1811     ACTION OFF MADAGASCAR     25

disabled state of his ship, Captain Schomberg says: " I am however, called upon by my feelings, and a sense of duty, to bear testimony to the meritorious conduct of the officers and ships' companies of his majesty's ships Phoebe and Astrea. " Not a maravedi (sic), in the way of praise, is bestowed upon the Galatea or Racehorse. Admitting the brig to have been a little shy, what had the frigate done to deserve such treatment ? The Galatea was certainly more struck in the hull than either of her two consorts, and had lost two of her topmasts, when they had every topgallantmast standing. The Galatea had also lost nearly four times as many men in killed and wounded as the Astrea, and a third more than the Astrea and Phoebe united. We can hardly suppose that Captain Schomberg expected the Galatea, in such a state of disability, to renew the action, but merely wished her to put her head the right way. That was not done, although we see no reason, judging from the Galatea's previous conduct, to doubt that the attempt was made. It was this apparent omission, coupled with the circumstance of hoisting, in the presence of the enemy, a signal of distress, when not reduced to the emergency of being actually sinking or on fire, that called down upon the Galatea's captain, officers, and crew, the severe punishment inflicted by Captain Schomberg.

Although the account of this action, green by our contemporary, partakes largely of the inaccuracies that pervade all his accounts of proceedings in the vicinity of the isles of France and Bourbon, Captain Brenton has, we are assured, stated one fact correctly. " Captain Losack, on his return to England, demanded a court-martial, which the lords commissioners of the admiralty, judging no doubt from the log-books, did not think proper to grant, and informed Captain Losack, that they were satisfied with his conduct. " * But in a case like this, in which the courage of a naval officer is publicly impugned, the approbation, if it amounts to that, of the lords commissioners of the admiralty is of very little value : the opinion of the profession at large, that by which alone the character of the officer is to stand or fall, is not moved a jot by it. We think, with submission, that the board of admiralty should not have refused Captain Losack's application. A court-martial would have completely settled the point; and, admitting that the captain, as the director of the movements of the ship, was the responsible party, why did not the first lieutenant, on behalf of the remaining officers and crew of the Galatea, as was done in the instance of the Uranie, † apply to have Captain Losack brought to trial ? In a case like this, no efforts should be spared to get redress ; and, had redress been zealously and pertinaciously sought by Captain Losack, we cannot think but that he would have eventually obtained it.

* Brenton, vol. iv., p. 561. † See vol. iv., p. 339.

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