n with the mutineers,
seems rather thin. As to French bribery, the loyal sailors at Spithead
in their address to the Nore mutineers bade them not to be any longer
misled by "French principles and their agents, under whatsoever mask."
It was also reported in August 1798 that the French Government paid an
Irishman, Duckett, to go and _renew_ the mutiny. The officials of the
Home Office believed the London Corresponding Society to be guilty; and
on 16th June one of them, J. K[ing], issued a secret order to two of his
agents at Sheerness to discover whether two members of that society,
named Beck and Galloway, had had dealings with the rebel crews. The
agents, A. Graham and D. Williams, on 24th June sent to the Duke of
Portland the following report, which merits quotation almost in
full:[457]

... Mr. Graham and Mr. Williams beg leave to assure his Grace
that they have unremittingly endeavoured to trace if there was
any connexion or correspondence carried on between the mutineers
and any private person or any society on shore, and they think
they may with the greatest safety pronounce that no such
connexion or correspondence ever did exist. They do not however
mean to say that wicked and designing men have not been among
the mutineers; on the contrary they have proof sufficient to
found a belief upon that several whose mischievous dispositions
would lead them to the farthest corner of the kingdom in hopes
of continuing a disturbance once begun have been in company with
the delegates on shore, and have also (some of them) visited the
ships at the Nore, and by using inflammatory language
endeavoured to spirit on the sailors to a continuance of the
mutiny, without however daring to offer anything like a plan for
the disposal of the fleet or to do more than insinuate that they
were belonging to clubs or societies whose members wished well
to the cause, but from which societies Mr. Graham and Mr.
Williams are persuaded no such persons were ever regularly
deputed. Neither do they believe that any club or society in the
kingdom or any of those persons who may have found means of
introducing themselves to the delegates have in the smallest
degree been able to influence the proceedings of the mutineers,
whose conduct from the beginning seems to have been of a wild
and extravagant nature not reducible to any sort of form or
order