The present usages of the American Navy are such that, though there is no government enactment3 to that effect, yet, in many respect, its Commanders seem virtually invested with the power to observe or violate, as seems to them fit, several of the Articles of War.
According to Article XV., "No person in the Navy shall quarrel with any other person in the Navy, nor use provoking or reproachful words, gestures, or menaces, on pain of such punishment as a court-martial4 shall adjudge."
"Provoking or reproachful words!" Officers of the Navy, answer me! Have you not, many of you, a thousand times violated this law, and addressed to men, whose tongues were tied by this very Article, language which no landsman would ever hearken to without flying at the throat of his insulter? I know that worse words than you ever used are to be heard addressed by a merchant-captain to his crew; but the merchant-captain does not live under this XVth Article of War.
Not to make an example of him, nor to gratify any personal feeling, but to furnish one certain illustration of what is here asserted, I honestly declare that Captain Claret, of the Neversink, repeatedly violated this law in his own proper person.
According to Article III., no officer, or other person in the Navy, shall be guilty of "oppression, fraud, profane6 swearing, drunkenness, or any other scandalous conduct."
Again let me ask you, officers of the Navy, whether many of you have not repeatedly, and in more than one particular, violated this law? And here, again, as a certain illustration, I must once more cite Captain Claret as an offender7, especially in the matter of profane swearing. I must also cite four of the lieutenants8, some eight of the midshipmen, and nearly all the seamen9.
Additional Articles might be quoted that are habitually10 violated by the officers, while nearly all those exclusively referring to the sailors are unscrupulously enforced. Yet those Articles, by which the sailor is scourged11 at the gangway, are not one whit13 more laws than those other Articles, binding14 upon the officers, that have become obsolete15 from immemorial disuse; while still other Articles, to which the sailors alone are obnoxious16, are observed or violated at the caprice of the Captain. Now, if it be not so much the severity as the certainty of punishment that deters17 from transgression18, how fatal to all proper reverence19 for the enactments20 of Congress must be this disregard of its statutes21.
Still more. This violation23 of the law, on the part of the officers, in many cases involves oppression to the sailor. But throughout the whole naval24 code, which so hems25 in the mariner26 by law upon law, and which invests the Captain with so much judicial27 and administrative28 authority over him—in most cases entirely29 discretionary—not one solitary31 clause is to be found which in any way provides means for a seaman32 deeming himself aggrieved33 to obtain redress34. Indeed, both the written and unwritten laws of the American Navy are as destitute35 of individual guarantees to the mass of seamen as the Statute22 Book of the despotic Empire of Russia.
Who put this great gulf36 between the American Captain and the American sailor? Or is the Captain a creature of like passions with ourselves? Or is he an infallible archangel, incapable37 of the shadow of error? Or has a sailor no mark of humanity, no attribute of manhood, that, bound hand and foot, he is cast into an American frigate38 shorn of all rights and defences, while the notorious lawlessness of the Commander has passed into a proverb, familiar to man-of-war's-men, the law was not made for the Captain! Indeed, he may almost be said to put off the citizen when he touches his quarter-deck; and, almost exempt39 from the law of the land himself, he comes down upon others with a judicial severity unknown on the national soil. With the Articles of War in one hand, and the cat-o'-nine-tails in the other, he stands an undignified parody40 upon Mohammed enforcing Moslemism with the sword and the Koran.
The concluding sections of the Articles of War treat of the naval courts-martial before which officers are tried for serious offences as well as the seamen. The oath administered to members of these courts—which sometimes sit upon matters of life and death—explicitly enjoins41 that the members shall not "at any time divulge42 the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court, unless required so to do before a court of justice in due course of law."
Here, then, is a Council of Ten and a Star Chamber43 indeed! Remember, also, that though the sailor is sometimes tried for his life before a tribunal like this, in no case do his fellow-sailors, his peers, form part of the court. Yet that a man should be tried by his peers is the fundamental principle of all civilised jurisprudence. And not only tried by his peers, but his peers must be unanimous to render a verdict; whereas, in a court-martial, the concurrence44 of a majority of conventional and social superiors is all that is requisite45.
In the English Navy, it is said, they had a law which authorised the sailor to appeal, if he chose, from the decision of the Captain—even in a comparatively trivial case—to the higher tribunal of a court-martial. It was an English seaman who related this to me. When I said that such a law must be a fatal clog46 to the exercise of the penal47 power in the Captain, he, in substance, told me the following story.
A top-man guilty of drunkenness being sent to the gratings, and the scourge12 about to be inflicted48, he turned round and demanded a court-martial. The Captain smiled, and ordered him to be taken down and put into the "brig," There he was kept in irons some weeks, when, despairing of being liberated49, he offered to compromise at two dozen lashes50. "Sick of your bargain, then, are you?" said the Captain. "No, no! a court-martial you demanded, and a court-martial you shall have!" Being at last tried before the bar of quarter-deck officers, he was condemned51 to two hundred lashes. What for? for his having been drunk? No! for his having had the insolence52 to appeal from an authority, in maintaining which the men who tried and condemned him had so strong a sympathetic interest.
Whether this story be wholly true or not, or whether the particular law involved prevails, or ever did prevail, in the English Navy, the thing, nevertheless, illustrates53 the ideas that man-of-war's-men themselves have touching54 the tribunals in question.
What can be expected from a court whose deeds are done in the darkness of the recluse55 courts of the Spanish Inquisition? when that darkness is solemnised by an oath on the Bible? when an oligarchy56 of epaulets sits upon the bench, and a plebeian57 top-man, without a jury, stands judicially58 naked at the bar?
In view of these things, and especially in view of the fact that, in several cases, the degree of punishment inflicted upon a man-of-war's-man is absolutely left to the discretion30 of the court, what shame should American legislators take to themselves, that with perfect truth we may apply to the entire body of the American man-of-war's-men that infallible principle of Sir Edward Coke: "It is one of the genuine marks of servitude to have the law either concealed59 or precarious60." But still better may we subscribe61 to the saying of Sir Matthew Hale in his History of the Common Law, that "the Martial Law, being based upon no settled principles, is, in truth and reality, no law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a law."
I know it may be said that the whole nature of this naval code is purposely adapted to the war exigencies62 of the Navy. But waiving63 the grave question that might be raised concerning the moral, not judicial, lawfulness64 of this arbitrary code, even in time of war; be it asked, why it is in force during a time of peace? The United States has now existed as a nation upward of seventy years, and in all that time the alleged65 necessity for the operation of the naval code—in cases deemed capital—has only existed during a period of two or three years at most.
Some may urge that the severest operations of the code are tacitly made null in time of peace. But though with respect to several of the Articles this holds true, yet at any time any and all of them may be legally enforced. Nor have there been wanting recent instances, illustrating66 the spirit of this code, even in cases where the letter of the code was not altogether observed. The well-known case of a United States brig furnishes a memorable67 example, which at any moment may be repeated. Three men, in a time of peace, were then hung at the yard-arm, merely because, in the Captain's judgment68, it became necessary to hang them. To this day the question of their complete guilt5 is socially discussed.
How shall we characterise such a deed? Says Black-stone, "If any one that hath commission of martial authority doth, in time of peace, hang, or otherwise execute any man by colour of martial law, this is murder; for it is against Magna Charta."* [* Commentaries, b. i., c. xiii.]
Magna Charta! We moderns, who may be landsmen, may justly boast of civil immunities69 not possessed70 by our forefathers71; but our remoter forefathers who happened to be mariners72 may straighten themselves even in their ashes to think that their lawgivers were wiser and more humane73 in their generation than our lawgivers in ours. Compare the sea-laws of our Navy with the Roman and Rhodian ocean ordinances; compare them with the "Consulate of the Sea;" compare them with the Laws of the Hanse Towns; compare them with the ancient Wisbury laws. In the last we find that they were ocean democrats74 in those days. "If he strikes, he ought to receive blow for blow." Thus speak out the Wisbury laws concerning a Gothland sea-captain.
In final reference to all that has been said in previous chapters touching the severity and unusualness of the laws of the American Navy, and the large authority vested in its commanding officers, be it here observed, that White-Jacket is not unaware75 of the fact, that the responsibility of an officer commanding at sea—whether in the merchant service or the national marine—is unparalleled by that of any other relation in which man may stand to man. Nor is he unmindful that both wisdom and humanity dictate76 that, from the peculiarity77 of his position, a sea-officer in command should be clothed with a degree of authority and discretion inadmissible in any master ashore79. But, at the same time, these principles—recognised by all writers on maritime80 law—have undoubtedly81 furnished warrant for clothing modern sea-commanders and naval courts-martial with powers which exceed the due limits of reason and necessity. Nor is this the only instance where right and salutary principles, in themselves almost self-evident and infallible, have been advanced in justification82 of things, which in themselves are just as self-evidently wrong and pernicious.
Be it here, once and for all, understood, that no sentimental83 and theoretic love for the common sailor; no romantic belief in that peculiar78 noble-heartedness and exaggerated generosity84 of disposition85 fictitiously86 imputed87 to him in novels; and no prevailing88 desire to gain the reputation of being his friend, have actuated me in anything I have said, in any part of this work, touching the gross oppression under which I know that the sailors suffers. Indifferent as to who may be the parties concerned, I but desire to see wrong things righted, and equal justice administered to all.
Nor, as has been elsewhere hinted, is the general ignorance or depravity of any race of men to be alleged as an apology for tyranny over them. On the contrary, it cannot admit of a reasonable doubt, in any unbiased mind conversant89 with the interior life of a man-of-war, that most of the sailor iniquities90 practised therein are indirectly91 to be ascribed to the morally debasing effects of the unjust, despotic, and degrading laws under which the man-of-war's-man lives.
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1
ordinances
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| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
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consulate
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| n.领事馆 | |
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enactment
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| n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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scourged
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| 鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
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scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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deters
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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transgression
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| n.违背；犯规；罪过 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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enactments
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| n.演出( enactment的名词复数 )；展现；规定；通过 | |
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statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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hems
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| 布的褶边，贴边( hem的名词复数 )； 短促的咳嗽 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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parody
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| n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文 | |
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enjoins
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| v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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clog
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| vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐 | |
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penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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51
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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52
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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oligarchy
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| n.寡头政治 | |
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plebeian
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| adj.粗俗的；平民的；n.平民；庶民 | |
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judicially
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| 依法判决地，公平地 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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waiving
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的现在分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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lawfulness
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| 法制，合法 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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illustrating
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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immunities
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| 免除，豁免( immunity的名词复数 )； 免疫力 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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democrats
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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86
fictitiously
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| adv.虚构地；假地 | |
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87
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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89
conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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90
iniquities
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| n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 )；极不公正 | |
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91
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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