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- 2716
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- 2026-01-30T20:48:26.981Z
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- 2665
- text
- cool. Ashore in a criminal case will an upright judge allow himself off
the bench to be waylaid by some tender kinswoman of the accused seeking
to touch him with her tearful plea? Well, the heart here is as that
piteous woman. The heart is the feminine in man, and hard though it be,
she must here be ruled out.’
He paused, earnestly studying them for a moment; then resumed.
‘But something in your aspect seems to urge that it is not solely that
heart that moves in you, but also the conscience, the private
conscience. But tell me whether or not, occupying the position we do,
private conscience should not yield to that imperial one formulated in
the code under which alone we officially proceed?’
Here the three men moved in their seats, less convinced than agitated by
the course of an argument troubling but the more the spontaneous
conflict within. Perceiving which, the speaker paused for a moment; then
abruptly changing his tone, went on.
‘To steady us a bit, let us recur to the facts. In war-time at sea a
man-of-war’s man strikes his superior in grade, and the blow kills.
Apart from its effect, the blow itself is, according to the Articles of
War, a capital crime. Furthermore----’
‘Ay, sir,’ emotionally broke in the officer of marines, ‘in one sense it
was. But surely Budd purposed neither mutiny nor homicide.’
‘Surely not, my good man. And before a court less arbitrary and more
merciful than a martial one that plea would largely extenuate. At the
Last Assizes it shall acquit. But how here? We proceed under the law of
the Mutiny Act. In feature no child can resemble his father more than
that Act resembles in spirit the thing from which it derives--War. In
His Majesty’s service--in this ship indeed--there are Englishmen forced
to fight for the King against their will. Against their conscience, for
aught we know. Though as their fellow-creatures some of us may
appreciate their position, yet as Navy officers, what reck we of it?
Still less recks the enemy. Our impressed men he would fain cut down in
the same swath with our volunteers. As regards the enemy’s naval
conscripts, some of whom may even share our own abhorrence of the
regicidal French Directory, it is the same on our side. War looks but to
the frontage, the appearance. And the Mutiny Act, War’s child, takes
after the father. Budd’s intent or non-intent is nothing to the purpose.
‘But while, put to it by those anxieties in you which I cannot but
respect, I only repeat myself--while thus strangely we prolong
proceedings that should be summary, the enemy may be sighted and an
engagement result. We must do; and one of two things must we do--condemn
or let go.’
‘Can we not convict and yet mitigate the penalty?’ asked the junior
lieutenant, here speaking, and falteringly, for the first.
- title
- Chunk 9