King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 eBook

Edward Keble Chatterton
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 351 pages of information about King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855.

King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 eBook

Edward Keble Chatterton
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 351 pages of information about King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855.
master of a smuggling shallop, when being pursued, impudently lowered his lugsail—­that would be his mizzen—­to show that the cruiser could not come up and catch him.  And lest that dishonourable incident previously mentioned, of a cruiser being ordered out of Saltburn Bay, may be thought a mere isolated event, let us hasten to add that the cruiser Mermaid was lying at anchor off Dunstanburgh Castle, on the Northumbrian coast, when Edward Browning came alongside her in an armed shallop named the Porcupine, belonging to Sandwich.  He insisted on the Mermaid getting up her anchor and leaving that region:  “otherwise he would do him a mischief.”  Indeed, were these facts not shown unmistakably by actual eye-witnesses to be the very reverse of fiction, one might indeed feel doubtful as to accepting them.  But it is unlikely that cruiser-commanders would go out of their way to record incidents which injured their reputation, had these events never in reality occurred.

Some idea of the degree of success which smuggling vessels attained during this eighteenth century may be gathered from the achievements of a cutter which was at work on the south coast.  Her name was the Swift, and she belonged to Bridport.  She was of 100 tons burthen, carried no fewer than 16 guns and a crew of fifty.  During the year 1783 she had made several runs near Torbay, and on each occasion had been able to land about 2000 casks of spirits, as well as 4 or 5 tons of tea.  Afterwards the whole of this valuable cargo had been run inland by about 200 men, in defiance of the Revenue officers.  Then there was the Ranger, a bigger craft still, of 250 tons.  She carried an enormous crew for her size—­nearly 100—­and mounted 22 guns.  She had been built at Cawsand, that village which in smuggling days attained so much notoriety, and stands at the end of a delightful bay facing the western end of Plymouth Breakwater.  This vessel had a successful time in landing cargoes to the east of Torbay without paying the lawful duty.  And there were many fishing-boats of from 18 to 25 tons, belonging to Torbay, which were at this time accustomed to run across the Channel, load up with the usual contraband, and then hover about outside the limits of the land.  When they were convinced that the coast was clear of any cruisers they would run into the bay and land, sink or raft their cargoes, according to circumstances.

And now, leaving for the present actual skirmishes and chases in which the Revenue cruisers were concerned, let us look a little more closely into their organisation.  From the report by the Commissioners appointed to examine the Public Accounts of the kingdom, and issued in 1787, it is shown that the Custom House cruisers were of two classes:  (1) Those which were owned by the Board, and (2) Those which were hired by contract.  And as to this latter class there was a further subdivision into two other classes; for one section of these vessels

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King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.