at Captain
Spry should never tread my quarter-deck as flag captain, and that if my
privilege as an admiral were not admitted, the Government might consider
my command as at an end, for so long as I continued in command of the
squadron, I would not permit an executor of my orders to be forced upon
me. The point was immediately conceded, and Captain Crosbie was
appointed flag captain.

The nomination of Spry was, no doubt, meant to control my efforts in the
future expedition to Peru, the credit of which, if any, was to be
reserved for the army. As far as I knew anything of Captain Spry, I had
no personal objections to him, but, restricted as I had been by the
Minister of Marine Zenteno, I had great doubts as to the motives for
appointments of his making, being convinced that his principal aim was
to prevent me from doing anything beyond keeping the Spaniards in check,
an operation to which I was by no means inclined to accede, as had been
evinced by the recent conquest of Valdivia, in excess of his
instructions.

Encouraged by the annoyance given to me by the Minister of Marine and
his party, one or two of my captains thought themselves at liberty to
manifest a disregard to my authority, which, as their admiral, I did not
choose to tolerate. The most influential of these was Captain Guise,
who, having been guilty of several acts of direct disobedience and
neglect of duty, was, by my orders, put in arrest, pending a demand made
by me that the Government should institute a court martial for the
investigation of his conduct. This act greatly irritated Zenteno, who
desired to support him, and refused consent to the inquiry; thus
establishing a precedent for the captain of any ship to consider himself
independent of the admiral.

Such an act of folly in violation of the discipline of the navy, no less
than of personal insult to myself, determined me to have nothing more to
do with the Chilian administration, and on July 16th, I once more
transmitted to the Government my resignation, at the same time demanding
my passport to quit the country, notifying to the officers of the
squadron that on the receipt of the same I should cease to command. A
meeting was immediately held amongst them, and on the same day, I
received--not a valedictory address, as might have been expected--but
two letters, one signed by five captains, and the other by twenty-three
commissioned officers, containing resolutions of abandoning the service
also,