o_199m9vaui14ib1cnu10di10pocoj4h.pdf

UNREST ON THE ROYAL GEORGE 57
question whether the suspicion was stimulated by
political intrigue must be answered in a later chapter.
At all events, the seamen did not understand that their
bill was simply undergoing slow and inevitable processes
of manufacture, and that the original draft would have
to pass through several fresh stages before it could
become law. They expected an act of Parliament made
to order within a few days, and when, after an interval
of a fortnight, there was still no sign of an act, they
decided that their previous effort had not been successful,
and that they must try the effect of another and a more
forcible mutiny.
The first symptom of trouble which drew the attention
of the officers was a murmuring and excitement among
the crew of the Royal George on 6 May, the result of
reading the letter from the Pompee. 1 Admiral Pole, who
had moved his flag to the Royal George, addressed the
crew and persuaded them to remain quiet. He probably
regarded the disturbance as a dying flicker of the last
mutiny. If he did think so, he was soon undeceived.
1. The letter quoted above.