"تاريخ البحرية الهندية. (١٦١٣- ١٨٦٣)." [‎٢‎٠‎٨] (٦٢٢/٢٢٧)

208
HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
teDce, and who died of chagrin and disappointment, or, as the
papers said, of " a broken heart," in consequence of the treat
ment on his official conduct, have distinctly declared that you c regard the impu
tations and reflections cast upon his conduct and motives as wholly unfounded,
and that your confidence in this able and strictly upright officer is undiminished
in the slightest degree.' We beg you will assure Sir Robert Oliver of our cordial
concurrence in these sentiments."
The " Deccan Herald " of the 8th of May, 1863, in a lengthy article on the
Service at the time of its abolition, refers in the following terms to the case of
Lieutenant Bird:—
" That officer entered the Navy in 1828, and might in 1848 have retired on a
pension of £180 a-year due to his rank. He had been appointed Harbour-
Master at Kurrachee in 1845, and, having suffered from the climate, proceeded on
two years' leave to the Neilgherry Hills for the benefit of his health. He had,
throughout, enjoyed the universal esteem and respect of his brother officers, and
no complaint of any sort had been brought, or ever established against him. He
had had no communication with any official leading him to imagine that anything
adverse awaited him ; when receiving some official papers in sick-quarters, he
opened them expecting to find himself gazetted as commander in consequence of
the augmentation just about to be made in the number of officers in the Indian
Navy. To his horror and amazement he found himself dismissed without cause,
his pay stopped on the instant, and he himself left in a strange country to subsist
on charity, a scanty pittance being allowed him in the shape of a pension! A
portion of the Court's letter upon which this was based was afterwards suffered
to see the light, and these were the only indications of the grounds of the punish
ment inflicted. In 1843, Mr. Bird had, at Aden, been unexpectedly put in com
mand of the ' Cleopatra,' in place of an officer not then considered fit to take
charge of a vessel to Suez, though afterwards rewarded with a staff appointment.
Mr. Bird's ship was officered with acting-masters fresh drawn from some merchant
vessels ; the ship got ashore amongst some coral reefs over night, at a time when
it was not usual, or in general requisite, for the commander to be on deck. He
was tried by court-martial, the chief charge being the omission to heave the lead,
though in seas filled with coral, like that where the steamer went ashore, there is
often no bottom to be found within ten fathoms of a reef. He was lully and
honourably acquitted by the Court, and, one would therefore have imagine , on
the common principle of justice, stood as clear of blame as if no charge lia ever
been laid against him. The steamer was but little injured. The other ground ot
offence was, that while Harbour-Master at Kurrachee he had incurre e is^
pleasure of Sir C. Napier. The case proved to have been this :--Tlie Berenice
having arrived with stores, the officer commanding (Lieutenant Selby) m ima e
to the Superior Naval Officer (Lieutenant Bird) that his vessel was empty ana
ready for sea. Of this Sir C. Napier was immediately apprised; when ]t was
found that some trifles—a dozen or two of campstools, we believe—had escapea
observation and remained to be disembarked. A signal was made to a e ^ 1
and a boat immediately ordered from the shore. A stiff breeze had, meanwii ,
sprung up, and the boats had difficulty in reaching the vessel. Some hours oi
time were lost; the boats, knowing the difficulty of obtaining remuneration tor
any damage sustained by them in knocking against a steamer, were no very
in their approaches, and ultimately, after various fruitless attempts, sheerett -
By the time this had occurred, the mail from Bombay had arrived at u
Point; and the only alternative that remained was to delay the steamer
weather moderated, with the risk of keeping the Scinde letters, wi P ,
despatches of importance, till too late for the overland steamer, 0 J 0 P ,
the ' Berenice' at once. The latter course Lieutenant Bird wisely determ " ie h v
pursue. Some warm or heated expression may, probably, on the occasio ,
escaped Sir C. Napier; whatever it was, it never became subjec o
notice. When the matter was fully explained to him, he expresse
satisfaction with what had occurred; and when Mr. Bird was recalle
non-commissioned officer put in his place, the Grovernor of Scm e ex P . . £ a
regret at his departure. These circumstances gave rise to the transni
multitude of memorials, prepared for the Court of Directors by the junior >