But East Indiamen were just as bad, if not a great deal worse, for it was their frequent practice to arrive in the Downs and sell quantities of tea to the men who came out from Deal in small craft. The commodity could then be kept either for the use of their families and sold to their immediate friends, or sent up to London by the "duffers" in the manner we spoke of in an earlier chapter. In the instances when spirits were smuggled into the country there was usually some arrangement between the publicans and the smugglers for disposing of the stuff. But, you may ask, how did the Deal boatmen manage to get the tea to their homes without being seen by the Customs officers? In the first place it was always difficult to prove that the men really were smugglers, for they would be quite wide-awake enough not to bring obvious bales ashore; and, secondly, the Deal men had such a reputation as desperate characters that no officer, unless he was pretty sure that a smuggling transaction was being carried on and could rely, too, on being well supported by other Customs men and the soldiers, would think of meddling in the matter. But, lastly, the men who came ashore from the East Indiamen had a smart little dodge of their own for concealing the tea.

The accompanying picture is no imaginary instance, but is actually taken from an official document. The figure is supposed to represent one of these Deal boatmen, and the numerals will explain the methods of secreting the tea. (1) Indicates a cotton bag which was made to fit the crown of his hat, and herein could be carried 2 lbs. of tea. He would, of course, have his hat on as he came ashore, and probably it would be a sou'wester, so there would be nothing suspicious in that. (2) Cotton stays or a waistcoat tied round the body. This waistcoat was fitted with plenty of pockets to hold as much as possible. (3) This was a bustle for the lower part of the body and tied on with strings. (4) These were thigh-pieces also tied round and worn underneath the trousers. When all these concealments were filled the man had on his person as much as 30 lbs. of tea, so that he came ashore and smuggled with impunity. And if you multiply these 30 lbs. by several crews of these Deal boats you can guess how much loss to the Revenue the arrival of an East Indiamen in the Downs meant to the Revenue.

Another old dodge, though different in kind, was employed by a smuggling vessel when at sea and being chased towards evening, or on one of those days when the atmosphere is hazy or foggy. To prevent her canvas being a mark against the horizon, the lugger would lower her sail, and her black hull was very difficult to distinguish in the gathering gloom. This happened once when the smuggling cutter Gloire, a vessel of 38 tons burthen belonging to Weymouth, was being chased about midnight in January of 1816 by the Revenue cutter Rose. The smuggler had hoped to have been able to run his goods ashore at Bowen Bottom, Dorset, but the Rose was too smart for him, launched her galley, and seized her with a full cargo of half-ankers.

CHAPTER XIIToC

THE WORK OF THE CUTTERS

If the reader will carry his mind back to 1787 he will recollect that in this year we saw a reformation in the system of the Revenue cruisers, and the practice of employing hired craft was discontinued. This reformed system went on until the year 1816, when a highly important change occurred in the administration of these vessels.

On the 5th of April in that year all the Revenue cruisers which previously had been under the control of the Board of Customs now passed into the hands of the Admiralty. The general object was to adopt more effectual means for putting a stop to the smuggling, and these vessels were of course to be employed in co-operation with the ships of his Majesty's Navy afloat and the Revenue officers on shore. Due notice was accordingly sent from the Customs office informing the commanders of cruisers that they were to place themselves under the orders of the Admiralty in the future. But the cost of these cruisers was still to be borne by the Customs as before.

It may seem a little curious that whereas the Board of Customs had controlled these vessels for about a hundred and fifty years this sudden change should have been made. But, primarily, any customs organisation must belong to the shore. The employment of cruisers was in its origin really an afterthought to prevent the Crown being cheated of its dues. In other words, the service of sloops and cutters was a kind of off-shoot from the service on land. It was only because the smuggling was so daring, because the Crown was so regularly robbed that some means of dealing with these robbers on sea and on even terms had to be devised. But, of course, with the Admiralty the case was quite different. For long centuries that department had to deal with ships and everything therewith connected. Therefore to many it seemed that that department which controlled the Navy should also control that smaller navy comprised by the Revenue cruisers.

At this date we must recollect that the Battle of Waterloo had been won only a few months, that once and for all Napoleon had been crushed and broken, that at last there had come peace and an end of those wars which had seemed interminable. From this return of peace followed two facts. Firstly, the European ports were now opened afresh not merely to honest traders, but to the fleets of smugglers who could go about their work with greater safety, with less fear of being captured by privateers. Thus it was most probable that as the English Channel was now practically a clear sphere there would be a renewed activity on the part of these men. But, secondly, it also followed that the Admiralty, charged no longer with the anxiety and vigilance which a naval war must bring with it, was free to devote its manifold abilities, most especially in respect of organisation, for the benefit of the Revenue department. At one and the same time, then, there was the chance of greater smuggling activity and a more concentrated effort to put down this smuggling.

Furthermore, inasmuch as the wars had ended the Navy needed fewer men. We know how it was in the case of Naval officers, many of whom found themselves unemployed. But it was not less bad for the seamen, many of whom had drifted into the service by the way we have seen—through being captured smuggling and then impressed. Returned once more to their native haunts after long separation, was it likely that having done so much roving, fought so many battles, sailed so many miles, passed through so many exciting incidents that they would quietly take to tilling the fields or gathering the crops? Some, no doubt, did; others applied themselves to some other industries for which they were fitted. But there were very many who went back to the occupation of the smuggler. They had heard the call to sea, and since fishing was in a bad way they must resume running illicit cargoes again. Agriculture and the like have few fascinations for men who have fought and roamed the sea most of their lives. So when some enterprising rascal with enough ready capital came along they were more than prepared to take up the practice once more.

That was how the matter was viewed from their side. But the Government were determined that an evil which had been a great worry for at least a century and a half of English history should be stamped out. The only way was to make the smuggling unprofitable. Inasmuch as these men for the most part made their profits through being able to undersell the fair trader (because there were no Custom duties paid) the most obvious remedy would have been to lower the rates of import duties. But since that was not practicable, the only possible alternative was to increase the dangers and risk to which a smuggler must expose himself.

And instantly the first step, then, must be towards establishing "such a system of discipline and vigilance over the Revenue cruisers and boats as shall give the country the benefit of their constant and active services." These smuggling pests must be sought out, they must never be allowed to escape, to laugh defiantly at the Crown's efforts, and they must be punished severely when captured. It was therefore deemed by the Treasury that there would be a greater efficiency in these cruisers if "put under naval watchfulness and discipline, controlled by such authority as the Department of the Admiralty may think fit."

The change came about as stated, and the Admiralty retained in the service those officers and crews of the Revenue cruisers as by length of service and in other ways had shown that they were fit and efficient. Those, however, who had grown too old for the work were superannuated. Similarly, with regard to the Preventive boatmen, these were also taken over by the Admiralty, but here, again, only those who were capable were accepted, while for the others "some moderate provision" was made.

On the last day of July in that year were sent out the regulations which the Admiralty had drawn up respecting the salaries, wages, victualling, &c., of the Revenue cruisers. These may be summarised as follows, and compared with rates which have been given for previous years. They were sent addressed in each case to the "Commander of His Majesty's Cruiser employed in the prevention of smuggling."

And first as to payment:

The wages of the following persons were to remain the same in all classes, viz.:

Muster books were ordered to be kept regularly, and the sum of 1s. 6d. was allowed to the commander a day for each man borne on the books and actually victualled, to provide for the following proportion of provisions:—1-1/2 lbs. of meat, 1-1/2 lbs. of bread, 1/2 gallon of beer. The commander was also allowed 3s. a day for his own victuals, and a like sum for each of his mates. Allowance was made for a medicine chest to the extent of £3 annually. All expenses of pilotage were to be paid by the Navy, "but the commanders and mates are to make themselves acquainted with the coasts, &c., and no general pilot will be allowed for more than two months after a cruiser's arrival on any new station."

And there is now a notable innovation, which marked the advent of a new age. Instead of the prevailing hempen cables with which these cruisers had been supplied and had been in use for centuries among our ships, these cutters were ordered to be furnished with chain cables "in order that the vessels may have the less occasion for going to a King's Port to refit or make purchases." If a man were injured or became sick whilst in the service so as to need surgical aid, the expense was to be allowed. And in order still further to make the cruisers independent of the shore and able to offer no excuse for running into harbour they were ordered never to proceed to sea without three weeks' provisions and water. As to the widows of mariners, they were to receive £10 per annum.

So much, then, for the new conditions of service in these Revenue craft as undertaken by the Admiralty. Let us now obtain some idea of the duties that were attached to these officers and vessels. The commanders were directed by the Admiralty to make themselves familiar with the Acts of Parliament for the prevention of smuggling, Orders in Council, Proclamations, &c., and to obey the instruction of whatever admiral they were placed under, as also the commanders of any of his Majesty's ships whom they might fall in with "diverting you from the cruise on which you are employed."

Each commander was assigned his own particular station for cruising, and he was never to lie in any harbour, bay, or creek unless by stress of weather or other unavoidable necessity. He was to keep a look-out for vessels of a suspicious appearance, which, in respect of size and build, appeared to be adapted for smuggling. Especially was he to look out for French craft of this description. Having arrested them he was to hand them over to the nearest man-of-war. He was also to keep a smart look-out for the smugglers' practice of sinking goods and afterwards creeping for them. The cruisers were to visit the various creeks and bays; and whenever weather permitted the commander was to send a boat and crew to examine such places at night. And, if necessary, the crew were to remain there until the cruiser came to fetch them back in the morning.

Care was to be taken that the smugglers themselves no less than their craft and goods were to be captured, and the commanders of these cruisers were to co-operate with the Land-guard and keep in close touch with the Riding officers ashore as well as the Sitters of Preventive boats, and to agree upon a code of signals between them, as, for example, by making false fires at night or the hoisting of proper colours in the different parts of the vessel by day, so that the shore officers might be informed of any suspicious vessels on the coast. These cruisers were also to speak with all the ships with which they fell in, and to direct any ships subject to quarantine to proceed to quarantine stations. And if they came across some merchantman or other vessel, which they suspected of smuggling, the cruiser was to accompany such craft into port. And they were enjoined to be particularly careful to guard East India ships to their moorings, or until, the next station having been reached, they could be handed over to the next cruiser.

The commanders of the cruisers were also to be on their guard against the practice in vogue among ships that had been to Holland and France with coals, for these craft were especially prone on their return to putting dutiable goods into light craft from London, or on the coast, but chiefly into cobbles or small fishing craft at sea. And even when it should happen that a cruiser had to be detained in port for repairs, the commander was to spare as many officers and seamen as possible and to employ these in keeping a regular watch on the high grounds near the sea, so as to watch what was passing, and, if necessary, despatch a boat and part of the cruiser's crew. The commanders were reminded that the cruisers were not to wear the colours used in the Royal Navy, but to wear the same ensigns and pendants as provided by the Revenue Board under 24 Geo. III. c. 47, sect. 23.

On a previous page we went into the matter of firing at the smuggling craft with shotted or with unshotted guns. Now among the instructions which were issued by the Admiralty on taking over these Revenue cruisers was the clear order that no officer of a cruiser or boat was justified in shooting at a suspected smuggling vessel until the former shall have first hoisted his pendant and ensign, nor unless a gun shall have been first fired as a signal. The date of this, of course, was 1816. But among the documents preserved at the Swansea Custom House there is an interesting letter dated July 1806, written by the Collector to Mr. Hobhouse, stating that a Mr. Barber, the sailing-master of the Cleveland, had been committed for trial on a charge of wilful murder, he having fired a shot to cause a boat to bring-to and thus killed a man. This, taken in conjunction with the testimony of the Sheerness Coastguard, to which I alluded by anticipation and shall mention again, seems to me fairly conclusive that in practice at least there was no fixed rule as to whether the first gun were shotted or unshotted. At the same time the above quoted instruction from the Admiralty, although loosely worded, would seem to have meant that the first gun was merely to be of the nature of a warning signal and no shot fired in this first instance.

And then, again, among these instructions cropped up the reminder that in times past commanders of cruisers had not been wont to keep the sea in bad weather—a period when the conditions were most favourable for smugglers—but now the Admiralty remarked that if the commander should be deficient in "this most essential part of your duty" he would be superseded. On the west coasts of England and Scotland especially some of the commanders had been accustomed in former years to pass the night in some harbour, bar, or creek instead of cruising on their station and counteracting the designs of the smugglers, "who will always prefer the night time for carrying on his operations." Consequently the Admiralty now strictly charged the commanders to cruise during the night, and no matter of private concern must serve as a pretext for any intermission.

They were also to maintain a regular communication with the commander of any other vessel with which they had been instructed to cruise in concert. And cruisers were to be furnished with the laws relative to smuggling and not to exceed the powers vested in the commanders by law. As to any un-Customed or prohibited goods these were to be secured in the King's Warehouse at the next port, and care was to be taken that these goods remained undamaged or pilfered by the crew. And after the goods had been thus put ashore both the commander and mate were carefully to search the smuggling vessel, the boxes, and bedding of her crew to see if anything had been kept back.

Whenever a vessel was seized at sea precautions must be taken to ascertain the distance from the shore "by causing two points of land to be set, and the bearings thereof to be noted by two or more of your officers and mariners who are acquainted with those points of land, so that each of them may be in condition to swear to the bearings from the note taken by him at the time, to be produced by him upon the trial of the vessels."

Any papers found on board the smuggling craft were immediately to be initialled by the persons present, and no cruiser or any of her boats should be employed in carrying passengers or pleasure parties. The commander and mate were to keep separate journals of all the proceedings of the cruiser relating to wind and weather, bearings, and distances from the land, soundings, &c., every twenty-four hours so that the admiral could tell whether the cruisers had used every exertion to suppress smuggling, or had been negligent and slack in their duties. For this purpose the twenty-four hours were divided into three parts thus:—Midnight to 8 A.M., 8 A.M. to 4 P.M., and 4 P.M. to midnight. In each of these three divisions the commander was to fix his position by cross-bearings and soundings if in less than 30 fathoms. This was to be done a little before sunrise, at noon, and a little before sunset, provided that if the land were not seen or the cruiser be chasing a vessel, this fact was to be noted in the journal, and the bearings and soundings were to be taken whenever the land should be seen. An exact copy of this journal was to be sent after the end of each month to the admiral under whose command the cruiser happened to be placed.

The table on p. 228 is an example of the journal of one of these craft, and will show instantly the kind of record which was kept.

On the 1st of January, 1817, the Preventive boats were put under the control of Captain Hanchett, R.N., who was known as the Controller-General of the Preventive Boat Service. There was an effort made also in this department to obtain increased efficiency. And the following articles were ordered to be supplied to each Preventive boat:—one small flat cask to hold two gallons of fresh water, one small water-tight harness cask to hold provisions, one chest of arms and ammunition, one Custom House Jack, two "spying-glasses" (one for the watch-house, the other for the boat), one small bucket for baling, one "wall piece," forty rounds of cartridges, thirty muskets or carbines, preference being given to carbines with musket-ball bore where new ones are to be purchased, twenty light pistols, balls in proportion to the above, bayonets, cutlasses, pouches, tucks, small hand hatchets for cutting away rigging, musket flints, pistol flints, a set of implements for cleaning arms, a set of rummaging tools, and a dark "lanthorn." With this full inventory these open, oared boats could go about their work for long spells in bays, up creeks and estuaries, on the prowl for the smugglers by night.

Journal of His Majesty's Revenue Cruiser the "Vigilant," John Smith, Commander,
for the Month of July 18—

Whenever any vessels were seized and condemned a full, descriptive account was sent to London regarding their size, breadth, depth, burthen, age, where built, draught, scantlings, the nature of the wood, how fastened, whether the craft appeared strained, how many guns she carried, what was the probable expense of having her refitted, how long she would last when this had been done, whether she had the reputation for rowing or sailing quickly, and what was her value. If it was recognised that she was a serviceable vessel she was not to be destroyed but employed in the Preventive service.

Among the names of the Revenue cutters about this time were the Scorpion, Enchantress, Jacobus, and Rattlesnake. There was a good deal of smuggling now going on in Essex, and the last-mentioned was employed to watch the river Blackwater in that district. Lieutenant Neame, R.N., was also ordered to proceed to the Blackwater with the lugger Fortune, and arrived there to take charge of the Rattlesnake. This was in September 1818; and here let us remark that although the Preventive Water-guard originally had charge of the whole coast of England, yet a few months before the above date—it occurred actually in July 1817—the staff between the North and South Forelands was withdrawn, and this part of the coast was placed under the charge of the Coast Blockade. Under the arrangement of 1816, when the cruisers had been put under the care of the Admiralty, the Preventive Waterguard had come under the authority of the Treasury, but now, in 1817, came the change mentioned. Towards the close of 1818 this Coast Blockade, instead of being confined merely to that coast between the two Forelands, was extended till it reached on the one side Shellness by the mouth of the East Swale, and on the other right away down Channel to Cuckmere Haven (between Newhaven and Beachy Head).

The history of this change may be summed up as follows. It was suggested in the year 1816 by Captain M'Culloch of H.M.S. Ganymede (which was one of the vessels employed in the prevention of smuggling between Dungeness and North Foreland) that it would be advantageous to land the crews of the vessels employed on the cruisers and Naval ships engaged in preventing smuggling. The men were to be put ashore every day just after sunset and so form a guard along the coast during the night. In the morning, just before sunrise, the men were to be put on board their ships once more. So the experiment was tried and was found to be so successful that this method of guarding the coast was adopted by a Treasury Minute of June 19, 1817. The district between the Forelands was assigned to Captain M'Culloch, who had with him the officers and crew of H.M.S. Severn. Those boats and men which had belonged to the Preventive service stationed between the Forelands were withdrawn, and the entire protection of this district was left to Captain M'Culloch's force. This was known as the Coast Blockade, and was afterwards extended as just mentioned to Sheppey and Seaford.

If we may anticipate for a moment in order to preserve continuity, let us add that in the year 1821 this span of coast was divided into three, each division being subdivided into four districts. The divisions were under the superintendence of a senior lieutenant, a midshipman, one petty officer of the first class and one of the second. The districts, on the other hand, were under the superintendence of a junior lieutenant. The men were divided into parties of ten, each party having about a mile of coastline, and guard-houses were established along the coast at a distance of about every four miles. The seamen volunteered into the service, and, if found effective, of good character, but had no relatives in the neighbourhood, they were accepted. The object of this last condition was to prevent their showing any sympathy with the smugglers of the district. These men undertook to serve for three years, and for payment of wages they were borne on the books of any of his Majesty's ships.

We can thus see how gradually the influence of the Admiralty had been exerted over the Preventive work which had been carried on by the Customs. There are then three steps. First in assisting the Revenue cruisers, and, lastly, by taking charge of the Land-guard. The proof of the wisdom of this change was seen in results, for the Revenue derived better protection because of the Admiralty influence. There was better discipline, greater activity, and a smarter look-out was kept. Thus it came about that in that very south-eastern district which had been for so long a time notorious for its nefarious trade, the smugglers found their calling a very difficult one. And both these changes in respect of cruisers and Land-guard had been made certainly not with the enthusiastic support of the Board of Customs, who had indeed expressed their doubts as to whether such a transformation were prudent.

Some idea of the number of his Majesty's ships and vessels which were employed in the prevention of smuggling in the year 1819 may be gathered from the following list. It should, however, be mentioned that these did not include the numbers of Custom House cruisers which the Admiralty had begun to control, but were actually the Naval ships which aided those of the Revenue:—

Plymouth supplied 10 ships and 4 tenders
Portsmouth supplied 8 ships and 3 tenders
Sheerness supplied 8 ships and 2 tenders
Leith supplied 7 ships and 1 tender
Ireland supplied 12 ships and 1 tender

at a total cost of £245,519. But it should also be borne in mind that these ships of the Navy, or at any rate by far the greater number of them, would have been in commission whether employed or not in the prevention of smuggling, and in certain cases these ships were employed in the Preventive service for only a part of the year. Without the Revenue cutters the Navy could not possibly have dealt with the smugglers, and this was actually admitted in a Treasury Minute of January 15, 1822. The total number of Revenue cruisers employed in Great Britain and Ireland during the year 1819, as distinct from the ships of the Royal Navy, amounted to 69. The following year this number had increased to 70. These were apportioned thus:—

To sum up then with regard to the Preventive Water-guard, let us state that this had been constituted in 1809 to supplement the efforts of the cruisers and Riding officers, the coast of England and Wales being divided into three parts, and placed under the control of Inspecting Commanders. Under this arrangement were included the Revenue cruisers themselves. Then in 1816 the Admiralty had taken over these cruisers from the Preventive Water-guard, and the following year the Coast Blockade had taken over that portion of the coast between the Forelands, to be extended in 1818 to Shellness and Seaford respectively.

The sphere of activity on the part of the Preventive Water-guard was thus by the year 1819 considerably curtailed, and from the instructions which were now issued to the Inspecting Commanders we can see how the rest of the coastline other than that section just considered was dealt with. Each station consisted of one chief officer, one chief boatman, two commissioned boatmen, and four established boatmen. There was a six-oared boat with her rudder and wash-boards—"wash-streaks" they are officially called—a five-fathom rope as a light painter, eight good ash oars, two boat-hooks. She was a sailing craft, for she was provided with a fore-mast, main-mast, and mizzen-mast, with "haul-yards," travellers, down-hauls, sheets, &c. Her canvas consisted of foresail, mainsail, and mizzen with a yard for each. She carried also a jib, the casks for water and provisions, a boat's "bittacle" (= binnacle), with compass and lamp. She was further furnished with a couple of creeping irons for getting up the smugglers' kegs, a grapnel, a chest of arms and ammunition, the Custom House Jack and spy-glass as already mentioned.

This vessel was rigged as a three-masted lugger with a jib. There is no mention of a bowsprit, so either one of the oars or a boat-hook would have to be employed for that purpose. In addition to this larger boat there was also on the station a light four-oared gig fitted with mast, yard (or "spreet"), a 7 lb. hand lead, 20 fathoms of line for the latter, as well as ballast bags to fill with stones or sand. If the established crews were inadequate during emergency extra men could be hired. The boats were painted twice a year, but "always to be completed before the bad weather sets in, and the colours to be assimilated as near as possible to those used by the natives and smugglers which frequent the coast which are least conspicuous."

If any of the established boatmen intermarried with families of notorious smugglers the Inspecting Commander was to send information to the Controller-General. Furthermore, no one was to be appointed to any station within twenty miles of his place of birth or within twenty miles of the place where he had resided for six months previous to this appointment.

The name, colour, rig, and other description of any vessel about to depart on a smuggling trip or expected to arrive with contraband goods on the coast were to be given by the Inspecting Commander both to the admirals commanding the men-of-war off the coast in that neighbourhood, to the captains and commanders of any men-of-war or Revenue cruisers, and also to the Inspecting Commander of the Preventive Water-guard on either side of him. And in order to keep the men up to their duties the Preventive stations were to be inspected often, and at certain times by day and night. The Inspecting Commanders were to perform their journeys on horseback and to proceed as much as possible by the sea-coast, so as to become well acquainted with the places where the smugglers resort.

The officers and boatmen were ordered to reside as near their duty as possible and not to lodge in the houses of notorious smugglers. Officers and men were also to be private owners of no boats nor of shares in public-houses or fishing-craft. The Inspecting Commanders were to report the nature of the coast, the time, the manner, and the method in respect of the smuggling generally carried on in the district. If there were any shoals or rocks, not generally laid down or known, discovered when sounding to possess a different depth of water, or if anything should occur which might be useful for navigating the coasts of the kingdom, then cross bearings were to be taken and noted. These men were also to render every assistance in case of wrecks and to prevent goods being smuggled therefrom into the country. If any of these Preventive boatmen were wounded in fighting with a smuggler they were to be paid full wages for twenty-eight days or longer, and a reasonable surgeon's bill would be also paid.

And to prevent any possible excuse for discontinuing a chase, the boat was never to leave the beach without the two-gallon keg of fresh water. And to prevent any obvious possibility, this boat was never to be left by day or night without one of the boat's crew to guard it. The latter was always to have ready some sort of floating buoy, "loaded at one end and a piece of bunting at the other," for marking the place where goods might be thrown overboard in a chase. The Inspecting Commanders were also to be on their guard against false information, which was often given to divert their attention from the real place where the smuggling was occurring.

"As night is the time when smugglers generally run their cargoes, it is expected that the boat, or her crew, or the greater part of them will be out, either afloat or on land, as often as circumstances will permit, which must be, at least, five nights a week." They were ordered generally to co-operate with the Revenue cruisers and to keep a journal of all proceedings. When out at night time they were to have a candle and "lanthorn" in the boat as well as the boat's "bittacle," and not to rummage a vessel without the candle being carefully secured in the lanthorn to prevent accident by fire. All suspicious ships were to be rummaged, and whenever the weather would not permit of the boat keeping the sea, the crew and Inspecting Commander were to keep a look-out by land. Even as late as 1819, when the great wars had come to an end, it was found that the transfer of smugglers to the Navy had continued to be the most effectual means of protecting the Revenue. The sum of £20 was granted for each smuggler taken, and this was paid to the individual or individuals by whom or through whose means the smuggler was absolutely secured, and it was not to be paid to the crew in general. But when chasing a smuggling craft, whether by night or day, they were not to fire at the delinquents until the Custom House Jack had been displayed. The salary of each Inspecting Commander, it may be added, was now £200 per annum and £60 for the first cost and upkeep of an able horse.

CHAPTER XIIIToC

THE PERIOD OF INGENUITY

Just as there had been a great improvement in the reorganisation brought about by the advent of the Coast Blockade, so the Preventive service on shore generally was smartened up. That this was so is clear from the existing correspondence. For instance, five more Preventive boats were to be stationed between Shellness and Southwold, and three between Cuckmere Haven and Hayling Island; another boat was sent to Newton (Yorkshire), another to Dawlish (Devonshire), and another to Happisburgh (Norfolk) or, as it was then spelt, Hephisburg.

Some idea of the activity of the cruisers may be seen from the number of smugglers which these craft had been able to capture. The reader will recollect that during the year ending October 1, 1810, the highest number of smugglers handed over to the Navy was thirteen, and this was done by Captain Gunthorpe of the Excise cutter Viper. He thus became entitled to the sum of £500. It will be remembered also that it was afterwards decided that, beginning in 1812, £500 would be paid only if the number captured was not less than twenty. But now from a Treasury Minute of October 20, 1818, we find that, although the former number of captures was over thirteen, it was just under twenty. And, here again, Captain Matthew Gunthorpe, this time commanding the Excise cutter Vigilant, and Captain Robert Hepburn of the Excise cutter Regent, in the year 1816 seized nineteen smugglers each, or a total of thirty-eight. As neither captain had reached the twenty and both were equal, it was decided to add the second and third rewards together (i.e. £300 plus £200) and to give £250 to Captain Gunthorpe, officers and crew, and £250 to Captain Hepburn, officers and crew. And there is on record at this time a memorial from one W. Blake, the son of W. Blake, senior. The last-mentioned had been commander of the cutter Nimble, but was drowned in 1816. His son now prayed for the reward of £300 to be paid to the family of the deceased, as he had captured sixteen smugglers.

After the Admiralty had taken over the Revenue cruisers they did not neglect to sanction a pension system, and the following scheme was embraced:—Commanders of cruisers on retiring were to have from £91, 5s. to £155, 2s. 6d. per annum, according to their length of service; and for any wound received they were to have an additional £91, 5s. per annum. First mates were pensioned after five years' service at the rate of £35 a year, but after thirty years' service they were to have £85 a year as pension. And so it was arranged for all ratings down to the boys. The widow of a commander killed or drowned in the service was allowed £65 a year.

And now that we are in that period after the year 1815 we must not fail to bear in mind that this is the epoch when the smugglers were using ingenuity in preference to force. The busiest part had yet to come and did not occur till the third decade of the nineteenth century. But even from the time of the Battle of Waterloo until, say, about 1825 there were ten years in which the smugglers left no device untried which they could conceive to enable them to outdo the Revenue authorities. And we may now proceed to give actual instances of these ingenious attempts.

We begin with the early part of 1816. At this time the Tide-Surveyor at one of the out-ports had reason to suspect that the French market-boats which used to sail across to England were in the habit of bringing also a good deal of silks and other prohibited goods. At last he went on board one of these craft and immediately after she had arrived he caused the whole of her cargo to be put ashore. He then searched her thoroughly from deck to keelson, but he found nothing at all. However, he was determined not to give up his quest, and had part of her ceiling examined minutely, and was then surprised to note that some fresh nails had apparently been driven. He therefore caused the ceiling to be ripped off, when he discovered that a large variety of contraband goods had been neatly stowed between the ship's timbers.

It was only a few months later in that same year that another Revenue officer boarded a Dutch schuyt which was bound from Amsterdam to London. Her cargo consisted of 500 bundles of bulrushes, but on making his examination these innocent articles were found to conceal between the rushes forty-five boxes of glass in illegal packages, and also some other prohibited goods which had been shipped from the United Kingdom for exportation and were intended to have been again clandestinely relanded.

The reader will remember our mentioning the name of Captain M'Culloch just now in connection with the Coast Blockade. Writing on the 2nd of April, 1817, from on board H.M.S. Ganymede lying in the Downs, this gallant officer stated that, although it was known that the smugglers had constructed places ashore for the concealment of contraband goods under the Sand Hills near to No. 1 and No. 2 batteries at Deal, yet these hiding-places were so ingeniously formed that they had baffled the most rigid search. However, his plan of landing crews from his Majesty's ships to guard this district (in the manner previously described) had already begun to show good results. For two midshipmen, named respectively Peate and Newton, commanding the shore parties in that neighbourhood, had succeeded in locating five of those places of concealment.

"This discovery," continued the despatch, "I am assured will be a most severe blow to the smugglers, as they were enabled to remove their cargoes into them in a few minutes, and hitherto no person besides themselves could form any idea of the manner in which their store-holes were built. They are generally 4 feet deep, of a square form and built of a 2-inch plank, with the scuttle in the top, into which a trough filled with shingle is fitted instead of a cover to prevent their being found out by pricking; and I understand they were built above two years ago. I have ordered them to be destroyed, and parties are employed in searching for such concealments along the other parts of the beach." Thus, thanks to the Navy, the smugglers had been given a serious repulse in the most notorious district.

Then there was also the danger of collusive smuggling. For instance, when a smuggler had been frustrated from successfully landing a cargo of spirits from a small foreign vessel or boat he might go and give information to a Custom officer so that he might have the goods seized by the latter, the arrangement being that the smuggler should be paid a fair portion of the reward which the officer should receive for the seizure. Inasmuch as the officers' rewards were by no means inconsiderable this method might fully indemnify the smuggler against any loss.

Just before Christmas of 1819 the Custom officers at Weymouth seized on board a vessel named The Three Brothers sixteen half-ankers and seven small kegs or flaggons of foreign spirits. These were found to be concealed under a platform of about nine feet in length fitted on either side of the keelson, and of sufficient height for one cask. Its breadth was such as to allow of two casks and a flaggon. When full this secret hiding-place would contain about thirty casks in all. The whole concealment was covered with stone and iron ballast. The platform was fitted with false bulkheads and filled up with large stones so as to avoid suspicion, the entrance to which was made (after removal of the ballast) from the bottom of the forecastle through two bulkheads about two feet apart.

Another instance was that of a consignment of four cases which had come over from France. These cases contained plaster figures and appeared to be hollow. However, the Custom officers had their suspicions and decided to perforate the plaster at the bottom with an auger. After making still larger holes there were extracted from inside the following amazing list of articles:—Two clock movements, six pieces of bronze, thirty-two pieces of porcelain, and two small paintings.

A certain other French craft was boarded by the Revenue officers who, on measuring her range of deck and also under it including the bulkheads, found a greater difference than the rake would fairly account for. They were naturally highly suspicious and proceeded to take down part of the bulkhead aft, when they discovered that this bulkhead was not single but double, being between the cabin and the hold. This bulkhead was made of solid oak planking and was 2 feet 10 inches thick. It was securely nailed, and the cavity thus made extended from one side of the hull to the other, giving a breadth of 7 feet 2 inches, its length being about 2 feet 2 inches, and the height 3 feet 6 inches. It will thus be readily imagined that a good quantity of spirits, wine, and plums from France could easily therein be contained and brought ashore when opportunity presented itself.

At another port a vessel was actually discovered to have false bows. One might wonder how it was that the officer ever found this out, but he was smart enough to measure the deck on the port side, after which he measured the ship below. He found a difference of over a foot, and so he undertook a thorough search of the ship. He first proceeded to investigate the forepeak, but he was unable to discover any entrance. He therefore went to the hold, examined the bulkhead, and observed that the nails of the cleats on the starboard side had been drawn. He proceeded to force off the cleats, whereupon one of the boards of the bulkhead fell down, and a quantity of East India silk handkerchiefs came tumbling out. Needless to say, this proved a serious matter for the vessel's skipper.

Sometimes too, cases used to come over from France containing carton boxes of artificial flowers. These boxes, it was found, were fitted with false bottoms affording a space of not more than a quarter of an inch between the real bottom and the false. But into this space was squeezed either a silk gauze dress or some parcels "very nicely stitched in," containing dressed ostrich feathers. The flowers were usually stitched down to the bottom of the boxes to prevent damage, so it was difficult to detect that there was any false bottom at all. However, after this practice had been in vogue for some time it was discovered by the Revenue officers and the matter made generally known among the officials at all the ports, so that they could be on the alert for such ingenuity.

Sometimes when a Revenue officer was on her station she would come across a sailing craft, which would be found to have quite a considerable number of spirits in small casks together with a number of other prohibited goods. If the master of such a craft were told by the cruiser's officer that they would have to be seized as they were evidently about to be smuggled, the master would reply that they were nothing of the kind, but that whilst they were on the fishing grounds working their nets they happened to bring these casks up from the sinkers and warp which had kept them below water; or they had found these casks floating on the sea, and had no doubt been either lost or intentionally thrown overboard by some smuggling vessel while being chased by a Revenue cruiser. It became a very difficult matter to ascertain under such circumstances whether the master were speaking the truth or the reverse, for it was not altogether rare for the kegs to be picked up by fishermen in the manner indicated. So the only way out of this dilemma was for the commanders of the cruisers to bring such craft as the above to the nearest Custom House, where the master could be brought ashore and subjected to a cross-examination as to where they found these casks and what they proposed doing with them.

A seizure was made at Deal about the year 1818 consisting of thirty-three packages of China crape and silk. These had been very artfully concealed in the ballast bags of a lugger called the Fame, belonging to London. One package was found in each bag completely covered up with shingles or small stones, so that even if a suspicious officer were to feel the outside of these bags he would be inclined to believe that they contained nothing but ballast, and if he opened them he would think there was nothing else but stones, for the goods were carefully squeezed into the centre of the bags and surrounded with a good thickness of shingle. Another dodge which was discovered at Shoreham on a vessel which had come from Dieppe was to have the iron ballast cast in such a form that it was not solid but hollow inside. By this means a good deal of dutiable stuff could be put inside the iron and then sealed up again. There was a ship, also, named the Isis, of Rye, which fell into disgrace in endeavouring to cheat the Customs. She was a smack of 26-16/94 tons burthen, her master being William Boxhall. It was while she was lying at her home port that one of the Revenue officers discovered a concealment under her ballast, the entrance to which was obtained by unshipping two bulkhead boards forward. There was one concealment on each side of the keel, and each contained enough space to hold from twenty to twenty-four ankers of spirits.

Along the Kentish coast a good deal of smuggling used to go on by means of galleys which were rowed by six, ten, and even twelve oars. As these were navigated by foreigners and sailed under foreign papers, the Customs officers were a little puzzled as to what exactly could be done. Could such craft be seized even when found with no cargoes on board, when they were either hauled up the beach or were discovered hovering off the coast? After applying to the Board of Customs for guidance they were referred to the Act,[19] which provided that any boat, wherry, pinnace, barge, or galley that was built so as to row with more than four oars, if found within the counties of Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, or Essex, or on the river Thames, or within the limits of the Port of London, Sandwich, or Ipswich, or the creeks thereto belonging, should be forfeited together with her tackle. The object of this was clearly to prevent the shortest cross-Channel route being traversed from Holland or France by big, seaworthy but open, multiple-oared craft, with enough men to row them and enough space to carry cargo that would make the smuggling journey worth while.

The following fraud was detected at one of the out-ports in 1819. An entry had been made of twenty-seven barrels of pitch which had been imported in a ship from Dantzic. But the Revenue officers discovered that these casks were peculiarly constructed. Externally each cask resembled an ordinary tar-barrel. But inside there was enclosed another cask properly made to fit. Between the cask and the outside barrel pitch had been run in at the bung so that the enclosure appeared at first to be one solid body of pitch. But after the affair was properly looked into it was found that the inner cask was filled with such dutiable articles as plate glass and East India china.

Sometimes tubs of spirits were packed up in sacks and packs of wool and thus conveyed from the coast into the interior of the country; and in the seizing of some goods at Guernsey it was found that tea had been packed into cases to resemble packages of wine which had come out of a French vessel belonging to St. Malo. Nor was the owner of a certain boat found at Folkestone any novice at this high-class art. Of course those were the days when keels of iron and lead were not so popular as they are to-day, but inside ballast was almost universal, being a relic of the mediæval days when so much valuable inside space was wasted in ships. In this Folkestone boat half-a-dozen large stones were used as ballast, which was a very natural thing for such a craft. But when these stones came to be examined they were found to have been hollowed out and to have been fitted with tin cases which were filled with spirits. One cannot acquit the owner of any fraudulent intent, but one certainly can admire both his ingenuity and the great patience which must have been necessary to have hollowed a cavity from such an unyielding material as stone. This was equalled only by the cargo from Guernsey. Four sacks said to contain potatoes from the Channel Isles were opened by the Revenue officers at a certain port, and, on being examined, it was found that these were not potatoes at all. They were so many rolls of tobacco which had been fashioned to resemble the size and form of the vegetable, and then covered artfully over with a thin skin and finally clayed over so cleverly that they had every appearance of the potatoes they pretended to be.

But the Channel Isles were still notorious. In twelve sacks of flour imported from Jersey were found hidden in the middle twelve bales of tobacco weighing 28 lbs. each. A few weeks later three boxes of prunes also from Jersey were opened, when it was discovered that the prunes were not more than three inches deep at the top and three inches deep at the bottom. But between there was a space in which were concealed—in each box—a paper parcel of silk, some scarves and gloves, &c. But in order to make the total weight of the box approximate to that which would have existed had it been full of prunes a square piece of lead was placed above and another underneath these dutiable articles.

But to me the most ingenious method of all was that which was employed in 1820 for smuggling tobacco. The offending ship was one of the vessels employed in the transport service, and the man who thought of the device was not far from being a genius. He first of all obtained the quantity of tobacco which he proposed—no doubt with the assistance of more than one confederate—to smuggle ashore. He then proceeded to divide this into two, each of which formed one strand. Afterwards he made these strands into a rope, every bit of it being tobacco. But then he took a three-strand hawser and laid this over the tobacco, so that when the hawser was finished no one could suspect the tobacco without first cutting or unlaying the rope. I have not been able to discover how this trick was ever suspected. Nothing less than an accident or the information of a spy could possibly lead to detection in such a clever case.

There were all sorts of varieties of concealments now practised since the "scientific" period of smuggling had come in. And since those wicked old days have passed, and with them a good many of the old-fashioned types of craft, it may be well that examples of these misdirected efforts should be collected herewith. There was a smack, for instance, which was found to have under her ballast a large trunk that was divided into four separate compartments each about 15 feet long and could contain twelve half-ankers. One end of the trunk was fixed against the bulkhead of the cabin, and extended the whole length of the hold opening at the forward end close to the keelson by unshipping two pieces of the bulkhead.

Another instance of the employment of false bows to a craft was found on searching the fishing smack Flower, of Rye, whose master's name was William Head. It was observed that this false section would hold as much as forty to fifty half-ankers, the entrance being on the port side of the false bow, where a square piece took out, being fastened by a couple of screws, the heads of which were concealed by wooden bungs imitating treenails. The Flower was further discovered to have a false stern, the entrance to this being by means of the upper board of this stern on the port side in the cabin. She was a vessel 39 feet 2-1/2 inches long, 12 feet 1-1/2 inches beam, 5 feet 9-1/2 inches deep, and of 23-1/2 tons burthen, being fitted with a standing bowsprit and sloop-rigged. An almost identical set of concealments was found in the smack Albion at Sandwich, a vessel of over 42 tons burthen. The entrance to her false stern was through a small locker on the port and starboard sides. She was further fitted with a false stern-post and false timbers.

A considerable amount of ingenuity must have been exercised in the case of an open four-oared boat which was seized at Dover together with twelve ankers of spirits. The device was as follows:—Across the bow end of the boat was the usual thwart on which an oarsman sat. At the after end where the stroke sat was another thwart. Under each of these thwarts was an ordinary stanchion for supporting the thwart. But each of these two stanchions had been made hollow. Thus, through each a rope could be inserted, and inasmuch as the keel had also been pierced it was possible to pass one rope through at the bow-thwart and another at the stern-thwart, these ropes penetrating the boat from thwart to keel. The inboard ends of these two ropes were carelessly lashed round the thwarts or covered with gear, so there was no untoward appearance. But at the other ends of the ropes were fastened the twelve ankers, which were thus towed along under the keel of the craft, and not trailing out astern as was sometimes done in the case of bigger boats. Thus because the whole body of the boat covered the floating casks it was very unlikely that their presence would be suspected.

The smack Strawberry of Deal, on being searched, was found to have a false bottom, capable of containing a considerable quantity of goods. This bottom was constructed by two leaden cases fixed on the timbers the whole length of the hold, one on each side of the keelson, and ceiled over with the usual ceiling, having the ballast placed over it. The cases opened on each side of the hold by taking out a plank from the temporary ceiling. In the case of the lugger Fox (as usual belonging to Rye), a vessel over 16 tons, John Souden, master, there were found to be double bottoms underneath the bed cabins, the entrance being made from underneath the cabins, and then unshipping a small piece of board about a foot square, each concealment being able to hold from fifty to sixty pieces of bandana silks.

Another smuggling device in vogue during this ingenious period had to be employed in such places as Ramsgate harbour, where it would have been utterly impossible to have employed ordinary methods. It resembled very much the method employed at Dover, mentioned just now. A rowing-boat would come into the harbour, apparently with nothing in her nor anything towing astern. But there were fifteen or so half-ankers underneath her hull, spirits of course being contained in these casks. Now the latter were all fastened to a long iron bar, the ropes to the boat being fastened to this bar. Consequently, after the boat had reached her corner of Ramsgate harbour, all she had to do was to let go the ropes and the iron bar would keep the kegs on the sandy bottom and prevent them from disclosing their identity by floating. At low water the smugglers could have gone to get them up again, for they would not move far even with the ebb tide. Unfortunately, however, the Revenue Tide Surveyor at this port preceded the smugglers, and by creeping for the bar and tubs with grapnels succeeded in locating what he wanted.

On another occasion at one of the out-ports, or rather along the neighbouring beach, thirty-three gallons of spirits, contained in nineteen small casks, were recovered in a startling manner. Going along the beach were noticed among the chalk rocks and stones of the neighbourhood some other objects. These were the casks, but they had been so cleverly covered over with a cement of chalk, to which was fastened seaweed in the most natural manner, that seeing them there among the rocks of the shore they would never have been discovered by the Revenue men, had not it been (as one may guess) for a hint given by an informer. Otherwise there they would have remained until the smugglers found it convenient to come and fetch them.

We called attention just now to the concealing of tobacco in rope. This device evidently became a fine art, and had succeeded on many an occasion. At any rate in Flushing tobacco was openly on sale in the shops ready for smuggling into England already made up into ropes. You could get anything as big as a hawser and as small as a sail-tyer done up so ingeniously as to deceive almost any one. In fact on washing these slightly with a little rum they had every appearance of hempen rope.