ALL ABOUT HOBART PASHA.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1039, 24 October 1877, Page 3

ALL ABOUT HOBART PASHA.

There stands conspicuously, among the crowd of more or less unknown commanders directing the opposing forces ot Russia and Turkey around the shores of the Euxine, a man of English birth —a man of middle height, rather slender in figure, but muscular and lithe, with a clear, keen eye, and the frank and open expression of countenance, indicative of the genuine British “ tar.” That man is Hobart Pasha, otherwise the Hon. Augustus Charles Hobart, third son of the Earl of Buckingham. In the great American war he was on the side of the Confederates. He himself tells the story of Ins exploits graphically in a small volume, entitled “ Never Caught in Blockade running,” issued under the pseudonym of “Captain Roberts,” but in which he records but twelve, instead of eighteen, “runs.” It is needless to say that, considering the extreme watchfulness of the Federal cruisers, manned by crews as patriotic as daring, and which certainly could not have been in the slightest degree inferior, but must have been better than the sailors of a mere “ blockade runner,’, the dozen breaks of “Captain Roberts,” through the iron bound wall of the blockade cannot but rank as splendid successes. Some of the details given by the author of “ Never Caught” furnish an interesting illustration of his character as a naval commander. Describing one ot his exploits, he says : —“ All ■was quiet until about 1 o’clock in the morning, when suddenly to our horror wo found a steamer close alongside of us. How she had got there without our knowledge is mystery

to some even now. However, there she was, and we had hardly seen her before a stentorian voice howled out, ‘ Heave-to in that steamer, or I’ll sink you!’ It seemed as if all was over ; but I determined to try a little ruse before giving the little craft up. So I answered, ‘ Ay, ay, sir ;we are stopped.’ The cruiser was about eighty yards from us. We heard orders given to man and arm the quarter-boats; we saw the boats lowered into the water; we saw them coming ; we heard the crews laughing and cheering at the prospect of their prize; the bowmen had just touched the sides of our vessel with their boathooks when I whispered down the tube into the engine room, ‘Full speed ahead,’ and away we shot into the pitch darkness. I don’t know what happened—whether the captain of the man-of-war thought that, his boats had taken possession and thus did not try to stop us, or whether he stopped to pick up his boats in the rather nasty sea that was running - some one who reads this may know. All 1 can say is that not a shot was fired ; and that in less than a minute the pitch darkness hid the cruiser from our view.” In another passage of his book the captain of the Don tells the following good story : “ Some of the blockade-runners showed great pluck, and stood a lot of pitching into. About sixty-six vessels left England and New York to run the blockade during the four years’ war, of which more than forty were destroyed by their own crews, or captured ; but most of them made several runs before they came to grief, and in so doing paid well for themselves. I once left Bermuda, shortly before the end of the war, in company with four others, and was the only fortunate vessel of the lot. Of the other four, three were run on shore and destroyed by their crews, and one was fairly run down at sea and captured. The “Never Caught” book furnishes much insight into the temper and character of the author. His rare good nature, his thorough seamanlike qualities, his good temper, great ability, and power of command, are depicted almost unconsciously by his pen as he tells his thrilling stories. But even successful blockade running has its drawbacks. That unwelcome guest, yellow fever, came on board the Don, and carried off the men in deadly haste. On reaching Halifax he was taken ill himself with the disease, and on his recovery made up his mind to give up blockade running ‘ ‘ for ever and all.” The game, indeed, was fast drawing to a close.” The “ close” was as follows: “ Having made six round trips in and out of Wilmington in the Don, I handed her over to the chief officer, and went home to England with my spoils. On arriving at Southampton the first thing I saw in the ‘ Times’ was a paragraph headed ‘Capture of the Don.’ Poor little craft.”

His successful blockade running, unexampled in its way, bad brought the commander of the Don not only “spoils,” but fame ; and, soon after his return to England, where in the mean ime he had come to rank as a captain 11. N., he was invited by the late Aali Pasha, whose acquaintance he had made while the latter was Turkish ambassador in London, to come to Constantinople, and give his assistance in the formation of a really efficient Turkish navy. The far-seeing mind of Aali Pasha —a statesman not inaptly called the “ Thiers of Turkey,” he resembling the late President of the French Eepublic both in vivacity of intellect and smallness of bodily stature —clearly apprehended that his country could not long preserve her independence without an entire remodelling of both her administration and her armed forces, particularly the navy. It was with this view that he called his old acquaintance from London, deeming him the best man to be found for superintending the reorganisation of the Turkish navy. Captain Hobart at first obtained no definite position in the service of Turkey, acting merely as a sort of unofficial adviser to the Government, more especially to his friend Aali Pasha. He accompanied the latter to Crete, at the end of September, 1867, to quell the insurrection that had broken out; but though it was reported then in the newspapers that Captain Hobart held a command in the Turkish navy, he himself denied it in an interview with the English Envoy at the beginning of 1868. “ I have seen, wrote the Hon. W, Elliot to Lord Stanley, under date January 4th, 1868, “ Captain Hobart since he returned from Crete a few days ago. He assures me that a reported agreement between himself and the Turkish Government, with a view to the interception of the blockade-runners, is entirely without foundation, and that ho is under no engagement whatever with them. Captain Hobart states himself to be fully aware of the professional risk ho would run by taking employment at present under the Turkish Government, and not to be disposed to encounter it.” However, the resolution of Captain Hobart not to accept a i formal engagement of service under the Turkish Government, bringing with it the “professional risk” of being struck off the British navy list, gave way not many days after. With a blunt frankness, quite characteristic of Captain Hobart, ho told the English Minister that the money temptation was too great to be withstood. In January Captain Hobart wrote directly to the Secretary of the Admiralty, announcing his acceptance of service under the Turkish Government as an accomplished fact. “ May I be allowed,” he said, “at the same time to express a hope that their lordships, should they deem it necessary to remove my name from the list of officers on active service, will be pleased to place me on the reserve list, so that in case of war, I shall be able to serve ?” The quite pathetic appeal of Captain Hobart was was not listened to this time, •and his name was struck off the British navy list in February, 1868. The reinstatement of Hobart Pasha in tins British navy, with the rank of Admiral, which took place in November, 1874, if mainly due to political reasons, must also to some degree be accounted for by his extreme personal popularity. Like few men, the Admiral has literally “ a host of friends.” His house is the “Hue des Postes” at Pera, a commodious mansion with fine oaken staircase, many of the rooms covered with skins of wild beasts, slaughtered by himself, is as well known [to all foreign visitors to Constantinople, as his face is to the very beggars and dervishes in the sewerless, bitter-smelling “Grand Kue do Pera.” Whether on board his swift yacht, where the rule of stern obedience is tempered by fatherly kindness, or at evening parties, where he is the life and joy of all the young people, leading off the swiftest dances with a dash utterly amazing to all who see him for the first time, he is universally the “ bien-aime.” But those who know him best assert that, amidst the gravest of gay scenes in which he is fond to mingle, his mind is unceasingly occupied by the most serious thoughts.