Colinda
According to
this despatch, the barque
Colinda,
owned by Mr. Tomlin of London, was chartered by the
Hudson's Bay Companyin
1853 to carry supplies and new emigrants to Victoria from England. This same despatch
reports that off
the coast of Chile, the passengers of
Colinda incited a mutiny and forced Captain John Powell Mills to
anchor at the Port of Valdivia, and that the passengers were tried at Valparaiso and
acquitted based on lack of evidence. Apparently, they remained in Chile and refused
to continue on under the command of Mills.
This despatch, by Douglas, describes the mutiny. It reports that Mills, who
was also part owner of
Colinda, sold much of the cargo owned by the
Hudson's Bay Company. Moreover,
Mills refused to pay the
HBC in full for the undelivered goods and was arrested upon landing at
Victoria.
Colinda eventually returned to London
under the command of James M. Reid.
Mills's account of the incident can be found in
this private correspondence. He claims that
Governor Douglas seized the
Colinda in the Queens Name
and
converted [the ship] into a brothel for prostitutes and drunkards.
Douglas's response to Mills's
complaints can be found in
this despatch.