Perhaps there is hardly an Englishman who was not thrilled in his boyhood days by Marryat and others when they wrote of the King's Cutters and their foes. It is hoped that the following pages will not merely revive pleasant recollections but arouse a new interest in the adventures of a species of sailing craft that is now, like the brig and the fine old clipper-ship, past and done with.
The reader will note that in the Appendices a considerable amount of interesting data has been collected. This has been rendered possible only with great difficulty, but it is believed that in future years the dimensions and details of a Revenue Cutter's construction, the sizes of her spars, her tonnage, guns, &c., the number of her crew carried, the names and dates of the fleets of cutters employed will have an historical value which cannot easily be assessed in the present age that is still familiar with sailing craft.
In making researches for the preparation of this volume I have to express my deep sense of gratitude to the Honourable Commissioners of the Board of Customs for granting me permission to make use of their valuable records; to Mr. F.S. Parry C.B., Deputy Chairman of the Board for his courtesy in placing a vast amount of data in my hands, and for having elucidated a good many points of difficulty; and, finally, to Mr. Henry Atton, Librarian of the Custom House, for his great assistance in research.
E. KEBLE CHATTERTON.
CONTENTS
| CHAP. | PAGE | |
| [I.] | Introduction | 1 |
| [II.] | The Earliest Smugglers | 14 |
| [III.] | The Growth of Smuggling | 40 |
| [IV.] | The Smugglers' Methods | 56 |
| [V.] | The Hawkhurst Gang | 82 |
| [VI.] | The Revenue Cruisers | 94 |
| [VII.] | Cutters and Sloops | 121 |
| [VIII.] | Preventive Organisation | 138 |
| [IX.] | Cutters' Equipment | 157 |
| [X.] | The Increase in Smuggling | 182 |
| [XI.] | The Smugglers at Sea | 199 |
| [XII.] | The Work of the Cutters | 215 |
| [XIII.] | The Period of Ingenuity | 239 |
| [XIV.] | Some Interesting Encounters | 257 |
| [XV.] | A Tragic Incident | 276 |
| [XVI.] | Administrative Reforms | 295 |
| [XVII.] | Smuggling by Concealments | 320 |
| [XVIII.] | By Sea and Land | 339 |
| [XIX.] | Action and Counter-Action | 361 |
| [XX.] | Force and Cunning | 379 |
[APPENDICES] | 403 | |