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322 THE NAVAL MUTINIES OF 1797
Another mutineer of the Sandwich, named Chant,
was even more outspoken than Jephson. He was heard
several times to curse the King, and to say, " We have
done with him : we want no King." l And Gregory,
whom we have often seen in the forefront of the mutiny,
said in an address to the crew of the Sandwich a short
time before their surrender "
: Is there not many among
you here as fit to be our sovereign as George Rex ? He
has power and we have the force of gunpowder." 2
The work of spreading sedition was not confined to
seamen and petty officers. It seems to have been undertaken
as well by some officers of higher rank, and
particularly by surgeons. As they had not the authority
over the seamen that was exercised by the officers of the
quarter-deck, the surgeons were able, if they were so
disposed, to speak familiarly and without restraint to the
men who came under their care; and the extent to which
a surgeon might influence the feelings of his ship's
company is shown in the case of Smith, of the London,
who was largely instrumental in saving the lives of
Colpoys and Captain Griffiths. Several United Irishmen,
who were qualified to act as surgeons, had apparently
realized the political possibilities of service in the navy.
It was reported by Cooke, the Under-Secretary at Dublin
Castle, that Irish surgeons and mates had done great
mischief in the mutinous fleets. A week after the end
of the Nore mutiny it was found that two surgeons of
Belfast, both notorious United Irishmen, were trying to
find appointments in the navy, and had invited another
man of the same class to join them 3 MacMurdy, a
surgeon in the Channel fleet, was believed to have been
an active agent in the Spithead mutiny. It was known
1. Evidence of Jacob Swanston, gunner of the Sandvnch.
2. Evidence of Henry Dobson, captain's clerk of the Sandwich.
3. Cooke to Greville, 21 June, A.S.I. 4172.
his evidence is confirmed by the other two witnesses. The proofs were
not strong enough to convict Jephson of open sedition, and as he was
not a ringleader in the mutiny he escaped with a severe flogging.