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The following was reported in the October 10,1849 issue of the South Australian REGISTER:
Gentlemen - there is a very contemptible class of people, known as the 'little great', so puffed up in their ignorant conceit that, if they do but hold a bried authority over their follow-mortals, they forget their former insignificance, and feel so much out of place, that they are quite incapable of conducting themselves with propriety. To this wretched class of beings, belongs WILLIAM SAMUEL BAKER, master of the ADEN from London, who was entrusted with the charge of 172 passengers all paying their own expenses (not free or assisted passengers), many of them of superior origin to himself, ands many more in still better circumstances.
And in what way did he exercise his authority? By taking advantage of his position, to insult his passengers by the most personal and offensive remarks; and by a bearing towards them from the moment of quitting Gravesend to the end of the voyage, which will fully justify the epithet of an "ignorant upstart". The report went on to praise the reaction of the press to what had recently occurred on board the INDIAN, and to appeal for a fair hearing about "the enormities which are being practiced with impunity on board emigrant and passenger ships on board the high seas".
"Our first source of complaint and grievance arose out of the manner in which the ship was provisioned. We had good meat till we left Gravesend, but as soon as we got away to sea, there arose such a stench as was quite unbearable from some flesh which was boinling in our cook's coppers. This, more than the rolling of the ship, turned us all sick, and we went into every out-of-the-way place to avoid the stench. The surgeon declared it would bring on some disorder, and promised to see the Government Inspector about it on arrival at Plymouth; but he did not do so. This meat was given to us for three successive days after leaving Gravesend, and we all became so ill and hungry that we threatened to kill the cats and boil them. On the third day the stuff was left boiling in the coppers - all the passengers having agreed to allow none to be taken out of the boilers."
During the stay in Plymouth, the passengers had no fresh provisions served out to them - the captain's reason being because they had refused to eat the beef served out to them on their way down the channel. May 21st was beef day and when it was served, was totally rejected as being unwholesome and stank so abominably that most threw it overboard.
The report went on to mention that the Captain and first mate Mr Court disagreed about the condition of the beef, but even the sailors were not offered the horrible stuff.
"Some of the casks of beef were branded 1839. The flour given to us in lieu of potatoes consisted almost entirely of lumps as hard as chalk, and was so mildewed and nasty, that laterly it was mostly thrown overboard, as we could not eat it.
Many complaints were made about the meat and puddings always being boiled in salt water. The biscuits were mouldy, the butter rancid and we were never given our full allowance of water. Mr Sloper and Mr Bennett were seized with cramp in the stomach and suffered intensely, and other passengers also suffered from the same cause.
In terms of our agreements, arbitrators were to be selected from amongst the passengers, to see that the provisions were fairly and correctly apportioned, but more than once the captain ordered away
the persons so appointed and grossly abused them.
Most gross instances of dishonesty on the part of the officer serving out the stores were witnessed by several passengers who complained they received short weight (of their supplies). One of the passengers insisted on the scales being emptied and then tried one against the other, which was for a long while refused, but when done the cheat was instantly discovered.
The report went on to mention that the Captain was very fond of throwing it in our faces "that we had paid such extravagant amount of passage money, that certainly we had a right to be waited on and to receive all kinds of luxuries." It is true that the steerage passengers paid only £15 each, but for this Messrs. Marshall and Edridge promised to supply them as well as the rest with good food, water, lights, fire and cooking, yet on every score they had serious grounds of complaint.
On September 3rd some of the ship's stores were stolen, partly due to the dishonesty of some of the officers. The Captain declared that until someone owned up to the theft, their provisions would be stopped.
The passengers went in a body to the quarter-deck and told the Captain that the officers were responsible, and reminded him that the Passengers Act required 22 weeks of stores to be put on board for the Australian voyage, and as they had been out only 16 weeks,
there ought to be stores for 6 weeks still on board.
Remonstances having failed they threatened to institute legal proceedings against him on their arrival in Adelaide.
This eventually brought the Captain to his senses.
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Besides the Captain's abusive and ungently manner, he exercised the greatest tyranny over the passengers, as though they had been hireling menials or slaves. He imposed work upon them from the time of quitting Plymouth, which work we had been informed by Messrs. Marshall and Edridge we were only to superintend, but were not required to perform.
Passengers were compelled to draw water out of the hold for all the passengers and crew. They also had to go into the hold to pump it up, often lying on their bellies.
They were compelled to scrape, holystone, wash and keep clean the between decks, and other tasks. When there was any show of resistance the Captain and Mr Court (the first mate) enforced their commands, by ordering that no breakfast or dinner should be served out until the work was done. "To our mortification we were told, on reaching Port Adelaide, that the agents in London hads paid two passengers (Child and Simmons) £5 each for doing the drudgery. " The ship's cook, John Hartshorn, assaulted both Mr Thomas Michelmore and Mr McQueen several times.
Several passengers, including Mr Baldwinson and Mr Farre, complained of the water constantly saturating their berths. The Captain responded by offering to throw them overboard. He offered the same to Mr Rosser for no apparent reason.
He also used indelicate remarks to the women, which they very properly resented.
The passengers major grievance was about the activities held on
July 5th under the pretext of performing the 'Crossing the Line' ceremony. They had agreed to pay the crew 1s. each to be excused the 'entertainment', only to have this over-ruled by the Captain giving as his reason "that the crew liked to amuse themselves as well as the passengers".
The crew extorted large fees from the passengers - many who struggled the hardest had to pay the most. This money was used to purchase spirits, wine and beer from the Captain at twice the ordinary charges. Understandably the passengers were upset as they were given to understand that no beer or ale was put on board for sale.
This game lasted some time until Mr George Wilcox and eight other passengers determined to make an end of these heartrending acts of cruelty. The Captain in vain urged submission on the grounds of
custom and eventually ordered the 'entertainment' to stop.
It was only after the passengers returned to their quarters that they discovered that one of Neptune's mischievious sons had thrown bucketsful of water over much of the passengers wearing apparel.
Mr John Higginbottom, the ship's surgeon (a very young man) was not only professionally incompetent, but was gross and indecent in his language, and seldom sober. His general condect led the Captain to put him under arrest, and to thrash him. If fact the passengers felt the presence of Higginbottom so objectionable that they signed a round-robin to the Captain asking for him to be landed at Madiera. The Captain agreed, but held on to his course.
The SA REGISTER reported concluded with
"Such is a slight description of the way in which the passengers were treated on board the ADENA in violation of specifiv contracts entered into with her owners Messrs. Marshall and Edridge." A number of the passengers proceeded to Port Phillip in other vessels at their own expense.
The passengers excluded Mr Larton, the second mate, from these complaints as his conduct was quite the reverse of those
who were his senior officers.
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| ADEN - Signatures confirming above Complaints listed in SA REGISTER on October 10, 1849 | McQUEEN, Mr Andrew and wife |
| BATES, Samuel | MICHELMORE, Mr Charles |
| BENNETT, Mr John and wife Maria | MICHELMORE, Mr Thomas and wife and child |
| ECKLEY, George | MURDEN, Mr John |
| FARRE, Mr Benjamin | NELSON, William |
| FLATHERS, Benjamin | NIXON, George |
| GAINES, John | NIXON, William |
| HAGAN, William | PAGE, Edwin |
| HARRISON, Hilton | PHILLIPS, David and wife and child |
| HAWKINGS, Samuel and wife Mary Ann | POWELL, John and wife |
| HOWARD, James | ROSSER, Mr John and wife and 8 children |
| HOWELL, Mr James and Mrs | SANDERSON, John |
| LANNING / LANGING, Dennis | SIMMONS, Mr Alfred |
| LAX, N | SLOPER, Mr George |
| LEIGH, Frederick | STEPHENS, Thomas |
| LETHBRIDGE, Robert and wife and child | TOLLER, Thomas N - captain of the 13th Mess. |
| LLOYD, Evan | VICTOR, Thomas |
| LLOYD, William | WILCOX, Charles Edward |
| MADDEN, John and wife | WILCOX, Mr George and wife |
| MADDOCKS, James | WILDSMITH, Mary |
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