had not a wish to be armed during the mutiny. The master, the boatswain, the gunner, Mr. Hayward, Mr. Hallet, and John Smith, (who, with the carpenter, were the witnesses belonging to the Bounty,) say, in their evidence, that they did not, any of them, see me armed; and the boatswain and the carpenter further say, in the most pointed terms, that they considered me to be one of the captain's party, and by no means as belonging to the mutineers: and the master, the boatswain, the carpenter, the gunner, all declare that, fro what they observed on my conduct during the mutiny, and from a recollection of my behaviour previous thereto, they were convinced I would have afforded them all the assistance in my power, if an opportunity had offered to retake the ship.
Third. That, upon being called to by the captain, I laughed.—If this was believed by the Court, it must have had, I am afraid, a very great effect upon its judgment; for, if viewed in too serious a light, it would seem to bring together and combine a number of trifling circumstances, which by themselves could only be treated merely as matters of suspicion. It was no doubt, therefore, received with caution, and considered with the utmost candour. The countenance, I grant, on some other occasions, may warrant an opinion of good or evil existing in the mind; but on the momentous events of life and death, it is surely by much too indefinite and hazardous even to listen to for a moment. The different ways of expressing our various passions are, with many, as variable as the features they wear. Tears have often been, nay generally are, the relief of excessive joy, while misery and dejection have, many a time, disguised themselves in a smile; and convulsive laughs have betrayed the anguish of an almost broken heart. To judge, therefore, the principles of the heart, by the barometer of the face, is as erroneous as it would be absurd and unjust. This matter may likewise be considered in another point of view. Mr. Hallet says I laughed in consequence of being called to by the captain, who was abaft the mizen-mast, while I was upon the platform near the fore hatchway, a distance of more than thirty feet: if the captain intended I should hear him, and thee can be no doubt that he wished it; if he really called to me, he must have exerted his voice, and very considerably too, upon such an occasion and in such a situation; and yet Mr. Hallet himself, who, by being on the quarter-deck, could not have been half the distance from the captain that I was, even he, I say, could not hear what was said to me: how then, in the name of God, was it possible that I should have heard the captain at all, situated, as I must have been, in the midst of noisy confusion? And if I did not hear him, which I most solemnly aver to be the truth, even granting that I laughed, (which, however, in my present awful situation I declare I vbelieve I did not,) it could not have been at what the captain said. Upon this ground, then, I hope I shall stand acquitted of this charge, for if the crime derives its guilt from the knowledge I had of the captain's speaking to me, it follows, of course, that if I did not hear him speak, there could be no crime in my laughing. It may, however, very fairly be asked, why Mr. Hallet did not make known that the captain was calling to me? His duty to the captain, if not his friendship for me, should have prompted him to it; and the peculiarity of our situation required this act of kindness at his hands.* I shall only observe further upon this head, that the boatswain, the carpenter, and Mr. Hayward, who saw more of me than any other of the witnesses, did say in their evidence, that I had rather a sorrowful countenance of the day of the mutiny.
*Captain Bligh states in his journal, that none of his officers were suffered to come near him while held a prisoner by Christian; and Hallet was, no doubt, mistaken, but he had probably said it in the boat, and thought it right to be consistent on the trial.
Fourth. That I remained on board the ship, instead of going in the boat with the captain.—That I was at first alarmed and afraid of going into the boat I will not pretend to deny; but that afterwards I wished to accompany the captain, and should have done it, if I had not been prevented by Thompson, who fonfined me below by te order of Churchill, is clearly proved by the evidence of several of the witnesses. The boatswain says, that just before he left the ship I went below, and in passing him said something about a bag—(it was, that I would put a few things into a bag and follow him); the carpenter says he saw me go below at this time; and both those witnesses say, that they heard the master-at-arms call to Thompson "to keep them below." The point, therefore, will be to prove to whom this order, "keep them below," would apply. The boatswain and carpenter say, they have no doubt of its meaning me as one; and that it must have been so, I shall have very little difficulty in shewing, by the following statement:—
There remained on board the ship after the boat put off, twenty-five men. Messrs. Hayward and Hallet have proved that the following were under arms:—Christian, Hillbrant, Millward, Burkitt, Muspratt, Ellison, M'Koy, Quintal, Morrison, Williams, Thompson, Mills, and Brown, in all eighteen. The master (and upon this occasion I may be allowed to quote from the captain's printed narrative) mentions Martin as one, which makes the number of armed men nineteen, none of whom, we may reasonably suppose, were ordered to be kept below. Indeed, Mr. Hayward says, that there were at the least eighteen of them upon deck, when he went into the boat; and if Thompson, the sentinel over the arm-chest, be added to them, it exactly agrees with the number above-named; there remains then six, to whom Churchill's order, "keep them below," might apply, namely, Heywood, Stewart, Coleman, Norman, M'Intosh, and Byrne.
Could Byrne have been one of them? No, for he was in the cutter alongside. Could Coleman have been one of them? No, for he was at the gangway when the captain and officers went into the launch, and aft upon the taffrail when the boat was veered astern. Could Norman have been one of them? No, for he was speaking to the officers. Could M'Intosh have been one of them? No, for he was with Coleman and Norman, desiring the captain and officers to take notice that they were not concerned in the mutiny. It could then have applied to nobody but to Mr. Stewart and myself; and by this order of Churchill, therefore, was I prevented from going with the captain in the boat.
The foregoing appear to me the most material points of evidence on the part of the prosecution. My defence being very full, and the body of evidence in my favour too great to admit of obseravtion in this concise manner, I shall refer for an opinion thereon to the minutes of the court-martial.
P. Heywood
Letter to Dr. Scott Home Peter Heywood Letter to Edward Christian