"تاريخ البحرية الهندية. (١٦١٣- ١٨٦٣)." [‎٤‎٨‎٨] (٦٢٢/٥٠٧)

488
HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAYY.
tain Campbell, upon bis promotion to post rank, made over
tbe command of the 6 Coromandel' to Lieutenant Stradling of
tbe ' Semiramis,' bimself assuming command of that ship, to
the 22nd of May, 1858, when he proceeded on shore to Fort
William as Senior Officer in charge of the Indian Naval Bri
gade. he was engaged on an important mission. When the
mutiny of the Bengal Native Army placed in the hands of
the Government many thousands of rebels, the question of
their disposition became one of pressing urgency. Lord Can
ning, accordingly, appointed a Committee to proceed to the
Andaman Islands, and report upon their suitability for a
convict establishment. The Committee consisted of Surgeon
Mouatt, of the Bengal Army, Inspector of Prisons, an officer
of great experience in the management of convicts. Lieutenant
Heathcote, I.N., who was specially entrusted with the hydro-
graphical duties, and Surgeon Playfair.
The 6 Semiramis,' Captain Campbell, sailed with the mem
bers of this Committee on the 23rd of November, 1857, for
the Andamans, and, having visited Port Cornwallis, at the
northern end of the North Island, which the Committee re
jected for its unsuitability, proceeded to Moulmein, where the
4 Pluto,' an iron steamer of light draught, was placed at their
disposal, and Captain Campbell selected twenty well-trained
seamen of his ship, whom he placed under the command of
Mr. Midshipman Cotgrave, to proceed in her as a naval guard.
The 'Pluto' sailed from Moulmein, with the Committee, on
the 9th of December, and arrived in two days at Port Blair,
also called Port Chatham, # situated at the south end of the
South Andaman, a magnificent inlet, or harbour, in which are
the three islands, called Ross, Chatham, and Viper. The
European seamen, and twelve Burmese convicts, used to forest
life, supplied by Colonel Fytche, the Commissioner of Moul
mein, set to work clearing the jungle in Chatham Island, the
spot chosen by the Committee as the best site for the penal
settlement, being the same as was adopted by Lieutenant
Blair,t of the Bombay Marine, the eminent surveyor and first
Governor of the convict settlement established here in the
* Port Chatham, of the charts and Horsburgh's Directory, also known as Old
Harbour and Port Blair, was first called Port Cornwallis (See Yol. I. p. 186),
but this name was subsequently given to the northern harbour, which has since
retained it.
t Speaking of Lieutenant Blair's report on the Andaman islands, laid before the
Marquis Cornwallis in June, 1789, Dr. Mouatt says :—" It not only contained a
minute and accurate account of the survey conducted under the superintendence
of that able and enterprising officer, but it was also illustrated by a chart in
which the situation of the most important localities was distinctly marked,
accompanied with a plan of three harbours. The report merited and obtained
much praise for the clearness with which it was written."—See Dr. Mouatt s
Report published in 1859, in the 25th number of the " Selections from the
Records of the Government of India."