Fletcher Christian.
Did you not hear him tell me
about his home in Cumberland?
I did not.
Well, did you not
hear him ask my promise...
...that if he did not return, I would
tell his parents what had happened?
I did not.
I swear before God
and before this court...
...that was the content
of my talk with Christian.
It had nothing to do with mutiny.
Captain Bligh, apart from
the conversation you overheard...
...was Mr. Byam's previous conduct
such that you believe him guilty?
Sir, his entire conduct convinces me
that he plotted with Christian.
They were friends before the mutiny.
They remained friends after the mutiny.
When I arrived, the prisoner
could've arrested Christian.
But he allowed him to escape.
On his own admittance.
Yes, but you knew I was trapped
on the island, perhaps for years.
Outnumbered, unarmed.
I gave my word to Christian
not to move against him.
Mr. Byam, if you were loyal
when Christian escaped...
...I should have found you dead.
I have nothing more to ask him.
I can only say again to this court,
I am not guilty of mutiny.
If that is so, why did you not join
your captain when he was cast adrift?
I was below planning a counterattack
to regain the ship from the mutineers.
With whom did you plan the attack?
Sir, with my messmate,
Midshipman Stewart.
Milord...
...Midshipman Stewart died
in the Pandora's boat.
"The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want. "
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
Can't they ever reach a verdict?
I'm that sick of waiting, I could stamp
on a litter of wildcats...
...and never feel a scratch.
Well, what are you looking at?
It ain't Tahiti. It's only Portsmouth.
I thought she might row by in a boat.
Who, the queen?
No, my wife.
Sorry, lad.
Why can't I see her?
My wife, my boy...
...that's all I've come back for.
I knew they'd hang me.
But I've got to see them.
I've got to see them!
Blast these sea captains!
Who made their sea law?
God didn't. The burning killers!
Lad! We're all in the same boat, Tom.
They won't let me see my mother.
Won't you help us now
by holding on?
Yes, sir.
Roger Byam?
Follow me, please.
-Sir Joseph.
-My lad, they've reached a verdict.
-Watch the dirk.
-The dirk?
The midshipman's dirk will be lying
on the table before Lord Hood.
If it lies crosswise,
you've been acquitted.
If the point lies toward you,
you've been condemned.
God be with you.
Thank you, sir.
Prisoner and escort, halt.
Left, hut.
Have you anything to say
before the sentence of this court...
...is passed upon you?
Milord, much as I desire to live,
I'm not afraid to die.
Since I first sailed on the Bounty
four years ago...
...I've known how men can be made
to suffer worse things than death.
Cruelly, beyond duty, beyond necessity.
Captain Bligh, you've told your story
of mutiny on the Bounty.
How men plotted against you,
seized your ship...
...cast you adrift in an open boat.
A great venture in science brought
to nothing. Two British ships lost.
But there's another story,
Captain Bligh...
...of 10 coconuts and two cheeses.
A story of a man who robbed his
seamen, cursed them, flogged them.
Not to punish, but to break their spirit.
A story of greed and tyranny...
...and of anger against it,
of what it cost.
One man, milord,
would not endure such tyranny.
That's why you hounded him. That's
why you hate him, hate his friends.
And that's why you're beaten.
Fletcher Christian's still free.
But Christian lost too, milord.
God knows he's judged himself
more harshly than you could judge him.
I say to his father, he was my friend.
No finer man ever lived.
I don't try to justify his crime,
his mutiny...
...but I condemn the tyranny
that drove him to it.
I don't speak here for myself alone,
but for these men you've condemned.
I speak in their names and Fletcher
Christian's name for all men at sea.
These men don't ask for comfort.
They don't ask for