Saturday 13 August 1836

13^th. Rose at ¼ to 6 A.M. & finding no hands were stirring Sounded my morning call on my Trumpet which soon brought all out. Set the men to work in various ways. At 7 A.M. A boat from the L.M.P. with M^r Edmonds (3^rd Mate) & 1 watch reached the shore the men having had that day allowed them a ramble. M^r Edmonds thinking that I had heard something to the disparagement of his Character wished & received a private audience & retired as he said (& as he ought to be) perfectly satisfied. I took this opportunity of urging upon him the necessity of his giving his utmost support to the Captain (against whom I hear no complaint except from M^r Birdseye) & particularly for the sake of his own & Brother officer’s Characters endeavouring to his utmost to prevent the purloining by the crew of the Ships small stores, more especially ardent spirits. He recieved my observations as they were meant & we parted pleasantly. Capⁿ Ross came ashore & we arranged various matters connected with the discharge & departure of his ship (leaving however many still to settle) & I communicated to him the substance of my conversation with M^r Birdseye about the affair at L’pool (I had previously read over copies of sundry papers connected therewith handed to me by M^r B), he gave a very friendly hearing & candid answer to what I stated & I am quite convinced that had M^r B taken (as he should have done) less thought of small & trifling Chit Chat & afterwards forgiven & forgotten a few paltry & nonsensical observations there would have been none of the unpleasantness which has occurred. (I told M^r B. so afterwards) In my opinion both officers have done their duty, but for want of a more perfect knowledge of each other’s character & disposition a quarrel has ensued which would not otherwise have occurred. In the evening settled with the men (having previously allowed them to buy from M^r Birdseye at the store 1 pint of rum pr man for their next weeks consumption – on condition that if I found the same improperly used I would allow it no more) and soon afterwards learned that the sailors on liberty from the L.M.P. were not gone aboard but were carrousing with some of my men, on learning this & that they had (as was generally supposed) brought Rum ashore with them endeavoured by various means to get them aboard without effect. In a short time afterwards the conduct of the party became so outrageous as to warrant the supposition that an attack was meditated upon the store with a view of possessing themselves of a further supply of spirits. Quarrelling, Fighting & obscene & blasphemous discourse & threatening language having proceeded to an alarming hight & I being able to obtain the assistance of only 2 men on whom I could depend I armed myself & them & mounted guard till 7 A.M. on the following morning (Sunday) being during the whole time in momentary expectation spite of my exertions to prevent it of being compelled to fire upon the poor depraved & deluded beings by which I was surrounded.