(In his absence the trial
of the mutineers of the _Bounty_ took place.) As to his
governorship of New South Wales, let anyone read the fourth
chapter of Dr. Lang's history of the colony--Lang was no partisan
or connection of Bligh--which shows beyond dispute that Bligh
acted, as he always did, with the most scrupulous regard to his
duty and instructions, and received from time to time the written
approval of the King, through Lord Castlereagh, then Secretary of
State.
[Footnote H: Mrs. Nutting has here made a mistake in the distance
traversed. Timoa is, of course, meant for Timor. (See page 246.)]
"It has been the pleasure of this generation to malign and
misrepresent this good man and brave, not once, but continually.
It originated in false statements made in the defence of two of
the mutineers, Christian and Heywood, representing Bligh's
severity and cruelty as being the cause of the mutiny. Yet it can
be proved from the minutes of the court-martial that Heywood on
his trial defended himself by swearing that he was kept on board
the _Bounty_ by force, and that it was 'impossible he could ever
willingly have done anything to injure Captain Bligh, who had
always been a father to him.' As to Christian, it can be shown
that this was the third voyage he had sailed with Captain Bligh.
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