It was the custom for Vindictive to spend several months of the year in the Canadian port of Halifax. In 1847 the ship was there from June to October. In August, William wrote in his Diaries that he was 'fancy free', an unusual condition of mind for him.
ENGAGEMENT
There lived in Halifax a Dr William Gregor. He was a well-known figure in local society, and a member of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia. William was a constant visitor at the Gregors; but had never met Mrs. Gregor's niece, Louisa Forman, till one evening in August. It was dark when he entered the house, and he was surprised and delighted to feel a pair of girlish arms round his neck and a warm kiss on his cheek - Louisa thought it was her uncle. She was a pattern of Victorian modesty and was overcome with maidenly confusion.
Louisa was the second daughter of James and Margaret Forman who lived in a large house, called Thorndean, on the outskirts of Halifax. James was the Cashier - or in modern terms The Manager - of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Like his brother-in-law, Dr Gregor he held a respected position in Haligonian Society. [PAGE3710] The fact that this position was not fully deserved is another story which is told elsewhere and we will for the moment concentrate on the affairs of the young couple.
Aged twenty-two, Louisa had auburn ringlets, a dazzlingly fair complexion, lovely hands, and a slim figure. For her age she had a serious disposition. However she had plenty of admirers, and there are indications in William's Diaries that when he got engaged to her in September 1847, Halifax society lifted its eyebrows a little at the fact that Miss Louisa Forman was to wed 'a Mr. Hall of the Navy.' Mr. Hall did not care. He soon won round her parents, and though nervously speculative and astonished that such 'a rollicking, careless fellow' as he was going 'to be spliced,' his confidence in the future never wavered. Marry Louisa he was determined to, in spite of an uncertain future. On 20th October Vindictive sailed for Bermuda with Louisa having no idea when she would see her fiance again. However she told William that she would wait for him 'for ever'.
As described earler William, having been given command of the Growler, returned to England in March 1848.
The idea of 'waiting for ever' did not appeal to William at all and he was soon making plans to return to Canada.
In the meantime he witnessed the great Chartist demonstration.
CHARTIST DEMONSTRATION
Friday, April 7th
Yesterday got sworn in as a Special Constable at Bow Street, for Monday next the Chartists from all parts assemble, and I think every loyal man should be sworn in. They talk of 300,000 and the tradesmen are much alarmed.
Any man who is fond of his Country must deplore the exertions now making to disturb its Peace by a few unprincipled demagogues calling themselves Chartists, misleading and exciting many thousands. The Monster Procession which has terrified so many is to take place on Monday next to assemble at Kennington Church, and proceed over Blackfriars Bridge to the door of the House of Commons. Government, however, have issued Proclamations forbidding it, and advising people not to join in or assemble in any way. I had been most anxious to be an eye-witness if possible of their National Convention and will now relate precisely what occurred previously to my reaching it, manifesting as it does the feelings of a portion of the lower Classes, resulting from want of labour and having so much idle time on their hands, are most thoroughly instructed in all the rebellious doctrine, hourly preached to them, and made to believe their sufferings and poverty arise from the Tyrannical Aristocratic Constitution. There is I imagine no doubt that many foreign Emissaries are among us, stirring up discord and all this, added to the convulsive and volcanic eruptions of Europe, which to these unhappy Countrymen of ours, are painted in colours most pleasing to them by these artful Traitors who are in the Convention, has worked up the most savage feelings against the Government.
About 12, I found myself a short way from Piccadilly progressing towards Fitzroy Square. Accosting a young man I enquired if he would be good enough to direct me to Fitzroy Square. With a penetrating glance, he answered 'You want John Street and the Convention don't you ?' I replied in the affirmative and he said 'I will show you, for I am going there.' 'Well, I will go with you' said I, and he at once, supposing I was a Chartist, generally coupled us when he spoke, as 'we' intend doing this or that.
'Well, you have heard the Queen is off, she has ordered a Special Train for Saturday - and she is right.' 'We are determined to march in spite of their Proclamation and it will be a bad thing for them if they try to hinder us. For march we will in spite of everything. The Government won't be in many days longer.' I asked him who he thought would be in? With that peculiar shake of the head, which is frequently indulged in, to express a great deal, said, 'I can't tell you that, but they will not be in many days longer. We are only demanding our just rights and we will have them in spite of their Proclamation, and it will be a pity for the Government if they try to oppose it. We all know we have a right to Petition. Beside they have got enough to do in Ireland at the present moment.' I then asked him if he was not aware that these same Irish were those we subscribed for to save from starvation only last year, that were now crying out to Murder the Saxons. He said 'Yes, and I subscribed as much as I could afford, I only wish they'd set them clear of us altogether, they are not worth keeping.' I then, finding he was most unreserved, said, 'Now I tell you before going any further that I am not a Chartist.' He looked surprised and said 'Oh, you are not?' 'No' I replied, 'I merely go to have a look at it. Have you been here before ?' He answered in the negative. I remarked, how much better it would be if these people who were wasting their time had work and kept out of trouble. 'Yes,' said he, 'if I had to work I should not find myself attending this meeting. Unfortunately I have none. I was a Gentlemen's Servant and have the highest testimonials. I have advertised 2 or 3 times but have not been prosperous. At this moment there are in London 15,000 English Servants out of place, and 5,000 Foreigners, in consequence of so many Families having been compelled to reduce their establishments. A large meeting was held a few evenings since of the Servants out of place to consider the propriety of the Queen and Prince Albert having 100 Foreign Servants, whilst so many of their own countrymen were starving.'
I was so much pleased with the candour of my companion that I offered him a shilling which quite surprised him and he apparently thanked me with great sincerity. By this time we had reached the Mechanics Institute, where the National Convention as they style themselves, hold their meetings, and a Board having a placard pasted on it announced that Brontone O'Brien would lecture that evening on the advantages in general to Mankind of the late French Revolution. I proceeded with my Companion (which by the way I took care should never be far away, in case he might tell them I was not a Chartist) up to the Gallery which, as well as every other part, was quite crowded, and with my right hand on the neck of a greasy cut-throat looking scoundrel who had not shaved for a week, dressed in Corduroys, and my left on the shoulder of my companion, I contrived to maintain a position which I occupied on the Stool, and found the Secretary calling over the names of the delegates, the Secretary being a fellow named Reynolds, author of the Mysteries of London and as I am informed a Foreign Correspondent of Weekly Dispatch, and I believe as I have been informed, about as great a Swindler as ever lived. When he called his own name, which he answered himself, 'Here' it elicited the applause he had intended, which shews how easily an ignorant mob may be diverted, and they cried out 'That's Reynolds, did you hear him call his own name?' All being mustered, the different delegates read reports from the Provinces, all of course tending to show how much the good cause was progressing. One letter came informing them of the Dockyard at Portsmouth, working day and night making Truncheons for the Special Constables to smash the men of London. They were 14 inches long and made of African Oak. This elicited roars of scornful laughter.
Mr. P. McGrath was in the Chair, and very much treason was spoken on all sides.
Fergus O'Connor who sat for the first half hour may be easily known dressed in a light Blue Coat buttoned with one button, bald headed, and resembling from his bulk the Portraits of Danl. O'Connell. He speaks moderately well only, and appears to feel he has the most perfect command of the Mob who were there assembled. The speech he made was to the effect that they would hold themselves responsible that no excesses were committed and endeavour to suppress all robbery, etc. but they were determined to march in a Peaceable Procession and lay the grievances of the People before the British House of Commons. He talked a great deal more rubbish and wound up by saying he wanted to see a fair day's wages for a moderate day's work. This puzzled me for I had always heard 'Fair day's wages for a fair day's work.' He also stated that machinery was the principal cause of the distress of the People, and which he had pointed out enriched the few and rendered the others inhabitants of the Bastille, was mechanical labour, giving them as I thought, a small hint that there would be no great harm if this said mechanical labour was out of their way. He said it would be the duty of the delegates to place themselves at the head of the Procession (Cheers), but if either the Military or Police were let loose by Government, the effect would be fearful. They would not strike the first blow, but if a blow were struck, would defend themselves. Cheers.
After having been there 2 hours and heard Treason enough spoken to last me a whole life, I was rather glad to be off. I was much surprised however, upon reading the printed reports of the Proceedings of the Convention this day in the papers, that two speeches were omitted, one highly amusing, the other, if not instructive, at least worth listening to, from the calm and apparently sincere exposition of the hardships the Miners laboured under, in the district from which this delegate came, and who said he felt certain Her Majesty's Ministers were not aware of the injustice and cruelty they suffered from their Masters, and which he was ready to prove upon Oath before a Committee of the House, and point out, how much Mr. Tremenheere, the Government Commissioner, had been himself deceived when sent on enquiry, and had in consequence misled Government.
If what he stated was correct, then it is quite clear to me that some remedies should be applied to remove these glaring injustices. He stated that if a quart of Dross was sent up in one Tub of Coal, the Tub averaging from 8 to 12 cwt. the Miner who had sent it up was mulct of his day's labour; if 2 were sent up, he was fined 6d. for the second quart and the same for every successive one. That after working all day in the Bowels of the Earth, and as he fancied had made a few shillings for his Wife and Family, he would find he was in debt by forfeits and he had often known men brought in their Master's debt 7s 6d. in this way at the end of the week. If they complained and asked higher wages, the Masters said, 'We will put you down by Proclamation.' All this he swore was true. He related 19 men who were blown to pieces through Fire-damp, leaving families, merely because the Masters would not pay 10/- for six 4-inch Davy lamps.
As Government had circulated their Prohibition of the Procession advertised by the Chartists to take place on Monday next, I was anxious to see the effect upon the Convention, altho' I had, I must confess, some doubts as to, not exactly the safety, but in case a sort of haul should be made by the Police whilst I was there owing to any increase, if possible, of treasonable preparations being in hand. It was raining hard and I had a very unpleasant walk from Eccleston Square to Fitzroy Square. The exterior of their Convention gave me a fair idea of the crowd inside, for in spite of the rain there were between 50 or 100 waiting for admittance. The topics of conversation were their determination to march and the cowardly trick of Government raking up Charles II Act. After some difficulty I got inside the outer door, and all attempts to have got inside would have been useless. The heat was excessive. Others who came out expected the Gallery would give way, so I contented myself in hearing their speeches without seeing the orators.
The applause quite shook the building. The people who were round me were determined, they said, to march, and whilst one said 'You know we must not let these men be sacrificed, we must stand by them.' I said, 'Of course, we must stick by them.' I was appealed to as to my opinion whether the Troops would fire if they were ordered? I assured them my belief was 'They would fire on us.' 'Oh no, they won't, the dear good men, we know they won't, for they have been obliged to order 2 Regiments from Manchester because the men told them they would not fire on the People,' cried out a woman of the lowest description of a Middle Age. She was more vehement and treasonable than all my neighbours and was quite the leader of the small circle around us. Clenching her hand and looking up she said something most impious and regretted she was not a man to march in the front rank on Monday. 'Here are the delegates, said she, 'dear men, going to lose their lives for us ; they have made their wills and taken leave of their wives and little ones, for they say they will be mowed down on Monday and nothing shall stop us. Then there is Ireland all ready to rise on Monday. Oh, how I wish them success, It is time we had a change. We will have our rights.' Thinking it my turn to have a say, I said, 'You may be sure the soldiers will fire on us. They are on their oaths to do their duty and mark me, they will fire and do their duty if ordered whatever it may be. And now as you speak about Ireland, I will ask you one thing. Can't we Englishmen settle our War among ourselves, without any other Nation interfering?' No answer being given, I said, 'Then what do you think of the Irish asking 50,000 Frenchmen to come over, is that right or proper?'
I completely silenced the violent old hag and rejoicing in my temporary victory, retired, purchasing a most ill-written seditious piece of poetry called the Tocsin for Tyranny. Of all the murderers I have met in the Convict Hulks, the countenance of the vendor of this was out and out the most diabolical. He had a downcast look scarcely moving his eyes from the pavement to which he directed them, large sandy whiskers, beard and moustache, which together nearly prevented his face being seen. A large cut over the right eye, just healing, and one or two scratches over his forehead, which shewed he had not been long out of a scuffle; his hair very long and fell over his back and shoulders in artificial curls. In a deep tone he incessantly repeated in a half inquiring manner, 'Shelley, Queen, Liberty, The Tocsin for Tyranny or Nobler Utopia. Price one halfpenny.' I took several looks at him and hope the blackguard may be soon in safe keeping. A large Placard pasted on the corner nearly opposite Somerset House announced the preparation of a newspaper to be called The Democrat. It was headed by these words, 'We are only humble because we are on our knees and the others are exalted above us.' It enumerated 21 of its intentions and ideas - most republican and what would most affect me if the Democrat's Principles were adopted are Reduction of Army and Navy, Abolition of Pensions, A National Guard to be raised, Separation of Church and State, etc. Purchased for a Penny the portraits of the leaders of the Chartists, and was glad to get back to George Fowler's suite, wet and tired.
Monday, April 10th
The loyalty which has been shown in every place in the Kingdom has been cheering in the extreme, particularly in those towns which from the Government Establishments having been formed there, may be almost called Government Towns, inhabited by a body of people who as Artificers and Mechanics may be considered as a Class similar to the great body of Chartists, and who by their spontaneous desire to depend on Institutions and preserve the Peace of their Country, must to any man who cares for old England, have caused his heart to gladden. And at the same time, silently and reverently to thank God for having raised up so many defenders of Peace and order.
Started from Woolwich and reached London Bridge by about 10 a.m. Just as a body of 3 or 4,000 Chartists were marching in procession towards Kennington, preceded by a Band, and several white flags with the Numbers of the different Trades, (I fancy) carrying on poles. They were walking and jumping along, old and young. A very large proportion of boys, arm within arm. There were no stocks to be seen and they extended nearly the breadth of the Bridge, whilst the foot pavement was crowded with a number of people who were walking the same way out of curiosity, but had nothing to do with the Chartists. All work having been suspended in the City and many shops closed, a number of unemployed attended, particularly as the day was fine. These visitors walking the same way, of course caused the Chartists to think they were their brothers in the Good Cause - as they say, and this swelled the amount and made it amount really to about half the number stated by the Chartists as in the Procession. The number of Specials were I should certainly think fully as many as that stated in the papers.
I first of all proceeded to Folkards where I found an epistle from my little girl, and then went to Somerset House [Office of the Navy Board] and read it, in Sir Baldwin Walker's waiting room. Placing myself under the order of my old Commanding Officer, I amused myself in lounging about the building, occasionally going into the Strand to talk and hear the reports of the 'moral force' Chartists who were just as great destructives as the physical ones, but having employment and something to lose, were content in not going to the Commons. Somerset House was most strongly garrisoned. A regiment of Guards, a Squadron of Blues and 30 Marines- beside which Guns were supplied to the Clerks and Messengers, as well as Ball Cartridge most liberally.
DISPUTE WITH AGENT
Although Louisa had told him that she would wait for him 'for ever.' This idea did not appeal to William at all and he decided to return to Halifax as soon as he could clear up his accounts and receive his back pay. It was while he was staying with his great friends, the Shaws, at Arrowe Park in Cheshire, that he decided to confront his agent and inveterate enemy Folkard, so that he could go to Halifax to marry his 'good, constant, affectionate little girl.'
Wednesday, May 17th
William spent a day in Folkard's office. The accounts connected with the paying off of H.M.S. Growler had to be proved before he could get his pay and, as he hoped, raise money on it. Folkard felt that there might be difficulty in passing the accounts. No doubt, the memory of past disputes with William rankled. Anyway, this is what happened:
I have now to relate the treachery of old Folkard. He had, through the forenoon, occasionally hinted that I should not be able to leave 'England yet,' and once or twice hinted I should not get married. I was writing at one end of the desk and he at the other. I saw him make the C beginning at the word Captain and, in a moment after he had written it, took a glance. Fortunately, I did so. Unprincipled: ungentlemanly, dishonourable, or anything you please - fortunate I did so. I believe it was ordained I should do so, and, my dearest Luisy, I am glad I did look at it. These words were on it : 'Please tell Capt. Hall he will not be able to leave town yet.' My blood boiled within me. I hastily concluded a letter. My lips were parched with anger. Never did I feel more inclined to call him a Blackguard, and never did I feel my position so dependent. I thought, if I had no Luisy, I would abuse him and pitch his agency to the devil. But I wanted money for my passage. My rage increased. Treachery in the Camp is horrible I thought, but then how could I let him know it ? Taking the bundle of receipts he had under his arm, he said, 'Come along and see the Clerks, but I am afraid you won't be able to go.' 'Accounts or no accounts, I go to Halifax on Saturday; I have made up my mind to go and I will.'
By this time we were in Somerset House in the passage leading to the office. He said, 'You may depend upon it you won't be able to go, your accounts won't be in.' I looked at him and said, 'I shall not be able to go because you have written to the Clerk to stop me.' Said he, 'I have not, I deny it.' 'I say you have; I saw you write it.' 'What do you mean by looking over my writing?' "I will answer that. I could not help it, instinct led me to see my name and what followed. We had reached the office door: I said, 'Is that honest, is that true, is that straight-forward? Sooner than do such a dirty trick I would lose this arm.' which I struck with violence, I was so impassioned. 'Now,' said I, 'read it, it is in your hand.' 'Well, said he, pass your own accounts, I will have nothing more to do with them,' but I saw he was ashamed and I had the advantage of him, and said, 'Before you move another step, tear that up.' which he did. 'Now behave like a Man and a Friend, and assist me in my accounts, passing all you can.' 'So I will,' said he, and he did so.
MARRIAGE
When William arrived in Halifax, he found that Louisa had been grieving in silence. She had been the victim of unkind speculations on the part of the ladies of Halifax as to whether William really meant to return. The men, too, had had something to say on the subject, for an ex-admirer had presented her with a song entitled: Poor Louise, being the melancholy story of an unfortunate young lady who, deserted by her lover, became mad and died from a broken heart. William was furious.
But preparations for the wedding began and on June 29, 1848, Louisa came up the aisle of St. Paul's, Halifax, 'looking very interesting.' William could not resist kissing her before the whole congregation.
On seeing the miniature of Louisa - her first present to William - his father James had remarked 'That miniature bespeaks volumes. There is an amiable contemplative countenance for you - none of your polka-dancing girls. Nothing brazen-faced there.'
William wrote in his Diaries that he had been in love with 'handsomer' faces, but not with one that 'pleased' him more. Her demure fascination was never entirely extinguished by maternity and domesticity. She kept the lover alive in William to the last. His Diaries are full of her. Her nature held a serenity which his lacked. After years of married life he wrote of her 'well-ordered mind which ruled her fragile body,' and of her 'quiet unpretending nature,' with as much admiration as when he had first met her and 'loved her but not understood her.' He never quite got over his surprise that so much self control and strength lay hidden in the depth of such mildness of disposition. Her religious upbringing and views were of a Puritan brand (she would not dance) but she was tolerant and much liked, even by the most sophisticated.
William sailed for England in November. Louisa remained in Canada with her parents as she was expecting a child in April.
January 27th
[A conversation with a Lt-Col. Edwin Cruttenden of the Royal Artillery, at Arrowe Hall, Cheshire.]
I proceed to one subject on which we both agreed, namely that the Duke of Wellington has been much over-rated, that he was jealous of all who worked well under him, and that he will not long be dead before his faults will teem from the Press, in facts given by those who suffered from his selfishness. I long since thought this after reading Pictons Character and the manner in which he was treated by Wellington. Col. Cruttenden was an intimate friend of the late Sir John Cope Sherbrooke and was with him in Nova Scotia and Canada. Sir John Cope Sherbrooke and Wellington were Captains in the same Regiment in India and on one occasion Wellesley had retreated very precipitately from a stockade. Sherbrooke said 'Hullo, come this way, come along with me and Ill show you how to take it' and Wellington never liked Sherbrooke much in consequence during his life. The Colonel said upon the retreat on Torres Vedras for 4 days the Troops had nothing to live upon but Chestnuts and many died of Constipation, yet he issued an order complaining of their murmurs and said they had no cause to grumble.
He mentioned the case of a Captain or Major, the name that I now forget, who had distinguished himself greatly thro' the whole of the Peninsular War on the Staff and was famed for his discernment in reconnoitring. At a glance he would discover his enemies position and as may be easily conceived, had distinguished himself and done good Service. He was astonished one morning at finding he was publicly reprimanded for neglect of duty and for having failed in executing some service. He was hurt and surprised for he had never received the order. Conceiving it arose from a mistake, after consulting his friends, he determined to see Lord Wellington and explain to him. Accordingly he went to his Tent where all the Generals were at dinner and after being announced was told to come in. He said My Lord, I have served this Army faithfully through the Campaign, and I find myself reprimanded publicly for not executing an order which I have never heard of but he was cut short by Picton who slapped his hand on his trouser pocket and said, 'Hold! - My Lord, it is my fault, here is the order (producing it) and it is my neglect and not his. I am to blame.' 'Well, my Lord,' said the Officer, 'may I hope your reprimand may be cancelled. 'No Sir, Lord Wellington never cancels an order he has once given. I have nothing to do with it. Look to General Picton for redress.'
The tone of speech so stung this Officer that he went away broken-hearted, and the following day mounted his horse and rode along the French lines waving his hat. At last a fellow picked him off, shot through the heart. Picton on the following day told Wellington of it, who coolly replied, 'What a fool'
At Talavera he arrived. but at the close and when the Generals delivered in their reports, he returned them saying he was present, (which was not the case) and he would make his own report.
February 2nd
After dining with Shaw at the Palatine Club, walked down to the Princess Royal and at 9.30 left for Glasgow. It was blowing very hard from North-West and heavy sea running. She is made of iron and the first time I have ever been in an iron vessel. The motion was much more lively, having great power she forced herself along at 8 knts through the sea, for she shipped a great deal of water, started the fore part of the Paddle Box. The Mate never saw her ship so much water during the time they have been running, 4½ years.
In March 1849 William was appointed to the Coastguard in the Scilly Isles. His command had not been visited by a Controller-General for over twenty-five years. William arrived, full of zeal.
He found 'several old men deaf and blind, and over sixty, sitting muffled by the fire in the Watch House, each propped with a huge stick to aid them to walk and to help them from tumbling, not for the protection of the Revenue.' He decided it was no place for him. He wrote off to everyone he could think of to try and secure a new appointment, meanwhile, he waited, bored and lonely, longing to hear news of the birth of Louisa's baby. A ship called on May 2nd, and he heard that he had a fine son born on April 17th. Louisa was 'churched' and sailed for England.
REUNION WITH LOUISA
July
Louisa joined William in July having suffered a horrifying experience while crossing the Atlantic. She had taken passage in Europa, an early Cunard liner. In mid Atlantic, some 700 miles from SW Ireland, her ship had been steaming along at 10 knts on a warm but foggy afternoon. The passengers were relaxing on the upper deck. Suddenly they saw ahead of them a ship whose fog signals had been drowned out by the noise of the Europa's paddles. She was the Charles Bartlett, an American sailing ship from Plymouth, Conn., carrying emigrants and a cargo of heavy metals from London to New York. It was too late for either ship to take avoiding action and the Europa struck the Charles Bartlett amidships, tearing a large hole in her side. The Charles Bartlett sank within three minutes. Of the 176 crew and passengers on board, only 42 survived. For further details of this maritime disaster see [PAGE3720].
September
Louisa celebrated her twenty-third birthday in their first home, which was draughty, and must have been uncomfortable after the solid colonial comfort of Thorndean; but she was delighted with it. William records proudly that his young wife (a bunch of keys at her waist) was a perfect housewife, presiding over the little establishment and its one unsatisfactory maid, with dignity and competence. Willie, the baby, had fine blue eyes, and William could not help noticing that he was admired by everyone who saw him. He was certainly a model infant, for when landing, after a terrible crossing from the Scilly Isles in a sailing cutter, he was 'handed from boat to boat like a brown-paper parcel and behaved admirably.'
October
In October 1849, William was appointed to the coast-guard at Weymouth. They were glad to leave the Scilly Isles. Louisa had been ill there, and William had found nothing interesting to do except invent some fog-signals, over which he had, as he had expected, received a 'rebuff' from the Admiralty. They had thirteen pounds between them when they arrived at Weymouth, by coach, for cheapness, 'inferior to the railroad in every respect,' grumbled William, who liked progress.
They tried to sell their furniture which they had brought over in the sailing-cutter, but the 'eventful day, both for myself and Folkard,' resulted in disappointment, for not a person turned up at the sale. A staunch friend, George Fowler, came to their rescue with a loan which was soon paid back; for 'my dear little chancellor of the Exchequer', now took William's debts firmly in hand. He remarked defiantly that he had always been in debt, and probably always would be. At school it had been 'with slates, pencils, and marbles' But she refused to concur with this defeatist point of view, and effected miraculous economies. In the end, he found the best way was to take his pay and put it into her lap. Somehow or other she always managed to make them all comfortable at Weymouth. William was very active in suppressing smuggling. He did not think much of the Coastguard Service, and came to the conclusion, 'that the whole Force ashore and afloat were more expensive than they were worth.'
In 1850 he issued the following Memo: 'The one-legged stools which it appears to be the custom for the men to carry on their guards are no longer to be permitted, nor the unnecessary way in which some of them load themselves with clothes, sheep-skins, etc., all of which prevent proper activity; the stool producing piles, which added to the weight of the clothes, prevents the possibility of men running. Some men I have met during the night visits have appeared like an immovable mass of clothes, stiff painted garments securing them like a sentry box. And as for their appearance. Their motley appearance would have done well for a fancy-dress ball, where C.G. men, smugglers and fishermen were the characters to be sustained, but unlike a monthly muster by an Inspecting Commander'.
He was extraordinarily happy with Louisa. His second son, George Fowler, was born on August 14th, 1850. He felt himself that there was no call to feel ungrateful and rebellious, but he could not help it. His ambition acted sometimes like a hair-shirt to him and yet he would not, he wrote, kiss and cringe to get promotion.
But he was feeling particularly contented and domesticated on September 20, 1850, when he wrote: She is now seated by my side with our second boy on her lap. There is a gale of wind blowing E.S.E., with hard rain patting against the windows. How much one's ambition in a seafaring way cools on such a night, and it is much more pleasant to hear the wind howling down the chimney than whistling round the masts. No anchor watch, nor lead over the side, no launch moored astern, no captain to call if it blows harder. However, a calm day with a clear blue sky and all the old feelings of top gallant yards and loose sails return.
May
In May 1851, the Seringapatam, with a valuable cargo, was run on shore on the west side of Portland Bill. Lloyd's publicly recognised William's energetic and disinterested conduct in getting her off in spite of strong westerly winds.
August
On August 9, 1851, he was at sea again, Commanding HMS Styx. a 6-gun paddle sloop