From what I can tell — again using Toohey’s book as a source — the “trial” (for want of a better term) took place on Java and wasn’t an initial investigation.
There was an incident that resulted in several crew members being chained as prisoners and several others asking to make complaints against the captain.
I apologize for being so vague and for not having the book at hand for specific reference.
I would be interested in what you find. It sounds to me like many of the men felt they had been mistreated, but balked at formal charges.
I have to wonder if there was some disincentive for the crew to express their feelings…
“Various discrepent accounts have been preserved concerning the events which took place on Pitcairn during the eighteen years preceeding the visit of the Topaz”
“Each of these accounts is remarkable for its differences from the others.”
“The history of those early years on Pitcairn was tragic… fifteen men and twelve women… were set down on a small island… At the end of a decade, although there were many children, only one man and ten women remained; of the sixteen dead, fifteen had come to violent ends.”