Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall v4p2.djvu/309

 the North Sea station. He soon afterwards volunteered to serve in Canada, the only quarter which then appeared to afford an opening for a zealous officer’s exertions: but negociations for peace between Great Britain and America having commenced about the same period, probably prevented his appointment. In the spring of 1815, when the return of Napoleon Buonaparte from Elba again called forth the energies of the British nation, permission was given for a certain number of seamen from the ships in commission, to join the army in Belgium, as volunteers, for the purpose of working guns and managing pontoons. Lieutenant WooUnough lost not a moment in offering his services for this duty, but was told that all the officers intended to be so employed were already appointed.

After the battle of Waterloo, the Hearty was employed in suppressing a very serious riot among the seamen in the river Tyne, for which service her commander, officers, and crew Mere honored with the thanks of H.M. ministers. She was paid off, at Deptford, Dec. 1st, 1815. Up to this period. Lieutenant WooUnough had witnessed the capture and destruction of 44 sail of the line (French, Spanish, and Danish), 11 frigates (one of which was a Russian seized at Spithead), 19 sloops, 57 gun-boats, and 13 merchant vessels, mounting altogether 4337 guns.

In 1816, Lieutenant Woollnough laid before the Hon. Court of Directors of the East India Company a plan of what he considered a much shorter route than that commonly used, for the conveyance of despatches, &c. overland to and from Calcutta; offering his own services to establish its practicability. The Court complimented him on the occasion, but did not think it expedient to adopt his proposition.

In 1817, having resided for several months at Cartmell, in Lancashire, this officer’s attention was drawn to the number of lives lost on the extensive sands which separate that promontory from Lancaster and Furness; and which are daily crossed, between half ebb and quarter flood, by great numbers of persons in their way to and from the market