CORRESPONDENCE.

NELSON IN THE WEST INDIES. tTo ore EDITOR or TIM " SPLCTATOR."3 Sur.—Every scrap of information we can get about Nelson is of great interest, especially when it illustrates his friend Colling-

wood's fine tribute to him as having "a spirit equal to all undertakings, and resources fitted to all occasions." In most of the Lives of Nelson there are references to his work in the West Indies (1784.1787)as Captain of the' Boreas' (twenty-eight guns) in upholding our Navigation Laws. He had to do this in face of the opposition of our Governors of Barbados, Nevis, dc. The fact is the illegal trade, especially with the Americans, was so lucrative to the West Indies that the Governors to avoid blooming unpopular often winked at it. They also resented the interference of the young naval officer, for Nelson, as he tells us himself, "Having given Governors, Custom-house Officer., and Ameri- cans, notice what I would do, I seized many of their vessels, which brought all parties upon me; and I was persecuted from ono island to another, that I could not leave my ship. But con- rekus rectitude bore me through it; and I was supported, when the business came to be understood, from home, and I proved (and an Act of Parliament has since established it) that a Captain of a Man of War is in duty bound to support all the maritime laws, by his Admiralty Commiwion alone, without becoming a Custom-home Officer."

How far Nelson's sense of duty led him is illustrated by the well-known story of his reply to Major-General Sir Thomas Shirley, the Governor of the Leeward Islands, who sided with Sir Richard Hughes, Bt., the Admiral on the West Indian Station, against Nelson, and told him that "old Generals were not in the habit of taking advice from young gentlemen." To which Nelson replied : "Sir, I um as old as the Prime Minister of England, and think myself ea capable of commanding one of his Majesty's ships, as that Minister is of governing the State." Nelson-was then twenty-seven; to get a picture of him con- fronting the Major-General and the Admiral we have the Duke of Clarence's account of him in 1783 :—

" I was then a Midshipman on board the Barfleur,' lying in the Narrows off Staten Island, and had the watch on deck, when Captain Nelson, of the ' Albemarle,' came in hie barge alongside, who appeared to be the merest boy of a Captain I ever beheld; and his areas was worthy of attention. He had on a full laced uniform : Ida lank unpowdered hair was tied in a stiff Heasian tail of extraordinary length; the old-fashioned flaps of hie waistcoat added to the general quaintness of his figure, and produced an appearance which particularly attracted my medics; for 1 had never seen anything like it before, nor could I imagine who he was, nor what he came about. My doubts were, however, removed, when Lord Hood introduced me to him. There was something irresistibly pleasing in his address and conversation, and an enthusiasm, when speaking un professional subjects, that showed he was no common being."

H.R.H. most have been pleaeed, if he ever heard it, with Nelson's description of him, given in a letter to his friend Captain Locker :— " He will be, I am certain, an ornament to our service. He is a seaman, which you could hardly suppose. Every other qmilification you may expect from him. But he will be a disciplinarian, and a strong one; he says he is determined every person shall verve his time before they shall be provided for, as he is obliged to serve his."

No apology is needed, at suck a time as this in our naval history, in recalling anything about Nelson, but the special object of this letter is to call attention to some, I think, little- known references to him from the Records of Barbados. Writing to me on November 5th, 1918, from Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana, Mr. G. E. Bodkin, of the Biological Division of the Science and Agriculture Department of British Guiana, informed me he was sending me on article on Fishing for the Fishing Gazette, which had been published in Titnhcri, a semi- yearly and most interesting and well-illustrated journal pub.. lished by the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana. In addition to my correspondent's and many other valuable contributions, among the "Occasional Notes" I found the following signed with the initials "J. G. C." as contributing it :— " NELSON'S Coasrer IN MNBANDB, 178G.

The Records. of Barbados are full of interest although (unfortunately enough) they are consulted by but few Bar- badians. Nor is the interest merely parochial; sometimes one toucher a figure of world fame. Here is an extract from the minutes of a meeting of Council held under the presidency of Governor D. Parry on July 4th, 1786 :—

' The Governor said he wished to make mention of a remark- able matter which had lately happened. That what be alluded to was the conduct of Captain Nelson, the Commander of His Majesty's Ship of War, " Boreas," who had undertaken with- out authority, and in an arbitrary manner, to take away with him from Carlisle Bay (Barbados) two vessels which were depending as leisure. before the Court of Viso-Admiralty in this Island; a conduct which demanded Reprehension, and oould not be submitted to without opposition in a Civil Govern- ment. His Excellency added that in turning over some old minuted of his Board he had found that during the adminis- tration of Governor Byng something had happened which required en investigation of the Powers of Commanders of Vessels of War within the Ports of these Islands, and that a Letter stood on record from the Rt. Hon. the Lords Com- missioners for Trade and Plantations to Mr. Byng dated White. hall, Aug. 13, 1740, inclosing the opinion of Mr. Fame, their Council-at-Law, "That no ships or vessels offending against the several Acts of Trade can be seised by His Majesty's Ships of War within the limit, of any Port within the territories of the respective Governors of His Majesty's Plantations." The present affair (Hie Excellency said) was of such notoriety that he could not but suppose the gentlemen now sitting with him were all possessed therewith and knew as well of Seizures which the said Captaiu Nelson had made while lying at anchor in Carlisle Bay as of the subsequent flagrant impropriety above mentioned; but that he thought it right to introduce it now before this Board, to anticipate what might ensue from the steps he had taken to counteract proceedings against the Vessels in other islands, and to acquaint the Board that he intended at a future season to bring the matter more fully on for their advice and opinion, whenever his Excellency shall arrive at trntsnloo.seledge of the full extent of Captain Nelson's Deport-

One can imagine the solemn proceedings and the satisfaction when, after an evident search for a word to describe the "young gentleman's" proceedings, they settled on "Deport- ment " with a capital " D."

At a meeting on August 29th of the some year (1786) " His Excellency adverted as to what stood on the minutes of last meeting relative to Captain Nelson of Ms Majesty's ship 'Boreas,' and informed the Board that he had eine° received the proceedings of the Court of Admiralty of Nevis against the Vessels seized here by Captain Nelson, which, as before related, he had taken from hence without authority. That the Judge at Nevis had thought himself competent to try the Vessels in his Court and that his Excellency's Claim to a Share of them, upon condemnation, had therefore by his direction been put in due time; but the said Judge had also thought proper to dis- allow and dismiss such Claim of the Governor of Barbados. His Excellency declared that from the motive of defending the Rights of a Governor, and being tenacious of his own privileges for the sake of his suocesisors, he had appealed from the Sen- tence given in the Admiralty Court of Nevis, and had got the appeal papers, which he took this opportunity of showing to this Beard previous to his sending them to England. These papers being voluminous, their Honours referred to some of the most particular parts only, as pointed out by his Excel- lency, the most remarkable in Captain Nelson's conduct; but recommended it to him by all means to prosecute such appeal, thanking hie Excellency for the communication."

Fortunately some further light is thrown on the reasons for the evident astonishment at Nelson's action in the duplicate volume of the Council Minutes, copied with his own hand by Mr. Nathan Lucas—Judge Lucas of Farley Hill, the Antiquary of Old Barbadoe, who added the following footnote " When Captain Nelson seized these Vessela in Carlisle Bay, he desired the proper officers to libel them direotly as trading against the Navigation Lawn. They, not thinking themselves bound by his order, demurred as to the legal mode, etc., eta. Mr. Charles Brandford, the Attorney-General of that day, and also Advocate-General (ea was oureomary at that period), a great humourist and of a very impatient and impracticable temper, was very restive with Captain Nelson, and said be would take his own time and proceed as he thought best and proper in the care. Nelson could not brook the indecision and delay and the nice distinctions of Seisures in Port by the Navy or Custom House. They were trading contrary to the Navigation Laws, and were Enemies to England, of course; aml he set off with the Vessels for Nevie, where they were inetantly libelled and condemned. Governor Parry sent the late Alexander Hetet, Esq., of the Custom House, and a man of address, and busies-es, after him. He put in the Governor's claim for his part of the seizure, etc., etc., but it was not sub- stantiated, and Governor Parry appealed, but I believe never got anything, at least to my knowledge. I very well remember the whole transaction, and my connection with Mr. Hetet afforded me good opportunity of knowing the whole."

He adds :— " It is rather surprising this affair has never been noticed in the Life of Nelson, for surely his decision of character, manly spirit, and hatred of Old England's Enemies are as strongly marked in this instance as in any other brought for- ward at Nevis against the Americans for breach of the Naviga- tion Laws."

Captain Nelson was fighting in the execution of his duty against the popular feeling of the islanders ae well as the authority of the Admiral and General in command of the Wands; his career was at stake. As Pettigrew tells us: "Legal prosecutions were instituted, damagee were laid at 24,000, and lie was obliged for months to keep to his own ship. where he was preserved from arrest by the ingenuity of he first Lieutenant, Mr. James Wallis." Nelson was in no way daunted by this opposition; and -when one of his officers, in allusion to the restraint to which he was subjected, used the word "pity," be fired up and exclaimed: "Pity, did you say 1

I shall live, Sir, to bo envied! and to that point I shell always direct my course."

Although of course Nelson's work in the West Indies at the period in question is, generally speaking, well known, I do not Pond in any of the standard Lives particulars of his cutting out, no to speak, those two vessels in Carlisle Bay under the nose of the Governor and taking them off to Nevis as described in these old Barbados Records. 1 think Nelson somewhere men- tions that the damages claimed against him were not £4,000

but X40.000.-1 am, Sir, &c., It. B. MARSTON, Surrey Lodge, Denmark Bill, S.F. 5.