Mutiny

Deeply mortified, Admiral Sir Hubert George Brand, Commander-in-Chief of the Plymouth Naval Base, canceled invitations for his daughter's dance last week. A thing had happened which caused the awful word MUTINY to fly from lip to lip throughout England. The incident:

The H. M. S. Lucia, a submarine tender arrived in Devonport (within Sir Hubert's command), 24 hours late, on New Year's day, giving her a very short period in which to coal, ammunition, clean and paint ship before sailing for the Caribbean. No week-end leave was given. Sailors feared that their regular "Christmas leave," already reduced in the submarine flotilla from 15 to 13 days, would be abolished. Sunday morning a detail was piped on deck to finish painting ship.

"In these circumstances," announced the Admiralty, "thirty seamen so far forgot their duties as to remain below and shut themselves in when ordered to parade on deck for duty. ... In consequence, the men were arrested and taken in custody to the naval barracks."

The Admiralty, preferring the phrase "infraction of discipline" to "mutiny," nevertheless immediately ordered a Court of Inquiry.

While the court continued to sit last week, while the mothership Lucia remained disgracefully at anchor, the Atlantic Fleet, including four motherless submarines, steamed off for the West Indies.

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