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| Name | Barracouta (1851) | Explanation | |
| Type | Sloop | ||
| Launched | 31 March 1851 | ||
| Hull | Wooden | ||
| Propulsion | Paddle | ||
| Builders measure | 1053 tons | ||
| Displacement | 1676 tons | ||
| Guns | 6 | ||
| Fate | 1881 | ||
| Class | |||
| Ships book | |||
| Note | |||
| Snippets concerning this vessels career | |||
| Date | Event | ||
| June 1852 - September 1852 | Trial cruise under command of Captain Swynfen Thomas Carnegie, of Horatio, guard ship, Sheerness | ||
| 18 December 1852 - 5 May 1855 | Commanded (from commissioning at Sheerness) by Commander George Parker, East Indies | ||
| 4 March 1855 - 28 September 1855 | Commanded by Commander Frederick Henry Stirling, Russian coast during the Russian War | ||
| 4 April 1855 - 21 August 1857 | Commanded by Commander Thomas Dyce Acland Fortescue, East Indies (including 2nd Anglo-Chinese War) | ||
| 28 May 1860 - 29 September 1861 | Commanded by Commander William Wood, North America and West Indies | ||
| 7 September 1861 - 21 August 1863 | Commanded by Commander George John Malcolm, North America and West Indies | ||
| 13 November 1863 - 23 November 1864 | Commanded (until paying off at Sheerness) by Commander John D'Arcy, North America and West Indies | ||
| 15 March 1866 - 22 April 1866 | Commanded by Commander William Brabazon Urmston | ||
| 24 April 1866 - 2 April 1870 | Commanded by Commander George Dacres Bevan, North America and West Indies | ||
| 10 March 1873 - 29 June 1874 | Commanded by Captain Hon. Edmund Robert Fremantle, west coast of Africa (in command of a squadron of seven small vessels at Cape Coast Castle) | ||
| 30 June 1874 - 11 April 1877 | Commanded by Captain Charles Edward Stevens, Australia (until dismissed by Court Martial) | ||
| Extracts from the Times newspaper | |||
| Date | Extract | ||
| Fr 31 July 1857 | The Himalaya steam troopship, Commander Haswell, arrived at Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope, on the 24th of May from St. Vincent's, followed on the 28th by the Transit steam troopship, Commander Chambers, from the same place, which she left 24 hours before the Himalaya, which we are informed has lost many of her crew and soldiers by desertion. The Transit had lost four. One man, a quartermaster of the Himalaya, in attempting to leave the ship on the night of the 2d of June to swim ashore was drowned. The Penelope, 28, paddle frigate, Captain Sir William Wiseman, arrived at Simon's Bay from the Mauritius on the evening of the 3d of June, all well, closely followed by the Barracouta, 6, Commander Fortescue, from China. The Himalaya left Simon's Bay on the morning of the 3d of June at 11 o'clock, and went out of the bay beautifully. She was followed on the nest morning by the Transit, which disembarked 1 officer, 30 men, 1 woman, and 2 children of the Royal Engineer corps on the morning of the 29th of May, who proceeded to Cape Town. | ||
| Ma 18 March 1861 | Her Majesty's ship St. George, Captain the Hon. Francis Egerton, arrived in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, on the 21st of February, and the Barracouta, Commander Wood, on the 21th. The Nile, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral A. Milne, Commander-in-Chief, and the Styx, were at Barbadoes on the 26th. At Port Royal, Jamaica, were Her Majesty's ships Imaum, Commodore Dunlop, Hydra, Cadmus, Skipjack, and Kingston. Her Majesty's ship Racer was at St. Domingo, and the brig Mutine at Panama. Her Majesty's ship Bacchante, bearing the flag of Rear Admiral Sir T. Maitland, was to leave Tobago on the 23d or 24th of February for Vancouver's Island. The Pylades was at Tobago refitting to leave for England, and the Termagant was to sail in a few days for the coast of Mexico, to relieve the Clio, ordered to Panama. | ||
| Sa 1 August 1874 | During the past quarter ten vessels have arrived home and been paid off:- The Barracouta, Capt. E.H. Fremantle, from the West Coast of Africa; the Cherub, gunboat, Lieut-Commander F.C. Baker, from the West Indies; the Columbine, 3, screw sloop, Commander E.W. Hereford, from the East Indies; the Danae, 6, steam sloop, Capt. W.S. Brown, from the West Indies; the Dromedary, store-ship, Staff-Commander W.W. Vine, from the West Coast of Africa; the Druid, 10, screw corvette, Capt. A.G.N. Roe, from the West Coast of Africa; the Rinaldo, 7, sloop, Commander G. Parsons, from China; the Salamis, 2, paddle-vessel, Lieut.-Commander the Hon. A.C. Littleton, from China; the Sphinx, 5, paddle-sloop, Capt T. Barnardiston. C.B., from the West Indies; and the Wolverene, Capt. H.R. Wratislaw, from the East Indies. | ||
| We 19 January 1876 | Australia.—Letters from Commodore Chapman, in the Dido, at Sydney, up to the 26th of November. He left Hobart Town on the 11th of November, and arrived at Sydney on the 16th of November, and found there the Pearl, Nymphe, Sandfly, Alacrity, Beagle, and Renard. The Nymphe sailed on the 19th of November for Fiji to relieve the Barracouta. The Conflict left Brisbane on the 19th of November for Port Moresby, New Guinea, on her way to the pearl fisheries. The Alacrity, Lieut. Dawson in command, will take the place of the Renard, on surveying duties at Fiji, after the close of the hurricane season. The Sappho was at Lyttelton, New Zealand, on the 3d of November. The Commodore has completed the complement of the Nymphe from the Dido, and will bring home in the Dido the old crews of the Beagle and the Sandfly. | ||
| Tu 11 April 1876 | Australia.— Letters from Commodore Hoskins, in the Pearl at Sydney, up to the 16th of February. The Nymphe was at Levuka, Fiji, on the 14th of January. The Barracouta daily expected to rejoin the broad pendant at Sydney. The Sapphire arrived at Sydney on the 12th of February. The Sappho expected at Sydney about the 20th of February. The Alacrity would leave Sydney about the 10th of March for Fiji to re-commence surveying. The Sandfly left Sydney on the 26th of January for Noumea, New Caledonia, and Tucopia in the New Hebrides, to visit the Santa Cruz group and cruise among the Solomon islands. The Beagle left Sydney on the 26th of January for Norfolk Island, New Hebrides, and Santa Cruz group. The Renard cruising between Auckland and Wellington in place of the Sappho, temporarily withdrawn. The Conflict left Port Darwin on the 29th of January for Nichol Bay. The St. Osyth would leave Sydney on the 26th of February for England, with such of the crews of the Beagle and the Sandfly as were not taken on board Her Majesty's ship Dido. | ||
| Fr 21 April 1876 | The following Is the official account of the movements of Her Majesty's ships for Thursday, April 20: Portsmouth.— Victoria and Albert, Alberta, and Enchantress sailed 20th forenoon for Cherbourg. Plymouth.— Squirrel and Sealark, 19th inst. left at 4 35 p.m. for Falmouth, to commence their cruising with boys. Australian Station.— Commodore Hoskins was in the Pearl at Auckland on the 18th of April; Barracouta had arrived there from Samoa; Sapphire at Samoa, Her Majesty's ship Challenger.— Letters from [for?] the Challenger are now to be sent to Portsmouth to await arrival. | ||
| (various) | The 1876 'Samoan Difficulty' | ||
| We 28 February 1877 | The Barracouta, 5, paddle sloop, Capt. Charles E. Stevens, which. recently returned from the Australian Station, is under orders to pay off at Sheerness, where she was commissioned on the 10th of March, 1873. During her detention at Portsmouth a Court of Inquiry, consisting of Capt. Herbert, of the Excellent; Capt. Wilson, of the Thunderer; and Commander Pearson, of the Osborne, assisted by Mr G.P. Martin, Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet, was held for the purpose of investigating certain charges which had been sent home by Capt. Stevens, with reference to the conduct of one of the officers. The inquiry concluded on Saturday, and as the ship has left for Sheerness the probability is that the charges failed to be sustained. Other charges arising out of the commission of the Barracouta are understood to be pending. There is no truth in the report that a Court was also held at Portsmouth to inquire into the conduct of Capt. Stevens with respect to the Samoan difficulty. | ||
| Th 29 March 1877 | A court-martial, by special order from the Lords of the Admiralty, assembled yesterday on board the Duncan, flagship of Vice-Admiral Henry Chads, Commander-in-Chief at Sheerness, for the trial of Capt. Charles E. Stevens, of the Barracouta, recently returned from the Australian Station. The Court consisted of Rear-Admiral Fellowes, C.B., Admiral Superintendent Chatham Dockyard; Capt. Thomas Brandreth, R.N., Captain Superintendent Sheerness Dockyard; Edward Hardinge, Her Majesty’s ship Penelope; John Clark Soady, Her Majesty's ship Pembroke, and St. George C. D’Arcy, E. Irvine, Her Majesty's ship Duncan. Mr. George Peter Martin, R.N., barrister-at-law, acted as prosecutor, and Mr. William Eastlake, Deputy Judge-Advocate of the Fleet, as Judge-Advocate. The prisoner was represented by Capt. G.H. Blake, R.N., barrister-at-law. There were eight charges read against the prisoner, the first being that he did obtain from the paymaster of the Barracouta, Mr. Allen Fitzroy Gain, the sum of £30 from the public chest in a clandestine or irregular manner. The other serious charges referred to conduct towards the said paymaster, Mr. Gane, of a tyrannical, ungentlemanly, and unofficer-like character and dangerous to Mr. Gain’s health. The charges were most voluminous, giving particulars and dates extending over a period ranging from the 7th of December, 1874, to the present date. Previous to the commencement of the first charge, Capt. Stevens, through his friend, desired that the fullest investigation should be made into his conduct. Several of his material witnesses were absent in Australia. He was anxious that these witnesses should be called to throw the greatest possible light upon the charges; but, inasmuch as he feared it would be detrimental to the interests of the public service and also would cause great delay to the Court in waiting for their arrival from Australia, he would withdraw their names. Navigating Lieut. Wanham produced the ship's logs for the years 1875,1876, and 1877. Allen Fitzroy Gain said he was paymaster of the Barracouta. He joined her on the 7th of December, 1874. Mr. W.H. Hyde was the first paymaster of the Barracouta, and was invalided on July 23,1874. Assistant-Paymaster Mr. Herbert E. Rudge performed the duties of paymaster about five months. He found the books very much behind, the accounts not having been made up by his predecessor. He afterwards had the books made up by order from Capt. Stevens. During the first few months he was on very good terms with Capt. Stevens with reference to the execution of his duties in the ship. He was in the habit of paying small bills and accounts for the captain at his request, and entering each item in a memorandum-book, and at the end of the month stopping the amount out of the pay of the captain. The first matter which required quarter-deck reference relative to his duties was a complaint made by two of the seamen with reference to their naval savings-bank account. In consequence of this the assistant-paymaster was taken before the captain on the quarter-deck, and the money was ordered to be paid to the men. On the 7th of June,1875, Capt. Stevens requested him to advance him £50 from the public chest, as he had been refused on application to Commodore Goodenough for an advance of £100 to provide for the messing of the Governor of Fiji and Staff. This application he, Mr. Gain, refused, stating that he could not take it out of the chest. The captain said he must have it next day. The captain went into his cabin, and stated that he must have at least £30. Mr. Gain said he could not give it without the captain’s order and receipt. The captain’s order and receipt having been given, the £30 was taken from the public chest, the captain saying there was no need to enter this in the monthly cash account. Capt. Stevens added that he was about to receive an advance of £60, authorized by Commodore Goodenough, and that repayment should then be made. The Court was left sitting. There are a large number of witnesses, and it is presumed that the trial will last some time. | ||
| Fr 30 March 1877 | The Court-Martial on Captain Stevens, of Her Majesty's ship Barracouta, was resumed yesterday at Sheerness. Mr. Gain, in answer to the Court, said, — The order for the advance of £30 from the public chest given by Captain Stevens was taken from me by him on the 3d of August. I had asked him for the money on that day as I had on several other occasions. He then gave me an order to repay myself (August 3) from his monthly salary account In the same order he gave me an order about the £60 which sum was obtained on the 18th of August. When the Captain asked me for the order he had given me for the £30, and I told him that I considered it my private property, adding that he was no more entitled to obtain money from the public chest than any other man in the ship, he snatched the order out of my hands, and gave me an attested copy of the order the same afternoon. The prisoner was here called upon to produce the order for the £30, as also the memorandum about repayment and the receipt. Mr. Gain continued. — Before attending the captains cabin with the order and memorandum I took a copy and had it attested by Mr. Ingledew, the Chief Engineer of the Barracouta, who was in the ward-room at the time. It was not a usual occurrence for the captain to visit my cabin; as a matter of duty he has only been on two occasions. I wrote a letter by Captain Stevens's order for the advance of £100 to Commodore Goodenough, the senior officer on the Australian station, which letter was signed by Captain Stevens. On the occasion of the inspection of the Barracouta by the Commodore, Captain Stevens asked me if I was all ready, and I told him that if the Commodore wished to see the public money he would find £30 was in the box, as I had taken it out of my own private funds. I did this because, the advance not having been entered in the monthly cash account, had the money been counted I should have been £30 short. Captain Stevens seemed pleased, and thanked me. Captain Stevens signed the cash account for the month of June. Witness here produced the monthly cash account (June 1 to 30) belonging to the ship. That cash account does not show any entry of the £30 advanced. The captain examined the cash account in his usual way before he signed it. The advance of £60 on the 26th of June was entered in the cash account. I applied for the repayment of the £30 when the advance of £ó0 was made. Captain Stevens said he would give it me at the end of the month. When the end of the month came he said he would give me the money when the messing of the Governor's staff was paid, as there was a delay about that. I was then told by Captain Stevens l was to have it at the end of July. The £30 was paid to me by Captain Stevens on the 3d of August, 1875. Having taken the £30 from the public chest, in two or three days after I put that amount in the box from my own private money, feeling very anxious respecting the amount of money I ought to have in the chest. As I had not entered it in the cash account book, if the public money had been counted I should have been short in that amount This closed the examination-in-chief on the first charge. Cross-examined by the Court. — I produce the memorandum-book to which I referred as having entered the payments of small bills and accounts for Captain Stevens. This is purely a private record for the captain’s convenience. Commodore Goodenough inspected the Barracouta about the 20th of June, 1875. He did not examine the cash account on that occasion. The date of the advance of the £60 was the 26th of June, 1875, as shown in the cash-book. The only reason I can assign for Captain Stevens ordering me not to enter the advance of £30 from the cash chest in the cash account is that he had been previously refused the application for an advance of £100 by Commodore Goodenough. In fact, he told me that was the reason in wishing me not to enter the advance of £30. Captain Stevens did not mention either the public cash account book or the private memorandum book. I had refused to take the money out of the chest without his order. I refused to let the captain have the £30 in the same way as when I had paid small bills for him, because I considered it too large an amount for me to lend, and I know that he wanted it to come out of the chest. If money is taken from the public chest, it is entered in the cash-book. By the prisoner, through his friend, Mr. G.F. Blake, barrister-at-law. — The duties of a paymaster are onerous and responsible. I have in all matters connected with the Paymaster's Department shown a ready obedience to Captain Stevens's orders, and have given him loyal support, except when ordered to serve out bread to the ship’s company in the cockpit, and asked for the memorandum and orders I had reserved [received?] from him. With these exceptions I have done my utmost to forward his views and obey his orders. | ||
| Tu 3 April 1877 | The Court-martial on Captain Stevens at Sheerness was continued yesterday, when evidence was given by Mr. A.F. Gain, Liout. Angers Macleod, late First Lieut. of the Barracouta; Lieut. Maxwell, Mr. George Herbert King, acting Navigating First Lieut. of the Barracouta, in support of the fourth charge — namely, "that the said Capt. Charles Edward Stevens did, on the 16th day of June, 1876, commit an act to the prejudice of good order and naval discipline, in that he did on the said day bring a charge for the trial by Court-martial of Mr. Allen Fitzroy Gain, paymaster of the ship, for not having obeyed the order by signal to supply Her Majesty’s ship Sapphire with 125 gallons of spirits, whereas he, the said Capt. Stevens, well knew that the said order by signal was made to the commanding officer, who took upon himself not to send the whole quantity of spirits out of the ship, as he believed a mistake had been made in the order given." Mr. Gain and Navigating-Lieut. Wonham next gave evidence on the fifth charge, that Capt. Stevens, on the 15th of July, 1876, at 35 minutes past 5 o’clock p.m., called upon the Paymaster "to report to him before 12 o'clock at night, the number and contents of all casks, cases, and bags, &c., that could not be stowed below, and to state their cubic measurement, and why they could not be stowed below, and 12 other different orders, the aforesaid orders being vexatious and harassing, and calculated to impede the Paymaster in the proper performance of his duties, and did, moreover, injure his health, whereby he was at times incapacitated from performing them.” The Court will sit again this morning. | ||
| We 4 April 1877 | At the sitting of the court-martial yesterday on Capt. Stevens, of Her Majesty’s ship Barracouta, the fifth charge was concluded. There are 13 counts in this charge, and they are to the effect that the prisoner “did, from about the 15th of July, 1876, to the end of that year, give a number of orders to Mr. Allen Fitzroy Gain, Paymaster, which were not included in the Paymaster's instructions as set out by the Admiralty, and which orders properly belonged to other officers of the ship, both equal in rank to Mr. Gain and below his rank, the orders being vexatious and harassing, and calculated to impede the Paymaster in the proper performance of his duties, and did, moreover, injure his health, whereby he was at times incapacitated from performing them.” A press copy of each of the orders was produced by Mr. Gain, who stated in his evidence that he knew of no reason why they were given to him to carry out, but was under the impression at the time, and was now, that they were given him in order to harass and worry him and prevent him from carrying out his duties in a proper manner. He also stated that on one occasion he complained to Capt. Stevens that these several orders were worrying him so much that he did not know what he was about. He did not think Capt. Stevens made any reply to his remarks, but remembered that he smiled, as if he were pleased. In cross-examination by the prisoner, Mr. Gain said he did not remember any other cause existing at the time whereby his health was injured and his nerves impaired. The other witnesses examined were persons who were present when the orders referred to in the charge were given, and those to whom the orders ought properly to have been given. The Court adjourned until this morning. | ||
| Th 5 April 1877 | The Court-Martial on Capt. Stevens at Sheerness proceeded yesterday with the sixth charge, which is as follows: — "For that Mr. Charles Edward Stevens, then being a person subject to the Naval Discipline Act, 1866, and captain of Her Majesty’s ship Barracouta, did, between the 24th of July, 1876, and the 6th day of February, 1877, commit acts to the prejudice of good order and naval discipline in that he did within those dates issue 66 memorandums calling for reports and replies from Mr. Allen Fitzroy Gain, paymaster of the said ship, by which he was impeded in the completion of his accounts and harassed to the serious injury of his health. After hearing evidence, the seventh charge was heard — namely, for treating Mr. Gain, by his general bearing, "in a harsh, vexatious, and arbitrary manner, unbecoming his position as a commissioned officer.” The proceedings were again adjourned. | ||
| Fr 6 April 1877 | The Court-martial on Capt. Stevens sat yesterday morning at 10 o’clock, and, having taken the evidence of Lieut. Wonham and Mr. Riggs, gunner, on the seventh charge, proceeded with the eighth charge, which is as follows: — That Charles Edward Stevens, captain of Her Majesty’s ship Barracouta, then being subject to the Naval Discipline Act, 1866, did, between the 11th of August, 1876, and the 29th of October, 1876, negligently perform the duty imposed on him in the same period when Mr. Allen Fitzroy Gain, paymaster of the said ship, was on the sick list; that the said Capt. Stevens was informed by Mr. Edward Brereton Broster, staff surgeon, that the said A.F. Gain would in all probability not be able to resume his duty, and the said Capt. Stevens did not take proper and efficient steps to secure that the duties appertaining to paymaster should be efficiently carried out by the assistant-paymaster during the sickness of the said A.F. Gain." The evidence on this charge having been taken. Mr. Martin announced that the case for the prosecution was now closed. The prisoner then applied to be allowed until 2 o’clock on Monday afternoon to prepare his defence, and the request was granted by the Court. | ||
| Fr 13 April 1877 | The Court-Martial on Captain Stevens was resumed on Tuesday, when the defence was brought to a close. Mr. J. De Courcy and Mr. H.H. Smith, senior clerks in the Accountant General's Office, and Herbert Edward Rudge, assistant-paymaster, were the only witnesses called by the prisoner. The latter witness gave evidence as to conversations heard by him between the Captain and Mr. Gain, wherein the manner of the latter officer had been disrespectful towards the Captain. On Wednesday the Court sat at 10 a.m., and deliberated until 4 p.m., when the court was reopened and the witnesses called in. The Deputy Judge-Advocate, Mr. Eastlake, then read the charges, and said that, having heard the evidence in support of the said charges, and also that which the prisoner had offered on his behalf, the Court were of opinion that each of the eight was proven, and the sentence of the Court was that the prisoner be dismissed Her Majesty's service. The Court desired to express disapprobation of the manner in which Mr. Rudge, the assistant-paymaster, a witness for the defence, had given his evidence, and considered it was untruthful, and was intended to mislead the Court. | ||
| Fr 13 April 1877 | The Barracouta, 5, paddlewheel sloop, 1,680 tons, 881-horse power, which recently returned from the Australian station, is ordered to be placed in the Medway Steam Reserve, after she has been paid off. She would have been paid off some time back but for the recent Court-Martial on her commander, Capt. C.E. Stevens. The Admiralty have directed that no repairs are to be made on board, and, as the vessel is in a very defective state, she being one of the oldest steamers in the Navy, it is expected that the Admiralty will order her to be broken up. | ||
| Ma 16 April 1877 | The Barracouta Court-Martial.—The abuse of power has met with severe and just condemnation at the hands of the Court-martial which has been engaged on the trial of the Barracouta’s late Captain. Had there been any reasonable excuse for the conduct of the prisoner, there can be no doubt that it would have been allowed to weigh well in his favour. It was fully expected that he would at least have been dismissed his ship, never again to be employed; but the Court saw no good cause for exercising such leniency, anxious as it must have been to avoid a scandal, but by its sentence has removed the name of Captain Charles E. Stevens from the list of officers of the Navy. This sentence has proved to the Navy at large, were such proof required, that oppression is no longer countenanced. Time was when a non-executive officer in Mr. Gain’s position would have suffered without remedy, for the captain of a ship of war was the indisputable lord, of all he surveyed, and woe to the man who questioned his actions. Was any subordinate sufficiently daring to bring any charge of oppression or injustice against his commanding officer, scarcely any amount of evidence would satisfy the court of bygone days that their compeer was guilty; some justification would have presented itself, or some plea as to discipline would have been urged. "The King can do no wrong" was a proverb and a household word cherished and upheld by the autocrats of earlier years; but the recent Court-martial has proved that we live in a more enlightened age. Now it is generally admitted that the captain of a ship of war should consider those under his command as men of like feelings with himself, and the officers should learn to feel confidence in their commanding officer as their friend and supporter, and not look upon him as a man of different mould to themselves, ready to act on the slightest suspicion of provocation as an oppressor. To bear and forbear and to act with suavity and consideration is not inadmissible with the necessary discipline of a ship; and where Christian charity is thus made a practical rule, captain, officers, and men part after a long commission with feelings of regret at separation, a lasting remembrance of good fellowship, and life-long friendships established. In the difference between the first and last portions of the commission of the Barracouta we have a remarkable instance of this, for, happy as she was under the command of Captain Fremantle, she pays off under a cloud, and her late commanding officer has paid the penalty of his irregularities and overbearing conduct. — Army and Navy Gazette. | ||
| Sa 25 August 1877 | SAMOA. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.Sir,— In the interests of truth and justice I ask you to place on record in the columns of your valuable paper, in refutation of the misstatements contained in the letter of Mr. S.J. Whitmee which appears in your paper of Wednesday, the two accompanying petitions from the Taimuas and Faipules of the Government of Samoa (similar to our House of Lords and House of Commons), and who constitute the present Government of Samoa (the King having been deposed by them), the one addressed to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and which was presented to Her Majesty through the Earl of Derby on the 17th of February last, the acknowledgment of which is now before me, and the other addressed to the German Government. These petitions set forth briefly some of the wrongs sustained by the Government and people of Samoa who are among the most intelligent and civilized of the aboriginies of Polynesia, by the arbitrary acts of Captain Stevens, late of Her Majesty’s ship Barracouta in attacking the Taimua and Faipule of Samoa, killing eight of the natives, the destruction of some of the most valuable property belonging to the islanders, and the forcible abduction, against the wish of the Government of Samoa, of their Premier, Colonel A.B. Steinberger  , and landing him in a destitute condition in the Fiji Islands.That the natives of the Samoan Islands are among the most intelligent and civilized of the aborigines of Polynesia will be seen by reference to the various reports of voyages of officers of the British Navy in the Pacific, and more particularly and recently of the late lamented Commodore Goodenough, who took a deep interest in the efforts which were being made by Colonel A.B. Steinberger to give the people a civilized Government similar to that of the Sandwich Islands. The islanders are described by the eminent missionary martyr the Rev. John Williams, by Mr. W.J. Pritchard, who resided with them from 1848 to 1860, and was also the English Consul in Samoa, by Commander T.H. Hood [I cannot find any officer of this name in period Navy Lists, and my data for Fawn are assumed to be complete] of the Fawn, and by the Hon. Herbert Meade [Herbert George Philip Meade, 1842-1868, son of the 2e Earl of Clanwilliam] of the Curacoa and Esk. Colonel A.B. Steinberger was twice appointed Special Commissioner of the Government of the United States to Samoa, and laboured there in the interests of civilization — in the same way as Rajah Brooke did in Borneo — without pay or remuneration of any kind, for some years, with the sole object of civilizing and elevating the natives. Should further Information de desired relative to the Samoan group of islands, and the circumstances attendant on the appointment of Colonel Steinberger as Special Commissioner, I would refer to the documents printed by order of the House of Representatives of the United States (44th Congress, 1st Session, Executive document No. 161), and also to the Constitution of Samoa, which was drawn up under the auspices of Colonel Steinberger and the missionaries of the London Missionary Society. Colonel Steinberger, in suppressing the grog shops, houses of ill-fame, the monopolies of some of the traders, and in endeavouring to enforce a stricter observance of the Sabbath, incurred the extreme hostility of the worst classes of the foreign population, consisting of what are technically known as "Beachcombers,” and who are composed of runaway sailors, escaped convicts, and the scum of the worst society of the Pacific. There is no doubt but that the wishes of the Government and people of Samoa are the same now as in July, 1865, when they were visited by the Hon. Herbert Meade, and. who says: - "The inhabitants are very anxious to become part of the British Empire and Maunga requested the Commodore to sanction his hoisting the English flag, which, of course, could not be granted." The islands are far more fertile than any others of the Polynesian group and possess the only two secure harbours in the South Pacific, while they lie in the correct course between the principal ports of the North Pacific coast and the British Colonies of Australia and New Zealand. Yours obediently-, WILLIAM BLACKMORE, Representative in this country of the Samoan Government, and also of Colonel A.B. Steinberger, the present Premier of Samoa. Founders’-court, Lothbury, E.C. “The Samoan Petition to Her Majesty Queen Victoria. "We are. "The Taimuas and Faipules of the Government of Samoa. "Written by order of the Taimua and Faipule by M.K. Lo Mamea, Government Secretary." "The Samoan Petition to the German Government. "Taimua House of Samoa, August 1, 1876. To his Highness Prince Bismark and the Ger man Government,—"Your Highness, — We will inform you of some news concerning the troubles brought on our Government by the uncalled-for despotism of Captain Stevens, of Her Majesty’s ship Barracouta, and the English Consul who resides in Samoa. We are quite convinced that the arrest of Colonel A.B. Steinberger, our Premier, was a scheme concocted to break up our present Government, so that they could be left at liberty to act as it suits them. They have broken a great many of our laws, some to keep the Sabbath sacred, and some for the good and protection of our people. They have often threatened us with ‘that the German Government will take our islands away from us and hoist their flag on it;' but it does not frighten us, for we know the German Government is a powerful, enlightened, and a just one, and we know they will pity our condition and will protect this small Government of ours. And, again, they made up false reports about our Premier, Colonel A.B. Steinberger, so as to divide the minds of our people; but they did not succeed, as we are sure we cannot find anything in the least against him. Afterwards, on the 13th of March last, a great trouble befell us through the secret scheming of Captain Stevens and the English Consul, in the uncalled-for presence, and their bringing Her Majesty the Queen of England’s soldiers into our grounds, and they did not notify us by letter or word, according to customs of enlightened Governments. Then they seized our guns for no reason and ended by shooting dead a Samoan soldier before we were informed of what brought them among us. This caused the skirmish in which were killed eight of our officers and three wounded. While it killed three of the English and wounded eight during the day. This affair was quite a surprise to us, let alone the destruction of our Government papers, forcing open our powder magazine and destroying its contents. They also kept three of our chiefs prisoners on board of the British ships of war Barracouta and Sapphire three months and several days. We have made a complaint to Commodore Hoskins on board of the English ship-of-war Pearl, on the 23d of May last, and asked for an investigation of the trouble, but he refused. We have given to all representatives of great Governments who have visited Samoa the narrative in connexion with this trouble. Even if Samoa is the least country in the whole world we do not wish to lose our people for no reason, and not hold a just investigation so as to have justice. This is why we beg of your Highness and the German Government to have some pity for us, our weakness and ignorance, and recognize this small Government of ours, because we try to organize this Government, and make correct laws for the suppression of immorality, and to enable Samoans to live amicably with all representatives of foreign nations and their people who are residing in Samoa. We await with hope the justness of your civilized Government, and the kind regard of Christians, for the keeping away of all troubles. May God have in his keeping the salvation of your Government. We send your Highness our love. "We are, "The Taimuas and Faipules of the Samoan Government. "Written by M.K. Le Mamea, Secretary." | ||
| Fr 3 May 1878 | SYDNEY, March 28, viâ Brindisi. A Samoan war schooner has been seized as part security for the payment of the mitigated fine of $6,000 inflicted for the Barracouta affray. | ||
| Ma 20 June 1881 | Orders have been received at Chatham Dockyard for the following vessels, belonging to the Medway Steam Reserve to be broken up, being of no further use:- Barracouta, paddlewheel sloop, 1,680 tons, 881 horse power; Basilisk paddlewheel sloop, 1,690 tons, 1,033-horse power; Argus, five guns, paddlewheel sloop, 1,660 tons, 764-horse power; Scylla, screw corvette, 2,187 tons, 1,376-horse power; Nymphe, nine guns, screw sloop, 1,574 tons, 2,172-horse power; Camellan. screw sloop, 1,365 tons, 702-horse power; and the Rosario, screw sloop, 913 tons, 436-horse power. | ||
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