Then there was the case of the lugger Polly, which occurred in January of 1808. Because vessels of this kind were, from their construction, their size, and their rig especially suitable for running goods, they were now compelled to have a licence before being allowed to navigate at all. This licence was given on condition that she was never to be found guilty of smuggling, nor to navigate outside certain limits, the object of course being to prevent her from running backwards and forwards across the English and Irish Channels. In the present instance the Polly had been licensed to navigate and trade, to fish and to carry pilots between Bexhill and coastwise round Great Britain, but not to cross the Channels. To this effect her master, William Bennett, had entered in a bond. But on the date mentioned she was unfortunately actually discovered at the island of Alderney, and it was obvious that she was there for the purpose of loading the usual cargo of goods to be smuggled into England. Six days later she had taken on board all that she wanted, but just as she was leaving the Customs officer examined her licence; and as it was found that she was not allowed to "go foreign," and that to go to Alderney had always been regarded a foreign voyage, she was promptly seized. Furthermore, as there was no suggestion of any fishing-gear found on board it was a clear case, and after due trial the verdict was given for the King and she was condemned.
There is existing an interesting application from the boat-masters and fishermen of Robin Hood's Bay (Yorkshire) in connection with the restrictions which were now enforced regarding luggers. These poor people were engaged in the Yarmouth herring-fishery, and prayed for relief from the penalties threatened by the recent Act of Parliament, which stipulated that luggers of a size exceeding 50 tons burthen were made liable to forfeiture. As their North Sea craft came under this category they were naturally in great distress. However the Customs Board pointed out that the Act allowed all vessels and boats of the above description and tonnage "which were rigged and fitted at the time of the passing thereof and intended for the purpose of fishing" to be licensed.
Whenever those tubs of spirits were seized from a smuggling craft at sea they were forwarded to the King's warehouse, London, by those coasting vessels, whose masters were "of known respectability." And by a different conveyance a sample pint of every cask was to be transmitted to the same address. The bungs of the casks were to be secured with a tin-plate, and under a seal of office, each cask being branded with the letters "G.R.," and the quantity given at the head of each cask. But those spirits which were seized on land and not on sea were to be sold by public auction. All smuggling transactions of any account, and all seizures of any magnitude, and especially all those which were attended by any attempt to rescue, were to be reported separately to the Customs Board. Small casks which had contained seized spirits were, after condemnation, sometimes allowed to fall into the hands of the smugglers, who used them again for the same purpose. To put a stop to this it was ordered that these tubs were in future to be burnt or cut to pieces "as to be only fit for firewood."
Even as early as 1782 considerable frauds were perpetrated by stating certain imports to be of one nature when they were something entirely different. For instance a great deal of starch had been imported under the denomination of flour from Ireland. The Revenue officers were therefore instructed to discriminate between the two articles by the following means. Starch "when in flour" and real flour could be differentiated by putting some of each into a tumbler of water. If the "flour" were starch it would sink to the bottom and form a hard substance, if it were real flour then it would turn into a paste. Starch was also much whiter than flour. And a good deal of spirits, wine, tea, and tobacco brought into vessels as ship's stores for the crew were also frequently smuggled ashore. Particularly was this the case in small vessels from Holland, France, Guernsey, Jersey, and Alderney.
One day in the month of May, 1814, a fine West Indian ship named the Caroline set sail from the Island of St. Thomas with a valuable cargo of dutiable goods, and in due time entered the English Channel. Before long she had run up the coast and found herself off Fairlight (between Hastings and Rye). The people on shore had been on the look-out for this ship, and as soon as the Caroline hove in sight a boat put off to meet her. Some one threw down a line which was made fast to the boat, and from the latter several men clambered aboard. After the usual salutations they accompanied the master of the ship and went below to the cabin, where some time was spent in bargaining. To make a long story short, they arranged to purchase from the Caroline 25 gallons of rum and some coffee, for which the West Indiaman's skipper was well paid, the average price of rum in that year being about 20s. a gallon. A cask of rum, 3 cwt. of coffee in a barrel and 2 cwt. in a bag were accordingly lowered over the ship's side into the boat and away went the little craft to the shore, having, as it was supposed, cheated the Customs. The Caroline continued her course and proceeded to London. The Customs authorities, however, had got wind of the affair and the matter was brought to a conclusion before one of his Majesty's judges.
"The Caroline continued her course and proceeded to London."[ToList]
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.