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PREFACE
PREFACE
I have in the following pages endeavoured to resist the temptation to weave a web of pleasant but unreliable fiction round actual occurrences. That which is here set forth has been derived from facts, and in almost every case from manuscript records. It aims at telling the story of an eventful and exciting period according to historical and not imaginative occurrence. There are extant many novels and short stories which have for their heroes the old-time smugglers. But the present volume represe
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CHAPTER IToC
CHAPTER IToC
Outside pure Naval history it would be difficult to find any period so full of incident and contest as that which is covered by the exploits of the English Preventive Service in their efforts to deal with the notorious and dangerous bands of smugglers which at one time were a terrible menace to the trade and welfare of our nation. As we shall see from the following pages, their activities covered many decades, and indeed smuggling is not even to-day dead nor ever will be so long as there are reg
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CHAPTER IIToC
CHAPTER IIToC
It is no part of our intention to trace the history of the levying of customs through different reigns and in different ages, but it is important to note briefly that the evading of these dues which we designate smuggling, is one of the oldest offences on record. The most ancient dues paid to the English sovereigns would seem to have been those which were levied on the exportation and importation of merchandise across the sea; and it is essential to emphasise at the outset that though nowadays w
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CHAPTER IIIToC
CHAPTER IIIToC
About the middle of the eighteenth century the smuggling of tea into the country had reached such extensive limits that the revenue which ought to have been expected from this source was sinking instead of rising. In fact it came to this, that of all the tea that was consumed in this country not one half had paid duty and the rest was smuggled. The bands of smugglers were well financed, were themselves hardy sailors and skilful pilots. They had some of the best designed and best built cutters an
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CHAPTER IVToC
CHAPTER IVToC
It was not till June of 1746 that the Committee issued their second report, and the evidence therein contained is even more interesting to us than any which had hitherto been given. After the Solicitor to the Commissioners had shown how biassed juries frequently were towards prisoners brought up on charges connected with smuggling, how they declined to bring in a verdict against them even in spite of the clearest of evidence, another official (the Surveyor of the Searchers in the Port of London)
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CHAPTER VToC
CHAPTER VToC
We come now to consider the desperate character of a band of men who rendered themselves for all time notorious in the domestic history of our country by acts of unbridled violence and consummate cruelty. But before we proceed to relate as fully as our limited space will allow the details of these incidents, it is necessary to remind ourselves once again of the great, solid mass of sympathy, both active and passive, that was always at the back of the smugglers. Without this such daring runs by n
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CHAPTER VIToC
CHAPTER VIToC
We drew attention some time back to the assistance occasionally rendered by soldiers when the Riding officers were about to arrest smugglers. Early in the year 1740, or about the close of 1739, Thomas Carswell, one of the Revenue officers stationed at Rye, was murdered, and a corporal and three dragoons whom he had taken to his assistance were badly wounded, and a large quantity of tea that had been seized was rescued. It was after this incident that Revenue officers of this port—perhaps the mos
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CHAPTER VIIToC
CHAPTER VIIToC
We have spoken during the preceding chapters of the revenue cruisers sometimes as cutters and sometimes as sloops. For the reason that will quickly become apparent let us now endeavour to straighten out any confusion which may have arisen in the mind of the reader. Practically, sloops and cutters of these days were one and the same, with very minor differences. In a valuable French nautical volume published in 1783, after explaining that the cutter came to the French from England, the definition
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CHAPTER VIIIToC
CHAPTER VIIIToC
We have already frequently referred to the Riding officers who were attached to practically all the chief ports of England. For the reasons already given the south-east coast had especially to be well provided in this respect. And, because of the proximity to the Isle of Man, the Solway Firth had also to be protected efficiently by these officers, additional, of course, to the aid rendered by the cruisers. Wales, however, seems to have been left practically unprotected. In the year 1809 there wa
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CHAPTER IXToC
CHAPTER IXToC
In an earlier chapter we quoted from Marryat a passage which showed that the mariners of a Revenue cutter were dressed in red flannel shirts and blue trousers, and also wore canvas or tarpaulin petticoats. The reason for the last-mentioned was appreciated by smuggler and Preventive men alike, and if you have ever noticed the Thames River Police dodging about in their small craft you will have noticed that at any rate the steersman has in cold weather some sort of apron wrapped round his legs. Bu
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CHAPTER XToC
CHAPTER XToC
By an Order in Council, dated September 9, 1807, certain rewards were to be paid to the military for aiding any officer of the Customs in making or guarding any seizure of prohibited "or uncustomed goods." It was further directed that such rewards should be paid as soon as possible, for which purpose the Controllers and Collectors were to appraise with all due accuracy all articles seized and brought to his Majesty's warehouse within seven days of the articles being brought in. The strength of a
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CHAPTER XIToC
CHAPTER XIToC
Had you been alive and afloat in June of 1802 and been cruising about near Falmouth Bay, or taken up your position on the top of one of those glorious high cliffs anywhere between St. Anthony and the Dodman, and remembered first to take with you your spyglass, you would have witnessed a very interesting sight; that is to say, if you had been able to penetrate through the atmosphere, which was not consistently clear throughout the day. For part of it, at any rate, was hazy and foggy just as it of
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CHAPTER XIIToC
CHAPTER XIIToC
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 Admiralt
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CHAPTER XIIIToC
CHAPTER XIIIToC
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
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CHAPTER XIVToC
CHAPTER XIVToC
Rowing about on the night of Lady Day, 1813, a six-oared boat, which had been launched from the Custom House cutter Lion , was on the prowl in that bay which extends all the way from Dungeness to Folkestone. When the watchers in this craft were off Hythe, and only about a quarter of a mile from the shore, they saw coming along over the dark waters a lugsail boat with foresail and mizzen making towards Dymnchurch, which is just to the west of Hythe. It was about an hour before midnight, and as th
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CHAPTER XVToC
CHAPTER XVToC
And now we must turn to an occurrence that was rather more tragic than the last, though the smugglers had only themselves to blame. The reader is already aware of the practice existing at this time of actually rowing contraband across from France to England in large boats pulling four or more oars. As one who have myself rowed a craft most of the way from Calais to Dover in a flat calm, I cannot altogether envy the smugglers their job. However, on May 11, 1818, Captain Hawtayne, commanding H.M.S
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CHAPTER XVIToC
CHAPTER XVIToC
By an Order in Council of May 5, 1821, it was directed that henceforth all sums which were awarded for arrests on shore of any person concerned in smuggling should be paid in the following proportions. He who made the arrest was to have three-quarters of the reward, which was to be divided into equal proportions if there were more than one person. If there were any officer or officers present at the time of arrest, these were to have one quarter of the reward. The officer commanding the party wa
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CHAPTER XVIIToC
CHAPTER XVIIToC
Second cousin to the method of filling oars and spars with spirits was that adopted by a number of people whose homes and lives were connected with the sea-shore. They would have a number of shrimping nets on board, the usual wooden handles being fitted at one end of these nets. But these handles had been purposely made hollow, so that round tin cases could be fitted in. The spirits then filled these long cavities, and whether they caught many shrimps or not was of little account, for dozens of
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CHAPTER XVIIIToC
CHAPTER XVIIIToC
Having now seen the evolution of the smuggling methods from brute force and superiority of ships and crews to the point where the landing of dutiable goods became a fine art, and having been able to obtain an idea of the manifold changes which occurred in the administration of the Preventive service between the years 1674 and 1856, we may now resume our narrative of the interesting encounters which occurred between the smugglers on the one hand and the Preventive force on the other. Up to the ye
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CHAPTER XIXToC
CHAPTER XIXToC
It is conscience that makes cowards of us all, and this may be said of smugglers no less than of law-abiding citizens. A trial was going on in connection with a certain incident which had occurred in Cawsand Bay, Plymouth Sound. It was alleged that, on the night of November 17, 1831, a man named Phillips had been shot in the knee whilst in a boat, trying with the aid of some other men to get up an anchor. The chief officer of the Preventive service at Cawsand was accused by Phillips of having th
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CHAPTER XXToC
CHAPTER XXToC
A smuggling vessel was usually provided with what was called a tub-rail—that is to say, a rail which ran round the vessel just below the gunwale on the inside. When a vessel was about to arrive at her destination to sink her tubs, the proceeding was as follows. The tubs were all made fast to a long warp, and this warp with its tubs was placed outside the vessel's bulwarks, running all round the ship from the stern to the bows and back again the other side. This warp was kept fastened to the tub-
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APPENDIX I
APPENDIX I
The reputed difference between a sloop and cutter in the eighteenth century is well illustrated by the following, which is taken from the Excise Trials, vol. xxx., 1st July 1795 to 17th December 1795, p. 95. In Attorney-General v. Julyan and others there was an action to condemn the vessel Mary of Fowey, brought under the provisions of sec. 4, c. 47, 24 Geo. III., as amended by sec. 6, c. 50, 34 Geo. III. There were several counts, including one with regard to the vessel being fitted with "arms
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APPENDIX III
APPENDIX III
[25] i.e. doubtless the channel better known as Swin Middle, leading into the estuary of the Thames....
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APPENDIX IV
APPENDIX IV
N.B. —There is no information to show how the rate of sailing was assessed. We know not (α) whether the vessel was sailing on a wind or off; whether close-hauled or with the wind abeam; (β) whether the distance was taken from a measured mile reckoned between two fixed objects ashore; (γ) what sail was set; whether reefed or not; (δ) whether the speed was estimated by means of the old-fashioned log. It is probable that the last mentioned was the method employed, but in any one of these cases the
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APPENDIX V
APPENDIX V
Length .—From Stem to Sternpost, 44 feet. Keel for tonnage, 41 feet. Breadth .—Extreme from outside the Plank, 14 feet 5 inches. Depth .—From the upper-part of the Main Hatch-Beam to the Ceiling alongside the Keelson, 7 feet 8 inches. Keel .—The Keel to be of good sound Elm, in not more than two pieces, with Hook and Butt Scarphs 6 feet long, sided 6-1/2 inches. Depth aft 12 inches, forward 14 inches, with a false Keel. Stem .—To be of sound English Oak, clear of Sap and all other defects, sided
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APPENDIX VI
APPENDIX VI
The following list shows the length and thickness of mast, boom, bowsprit, gaff, topmast, and spread-yard [ i.e. the yard on which the square-sail was set] as used in the Revenue Cutters of different sizes from 150 to 40 tons. The dimensions given below were those in vogue in the year 1838....
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APPENDIX VII
APPENDIX VII
Note .—The size of the above varied from 25 tons to 164 tons. But the ss. Vulcan was of 325 tons....
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APPENDIX VIII
APPENDIX VIII
No better instance of the strained relationship existing between the Royal Navy and the Revenue Service could be found than the following. It will be seen that the animosity had begun at any rate before the end of the seventeenth century and was very far from dead in the nineteenth. The first incident centres round Captain John Rutter, commander of "one of the smacks or sloops in the service of the Customs about the Isle of Wight." He stated that on April 24, 1699, about eight o'clock in the eve
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