"The Cruiser's Guns had shot away the Mizzen-Mast."[ToList]

The Badger, therefore, again began to fire into the other ship, but in about another five minutes the smuggler again called for quarter, and this was again granted. The cruiser sent her boat aboard her, and brought off the smuggler's crew, amounting to twenty-three men, though two others had been killed in the affray. The Badger's chief mate, on boarding the smuggler, sent away the latter's crew in their own boat, and seven of these men were found to be wounded, of whom one died the following morning. The name of the vessel was seen to be the Vree Gebroeders. She was of 119 tons burthen, and had the previous day started out from Flushing with a cargo of 42 gallons of brandy, 186 gallons of Geneva—these all being in the 3-1/2 gallon half-ankers. But there was also a good deal of other cargo, consisting of 856 bales of tobacco which contained 51,000 lbs., thirteen boxes of tea, and six bags of sugar. All these goods were made up in illegal-sized packages and she had nothing on board except what was contraband. The chests of tea were found all ready slung for landing with small ropes.

The Vree Gebroeders was provisioned for three months, and was armed with four carronades, 9-pounders, and two swivel muskets, bayonets, and other arms of different kinds. Her destination had been for Ireland. When the chief mate of the Badger boarded her he found that the cruiser's guns had shot away the mizzen-mast, but the smuggler's skipper remarked to the chief mate that the spare topmast on deck would serve for a mizzen and that the square-sail boom would make an outrigger, and that the trysail would be found below, but so far, he said, this sail had never been bent. Later on the chief mate found also the deck-log of the Vree Gebroeders, which had been kept on two slates, and it was a noticeable fact that these were kept in English. They read thus:—

N.W. by N.
Remarks, Monday 13th.
N.W. by W. At 6.30 Ostend
Light bore S.E. distant
12 miles.
At 4 a.m. Calais Light
bore E. by S.

So when the Badger first sighted this craft the latter had made her last entry in the log, only three and a half hours before. It was significant that English charts were also found among the ship's papers, though her manifest, her certificate, her bill of lading, and other certificates were all in Dutch. The books found included Hamilton Moore's Navigation, another similar work by Norie, the British Channel Pilot, and Navigation of the North Seas. There was also found a Dutch ensign and a Dutch Jack on board, but there was even an English Prayer-book.

The prisoners remained on board the Badger until next day, when they were transferred to H.M.S. Severn. The Vree Gebroeders was taken into Dover, and was valued, together with her cargo, at the handsome sum of £11,000, which would have been a fine amount of prize money; but in spite of the clear evidence at the trial, the jury were so prejudiced in favour of the smugglers that they found the prisoners not guilty, their contention being that the ship and cargo were wholly foreign, and that more than half of the crew were foreigners.

It had been an unfortunate affair. Besides the death of Cullum and the two smugglers killed and the seven smugglers wounded, Lieutenant Nazer, James Harper, William Poppedwell, Daniel Hannibel, and James Giles were all wounded on the Badger, Nazer being wounded on the left shoulder by a musket ball. The smuggler's crew had made ludicrous efforts to pretend they were Dutch. Dutch names were assumed, but witnesses at the trial were able to assign to them their proper appellations, and it was significant that the crew spoke English without a foreign accent. Her commander insisted his name was Reymas, but his real name was Joseph Wills, and he had been foremost in the calling for quarter. Another of the crew, who pretended his name was Jan Schmidt, was found to be an Englishman named John Smith. The vessel herself had been built by a Kentishman, living at Flushing, the previous year.

And here is another of those occasions when there was displayed an excess of zeal, though under the circumstances who would blame the Preventive officer for what he did? In February of 1824, a man named Field and his crew of three came out from Rye—that hotbed of smugglers—and intended to proceed to the well-known trawling ground about fifteen miles to the S.W. of Rye, abreast of Fairlight, but about five or six miles out from that shore. Unfortunately it fell very calm, so that it took them some time to reach the trawling ground, and even when with the assistance of the tide they did arrive there, the wind was so scant that it was useless to shoot the trawl in the water. Naturally, therefore, it was a long time before they had obtained their cargo of flat fish, and when a little breeze sprang up they had to get back to Rye, as their provisions had run short.

On their way back, when they were only about four or five miles from their harbour, they fell in with a small open sailing-boat named the Rose, containing four or five men. Field's bigger craft was hailed by the Rose and asked to be taken in tow, as they also had run short of provisions, and were anxious to get back to harbour at once. Field's boat took one of their crew on board, whilst the rest remained in the Rose and were towed astern. It was now about four or five in the morning, and they had not proceeded more than another couple of miles before they were hailed again, but this time by a boat under the command of a Preventive officer named Lipscomb, who had been sent by Lieutenant Gammon, R.N., from the revenue cruiser Cameleon. The cutter's boat bumped alongside Field's craft, which was called the Diamond. After making fast, Lipscomb and his boat's crew jumped aboard, and announced that they suspected the Diamond was fitted with concealments, and he wished to examine her. But after rummaging the ship nothing suspicious was found. Lipscomb then explained that he had been ordered by Lieutenant Gammon to take the Diamond and to bring her alongside the Cameleon and then to order Field and his crew to go aboard the cruiser as prisoners.

This, of course, did not lead to harmony on board. Lipscomb attempted to seize hold of the tiller, so as to steer the vessel back to Hastings Roads, where the cruiser was lying. But Field turned to him and said—