Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/27

 PHILLIP AND BOSS. 11 on his bare back, by the drummers of the detachment, and ^'^ where the commanding officer shall appoint." Ross re- SnoeBof garded this sentence as contrary to martial law, because it **^**^ gave the prisoner an alternative; and he called upon the Court to review its decision. The Court declined to alter the sentence, whereupon the Major sent the President (Captain Tench) a written order, by the Adjutant, to convene the Court a third time. The reply, signed by all the members of the Court, was that according to the 10th Article of the Act of Parliament for the regulation of the marine forces while on shore, no sentence passed by any Court-martial and signed by the President could be revised more than once. Boss was not satisfied with this reply. The Court-martial, he declared in a letter to Phillip, *' seemed determined to wrest all power from the commanding officer," and he accordingly put the President and members under arrest for " disobedience of orders." When Phillip was informed of what had occurred, he endeavoured to reconcile the parties, ^^^^ but failed. The officers considered themselves injured by the ^^ arrest, and demanded to be tried by General Court-martial, but as there was not a sufficient number of officers in the colony to form a Court, the inquiry could not be held, oaoen They were ordered by Phillip to return to their duty until toduty. a Greneral Court-martial could be assembled, and did so. Technically, they were under arrest, but they were under no actual restraint whatever. They complained bitterly, however, of the indignity they suffered, and of losing their chances of promotion; for, so long as they were under arrest, although the '^arrest" was a mere form, they might, if changes were made in the service, "have been passed over as prisoners who had forfeited the common claim of service." On 25th March, 1791, three years after the arrest, they Apoeai appealed to Phillip.* According to the Act of Parliamentt ^ " for the regulation of his Majesty*s Marine Forces while on 1 26 Geo. iii, c. 7> known as the Marine Mutinj Act.
 * Historical Becords, toL i, part 2, p. 482.