The first person on board was Mr. Butcher, our contractor, who, finding a British flag hoisted, claimed her as his property. The American Consul being next on board discovered _his_ national flag, on which he hauled down the English and substituted the stars and stripes. However, the Japs, being assured that they, in the absence of the real owner, had the best claim, took advantage of the darkness of night to take an overhand knot in the fly of the stripes and hoisted the Japanese flag: this was considered by the United States Consul a great insult to his nation; hence the excitement. A piece of absurdity in which I did not interfere, except in giving my opinion that the United States Consul had no more right to hoist his flag than our contractor had the English! However, I left them to settle it their own way. [Sidenote: Yokohama, Sept. 2.] At sunset we arrived in Yokohama Bay; found _Ocean_ and _Rattler_. Civil War progressing; the Mikado’s Government in possession. Our Naval Instructors of Japanese could not go on with their work, and not caring to be paid for nothing, tendered their resignations through me to Sir Harry Parkes. This the Japanese gladly accepted, as it enabled them to get rid of the French Military Instructors, who, through their late minister, had shown a decided preference to the Tycoon; besides, their demands for payment were out of proportion to their services. They were angry with the perfidious English for having set the example of not receiving pay for that they did not do. From information we had gained during our northern cruise, it was considered desirable that the Russians should be looked up, to the northward of Yesso, and as this was an affair in which the French minister considered they had an equal interest, the _Rattler_ and _Dupleix_ were told off for that service. The mail from England arrived, bringing me the sad news of my dear friend Rajah Brooke’s death; a final paralytic seizure from which he never rallied. [Sidenote: _Salamis_, Hong Kong, Sept. 24.] We started for Osaka, hurried to Nagasaki, communicated with _Rodney_ at Woosung, went to Shanghai, Amoy, and Hong Kong, arriving there on October 14. Here was stationed the _Princess Charlotte_, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Oliver Jones, an eccentric good fellow, who managed the dockyard and south part of the station; in the hot season he generally came on leave and joined the Commander-in-Chief in the north and cooler parts. The _Princess Charlotte_ was jury-rigged, the same I had seen launched at Portsmouth when the dock broke in September 1825. Jones kept the smaller vessels in a constant move, and I believe outdid his chief in hospitality. He was a good draughtsman as well, fond of sport; later on he ended his days in the hunting field.