the casks, there was a piece of wood under it.
' I then came on deck and with William Matson went into
the barge's cabin, one of the men belonging to the barge
followed us into the cabin, and he said " It's no use." I
observed " How is that ?" He said, " What is our loss is your
gain."
' I asked him what they had got in the casks, he answered
Leaf Tobacco, I then asked him how much there was, he
said between nine and ten tons as far as he knew.
' I went on deck after that.
' The gunner then ordered me and three other hands to go
into the boat and acquaint Captain GowUand.
' Signed in my presence this 17''' day of December, I. Moore
Hodder, Coll'' (Rochester).
' Frederick French.'
No. 54. Precis of papers connected with a large seizure, made
' on rummage,' at Liverpool, in 1850.
* (To the Collector and Controller, Liverpool) :
' River Inspector's Office.
' Gentlemen,
' I beg to report that yesterday afternoon, on rummaging
the barque Warrior from New York, we discovered beneath
the master's stateroom, behind a false bulkhead, 11 bales of
leaf tobacco, weighing net 1380 lbs, and also a quantity of
lumps of foreign manuf"^ tobacco, weighing net 1263 lbs :
total, 2643 lbs net.'
(Proceeds that master, both mates, and an apprentice,
arrested.)
' They were charged before Edward Rush ton, Esq., this day,
when the master, first mate, and apprentice were remanded,
to await the directions of the Hon^^'^ Board. The magistrate
being satisfied that the second mate had no guilty knowledge
of the transaction, he was discharged.
' William Jago.'
II. 01
482 APPENDIX
(London Customs Solicitor's report on above) :
' The vessel and tobacco are liable to forfeiture, and the
parties to detention and prosecution before the justices for
the penalty of £ioo each, under Sections 3, 53. and 88, Cap. 87,
8/9 Vict.' â–
(Board's minute) :
' Retain the goods as a seizure : proceed against the parties :
keep hands on the vessel.'
(Master and mate imprisoned, the apprentice acquitted, it
being thought he was coerced into assisting. Collector and
controller call on J ago to state whether the master is able to
maintain himself while in prison.)
' Gentlemen,
' I beg to report that I have to-day seen the above-
named indi\'idual. He informs me that the whole of his
property consists in an eighth part of the Warrior, and that
his pay as master of that vessel has ceased, and that he is
therefore not in circumstances to support himself in prison.
' William J ago.'
(Maintenance allowance accordingly. Six other part owners,
natives of Drogheda, apply to Board, asking for release of
their vessel.)
(Board's minute) :
' Adverting to the quantity of tobacco seized, the Board
do not see fit to release the vessel from seizure, and direct
that she be returned into the Court of Exchequer for con-
demnation.'
(Owners apply to Treasury, quoting cases of two vessels
owned by others, seized and afterwards released. Board
state that in one case quoted the owners gave information
leading to seizure : in the other only 980 pounds were found,
and the vessel released on payment by owners of £100. Thej^
suggest release of Warrior on payment of ;f400. Owners fail
to pay. Vessel condemned, and sold for £625.)
PROSECUTIONS AND REWARDS 483
No. 55. Advertisement offering reward for apprehension of a
smuggler, 1851 {see p. 352).
'TEN POUNDS
REWARD.
Whereas
Samuel Norton,
late Master of the
Sloop Samuel & Susannah of Goole,
who stands charged with
SMUGGLING
Absconded from Goole on the 13'^ of September last. He is
about 5 feet 5 inches high, dark eyes, rather roundshouldered ,
and a little bowlegged. He is about 35 years of age.
' All reasonable expenses, independent of the above Reward,
will be paid on his apprehension, by immediately communi-
cating with Mr. George Cordukes, Superintendent Constable,
Goole, who holds a warrant against him.
' There cannot be a doubt of his conviction, as the Vessel
and Goods were condemned in the Exchequer in Michaelmas
Term last.
'Goole, 19''' day of May, 185 1.'
No. 56. Suffolk smuggler's confession, 1852.
(A large quantity of tobacco had been seized in a bam.
Supposed to be only part of a quantity run. The ' spotsman '
deposed as below) :
' About the month of September, 1851, I met a person
named at the Lion publichouse in Ipswich. I had been
engaged with him in a smuggling transaction about May in
the same year. He said to me that he wished I could get
a vessel that would carry 5 or 6 tons, and he would give me
£1 a bale, meaning that that was the sum he would pay me
for every bale of tobacco I could smuggle into this kingdom.
I told him I thought I could. In consequence of this con-
versation I saw a man named who owned a vessel called
the Neptune, and having ascertained from him that I could
484 APPENDIX
have his vessel I again saw in the month of October
following, at the Mulberry Tree publichouse in Ipswich,
when I told him that I could get a vessel that was going to
Lowestoft, and would return with empty cement barrels and
sacks, and would then go over to Nieuport. He then gave
me a letter directed to Mr. a tobacco merchant (English)
at Nieuport. The Neptune cleared out for Lowestoft, myself
acting as pilot. On arriving there I went to the Suffolk
Arms, where I met who asked me when I should be
able to start. I answered " tomorrow," and he then said,
" Well, make the best of your wa3^" I sailed from Lowestoft
on a Friday, and arrived at Nieuport in the course of the
next day, when I handed Mr. the letter from .
When he opened it he said that he could not pay me ;^ioo
(as desired) but he would guarantee that it should be paid
as soon as the tobacco was on the walls — meaning the em-
bankment or river wall of the Orwell — as soon as we were
there. And in the course of that day the Neptune received
200 bales into her (one or two of which I cut open for the
purpose of procuring samples for to sell by), which I
and the crew assisted in loading, and sailed the same night
for the river Orwell. It was agreed between myself and
that the cargo was to be landed at a place in that river
called Trimley Sluice (where I and he assisted in landing
a similar cargo of 80 bales in the May preceding). I arrived
in the Orwell in the course of the following Sunday afternoon,
and sailed till we came abreast of Trimley Sluice, when two
of the Neptune's crew rowed me ashore in the boat, and the
vessel went up as far as Collinor ' (?) ' Point. I went on to the
Ship inn at Levington, kept by to get assistance to
remove the bales when landed. In my way thither I met
Lord Alfred Paget and his gamekeeper, the latter of whom
bid me good-day. From the Ship I went to 's mill, and
there I found in company with the occupier, to whom
I gave the samples, and with whom we sat and smoked,
the conversation between us being generally the best time
and under what circumstances we should remove the bales,
and the miller said he would go down with his horse and cart
and assist, and I then left for that purpose, leaving in
's house. On arriving at the marsh I saw the bales laid
out in scores. I saw horses and carts, belonging to
, , , , and ■— — : four of these carts with
100 bales altogether, with which they drove away. Two of
COMPLETE CONFESSION 485
the said carts, viz. 's, and another, returned twice, and
were loaded with the remainder of the bales. I accompanied
them to a farm belonging to a person named at Buckle-
sham, where I assisted in unloading the bales into the loft
of a stable belonging to him. The miller told me that he
had received 100 of the bales. I and went to the miller's
house and slept there that night, and asked me whether
the goods were all right and I told him they were, and he
desired me at breakfast-time to meet him at the Mulberry
Tree in Ipswich in a day or two. I accordingly went there
on the Wednesday evening following, and received from him
a £50 Bank of England note, which I changed at the Yellow
Bank at Ipswich, first endorsing my name thereon.
' In the course of two or three days afterwards I received
from him at the Mulberry Tree another ^50 note, which
I changed at the Yellow Bank, endorsing my name as
before.
' On each of these occasions I paid the master of the Neptune
;^40 at the Union Jack publichouse, on account of the services
of his vessel, himself, and crew.
* In the course of a few days afterwards I saw at the
Victoria Arms publichouse in Ipswich, on which occasion the
master of the Neptune was in company with us, and I saw
pay him two ^^50 notes.
' Within a month afterwards I received from 50s. at
the Mulberry Tree for my share in bringing over the bales.
' The vessel Neptune was seized at Emsworth in Sussex, and
I received a letter from to a Mr. , an innkeeper
and butcher at South wick, Sussex, on the subject, and
gave me £3 or £^ to defray my expenses in going there.'
(This has been selected as remarkable, on account of the
deadly particularization and conclusiveness of the narrative.
It will be seen that for bringing over about 12,000 pounds
of tobacco the receivers paid as below :
To the spotsman
To the master and crew
To the owners of the carts, etc. — say
/,
s.
d.
22
10
180
25
227
10
The goods would cost in Nieuport — say, is. a pound = £600.
Roughly, other expenses included, £850 for the cargo. At 3s.
486 APPENDIX
a pound — a very moderate price, duty-paid — the goods would
fetch ;fi,8oo. It is likely the spotsman thought himself
underpaid, whence the information.)
No. 57. Precis of papers connected with a seizure in
the Medxvay, 1854.
Statement of William Coulls, chief Customs boatman at
Standgate Creek :
' I was afloat on duty in the river Medway on the morning
of Sunday the 21^' May instant, about | past 3 o'clock in the
morning, when I observed a half-decked boat ^ a mile north-
east of Standgate Creek. I was then boarding several vessels
passing up the Medway, and I let the boat I had just observed
get up the river some distance before I made towards her,
when she had made about a mile further up the river, and
made towards her for about 10 minutes, when I came along-
side her. At this time Charles Jennings, a boatman, and
J ames West, also a boatman, were with me. On coming along-
side the suspicious-looking boat I found and on
board, and asked them what they had got in their boat, when
they answered, " Oysters for Chatham." I went on board and
examined her, and on going under the hatches I found that
she had no oysters on board, but there were one or two old
sails and several coils of rope, on removing which I found
several canvas bales, with the number " 40 " on each, and
suspecting that they contained tobacco I called my boatman
on board. I detained the boat, which is named the Charity,
and proceeded with her to the coastguard station at Standgate
Creek. On finding the bales I said to the prisoners, " You
have very good oysters in." asked me if I was satisfied.
I told him I was, when he said " Take her. for I have had
enough trouble with her," and in the course of a few minutes
afterwards he told me he had come over Nieuport Bar with a
reef in her mainsail. On examining the contents of the boat
I found 62 bales in her, 61 of which contained unmanfd leaf
tobacco, and i bale, that had been opened, containing manuf**
shag tobacco, the whole of which I conveyed with the boat
Charity to the Custom House at Rochester, and delivered the
same to the controller. The prisoners I placed on board the
Shamrock revenue cutter.'
AD MISERICORDIAM 487
(Both smugglers committed for six months in default of
paying a fine of £100 each.)
Their memorial, sent from prison, to the Board :
' The Humble Petition of and , inhabitants of
Oueenborough, now confined in Maidstone jail, sheweth :
' That your petitioners very imprudently violated the Law
of the Land, in being guilty of smuggling, which step they
not only exceedingly regret, but promise in future not to be
guilty of a like offence.
' Your petitioners will feel very grateful to your Honourable
Board if you will extend to them a similar act of clemency as
to others who have been placed in a like position.
' Your petitioners humbly represent to your Honourable
Board that they have already been in prison for three months,
and that their present distressing position is aggravated by
the fact that their wives and children are entirely dependent
upon them for support. The case of your petitioner 's
wife is of a very affecting character, inasmuch as she is greatly
afflicted.
' Trusting that your Honourable Board will take your
petitioners' case into your merciful consideration, &c.
' We, the undersigned inhabitants of Queenborough, beg
cordially to support the prayer of the above petitioners.'
(Here follow the signatures of the mayor, the incumbent,
the churchwardens, and many others.)
(Board's minute ) :
' The request cannot be complied with.'
(Then the incumbent addresses the Board privately) :
'Gentlemen,
' I have taken pains to inquire of several influential
persons in this place regarding the former character and conduct
of and the petitioners who seek at your hands re-
mission of part of their sentence of imprisonment for smug-
gling, and I find that previous to their being guilty of that
act they were regarded as respectable and industrious men.
I have been incumbent of this place for only three months,
and therefore am unable of my own knowledge to speak of
them, but the above testimony is that of persons whom I can
trust, and who are of known integrity in my parish. I can
488 APPENDIX
therefore conscientiously express a hope that you will kindly
listen to the prayer of their petition.
' I am, Gentlemen, j^ours faithfully,
' George D. Thomson, B.A.'
(Board's minute) :
' The applicant to be informed that, adverting to the magni-
tude of the offence of which the parties were guilty, the Board
cannot direct their release.'
No. 58. Precis of papers connected with a seizure in Ireland
{Co. Donegal), showing method of charging expenses,
subsistence, etc.
' 13'^ March, 1855.
' SrR,
' I beg leave to acquaint you that on the night of the
10''^ instant a seizure of 8 cwt of tobacco, with the man, horse,
and cart by which it was being conveyed, was made by the
Revenue Police stationed at Church Hill, in the Letterkenny
road, 24 miles inland. It appears that the man , appre-
hended in charge of it, is from the neighbourhood of Derrybeg,
and I have every reason to conclude that this seizure is the
remaining portion of the tobacco landed from the Betsy and
Nora Creina, as reported in my letter of the 11'^ Novr last,
enclosing the deposition of James . and which tobacco,
having been concealed in the adjacent mountains, escaped
the strict search made by the Coastguard and Revenue Police
at the time. It evidently follows from this and the three
previous seizures made by the Coastguard and Constabulary
that the smugglers have been baffled in all their attempts to
secure the tobacco after it was landed, the whole of which I
am crediblj' informed has now been seized, &c, &c.
' Francis Collins,
' Inspecting Lieutenant.
' To THE Comptroller of Coastguard
London.'
(Board's minute) :
' Retain the goods, horse, and cart, as a seizure : Proceed
against the party for the penalty of £100.'
(Below is the return invariably made at the time in such
cases, both in Ireland and Great Britain) :
REVENUE PROCEEDINGS
489
' Name, residence, and occupation
of the Party
Oifence committed, description
and quantity of goods
Date when offence committed . .
Place where
When, and by whom, arrested . .
When, and
victed
before whom, con-
Amount of Penalty, &c.
Where sent, or in what custody
Of what Country, &c.
Apparent age
Apparent state of bodily health
Whether married or single
Number of children depending on
him
General Character
Whether convicted of Smuggling
before
of Derrybeg, carman.
Carrying 867 lbs. tobacco.
9''' March, 1855.
Drumlurga parish, Kilmainham,
Co. Donegal.
9*1^ March, 1855. Lieut. Robert
Newcomen, 9"' Revenue Police.
T. Patterson, J. M. Beers, J,
Chambers, and J. Fleming, Esqs.,
J.P^ at petty sessions in Letter-
kenny, 28"' March, 1855.
;^ioo. Imprisonment for 9 months,
unless he shall sooner pay same.
Lifford Gaol.
Subject of her Majesty.
50.
Good.
He will not state.
Do.
Not known.
No information as to this has been
obtained.'
(It is likely that the prisoner gave a wrong name.)
Precis of Proceeds, Expenses, etc.
i s.
d.
£
s.
d.
' Horse and cart sold for 7 1 7
6
Prosecuting solicitor's
(Tobacco destroyed)
charges
5
4
Loss to Crown by
Justices' clerk
I
3
6
seizure . . . . 26 13
0*
Messengers . .
Keep of detained
3
6
horse (14 days)
17
6
Customs officers' tra-
velling charges
3
I
Support of prisoner
while in jail, 134
days at 6d. a day . .
3
7
Paid to olficers as
reward
19
14
Paid to officers as
headmoney
I
34 10
~6
34
10
6~'
(In connection with this case there was much amusing
discussion as to whether the grant of 6d. a day was payable
in the case of an Irish prisoner. Most of the official experts
thought that it was only payable in Great Britain, and that
the Irish rate was 4|d. a day, but, a precedent being furnished,
the charge was passed. N.B. — In other records the English
rate is shown as yd.)
* This is quite a moderate item,
he larger the grants of reward.
The larger the seizures, of course
ADDENDA
(ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS, see pp. 439-440.)
No. 21A. Extract Jrom Scottish Board's Memoranda, Septem-
ber 20, 1779, containing deposition made by captain oj
revenue cruiser, as to movements oj squadron commanded
by Paul Jones.
(The account states that on September 16, 1779, the
Board were informed that the squadron, which had been
viewed off Dunbar on the 14th, appeared off the Isle of May.
Captain Brown, of the Princess Royal cutter, was ordered to
reconnoitre, and, if the ships belonged to the enemy, he was
to ' fire three guns, quick,' as a signal to an armed King's
ship then lying in Leith Roads, also to fly a jack at his mast-
head as an additional signal.)
' And Mr. Brown having proceeded agreeably thereto
and returned to Leith at half-an-hour after eleven o'clock
on Friday morning ' (the 17th) ' his declaration was taken
in the Presence of the Hon^'^ Capt. Napier, Regulating
Officer, and George Clerk Maxwell & Adam Smith, Esq^s,
Commissioners of the Customs, which is as follows :
' " Mr. Brown, commander of one of the Customhouse
Cutters, having received orders from the Commissioners of the
Customs to reconnoitre the Ships coming up the Firth, made
sail this morning, and at Daybreak found himself within
Pistol Shot of a fifty Gun French Ship,* upon which he
tacked about, and afterwards retook a prize they had taken
in the Mouth of the Firth, but a French twenty-four Gun
Frigate immediately made up, and obliged him to abandon
* Undoubtedly Le Bon Homme Richard.
490
SMART RECONNOITRING 491
the Prize : they brought on Shore a Boy from the Prize,
who says they put four soldiers, four Men, & two Officers on
board him. The French Squadron consists of a fifty Gun
Ship, a twenty four Gun Frigate, and a Brig mounting ten
Guns. The Ships sail ill, and they say they are determined
to come up to Leith Road. The Commander of the fifty
Gun Ship is said to be acquainted with the Coast. Both the
fifty Gun Ship and Frigate are painted Black. The fifty
Gun Ship has a White Bottom and very clumsy mast head.
The Boy says seven sail of them sailed in Company * : the}^
went north f the length of Shetland, and returned separated
in a Gale of Wind, some Days ago, from the rest of the
Squadron. 17*'^ September, 1779." '
(The Memoranda proceed that Adam Smith and Clerk
Maxwell transmitted this deposition by express at 2.15 p.m.,
September 17, to the Treasury, London, and ordered the
three revenue sloops on the east coast to be placed under
the direction of the Commander-in-Chief. It is evident from
the Memoranda that the British Government had been
informed promptly of Jones's previous movements, even of
his setting out from France, and that the revenue cruisers
all round the British coast were on the look-out, manned and
armed ' to the fullest extent,' and ready to assist the British
fleet. It is quite evident, too, that Captain Brown was a
smart and reliable sailorman, and that the Scottish Customs
Commissioners were alive to their responsibilities.)
* Probably including prizes.
f Along the west coast of Ireland, and around the north of Scotland ?
INDEX
ALL1N3HAM, William, 401
America, trade with, 145, 312,
319
American tobacco ships, 26
smuggling, 36, 62, 68,
96, 118, 148, 213,
234, 248, 249, 255,
257, 276, 277, 281,
339. 346, 347
encroachments, 62,
180, 189, 293
captures of British
ships, 68
violence, 147
grievances, 174, 357
form part syndicate,
190
fisheries bountied, 222
wreck, 223
cheese peculiarly
marked, 223
Vice-Consul wrong-
fully accused. 261
infringements of copy-
right, 282, 338
disputes with Colonial
of&cers, 313
Anti-Corn Law League, 205
Antigua. See West Indies
Arms, export of, 44
running, to France, 105
running (Cape Colonj^), 317
Artificers, decoying, 87
emigration permitted, 93
Assay, 210
Athol family. Isle of Man, 94
Aulnage. See Cloth
Australia :
early trade, 25
warehousing privileges,
182
and New Zealand, prefer-
ence, 215
an elusive smuggler, 260
Customs staff, 297
hired convicts, 300
Botany Bay, 182, 300
Melbourne, official salaries,
317
smugglmg, 363
New South Wales :
trade of, 192, 197
Sydney, collector ap-
pointed, 151,
156
smuggling statis-
tics, 253, 257
separation from
Victoria, 317
smuggling tobac-
co, 279
an illegal seizure,
260
forged banknotes,
304
emigrant ship ar-
rested, 316
copyright eva-
sion, 338
reward oftered,
478
South Australia :
defective Ordinance,
301
493
494
INDEX
Australia {contimied) :
South Australia :
revenue, 314
Port Adelaide, illegal
seizure, 200
trade of, 225
list of seizures,
350- 363
Tasmania :
unique warehouse, 185
Launceston, trade and
revenue, 203, 225
questionable duties,
205
smuggling spirits, 279
favoured tide-waiter,
289
rum for troops, 301
defective laws, 304
salaries, tariffs, and
gold, 325
cancelled Customs
commissions, 326
Victoria :
tariff revised, 325
trade of, 1853, 336
Geelong, trade of, 314
separation from New
South Wales, 317
Baltimore, 30
Bank of England, 29
Barbadoes. See West Indies
Beaufort, duke of, 23
Bermuda, slave-trade case, 152
Bideford, 316
Billingsgate, 24
Bill of store, 154
Board of Customs, 10
library destroyed, 47
wine store, 47
power to restore
seizures, 58
English, Irish, and
Scotch consolidated,
88, 90
duties of Commis-
sioners, 90
Sir Thomas Fre-
mantle, 120
inspection and report
by, 121
constitution, 135
Board of Customs (continued) :
control of Colonial
Customs, 139,
288
ceases, 292, 298,
326
Mr. Dean, 203, 279
judicial functions, 336
Sir F. Doyle, 397
Boats of illegal build, 100
regulations for open, 256,
350
See also Ships, and Preven-
tive laws
Bognor, 252
Bonding sj'stem. See Ware-
housing
Bonds, fees for, 80
abolished, 84
Brighton, 108, 122, 352
Bristol, 57, 117
Bute, Marquis of, 23
Butlerage. See Prisage and
Butlerage
Canada :
exports, 42.
fisheries question, 62, 149,
180, 188. 204, 292-5
official incidents, 174
official friction, 179, 291
evasion of Navigation Act,
185
timber from, deck cargoes,
190
tea restrictions, 192
first preference granted to
Britain, 214
seizures, 248, 350
smuggled books, 281
emigrants to, 290
an anonymous complaint,
291
Customs staff, 297
Labrador, Customs agent,
148
collector for, ig6
officers, 221
included in New-
foundland, 221
New Brunswick, 36, 37, 162
extensive smuggling,
67
INDEX
495
Canada (continued) :
New Brunswick, fees, 93
ofi&cials attacked, 117,
147
salaries unpaid, 157
imported tokens, 188
smuggling, 260, 339,
340
Navigation Laws
questions, 312
copyright evasion, 343
Newfoundland, 196
fisheries, 62, 149, 180,
188, 204, 292-5
free ports, etc., 180-2