☞ It is submitted, that a statute ought to be framed, declaring it Felony, punishable by seven years' transportation: 1st. For any person to make or manufacture any piece of Copper or other metal, with or without any device whatsoever, with an intent that it shall pass as the Copper Monies of the Kingdoms of Great Britain or Ireland. 2nd. For any smith, engraver, founder, &c. or any person, except those employed in the Mint, or authorized by the Treasury, to make or mend, buy or sell, conceal or have in their possession, without a lawful excuse, any puncheon, stamp, die, mould, &c. on which shall be impressed, or with intent that there shall be impressed on the same, any resemblance whatever, in part or in the whole, of such Copper Monies. 3d. For any person to buy or sell, or offer to buy or sell, or to utter or tender in payment, or to give or offer to give in exchange, thirty or more pieces of Copper in any one day; such piece resembling or being intended to resemble, or passing or being intended to pass as the current Copper Money of the said kingdoms.

That such proposed statute should also make it a misdemeanor (punishable by a fine of 40s. for the first offence, £5. for the second, and £10. for every subsequent offence) for any person to buy, sell, utter, &c. any number less than thirty of such pieces of Copper, resembling or intended to resemble or pass, &c. as such current Copper Money. The fines to be recoverable in a summary way before one magistrate. This would reach Turnpike-men and others, who wilfully pass bad Halfpence at one gate which are refused at another: and would generally check the circulation of base Copper Money, which has become an evil of great magnitude.

It may, however, be worthy consideration, whether these tokens should not be wholly suppressed, and the offence of fabricating any Copper pieces passing, or intended to pass "as, for, or in lieu of" the lawful Copper Coin, be made felony: and that such tokens should in all respects be considered as actual Counterfeit Coin, and treated accordingly: or, at all events, that persons issuing and circulating such tokens should be liable to a severe penalty; and bound to pay the holder, on demand, the full denominated value.

☞ With respect to this whole tribe of dangerous manufacturers, whose trade and abilities are so liable to be perverted to iniquitous purposes, it has been under consideration to regulate them, by legislative measures, to the following effect: viz. "That no person, except those employed in the mints, shall erect, set up, or use, or knowingly have in possession any cutting engine for cutting round blanks by the force of a screw out of fatted bars or sheets of Copper, or other metal; or any stamping press, fly, rolling mill, flatting mill, or other instrument for stamping, flatting, or marking metals, or which, with the assistance of any matrix, Stamp, or dye, will stamp or mark Copper or other metals, or prepare the same for stamping or marking, without first giving notice thereof in writing to persons authorized to keep an entry and registry thereof, containing the Christian and Surnames of the owners of such instruments, and describing the use thereof, and the house or other place in which the same is intended to be erected, set up, used or kept; and to give the like notice on any removal, under a certain penalty, recoverable as in the case of Hair Powder, and other revenue laws."—It is believed, on the best authority, that the Licence here proposed (especially as it would subject the parties to no pecuniary burden) would meet the approbation of the principal manufacturers, on account of the facilities which it would afford in detecting and in embarrassing those who set up machinery for unlawful purposes.

☞ Here again the partial remedy introduced by 37 Geo. III. c. 126, should be extended and applied.

☞ To remedy this part of the evil, it is proposed, "That on complaint made to any one Justice of Peace upon oath, that there is just cause to suspect that any person is concerned in making or using, or has in their custody any unlawful puncheon, stamp, die, mould, &c. made for the purpose, or which may be applied to the purpose, of counterfeiting the Gold, Silver, or Copper Coin of the Kingdoms of Great Britain or Ireland; or of making or manufacturing any pieces of metal intended to pass as such coin, or any cutting engine for cutting round blanks by means of force applied to a screw, or flatted bars of metal, &c. or any wash or material which will produce the colour of Gold or silver, or copper, or any round blank of base metal or mixed metal, or of brass copper, or lead, so as to resemble such coin; or who hath been concerned in buying, selling, taking in exchange, receiving, or putting off any Gold, Silver, or Copper Money, not melted or cut, at a lower rate or value than the same doth import, such Justice may, by a warrant under his hand, cause the house, out-house, and other places occupied by such suspected person to be searched, either by night or by day; and if any of the articles hereinbefore mentioned, or any counterfeit or pretended coin, blanks, or round pieces of metal be found, the parties to be seized, and, with the said articles, brought before a Justice, and such articles may be afterwards used in evidence, and then broken, defaced, and disposed of as the Court or Justices shall direct.

"That any Constable, Headborough, or Beadle, and every Watchman, while on duty, may apprehend and detain all and every person or persons who may be reasonably suspected of having and carrying, or any ways conveying for the purpose of selling or trafficking in the same, any counterfeited or forged Gold, Silver, or Copper Money, whether the same shall resemble or be intended to resemble, or shall pass or be intended to pass as and for the coin of the said kingdoms, or of any foreign Country or State; or having in their possession, without lawful excuse, any round blanks of base metal or mixed metal, &c. or any pieces of Gold, Silver, Brass, Copper, or Lead, of a fit size and figure to be coined, coloured, or converted into Counterfeit Money; with power also to seize and detain the said Counterfeit Money, blanks, &c. and convey the same, with the person or persons apprehended, before one or more Justices; and if the party shall not give a satisfactory account how the same came into their possession, or shall not produce the party from whom it was received, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment in a summary manner."

The following rewards have been suggested as proper to make part of a Bill now in a state of preparation, for the general Regulation of the Coinage: and which is meant to include all the remedies before hinted at and pointed out: a Legislative measure which must do honour to the Minister who will carry it into execution.

To be paid without deduction or fee, within one month after such conviction, on tendering a certificate to the Sheriff.

It is also proposed that the Treasury shall have power to issue out of the Duties of Customs a sufficient sum of money for prosecuting offenders against the Mint laws.

Whatever might be the effect of these amendments in the Mint laws, and necessary as they appear to be, it is still to be feared that until a new coinage of Silver money and Copper halfpence and farthings shall take place, no legislative restrictions, regulations, or punishments, can produce an effectual cure to this enormous evil; although, from the many deficiencies which have been detailed, it is evident a great deal of good may be done immediately in this way.

A coinage of Silver money is a great State question, which may require a fuller consideration; but no doubt can be entertained of the indispensable necessity of such a measure, as soon as circumstances will admit.

If to a new coinage of shillings and sixpences, should be added an extensive coinage of silver money of the value of four pence and three pence, according to ancient usage, it would prove a great convenience to the public, and remedy much of the inconvenience which arises from the ponderous nature of Copper money; while a smaller quantity would be required for circulation.

No doubt can be entertained of the nation deriving considerable advantages from having increased the weight of copper coin, so as to bring it as near as possible to the intrinsic value of the metal of which it is composed.

This arrangement will, it is hoped, ultimately prove the means of effectually preventing counterfeits; and the copper, being a native article produced in the country, may in time, through the medium of coined money, become a profitable branch of commerce with foreign nations; where even an extensive circulation may be insured, in consequence of the intrinsic and denominative value being the same, or nearly so.

This is exemplified in the policy of Sweden, where the copper dollar being so heavy as to answer to sixpence sterling, has long been exported; and forms a considerable, and even a profitable branch of commerce to that nation.

In Russia the Three Copee Piece is very nearly of the weight of six English halfpence, yet its current value is only a small fraction above one penny sterling;—and thus by issuing no copper coin where the denominative is not in proportion to the intrinsic value, every class of dealers who vend the necessaries of life are shielded against loss; and every unnatural rise in the price of provisions for the subsistence of the poor is of course prevented.

This principle seems to have been admitted by the Legislature; for when the subject of Copper Money was under the consideration of the House of Commons, at a period not very remote, the Journals shew that an opinion then prevailed, "that the most effectual means to secure the Copper Coin from being counterfeited, was, that the denominative value of such Coin should bear as near a proportion as possible to the intrinsic value of the metal of which it was formed."[50]

In fine, it is a question worthy of attention, whether in order to prevent clamour, and to shut out at once all pretence for circulating any of the old Copper money, good or bad, after the period when Mr. Boulton shall be able to furnish a sufficient quantity of halfpence and farthings for circulation, it might not be proper to consider how far it would be practicable as a measure of State policy, to introduce a clause into the proposed Bill, empowering the Treasury, within a given time, to receive all the old Copper Coin, good and bad, at a certain price per ton, allowing a bonus to the honest holders of it of 20 per cent. above the current price of Copper.—This would at once clear the country of counterfeit halfpence and farthings, and would reconcile the holders to the loss; while the pecuniary sacrifice to Government would be more than compensated an hundred-fold by a compleat and instant renovation of this species of coinage.—As the chief part of the bad halfpence are good copper, they could be recoined, or sold, as might appear most beneficial.

It is earnestly to be hoped that the further regulations proposed will be adopted; and followed up, by an extensive coinage of Silver money, so as to shield the honest part of the Community against a system of fraud, rapid beyond all example in its growth, and unparalleled as to its extent.[51]

Certain it is, that base money contributes more to the support as well as to the increase of the number of those mischievous and abandoned members of the community, who exist wholly by different kinds of fraud, than any other device which they pursue to enable them to live in their present state of idleness and debauchery, and to indulge in luxury and extravagance.

The increase is certainly astonishing, since it is known that in London and the Country, there were some time since fifty-four actual Coiners, and fifty-six large Dealers, besides, at least, ten Die sinkers, whose names, characters, and pursuits, were perfectly known; but these bear no proportion to the horde of smaller dealers and utterers of base money in the Metropolis, and in most of the commercial and manufacturing towns in the kingdom. Their numbers must amount to several thousands. From being at present nuisances to society, in the constant habit of defrauding the Public, they might be rendered (through the application of the remedies proposed) useful members of the State; by changing a life of idleness and crimes, for a course of useful labour and industry.

CHAP. VIII.

THE immense depredations committed on every species of Commercial Property in the River Thames, but particularly on West India produce, had long been felt as a grievance of the greatest magnitude; exceedingly hurtful to the Commerce and Revenue of the port of London, and deeply affecting the interest of the Colonial Planters, as well as every description of Merchants and Ship-Owners concerned in the Trade of the River Thames.

The subject of this Chapter will therefore be chiefly confined to a detail of the causes, which produced these extraordinary and extensive depredations, and the various means by which they were perpetrated; and also to the remedies which have been successfully applied since the publication of the preceding editions of this Work, for the purpose of reducing within bounds, and keeping in check, this enormous and growing evil; for certain it is, that previous to the establishment of the Marine Police System, in the Month of July 1798, the increase had been regular and progressive, while the easy manner in which this species of property was obtained, generated an accession of plunderers every year.

To those whose habits of life afford no opportunities of attending to subjects of this nature, the details which are now to be given will appear no less novel than extraordinary; and with respect to the extent of the mischief in some instances perhaps incredible. The West India Planters alone have estimated their losses by depredations upon the River and in the Warehouses at the enormous sum of £.250,000 a year. It cannot be unreasonable then to suppose, that the extent of the plunder on the other branches of Commerce, which form nearly 5-6th parts of the whole value of Imports and Exports, could not be less than £.250,000 more, making an aggregate upon the whole of Half a Million sterling![52]

Surprising as this may appear at first view, yet when, by a cool investigation of the subject, it comes to be measured by the scale of the astonishing Commerce which centers in the port of London, (according to the annexed Abstract) and the vast extent of Floating Property moving constantly upon the River Thames, and the adjacent Wharfs and Quays subject to depredations; when by calculation it is also found, that the whole amount of the aggregate plunder, great and extensive as it appears to be, does not much exceed three quarters per cent. on the value of the whole property exposed to danger: the Reader will be reconciled to an estimate, which from the elucidations contained in this chapter, will ultimately appear by no means to be exaggerated.

ABSTRACT

OF THE IMPORTS INTO, AND THE EXPORTS FROM, THE PORT OF LONDON;

RECAPITULATION.

Let the mind only contemplate this proud view of the Commerce of a Single River, unparalleled in point of extent and magnitude in the whole world; where 13,444 ships and vessels discharge and receive in the course of a year above three Millions of Packages, many of which contain very valuable articles of merchandize, greatly exposed to depredations, not only from the criminal habits of many of the aquatic labourers and others who are employed, but from the temptations to plunder, arising from the confusion unavoidable in a crowded port, and the facilities afforded in the disposal of stolen property.—It will then be easily conceived, that the plunder must have been excessive, especially where from its analogy to smuggling, at least in the conceptions of those who were implicated; and from its gradual increase, the culprits seldom were restrained by a sense of the moral turpitude of the offence; and where for want of a Marine Police applicable to the object, no means existed whereby offenders could be detected on the River.[54]

The fact is, that the system of River depredations grew, and ramified as the Commerce of the Port of London advanced, until at length it assumed the different forms, and was conducted by the various classes of delinquents, whose nefarious practices are now to be explained under their respective heads.

1st. River Pirates.—This class was generally composed of the most desperate and depraved characters, who followed aquatic pursuits. Their attention was principally directed to ships, vessels, and craft in the night, which appeared to be unprotected; and well authenticated instances of their audacity are recounted, which strongly prove the necessity of a vigorous and energetic Police. Among many other nefarious exploits performed by these miscreants, the following may suffice to shew to what extent their daring and impudent conduct carried them.

An American vessel lying at East-lane Tier, was boarded in the night, while the Captain and crew were asleep, by a gang of River Pirates, who actually weighed the ship's anchor, and hoisted it into their boat with a complete new cable, with which they got clear off.—The Captain hearing a noise, came upon deck at the moment the villains had secured their booty, with which they actually rowed away in his presence, impudently telling him, they had taken away his anchor and cable, and bidding him good morning. Their resources afforded them means of immediate concealment. No Police then existed upon the River, and his property was never recovered.

A similar instance of atrocity occurred about the same time, where the bower anchor of a vessel from Guernsey was weighed, and, with the cable, plundered and carried off in the same manner.

Although only these two instances of extraordinary audacity are specified, others equally bold and daring could be adduced if the limits of this Work would admit of it. When vessels first arrive in the river, particularly those from the West Indies, they are generally very much lumbered. Ships in this situation were considered as the harvest of the River Pirates, with whom it was a general practice to cut away bags of Cotton, Cordage, Spars, Oars, and other articles from the quarter of the vessels, and to get clear off, even in the day time as well as in the night. Before a Police existed upon the River all classes of aquatic labourers having been themselves more or less implicated in the same species of criminality, generally connived at the delinquency of each other, and hence it followed, that few or none were detected while afloat and the evil became so extensive.

It was frequently the practice of these River Pirates to go armed, and in sufficient force to resist, and even to act offensively if they met with opposition.—Their depredations were extensive among craft wherever valuable goods were to be found; but they diminished in number after the commencement of the war; and now since the establishment of the Marine Police they have almost totally disappeared.

On the return of peace, however, if a system of watchful energy is not maintained, these miscreants must be expected (as on former occasions on the termination of wars) to renew their iniquitous depredations in great force, as numbers of depraved characters may then be expected to be discharged from the Army and Navy.

2d. Night Plunderers.—These were composed chiefly of the most depraved class of watermen, who associated together in gangs of four or five in number, for the purpose of committing depredations on the cargoes of lighters and other craft employed in conveying goods to the quays and wharfs. Their practice was to associate themselves with one or more of the watchmen who were employed to guard these lighters while cargoes were on board, and by the connivance of these faithless guardians of the night, to convey away in lug boats every portable article of merchandize, to which, through this medium, they often had too easy access.

These corrupt watchmen did not always permit the lighters under their own charge to be pillaged.—Their general practice was, to point out to the leader of the gang those lighters that were without any guard, and lay near their own, and which, on this account, might be easily plundered. An hour was fixed on for effecting the object in view. The Receiver (generally a man of some property) was applied to, to be in readiness at a certain hour before day-light to warehouse the goods. A lug boat was seized on for the purpose. The articles were removed into it out of the lighter, and conveyed to a landing-place nearest the warehouse of deposit. The watchmen in the streets leading to this warehouse were bribed to connive at the villainy, often under pretence that it was a smuggling transaction, and thus the object was effected.

In this precise manner was a quantity of ashes and hemp conveyed in 1798, to the house of an opulent Receiver. Several other cargoes of hemp, obtained in the same manner, were conveyed up the river, and afterwards carted in the day-time to the repositories of the purchaser, till by the vigilance of the Police Boats, a detection took place, and the whole scene of mischief was laid open.

This species of depredation went to a great extent, and when it was considered that the very men who Were appointed to guard property in this situation were themselves associates in the criminality, and participated in the profit arising from the booty; and that matters were so arranged as to secure the connivance of all those who were appointed to situations with a view to detect and apprehend delinquents; it ceases to be a matter of wonder, that the plunder in this particular line was excessive.

In many instances where goods could not be plundered through the connivance of watchmen, it was no uncommon thing to cut lighters adrift, and to follow them to a situation calculated to elude discovery where the pillage commenced. In this manner have whole lighter loads even of coals been discharged at obscure landing places upon the river, and carted away during the night.

Even the article of Tallow from Russia, which, from the unwieldiness of the packages, appears little liable to be an object of plunder, has not escaped the notice of these offenders: large quantities have been stolen, and an instance has been stated to the Author, where a lighter loaded with this article was cut from a ship in the Pool, and found next morning with six large casks of tallow stolen, and two more broken open, and the chief part plundered and carried away. In short, while the river remained unprotected nothing escaped these marauders.

3d. Light-Horsemen, or Nightly Plunderers of West India ships.—This class of depredators for a long period of time had carried on their nefarious practices with impunity, and to an extent in point of value, that almost exceeds credibility; by which the West India planters and merchants sustained very serious and extensive losses.

The practice seems to have originated in a connection which was formed between the Mates of West India ships[55] and the criminal Receivers, residing near the river, who were accustomed to assail them under the pretence of purchasing what is called sweepings, or in other words, the spillings or drainings of sugars, which remained in the hold and between the decks after the cargo was discharged. These sweepings were claimed as a perquisite by a certain proportion of the Mates, contrary to the repeated and express rules established by the Committee of Merchants, who early saw the evils to which such indulgences would lead, and in vain attempted to prevent it. The connivance, however, of the Revenue officers became necessary to get these sweepings on shore, and the quantity of spillings were gradually increased year after year by fraudulent means, for the purpose of satisfying the rapacity of all whose assistance and collusion was found necessary to obtain the object in view.

The connection thus formed, and the necessary facilities obtained, from the sale of sweepings, recourse was at length had to the disposal of as much of the cargo as could be obtained by a licence to nightly plunderers, composed of Receivers, Coopers, Watermen, and Aquatic Labourers, who having made a previous agreement with the Mate and Revenue Officers, were permitted, on paying from thirty to fifty guineas, to come on board in the night,—to open as many hogsheads of sugar as were accessible,—and to plunder without controul. For this purpose, a certain number of bags dyed black, and which went under the appellation of Black Strap, were provided.—The Receivers, Coopers, Watermen, and Lumpers, went on board at the appointed time, for all these classes were necessary. The hogsheads of sugar and packages of coffee, &c. were opened; the black bags were filled with the utmost expedition and carried to the Receivers, and again returned to be refilled until daylight, or the approach of it, stopped the pillage for a few hours. On the succeeding night the depredations were again renewed; and thus, on many occasions, from fifteen to twenty hogsheads of sugar and a large quantity of coffee, and also in some instances rum (which was removed by means of a small pump called a Jigger, and filled into bladders with nozzels,) were plundered in a single ship, in addition to the excessive depredations which were committed in the same ships by the Lumpers or labourers who were employed during the day in the discharge of the cargo.—Instances have been adduced, and judicially proved, of various specific ships having been plundered in an excessive degree in this manner; and it has been estimated upon credible authority, that previous to the establishment of the Marine Police, above one-fifth of the whole fleet suffered by nightly plunder.—The ships subject to this species of depredation were generally known from the characters of the Mates or Revenue Officers who were on board, and were denominated Game Ships, where the aquatic labourers, called Lumpers, would on every occasion agree to work without wages, and even solicit their employers to be preferred on these terms, trusting to a general licence to plunder for their remuneration.

This nefarious traffic had long been reduced to a regular system. The mode of negociation necessary to obtain all the requisite advantages for carrying into execution these iniquitous designs, was not only perfectly understood, but in most cases, where new Officers were to be practised upon, a plan of seduction was resorted to which seldom failed to succeed, when one or more of the old practitioners in this species of criminality happened to be stationed in the ship.—In this particular line of aquatic depredations, (which certainly was the most mischievous,) scenes of iniquity have been developed, which, from their extent and magnitude, could not have been credited had they stood on any other foundation than that of regular judicial proofs.

4th.—Heavy Horsemen, otherwise denominated Lumpers of the most criminal class, who generally selected ships where plunder was most accessible, either from the criminal connivance of the Mates and Revenue Officers, in permitting nightly plunder, or from the carelessness or inattention of these Officers.

This class, many of whom occasionally assisted in the depredations committed during the night, were exceedingly audacious and depraved. They generally went on board of West India ships, furnished with habiliments made on purpose to conceal sugar, coffee, cocoa, pimento, ginger, and other articles, which they conveyed on shore in great quantities, by means of an under waistcoat, containing pockets all round, denominated a Jemie; and also by providing long bags, pouches, and socks, which were tied to their legs and thighs under their trowsers.

It is a well-established fact, which does not admit even of the shadow of a doubt, that these miscreants, during the discharge of what they called a Game Ship, have been accustomed to divide from three to four guineas a-piece every night from the produce of their plunder, independent of the hush-money paid to Officers and others, for conniving at their nefarious practices.

Long habituated to this species of depredation, they became at length so audacious, that it was found extremely difficult to controul them where a disposition existed to protect the cargo from pillage, and where no seduction had taken place.—And indeed, so adroit had this class of Lumpers become, that no ship escaped plunder in a certain degree, wherever they were employed, in spite of the greatest vigilance and attention on the part of many of the shipmasters.

5th. Game Watermen, so denominated from the circumstance of their having been known to hang upon West India ships under discharge for the whole of the day, in readiness to receive and instantly convey on shore bags of sugar, coffee and other articles, pillaged by the Lumpers and others in the progress of the delivery of the cargo, by which they acquired a considerable booty; as they generally on such occasions were employed to dispose of the stolen articles, under pretence of their being a part of the private adventures of the crew, for which service they usually pocketed one moiety of the price obtained.—It was by such assistance that Mates, Boatswains, Carpenters, Seamen, and Ship Boys, have been seduced, and even taught to become plunderers and thieves, who would otherwise have remained honest and faithful to the trust reposed in them. Many of the watermen of this class were accustomed to live in a style of expence by no means warranted, from the fair earnings of honest industry in the line of their profession.—An instance has been known of an apprentice lad in this line having kept both a mistress and a riding horse out of the profits of his delinquency.

6th. Game Lightermen.—This class, which is composed of the working, or Journeymen Lightermen, who navigate the craft which convey West India produce and other merchandize from the ships to the quays, are, with some exceptions, extremely loose in their morals, and are ever ready to forward depredations by the purchase or concealment of articles of considerable value, until an opportunity offers of conveying the property on shore. Many of these Lightermen, previous to the establishment of the Marine Police, were in the constant habit of concealing in the lockers of their lighters, sugar, coffee, pimento, ginger, &c. which they received from Mates, and other persons on board of West India ships.—These lockers are generally secured by a padlock; they are calculated to hold and conceal considerable quantities of goods, whether stolen or smuggled, which were seldom taken out until after the discharge of the lighter, unless in certain instances where skiffs attended them.—When completely unladen, the practice has been to remove to the road where empty craft usually lies a-breast of the Custom-house quay, and then carry away the stolen or smuggled articles—and it has not seldom happened that many of these Lightermen have, under pretence of watching their own lighters while laden at the quays, or in connivance with the Watchmen selected by themselves, actually plundered the goods under their charge to a very considerable amount, without detection.

Nor does it appear that the nefarious practices of these Lightermen have been confined to West Indian produce alone. Their criminal designs were directed to almost every species of merchandize placed under their charge; and the tricks and devices to which they were accustomed to resort, clearly evinced that their plans for obtaining pillage had long been systematized, and that they seldom permitted any opportunity whereby they could profit by making free with property under their charge to escape their attention. As a proof that this assertion is well grounded, the following authenticated case, among others which could be detailed, is stated as an instance of the extreme rapacity of this class of men.—A Canada merchant, who had been accustomed to ship quantities of oil annually to the London market, finding (as indeed almost every merchant experiences) a constant and uniform deficiency in the quantity landed, greatly exceeding what could arise from common leakage, which his correspondents were quite unable to explain; having occasion to visit London, was resolved to see his cargo landed with his own eyes; so as, if possible, to develope a mystery heretofore inexplicable, and by which he had regularly lost a considerable sum for several years. Determined therefore to look sharp after his property, he was in attendance at the wharf in anxious expectation of a lighter which had been laden with his oil on the preceding day; and which, for reasons that he could not comprehend, did not get up for many hours after the usual time.

On her arrival at the wharf, the proprietor was confounded to find the whole of his casks stowed in the lighter with their bungs downwards. Being convinced that this was the effect of design, he began now to discover one of the causes at least, of the great losses he had sustained; he therefore attended the discharge of the lighter until the whole of the casks were removed, when he perceived a great quantity of oil leaked out, and in the hold of the vessel, which the Lightermen had the effrontery to insist was their perquisite. The proprietor ordered casks to be brought, and filled no less than nine of them with the oil that had thus leaked out. He then ordered the ceiling of the lighter to be pulled up, and found between her timbers as much as filled five casks more; thus recovering from a single lighter-load of his property, no less than fourteen casks of oil, that, but for his attendance, would have been appropriated to the use of the Lightermen; who, after attempting to rob him of so valuable a property, complained very bitterly of his ill usage in taking it from them.

7th. Mud-Larks, so called from their being accustomed to prowl about, at low water, under the quarters, of West India ships; (or at least that class which were denominated Game, these being mostly the objects of pillage;) under pretence of grubbing in the mud for old ropes, iron, and coals, &c. but whose chief object, when in such situations, was to receive and conceal small bags of sugar, coffee, pimento, ginger, and other articles, and sometimes bladders containing rum, which they conveyed to such houses as they were directed, and for which services they generally received a share of the booty.—These auxiliaries in this species of pillage were considered as the lowest cast of thieves; but from a general knowledge of the Receivers in the vicinity, they frequently afforded considerable assistance to the Lumpers, Coopers and others, who collected plunder in the progress of the ships' delivery.

8th. Revenue Officers.—Notwithstanding the laudable severity of the Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs and Excise, in making examples of their inferior servants by immediate dismission, on proof made of any offence, or even neglect of duty; a certain class of these officers, who are denominated Game, have found means to promote pillage to a very extensive degree, not only in West India ships, but also in ships from the East Indies, and in every ship and vessel arriving and departing from the River Thames, of which it is to be lamented, that too many proofs have been adduced. This class of officers generally make a point of at least having the appearance of being punctual and regular in their attendance upon their duty, and by never being found absent by their superior officers obtain preferences, where such can be given, with respect to those particular ships which afford the best harvest, either from being under the charge of Mates or others, with whom they have had criminal transactions in former voyages, or from the cargo being of a nature calculated to afford a resource for plunder. They are also generally acquainted with the Copemen or Receivers, with whom and the other officers, after seducing the Mate, (if not already seduced) they negociate for the purchase of whatever can be plundered.

In those seasons of the year, when the crouded state of the port renders it necessary to have recourse to extra and Glut Officers, the general distress of this class of men, and the expectations most of them have formed of advantages by being placed on board ships of a certain description, render it an easy matter to seduce them; and by such means had every obstruction been removed to the perpetration of these excessive robberies, in all their ramifications, which had so long afflicted the port of London.[56]

9th. Scuffle-Hunters—so denominated probably from their resorting in numbers to the quays and wharfs where goods are discharging, under pretence of finding employment as labourers upon the landing places and in the warehouses, and from the circumstance, of disputes and scuffles arising about who should secure most plunder from broken packages. This class of men, who may fairly be considered as the very scum of society, frequently prowl about with long aprons, not so much with a view to obtain employment, as for the purpose of availing themselves of the confusion which the crowded state of the quays often exhibits, and the opportunity of obtaining plunder; in which object they have too frequently been successful, particularly when admitted into the warehouses as labourers, where they have found means to pilfer and carry away considerable quantities of sugar and other articles, in which they were not a little countenanced, by similar offences committed by journeymen coopers and others, who, under the colour of sanctioned perquisites, abstract considerable quantities of sugar, thereby subjecting the proprietors to an accumulated loss: for, in addition to the first cost or price of the article, the duties which have been paid form no inconsiderable part of the ultimate value. It is only necessary to resort to the Journals of the House of Commons, and the Appendix to the Report of the Dock Committee in 1796, in order to be satisfied, that the plunder in the warehouses has been excessive. And if credit is to be given to the evidence then brought forward, and also to the affidavits of persons, who have worked for many years in the sugar warehouses, the loss sustained on an importation of 140,000[57] casks of sugar has not fallen much short of £.100,000 a year.[58]

10th. Copemen or Receivers of Stolen Commercial Property.—This mischievous class of men may be considered as the chief movers and supporters of the extensive scene of iniquity which has been developed and explained in the preceding pages of this Chapter. They were heretofore extremely numerous, and divided into various classes.[59] Those denominated Copemen formed the junto of wholesale dealers, who were accustomed to visit ships on their arrival, for the purpose of entering into contract with such Revenue Officers or Mates as they had formerly known or dealt with, and such others as they could by means of friendly officers seduce to their views.

Their negociations were carried on in a language and in terms peculiar to themselves; and commenced by settling the price of

It was their custom to afford assistance wherever such articles were to be procured by providing Black Straps, (i.e., the long black bags already mentioned) to contain sugar, and calculated to stow easily in the bottom of boats, without being discovered on account of the colour. They also procured bladders with wooden nozels for the purpose of containing rum, brandy, geneva, and other liquors, and furnished boats to convey the plunder from the ships during the night.

Some of these Receivers had acquired considerable sums of money by their nefarious traffic, and were able to tempt and seduce those who would permit them to plunder the cargo, by administering to their wants by considerable advances of money which, however, rarely amounted to a moiety of the value of the goods obtained, and frequently not 1-4th part, particularly in the article of Coffee.

Other classes of Receivers purchased from the Lumpers, Coopers, &c. after the property was landed, and being generally engaged in business as small grocers or keepers of chandlers' shops, and old iron and junk warehouses, they were accustomed to protect it in its transit, from one criminal dealer to another, by means of false bills of parcels.

It would fill a volume to recount the various ramifications of this nefarious traffic, and the devices used to defeat Justice and elude the punishment of the Law.[60]

It extended to almost every article imported into, and exported from, the port of London. But the dealings in stolen West India produce were by far the most extensive; at the same time it appears from recent investigation, that the East India Company and the Russian and American Merchants, as well as the Importers of Timber, Ashes, Furs, Skins, Oil, Provisions and Corn, were also considerable sufferers. The Coal Merchants have likewise sustained losses to a great amount annually, while every species of goods imported have been more or less subject to depredations.

Nor has the Export Trade on the River Thames been in any respect secured against the rapacity of this phalanx of plunderers. Many well-authenticated cases have recently been developed, which prove that Hamburgh vessels outward bound, have been plundered to a considerable amount,[61] particularly those which were laden with sugar, coffee, and other West India produce. Outward-bound ships to every part of the world have also been more or less objects of plunder, to the numerous herds of delinquents who were employed upon the River, aided by their associates in iniquity, the Receivers.

To enter into particulars, or to detail specific instances, would far exceed the limits prescribed for this branch of the general catalogue of delinquency exhibited in this Work. Suffice it to say, that the most satisfactory evidence can be adduced, that the system of depredation which had so long prevailed, and which had advanced with the growing Commerce of the Port, had pervaded every species of Merchandize laden or discharged, as well as the Tackle, Apparel and Stores of almost every ship and vessel arriving in, and departing from, the River Thames.