In consequence of Murray’s services in the Lady Nelson, King appointed him acting lieutenant, and strongly recommended the Admiralty should confirm the appointment.

With the recommendation, Murray sent home, through the governor, the following certificate of his services, which is interesting as showing how such certificates were then written, and because of what came of this particular recommendation:—­

“In pursuance of the directions of Sir Roger Curtis, Bart., Vice-Admiral of the White and Commander-in-chief of His Majesty’s ships and vessels employed and to be employed at the Cape of Good Hope and the seas adjacent, dated the 8th July, 1800.

    “We have examined Mr. John Murray, who appears to be more than 21
    years of age, and has been at sea more than six years in the ships
    and qualities undermentioned, viz.:—­

|Ships.           |Entry.       |Quality.   |Discharge.   |Y.|M.|W.|D.|
|_Duke_      |9 June, 1789 |Able Seaman|2 Dec., 1789 |  |5 |2 |2 |
|_Polyphemus_|10 Oct., 1794|Midshipman |7 May, 1797  |2 |7 |2 |  |
|_Apollo_    |8 May, 1797  |Mate       |27 Dec., 1797|  |8 |1 |3 |
|_Blazer_    |2 Jan., 1798 |2nd Master |             |  |  |  |  |
|                 |             |  and Pilot|26 July, 1798|  |7 |1 |3 |
|_Porpoise_  |7 Oct.,1798  |Mate       |9 July, 1800 |1 |9 |  |  |
|                 |             |           |             |6 |1 |3 |1 |

“He produceth journals kept by himself in the Polyphemus, Apollo, and Porpoise, and certificates from Captains Lumsdine, Manly, and Scott, of his diligence and sobriety.  He can splice knots, reef and sail, work a ship in sailing, and shift his tides, keep a reckoning of the ship’s way by plain sailing and Mercator, observe the sun and stars, and find the variation of the compass, and is qualified to do the duty of an able seaman and midshipman.

    “Given under our hands on His Majesty’s ship Adamant, in
    Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope, this 9th day of July, 1800.

    “J.  Motham, \ Captains of / (Adamant,
    “Thomas Larcom, | His Majesty’s | Lancaster,
    “Roger Curtis, / ships \ Rattlesnake.”

The Secretary to the Admiralty wrote to Governor King on May 5th, 1802, stating that this passing certificate of Mr. Murray’s was “an imposition attempted to be practised in his report of services, and to acquaint you that they will not, in consequence, give him a commission, nor will they allow him to pass for an officer at any future period.”  With this letter came an enclosure showing that by Mr. Murray’s passing certificate “it is set forth that he served in the Duke from the 9th June, 1789, to the 2nd December, 1789, but we must observe that the Duke was not in commission in 1789, neither is he found on her books from the 10th of August, 1790, to 2nd August, 1791, when she was in commission, nor is he born on the Duke while she was in ordinary, which time, even admitting he did belong to her, would not have been allowed towards the regular servitude of six years.”