'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎566] (585/622)

566
HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
Compare this scale of pensions with those awarded to the
offiqials of the Marine Department of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ,
abolished on their duties being consigned to the Military Secre
tariat. Whereas, for Commodore Frushard, Captain Campbell,
and other officers who had served in the worst climates in the
world, and in the most perilous of all professions, a pension of
c£450 per annum, with the prospect of succession to <£800. or
£550 without such reversion, was deemed sufficient pension,
Mr. Mason, the Secretary of the Marine Department, who had
never left his native land or been subjected to any risks of life
or health, was pensioned off on £1,430 per annum, and his
Assistant on <£770! But, should the arduous nature of the
duties fulfilled by these officials be pleaded in extenuation of
the disproportionate scale of pensions, we would observe that
the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. of those days, was notorious for maintaining
an unnecessarily large staff of officials, and, in corroboration,
we will quote from the sayings of two of the most eminent of
the number.
Charles Lamb used to say that he " always left office early to
make up for going to it late;" and the late Thomas Love
Peacock found his duties at the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. so wearisome
that he thus wrote of them :—
" From ten to eleven ate a breakfast for seven ;
From eleven to noon to begin 'twas too soon ;
From twelve to one asked, ' What's to be done ?'
From one to two found nothing to do ;
From two to three began to foresee
That from three to four would be a great bore."
Many of the officers of the Service are decorated with four
and five medals, memorials of good and faithful service, but not
paddle-boxes, where I had formed a barricade of bales of cotton, within which we
ensconsced ourselves; these bales we found in the morning perfectly riddled
with grape and canister. Where should we have been without this protection ?
As it was, the funnels were the great suiferers. However, we got through the
inshore squadron in safety, but the 4 Outside Squadron' had got the alarm, and
were scouring here, there, and everywhere, on the look-out for us, lighting up the
whole horizon with their artificial lights, and firing at us with shell and round
shot, as we tore along On we sped, like a poor hare pursued by a pack of
hounds, turning and twisting in and out amongst our pursuers, and after over
two hours of this hot and exciting work, managed to get away clear of the whole
lot, and began to speculate upon a safe voyage to Nassau, for which I steered ;
but our hopes were disagreeably broken in upon at daybreak, when the look-out
reported a vessel in sight, right ahead. I altered our course and stood out to sea,
but soon after, another vessel was reported coming from that direction. Here we
were in a pretty fix, the whole of the Inshore Squadron inside of us, two of the
enemy's cruisers coming from opposite directions to cut us off, and, to make
matters worse, the wind had freshened into a strong breeze, which knocked up a
nasty short sea, and the speed of the ' Elsie ' was, in consequence, reduced from
twelve to seven miles per hour. However, we ran for it, but it was no use, as
the two steamers gradually neared us, and turned out to be the two fastest
vessels the Northerners had, viz., the 4 Quaker City' and ' Kingstown State.'
When near enough, they both opened fire, and for four hours banged away at our
vessel with shot and shell, which passed over and burst over us in a very dis
agreeable manner i one 32-pound shell passed over the head of the man steering,