o_199m9vaui14ib1cnu10di10pocoj4h.pdf

THE LOYAL SHIPS 255
prisons. 1 Perhaps men of this class were particularly
strong in the Nore fleet, but it must be allowed that
at Spithead there were many Irishmen who had come
from prison. 2
Moreover, it is noticeable that the ships' companies at
the Nore varied greatly in disposition.
On the Inflexible,
the Montague and the Monmouth, there was a large
proportion of ardent mutineers. The crews of the Clyde,
the San Fiorenzo, the Espion, the Niger, the Hound, and
some other ships were almost entirely loyal. And in
other vessels the two factions were nearly equal in
strength. The reasons for these variations are probably :
in the first place, the accidental concourse of discontented
men on the same ship ; secondly, the character of the men
who became ringleaders on the various ships; thirdly,
the character of the officers, and the extent to which they
had ruled the crews with firmness and equity ; and
fourthly, the proximity of the ships to the shore. In
this connexion it may be observed that there were no
crews at
the Nore more consistently loyal than those of
the Espion and Niger. These ships were both welldisciplined,
and were also stationed in the harbour, so
that their crews were able to understand the feelings of
people on shore, and were to some extent under the
authority of the officers in Sheerness. And the crew of
the Royal William, Sir Peter Parker's flagship in
Portsmouth harbour, remained loyal throughout the
Spithead mutinies.
Probably the second of the reasons given above is the
most important. For it certainly appears that the greater
violence of the Nore fleet as a whole was due to the action
of the ringleaders. Almost from the beginning of the
mutiny they were aggressive and boastful. They urged
their followers to extremities instead of keeping them in
check. Indeed they adopted a system of terror in order
1. A.S.L 728, C 501, 10 July.
2. E.g., Joyce had been imprisoned for sedition.