i
THE SMUGGLERS
WjPi pntisptece
?Tt3
THE SMUGGLERS
Picturesque Chapters in the History
of Contraband
BY
LORD TEIGNMOUTH, Commander R.N.
AND
CHARLES G. HARPER
'^ SMUGGLF.R. — A ivretch lohoy in defiance of the latv!, imports
or exportt goods "without payment of the customs," — Dr. Johnson
ILLUSTRATED BY PAUL HARDY. BY THE AUTHORS,
AND FROM OLD PRINTS AND PICTURES
VOL. II
^
\.'^
<\^
\o>
LONDON
CECIL PALMER
49 CHANDOS STREET COVENT GARDEN W.C. 2
)/-2
Made and Printed in Grkat Britain. Richard Clav& Sons, Ltd.,
Printers, Bungav, Suffolk.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PACK
I. THE STIRRING EARLY DAYS OF THE COASTGUARD . I
II. MORE STRENUOUS TIMES FOR THE COASTGUARD .
III. THE ALDINGTON GANG .....
IV. THE ALDINGTON GANG IN THE MARSHES .
V. THE BATTLE OF BROOKLAND ....
VI. THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN THE BATTLE OF BROOKLAND
l8
46
69
79
88
VII. THE ALDINGTON GANG (continued) ... 98
VIII. THE MURDER OF QUARTERMASTER MORGAN, AT DOVER,
AND ITS SEQUEL ...... I09
IX. ARREST AND TRIAL OF GEORGE RANSLEY AND OTHERS
— END OF THE ALDINGTON GANG . . . 122
X. TRIAL OF THE ALDINGTON GANG .... I38
XI. TRIAL OF THE ALDINGTON GANG (concluded) . . I48
XII. THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE ALDINGTON TUB-CARRIERS
(A Nonagenaria7i's Story) . . . . . i6i
XIII. THE WHISKY SMUGGLERS ..... 185
XIV. SOME smugglers' TRICKS AND EVASIONS — MODERN
TOBACCO-SMUGGLING — SILKS AND LACE — A DOG
DETECTIVE — LEGHORN HATS — FOREIGN WATCHES —
PROHIBITION AND SMUGGLING IN THE UNITED STATES
— NEW WAYS WITH THE OLD COASTGUARD . . 209
XV. COAST BLOCKADE — THE PREVENTIVE WATER-GUARD AND
THE COASTGUARD — OFFICIAL RETURN OF SEIZURES —
ESTIMATED LOSS TO THE REVENUE IN 1831 — THE
SHAM SMUGGLER OF THE SEASIDE — THE MODERN
COASTGUARD . . . . . . .219
INDEX, ........ 233
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACE
AN ATTEMPTED LANDING : BLOCKADE SENTINEL FIRING HIS
BLUE LIGHT FOR ASSISTANCE . . . Frontispiece
SMUGGLERS ATTACKED .....
SMUGGLERS DEFEATED .....
THE "preventive" V^^ATER-GUARD OR COASTGUARD
ONE OF THE SUSSEX " BATMEN "...
digging UP BURIED TUBS ON THE SANDS AT FOLKESTONE
DRAGOONS DISPERSING SMUGGLERS .
PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE
'• FOR OUR PARSON "....,
A smuggler's spout LANTERN
JAMES QUESTED's COTTAGE AT HAWKINGE .
WHERE CHARLES GILES WAS ARRESTED : A COTTAGE
NEAR BILSINGTON BRIDGE ....
ALDINGTON FRITH : COTTAGE WHERE TWO IN-
FORMERS LIVED .....
FARM AT ALDINGTON, WHERE WILSON, ONE OF
THE GANG, WAS ARRESTED
THE WALNUT-TREE INN : A FAVOURITE MEETING-
PLACE OF THE ALDINGTON GANG
COTTAGE AT ALDINGTON, OCCUPIED BY ONE OF
THE GANG ......
SMUGGLERS HIDING GOODS IN A TOMB
Facing p.
i6
>>
22
) .
25
•
28
STONE .
43
Facing p.
72
•
75
Facing p.
154
• •
160
Facing p.
164
164
172
172
180
180
193
VH
THE SMUGGLERS
CHAPTER I
THE STIRRING EARLY DAYS OF THE COASTGUARD
The coastguardsmen having taken up their
stations, an order was immediately issued for officers
and men to be sworn as constables by the nearest
magistrate, " to enable them to act with more perfect
security to themselves." At the same time, the
riding-officers attached to the several districts were
ordered to instruct the " mounted guard " in their
duties, making them thoroughly acquainted with the
by-roads, as well as with the names and haunts of
the chief smugglers. It may be remarked that the
riding-officers, being a very old-established force,
were on this account very useful for putting the newly
established mounted guard "up to the ropes."
On April 22nd an " extraman " (a name given to
men temporarily engaged during illness or absence
of men on the establishment) in the Hastings district
was dismissed " for allowing a boat to run its cargo
on his guard, and for not following up the company
of smugglers, which he saw, or firing his pistol from
time to time to direct the crew in their pursuit " —
a clear case of bribery or cowardice.
A warning was issued to the men in the Brighton
district that " the smugglers are in the habit
of watching the Coastguardsmen return to their
VOL. II. B
2 THE SMUGGLERS
residences after daylight and then taking the oppor-
tunity to run or sink their goods off the coast."
Early next month (May) the campaign opened in
earnest : a run being successfully effected at No. 58
Tower, in the Hastings district, under circumstances
— to quote the Inspecting Commander — " highly
discreditable to some of the boatmen who did not
support the men on whose guard the boat landed,
or use their arms in a steady manner and with effect
after violence had been shown by the batmen.
Such conduct," observed thel.C, "reflects disgrace
on the district. I therefore again impress on the
minds of the boatmen that the smugglers on this
coast are not to be trifled with, and unless more
praiseworthy conduct takes place in future they will
continue their illegal practices."
The fact is the men were new to their work, new
to their stations, strangers to each other and there-
fore lacking mutual confidence and esprit-de-corps.
Many of them, moreover, had come from stations
to the westward, where the smugglers were not wont
to carry arms.
Some of the orders issued for the guidance of
coastguardsmen when attacked by smugglers are
worth quoting by way of commentary on the times.
Thus, the I.C. of the Brighton district points out,
" the great importance, in order to avoid the sudden
modes of attack hitherto practised by the smugglers,
and which in many instances have been successful,
that, in no instance where it can be avoided, are the
men to patrol singly. They are to be sent out to-
gether, with directions to keep such a distance apart
as to be able to hear each other speak in case of any
sudden attack, or that one may give the alarm and
then proceed to the assistance of the other." And
GUARDS AND CRUISERS 8
he directs that, " when any landing of contraband
goods is attempted, none of the coastguardsmen who
are stationed either to the left or to the right of the
place where such an attempt is made are to fire their
pistols until they come up to that place, or fall in
with the smugglers, as it is obvious if there is firing
at more places than one the mounted guard stationed
in the rear, as well as the cruiser's boats along the
coast, may be led into error and prevented from
rendering assistance by going to a place wide of the
intended landing."
It was the duty of the mounted guard to patrol
the coast at some distance inland, with a view to
cutting off the retreating smugglers with their
goods. The revenue cruisers, in the same way,
endeavoured to intercept the smuggling boats as
they escaped seawards.
In the Hastings district we also find the I.C. warn-
ing the men that, " as some degree of confusion
generally arises when the alarm is fired, by the patrols
on each side repeating it along the line, which
deceives the mounted guard inland as well as the
patrols on the beach, the crews are warned that
only the next patrol on each side repeat the alarm.
The person on the spot is, if possible, to burn his
port-fire or blue-light, should more assistance be
required."
There is frequent allusion at this time (May 1831)
to the four-oared smuggling galleys from Dover,
whose crews were excessively active.
The following order refers to a well-known method
of smuggling : — "I have information of the most
unquestionable nature," writes the I.C. of the
Hastings district, " that the smugglers are con-
templating a scheme of secreting and conveying
4 THE SMUGGLERS
dry and contraband goods from the ports of France
in old ballast-bags; and that it is their intention,
in order to prevent suspicion, to beach their boats
during the day, and throw the ballast-bags care-
lessly on the shore. There are two galleys now at
Calais, taking in goods for this purpose."
A somewhat similar device, invented by a Jew
nicknamed " Buffy," was in vogue a few years earlier,
in the form of tubs of spirits whose shape and colour
were disguised by a coating of plaster of Paris,
studded with gravel and shells, and partially hidden
with seaweed, so as to resemble, as nearly as possible,
the blocks of chalk found under the cliffs along the
Kentish shore. These would be dropped from boats
at night on the beach, above low-water line, so as
to be dry when the tide receded. Next day, a
smuggler, attired in a countryman's gaberdine,
would drive a cart on to the sands, and load it with
what appeared to be lumps of chalk for lime-burning.
The scheme was so well thought out, and proved so
successful, that it might have gone on indefinitely
had not the secret been entrusted to a woman. One
of the Dover smugglers, we learn from the officer
of the district, in the exultation of success, confided
the stratagem to his sweetheart, and the damsel in
turn betrayed it to a more favoured lover, who
happened to be an officer in the Coast Blockade
Service. This, of course, led to the discovery and
seizure of the next cargo, and a couple of the dis-
guised tubs were sent along the stations to put the
officers and men on the qui vive.
Ever since the establishment of a preventive force
bribery and corruption had been in favour with the
smugglers as a means of gaining their ends. Where-
fore there is nothing surprising in the following
THE BLOCKADE SENTINELS 5
official warning : " There being reason to fear that
an attempt will be made to corrupt our men through
the medium of females," wrote the LC. of the
Brighton district, " it is my direction that patrols
hold no communication with any person, male or
female." And he warns the crews of stations and
mounted guards to keep at as great a distance as
possible from the inhabitants near the stations.
This was hard on the gossips.
It was the invariable custom for the blockade
sentinels to be posted on the brink of the tide : a
custom which had its drawbacks, the men's positions
being thus proclaimed to the smugglers. When the
coastguard took over charge, however, the patrols
were encouraged to keep out of sight as much as was
consistent with a good look-out. And we find the
I.e. of the Hastings district issuing a further caution
apropos of " the custom which prevails of the patrols
hailing every boat that approaches the beach at
night; " adding : " Such conduct is not consistent
with the duty they have to perform, and I request
that the officers will forbid their men doing so in
future." It was certainly a foolish practice to
" warn off " the smuggling boats, and thus lose the
chance of a valuable prize.
Whether the customs authorities had paid agents
in the continental ports to report the movements of
smuggling vessels, or whether they depended on the
consuls for information, cannot be positively affirmed.
This much is certain, however, that valuable " tips "
were constantly being received at headquarters, and
duly transmitted to the commanders of revenue
cruisers afloat and coastguard stations on shore.
Thus, under date May 29th, 1831, the following bit of
news came along : "A correspondent writes from
6 THE SMUGGLERS
Caen : About a week since I saw a man in the street
whose appearance and dress immediately told me
he was a smuggler, and on inquiry I found he had
been one. A cutter is ready and will probably take
lace or blonde, which, owing to the distress, is now
extremely cheap."
Symptoms of impending activity amongst the
smugglers in the early days of June prompted the
I.e. of the Deal district to issue the following warn-
ing : "I perceive by the movements of the smugglers
that it is their intention to try their illicit trade on
all parts of the coast a short time before the setting
of the night watch, and as soon after its relief in
the morning as possible." And as forced runs might
be attempted, it was further ordered that, " at
evening muster each man is to have at least ten
rounds of pistol ammunition, and the extreme men
are to carry muskets in addition and ten rounds of
musket cartridge. The swords are to be kept sharp
and with a good point."
The men throughout all districts were further
cautioned against being led astray by *' smugglers'
decoys " in the shape of fires, and reports of disturb-
ances, spread about for the purpose of drawing men
away from the spot where a run was to be attempted.
In the Deal district it was found expedient, in
addition to the land patrolling, to row guard alon^
the coast by night ; and ingenious officers were wont
to devise means of making the boats' crews as little
conspicuous as possible. For example, the following
order was issued (July 17th, 1831) to the men of the
Deal district : " That every man may be ready at a
moment's notice to go afloat at night, it is my direc-
tion that they immediately furnish themselves with
white frocks and hat-covers, or canvas sou'-westers,
INEFFICIENT OFFICER 7
painted white. Officers should also be similarly
provided, or the object of their going afloat is at
once defeated."
Whether owing to the short nights, or the summer
crowds at the seaside, June and July passed off with-
out any serious attempts to force the chain of patrols.
Early in September, however, two runs were effected
in the Deal district; concerning which the I.C.
remarks that the first, which came off at " the
Accommodation ladder " at Pegwell, was on the
guard of J. Clark, Chief Boatman, ** the said guard
being only 142 yards ; " while the other, at Sandown,
** was, no doubt, a bribery case."
The crews of stations are cautioned at this time
that " smuggling in open boats from Boulogne and
other ports opposite Kent and Sussex is carried on
as actively as ever by some secret method which
they are to use their utmost efforts to discover."
All the coastguard stations were in the charge of
Lieutenants R.N., many of whom, being past their
prime and weary of lijfe, found the duties somewhat
irksome. It was in allusion to one such officer that
the following order came from the I.C. of the Deal
district (October 9th, 1831) : " Having on a recent
night visit observed an officer under my command
riding a donkey on the beach to visit his guards,
instead of using every precaution to keep his situa-
tion as much as possible from the smugglers, as well
as from his crew, I desire that this practice be dis-
continued, assuring the officer alluded to that I
shall not keep such idleness a secret from the Comp-
troller General."
On the approach of winter, with the long nights so
favourable to smuggling operations, the crews were
enjoined to exercise the utmost vigilance, with a
8 THE SMUGGLERS
view both to repelling attacks and frustrating the
attempts of the smugglers to run their goods. While,
by way of obviating the confusion wont to arise from
the indiscriminate use of blue-lights as alarm signals,
the following order was issued : " One light — signal
for assistance, or company seen ; two lights — return to
your guards ; three lights — assistance of whole station
required, smugglers in the act of running by force."
On the 6th October the campaign fairly opened,
and the first of a series of fights with the Sussex
smugglers took place near the Priory, Hastings,
when two boatmen were badly beaten, and the
smugglers succeeded in running all their goods. No
prisoners were taken, nor was any clue obtained con-
cerning the parties engaged. That the affair was
regarded seriously by the authorities is shown by
the following Proclamation, issued two days later :
Custom House, London, Oct. 8, 1831.
" Whereas it has been represented to the Com-
missioners of His Majesty's Customs that on the
night of the 6th Oct. William Gruer and Francis
Duff, Boatmen in the service of the Coastguard,
were severely beaten and wounded by a large party
of smugglers unknown, whilst in the execution of
their duty at Hastings, in the county of Sussex, in
endeavouring to seize a cargo of contraband spirits,
and which party succeeded in rescuing some of the
smugglers who had been detained by the said officers ;
the said Commissioners in order to bring to justice the
said offenders are hereby pleased to offer a Reward of
£500
to any person who shall discover or cause to be
discovered," etc., etc.
ARMING THE COASTGUARD 9
With a view to enabling the men more effectually
to resist attacks of this nature, the I.C. of the Folke-
stone district ordered the muskets to be loaded
with slugs prepared from the balls of condemned
cartridges : the men were further directed to " pro-
vide themselves with stout hats of sufficient substance
to protect the head from a common bat " (blow).
They were also enjoined to keep their cutlasses sharp,
and to fit them with beckets for attaching to the
wrist, to prevent them being knocked out of their
hands.
On November 26th, the I.C. of the Deal district
warned the crews as follows :
" I have good reason to believe that some desperate
attempts will be made by the smugglers at different
points in this district to effect landings by force,
particularly between the North Shore and Reculvers.
The officers are always to be accompanied by a man
on night duty who is to carry a musket and bayonet,
pistol and sword. The men are to be cautioned
before going on duty against surprise, by not allow-
ing anyone to approach their guard till satisfied it is
their officer, as I am persuaded the smugglers will
attempt to seize them on their posts by assuming
a false character. The chief officers are also to be
properly armed and on their guard when passing
through plantations, turning corners or near cliff
edges, as I am informed on the very best authority
that each company of smugglers will be accompanied
by a number of batmen whose first and grand object
will be to secure the officer."
During December the smugglers were busy all
along the coast. A run came off at Sizewell, as well
as an affray at Cuckmere in which fire-arms were
freely used by the smugglers ; and concerning which
10 THE SMUGGLERS
it was stated in General Orders that " the patrols
at Hope Gap behaved with great firmness and
gallantry." There was also an affair on the Lancing
station which led to the promotion of a boatman —
" for meritorious conduct when attacked by smugglers
and batmen on the night of the 4th of December and
severely beaten."
On January 6th, 1832, the revenue cruiser Ranger,
having made a seizure of a boat containing 205 tubs
of spirits, landed them at Hastings. The sight of
this valuable cargo en route to the custom-house in
carts so incensed some of the inhabitants that they
assaulted the office^ who was in charge, with stones,
" which to his credit," wrote an eye-witness, " he
bore with patience and forbearance, although his
arm was considerably injured." Five smugglers
who had been taken along with the goods, and placed
for better security in a tower at Bo Peep station,
effected their escape during the night, and were not
seen again.
On the night of Sunday, the 9th of January, a
serious affray took place at the Warehouse Gate,
near the new town of St. Leonards, with a large
party of smugglers, in course of which several were
wounded on both sides, and a great quantity of goods
was run. It was reported that three of the smugglers
died afterwards, and that one man had his hand
amputated.
The crews of the Hastings district were warned
that the cutter Hope of Middelburg was about
to attempt a landing on the 26th inst, and that the
" Spotsman " was a man named Nash. The officers
of stations were further enjoined to be on their guard
against being deceived by " feints." " Should a
run of goods take place on any station or a seizure
INSECURE CUSTOM-HOUSES 11
be made," ran the order, " the officers are particu-
larly requested not to allow the other parts of their
stations to remain unguarded, as it is very probable
that a small cargo may be landed in order to
draw attention to that, while a larger one is run
elsewhere."
On February 6th, in an encounter with a large party
of armed smugglers near Cambury Lane, Guilford,
near Rye, several were wounded on both sides, and
one smuggler was shot dead, who was afterwards
buried at Hastings.
The frequency of these conflicts and the defiant
attitude of the smugglers account for the following
grimly suggestive order by the I.C. of the Deal
district :
** Having received positive information that during
the present darks the smugglers will make some
desperate attempts with armed parties to run goods,
and in order that the crews may be prepared to give
these ruffians a proper reception, it is my direction
that every other man is armed with a musket and
bayonet in addition to his pistol : the musket to be
loaded with ball cartridges, and a second ball cut
into four, with orders not to use this valuable weapon
for an alarm, but to keep it in reserve for the security
of their own persons and to severely punish those
who may have the temerity to attack them."
The insecurity of many custom-houses being
notorious — a circumstance well known to the
smugglers — as proved by frequent attempts to
rescue seized goods, an order was issued to the
coastguard " not to deposit large seizures in custom-
houses liable to sudden attack from smugglers."
During January the stations of the Brighton
district were thus warned ; " It is reported that a
12 THE SMUGGLERS
party of batmen have left Hastings for the purpose
of covering a run at either Kingston, Worthing or
Lancing." Particulars of the resulting affray are
lacking, but it is on record that W. King, Chief
Boatman, and John Richardson, boatman, received
injuries in conflict with a large party of batmen on
the night of February 2nd, at Littlehampton (Kingston
station), and that a reward of £300 was offered for
information leading to the apprehension and con-
viction of the offenders.
The frequency of these attacks, and the impunity
with which the smugglers conducted their opera-
tions owing to the use of fire-arms, led to the issue
of the following order from Headquarters, with a
view to making the fire of the coastguard more
effective when attacked : " The chief officers are,
with the least possible delay, to furnish themselves
with an ample supply of swan-shot which is imme-
diately to be made up into cartridges to be used by
the patrols in the event of being attacked by
smugglers."
On the morning of the 21st another very serious
affray with a large party of armed smugglers took
place at Tower 40, opposite the " long-rails," about
three miles west of Hastings, with fatal results :
one coastguardsman being shot dead on the spot,
another received a gunshot wound in the abdomen
and died soon after, and a third was dangerously
wounded in the arm. None of the smuggling party
were captured, though the boat, containing 153 tubs,
was taken.
In the old burial-ground at Bexhill the writers
discovered a melancholy reminder of this affair,
in the shape of two headstones, bearing the following
inscriptions ;
AFFRAY AT WORTHING 13
<(
In memory of David Watts of the Coastguard
Station No. XLII Tower. He was shot and almost
instantly expired on the 21st Feb., 1832, aged 45
years.
Short was the warning, quick the summons flew,
Ere scarce his weeping friends could bid adieu."
" In memory of William Meekes, Chief Boatman of
Coastguard Station No. XLII Tower. He was
mortally wounded on the night of 21st and died on the
23rd of Feb. 1832, aged 35 years."
(The lines which followed were illegible.)
The affray thus briefly alluded to was followed,
the morning after, by a still more daring outrage,
at Worthing, of so extraordinary a nature that we
shall quote the account that appeared in the Sussex
Advertiser (February 27th, 1832) :
" A smuggling transaction remarkable for the
bloodthirsty daring with which it was perpetrated,
as well as for the fatal event in which it terminated,
took place in this town, on Wednesday last, 22nd
inst., which created considerable alarm amongst
the inhabitants and has formed the topic of conversa-
tion ever since. At 3 a.m., in broad moonlight,
a boat containing about 300 tubs of spirits was
beached opposite to Stafford's library, and a party
of 200 men succeeded in clearing nearly all the tubs,
with which they proceeded along the Steyne and up
the High Street, guarded in the rear by a company
of Bexhill batmen, with a few fire-arms, and closely
followed by a small party of Preventive-men who
kept firing at intervals along the street to bring their
party together. At the top of High Street Lieu-
tenant Henderson and four of his men met and
14 THE SMUGGLERS
immediately pressed upon the smugglers, who made
their way over into the Brooks; here the parties
had a skirmish : one of the preventive-men was
knocked down, and another had his breastbone
broken by a stone. The smugglers, with a man of
the name Cowardson as their leader, formed a line
and came with many oaths upon Lieutenant Hender-
son, who, maintaining the greatest coolness, warned
them not to come near him and threatened to shoot
the first man that advanced; but they still closed
on him, when Cowardson, with his bat raised, being
in the act of striking. Lieutenant Henderson shot
him dead on the spot, and with his second pistol
wounded another man in the thigh. The lieutenant
immediately after had his left arm broken by a
bludgeon, when, after striking another with his
cutlass in the neck, he was overpowered, struck down
and trampled upon by the smugglers. At this time
there were also three of his men on the ground, one
of whom now lies in a dangerous state."
Several of the smuggling party were reported to
have been wounded, but, as was usual on such
occasions they were carried away by their companions
to prevent discovery. The tub-boat with 44 tubs
was secured ; and the cutter which towed it across —
the Mary of Rye — was captured the evening before
by the revenue cutter Hawke.
Were the above facts not well authenticated the
reader might doubt the possibility of such an
affair taking place at a popular sea-side resort, in
the nineteenth century. But the writers have
themselves interviewed an old smuggler who took
part in the affray.
This affair was viewed so seriously by the authori-
ties, that it was determined to call in the aid of the
SUBTERFUGES 15
militcfry. It was unreasonable to expect the isolated
crews of coastguard stations to face the large bodies
of armed smugglers that were now in the habit of
forcing the runs. While the disastrous results of
recent encounters had terrorised the men. On
March 12th it was reported from Hastings, that " part
of a troop of Dragoons, 36 in number, had arrived
there to assist the coastguard, and proceeded after-
wards to Brighton, being succeeded by about 40
of the Rifle Brigade." Other movements of troops
were reported from the westward, " to assist in
suppressing the daring attempts which are being
made to introduce contraband articles on the coast
of Sussex."
That these measures had the desired effect, for a
time, is evident from the following warning issued
two months later : " The smugglers being greatly
disconcerted along the coasts of Kent and Sussex,
in the more open mode of smuggling, intend trying
largely to import goods in partly laden colliers."
A further caution from the I.C. of the Deal district
throws an interesting light on the stratagems that
were sometimes resorted to in order to throw the
smugglers off their guard : " Having noticed the
day look-out men at some of the stations parading
their posts in uniform . . . the first object is to have
the day sentinel dressed as much as possible like the
inhabitants, instead of placing them as beacons to
warn the illicit traders, whom it is our duty to detect
by disguise and every other means that can devise
itself."
From Gravelines came news under date July i6th,
that " two waggons had arrived with 100 bags of tea,
and a number of packages about 16 inches square,
secured with red tape and sealed, supposed to
16 THE SMUGGLERS
contain gauze ribbon, which will be shipped in four
English boats now in the harbour, for the Newhaven
district."
During August great activity was displayed by the
Deal smugglers. On the i6th the coastguard were
warned that " the long smuggling galley Bee left
Deal on the morning of the 14th, with 6 men, and
returned this morning, having been seen coming
round the North Foreland." And on the 25th, " the
open lugger Pursuit left Deal at 12.30 a.m. with 8
noted smugglers, taking a long black galley with
them. Also the Fame, open lugger, left with 10
noted characters at i a.m., taking with them a long
varnished galley." And again, in September, *' The
Victory, smuggling lugger which generally works with
the Bee galley, left Broadstairs."
The following order by the LC. of the Deal district
is interesting in view of the changes which time and
the builder have wrought thereabouts : " His Grace
the Duke of Wellington having expressed a wish to
preserve game on the left side of the road from Deal
to Dover castle, as being within the limits of the
Warden of the Cinque Ports, the chief officers will
govern themselves accordingly and will not sport
thereon."
Armed parties of smugglers having been observed
for several nights on the look-out near Beachy Head
and Seaford, the LC. of the Brighton district orders
swan-shot to be purchased and made up into
cartridges; and on the nth October more detailed
instructions are issued owing to information that a
run " will take place near Beachy Head to-night."
With the approach of winter, and the probable
reappearance of armed parties on the coast, the
stations were reinforced by 60 men from Ireland.
II/i6
A TOT FOR THE GUARDS 17
At the same time, the I.C. of the Folkestone district,
with a view to easing the strain on the men and
encouraging zeal, gave permission for the chief officers
to reserve a couple of tubs for the use of the crew
when a seizure was made — " to be distributed at
periods of need to afford cheerfulness and buoyant
spirits."
VOL. n.
CHAPTER II
MORE STRENUOUS TIMES FOR THE COASTGUARD
The year 1832 afforded many lively and in-
teresting incidents for the new coastguard force,
for the smugglers of the south-east coast, impressed
by the energetic measures adopted, now had recourse
to sundry ruses for the introduction of their wares.
Thus, the coastguard stations in the Hastings
district were warned that " the notorious smuggler
Cobby has been afloat at night in his duck punt and
has, it is to be feared, been employed towing a small
number of tubs ashore, to be pulled over the beach
with a line." Another ingenious device is thus
alluded to : "A seizure was recently made at No. 2
Tower, Dungeness, as follows : The day look-out
man observing a feather remaining stationary on
the water, he stripped and swam out to it, and found
the feather attached to a small cork, to which a
piece of twine was made fast, and on hauling on it
he soon got hold of a piece of |-inch rope, and drew
thirty-two tubs of spirits on shore."
At Deal (October 17th) the punt Gloucester was
seized with ten bales of tea weighing 490 lb. con-
cealed under her nets.
During this month the I.C, of the Deal district
calls the attention of station officers to the following
discreditable affair : "A big landing of goods was
discovered to have taken place on 29th Sept. at
Hope Point, Kingsdown Station, after sunrise, on
18
PROMOTIONS 19
the guard of Henry Cogen, boatman ; who deserted.
The I.e. finds that the chief officer used to tell the
men over-night their guard for the morning ; hence
the smugglers with their usual cunning would not
have trusted so valuable a cargo to chance had they
not, from this improper practice, known where to
find this corrupt character."
As a set-off to the above may be quoted an order
from the I.C. of the Hastings district : " The Comp-
troller-General has been pleased to promote B.
Buckle, boatman of 50 Tower Station, on my re-
presentation of his manly conduct in proceeding
instantly to the boat and securing one of the smugglers
on the night of November 20th, when a run was
attempted." And again, in December a General
Order is issued to the coastguard notifying that the
crew of the Camber Station has been awarded £10
each, besides the seizure share, and were to be
promoted, for courageously supporting their officer.
Lieutenant Parry (since promoted to Commander),
during a desperate affray with armed smugglers
on the night of February ist last.
The smugglers having been suspiciously quiet
for some time past, the I.C. of the Hastings district
issued the following warning, under date December
loth : "As the season is far advanced without smug-
gling, I think it extremely probable that much will
be attempted these darks. I therefore again call
on the officers and men to use every exertion, and I
beg the officers will impress on the men — particularly
at Hastings, Priory and 39 Tower Stations — to
beware of surprise day and night, and to be firm,
cool, and determined."
After a brief respite the smugglers broke out again
with all their wonted violence and daring, appearing
20 THE SMUGGLERS
in great force on the morning of January 24th,
1833, near Eastbourne, when a Chief Boatman was
shot dead and several were wounded on both sides.
The Sussex Advertiser of January 28th contained the
following detailed account of the affair : *' A terrible
encounter took place on the morning of the 24th
inst. at Eastbourne, between a large party of armed
smugglers and the Preventive service stationed at
that place. A boat landed about 2 a.m., and the
smugglers, amounting, it is said, to many hundreds,
commenced running the contraband goods, when the
coastguards made their appearance, and a serious
and fatal skirmish took place. Shots were fired
on both sides, and one of the officers of the coastguard
was killed upon the spot, and another desperately
wounded. The smugglers ultimately made off,
leaving only a few tubs of spirits and the boat in
possession of the Preventive men."
From another source we gather that, while the
coastguard patrol on the beach at East Dean was
holding a conference with the Chief Boatman, George
Pett, the sound of a horn was heard close in shore
which was answered from the land with a shrill
whistle. This put the men on the alert, and on
mounting the cliff one of them discovered a number
of men and immediately called out, " The Company !
The Company ! " At the same time, Pett fired his
pistol in the air as a signal for assistance. An
immense body of smugglers then rushed to the spot,
and poor Pett was shot and mortally wounded.
The boat then came ashore and a general skirmish
ensued, while a number of armed men formed in
line on each side of the working party engaged in
clearing the cargo. Three other C.G. were seriously
wounded. Up to this time the smugglers had
PARDON AND REWARD 21
escaped unscathed, but, during their retreat the
mounted guard came up with them and fired into
their midst, repeating this several times, and tracks
of blood showed that some of the smugglers were
wounded.
The Gazette of February 5th contained the following
notice :
" Pardon and Reward.
** Whereas it has been humbly represented to
the King that early in the morning of Thursday the
24th day of January last, a large body of armed
smugglers assembled in the parish of Eastbourne in
the county of Sussex for the purpose of effecting
the landing and running of uncustomed goods, and
that violent attacks were made on George Pett,
chief boatman of the coastguard station there, who
was killed by a shot from one of the smugglers, and
on two other boatmen of the coastguard service who
were severely wounded ;
" His Majesty, for the better discovering the
persons who have been guilty of this felony and
murder, is hereby pleased to promise his most
gracious pardon to any one or more of the persons
so assembled (except those who actually perpetrated
the act) who shall discover any of the parties con-
cerned in the felony and murder aforesaid, so that
he or they may be apprehended and brought to
justice.
" (Signed) Melbourne.
" And the Commissioners of His Majesty's Customs
are hereby pleased to offer a reward of £1000 to any
person or persons who shall discover or cause to be
discovered any of the persons concerned in the said
22 THE SMUGGLERS
felony and murder, so that he or they may be appre-
hended; such amount to be paid on conviction by
the Collector, H.M. Customs, Rye.
" By order of the Comrs.
" Custom House, London, 5 Feb., 1833."
Notwithstanding that the parties concerned in
this outrage must have been perfectly well known
over a large extent of country, none of them were
ever discovered, in spite of the large reward offered.
In the graveyard of St. Mary's Church, Old East-
bourne, near the N.E. corner, stands a melancholy
memorial of this affray, in the shape of a headstone
with the following inscription :
" To the memory of
Mary, wife of G. Rett,
who departed this life Sep. 11, 1832, aged 35 years.
Dangers stand thick through all the ground
To push us to the tomb.
And fierce diseases wail around
To hurry mortals home.
Geo. Rett, Chief Boatman, husband of the above,
who was shot in an attack by smugglers, 24 Jan.
1833, aged 43 years."
In consequence of this affray the Dep6t Company
of the Rifle Brigade was ordered to proceed from
Dover to Hastings by forced marches, " the whole
of that coast being in a state of great excitement
in consequence of the proceedings of the smugglers
who had lately killed a Chief Boatman and wounded
others. After an hours' rest," continues Sir W.
11/22
WARNINGS 23
Cope, in his History of the Rifle Brigade, " the men
were divided into parties under officers and directed
to patrol the beach for miles : this continued for
six weeks, no smugglers being met with the whole
time."
Was it likely the smugglers would be such arrant
fools as to run their heads into a noose so clumsily
prepared and so widely advertised? Naturally,
they bided their time till the coast was clear.
It was in connection with the sad affair above
described that the I.C. of the Hastings district
cautioned the officers that " Should such an attempt
be made in this district, I trust the officers and
crews will abandon the boat and cargo to follow
the assassins up into the country, and that they will
behave with coolness and not throw away their
fire."
The I.C. of the Brighton district also issued a
warning in connection with the same affair : " The
darks — [i. e. no moon) are again commencing, and
the morning of the 24th January has taught us that
we have no common enemy to contend with. I
trust that the honourable feelings so inherent in
British officers and seamen will render any observa-
tions of mine as to the strict performance of duty
unnecessary, and that this appeal will not be made
in vain."
Later on (February) the Sergeant of Mounted Guard
writes from Hythe : " The Iden and Rye party have
sent a boat across with two Rye men, two Hastings
men, and one from Eastbourne. They commence spot-
ting to-morrow night : their first spot the Camber :
their spots are to be very wide." Commenting on this
bit of news, and in an appeal to the officers and men
to frustrate the smugglers' intentions, the I.C. warns
24 THE SMUGGLERS
them that " a steady and determined use of fire-arms
must be had recourse to if necessary : in which case
I recommend, in firing, that an aim be taken at the
enemies' knees."
This was all very well, but it is an open question
whether fire-arms should be entrusted to rash and
inexperienced individuals who, on occasions of emer-
gency, have to use their own discretion. The coast-
guard contained many men who had never been
trained to the use of arms, and who, for lack of
instruction and experience, were quite unfitted to
be entrusted with weapons to be used at their own
discretion. An order has already been quoted with
reference to a backwardness displayed by some of
the crews in using their arms when attacked. The
following order points out a danger of another sort :
" Complaints having reached me," writes the I.C.
of the Hastings district, " that cutters' boats have
been threatened to be fired into at night while on the
look-out, and as such a measure is highly illegal, even
in the case of a smuggling boat, I request the officers
will point out to their crews the impropriety of such
conduct, and that, in the event of death being caused,
they would undoubtedly be tried for their lives."
The Chief Officer of Birling Gap station writes :
" I have this morning observed two very suspicious
characters in this neighbourhood : one of the two,
I saw when the goods were run at Crowlink ; likewise
before the tubs were taken at Seaside. The same
person was seen this side of Crowlink flagstaff the
same morning that Hayward discovered the smug-
gling party on his 5th guard."
On March 14th the Chief Officer of Priory Station
writes : " 9.30 p.m., I have just received information
that a boat will attempt to land a crop of goods
HOVERING VESSELS
25
between 50 Towerand Langney to-night or to-morrow.
If not run to-night I shall be informed to-morrow
where the party was assembled. This information
is from a person who has before given it to my
predecessor."
Under date April 23rd the Commander of the Stork,
R. C, writes : " These last three nights I have
observed lights shown at the back of Crowlink
Tunv f'adxy i/tt
' JlTtwtntme
CfVWTl t/uUjc
\
THE " PREVENTIVE WATER-GUARD OR COASTGUARD.
A CARICATURE OF 1833.
Station, apparently smuggling signals : possibly
to some vessel in the offing unable to get in owing
to the calms." And on June 17th, the stations in
the Brighton district are warned that a ten-oared
galley is expected to try one of the harbours; and
that a party of twenty-four batmen is engaged to
cover the landing of the goods.
An affair of a serious nature, details of which
are lacking, is alluded to in a General Order to the
26 THE SMUGGLERS
Hastings district, notifying that the Board of Customs
had awarded £ioo for distribution in the proportion
of £io to each officer and £5 to each of the men who
were engaged on that occasion, " for their praise-
worthy exertions in preventing a run when the
smugglers were armed, and following them up to
intercept their retreat, on the night of the 17th
March last."
The following extract from the Comptroller-
General's Report on Smuggling on the coasts of
Kent and Sussex during the winter 1832-33 is of
special interest :
*' It is impossible to speak in terms of too high
commendation of the extraordinary zeal, energy
and perseverance manifested both by the officers
and men employed on this dangerous and harassing
service, or the cheerfulness with which they have
borne the privations inseparable from it. The In-
specting Commanders specially selected for the
commands of these districts have set an example
of vigilance and activity which has been most
laudably followed by those under their command.
Scarcely a complaint has been preferred against
anyone, and the whole force appears to have been
actuated by one common determination to execute
their duty faithfully and creditably."
Early in August the stations were warned to be
vigilant, " as the smugglers will no doubt attempt
a run prior to the Brighton races." On the 19th
the I.e. of the Hastings district writes from Romney,
10 a.m. " Having last night in company with the
mounted guard encountered near Dungeness a
party of smugglers assembled for the purpose of
forcing a landing in that quarter, but in consequence
of our force being unfortunately discovered through
CENSURE 27
the misconduct of one of the coastguard, they
immediately dispersed and flashed the smuggling
galley off. The spots selected for this night and
to-morrow are some part of the coast near Hastings
and Eastbourne, and should there be sufficient
wind, the importing boat will be towed across by
a lugger." And in further allusion to the affair,
the following General Order was issued : ** The
I.e. considers the conduct of the Commissioned
Boatman at No. 2 Battery on the night of the i8th
inst., while watching the movements of a company
of smugglers in the rear of that station, as highly
disgraceful and evincing a considerable degree of
timidity, and his firing and thereby alarming the
whole coast, void of the slightest necessity, the said
C. B. being fully aware that had the smugglers
approached a competent coastguard reinforcement
was at hand ready to reinforce the crew and totally
overthrow the smugglers' contemplated operations
by the certain capture of both goods and offenders,
the officers in command are hereby made acquainted
with the reprehensible occurrence in question, that
they may caution their respective crews against
conduct of this nature, bearing in mind that when
a co-operative force is collected to counteract offen-
sive measures on the part of smugglers, the greatest
secrecy and cunning in ambush is invariably and
imperatively necessary to ensure through such
stratagem the most entire success; and the officers
will also impress on the mind of each individual
that by throwing away their fire they not only render
themselves defenceless, but also weaken the rest
of the force in such manner as to give to their oppo-
nents incalculable advantages."
The preceding pages have been concerned with
28
THE SMUGGLERS
import smuggling. The following extract from a
General Order, November 1833, refers to another
species of trading which the revenue officers had to
guard against : " The Nottingham manufacturers
ONE OF THE SUSSEX " BATMEN
having complained to the Government of the illegal
exportation of Bobbinnet machinery, orders are
issued to the coastguard to put a stop to it."
Coming events are wont to cast their shadows
before. Thus the I.C, of the Brighton district warns
PEVENSEY 29
the crews that " the brother of Grisbrook, commander
of the Hope, of Rye, lying off Bhling Gap, has pur-
chased 150 feet of |-inch rope, supposed for the
purpose of hauHng a raft of tubs ashore."
The summer and autumn passed off so quietly
as to encourage a belief that the smugglers had been
thoroughly cowed, and that further armed resistance
need not be expected. But appearances are pro-
verbially deceptive : It was the calm before the
storm. The early morning of November i8th, 1833,
will ever be memorable in coastguard annals as
having witnessed one of the most desperate and
prolonged affrays with armed smugglers that took
place on the coast of Sussex; resulting fortunately,
however, in the complete rout of the smugglers,
three of whom were killed and several wounded,
and the capture of all their goods, together with
several prisoners : without any casualty on the part
of the Government forces.
The affray was on so considerable a scale that it
might almost be dignified by the name of battle.
The following account is from the Sussex Advertiser
of November 25th, 1833.
Desperate and Fatal Encounter between a
large party of smugglers and the coast-
GUARD.
" On Monday morning, about four, a boat laden
with contraband goods came on shore near No. 28
Tower, Pevensey, which was perceived by one of
the coastguards, who discharged his piece as a signal
for assistance, when a great number of smugglers
rushed down to the boat and commenced unshipping
her cargo, consisting of contraband spirits and tea;
80 THE SMUGGLERS
the boat was surrounded and protected by armed
smugglers, who kept up a constant fire during the
unloading of the boat. Having cleared the cargo
the smugglers proceeded with it towards the marsh,
flanked and covered in their rear by their armed
companions ; they had gone about a mile and a half
from the boat across the marsh, when the C.G. had
concentrated their force and come up with them,
upon perceiving which the Smugglers drew up in
line, and upon the word ' fire ' being given, some guns
were discharged at the coastguard, who instantly
returned the fire and the smugglers again commenced
a retreat. Upon advancing, the guard discovered
one of their antagonists lying dead on his face, with
a percussion gun under him, a ball having passed
through his head. In his pockets were found a
powder flask, slugs and an iron spike, with which
it is supposed they load their guns. Five of the
armed smugglers at this time returned, to bear off,
it is conjectured, their most severelj^ wounded com-
rade, but meeting with a sharp reception, they
again retreated, pursued by the coastguard, when a
sort of running fight was kept up for nearly two hours,
covering a distance of six or seven miles. Five
prisoners were ultimately captured, together with 68
tubs of spirits and a quantity of tea. On Tuesday an
inquest was held on the smuggler found dead before
J. Whiteman, Esq., mayor and coroner for Pevensey.
" A second smuggler named Page has, we hear
since, died of his wounds, and from tracks of blood
which were discovered in several directions it is
conjectured that more of them must have been
wounded. The coastguard, we understand, escaped
without any serious injury. It has since been
reported that a third smuggler is dead."
> '1
TRIAL OF PEVENSEY SMUGGLERS 31
A correspondent writing under the same date from
Lewes reports that " Five smugglers passed through
this town yesterday under a strong escort on their
way to Horsham Gaol. They are charged, we under-
stand, with being implicated in the late affray at
Pevensey. Their names are James Page, 41 ; William
Chatfield, 21 ; William Marchant, 28 ; Charles Sands,
25." On December i6th the above-named were tried
at the Sussex Winter Assizes held at Lewes for
" feloniously assembling, armed, to the number of
three and more, for the purpose of assisting in landing
certain smuggled liquors and teas."
The jury returned a verdict of guilty against the
whole of them, but recommended Sands to mercy,
as having been persuaded by others. Mr. Baron
Vaughan, in passing judgment, said that although
by law the lives of the prisoners were forfeited,
under all the circumstances of the case he should
recommend them to His Majesty's mercy; but that
they could only expect mercy on the condition of
leaving this country for life.
The ofhcial version of the Battle of Pevensey
Sluice, the last serious affray with Sussex smugglers,
appeared in a General Order; and, as it supplies
some missing details, we give it in extenso :
" General Memo.
" Coastguard Office, 6 Dec, 1833.
" The Comptroller-General has much pleasure in
communicating to the service generally the following
particulars relative to a serious conflict sustained
by the coastguard in the Hastings district on the
night of the 17th ult., with an armed body of smug-
glers in which the latter were completely defeated
52 THE SMUGGLERS
through the brave, judicious, and exemplary conduct
of the officers and men.
" A boat was seen near Pevensey Sluice by Dennis
Sullivan, a boatman on probation, who hailed her,
and on discharging his pistol as an alarm was imme-
diately fired at by several armed smugglers. The
tub-carriers rushed to the boat, which was cleared
in two or three minutes, and Sullivan got in the midst
of them, by which he avoided the smugglers' fire
and saved his own life. Lieutenant Hewlett, CO.
57 Tower, with part of his crew, came along the sea-
wall just inland of the smugglers, who at once faced
round and fired, retreating to the marshes, about
eighty yards from the water's edge, and were lost
sight of for a time.
" The alarm being given. Lieutenant FothergiU, CO.
53 Tower, with three of the mounted guard, a part
of his own and Lieutenant Hewlett's crew, overtook
them about ij miles inland, when, by word of
command, they discharged a volley of from twenty
to thirty shots at Lieutenant FothergiU and party,
who returned their fire, and after three rounds had
been exchanged between them, the smugglers
retreated as fast as possible, leaving 17 tubs behind
and one man shot dead, his musket under him,
and bullets, powder and percussion caps in his pocket.
" From the fog and the many impassable ditches
with which the marshes are intersected. Lieutenant
Fothergill's party could not come up with them :
Lieutenant Hewlett, however, with part of his crew
and that of Langley Ford, fell in with the retreating
smugglers about seven miles inland (between the
villages of Boreham and Watling Hill), where they
attempted to make their last stand, but upon being
charged by the mounted guard broke and fled in
REWARDS 33
all directions, leaving 48 tubs. Five prisoners were
captured, four of whom were fully convicted for
felony — two were killed and a coroner's inquest
has returned a verdict of justifiable homicide.
The boat, which is calculated to carry from 80 to
100 tubs, was also seized, and during this desperate
affray only one of the coastguard has received any
injury, and that a very slight one in the hand.
" (Signed) Wm. Bowles."
In due course, officers and men who had fought
in the Battle of Pevensey Sluice received a more
substantial mark of approval, as notified in the
following Memo :
" January 2, 1834. I have to acquaint you that
the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury
have been pleased to sanction payment to the officers
and crews of the Pevensey Sluice Station, of the sum
of £20 per man, being the highest rate of reward
payable on conviction of the smugglers who were
killed or captured on the night of the 17th Nov.
last.
" (Signed) S. Sparshott."
This extraordinary affair took place, be it noted,
in one of the most civilised parts of the kingdom,
and within the recollection of people who were living
when these researches were first undertaken. To
realise the full significance of such an occurrence —
to understand how such scenes were possible, only
some ninety odd years ago — one must needs have
some acquaintance with rural conditions at the time
in question. To obtain this, the reader is advised
to procure and study a " Report on the Disturbed
VOL. II. D
34 THE SMUGGLERS
Districts of East Sussex," by Mr. Majendie,
describing the condition of things in the early part
of the year 1833. The Report is too lengthy for
insertion here. We cannot forbear, however, from
reproducing the more important passages.
Under the head of " Smuggling," he writes :
" Since the establishment of the Preventive service,^
smuggling is much diminished. This diminution
has had the effect of increasing the poor rate, or,
as was expressed by an overseer, who is supposed
to have had formerly a very accurate acquaintance
with the business, * the putting down smuggling
is the ruin of the coast.' The labourers of Bexhill,
and of the villages proceeding eastward towards
Kent, used to have plenty of work in the summer,
and had no difficulty in finding employment in
smuggling during the winter.
" The smugglers are divided into two classes, the
carriers or bearers, who receive from five shillings
per night and upwards, according to the number of
tubs they secure, and the batmen, so called from the
provincial term of * bat ' for a bludgeon they use,
consider themselves as of a superior class; they go
out in disguise, and frequently with their faces
blackened, and now with fire-arms; they confine
their services to the protection of others, and are
paid twenty shillings or more per night ; and many,
perhaps most of them, are at the same time in receipt
of parish relief.
" Large capitals have been invested in this busi-
ness, particularly at Bexhill. Many of the small
farmers, if they do not participate, certainly connive
at these practices; those who do not directly profit
^ The recently established " Coastguard " is probably referred
to.
SYMPATHY WITH SMUGGLERS 35
by smuggling, consider that it is advantageous as
finding employ for many who would be otherwise
thrown on their parishes. The smugglers are now
much more ferocious since the use of fire-arms is
more constant."
His observations relating to the encounter near
Eastbourne, when Chief Boatman Pett was killed
are especially worth noting :
" The offer of £1000 reward by the Secretary of
State for the detection of some men engaged in a
desperate affray caused much sensation, but was
ultimately ineffectual. Many people left the country
for France and America, but have returned since
the failure of the prosecution for want of satisfactory
evidence ; though probably not less than 500 persons
in the district were fully acquainted with the
transaction."
The reader will notice how little public sentiment
in regard to the offence of smuggling had altered since
the days when the Hawkhurst and other criminal
associations roamed at will through the southern
counties, terrorising the inhabitants and committing
every sort of outrage with impunity.
The chief difference between the two periods
lay in the fact that, whereas in former times employers
of labour suffered from the rival and vastly superior
attractions of the smuggling trade, farmers now
deplored the decadence of smuggling, which afforded
employment for their hands during the winter
months, when work on the land was slack.
On December 21st the districts were cautioned
against an English smack laden with spirits and dry
goods intended to be run in Kent and Sussex,
but prevented by stress of weather, and forced to
put into Calais about a fortnight ago : ** A spotsman
86 THE SMUGGLERS
from near Bexhill left Eastbourne for Calais on the
13th and another has also gone over. The vessel
and cargo, which is very considerable, are stated
to belong to Bexhill people, and if put off from that
vicinity will attempt another part of the coast
between Eastbourne and Hope Gap near Seaford,
as two spotsmen are engaged. An armed party
with fire-arms will cover the smugglers' operations."
At the same time the stations in the Deal districts
are warned to look out for Curtis of Rye, " a notorious
smuggler who is absent on a smuggling trip," to
which is appended the note that he " has just been
discharged from H.M.S. Winchester, where he had
completed five years, having been sentenced to serve
in H.M. Navy for smuggling."
In view of possible attempts to force runs during
the ensuing winter, the men of the Folkestone
district are cautioned that, " when firing is heard,
the crews of flanking stations should not proceed
in a straight line, but make an angle inland, to ensure
cutting off the smugglers' retreat."
Early in January, 1835, the Fly and Fortune
luggers are reported as absent from Deal on smuggling
trips; also the long galley. Bee. The men of the
district are warned by the I.C. how to carry their
arms to avoid being overpowered by surprise, as,
" I have lately," he writes, " found certain night
sentinels so completely buckled up that it was quite
impossible to defend themselves."
Next month the lugger Fly is again reported
absent on smuggling business : " She took six men
from Walmer Castle and stood across to Calais,"
from which the reader might be led to infer that the
" Warden " had embarked on a little venture on his
own account, to beguile the monotony of existence
SOUTH COAST ACTIVITIES 37
while in residence. Later on, the " old Grey Cock "
of Deal is seized with ten cases of spirits concealed in
ballast bags of shingle.
On the 15th February the Fly is off again, having
" taken on board ten men, all noted characters
(seven from Walmer Castle), and started for the
opposite coast " — unbeknown, we trust, to His Grace.
On February nth the CO., Holywell Station near
Hastings, reports : " The Stork, R.C., Lieutenant
Laurie, has just made the signal that he has made a
seizure, having a Rye smack in company with a large
tub-boat on deck." The said seizure consisting, we
find, of 106 tubs and nine men; 200 tubs having
been previously thrown overboard.
The unwonted activity of the Walmer smugglers
is accounted for by an entry in the Station records,
to the effect that " a boatman of the Walmer Station,
Robert Bunt by name, was dismissed for receiving
a bribe of £20 from smugglers, and arranging for a
landing of goods on his guard, without the knowledge
of his officer."
Early in March the I.C., Hastings district, writes :
** I am informed there is a smack hovering about the
coast with a cargo intended for some spot in this
neighbourhood where they have tried before; and
my informant says there are to be two boats, one
as a decoy, and the other to work east or west of
where she comes in, when the firing takes place."
Very suggestive, too, is an order issued by the
new I.e. of the Folkestone district, on assuming
charge, wherein he cautions the officers against " the
practice of the smugglers when a new officer joins
a station, or an I.C. a district, to give him, what they
call * a trial,' calculating on some relaxation of
discipline, change of system, or other result."
38 THE SMUGGLERS
Early in April warning is sent round concerning
a cutter of about 80 tons, expected from Nieuport
with dry goods worth between three and four
thousand pounds : " She is supposed to be the Eliza,
and has a new mast. There are three others over
there of 35 and 40 tons."
It was further reported that several English
rowing boats were assembled in the ports of Boulogne,
Calais, Dunkirk and Gravelines, ready to take the
first favourable opportunity of putting to sea with
spirits, tea and silk goods. At Deal the open lugger
Fortune was reported as having sailed with five men,
a punt, a coil of new rope, and two anchors; also
the galley Betsey: both bound for the opposite
coast. Also a master boat-builder of Deal, called
Maurice L , was reported to have gone across
to Flushing ** for the purpose of freighting a vessel
with contraband, the goods to be concealed under
what the informer terms ' night soil.' " It is added
that ** Forsett of Dover and Brockett of Deal, two
notorious smugglers, are employed by the principals
in this venture."
Rumours of the intended reappearance of armed
parties on the coast having reached headquarters,
the I.e. of the Brighton district warns the crews,
under date 6th September, that " an attempt will
immediately be made to run a considerable quantity
of goods in this district, and that an armed force
will be assembled to cover the landing. A company
was seen to the eastward last night." At the same
time, the I.C. of the Folkestone district warns his
officers " to strongly impress on their crews, when
compelled to use their arms in self-defence, the worse
than carelessness of throwing away their fire in
endeavouring to intimidate the smugglers by firing
OFFICIAL ORDERS 39
over their heads. The life of the party so acting
often falls a sacrifice, while those brought against
us gain confidence by our indecision. The men are
firing at a party of hired assassins, who, by the very
act of carrying arms in their illegal proceedings,
have bid defiance to the laws of their country,
and care little whether they commit murder so that
their plans succeed, or by so doing they can escape
capture."
The following orders were issued for the guidance
of the mounted guard when firing occurred on the
shore : " On a pistol being fired by the patrol on
the beach the mounted guard are to repair to the back
of the guard, but some distance inland. On a second
pistol being fired they are to gallop direct to the
spot, but if cut off from speedy communication by
dykes or other causes, they will repair to such passes
as their knowledge of the country tells them the
smugglers are likely to resort to with their goods,
or in retreat. When passing carts or other con-
veyances at night at unreasonable hours, in bye
places and under suspicious circumstances, they are
to examine the same."
The following description of " the notorious
smuggler Charles Whitpain," who escaped from
H.M.S. Beacon in the Mediterreanan, merits notice —
Committed. Ship Born
Dec. 20, 1833. Beacon. Suffolk
surveying ship Place,
near Smyrna. Brighton.
Stoutly made, broad-
shouldered. Has
served in H.M. ships
Victory, Endymion,
Caledonia.
The same month a General Order reflecting little
credit on those concerned appeared : " Confidential
communications have in some instances become
40 THE SMUGGLERS
known to the crews, who, it is to be feared, have too
often divulged the particulars to the smugglers."
In spite of rumours and warnings, the winter
passed off without any rencontres. The severe
drubbing administered to the Sussex smugglers at
Pevensey Sluice (November 1833) had not been
without effect. Wherefore, baffled in attempts to
force the running, the smugglers had recourse to
bribery. And from an order issued by the I.C. of
the Deal district we not only get an insight into
their methods, but learn the precautions taken in
order to discover cases of this sort. *' The discovery
of a bribed man can with ease be done," runs the
order, " by looking to the mode of living of the men,
and by ascertaining if the men off watch are really
in their beds : as a case lately came to my knowledge
where a bribed character (a boatman in this district)
actually assisted the smugglers in working a cargo
of fifty tubs upon the guard of one of his messmates
after he had been relieved from day watch, and of
course supposed to be in bed, for which he received
a bribe of £10, and returned to his quarters ready
for midnight relief."
The Deal smugglers are very busy at this time;
and the movements of the open luggers Po and Tally
Ho form the subject of a general warning from the
I.C. ; the former is reported as having been " cut
from her berth on the beach at 4 a.m. this morning,
with her crew concealed : she stood across to Calais,
followed soon after by the galley-punt Betsy and the
Lark."
The I.C. of the Brighton district warns the crews
that " the smugglers have adopted a system of
sinking small lots of tubs a little outside of low- water
mark, for working in foggy weather." And later on,
RENEWED WARNINGS 41
that a galley of 45 feet keel is building at Barfieur
for smuggling; also that "the Robert of Dover,
but belonging to Sandgate, has sailed from Boulogne
with 250 tubs to be run west of Beachy Head, having
on board the notorious smuggler Jerry Curtis, Dight
and others. She is 30 feet by 5 feet 4 : has three
lug-sails and jib, and pulls four oars."
That these warnings were not uncalled for is shown
by an incident reported from Littlehampton, in the
same district. On the 27th of October (1835) a
run was effected there in broad daylight in the
following manner. A raft of eighteen tubs was
sunk on the night of the 26th, at high water, opposite
one of the large groynes. When the coastguard were
observed to retire to their quarters at daylight next
morning, one of the smugglers, under pretence of
shrimping, carried down a line, bent it on to the tubs,
and cut them from the sinkers, and a party, under
the cover of the groynes, pulled them up the sands.
Two small carts were in readiness to convey the goods
away, and the run was effected in less than five
minutes.
Later, the crews are warned to be on the look-out
for ** the well-known smuggler, Henry Smith, alias
Big Harry, on board the Rambler.
The winter months 1835-36 passed off quietly,
without incident worth recording. But in October
the I.e. of the Folkestone district warns the officers
of " a company forming to effect a large smuggling
transaction in the district. The avowed object
of the informer being, as he says, to prevent blood-
shed, he states that four men of desperate character
are hired to secure two adjoining patrols, two to
each. If they succeed, the boat is to come in
immediately; but if they fail the run is to be
42 THE SMUGGLERS
forced. The cargo is said to be principally dry
goods."
At Deal a number of empty half-ankers are found,
on information, buried in the sand, off one of the
stations, " the contents," so runs the record, " having
no doubt been run off by the numerous shrimpers,
and conveyed by them in small bladders between
their legs, or in hollow poles to their shrimp-nets."
The winter of 1836-37 passed off as quietly as the
preceding one, the smugglers having, it would seem,
abandoned the more daring methods in favour of a
policy of circumvention. Thus, early in 1837 news
came of a vessel taking in tubs at Dunkerque : " The
smugglers will cover them with sprats, but they will
not sail till they stink so much that the vessel will
not be thoroughly examined." Attention was further
called to the practice of small vessels and long galleys
covering over their names when crossing for cargoes.
The coastguard were cautioned to look for nail-
marks, as proof of what the boats have been doing
lately.
From Dunkerque a correspondent writes again,
under date February 14th : " The smugglers from this
place select their hours of sailing so as to get across
on Sunday, as they boast that the coastguard are
less vigilant on that day and night of the week."
And on the 20th comes news of a French smuggling
vessel, the Anstide of Barfleur, ''built to resemble a
small revenue cutter, for which she might easily be
mistaken, as she carries a small four-oared galley
painted white." The correspondent adds that " she
will probably try Pagham harbour, Sussex, having
recently landed a large cargo in Christchurch har-
bour, where the goods were conveyed over the mud
at high-water in a flat-bottomed galley."
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44 THE SMUGGLERS
In July came news from Boulogne that " two
white, eleven-oared galleys have been launched to-
day from the smuggling depot. They have two masts
each. Six or eight Englishmen are with them, and
they will take about lOO tubs each." And again,
in November : *' A tub boat has just taken in loo
tubs. There have been several Hastings smugglers
over here lately."
The year 1838 is notable for having witnessed a
great recrudescence of smuggling, together with the
reappearance of armed parties, on the south-east
coast.
In January news comes from Boulogne of a large
four-oared double-banked galley, taking in 200 tubs,
and soon after of another having taken in tubs
" painted yellow " — possibly for rafting up tidal
harbours.
On February 7th the I.C. of the Folkestone district
received information of a forced run to be attempted
near the " Ness " : " The fighting gang belongs
mostly to Ickleshawn and Breeds. The attempt will
be made during the moonlight nights." So ran the
information.
On the 23rd the Boulogne correspondent writes
that " smuggling has been carried on here to a great
extent during the past three months : over twenty
vessels of different sizes have left with cargoes."
Great activity is also shown by the smugghng
galleys.
Again, writing on March 9th : " Eight tub-boats and
three eight-oared galleys are quite ready here, also a
lugger of 40 tons, employed to tow the boats across."
In April two forced runs with fire-arms take place
at the Camber Station, in consequence of which the
I.C. of the Hastings district issues a warning to the
RENEWED SxMUGGLING 45
crews : "As the smugglers have again had recourse
to fire-arms, I have to call the officers' attention to
the system I consider best, when a run is attempted
by force, or otherwise."
Early in May, news from Boulogne that a white
galley rowing eleven oars is taking in sixty tubs;
also that a nine-oared galley is getting ready; and
a little later that the eleven-oared galley sailed on
the 19th, and the nine-oared galley is taking in tubs.
And again in June the eleven-oared galley is taking
in tubs at the same place.
That a great recrudescence of smuggling had taken
place there can be no doubt. That the authorities
took a very serious view of the situation, moreover,
is evident from the significant fact that, in the
Folkestone district, carbines were supplied for the
use of the chief officers, in case of attack. The
Collector for the county of Sussex, in his Report,
declared that " smuggling on the coast of this county
is greatly increasing ; several cargoes of contraband
goods have been run there, and the packages are in
many instances conveyed across country to Kent and
neighbouring counties, and even to London."
It would seem, however, from the statement that
follows, that the running of contraband was chiefly
effected by bribery and corruption, rather than by
the violent methods which formerly found favour.
Thus, the I.C. of the Hastings district addresses the
chief officers in December : " You have no doubt
heard with regret of the injurious effects caused by
bribery in the districts right and left, and I have
now to inform you that the smugglers are tampering
with and tempting men in this district by the offer
of considerable sums; and it is to their wives and
daughters that these offers are made."
CHAPTER III
THE ALDINGTON GANG
" Unless prompt measures are taken immediately
for making an awful example of those who on this
occasion have trampled on every kind of legal
authority, the smugglers on all parts of the coast
will not hesitate on proceeding to the destruction of
those employed in support of the Revenue." (Report
by Captain McCuUoch.)
These remarks, read under the mellowing effects of
time, may appear somewhat sensational — the ill-
considered utterance of an impetuous person, writing
under the influence of panic. As a matter of fact
they represented the deliberate opinion of a singu-
larly cool and clear-headed officer, whose facilities
for drawing sound conclusions were unequalled, and
who was gifted with a prescience few of his contem-
poraries could boast. The extent to which these
gloomy predictions were justified will be shown in the
sequel.
The year 1820 was not only rendered notable by
the daring outrage at Dover, but it marked the
commencement of a new era in the history of smug-
gling— the reappearance, after an interval of many
years, of armed gangs for the purpose of " forcing
the runs."
Ever since the establishment of the coast blockade,
a very fierce and dangerous spirit had been develop-
ing amongst the smuggling classes, who clearly
46
END OF NAPOLEONIC ERA 47
foresaw that, unless a desperate effort was made to
smash the chain which was gradually tightening its
grip along the coast, their calling was doomed. To
quote the words of one of the most intelligent officers
of the force — " The free-traders, finding it imprac-
ticable to elude the vigilance of their opponents,
and driven to distress by the suppression of the con-
traband trade, had no other choice than a desperate
resort to the use of armed associations ; and several
powerful gangs were organised accordingly."
In short, the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars,
with the expressed determination of Government to
tackle the enterprising folk who had been so busy
defrauding the Exchequer, seemed, instead of
bringing peace to the country, to threaten a rever-
sion to the state of unrest which existed when the
Hawkhurst and other gangs had terrorised the
countryside.
Signs of an impending storm had not been lack-
ing. During November, 1819, there had been four
instances of firing on blockade sentinels near Folke-
stone; and in no single instance had the offenders
been discovered. Omitting minor affairs, there had
been a very serious affray in March 1820, when
Lieutenant Dickenson, of the coast blockade,
acquitted himself so gallantly as to elicit the appro-
bation of the Commander-in-Chief at the Nore and
the Board of Admiralty. And at Stangate Creek,
near the island of Sheppey, Mr. Francis Baker,
Admiralty midshipman, with only one man to sup-
port him, was overwhelmed by a band of three
hundred armed smugglers, and so desperately
wounded as to be left apparently lifeless on the
spot.
It was obvious that there could be but one result
48 THE SMUGGLERS
of this return to the brutal ways of former times.
As many an old smuggler afterwards declared, " It
was that taking up arms that put the finishing-stroke
to smuggling ! " This was foreseen by some of the
more experienced and cooler-headed men. who had
the good sense to withdraw from the business before
it was too late. '* Smuggling was all fair enough,"
people would say, and " there was no harm in cheat-
ing Government, because Government cheated you."
But shooting and killing was quite another matter,
and could end only in the gallows and the total
suppression of the trade. These views found expres-
sion in some doggerel verses :
" We all went down to the sea-shore,
Our company behind, and the batsmen before :
I thought that game would not long last.
Our batsmen went on much too fast :
For to kill a man is a very bad thing,
When out on duty and serving the King."
The stern lesson the eighteenth-century smugglers
had been taught, that the arm of the law, if slow to
extend, clutches with a firm and sure grip at last,
had been forgotten, and a repetition of the lesson
was needful.
Of the armed gangs which now came into exist-
ence, the chief were those organised respectively on
the north and south coasts of Kent; though this
development of smuggling was by no means confined
to one county. The Sussex coast was equally
disgraced by the outrages of armed ruffians, who
went about in large bodies. For the present, how-
ever, the exploits of the former will suffice to engross
our attention. And when the story has been fully
unfolded, with a wealth of detail only possible now
that all the actors have vanished from the stage, it
SYMPATHY WITH SMUGGLERS 49
will be conceded that few more sensational chapters
of domestic history could have been unearthed.
Of the gangs above-mentioned, the most formid-
able, by reason not only of its numerical strength
and organisation, but also owing to the strong yet
mysterious personality of its leader, his strategic
skill, and the system of cunning and terrorism com-
bined, by which he not only managed long to elude
capture himself, but rendered abortive, for a period
of six years, all efforts to break up the gang, was
that whose field of operations extended from Rye on
one side to Dover, and at times as far as Walmer,
in the other direction. And not the least singular
feature of its history is the circumstance of its leader
having been perfectly well known, while his con-
federates moved about the country, in pursuit of
their several callings, without fear of arrest, though
hundreds of people must have been cognisant of
their guilt and the desire of the authorities to effect
their capture — to say nothing of the substantial
rewards awaiting the " informer."
So widespread, however, was popular sympathy
with smuggling, and so deep-seated the fear of that
retribution the smugglers had the power to inflict
on all who ventured to thwart them, that the per-
petrators of every outrage were sure of being shielded
from discovery. For many a story was then still
current along the countryside of the horrible
punishment meted out to informers by the Hawk-
hurst and other smuggling gangs, in days not so long
past that the terror their name was wont to inspire
had been forgotten. The Government, moreover, was
not so beloved amongst rural folk that the latter were
prepared to risk their skins by assuming the detested
role of informer against their own kith and kin.
VOL. n. E
50 THE SMUGGLERS
Of the two gangs, the one organised in the north
of the county was the first to take the field ; though
operations were commenced almost simultaneously in
both divisions. But from the first the North Kent
gang was somewhat heavily handicapped by reason
of the peculiar character of the locality. The north-
east corner of Kent, unlike Romney Marsh and the
wild tract of country adjacent to it, was even then
a civilised and populous district, with a well-to-do
class of residents — people who, though very ready
to wink at breaches of the revenue laws, were not to
be terrorised, not even to be depended on to con-
done crime by screening offenders. Smuggling was
one thing, but taking up arms against King and
country was something very different ; estranging a
considerable section of the populace which would
otherwise have been sympathetic.
The North Kent gang was recruited, for the most
part, from Ickham, Wingham, Wye, Canterbury,
and the Isle of Thanet, with the intention of working
the coast between Dover and Whitstable. And there
is reason to believe that it made its first essay at
Stangate Creek, when Mr. Baker was nearly killed.
The first affair when fire-arms were used, however,
of which authentic details ^^e forthcoming occurred
on the night of June i6th, 1820, at a spot about half-
way between Heme Bay and Reculver, where the
smugglers came into collision with a party of
blockade-men under Lieutenant Douglas, stationed
at Bishopstone, when a midshipman and several
seamen were wounded. The wounded smugglers
were carried off by their comrades : no arrests were
made, nor any clues obtained as to the parties
concerned.
Encouraged by this success, the smugglers made
AFFRAY AT HERNE 51
another " forced run " near Birchington Minnis, on
the night of July 22nd. On this occasion, a horse
and cart with its load of tubs were seized, together
with five smugglers, who, the following morning,
were taken before a justice of the peace for the town
of Margate, and committed to Dover Gaol, when a
singular display of sympathy with the smugglers
took place outside the court-house, where an enorm-
ous crowd had gathered during the trial in the hopes
of effecting a rescue. Beyond an assault on a
blockade-man, however, and the use of strong lan-
guage, no violence was shown, and the smugglers
were placed in safe custody, the man who com-
mitted the assault being arrested and sent for trial.
But these affairs were mere flashes of summer
lightning compared with the storm that was brewing
and burst in the spring of the following year with
tragic results.
Early on the morning of April 30th, 1821, a large
body of armed smugglers who, to avoid suspicion,
had assembled the evening before at a rustic fair at
Heme Street, a small hamlet about two miles inland,
came down to the beach at Heme Bay, many of them
in a state of intoxication ; and being opposed in
their attempts to work a cargo of spirits by the
resolute conduct of Mr. Snow, midshipman, who with
a small party of blockade-men happened to be on
the spot, one of the ruffians shot the young officer
in the back, inflicting a wound from which he died
almost immediately.
Such is the bare outline of the affair furnished by
an officer employed at the time on blockade service.
Since then many additional details have been
gathered.
The smugglers, who numbered between one
52 THE SMUGGLERS
hundred and a hundred and fifty, came down, at
about 3 A.M. to a spot in front of the '' Ship " pubUc
house, organised in three divisions, one of which
began immediately unloading the boat; while the
other two, carrying fire-arms, formed in line across
the beach, at a short distance on each side of the
boat, and, on the approach of the blockade-men,
fired repeated volleys, to keep them off, until all the
tubs had been placed in carts and carried away
under a strong guard. At this moment Mr. Snow,
who was in command, rushed forward, and, alone,
attempted to seize the boat, which with five or six
men in her remained on the beach. Meeting with
resistance, the young officer pointed his pistol,
which missed fire, and he was instantly shot at by
three men, and fell, one ball having passed through
his thigh and another through the shoulder, lodging
under the blade-bone.
The unfortunate young man lingered on for a
while in great agony, before he expired " lamenting
that his life had not been yielded in open battle
with the enemies of his country," pathetically
observed a brother-officer, " instead of being sacrificed
in a vile midnight encounter with a gang of out-
laws."
No sooner was intelligence of this outrage received
at headquarters than application was made to Mr.
Birnie, the Bow Street magistrate, for assistance in
tracing the offenders. A letter from the Law Agents
of the Admiralty, dated April 28th, will explain
what steps were taken :
" I beg leave to inform you that the Bow Street
officers sent down to discover the persons concerned
in the murder of Mr. Sydenham Snow, Mid., of the
TRIAL OF THE HERNE SMUGGLERS 53
Severn, at Heme Bay, on the morning of the 24th
inst., have returned this morning, bringing with
them a smuggler who was present at this transaction,
and who immediately afterwards volunteered to
Lieutenant Snow, the brother of the deceased, to give
evidence.
" I have taken his information on oath, as to the
identity of sixteen of his accomplices, against whom
I have obtained warrants from Mr. Birnie, and a
party of the police is about to proceed to Canterbury
for the purpose of apprehending them. But as this
step cannot be effected without the aid of the
military, Mr. Birnie has desired me to submit to
you the expediency of an immediate application
being made to the Commander-in-Chief for an order
to the officer in command of the troops at Canterbury
to render the requisite assistance.
" The man who is supposed to have shot Mr. Snow
is Morris L , who, in the name of Edward
M , has served in the coast-blockade as a boat-
swain.
" I have, etc.,"
In the sequel five men were brought up for
examination before Mr. Birnie, at Bow Street, on
the loth of May, on the charge of being concerned
in the outrage of April 24th.
One of the chief witnesses called for the prosecu-
tion was a quartermaster of the blockade, who,
after describing the circumstances under which his
officer was killed, explained that, at the time the
shots were fired, Mr. Snow was so hemmed in by
the smugglers that, although he tried to rescue him,
the fire was too heavy.
A smuggler, who had turned King's Evidence,
54 THE SMUGGLERS
was next examined. He said there were about
sixty of them out that night. They met first at
Grove Ferry, and then went to the house of John
Richardson, where guns and pistols were distributed,
with about seven or eight rounds of ball cartridge.
They then went and lay in a meadow at the back
of some houses at Heme Bay : — that was about a
quarter before three a.m. : the boat soon came in.
He saw two blockade-men standing a few yards off
who snapped their pistols, but they did not go off.
His party then fired, and the man who snapped his
pistol rushed in amongst them, having first drawn
his cutlass, and he saw no more of him (this was
believed to have been Mr. Snow) . They landed sixty
tubs. Witness admitted firing six or seven times,
but said it was only powder, as he had torn the bullets
from his cartridges. (Here the other prisoners
smiled, and tossed up their heads in astonishment.)
Another of the party who had turned King's
Evidence, describing the plans and organisation of
the smugglers, who seem to have worked together
like disciplined men, said that, seeing a man lying
on the beach, he called out "Holloa"; the man
answered, " I am a dead man." The witness did
not stop to assist, as his comrades said it was only a
sham. James West was master of the company
and paid witness seven shillings for the night's work.
He fired two or three times himself.
The prisoners were all remanded by Mr. Birnie for
a week, and were removed, heavily ironed.
While the prisoners were under remand, some
officers of excise, acting on a search warrant, dis-
covered in a house in Broad Street, Canterbury, a
horse pistol, a pouch with eight ball cartridges, and
upwards of a hundred made and unmade cartridges.
MR. SYDENHAM SNOW 55
together with the implements for making them up.
The owner of the house said they had been left by a
noted smuggler supposed to have been concerned in
the affair at Heme Bay.
On June 9th, the five men charged with being con-
cerned in the shooting of Mr. Snow on April 24th were
brought up for trial at Bow Street ; and the evidence
having been gone into, the judge summed-up, and
the jury, after retiring for half an hour, returned a
verdict of " Not Guilty " for all the prisoners.
An officer of the blockade, commenting on this
lamentable miscarriage of justice, remarked that
" owing to the great lenity of the judge, the men
were acquitted, upon the ground of some slight
deficiency of evidence ; and the authors have reason
to believe that the actual assassin was living in
1839, ^^^ boasting of his exploit, in a parish near
Heme Bay."
Though the perpetrators of this outrage went
unpunished for a time, there is reason to believe that
most of them subsequently came within the law's
grip.
The unhappy young man who fell a victim to
these rufhans was buried in the churchyard of Heme.
His grave — formerly enclosed by a railing, since
removed to enable a path to be made — is close to
the west end of the church, marked by a stone bear-
ing the following simple inscription : "In memory
of Sydney Sydenham Snow, who died April 21st, 1821,
in the 24th year of his age."
The summer of 1821 passed off quietly. Doubtless
the smugglers concerned suspected that their move-
ments were being watched, and that it would be
well to lie quiet until the excitement had subsided.
The lengthening nights of autumn found the
56 THE SMUGGLERS
smugglers on the warpath once more. " Encouraged
by the immunity attending their attack upon Mr.
Snow at Heme Bay," wrote an officer, " the armed
smugglers of east Kent, soon after, made another
attempt at Marsh Bay, near Margate, where they
were opposed by Mr. Washington Carr, whom they
attacked and wounded in the head by a cut from his
own sword, which they had wrenched out of his
hand."
From various sources, official and otherwise, the
details lacking in this meagre account can now be
filled in.
It appears that, early on Sunday morning, the
whole coast in the vicinity of Margate was alarmed by
successive discharges of fire-arms, the flashes being
distinctly seen from Margate pier. Soon after, news
was brought in that a six-oared galley, in attempting
to land a cargo of spirits, had been discovered by
one of the blockade sentinels, who instantly gave
the alarm, when Mr. Washington Carr, midship-
man, accompanied by one of the seamen, proceeded
towards the spot and there encountered a party of
smugglers numbering nearly a hundred, most of
whom were armed, in the act of working the cargo.
Mr. Carr and his men were repeatedly fired at as
they approached; but, rushing in, they forced the
smugglers to drop their tubs, and, aided by the fire
of two other blockade-men, caused the whole party
to disperse, leaving behind a musket, the stock and
lock of another, two hats, a handkerchief, and
several large bludgeons. From the quantity of
blood that marked the line of retreat it was believed
that several smugglers were wounded. No captures
were made, however; the wounded having been
carried off by their comrades. The boat also escaped,
MARGATE 57
with part of the goods ; and it seemed as if, once again,
the perpetrators of the outrage would elude discovery.
Happily this calamity was averted by the chance
recognition of one of the party by a seaman of the
blockade, who during the fight detected the face and
form of a well-known local smuggler. The sequel is
thus described by an officer of the blockade :
" One of the gang having been recognised during
the affray, the circumstance was communicated upon
the spot to Lieutenant Barton, one of the most
zealous, able, persevering, and honourable officers in
the service. He immediately perceived the vast
importance of keeping secret the clue he had received ;
and on the following morning he applied privately
for a warrant against the offender to the Rev. F. W.
Bailey, vicar and Justice of the Peace, at Margate.
The clerical gentleman hesitated to issue a warrant
which would probably consign a fellow-creature to
the gallows, while, as vicar of the parish, he (the
Justice) was preparing to ascend the pulpit on the
Sabbath morning. At length, however, he yielded
to the urgent solicitations of Lieutenant Barton, and
before noon the culprit was not only in custody, but
had turned evidence against his confederates. The
proceedings were then confided to Mr. John Boys,
solicitor of Margate, who employed Bond, a Bow
Street officer, to arrest several of the gang."
The ** culprit " above mentioned — a man called
Taylor — was arrested at his residence in Covell's
Row, Margate, early on Sunday afternoon. After a
brief examination he was remanded until Monday,
when he was committed to Dover Gaol. From
this man it was elicited that there were sixty persons
concerned in the affair, fifteen of whom had carried
fire-arms.
58 THE SMUGGLERS
At the same time a notice was inserted in the London
Gazette of September nth, signifying that a free
pardon was offered by His Majesty to an accomplice,
with a reward of £500 by the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty, for the discovery of the persons
concerned in the felonious affray at Marsh Bay.
The immediate effect of Taylor's arrest was to
drive the incriminated parties into hiding. Mean-
while the leaven, in the shape of the £500 reward,
was at work, with results that were little foreseen.
The next blow was struck on September 26th, when,
early in the morning, James Rolfe, a labourer, was
arrested at his house in Ivy Lane, Canterbury, by
Bond, the Bow Street officer, under a warrant,
backed by the Mayor, charged with a capital felony.
The prisoner, according to the Kentish Gazette
(September 28th, 1821), ** immediately on his appre-
hension was taken to the barracks, and put under a
military escort from this city to Margate, to prevent
the possibility of any rescue (as heretofore) by the
lawless gangs of smugglers to whom he was attached,
and who are equally a disgrace to the country and
the name of Englishmen. He was yesterday con-
veyed under a similar escort to the county gaol,
Maidstone, to which he was committed by the
Justices of Margate. This is the second offender
in this transaction who has been taken and fully
committed for trial at the next assizes. We are
informed that the prisoner showed some signs of
contrition, and was willing to make every atonement
that disclosures of accomplices might afford; but
the solicitor for the prosecution being already in
possession (from a variety of good private information)
of the names of most of the principal offenders, and
finding the prisoner's name to stand amongst the list
DANIEL FAGG 69
of those who made use of fire-arms in the attack,
refused to admit him to become evidence for the
Crown; and especially, as he had made no offer to
impeach his accomplices until he was apprehended."
Nothing further occurred until December 28th,
when news was received of the arrest of eleven out of
the fifteen men who carried fire-arms, two of whom had
turned King's Evidence, and another was expected
to do the same. A noted ruffian, called Daniel Fagg,
was also " wanted," on suspicion of being one of the
gang. This man had already, on one occasion,
escaped from some constables who were in pursuit
of him, by swimming a river, and had been heard to
declare that he would not be taken alive.
The story of the capture of this enterprising
burglar, as told in the Kentish Chronicle of Decem-
ber 28th, is too interesting to omit. *' Bond, an active
officer belonging to Bow Street, was not intimidated
by his (Fagg's) reported threats, and undertook to
go in pursuit of him. The name of Bond was already
well known to the gang of smugglers, as he had
previously apprehended six of them. Last Monday
evening he received private information that Daniel
Fagg was in a house at St. Mildred's, in Canterbury,
where he repaired, accompanied by two able assist-
ants, aware that he should meet with a desperate
resistance, and to guard against an escape, one of
these he stationed at the front door, and the other
at the rear. Bond contrived to gain admittance to
the house, but not without a considerable degree of
management and manoeuvring, and proceeded with
all speed to search the house, having no doubt that
Daniel Fagg was in it. In the lower part of the house
he heard a noise which he had no doubt proceeded
from the rattling of bricks : he followed the noise,
60 THE SMUGGLERS
and found it proceeded from making an aperture
through the wall under the cellar stairs into an adjoin-
ing house, which no doubt had been previously
arranged and prepared to assist him in escaping.
The officer found Daniel Fagg in a state of nudity
except his breeches, in the act of clearing away the
bricks to escape into the adjoining house : his state
of nakedness was, no doubt, to avoid being held, and
he made a desperate resistance; but Bond at length
succeeded in securing him by handcuffs, and con-
veyed him to Margate, where he underwent an
examination before the acting Magistrates, and from
the evidence produced, he is suspected of being the
man who attacked Lieutenant Carr, wrested his sword
from him, gave him a desperate wound on his head,
of about three inches in length, and afterwards threw
the officer's sword into Pluck's Gutter. The Lieu-
tenant was knocked down, and was supposed to have
been killed with the blow."
This desperate fellow was placed, for better security
on board the Severn in the Downs, to await trial.
Further arrests followed; and eventually eighteen
were laid by the heels, pending trial at the Spring
Assizes for the county of Kent.
The Spring Assizes at Maidstone (1822) caused
immense excitement in the town, and attracted vast
numbers of people from all parts of the county,
to witness the trial of the smugglers, which lasted
the whole day. The proceedings may be thus
epitomised :
On the 25th of March, 1822, Daniel Baker, John
Buffington, Francis Garden, Joseph Clements, Daniel
Fagg, Joseph Gilbert, John Gill, Stephen Gummer,
John Fagg, John Meredith, Thomas Mount, James
Rolfe, Henry Smith, Thomas Stokes, James Taylor,
THE MARGATE AFFRAY 61
Charles White, John Wilsden, and Thomas WooUett,
in custody, were indicted, together with Stephen
Lawrence, Henry Lemar, John Mills, and John
Pollard, not in custody, for having on the 2nd of
September last, with other persons unknown, feloni-
ously assembled together, armed with fire-arms and
other offensive weapons, in the Parish of St. John
the Baptist, in the Isle of Thanct, in order to be
aiding and assisting in the illegal landing and carry-
ing away of uncustomed goods, and for having
maliciously shot at and wounded Washington Carr,
Thomas Cook, and John Brimen, being in the
execution of their duty as officers on the Coast
Blockade Service.
Mr. Gurney and Mr. Knox conducted the case
for the prosecution. The prisoner Taylor, the only
one represented by counsel, was ably defended by
Messrs. Adolphus, Walford and Ryland.
Much of the evidence was necessarily a repetition
of facts previously adduced, the only fresh points
of interest being to the effect that the party on this
occasion had been hired by a man called Lawrence,
who had so far escaped arrest ; and that, on the
approach of the boat, the smugglers were divided
into two parties, one of fourteen, armed, to cover
the landing, and the other of about forty to work
the goods. The operations were disturbed by the
approach of Mr. Carr with four men, when a
desperate struggle took place, in the course of which
Mr. Carr and two of his men were wounded, while
on the other side two smugglers, at least, received
serious wounds. The affray, during which fire-arms
were freely used on both sides, lasted about a
quarter of an hour, when the whole body of smugglers
effected their retreat with the goods. The principal
62 THE SMUGGLERS
body of evidence was adduced for the purpose of
tracing the prisoners to and from the scene of action,
and of proving their possession of arms immediately
before the transaction ; the most important evidence
being that of the four accompHces who had been
admitted as " King's Evidence/' and this, amply
corroborated by independent testimony, went to
fix the prisoners' guilt.
The prisoner Taylor endeavoured to prove an
alibi, and several witnesses were called to show that
he was two miles off at the time the affray took
place. He was the first of the party who, it will
be remembered, was arrested as the result of the
Sunday morning conference with the vicar of Mar-
gate, and being a resident of that place, a great
many " respectable " inhabitants were called on his
behalf, and gave him an " excellent character," as
no doubt he well merited from their point of view !
Unfortunately for worthy Mr. Taylor, Counsel for
the Prosecution put in a written examination
taken by a magistrate's clerk, in which the prisoner
had given a different version of his movements on
the night in question.
Mr. Baron Wood summed up, and the jury, after
a few minutes' deliberation, found all the prisoners
guilty : sentence, Death. They were afterwards,
however, reprieved by the judge, with the exception
of Edward Rolfe, John Wilsden, Daniel Fagg, and
John Meredith, who were left for execution.
The last scene of this grim drama was enacted on
Thursday morning, April 4th, 1822, when the
capital sentence was carried out on the four smugglers
above named. The execution took place at Penen-
den Heath, near Maidstone, in the presence of a
vast concourse of people. A Naval officer who
EXECUTIONS 68
appears to have been present on this impressive
occasion has left the following particulars on record :
" The unfortunate smugglers appeared perfectly
resigned to their unhappy fate. Wilsden and Mere-
dith observed that it would be well if all men,
particularly the instigators to the baneful pursuit
which led to their untimely end, were as well pre-
pared to meet an offended God as they, the sufferers,
were. The parting between these deluded men and
their families was truly heartrending. After ascend-
ing the fatal drop, and joining fervently in prayer
with the chaplain, they repeated several times to
the spectators, ' God bless you all,' when the dread-
ful bolt was withdrawn, and they ceased to exist.
There can be no doubt," he continues, " but that
these wretched victims were encouraged to the last
moment by the hope of a rescue, either before or at
the place of execution ; and, as is always the case
among characters of this description, they were
abandoned by their associates from the first hour
of their apprehension. There were about 40,000
spectators present at the execution, but not a sound
broke the awful stillness of the procession, nor was
a word spoken, except by the clergyman, from the
gaol to the gallows."
On Monday morning, May 13th, fifteen men, being
the remainder of the nineteen capitally convicted at
the March Assizes, were removed from Maidstone
Gaol to Portsmouth, for transportation : five for
life, the rest for seven years : their destination being
Van Diemen's Land, as the island of Tasmania
was then called.
" This dreadful example," wrote a naval officer,
** had the desired effect ; for from that moment the
heart of smuggling appeared to be broken " — a
64 THE SMUGGLERS
statement, however, which could only refer to the
part of Kent wherein these ruffians had plied their
trade.
The man Taylor, the first to be laid by the heels,
was arrested, it may be remembered, before the
appearance of the offer of reward in the London
Gazette. The remainder were captured subsequently ;
and it is in connection with the correspondence
regarding the distribution of the £500 amongst the
parties instrumental in effecting the several arrests
that a curious sidelight is thrown on the manners
and customs of the period.
Thomas Avis, one of the first claimants, had been
once keeper of St. Augustine's Gaol at Canterbur}^
from whence he was dismissed; and from being
supposed to be acquainted with most of the loose
characters about Canterbury, was employed, in the
early part of the business, in helping to apprehend
one of the accomplices, who afterwards turned
witness for the Crown. But as Mr. Avis appeared,
on one occasion, at the magistrate's office in a state
of intoxication, his further services were dispensed
with. As he had already received a honorarium of
£5 25. 4^., his claim for further remuneration was
disallowed.
The next was John Wixson, who was employed
in the apprehension of several of the smugglers,
and was chiefly instrumental in the discovery of
John Buffington and James Rolfe; " but," observes
the solicitor appointed to adjudicate on these
claims, " it has been represented to me that in
eight instances Wixson connived at the escape of
several of the offenders whilst the officers were in
pursuit." Mr. Wixson's occupation, when not
engaged on amateur detective work, was that of
GAINS OF INFORMERS 65
gardener, earning about three shillings per diem.
While assisting the police, however, he was paid
at the rate of ten shillings per diem. But as he
had already received about £20, besides compensa-
tion for some windows, " alleged to have been
broken," cautiously observes the man of law, his
claim was considered to have been satisfied in full.
The next is a lady, Mrs. Everitt, of Canterbury,
who contributed by her information to the appre-
hension of three of the convicted persons, viz.
James Rolfc, Francis Garden, and Thomas Stokes,
for which she was paid " at the time " she furnished
the information, " as a sine qua non before giving it."
Cautious Mrs. Everitt ! These sums, amounting in
the aggregate to £iy 15s., were thought to be
sufficient.
Having struck these rather shady claimants off
the list, there remained the more deserving ones to
be dealt with ; and in adjudicating on their respec-
tive claims the solicitor observes : *' The persons to
whom the discovery and conviction of most of the
offenders was due, were four accomplices : viz.
James Justice, Samuel Kirby, Thomas Meers, and
Thomas Powell. These men are therefore entitled
to share in the reward offered."
Amongst those who, by their exertions, had
contributed to the apprehension of the men, the
most active was Mr. Robert Stride, ofhcer of Excise
at Canterbury. As, however, he had already
received £250, his claim was thought to have been
amply met. Another was a Peace Officer, William
Meers, who was reported to have lost his life owing
to his exertions, and whose widow and family were
reported as " deserving of reward." John Reynolds,
too, " has been ruined in business," ran the report,
VOL. II. F
66 THE SMUGGLERS
" through the displeasure of his neighbours at the
assistance he rendered."
That official consideration of the claims was
conducted with no unseemly haste may be inferred
from the fact that the " Scheme of Distribution "
was not completed till November 8th — more than
seven months after the conviction of the offenders.
The £500 was to be divided amongst twenty-eight
persons, in sums varying from £100 to £5 ; the
largest sum being awarded to the widow of con-
stable William Meers who died of cold, caught in
consequence of his activity in apprehending the
offenders : viz. £100. James Justice, an accom-
plice, who made full disclosure of the names of the
gang, and did not carry arms on the occasion,
received £50. Two other accomplices who assisted
by their evidence to convict, £40 each. Thomas
Cook, a seaman of the blockade who received a
gunshot wound, and recognised Taylor, £10. The
only other participator deserving of mention was a
constable of Margate, " who was the means of
getting several arrested by the conversations he
overheard amongst those under arrest."
The most edifying part of the correspondence,
however, was that concerned with the damage
sustained by a Margate gentleman owing to his
zeal on behalf of the Crown : a dangerous role to
play in those stirring times, as the sequel proves.
Under date February 20th, 1823, the Crown solicitors
wrote — with reference to the affray of September ist,
1821, at Marsh Bay : " The gang was chiefly com-
posed of the same persons concerned in the murder
of Mr. Snow in the preceding April. It consisted of
fifty-nine persons, the names of all of whom were
discovered through the active agency of Mr. Boys,
MR. BOYS' TROUBLES 67
solicitor of Margate. . . . The result of the measures
taken on that occasion has been that, since then,
the coast blockade have met with no serious inter-
ruption to their work, nor has there been any run-
ning of contraband goods under the protection of
armed bands, as had repeatedly before taken place,
to the destruction of many lives.
" In prosecutions of this kind," the writer goes
on to say, " the offenders are only to be discovered
by the evidence of accomplices, because the offences
are committed at night, by numbers combined, all
strangers to the officers and men of the coast blockade ;
consequently, unless the offenders are apprehended
there are no means of identifying them. Thus the
prosecution of Mr. Snow's murderers failed for want
of corroborating testimony; but in the present
case the difficulty was overcome through the dili-
gence of Mr. Boys, Clerk to the Justices of the
Peace at Margate, who zealously co-operated with
my agents and discovered corroborative evidence
to sustain the testimony of four accomplices, who
it was found necessary to admit as witnesses for the
Crown. By this means an alibi one of the prisoners
falsely set up was defeated and the conviction of
the whole nineteen prisoners secured.
" In this respect Mr. Boys' conduct was entirely
the reverse of that of many professional gentlemen
on the coast, one of whom not only refused to
render me his professional assistance, when sought,
but actually defended a smuggler prosecuted by
me at the same Assizes, under similar circumstances,
and obtained his acquittal.
All this successful result," observes the writer,
is attributable to Mr. Boys."
As regards the loss and damage sustained by
68 THE SMUGGLERS
Mr. Boys, owing to his zeal in the cause of justice,
the Crown solicitors point out that, " as a solicitor,
carrying on business for the past twenty years in
Margate, Mr. Boys must have many clients more
or less engaged in smuggling, who would feel that
his action with the Crown would tend to the pre-
judice of their interests. I also know," continues
the writer, '' that several of these joined in the
obloquy cast on him at Margate for thus embarking
in the service of Government. One of his clients,
who was supposed to have great influence over him,
was actually engaged under instructions of the
solicitors for the defence of one prisoner, to try and
obtain from Mr. Boys a copy of the evidence of
private examinations which had been taken against
the prisoner, in order the better to enable the
solicitor to shape his course at the defence."
The writer than goes on to notice the several
departments of business in which Mr. Boys suffered
losses, amounting, in the aggregate, to at least
£300 per annum ; and thus concludes the report :
" Mr. Boys was during the proceedings the object
of almost general hatred in the town and neigh-
bourhood of Margate — that he was placarded on
the walls as an informer and hunter after blood-
money — that his house was frequently assailed and
his windows broken and his person assaulted in
the dark and the fruit trees destroyed in his garden
in the night, all of which has been confirmed to me
by the Rev. Mr. Bayley, the Vicar of Margate, and
the Justices by whom most of the convicted persons
were committed for trial."
Such was merry Margate, in the years of grace
1821-3.
CHAPTER IV
THE ALDINGTON GANG IN THE MARSHES
The North Kent gang took the field in June 182 1.
Its southern counterpart, the Aldington Gang,
appeared rather later, on November 8th, at a point
about midway between the " village of Sandgate,"
as it was then called, and the Shorncliffe Battery.
Here, at about 11 p.m., a large boat, laden with
spirits, tobacco and salt, supposed to be from
Boulogne, came ashore and was immediately sur-
rounded by a party of between two and three
hundred men, who had been collected from twenty
miles round, and formed into three parties : the
most numerous to work the goods ; while the
other two, called " fighting parties," carrying blud-
geons and fire-arms, were posted on each side of
the boat, at a distance of about forty yards, and
extending from the sea right across the public road
towards the hills, so as to protect the men engaged
in clearing the boat.
The affray began by an attack of several armed
smugglers on two of the blockade sentinels, one of
whom, James Walker, was wounded in the right
leg, near the groin, by buckshot from a pistol;
the other, Daniel Sheahan, being badly mauled with
bludgeons.
Meanwhile Lieutenant Peat — who had distin-
guished himself at Lydd — the stormy petrel of the
coast, an active, zealous officer, and a hard fighter of
69
70 THE SMUGGLERS
reckless courage, who had been lying concealed, with
his orderly, John Green, at the back of the Shorn-
cliffe Battery, in expectation of a run, immediately
rushed into the thick of the fray, meeting the
fighting party posted to the west of the boat, one
of whom shot him in the leg, while others fell upon
Green, who was overpowered and bound.
Nothing daunted by his wound, Lieutenant Peat
discharged his blunderbuss into the thick of the
party, at close range, and then cut a way out with
his cutlass.
The goods having been cleared — the work of a
few moments — the smugglers retreated inland and
dispersed, leaving the boat on the beach. A
quantity of the run goods was seized next morn-
ing, at some distance from the coast, by two riding-
offtcers. But no prisoners were taken, the sudden-
ness of the attack having prevented Lieutenant Peat
from collecting a sufficient force to deal with the
large body of smugglers, the greater number of
whom were disguised in smock-frocks and with
blackened faces.
Reports of the affray no sooner reached head-
quarters than instructions were given to the Law
officers of the Crown to send one of their agents
into Kent to collect evidence with a view to dis-
covering the offenders. Reporting his arrival on
the coast, under date November 12th, the legal gentle-
man wrote from the Swan Inn, Hythe : " It is
whispered in the neighbourhood that, of the smug-
gling party which consisted of about three hundred
men, three were killed and a dozen wounded; . . .
although the secrecy of the inhabitants of this
coast is such as to afford us no certain prospect of
success." And again : on December 4th, he reports
INSULTING THE BLOCKADE 71
that one of the smuggling party was recognised by
Daniel Sheahan — William Foster, a blacksmith at
Sandgate, who had made himself notorious by
repeatedly insulting the seamen of the blockade.
Amongst others who had been abused and threatened
by this fellow was John Horton, Quartermaster,
stationed at Sandgate, who complained that for the
last two months this man had abused him while
on duty on the beach, and that recently he said to
him: "Well, old gentleman, you are alive yet;
but you'll not be so long; we are looking out for
you, and you and another or two are marked."
And again, on the morning after the affray, the
blacksmith said to him : " Well, old gentleman,
you got a good drubbing last night, you'll have
another in two or three nights, and you and two or
three more are marked : you'll get a ball through
your head and then you'll not trouble us much
longer." And on the night of the 7th November,
while Horton was on the beach, near the black-
smith's shop, a musket was, he believed, fired at
him, and when he got further east, a pistol was
fired at him, as he was the only person on the beach
at the time.
It appeared that Lieutenant Peat and his party,
on their way back to Sandgate after the affray,
had arrested a man named Byers, a gentleman's
servant, dressed in a smock-frock, who was found
loitering about in a suspicious manner. " His
master," wrote the law agent, " will prevail on him
to disclose information on his return to London,
where he will be out of the influence of the
smugglers."
It was further believed that a Lydd man had been
recognised amongst the fighting party, and hopes
72 THE SMUGGLERS
were entertained that some further clues might be
obtained by means of dihgent inquiry. " But,"
cautiously observed the agent, " as most of the
inhabitants of Folkestone, Sandgate, and Hythe are
in connection with the smugglers, and many of them
are supposed to have been of the party assisting
on this occasion, no information can be obtained or
expected from them, tending to discover the
smugglers."
As many of the smugglers were believed to have
been disabled, hopes were entertained that some
discoveries might be made through the medical
gentlemen called in to attend; and instructions
were issued by Captain McCulloch to some of the
petty-officers to try to find out the places where
they visited. " But this has hitherto been in-
effectual," wrote the agent, " and I am informed
that it is the practice of the smugglers to carry off
their killed and wounded into the interior of the
country for the express purpose of preventing dis-
covery." And, after stating that the man Byers,
arrested on suspicion, was too ill to be examined
or to identify any of the suspected men, the agent
suggests the offer of a reward of £500, which was
advertised accordingly.
Lieutenant Peat's report of the affair, as well as
the evidence of the other officers and seamen
engaged on the night in question, throw an inter-
esting light on the manners and customs of the
seaboard populace of those wild days.
Lieutenant Peat stated that, on the night in ques-
tion, which was by no means a dark one, he was
going his rounds, from Folkestone where he resided,
accompanied by his orderly, Green, and, having
reason to expect a landing near Sandgate, he lay
DRAGOONS DISPERSING SMUGGLERS
11/72
THE SHORNCLIFFE AFFRAY 73
down behind the Battery to watch. Hearing shots
fired on the beach a short distance off, he ran down,
meeting some of the fighting party, who called to
him, " Keep off, you b ! " and then endeavoured
to work round them, upon which several called out,
" Shoot the b ! " and three pistol-shots were
fired at him, which he returned with the blunder-
buss. This had the effect of stopping the smugglers
for a moment : they then called out, " Let's sur-
round him ! " and advancing in a semicircle, the first
man struck at him with a bludgeon, which he evaded
by springing to one side and firing his pistol at the
man, who was dressed in a dark gaberdine, or frock.
The shot seemed to take effect. The party having
now surrounded him, he seized his cutlass, which
was hanging to his left arm, and cut his way through
backwards, retreating about fifteen yards to a house
called Ivy Cottage, or the Kettle-Net House, where
he reloaded his blunderbuss and pistol, and then
followed up the party, who, having by this time
cleared the boat, were retreating inland. Upon
perceiving him, some of the smugglers called out,
with surprise, " Here comes the murdering b
again ! " and made off. He then went down to
the boat, which was lying half afloat and empty,
with no one in her. Here he was joined by Mr.
Bolton and a seaman from Fort Twiss, and they
turned and followed up the retreating smugglers,
who by this time had got into a field. The rear-
guard, numbering about sixty, on perceiving the
blockade-men, now turned about and, forming a
sort of half-crescent, called out that if they advanced
any closer they would murder them. Several pistol-
shots were then fired by the smugglers, one of which
wounded John Lardner, and the fire was returned
74 THE SMUGGLERS
by Lieutenant Peat, who discharged both blunder-
buss and pistol. Several shots were thus exchanged,
the smugglers meanwhile retreating in a compact
body, followed by the blockade party, and alternately
halting, forming up and exchanging fire, and then
retreating again, until they reached the top of the
hill, whence they dispersed inland. It was now
between half-past eleven and twelve, and on return-
ing to the boat Lieutenant Peat found the wounded
seamen and two Midshipmen. By this time the
wound in his thigh which had been received early
in the affray was getting stiff, and two riding-ofhcers
coming up, they carried him and the two wounded
seamen to the Sandgate watch-house.
Equally interesting was the evidence of James
Walker, one of the wounded seamen quartered at
the Tower near Sandgate, and who, on the night of
the affray, was posted on the beach between Shorn-
cliffe Battery and a house called the Squire's House.
He stated that at about eleven o'clock five men
armed with pistols came down the beach where he
was and told him to keep off. He told them to keep
off, whereupon he instantly found himself sur-
rounded by a large party of smugglers, one of
whom made a blow at him with a bludgeon, which
he warded off with his pistol, and knocked another
man down with the edge of his cutlass, upon which
the rest called out, " Shoot the b ! ", and a
pistol was fired at him, wounding him in the thigh.
He returned the shot and a man fell, upon which
some one called out, " A dead man ! " and the
body was picked up and carried off. The smugglers
fired several shots at him, and he fired his pistol
three times, and then dropped down, faint from
loss of blood. Almost immediately after this, he
PREVENTION !
75
saw a boat come in, and about 250 men come down
to unload it. He then got up and walked towards
the Tower, meeting Mr. Shallard and his party on
the way. He further stated that he could see by
the light of the pistol-shots that the smugglers had
their faces blacked, or covered with black crape.
s.-^;
PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE, AS PERFORMED NIGHTLY ON THE
SEABOARD
A CARICATURE BY GEORGE CRUICKSHANK.
Daniel Sheahan, describing the treatment he
received after being knocked down and badly beaten
with bludgeons, said the smugglers talked of murder-
ing him, and continued to kick and ill-treat him :
his appeal to them, as Englishmen, to stop such
cowardly treatment being unheeded.
The only independent testimony obtainable was
that of Joseph Arundel, servant to Mr. Magniac,
of Kensington, who was staying at Sandgate. He
76 THE SMUGGLERS
said that, at about half-past eleven on the night
in question, Thomas Byers came to the back door,
opened the latch and wanted to come in, but he
would not let him. Byers, who was dressed in a
smock-frock, asked him if he heard the firing. Just
before Byers came to the door a wounded man had
come to the garden adjoining, and a servant from
next door went to his assistance. Shortly before
this he had heard a great deal of firing in the road.
He further stated, that about a fortnight before
Byers had come to the back-door, dressed in the
same manner, with the lower part of his face blacked,
and asked for small beer.
Incredible as it must seem, all efforts to discover
the parties concerned in this daring outrage proved
futile : the law agent having to return to head-
quarters not a wiser but a sadder man.
It was never discovered who captained the
smugglers on this occasion; though the excellence
of the arrangements, by which so large a body of
men were collected from a wide extent of country,
at a pre-arranged time and place, without the
knowledge of the revenue authorities; the masterly
manner in which the parties were handled, and their
retreat covered, to say nothing of the admirable
arrangements for removal of the killed and wounded,
not only gave evidence of a degree of discipline
scarcely to be expected amongst a casual assemblage
of rustics, but implied no mean powers of organisa-
tion on the part of the captain. Everything,
indeed, pointed to the redoubtable leader of the
" Blues " as the moving spirit in the business. It
was subsequently ascertained that his right-hand
man was actively engaged in the exploit.
And what of the wounded? It was a point of
SMUGGLING GALLEYS 77
honour amongst their confederates to convey
wounded smugglers to some remote inland cottage,
where they were well cared for, free of cost, until
able to resume work. The surgeon called in to
attend such a case could always be depended on
to keep his own counsel : it was no business of his
how the poor fellow came by a bullet in the leg :
no questions were asked; and wise people minded
their own business, and held their tongues. To
have manifested too much curiosity would have
spelt professional ruin in those wild, lawless days.
As long as the fees were forthcoming, that was all
a medical man need trouble about.
Encouraged by the success of their first attempt,
the gang came down to the coast on the following
night, November 8th, in even greater numbers, near
Dymchurch, where, after surprising the blockade
sentinels, and before a force could be assembled to
oppose them, they succeeded in running the whole
of their goods, consisting of 450 tubs and a number
of packages, with the loss of only one tub and the
boat. As for the latter, the smugglers attached no
importance to it, boats of the description used could
be built in France for about £40. And as the
profit on a cargo of, say, 300 tubs amounted to
from £450 to £500, an ample margin was available
for contingencies of this sort.
And here it may be well to explain that owing
to a heavy bond being required from all owners of
boats on this side of the Channel — which bond was
forfeited, together with the boat, if found engaged
in smuggling — a number of English boat-builders
had started business on the French coast to meet
the requirements of the trade : a circumstance so
notorious as to form the subject of a report from
78 THE SMUGGLERS
Captain McCulloch. These boats, built chiefly by
men from Deal, Dover and Sandgate, were from
38 to 40 feet in length, and of the lightest framing
and of the cheapest materials consistent with safety ;
and were navigated under licence from the French
Government on condition that one-third of the crew
were Frenchmen. No less than eighteen were under
construction at this time at Boulogne.
CHAPTER V
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLAND
The next three months passed off quietly. There
was no relaxation of vigilance, however, along the
coast ; rumours of impending operations on a large
scale having reached the blockade authorities; and
although it was impossible to foresee where the storm
would break, the whole force was alert. " At
length," wrote an officer employed on an adjacent
part of the coast, on the morning of February nth,
1821, " the Blues made their attempt at Camber,
near Rye, marching down to the beach with twenty-
five armed men on each flank, and an unarmed
working-party to carry off the goods, stationed in
the centre." Intimidated by this formidable array,
the blockade sentinel fired the alarm, and, though the
smugglers succeeded in landing their cargo, they
were pursued into the marshes, and attacked by
Messrs. McKenzie, Digby and Newton, midshipmen,
assisted by some straggling blockaders. The contest
was very bloody; the working-party of smugglers
who carried the tubs being guarded as described on
each wing by parties of armed men, who regularly
halted, faced, fired, retreated, and reloaded, accord-
ing to word of command given by their leaders.
Still, the pursuers continued to follow the fair-traders
for miles into the interior, pouring in frequent volleys,
and the Mids. charging repeatedly sword in hand.
" The result of this conflict," continues the narrator,
79
80 THE SMUGGLERS
" was, that Mr. McKenzie, a fine, gallant young
officer, was killed; and the two other Mids., with
several of their men, were wounded. On the part of
the smugglers, four were found dead on the high-road,
while sixteen were carried away wounded."
Such, briefly, was the Battle of Brookland, one of
the bloodiest conflicts between smugglers and
Preventive-men that ever disgraced our coasts.
And when the details have been filled in, with a
completeness which research has now rendered
possible, the reader will be tempted to ask, in the
words used by James, the novelist, with reference
to a scene enacted a century earlier : "Is this a
scene in North America, where settlers are daily
exposed to the incursions of savages ? This could
not have happened in England, within the last
hundred years ! " To which we would reply, this
happened in the county of Kent, within the recollec-
tion of people with whom the writers have personally
conversed, people who actually helped to carry the
wounded from the field of battle.
The spot selected for the landing was on the
southern shore of the " Marsh," about five miles
west of Dungeness, near " Thanet's Watch-house,"
a spot offering many advantages, the great bank
of shingle behind the beach affording convenient
cover for the working-parties, out of sight of the
blockade sentinels, and yet within easy reach of the
margin of the tide. While at the back, the country
was intersected with deep ditches, which, while
offering insuperable obstacles to rapid movement,
were turned to advantage by the smugglers, who,
under the guidance of Marsh Pilots — " lookers," or
farm-hands — were enabled to thread their way with
ease through the intricacies of this region, while the
THE BROOKLAND PRISONERS 81
Preventive-men, impeded by heavy clothing, and
the weight of arms and ammunition, and ignorant
of the line of retreat, would often fall victims to
their own indiscreet zeal, by immersion in a ditch.
Here, close to the blockade Watch-house, between
two and three o'clock on Sunday morning, the fatal
affray commenced; and in course of the long, run-
ning fight that ensued, two of the smugglers were
captured, conveyed subsequently to London, and
after examination at Bow Street Police Court (i6th
February) committed for trial.
At the Old Bailey Sessions, April 17th, 1821, Richard
Wraight, aged thirty-eight, and Cephas Quested,
aged thirty, were capitally indicted for assembling
with several other persons, armed with fire-arms,
at Lydd, in the county of Kent, and carrying goods
liable to pay duty.
The principal witness for the prosecution was
Mr. Newton, Master's Mate (a rank corresponding with
the present Sub-lieutenant), whose evidence, from
his having been in the thick of the fight, was of great
interest. He said he was stationed at Thanet's
Watch-house, about five miles west of Dungeness
lighthouse, and had charge of the watch on the
morning of the nth of February. At about half-
past two, while in company with John Thrcdder, he
observed a flash to the westward; and they both
ran in that direction : he, at the same time, ordering
the watch to cut inland, for the purpose of inter-
cepting the smugglers. He gave the usual alarm
by firing off his pistol. On proceeding to the place
they met two of his own party, near Hervey's
Watch-house, and cutting inland towards the north,
observed a large body of men apparently covering
another body who were retreating inland. He
VOL. II. G
82 THE SMUGGLERS
instantly called upon them to stop, and was answered
by a volley of musketry. His party now lay down
to avoid the fire, and the balls flew over them.
They then discharged their own pieces, and pursued
the smugglers, firing their pistols from time to time,
which fire was returned by the smugglers during the
whole time of their retreat. In the course of the
pursuit they were joined by Mr. Jones, midshipman,
and five or six men from another station. Messrs.
Jones, Digby and himself were wounded, as well as
Crockford, Churchill and Jackson, seamen. After-
wards they were joined by twenty other persons
belonging to the blockade, and proceeded to a farm-
house (Lee's) near Lydd. The smugglers then halted,
formed line, and fired upon them. They lay down
and heard a number of balls fly over their heads in
all directions. In this way a running fight was kept
up for about five miles into the country ; and when-
ever the smugglers got sight of the blockade party,
they fired volleys of musketry at them, in consequence
of which nearly every one of his party was wounded.
After pursuing the smugglers into the public road,
they saw two men presenting their muskets at them :
upon which they ran up to take them, but they
escaped. Following them up, several muskets were
again discharged at them from a field on the left
of the road : five or six of the smugglers were also
posted on the right of the road. One of these,
mistaking him for one of their own men, came up
to him and putting a musket in his hand, told him
to shoot, saying at the same time that he was done
with the affair. He seized the man and gave him
in charge of his party. At this time there was firing
on both sides of the road. In the confusion, their
party was divided, and he mistook the smugglers
THE MYSTERIOUS WRAIGHT 88
for his own men. The smugglers called out, " Who
are you? " and a volley was fired upon him. One
ball struck a button on the waistband of his trousers,
which split it, and cut him in the body ; another ball
passed through his frock, and grazed the skin on the
left shoulder : he fell down, upon which the smugglers
exclaimed, " The b drops ! " He got up, and
succeeded in joining Mr. Jones and his party. They
lay upon the ground about an hour, and saw two men
coming along, each carrying two tubs on their
shoulders. They pursued them, whereupon the
tubs were thrown down, and the men escaped. Some
of the smugglers were found lying dead on the road.
They then met another party, consisting of about
twenty, some of whom were on foot and some on
horseback : one of those on horseback rode up and
challenged them to fight. A gun was then fired at
one of the blockade-men. Several tubs of spirits
were found on the field of action, and on searching
the pockets of the prisoner Wraight they found some
wet powder and shot. In consequence of a want of
ammunition, they were compelled to return to a
place called Jew's Gut Watch-house (now known as
Jury's Gap).
The prisoner Wraight put in a long written defence,
in which he denied knowledge of the transaction;
and accounted for his being on the spot by saying
that he left his mother's home on the evening in
question for the house of a person named Baker,
fifteen miles distant, and that on his journey he
missed his way and wandered during the night, till
he fell in with the Preventive party, who took him
into custody. He accounted for having the powder
and shot in his pocket by stating that he had been
shooting rooks the day previous, and that by putting
84 THE SMUGGLERS
his hands into his pockets, and then to his face, he
had dirtied it. Several witnesses were called, who
confirmed the statement of the prisoner in every
particular. One of them, a publican, said he saw
the prisoner in the early part of the evening, with the
marks of dirt on his face, a considerable time before
the affair with the blockade-men took place. All
the witnesses joined in giving the prisoner a good
character. Several respectable persons also gave
Quested a good character.
Mr. Justice Park summed-up with his usual
impartiality, and the jury immediately returned a
verdict of guilty against Quested, and acquitted
Wraight.
On July 4th, Cephas Quested was executed at the
Old Bailey, for unlawfully assembling with others on
the coast of Kent, and firing upon the custom-house
officers in the execution of their duty.
With regard to Mr. Richard Wraight, he may not
have been over-endowed with the bump of locality;
but as the night was by no means dark, and the road
from his home to Rye clearly defined, one wonders
how he came to be in a field several miles to the
westward of his course, in a country intersected with
drains, and on the scene of a bloody encounter. The
coincidence was singular, to say the least, and the
jury gave him credit for being a much more unsophis-
ticated person than he really was. As for the
" respectable " people who came forward on his
behalf, it is notorious that any number would come
forward to vouch for a smuggler's good character in
those days. All that can be gleaned about this man
is contained in a brief reference to him in a letter
from the Crown solicitors to the First Lord of the
Admiralty, written the day after the trial, in which
THE MYSTERIOUS WRAIGHT 85
the steps taken for the discovery and conviction of
the offenders are thus briefly described : " The
landing of the goods was effected by upwards of 300
men, of whom about 60 were armed with guns.
The blockade party pursued the smugglers in the
dark, over a country intersected with ditches, for
upwards of five miles, into a spot within about a mile
of the village of Brookland, where a conflict occurred
in which Mr. McKenzie was killed. This occurred
about five in the morning, before which period both
the prisoners had been secured, on which account
the Law officers thought it would not be desirable
to charge either of them with the murder of this
officer. The prisoner Quested was apprehended
with a loaded gun in his hand, so that his guilt was
unquestionable, and the prisoner Wraight had been
secured about a quarter before four by George
Mockford and John Nicholls, two seamen who had
lost their party and who found Wraight in a field
through which the smugglers had recently passed,
and in which some of the officers and seamen had
been fired at and wounded; but no arms or tubs
were found upon him : his pockets, however,
appeared to have been lined with gunpowder, and
some partridge shot were found in them. These,
the learned Judge observed, were strong circum-
stances of suspicion, coupled with the fact of being
at an unseasonable hour upwards of twelve miles
from his home. . . . The prisoner called witnesses
who accounted for these circumstances by deposing
that he had been sent in the evening from Alding-
ton, near Hythe, to the neighbourhood of Rye, on
some farming business, and that he had lost his way
in the night, and that he was in the habit of carrying
powder and shot about with him to kill rooks, and
86 THE SMUGGLERS
this defence appearing to the Judge and jury as
satisfactory, the latter, without hesitation, acquitted
him.
" From private information, however, which I
had obtained, but which could not be made use of
as legal evidence," adds the writer, " there is no
doubt but that this man is a leader of smugglers
and was engaged in the transaction. ..."
The only further allusion to the ingenuous Mr.
Wraight occurs in a letter from Captain McCulloch
who, under date April 26th, wrote : " One of them, who
is notoriously known to have been a principal in
the several attacks on our parties on November 8th,
and December 25th, 1820, as well as on the nth
February, 1821, has been acquitted from a want of
evidence. ... I am very credibly informed," he
adds, " that the acquittal of Wraight is considered
as a complete triumph over the blockade, and over
the law itself, as well as an assurance of their future
safety. . . . Even if he had been convicted, they
would have considered it easy to avoid in future,
by a determination to rescue all who fall into the
hands of the blockade, and which, even on that
occasion, they might and certainly would have done
had they known of their arrest in time."
The most interesting feature of this correspondence
is the mention therein, for the first time, of the
obscure Kentish village of Aldington — a place des-
tined to earn a lasting notoriety in connection with
the exploits of a gang of ruffians already alluded to
under the title of the '* Blues."
As regards Richard Wraight, we regret to say that
all attempts to clear up the mystery concerning his
personality and subsequent history have failed.
The above occasion (February nth, 182 1) would
CEPHAS QUESTED 87
seem to have been his first and last appearance on
the public stage in the role of smuggler. His name
was, and is, unknown to fame in and around Alding-
ton. Not one single person that we have questioned
concerning him — and many were well acquainted
with all the smugglers of the locality at the time of
the affray — could give the least scrap of information
about the man ; the very name was strange to them.
In some sketches of blockade life, compiled by an
officer who had been employed in that service, we
are told, with reference to the Battle of Brookland,
that " one half-witted creature, named Cephas
Quested, was taken prisoner, and afterwards hung
opposite the debtors' door at Newgate." Now, this
is not only a gross libel on Quested, who would have
been the first to resent the imputation, but a reflection
on the learned Judge who passed the death sentence,
and who would, most assuredly, have coupled it with
a recommendation to mercy had there been any
grounds for suspecting the man's sanity.
None the less wide of the mark were the versions
of Quested's capture current in his native village of
Aldington, the commonly accepted one being that
he was found by some blockade-men, the day after
the affray, lying drunk in a reed-bed.
The fact is, that from the moment of his arrest
he was never seen again alive by any of his late
comrades.
Whether he was deserving, or not, of the " good
character " vouched for by " several respectable
persons " at his trial, it will be for the reader to
decide after perusal of the following reminiscences
of the man, imparted by old people who had known
him.
CHAPTER VI
THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN THE BATTLE OF BROOKLAND
Cephas Quested was a labouring man who, like
most of his class in those days, increased his earnings
by smuggling. Ignorant, and entirely uneducated,
he had a turn for adventure which proved his undoing.
For, being a man of spirit, he was persuaded to join
the " fighting parties " on the occasion of a landing,
when, having the misfortune to mistake a foe for
a friend, he was captured, as already described.
A village ancient who was dozing away the
evening of life in the Ashford Union contributed the
following recollections of the man :
" Quested was a rough-like, drinking sort of a
chap. Many's the time I've seen him come home
drunk at six o'clock in the morning. One time I was
out working in a wood where some tubs had been
laid, when Quested and a man called Gardiner tapped
one of the tubs, and drank till they laid down :
they lay out all night — a cold, frosty night it was,
too ; and when my uncle went to work next morning,
he found them still lying. Gardiner, being a weakly
sort of a chap, was dead. But Quested, who was
a strong hearty fellow, seemed none the worse :
he was just like iron, or he would never have stood
it. When my uncle lifted up Gardiner's head, and
said he was dead, Quested called out, ' Well, he died
of what he loved I '
** I can remember the time Quested was taken,
88
THOSE WHO FOUGHT 89
very well. It was a Sunday night when we heard
of it : you see the tubs had been landed on a Sunday
morning ; but Quested was a bad man for that sort
of work, for he'd tap the very tubs on his back !
But, there, smuggling was mostly done for drink :
the chaps would go out just to get money to drink.
" The same night Quested was taken, George Finn
was brought home in a cart, wounded, along with
Chapman and Giles. Finn was carried to his
house in Church Street, just below Aldington church.
It must have been about seven o'clock on Sunday
evening : you see they had been kept hid away all
day out of sight, and then brought along in a cart.
The other two men belonged to Bilsington and were
left there. Finn was a labouring man, and worked
at Court Lodge farm — a very good worker he was,
too, till he got in along with the smugglers. He got
a shot in the thigh that night, but it wasn't bad, and
it wasn't a great while before he was at work again.
He was married, and had a large family. I was out
along with Finn once, myself, working for some parties
who lived down at Burmarsh. There was a ' pretty
passel ' of us out that night : we met at West Hythe,
and managed the business all right. So, you see,
I knew the man well."
Another old man imparted the following : "I
remember Cephas Quested quite well : he was a
great, strong, blustering chap — rather a * rough 'un,'
as we call it. He was never at any place of worship,
unless it was for a christening ; and then it took a lot
of trouble to get him there. I've seen him lying
about drunk, many a time; but he wasn't bad
company when he was in drink, he didn't get quarrel-
ling, like some on 'em — the drink seemed to make him
helpless-like.
90 THE SMUGGLERS
" My father was out carrying tubs the night
Quested was taken : he used to say it was a pretty
big skirmish."
" I remember the time Finn was shot, down at
Brookland," said another old fellow who had been
mixed up with the smuggling, " for you see the chaps
came and asked me to lend a hand to carry him into
his house, the Sunday he was brought home in a
cart, with a shot in the thigh and bullet through one
hand. He'd been kept hidden away down in the
Marsh all night — you see, it would never have done
to have been moving about in the dark. He was
tended by Dr. Everish.
" His wife went up to see him every week : I
heard all that was said, when she came home, and
got talking about him. He was given the chance
of breaking up the gang at the trial — indeed he was
offered his pardon if he'd only split on them, but he
wouldn't. * No,' said he, ' I've done wrong, and
I'm ready to suffer for it, but I won't bring harm on
to others.' You see, he might have * diwulged,' but
he wouldn't split, and so he suffered for what he'd
done. He was an entire uneducated man, but he
learnt to say the Lord's Prayer while he was in
prison. He told his wife he would not have learnt
that unless he had been there. The last time he saw
her he said, * We eat and drink to-day, Pat, and
to-morrow we die ' : he used to call her ' Pat.' He
seemed quite prepared to meet his fate."
" Quested was kept in jail a long time before he
was hung," said another of his village mates; "so
he had plenty of time to turn King's Evidence — that
was why they kept him so long, but he said he'd die
for what he'd done.
" His wife went up to fetch the body after he'd
ALDINGTON 91
been hung, and when it had been brought down to
Aldington I remember going along with my father
and mother to see it lying in the coffin; indeed all
the neighbours went in to see it the Sunday afore
he was buried. The coffin lay in the house where
he had lived : in the end nighest this way. His wife
took it pretty well : she'd not much care nor fear
'afore it happened. There was a tidy lot at the
funeral, though nothing like there would be now-
a-days, in the way of a crowd : indeed, it was just
the relations as far as I remember. He was buried
up at Aldington church yonder : there's no stone
to mark his grave, but I know where it is, though
there's been others buried into the same spot
since.
" The place where he lived was like forest : there
was bog, where you could hardly pass in winter-
time : indeed it was * uncultiwated ' in two ways —
land and people."
The antiquary will be interested to learn that
Quested's cottage still stands — a typical Kentish
home of a hundred years ago — with red bricks,
toned and mellowed with age, and a lichen-covered
roof — just such an one as Birket Foster loved to
paint.
There was a tradition in the village of Aldington
that on the eve of his execution Quested addressed
some verses to his wife. Through the courtesy of
Mr. T. W. Smith, of Aldington House, Margate,
whose family were long connected with the parish
of Aldington, we are enabled to present a copy of
the original letter, supposed to have been written by
Quested to his wife just before his execution : copies
of which, after the manner of those days, were hawked
about the country :
92 THE SMUGGLERS
" Newgate Cell, 30th June, 1821.
" Dear Loving Wife,
I am sorry to inform you that the report
came down on Saturday night, and I was ordered
for execution on Wednesday. I sent for Mr. Hughes
on Sunday, and he and the Sheriff came in the
afternoon, and, Dear Wife, they told me that it was
best for you not to come up. Dear Loving Wife,
I am sorry that I cannot make you amends for the
kindness you have done for me, and I hope that God
will be a Father and a Husband to you and your
children for ever : and, dear wife, I hope that we shall
meet in the next world, and there we shall be happy.
And, Dear Loving Wife, I hope you will not fret, or
as little as you can help. And Father and Mother,
I send my kind love to you, and to all my kind
Brothers and Sisters : and, dear Brothers, I hope
this will be a warning to you, and all others about
there. Dear Father and Mother and Brothers and
Sisters, I hope that you will not frown on my dear
loving children. Dear wife, I am happy in mind,
thank God for it, and I hope you will keep up your
spirits as well as you can.
" Farewell, my dear friends, I must away.
Death calls me hence, I can no longer stay :
Farewell, my truest comfort here below,
Christ bids me welcome to his heavenly joy.
Farewell, adieu ! my grief.
To every trouble death is a kind relief.
Farewell, my fading joys, I go to prove
The endless pleasures of the Saints above.
Farewell, my pains, begone my rousing fears.
In heaven are neither grief nor tears.
THE LAST OF QUESTED 93
All earthly happiness I now resign ;
Vain world, farewell ! but welcome joys divine.
" So no more from your unfortunate husband,
" Cephas Guested."
A touching memento of the smuggler, in the shape
of a wooden snuff-box carved by him in resemblance
of a Bible, while awaiting trial, is treasured by a
descendant.
The Aldington Parish Register contains the
following entry : —
" Burials.
Cephas Quested .... July 8th, 1821. . . . Age 32.
Aldington. Performed by John Hollams
Curate."
A previous entry appears to refer to the death of
a son : —
" Cephas Quested. . . . May 5th, 1819. . . .Age
14 months."
The name frequently appears in the " Parish
Relief Book," as in receipt of relief; especially
during 1817.
It may be added that the widow found solace, soon
after, in a second husband, and lived for a number
of years.
" Now, tell us," said we to one of our informants,
" did the hanging of Quested cause much of a scare
amongst the smugglers ? "
" Well, there was a bit of an excitement, just at
first, for fear he should split ; but when they found
he didn't, why, they didn't care much : it only
94 THE SMUGGLERS
made them a bit more crafty in the business ; and
they soon got to think themselves masters in the
place."
The fact is, Quested was regarded by his confeder-
ates as a fool for being caught. " I am credibly
informed," wrote Captain McCulloch, " that the
smugglers consider the fate of this man as due to
his own stupidity, as of no importance, and as not
likely to occur again."
The actual spot where poor McKenzie received
his death-wound was a short distance from Lydd,
at a place called Westbrook. An old man who well
remembered the affair stated that after being shot
McKenzie wandered about for some time; having
lost his way in the Marsh. At last he got into the
Lydd road, and reached a cottage at Mydley, where a
man named Burgess lived. Knocking here, he
called out, " Let me in ! I'm wounded." Burgess
opened the door, and seeing it was a blockade officer,
took him in and went off, at once, for a doctor from
Lydd, and to get a conveyance to carry the officer
back there. McKenzie reached the George Inn on
Sunday morning, where, after lingering for a day or
two, he expired.
The Kentish Chronicle, February 21st, 1821, con-
tains the following : " The remains of Mr. McKenzie,
who it appears was a Master's Mate of the Coast
Blockade, were interred at Lydd, with Naval
honours : the officers and men on the station attend-
ing the funeral."
The Burial Register of the parish contains the
following : " John James McKenzie, buried 15th
Feb., age 28, abode Lydd."
Local tradition affirms that poor McKenzie's
THE UNFORTUNATE McKENZIE 95
body was removed by his relatives for interment
elsewhere; which seems to be borne out by the
absence of any memorial stone.
A pathetic sequel to all this was chanced on by the
present writers in the course of research, in the form
of a document entitled :
" Petition on behalf of the family of James
McKenzie, late a mid. in H.M. Navy, who, in the
performance of his duty in the Preventive service
at Lydd, in Kent, under the command of Captain
McCulloch, was, on the nth of February, shot by a
band of smugglers."
The petitioner, who appears to have been the
unfortunate young man's father, states therein that,
" Having been deprived of his son, and the hope
which he had entertained of deriving from him some
assistance towards the support of himself and wife,
and four unmarried daughters," he requests that
some remuneration may be granted to the family for
the irreparable loss they had sustained; adding
that he had heard from Captain McCulloch that
his son was on the point of being recommended for
promotion.
Enclosed was a statement of the professional
services of Mr. McKenzie : whence we learn that he
entered the naval service in 1807 : was engaged in
two severe actions, and in the capture of the Junon
and Necessite, French frigates ; besides several
important actions in the Undaunted ; and that,
until his death, he had never been off the books of
the service.
One can only hope the application was successful.
It is only fitting that the " Casualty List "
for the two encounters, of November 6th, 1820,
96 THE SMUGGLERS
and February nth, 1821, should find a place
here : —
Killed. Wounded.
Nov. 8th . 3 Smugglers, i Officer, 3 seamen.
12 Smugglers.
Feb. nth . i Officer. 3 Officers.
4 Smugglers. 6 Seamen.
12 Smugglers (reported).
" The melancholy death of poor McKenzie was
deeply deplored by all his associates; and by none
more sincerely than his former commanding officer,
who, by this record, has endeavoured to rescue from
oblivion the untimely fate of a distinguished, amiable,
brave, and excellent young man," were the words
of a naval officer whose reminiscences have been
previously quoted.
There now only remains the pleasant duty of
chronicling the rewards bestowed on the young officers
through whose courage and activity, on the fatal
night of February nth, the capture of Messrs. Wraight
and Quested was effected. Their meritorious conduct
was especially brought to the notice of the Admiralty,
in the first instance, by the legal gentleman who
conducted the case on behalf of the Crown, in the
following words : "I beg leave to add that in the
course of the trial the Judge bestowed great com-
mendation on the before-named officers — Messrs.
Digby, Newton and Jones, Mids., for their vigilance,
bravery, and good conduct on that occasion."
By orders of the Admiralty, these young officers
were at once promoted to lieutenants.
And now, for some unexplained reason, the activi-
ties of the "Blues" ^X^ere suspended; their move-
A QUIET INTERVAL 97
ments for the space of four years being shrouded
in an impenetrable mystery which the utmost efforts
have failed to dispel. The only reasonable explana-
tion is to be found in certain transactions that were
taking place elsewhere, which, one may well believe,
were not without effect along the entire seaboard.
For it was in the year 1822 that retribution overtook
the North Kent gang; and the punishment meted
out to those ruffians may have damped the ardour
of their southern counterparts, the " Blues."
VOL. II.
CHAPTER VII
THE ALDINGTON GANG — (continued)
The Blues, in no wise disconcerted by their losses,
made another attempt to run a cargo near Romney ;
thus described by Captain McCulloch in his Report
to headquarters, under date December 26th, 1821 :
" A large boat made an unsuccessful attempt on
the night of the 22nd to land a cargo of about 500
casks of spirits near Romney, when she was beat off,
as was also the armed party of smugglers which had
assembled on the shore to run the goods, by the
gallant and determined conduct of Mr. Wm. Hry.
Dunnett, Adly. Mid., and Mr. Win. Higginson, Mid.,
and the parties of the Coast Blockade stationed on
that part of the coast.
" The boat was observed in the evening, hovering
under her fore and mizen Lugs, between Dymchurch
and Romney and was watched by Messrs. Dunnett
and Higginson, as it was supposed she would land
to the eastward. About half-past nine o'clock she
appeared to be preparing to run on shore when the
officers sent the sentinel to direct the reserve of their
party to the spot, and immediately afterwards she
ran on the beach, having dropped an anchor out-
side, with a hawser attached thereto and leading
into her bows.
" On her touching the beach the armed party ran
down, one of whom, calling out to the smugglers in
the boat, ' Tom, you're too soon,' determined the
98
AFFRAY NEAR DYMCHURCH 99
two officers to board her instantly, relying on their
party to attack the armed gang.
" Mr. Dunnett was wounded on boarding, but did
not desist from his endeavours to gain possession.
In getting on board he was again wounded and the
smugglers succeeded in throwing him overboard,
when they fired a wall-piece at him which was
mounted in the boat's bows, and wounded him a
third time. Mr. Higginson having in the meantime
got hold of the bow, shot the bowman through the
body, who fell to the bottom of the boat, when the
smugglers called out to their party on the beach,
* It won't do ! ' and began to haul off, of which Mr.
Higginson was not aware, until he found himself
out of his depth. He then endeavoured to cut the
hawser with his sword, but being knocked down with
an oar, or the butt-end of a musket, and having
received a severe blow on the sword-arm, he failed
in his attempt and the boat having got her foresail
set, put to sea."
From another source we learn that at this moment
two volleys were fired upon the young officers from
the fall of the beach, and Mr. Dunnett being in the
water, wounded, and declaring his inability to swim,
Mr. Higginson immediately swam to his assistance.
" Messrs. Cobb, Shiriff, Brooman and Miller,
Adly. Mids., with their parties, were on the spot in
a few minutes," continues Captain McCulloch, " and
instantly beat off the armed smugglers, but they were
not in time to assist the two gentlemen engaged with
the boat, which was not four minutes on the beach
altogether. Not an article was landed or moved from
the boat, which must be attributed to the spirited
conduct of these two officers, I beg to recommend
these officers to the favourable consideration of the
100 THE SMUGGLERS
Lords Comms. of the Admiralty. I herewith transmit
a return of the wounded."
n
Enclosure
" Mr. Wm. H. Dunnett : wounded by three balls
in the left thigh near the inner hamstring, not yet
extricated but not dangerous : he has also received
several severe contusions from the violence with
which he was expelled the boat and thrown over-
board, besides some slight abrasions from the passage
of balls through his clothes.
*' Mr. Wm. Higginson — received a slight wound
in the right arm with contusion of the head from a
violent blow with the butt-end of a musket or loom
of an oar while endeavouring to cut the boat's
cable : he has also several shots through his hat and
clothes.
" John Williams, Surgeon."
Both these young men recovered from their
wounds and were promoted for gallantry displayed
on this occasion. Of Mr. Higginson, Captain
McCulloch wrote, " He is the only officer of his
class (Midshipman) not served his time employed
on the blockade, having been landed to fill a vacancy,
being short of officers."
No prisoners were taken, nor were any of the
parties concerned in this outrage discovered. The
authorities, however, had very shrewd suspicions
as to the moving spirit in this and previous affrays,
and a carefully-laid plan was made for his arrest.
But through the vigilance of his confederates he
eluded this and every attempt to capture him for
the space of five years, openly bragging of his deter-
mination never to be taken alive.
LIEUTENANT PEAT 101
An officer stated, in allusion to the Battle of
Brookland, that " this desperate affray considerably
staggered the courage of the Blues; yet they con-
tinued to appear at times, skulking along in the
dark, dressed in long white gaberdines, their faces
blackened, and their feet muffled by worsted stock-
ings drawn over their shoes, by which means they
hoped to single out solitary sentinels of the coast
blockade, and thus assassinate them in detail."
A more inaccurate statement could scarcely have
been penned. So far from being " staggered " by
recent events, the so-called " Blues " became more
truculent than ever. Even while the fate of their
comrade, Quested, was in the balance, these ruffians
recommenced their old games, a party of them
disgracing their manhood by a dastardly outrage
perpetrated on a couple of wounded and perfectly
helpless men, whose only offence was an attempt to
carry out their duties in a strict and fearless manner.
The fact of one of the victims of this outrage being
our old friend Lieutenant Peat — with whom, it may
be remembered, we parted on the night of November
8th, 1820, with a gun-shot wound in the leg — lends
additional piquancy to the affair, and shows that this
energetic officer was out and about once more. For
the following account of his next adventure, we are
indebted to a brother-officer :
" Going through some lonely marshes on a dark
night, attended by a trusty quartermaster. Lieu-
tenant Peat detected an ambuscade of armed
smugglers, one of whom he fearlessly seized, when a
whole volley was discharged, which killed the
quartermaster and badly wounded the lieutenant.
The latter, knowing that no mercy would be shown
to him, had the presence of mind to feign death by
102 THE SMUGGLERS
lying motionless, when he overheard his assailants
coolly discussing the question as to whether they
should fire another volley at his body or not, one
of them declaring that Peat had more lives than a cat,
and would certainly recover if they did not make
sure work. Thus urged, the smugglers deliberately
reloaded their muskets, fired another volley at their
prostrate enemy, and fled, leaving Lieutenant Peat
still alive, but with fourteen gunshot wounds in
different parts of his body ! "
The scene of this outrage lay just to the eastward
of Folkestone, near the Martello towers overlooking
Eastware Bay. The circumstances are so graphic-
ally described by Captain McCulloch in his official
report that they shall be quoted in extenso :
" Folkestone, yth June, 1821.
** Sir, — I have the honour to acquaint you that
the smugglers having desisted from any attempt to
land on this coast for some time, and being of
opinion that it was probable they would make a push
to bring in their goods during the first quarter of
the moon, when the tides would best suit their
purpose, I sent a reinforcement of ten men to the
Folkestone district and twelve marines to the Hythe
district, on Saturday, and as it appeared to me
that the west side of Dungeness was the most prob-
able place where any armed force was likely to
assemble, being the spot where our party was
attacked on nth Feb., when Mr. McKenzie was
killed, and the wind being last night particularly
favourable for the smugglers landing on that part
of the coast, and in Eastware Bay, where I knew
that excellent and zealous officer Lt. Peat would
LIEUTENANT PEAT 103
keep a vigilant look-out, I left Rye last night at
seven o'clock and remained on the beach between
the Harbour and Dungeness Point until eight
o'clock this morning, when I received a telegraphic
message that Lt. Peat had been attacked by a large
party of armed men in Eastware Bay. I instantly
proceeded there, and found that this officer, having
remained in the bay during the night and proceeding
about daylight towards Martello tower No. 2, when
he heard the report of a pistol which was fired as an
alarm from Tower No. i by Mr. John Lascelles,
Ad''- Mid., who heard a noise in an adjoining
field.
" Lt. Peat, accompanied by Richard Woolbridge,
Q.M., Robert Hunter, and John Walker, seamen,
immediately ran towards the spot, where they fell in
with a large armed gang of smugglers retreating
inland. Lt. Peat went up to the smugglers to
ascertain whether they had goods, and on getting
close to them found they had nothing. They called
out to him to keep off and immediately discharged
a volley of musketry which killed Richard Wool-
bridge, the Q.M., and wounded himself and the two
seamen.
" Mr. Lascelles on coming up with his party found
the Lieut, and the three men lying on the ground
unable to stand, the smugglers having made off.
Lt. Peat is most severely wounded, and from head
to foot completely riddled with musket and pistol
balls and slugs. Eight balls have already been
extracted and he has received in all about tw^enty
wounds. He is suffering very much, but I am happy
to inform you that the surgeon does not at present
apprehend danger. Hunter and Walker are wounded
severely, but are doing well. Woolbridge fell
104 THE SMUGGLERS
covered with wounds, two balls having passed
through the lungs.
" This is the second time that Lt. Peat has been
severely wounded in the gallant discharge of his duty
within a very short time : he has been my chief
support, and in all cases when courage and steady
conduct were particularly necessary : I am now
deprived of his services, on which I could at all times
rely, and I trust I may be permitted to express my
most anxious hope that my Lords Coms. of the
Admiralty may consider him deserving of their
favour and support.
" The boat which the smugglers expected did not
come in, but I think it is probable she will make an
attempt in the same place to-night, and I shall be
on the spot myself.
" I herewith transmit a list of the killed and
wounded.
I have, &c.
" H. McCULLOCH."
" Enclosure.
" Lieut. David Peat, — most severely wounded,
having received a pistol ball through the outside of
the left leg, another through the outside of the right
knee joint, and two buckshot wounds in the upper
and outer part of the same thigh : a musket ball
through the calf of the left leg, and a musket ball
and buckshot lodged in the metatarsal bones of the
same foot. In the upper extremities a pistol ball
through the wrist joint and back of the right hand,
another over the head of the radius and following
its course, and a buckshot wound over the elbow-
joint running downwards, another above the elbow-
((
A CASUALTY LIST 105
joint across the outer surface of the right arm, and
a third across the muscles of the same arm : on the
back part of same shoulder a fourth. The left arm
slightly wounded with a similar shot.
" Robert Hunter, — wounded by a pistol ball which
struck the right tibia and became flattened against
the surface of the cone.
** John Walker, — wounded in the left hip by a
pistol ball which entered anteriorly, and passing
posteriorly was extracted from the outer part of
the right nates.
" Richard Woolbridge, — killed.
" John Williams, Surgeon."
At a coroner's inquest upon the body of Wool-
bridge, a verdict of " Wilful murder " was returned
against some persons unknown. " The deceased/'
observed a contemporary, " was a man of brave and
exemplary character, had long served in the Navy,
and was universally respected by his officers."
And what of Lieutenant Peat? "To the utter
discomforture of the free-traders, he recovered, was
promoted and pensioned by the Admiralty, and he
astonished the inhabitants of Folkestone by appear-
ing at the theatre in his uniform as a Commander,"
wrote a brother-officer.
" For his gallant conduct and sufferings he was
advanced to the rank of Commander, by commission
bearing date the day of the occurrence ; and awarded,
29th July, 1822, a pension of ;f9i 5s. per annum." ^
His subsequent career was uneventful. On recovery
* Captain Boteler writes in his autobiography, in allusion to
this aft air : "He was supposed to be lamed for life. I knew
him weU, as he was staying with us at Canterbury, and at that
time was able to get about with the help of a stick : one shot was
still embedded in the leg and could not be got at."
106 THE SMUGGLERS
he was employed as Inspecting Commander of the
Coastguard, in the Hastings district, from July
1836 to 1839; and again from March 1840 till pro-
moted to Captain, January ist, 1847. His remin-
iscences would have been a valuable contribution
to an " Adventure Series."
The smugglers lay quiet till November loth, when
another attack in force was made close to the scene
of their first exploit, at Sandgate, the tactics
pursued being very similar to those so successfully
employed on former occasions. And, although the
smugglers managed to run a portion of their goods,
the smartness with which the blockade-men turned
out enabled much booty to be secured. Unhappily
there was further loss of life, while many were severely
wounded. The following account may be accepted
as authentic.
" Another and very daring affair (when the bright-
ness of the morning is taken into account) with
smugglers took place at Sandgate on Saturday
morning. It appears that at about a quarter-past
two on the morning of November loth a large boat
put on shore a few yards to the westward of Sandgate
Castle, and was at once attended by a body of about
300 smugglers, a number of whom were armed with
guns and pistols. An alarm was at once given by
the blockade sentinel on duty, on which Thomas
Moore, master-at-arms, left the watch-house with
five seamen, and when within pistol shot they were
received with several ill-directed volleys, which
they returned on the smugglers, who in the space of
a few minutes had discharged the cargo, consisting
it is supposed, of about 300 parcels. The blockade
party being now reinforced by the arrival of Mr.
Lowry, Admiralty Mate, with four men, followed
CONFLICT AT SHORNCLIFFE 107
up the smugglers, who retreated up the Military road,
leading to the Artillery Barracks, leaving behind
them 34 half-ankers and one package of tea, which,
together with the boat were secured and left in charge
of Moore.
" Mr. Lowry, after following up the smugglers for
some distance, brought them to action on the
heights above Sandgate, and in the course of the
affray that ensued was severely wounded in the right
thigh and slightly in the breast : two of the seamen
were also slightly wounded. Nothing daunted,
however, Mr. Lowry with his party continued to
pursue the retreating smugglers till, from the stiffness
of the wounded limb, the ball having injured the
hamstring, he was obliged to stop.
" On the alarm reaching No. 4 Tower, Mr. Shallard,
Master's Mate, who had only come off duty at
twelve o'clock, and had retired to rest, set off with
his party to endeavour to intercept the smugglers
inland : but, from the distance of his station, and
the time necessarily occupied, this officer's zealous
efforts were ineffectual, although he continued his
search from three o'clock until half-past seven."
The riding-officers, and the parties of the 9th
Lancers on the coast duty, had by means of false
information been drawn off to the westward and
there detained all night, but on the return of Mr.
Eleazer Mowle to his house, about eight o'clock in
the morning, he received such information as
induced him immediately to proceed to a " shave "
near Postling, about five miles from the coast, with
a small party of Lancers, where they found four lots
of tubs, amounting to 170 in all. On the approach
of the officer two men were seen to quit the spot,
one of whom, Richard Rolfe, of Lympne, was taken.
108 THE SMUGGLERS
and had in his possession a pistol, powder-horn and
slugs. Rolfe was conveyed to Hythe, and after
examination before Wm. Deedes, Esq., was com-
mitted for safety to Hythe Gaol.
During Sunday a great number of suspicious
characters were observed in the town, and appre-
hending that an attempt at rescue might be made,
in the same manner as had been successfully carried
out at Dover the year previously, the magistrates,
for more perfect security, authorised the removal of
the prisoner to the barracks of the Royal Staff Corps,
picquets of which regiment patrolled the streets
during the night.
CHAPTER VIII
THE MURDER OF QUARTERMASTER MORGAN, AT
DOVER, AND ITS SEQUEL
Passing over an interval of more than four years,
we come to the year 1826, when, as if to make up
for past inactivity, the gang broke out again with
redoubled violence, perpetrating, in rapid succession,
a series of outrages culminating in the murder of a
quartermaster of the blockade; and, by filling up
the cup of their guilt, fixing the authorities in a
determination to track out and exterminate the
ruffianly band.
Passing over certain minor affairs, such, for
example, as the shooting of John Howlihan, a sea-
man of the blockade, during the winter of 1825,
who, we learn from the register of Dymchurch
parish, met his death at the hands of smugglers,
we come to the official announcement of the " Blues' "
reappearance, in a letter from Captain McCulloch,
under date March 14th, 1826 : " The armed parties
of smugglers are again appearing on the coast within
the limits of the blockade." And he encloses a letter
from Lieutenant Hellard, to the following effect :
" About 1.30 a.m., on March nth, a galley landed
all but four tubs on the west end of Fort Twiss
station. The sentinel stationed at the point of
landing flashed his pistol as an alarm, and then
retreated before a large body of armed smugglers.
James Coghlin, a * landsman ' in the blockade service,
109
110 THE SMUGGLERS
the next sentinel to the eastward of the spot, seeing
the boat, ran to it, and although opposed to about
forty armed men, rushed in amongst them and fired
his musket. The smugglers then opened fire on
him and he was wounded severely on the head, left
shoulder and under the right eye : the effects of
which felled him to the ground, when he was seized
by the smugglers and dragged a short distance up
the beach, but succeeded in getting from their
grasp, though bleeding profusely, and followed them
up, firing his musket. Others of the blockade party
now came up, while the working party, which was
between the two fighting gangs, carried up the goods,
the blockade-men exchanging fire with the smugglers,
who, however, kept the sentinels from the west at
bay until the cargo, principally consisting of dry-
goods, was got clear away."
The letter concludes with the following significant
statement : "These public robbers belong to the parish
of Aldington, and are headed by George Ransley, a
smuggler of notoriety in this neighbourhood."
Two days later. Lieutenant Hellard reported
another attempt to break through the blockade, on
the west side of Dungeness, not far from the scene
of the fatal affray of February 182 1. It appears
that Lieutenant Strugnell, the officer of the station,
suspecting, from information received, that a run
would be attempted, rowed round in his galley off
the spot till 1.30 a.m., when, seeing a blue light to
seaward from a lugger, he chased it till 3.30, when,
on hearing an alarm from the shore, he rowed in to
the spot, where a galley was found on thQ beach
having run at least 200 tubs. This had been accom-
plished owing to the sentinel on guard (who was
discovered with a bruise on the head, and stated that
GOVERNMENT AROUSED 111
he had been secured and carried off his guard), not
having fired the alarm. The galley was forty-four
feet long, rowed ten oars, and carried two sails. It
was seized, together with eleven half-ankers.
It was evident that the gang meant business, and
that an attempt was to be made to terrorise the
blockade-men, so that the smugglers might, in future,
be at liberty to carry on their operations without
interference. It was imperative, therefore, that
these desperadoes should be taught a lesson.
The Government forces were now thoroughly on
their mettle. The officers in charge of the several
stations were brave, capable, and active men, full
of zeal, and jealous for the honour of their pro-
fession, and equally determined to " smash up " the
ruffianly gang that had so long defied them.
That the crisis was viewed in the gravest light by
the authorities is shown by a request made by
Captain McCulloch for muskets and bayonets for
the use of the blockade sentinels — " in consequence
of the recent attacks by armed parties " ; followed
up by an application for " 500 short pistols, to enable
each man on the beach to have a brace, in order that,
after firing an alarm, he may still have one to defend
himself with; as in some instances the men have
had their swords beaten down by long bludgeons."
A General Order issued at this time contains the
following significant warning : "In consequence of
the system adopted by the smugglers of appearing
in armed bodies, the officers of stations are admon-
ished to be present at these attacks, and are there-
fore to be on the alert from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m." Where-
upon we find a Lieutenant Parry requesting to be
superseded, "as his health will not admit of it." There
was no room for valetudinarians in such a service.
112 THE SMUGGLERS
The next attempt was at No. 27 Tower, near
Hythe, on April 5th, at about 9 p.m., when a party of
nearly 100 smugglers, armed with clubs only, came
down to work a cargo; but were beaten off by the
determined attitude of Mr. Eugene O'Reilly,
Admiralty Mate, and his small party, who not only
drove the smugglers from the beach, but followed
them a considerable distance inland, keeping up a
steady fire, which, it was supposed, proved fatal to
several. The only man wounded on the side of the
blockade was the sentinel at the point where the
smugglers came down, who directly he fired the alarm
received a violent blow with a " bat " on the right
shoulder. Before retreating, however, the smugglers
" flashed " off the boat.
The interest of this affray centres round the unfor-
tunate death of Lieutenant George Dyer, R.N., who
was accidentally shot by one of his own men. He
was watching the beach near Fort Twiss, in company
with a petty-officer, when, as they were walking
together, a little before i a.m., firing was heard in
the direction of Shorncliffe. At the same moment
a man named Lemon who was on the beach as sentinel,
near by, fired. The petty-officer at once called out,
" You d d fool, what do you fire for? " Lemon
replied, " I did not know who was coming : I hailed,
but there was no answer." " Were it so, if they were
smugglers, why did you fire without an act of
violence? " Lieutenant Dyer's orderly then called
out, " Good God ! Mr. Dyer is shot ! " And it was
found that the unfortunate officer had received four
gun-shot wounds in the upper part of the body :
Lemon being fifty yards off when he fired the fatal
shot.
In explanation of the unhappy affair, it was
MURDER OF A QUARTER-MASTER 113
stated by Lieutenant Hellard that a message had
been passed along the beach, just previously, to
give warning of an armed party of smugglers being
out; and furthermore, that several blockade-men
had been shot and wounded by smugglers in the
vicinity of Fort Twiss. Under these circumstances
there was no doubt but that Lemon fired under the
impression that he was about to be attacked.
No further smuggling incident of importance
occurred till July 30th, when Quartermaster Morgan
was murdered on the beach at Dover by a party of
smugglers. This outrage, perpetrated under circum-
stances of singular daring, brought matters to a crisis.
In the disused old burial-ground of St. Martin's,
Dover, will be seen by the curious the epitaph on
the unfortunate Quartermaster, whose murder it
was that roused the Government to a belated sup-
pression of the formidable gang responsible for his
death :
Sacred
to the memory of
RICHARD MORGAN.
First-Rate Quartermaster of H.M. Ship Ramillies, who was
unfortunately killed while in the execution of his duties on
the Blockade service, 30th July, 1826.
Aged 34 years.
Left surviving Mary his wife
Stay, Reader, stay, incline your ear
To know who this is buried here.
A husband dear, a brother kind
A friend to all the well-inclined.
In doing duty he hath gained.
The threat of some malicious men ;
But those who serve their god and King
Care not for men or worldly things.
His death, was sudden, but we trust
In Jesus' arms he's now at rest.
No more in this vain world will he be tos'd.
Though many friends are left to mourn his loss.
VOL. n. I
114 THE SMUGGLERS
The first public intimation of the affair was con-
veyed by the Kentish Chronicle, in its issue of August
1st, 1826, under the heading, '' Another Dreadful
Affray " : " Early on Sunday morning (July 30th)
a smuggling boat, heavily laden with tubs of spirits,
arrived off Dover, and in a short time the crew,
with the assistance of several other men, endeavoured
to run the cargo. A man, however, belonging to the
blockade service, peremptorily ordered them to
surrender, declaring, if they did not he would fire :
the threat was only laughed at by the smugglers,
and the man immediately discharged his pistol in
the air, while the smugglers unceremoniously set to
work and removed the whole cargo, consisting of
200 tubs, which were secured by several persons on
the beach, and the boat immediately put off. We
regret to say, that the moment the Preventive man
fired his pistol for the purpose of obtaining assist-
ance, one of the men on the beach fired his also,
and shot the poor fellow through the head. No
trace can be obtained of the boat."
Lieutenant Hellard, in reporting the affair, under
date 30th July, within a few hours of the occurrence,
wrote from " The Casemates. Dover, 8 a.m.," as
follows : *' Richard Morgan, who met with his death
at about i a.m. near the bathing machines, was
coming back from the Townshend Battery, and when
near the spot where he met his death, he observed a
boat inlthe surf, and called out to Richard Prickett,
* What boat is that ? ' and immediately ran forward
with the look-out man, when a party of smugglers
armed with long duck-guns levelled their pieces at
them and shot Morgan in the left side near the heart.
Three shots struck him within three inches of each
other, one of which appears to be a musket ball.
THE DOVER CASEMATES 115
Prickett, also, received several blows from the armed
party with the butt-ends of their muskets. A
quantity of goods were got off clear, only thirty-
three half-ankers being seized."
And in reporting, further, the same day at a later
hour, he wrote : " There are a number of strangers,
of the lower orders, at this moment in Dover; and
I submit to you. Sir, the propriety of one or two of
the most active officers from Bow Street being
immediately sent to this town, which I am firmly
convinced would secure the arrest of some of this
lawless party."
The " Casemates," whence Lieutenant Hellard
wrote, it may be well to explain, were used by the
blockade party stationed at Dover as a barrack.
That they were but ill-adapted for the purpose, may
be inferred from the following statement concerning
poor Morgan's death : " This was mainly due,"
wrote Captain McCulloch, " to the want of proper
assistance being rendered by the party, owing to
the extreme difficulty of egress and ingress from the
quarters, so far up the cliff." And he referred to the
circumstance of several other runs having been
effected at the same spot, owing to the same
difficulty.
No prisoners were taken at Dover on the night
of July 30th, and it seemed as if the Government forces
had again been bested; while the smugglers, elated
with what they considered a fresh success, and con-
fident in supposed security — the country folk having
been thoroughly terrorised by these ruffians — seemed
disposed to carry matters with a higher hand than
ever. And really, in the absence of any organised
force such as police, in rural districts, for the
enforcement of the law and arrest of offenders, the
116 THE SMUGGLERS
smugglers seemed likely to have it all their own
way.
But influences were at work, unknown to both
smugglers and Preventive-men, which in due course
produced some startling developments. As a matter
of fact, the overbearing behaviour of the '* new
school " of smugglers had evoked a spirit of revolt
along the seaboard. Many who sympathised with
the ** free trade " and had been wont to regard the
interests of the Revenue as a mere " Government
affair " had been, first, alienated and then disgusted
by the wanton outrages and bloodshed which now
seemed inseparable from a " run of goods," and
would welcome relief from an incubus that had
become unbearable.
Meanwhile, the " Blues," nothing doubting a
continuance of their good fortune, followed up the
Dover outrage by an attack on some blockade-men
at Fort Moncrief, near Hythe, six days later. The
affair was thus described by Lieutenant Hellard,
the officer in charge there, " As Lieut. Johnstone was
proceeding along the beach, at about i a.m., on the
morning of August the 6th, he observed two flashes
when near the circular redoubt, and heard the noise
of boats' oars. This was at once followed by the
discharge of a musket to the eastward and westward.
Lieutenant Johnstone at once ran towards the firing,
accompanied by Joseph Shord and Robert Phelan,
and on passing the west end of the Redoubt met
another man belonging to 28 Tower, who called out,
* A fighting party.' On reaching the spot they found
a large galley on the beach, and a party of smugglers
working her cargo. A sharp and continuous firing
now commenced from a large party of armed men
formed up in a semicircle, the working party being
SHOTS ON THE BEACH 117
enclosed between each end and passing through the
centre. Lieutenant Johnstone immediately ordered
the three men forward, and on the first discharge of
their fire-arms three smugglers fell, one of whom the
Lieutenant seized, but being overpowered and his
fire-arms discharged, Shord came to his assistance,
when they (Shord and the wounded smuggler) fell
from the bank, on which they lay, and the leader of
the gang called out, * Kill the b s,' upon which
the wounded man, who was dressed in a white jacket,
fired his musket at Shord, but missed him, and turning
round, felled him to the ground by a severe blow
from the butt-end of a musket. The lieutenant,
having by this time recovered himself, discharged his
fire-arms again, when the smugglers began to
retreat, leaving a man, who states his name to be
James Bushell, wounded in the right knee-joint,
together with fourteen tubs, in the possession of the
blockade party. At this moment. Lieutenant West-
brook was heard coming up, cheering on his party,
who at once pursued the smugglers through the
marshes, where three muskets and one empty tub
were found, the latter having been shot through the
bilge, so that it is fair to calculate that the man who
carried it was either killed or wounded."
Though the smugglers, on this occasion, saved the
best part of their goods, they had the misfortune to
leave one of their party in the hands of the enemy.
And it was of this man that Lieutenant Hellard wrote,
later : " James Bushell was wounded in the right
knee-joint, which rendered amputation necessary.
His present condition prevents the possibility of my
getting any particulars from him, except that the
party assembled at the village of Alkham, about
four miles from Folkestone, and that he belongs to
118 THE SMUGGLERS
the parish of Hawkinge, the adjoining parish to
Alkham. I hope in a day or two to get some good
information from him, as he appears inclined to be
communicative. I regret to say," he adds, " that
Wm. Spillane, ord. seaman, was dangerously wounded
in the left arm and breast, and little hope is enter-
tained of his recovery, but the wounded smuggler
is doing well."
Meanwhile, the net which had been so carefully
spread was closing round the incriminated parties,
Lieutenant Hellard's suggestion regarding the employ-
ment of Bow Street officers had been acted on, and
was producing excellent results, as the following
letter from the Bow Street officer sent down makes
clear. Writing from the " Packet Boat " inn,
Dover, under date August 7th, this officer, after men-
tioning having met " the person named before " —
whereby hangs a tale — goes on to say that he had
heard of the affray at Brockman's Barn near Hythe,
on Saturday night, August 5th; and that, although
the smuggler taken on that occasion " says his name
is James Bushell, I think it will turn out to be James
Quested, who had a brother, or some relation, hung
at Newgate ^ some time since. ... I have no
doubt he was with them who shot Morgan at Dover.
The person I met yesterday with Lieutenant Hellard
is making every inquiry to find who were the parties
on both the last occasions, and I shall meet him at
Lieutenant H.'s to-night in hopes they may have
some information. Captain P (Pigot) and
Lieutenant H are desirous that I should bring
M h to London. The prisoner, in the meanwhile,
will, when able, be brought round to Deal and
^ Cephas Quested, who was captured at the Brookland affair
in February 1821.
INFORMERS 119
put on board the Ramillies, and from thence to
London.
" Your obt. servant,
"J.J.Smith."
The mysterious allusions to " the person named
before," and the individual denoted by the letters
" M h," will doubtless excite the reader's curiosity.
A clue to their identity is supplied by a letter from
Captain Pigot — recently appointed to the command
of the blockade service, vice McCulloch. In this
document — which the present writers were fortunate
enough to discover — we learn that " a person named
William Marsh has had several interviews with
Lieutenant Hellard (Right Division) and offered to
give information as to the persons actually engaged
in the outrages in question, and as it appears to me
that through the said quarter several of the offenders
maybe brought to justice, I have found it expedient
to authorise Wm. Marsh to be supplied with a small
sum of money for subsistence."
As a matter of fact, " the person named before,"
the Mysterious M h, and William Marsh were
all one and the same individual. The letter, more-
over, gives a clue to the sinister influences, above
alluded to, which were working, all unsuspected by
the " Blues."
The affair of August 5 was followed by a brief
respite, due, no doubt, to the capture of Bushcll ;
for there was nothing so much dreaded by the
smugglers as the capture of one of their party, who,
in order to escape punishment, might, under pressure,
turn informer.
Within a month, however, the gang were at work
again, appearing in force, and with all their wonted
120 THE SMUGGLERS
swagger, near Walmer Castle. For an account of
what followed we are indebted to Lieutenant Richard
Williamson, whose report may be thus epitomised :
At about 1.45 a.m. on the morning of the 2nd
September an armed party came down to the shore,
near Walmer Castle, and hailing the sentinel stationed
there, called out, '* Don't fire, mate, we won't hurt
you." At the same moment a galley was observed
near the beach : the sentinel, Timothy Sullivan,
" landsman," at once fired his musket at them when
they fired twice and dispersed. At 2.45 a.m. James
Ash, stationed at the Haunted House, in passing
across the Turnpike road, opposite the Barrack gate,
heard the noise of a large party of men coming along
the high-road from Walmer. Two men were ahead
of the main party, with a musket each, which they
carried under their arms. He drew his cutlass and
challenged them with a ** HuUoa," upon which, they
rushed up to him, and pointed their guns at him so
close that he parried them off with his cutlass, calling
out to them, " Keep off ! " The two men then called
out to the others, " Yo, ho ! " and the party retreated
towards the village of Walmer, upon which the two
men with guns ran down towards the cavalry bar-
racks. Ash pursued them, but lost sight of one : the
other he followed and arrested near the Standard
Boat-house. The man had dropped his musket,
but it was picked up soon after in the road along
which he had run, and when asked where his gun was,
he pretended to be foolish and would give no answer :
he also refused to give his name, or any account of
himself, except that he was a native of East Kent.
" I have every reason to believe," adds the lieutenant,
" that this man and his party were those previously
dispersed at Walmer Castle." It only remains to
SMUGGLERS ALARMED 121
add that the firmness of Sullivan and Ash was highly
commended.
The capture of another of their party showed the
smugglers that the fickle goddess Fortune had deserted
them and gone over to the enemy. From the two
links now in safe keeping — to wit, James Bushell and
the man above-mentioned — the chain of evidence
destined to bring the entire gang within the law's grip
was slowly but surely being forged.
CHAPTER IX
ARREST AND TRIAL OF GEORGE RANSLEY AND OTHERS
— END OF THE ALDINGTON GANG
As the weeks and months slipped by, without
any response to the reward of £500 which had been
advertised in connection with the murder of Quarter-
master Morgan at Dover, the conviction began to
gain ground that all attempts to discover the guilty
parties were doomed to failure. But currents were
at work beneath the surface of which the public
knew nothing. The authorities were already in
possession of two witnesses who, to save their
necks, had turned King's Evidence.
But other influences were working for the destruc-
tion of the gang. For some time past there had
been a traitor in the camp — a man living in their
very midst — who, disgusted with the truculence
of the smugglers, had now decided to place his
services at the disposal of Government.
Naturally, not a whisper of impending proceedings
was allowed to leak out. The coup was first
announced to the world by the Kentish Express,
in its issue of October 20th, 1826, under the head-
ing "Murder of Morgan," as follows: "This
morning (October i8th) intelligence was brought to
Dover that one of the party concerned in the murder
of Morgan, of the Coast Blockade, had made dis-
closures implicating, some reports say twenty, others
thirty, in the barbarous action; but it is certain
122
ARREST OF THE ALDINGTON GANG 123
that eight persons are now in custody on this inform-
ation. A reward of £500 was offered for their
apprehension at the time, and a reward is said to
have tempted the informer, an inhabitant of Deal,
to come forward voluntarily and give information."
The statement concerning the habitat of the
informer was entirely wide of the mark. So well
was the secret kept, indeed, that not the remotest
suspicion as to the identity of this particular indi-
vidual, the chief agent in the arrest of the " Blues "
— (the Aldington Gang of smugglers) — ever obtained
currency before the present disclosure, in these
pages.
So well was the whole affair managed that not
an inkling of what was on foot reached the public
until eight of the most desperate members of the
gang, including their leader, the redoubtable
Ransley, whose exploits had rendered him almost
as famous, over a wide district, as the celebrated
highwayman, Dick Turpin, had been swept into
the carefully-prepared net and confined in the
lock-up at Hythe, whence, after a Magisterial
Enquiry, they were shipped off to H.M.S. Ramillies,
to appear, in due course, at a London Police Court.
The scene now shifts to the heart of the metro-
polis, where, on the morning of Friday, October 27th,
1826, the redoubtable leader of the Aldington
Gang made his bow to the public for the first time,
and sensation-loving Londoners were treated to a
most unusual spectacle. News having got about
that prisoners of a very different type from those
with which habitues of the London Police Courts
were familiar, were expected at Bow Street, the
approaches to that famous resort were soon packed
with an excited crowd, eager to get a glimpse of
124 THE SMUGGLERS
a real live smuggler. For popular imagination
was wont to invest that individual with a veritable
halo of romance, having associated his calling
with a species of heroism which existed nowhere
outside the fertile imagination of the novelist.
Not since the well-remembered trial of the crew
of the smuggling vessel Four Brothers at the Old
Bailey, three years earlier, had Londoners been
treated to such a spectacle; and they were not
slow to avail themselves of it. Here is the scene as
depicted by a contemporary :
" Considerable interest was excited at this office
(Bow Street) on Friday morning in consequence
of the news having been circulated that a desperate
gang of smugglers had been apprehended in the
county of Kent and would be brought up for exam-
ination. About half -past twelve George Ransley,
Samuel Bailey, Robert Bailey, Richard Wire,
William Wire, Thomas Gillian, Charles Giles and
Thomas Denard, all men of fierce aspect, were
brought to the office and charged with the wilful
murder of William Morgan, a Quartermaster of
H.M.S. RamilUes, on the beach at Dover. The
prisoners were all dressed in smock-frocks, with
the exception of Ransley, the captain of the gang,
who was a very fine-looking man, apparently possess-
ing great muscular strength."
The occasion, though lacking in certain picturesque
accessories, such as the red frocks and other dainty
touches which, besides enhancing the interest of
the former trial, had enlisted the sympathies of
the audience — the female portion especially — on
behalf of the smugglers, was not without a touch
of grim realism. There, for example, were the
smock-frocks, the reputed " fighting costume " of
MAGISTERIAL EXAMINATION 125
the smugglers; while rumour had been busy with
the exploits and antecedents of the men, raising
the expectations of the spectators to the highest
pitch. Nor were their hopes of listening to the
unfolding of a sensational story of crime in any way
disappointed.
The examination of the prisoners was conducted
by the famous Bow Street Magistrate, Sir Richard
Birnie, and as the evidence throws an interesting
light on many hitherto unexplained matters relating
to the " Blues," it shall be given in detail.
Mr. Jones, Solicitor to the Admiralty, appeared
for the prosecution; the prisoners being defended
by Mr. Piatt, a gentleman associated with most of
the smuggling cases of those days, assisted by
another very able " limb of the law."
The prisoners were then formally charged by
Mr. Jones with the wilful murder of Richard Morgan,
on the 30th of July, and also with unlawfully
assembling in arms, with the intention of running
smuggled goods, on the Kentish coast. On the
occasion of the murder of Morgan, an inquest was
held at Dover, and the jury returned a verdict of
" wilful murder " against some person or persons
unknown. With a view to establishing the charge
of murder against the prisoners, Mr. Jones said
that he should call a material witness.
Michael Pickett was sworn and examined by
Mr. Jones : Deposed that on the night of Saturday,
the 30th of July, he was stationed opposite the
bathing machines at Dover. Quartermaster Morgan
was the visiting officer of the party to which he
belonged. After being at the station for three-
quarters of an hour, witness saw Morgan coming
from the westward; he walked with him on his
126 THE SMUGGLERS
beat; presently heard some people in a French
galley hailing some persons on shore; he knew
the galley was French from her great length, and
because it was unusual to see a vessel of that descrip-
tion on the coast. To the best of his belief the
people in the galley called out, " Jack ashore,"
or some such exclamation. They hailed in this
manner three times, and on the third occasion
they were answered from behind the bathing
machines. Witness then ran towards the galley,
when he saw her approaching the beach. He took
a pistol in his right hand, on full-cock, and stood
by the bow of the boat until such time as he saw
the working party surround the galley on both
sides. The working party consisted of about fifty
men, besides the " fighting party." The latter,
who were armed and numbered six or seven, drew
up in line on the beach at high-water mark, and
the working party ran down in a line to the galley.
It was the latter end of the moon, but the stars
were sufficiently bright to distinguish persons at
the distance of fifty yards. He next saw some of
the men in the galley hand out two tubs and put
them on a man's shoulder, upon which he called
out to the party, " You , if you stir a peg I'll
blow your brains out." Witness snapped his pistol,
but it flashed in the pan : there was nothing in
the pistol but powder. Morgan then hailed witness
and asked him what boat that was : before he
had time to reply, Morgan fired his pistol for an
alarm. Morgan was at this time about fourteen
yards behind the witness, and was in the act of
running towards him. The armed party of
smugglers then opened fire at Morgan and he fell.
They fired a volley, and witness heard two or three
EVIDENCE 127
shots after the volley was fired : he was in the act
of priming his pistol, when one of the armed party
came up to him with a musket and said, " What
are you up to? I'll do for you." The man did
not present his musket at him, but turned the
butt-end and struck witness with it, knocking the
pistol from his grasp as he held up his hands to
ward off the blow. Witness told him he was not
afraid of him, and on the smuggler raising his
musket again, witness drew his cutlass and cut the
man across the shoulder, upon which he returned
to his party, and the smugglers continued working
the tubs. Witness then struck at another of the
party, and believed that he must have cut him
across the neck, as the man had only his cravat on.
As soon as one man got a tub on his shoulder,
he ran with it to the town, and other men came
down to fetch more. Witness struck at another
man, who snatched hold of his cutlass, to try to
get it away, and witness drew the cutlass through
his hands, when he ran towards the beach : he
struck two or three more, and at last a man, who
appeared to be one of the heads of the party, cried
out, " There's no use in striking all the b s',
shove off the boat ! " Witness kept the men from
taking away any more of the tubs; thirty-three
of which were seized that night and lodged in the
custom-house : some contained brandy, others gin.
He then ran to where Morgan lay, about fourteen
yards off, and asked him if he was killed : Morgan
only exclaimed, " O God." He lay on his back,
with a pistol on each side of him. Witness took
up the pistols and loaded them, and said he would
have satisfaction for him (Morgan). Both pistols
had been fired. He ran as far as the bathing
128 THE SMUGGLERS
machines after the party, but did not come up with
them. He then saw a man run across the beach,
and thought it was one of the smugglers, but it
turned out to be Peter Prendergast, one of the
Quartermasters : he told him Morgan was shot,
and they both went back and found the man dead.
Witness told Prendergast he had got some tubs,
but he replied, " D n the tubs, let's follow
the party." They pursued the smugglers, but did
not come up with them.
Witness deposed that he observed the dress of
the smugglers. The man who first came out of
the boat wore such a jacket as the prisoner George
Ransley had on, a sort of shooting- jacket made of
fustian. The man who struck witness had on a
similar coat : the rest of the armed party appeared
to be in dark dresses, blue or black coats and dark
trousers. The man witness last struck had on a
red cap. Some of them had light green jackets,
such as the prisoner, Samuel Bailey, has on now.
Could not swear to the man who struck him with
the musket : he was like Charles Giles, one of the
prisoners.
At this point Mr. Jones said it was now necessary
for him to show that some of the prisoners at the
bar were present when the murder took place : to
prove which it would be requisite to call an accom-
plice, who came forward as an approver. Where-
upon, to the consternation of the prisoners, they
were confronted with Edward Home, the smuggler
captured on the night of September 2nd near
Walmer, who, after feigning imbecility, had
consented to turn King's Evidence.
Edward Home, described as "a good-looking
young man," said he lived in Ruckinge, Kent,
COUNSEL FOR AND AGAINST 120
near Ashford, and was a labourer : knew all the
prisoners : was at Dover on Saturday night, the
29th of July last. All the prisoners, excepting
Giles,^ were with witness that night : was sent a
message by George Ransley, and went in conse-
quence to meet him that night. Met him at Lydden,
at a public-house within five miles of Dover.
By Sir R. Birnie : Knew George Ransley for
nearly ten years : had met him before by appoint-
ment.
Mr. Piatt submitted that unless Mr. Jones meant
to bring forward other charges than that of murder,
it was not necessary for the witness to state the
business on which these appointments took place.
Mr. Jones : *' I do not mean certainly to confine
myself to that charge : I have at least thirty
distinct charges against the prisoner Ransley and
I mean to bring several."
Mr. Piatt : " It is not exactly fair, I must say,
and not customary with the Crown, to excite pre-
judice against a prisoner in this manner."
Sir R. Birnie felt very sorry that his question
should have been the cause of exciting these obser-
vations.
The examination of Home was then resumed :
He met Ransley between nine and ten o'clock at
night, at Lydden.
Mr. Jones : " Witness, in answering the question
I shall now ask you, you are not to name any persons
but those who are present now. My object is,
that the names of persons not yet apprehended
shall not be made public."
Examination continued : None of the prisoners
1 He had been wounded in the affray at Dymchurch on
May nth.
VOL. n. K
180 THE SMUGGLERS
except Ransley were at Lydden that night. Met
other prisoners there, and went with them to a
place called the Palm Tree, about two miles from
Dover. Met there with the whole of the prisoners
except Giles : there were between fifty and sixty
persons assembled there besides : from a dozen
to sixteen had fire-arms. Samuel Bailey, now
present, had a musket, and so had Thomas Denard,
Thomas Gillian, Robert Bailey and Richard Wire.
Ransley was not arrived. Proceeded towards the
bathing machines, between twelve and one o'clock
at night. A boat was on the shore. Witness and
others who were armed, were stationed at the back
of the bathing machines, near the road. Heard
no hailing : there was a signal made by George
Ransley to go down to the boat : — he shouted,
" Hullo ! Come on." Ransley was the commander
of the party. There were pistols fired : that inter-
rupted the smuggling party, and witness heard
afterwards that a man of the name of Morgan had
been shot. Witness himself was armed with a
fowling-piece. There might have been five or six
shots fired. Saw the man who was shot fall. The
party with witness carried off about seventy tubs,
but could not work the whole of the cargo, because
of the interruption given by the blockade. Witness
and the rest of his party were not engaged more
than five minutes when they were obliged to leave
the shore. Took the tubs to the Palm Tree and
counted them. The armed party was in the road
to prevent surprise. Ransley was with the other
party who were counting the tubs. The parties
were about forty rods apart. " The fowling-piece
I had belonged to Samuel Bailey : I borrowed
it from him : he usually makes up the ammunition."
COUNSEL FOR AND AGAINST 131
After the tubs were counted they were put into
the cart and carried away. Went nearly all the
way home with Ransley that night. The tubs
were conveyed to within nearly two miles of Ransley's
house, but he would not show witness where they
were concealed. Saw Ransley about a week after :
he paid witness 23s. for the night's work. Does
not know what the rest of the party received :
none of them were paid in the presence of witness.
Mr. Jones here intimated that he did not mean to
examine the witness any further, and Mr. Piatt
immediately rose to cross-examine him.
Mr. Piatt : *' Pray, Home, where did you come
from now? "
Mr. Jones : " I am really very sorry to interrupt
the learned counsel, but I am afraid I must oppose
the line of cross-examination I presume he is about
to follow."
Mr. Piatt : " If you, Sir Richard Birnie, as the
magistrate sitting here, say that nothing shall be
said against the character of the witness, I am of
course bound to submit. If the prosecution are
afraid of his character being exposed, they are
right to prevent that exposure. Perhaps I could
show that this witness is the very man who fired
his gun at Morgan. How can anyone say he is
not the man? I mean to say that none of the
prisoners were present on that occasion."
Mr. Jones : "I have made out a case against
the prisoners sufficient, I think, to call for their
committal."
Mr. Piatt : " The magistrate cannot see that
there is sufficient evidence to send these men to
prison. I consider it a great hardship that the
prisoners, who have already been in custody so
132 THE SMUGGLERS
long, since the 17th of this month, should now be
committed on such evidence. Here is Giles, one
of the prisoners, against whom there is not a shadow
of evidence."
Sir R. Birnie : " You had better, Mr. Jones,
produce any evidence you have against the prisoner
Giles at once."
Mr. Jones : "I must send for a witness to the
Tower."
Mr. Piatt again urged that the prisoner Giles
was entitled to his discharge. The warrant, he
said, was for the death of Morgan, and there was not
a shadow of evidence to implicate Giles in that
transaction.
Mr. Jones : "I charge Giles with being armed,
and near Dymchurch, on the coast of Kent, on the
nth of May last, when William Wynn was shot."
Sir R. Birnie : " Are you prepared to prove that
case?
Mr. Jones : " I will prove it within an hour."
A messenger was then despatched to the Tower
for a material witness. The prisoners were removed,
and the case stood over until the witness's arrival.
After the lapse of an hour, the witness who was
sent for arrived, and the prisoners were again
brought forward, with a view to prove that Giles
was implicated in the smugglers' concerns.
William Wynn, the witness, whose presence was
required, was then sworn : Was stationed at Herring
Hang, in the parish of Dymchurch, Kent, on the
nth of May last : was sent out about ten o'clock
on to the beach. About twelve o'clock, a party
of smugglers came to the Herring Hang house.
A boat then came in : was about a hundred yards
from her, but could not see her quite plain, or the
EDWARD HORNE, INFORMER 133
men in her. To the best of witness's judgment
a hundred and fifty men came down to the coast.
They were armed, and fired on witness : and witness
fired at them in return : a volley was fired at
witness while they rushed to the beach. On the
second volley, witness received a slug in the face.
Two of his assistants, Whelan and Regan, came to
his assistance : the former had a shot lodged in
his coat pocket. The smugglers escaped, but they
left a fowling-piece behind them.
Edward Home, the approver, again called :
Recollected a transaction that took place at Dym-
church on Saturday, the nth of May. Went to
George Ransley's house at Aldington Fright for
the purpose of being on the look-out. All the
prisoners, except Robert Bailey and William Wire,
were there. Left Ransley's house about seven or
eight o'clock : went to Herring Hang, a distance
of seven or eight miles, and got to the sea-shore some
time between twelve and two in the morning.
Thomas Denard was armed : Samuel Bailey, Thomas
Gillian, and Charles Giles were also armed. He
went forward to look out for the boat. Those
who were armed were stationed at each side of
the boat, to protect the men as they landed the
cargo. Witness was armed with a gun : cannot
say where it was got from. Ransley and Samuel
Bailey are brothers by marriage : Ransley is married
to Bailey's sister. The party ran from eighty to
a hundred casks of spirits that night. Giles lost
his arms on that occasion. There was firing on
the beach between the blockade and the smuggling
party while the casks were being landed. Giles
was wounded by the firing. He was carried away
into a little green field. Witness carried him on
134 THE SMUGGLERS
his back. Ransley told him to carry away any
of the party that might be shot. Witness carried
Giles for forty or fifty yards, and then he walked
a bit himself. On arriving at the high-road they
met Ransley, who placed Giles in his cart and
drove him away. Giles was wounded in the neck.
Ransley paid witness 205. for his night's work.
The tub men were paid about 7s. each. " We
generally spent the money we got at Ransley' s
house."
Sir R. Birnie : " Why, what house does Ransley
keep?"
Mr. Jones: "He keeps a sort of public house;
but I am informed by the magistrates that he is
not licensed."
Mr. Piatt : " Really I must say this is raising
an unfair prejudice against the prisoner Ransley.
I perceive that those gentlemen are taking notes.
I am fully aware of the utility of reporting, but
I fear that those loose assertions may injure my
client if they go forth without comment to the
public."
Smith, the officer, was then called : Took the
prisoner Giles into custody at or near Bilsington,
in Kent, on the morning of the 17th of the present
month. He gave his name as Wood, but he after-
wards acknowledged his name to be Charles Giles.
Looked at his neck, and found the mark of a wound,
which he accounted for by saying it was the effect
of a blister.
William Spillane was then called to prove a third
case against the prisoners : Was stationed in August
last near Dymchurch, when he was wounded.
Was on duty on the 6th of August : went out at
dusk. At one in the morning saw two shots fired
EDWARD HORNE, INFORMER 135
at Half-east-road. Ran towards the spot, and saw
two flashes. The first man witness met was Wynn.
Saw a party of men on the beach, about thirty
or forty yards off : thinks there must have been
eighty to a hundred of them. Saw a boat near the
shore. Two shots came from the shore : judged
them to come from the boat. Ran up and the
party fired very smart. Wynn and witness both
fired, and the smugglers fired in return : was
wounded in the arms and in the side. The shot
was extracted from the back of witness.
Lieutenant Johnstone, the ofhcer of the station,
stated that the witness had been confined five
weeks to his bed. Indeed the appearance of the
young man, who gave his evidence with great
difficulty, showed that he must have suffered greatly
from the effects of his wounds.
Hornc, the approver, again called : Recollected
goods having been run on the 6th of August last,
between Dymchurch and Hythe. Met at George
Ransley's that night. George Ransley is called
" Captain Batts." Proceeded in company with the
prisoners, except Giles and Robert Bailey. There
were fifty or sixty men on that occasion. When
eighty or a hundred tubs are to be run, fifteen or
sixteen men are required to protect those who
carry off the casks. Thomas Denard, Thomas
Gillian, and Richard Wire had muskets. Knew
arms to be kept by Samuel Bailey. Reached the
shore between twelve and two. Ransley was not
armed : never knew him to carry arms. Ransley
called out to witness and others to come up. Landed
part of cargo, but were prevented by the blockade
from landing more. Saw the blockade signals
along the coast. About eighty tubs were worked
136 THE SMUGGLERS
then. Took them up in carts, and guarded them
for four or five miles. Was paid one guinea by
George Ransley.
Lieutenant Johnstone recalled : Heard the firing,
and rushed amongst the men who were working
the cargo. Discharged a blunderbuss and saw two
men fall. One of them (Bushell) has since had his
leg amputated from the shot received on that
occasion. An endeavour was made to rescue him
at the time he received the wound, but he was
finally secured. The night was so dark it was
impossible to distinguish faces. Saw a man in
a white frock. He wounded Joseph Shord. Pur-
sued the smugglers into the marshes, and picked
up three muskets : one of them was loaded with
forty slugs : the other guns were broken. All the
smugglers escaped, leaving fourteen barrels of foreign
gin in the possession of witness.
The evidence being closed, Mr. Piatt observed
that he supposed the prisoners must be committed
for trial. His advice to them, therefore, would
be to say nothing at present.
The prisoners were then fully committed to
Newgate to take their trial for the murder of Morgan,
and also on two separate charges of carrying arms on
the coast of Kent, with a view to run smuggled goods.
Mr. Jones having stated that it would be necessary
to confine the prisoners in a place of more security
than any afforded on the sea-coast of the county of
Kent, as it was a notorious fact that the smugglers
had broken open or pulled down every prison in
that part of the country; Sir R. Birnie said that
about five years ago they broke open the gaol
of Dover at noonday, in the presence of several
magistrates, and rescued fifteen of their gang.
CINQUE PORTS MAGISTRATES 137
An officer of the blockade who was present com-
plained that he found a difficulty in inducing the
magistrates of the Cinque Ports to back warrants
against the smugglers, as it was said they were
engaged in smuggling themselves. In confirmation
of which may be quoted Sir R. Birnie's directions
to one of his own officers, on sending him into Kent :
" Ruthven," he said, " on your arrival in Kent it
will be your duty to apply to some magistrate to
back the warrants, and be sure you do not apply
to one of the magistrates of the Cinque Ports,
lest the object you have in view be thwarted by
the party giving information to the persons
accused, as was the case in a very recent instance,
but go before some of the magistrates of the county,
who are, I believe, most of them honourable men.
Very recently, when Bond the officer went into
Kent with a warrant to apprehend a smuggler,
on going before the Mayor of to get the
warrant signed, he was detained for some time, and
the Mayor, in the interim, gave information to the
wife of the smuggler, who immediately absconded."
Sir R. Birnie said he had affidavits in his possession
to support what he had stated.
CHAPTER X
TRIAL OF THE ALDINGTON GANG
By the capture of James Bushell at Fort Moncrief
on August 5th, and Edward Home at Walmer on
September 2nd, two important witnesses had been
secured. But, invaluable as their evidence was
likely to prove as a means of securing conviction,
after arrest, it was indispensable, first of all " to
catch the hare." Before describing how this was
effected, mention must be made of two other persons
who rendered most important services : nay, with-
out whose assistance the capture of the smugglers
could never have been effected ; but who were
kept most discreetly in the background. One of
these was the mysterious " M h," otherwise,
William Marsh. The other — who, by the way,
has always hitherto been credited with the undivided
glory of having betrayed the gang — was a native
of Aldington, and personally acquainted with every
member of it. Both these public benefactors shall
be introduced later on.
And now let us step into the wings and learn
something of the working of the various agencies
employed in bringing about the denouement to
which a Cockney audience was treated on that
October morning at Bow Street. For the arrest of
these ruffians had been no easy matter : the net had
to be spread well out of sight of the birds and with
the utmost finesse. And even then, after every care
138
LIEUTENANT HELLARD'S REPORT 139
had been taken, the persons who effected the arrest
of these desperadoes did so at the risk of their Hves.
The first document to come under notice is
Captain Pigot's letter of October i8th, 1826, announc-
ing the capture of Ransley and his accomphces;
and enclosing Lieutenant Hellard's Report giving
full particulars of their arrest. Captain Pigot writes :
" With reference to my letter of 30th of July
last, detailing the particulars of the murder of
Richard Morgan, First Class Quartermaster, I have
the honour to inform you that warrants having been
obtained against the parties implicated ; the same
were entrusted to the execution of Lieutenant
Samuel Hellard, superintending the Right Division,
assisted by two officers from Bow Street ; and I
now have much pleasure in communicating to you
that Lieutenant Hellard has succeeded in arresting
George Ransley and seven of his gang.
" I cannot abstain from congratulating you upon
this officer's success, particularly when it is con-
sidered that the leader of this ruffian band has
defied the whole civil power of the country for the
last six years : having repeatedly declared that he
would never be taken alive, and completely baffling
an attempt made about five years since to arrest
him, when the village he lived in was occupied at
midnight by upwards of 200 men.^
" I do myself the honour to enclose Lieutenant
Hellard's report to me, detailing the occurrences,
and I am most anxious to impress upon your mind
* This was probably after the Brookland affair. But pro-
longed research as well as careful inquiry on the spot have failed
to elicit any particulars of this expedition. In fact there is
some uncertainty as to Ransley's domicile at that time : he was
a carter by trade.
140 THE SMUGGLERS
my unqualified opinion of the energy, zeal, address
and indefatigable exertion which characterised this
officer's conduct upon the present and upon all
occasions. I have therefore to request you will be
pleased to recommend Lieutenant Hellard in the
strongest manner to the notice of My Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty.
*' I further beg leave to acquaint you that the
Antelope, tender to the Ramillies, will proceed
immediately to Deptford, with the prisoners afore-
mentioned, accompanied by Messrs. Bishop and
Smith, officers from Bow Street, in order to their
being disposed of as the case may require.
I have, etc.
" Hugh Pigot, Capt.''
Lieutenant Hellard, dating from his residence at
Folkestone, immediately after returning from the
" cutting-out " expedition, wrote :
" I have the honour to acquaint you that, in
obedience to your orders, I, last night at ii p.m.,
proceeded with a party of officers and seamen,
previously assembled, from Fort Moncrief, accom-
panied by the two police officers named in the
margin (Bishop and Smith), and having marched
in the direction of Aldington, reached that place
about 3 a.m. this morning : no time was lost in
making the necessary arrangements, so that every
house in which I expected to arrest a prisoner was
surrounded by sentinels nearly at the same moment.
I then instantly advanced to the dwelling of George
Ransley, the leader of this ruffian band, and was
fortunate enough to get so close to his house before
his dogs were disturbed that he had not time to
LIEUTENANT HELLARD'S REPORT 141
leave his bed : the dogs were cut down, and his
door forced, when I rushed in, and had the satis-
faction to seize this man in his bedroom. Having
handcuffed him to one of the stoutest men in the
party, I proceeded to the other houses, and was
equally successful in arresting seven others of the
gang, whose names I subjoin.
" On my return to Fort Moncrief at 8 a.m., I
immediately embarked the prisoners on board the
Industry, for a passage to the Ramillies, where I
presume they will arrive as soon as this reaches
Deal.
" Before I conclude this report I consider it a
most particular part of my duty to inform you,
that the conduct of the officers and men employed
under my directions on this service was most exem-
plary throughout the night, and during a most
fatiguing march of nearly thirty miles.
" I have, etc.,
Samuel Hellard, Div. Lieut.
" Names of the men arrested :
George Ransley ... ... ... Aged 44 years.
Samuel Bailey ... ... ... ,, 36
28 „
21 „
30 ,,.
24 ,.
17 ,.
19 .»
" * This man was wounded in the neck at the
Herring Hang, on Dymchurch Wall, on the nth of
May last, and the gun he then carried is now at
Captain Pigot's office."
*Charles Giles
Thomas Denard ...
Robert Bailey
Thomas Gillian (alias Datchet Grey)
William Wire
Richard Wire
142 THE SMUGGLERS
Thus far the official narrative — the sole record
extant of the events of that memorable night — is
now divulged for the first time. The story in its
bald, official form reads more like a romance than
a sober relation of events in civilised England.
And it may be questioned whether it has ever fallen
to the lot of a Naval officer to carry out a more
sensational piece of work, in time of profound peace
than that which was so skilfully executed by
Lieutenant Hellard on that night. A careless word,
undue haste, or the least slip, and the whole care-
fully-laid plan would have collapsed, entailing the
escape of the prey, to say nothing of a possible
sacrifice of life.
The arrest of Ransley and his associates, besides
creating a profound sensation, conferred a sudden
notoriety on an obscure place, whose inhabitants
now that their adventurous neighbours had been
taken, seemed rather to glory in the exploits of
the ruffians who, for six long years, had defied all
the efforts of a mighty Government to effect their
arrest -
Resuming our story. Of the entire body of
desperadoes known as the Aldington Gang, only eight
had been secured. Within a few weeks, however,
of the grand coup, the rest had been swept into the
net; though, strange to say, no official record as
to the means by which this was effected is forth-
coming. So that, by the end of the year (1826),
all the miscreants concerned in the murder of
Morgan and other outrages were safe in custody,
waiting to take their trial at the ensuing Assizes at
Maidstone.
Before introducing the reader to the closing scene,
we shall place before him an interesting resume of
GEORGE RANSLEY 143
the events that led up to it, compiled by the law
agents to the Admiralty, under date January 13th,
1827 :
" I take the liberty to acquaint you, for the
information of the Lords Coms. of the Admiralty
that in obedience to their Lordships' commands
signified to me at various periods during the last
year to take measures for discovering and bringing
to justice the gang of miscreants by whom repeated
outrages and (in four several cases) murders had been
committed upon the officers and seamen of His
Majesty's ships Severn, Ramillies and Hyperion
since the establishment of the Coast Blockade
Service, and with reference particularly to Mr.
Barrow's letters of the i8th of March and i8th of
May, and to your letters of the ist and 6th of August
last, I have at length succeeded in effecting this
object as to the leader and principal offenders,
members of this lawless gang, who appear to have
been for a long time past a terror to the well-disposed
inhabitants of the country situated between Dover,
Canterbury, Ashford and Rye.
" The leader and organiser of this gang had,
ever since the murder of Mr. McKenzie, a midship-
man of the Severn, near Dungeness, in the year 1821,
been ascertained to be George Ransley, residing
on a common called Aldington Fright, in a wild
part of the county of Kent, between Ashford, New
Romney and Folkestone, the scenes of whose out-
rages had been on different parts of the coast from
Deal to Rye. His associates, who regularly bore
fire-arms, amounted to about twenty, all of whom
were hired and paid by him at the rate of twenty
shillings each for a night's work. The rest of the
company of smugglers at the call of the leader
144 THE SMUGGLERS
might amount to from sixty to eighty, who were
merely employed as the carriers of the tubs of
spirits, and were collected from the labouring class
in the district before mentioned, receiving from
Ransley about eight shillings each for a night's
work. The armed men, who are denominated
' scouts ' by the smugglers, were usually trained and
mustered by Samuel Bailey (a brother-in-law of
Ransley), a deserter from the Bulwark, who acted
as a sort of lieutenant to him, and whose province it
was, under the superintendence of Ransley, to
deliver out to the scouts (when the company had
reached the spot where the run was to take place,
and which was only previously known to these two),
the fire-arms, which in the case of the outrages at
Deal, Walmer and Dover were conveyed in the cart
of James Quested of Folkestone.^
" The working party was collected by James Hog-
ben of Hawkinge, near Folkestone, an incorrigible
smuggler who had his thigh broken by a pistol
shot in an affray which took place with an officer
and some seamen of the Severn, near Folkestone,
in the month of April 1820, on which occasion he
was considered to be, if not mortally wounded,
so much disabled as to be incapable of further
mischief, and on this account the late Captain
McCulloch allowed him, though captured, to be
placed under the care of some Folkestone surgeons
on their promise that he should be forthcoming :
he, however, got well, absconded and has ever since
been an active agent of Ransley.
" In consequence of your letter of the 8th of
August last, communicating to me their Lordships'
commands to send my agent down to Captain Pigot
1 He resided at Hawkinge, in a cottage which still exists.
LIST OF OUTRAGES 145
for the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances
of the outrage committed on the 6th of that
month near Fort Moncrief, and of other attacks
made on the officers and seamen of the Ramillies,
my agent proceeded immediately to the coast, and
with a view to the object expressed in that letter
of taking the most effectual measures for bringing
the perpetraters to justice, he collected the evidence
of the several officers and men in such cases as
appeared to be the most fit subjects for prosecution :
viz. :
" ist, — An attack near Hythe on the nth of
March last, when James Coghlan a seaman received
a musket-shot wound.
" 2nd, — An attack on Romney Warren on the
i6th of the same month, when Matthew Patterson,
Quartermaster, and Edward McParthin and Patrick
Doyle, seamen, were wounded in a similar manner.
" 3rd, — An attack near 24 Tower, Dymchurch,
on the nth of May, when Michael Power and
William Wynn were wounded with slugs.
" 4th, — An attack on the nth of June at Walmer,
when Lieutenant H. Brady was wounded with
slug shots.
" 5th, — An attack on the 8th of July, at Deal,
when John Millings, a seaman, was wounded in
the same manner.
" 6th, — The outrage at Dover, when Richard
Morgan was killed.
" 7th, — The attack on the 6th of August, near
Fort Moncrief, when William Spillane was shot and
dangerously wounded, and on which occasion one
of the working party of the smugglers, named James
Bushell, was shot in the knee and was taken
prisoner.
VOL. II. L
146 THE SMUGGLERS
" On the occasion of this visit to the coast my
agent proceeded to Fort Moncrief for the purpose
of endeavouring to extract some discovery from
the wounded smuggler, but Bushell having then
undergone an amputation of the thigh, near the
hip, he was reduced to such a state of danger as to
be incapable of examination and not having shown
the least inclination to make any disclosure, nothing
could at that time be effected.
" It happened however, that on the ist of
September another attempt was made by Ransley
and about fifty of his associates to work a boat at
Walmer, and on this occasion the party having
dispersed, one of the scouts, or armed men, named
Edward Home, was captured, and from this man
and Bushell (as soon as the latter was capable of
removal) disclosures were obtained which enabled
me to obtain warrants for the arrest of George
Ransley and the following seventeen other offenders,
nearly all of whom were in the practice of carrying
fire-arms; viz. :
Samuel Bailey Robert Bailey John Bailey
Thomas Denard Charles Giles Thomas Gillian
Richard Higgins James Quested John Home
Paul Pierce James Hogben James Smeed
Edward Pantry Richard Wire William Wire
Thomas Wheeler James Wilson
Note. — James Smeed is a deserter from the
Royal Marines.
" The arrest of these offenders was effected
nominally by two officers from Bow Street, but
actually by Lieutenant Hellard of the RamilUes
and a party of officers and seamen under him,
COMMITTED FOR TRIAL 147
whose exertions have been indefatigable and who
surprised the delinquents in their beds in the middle
of the night, and by the prudent arrangements made
by that officer, and with the assistance of Edward
Home and another smuggler who acted as guides,
they were secured without resistance, which service,
if it had otherwise been performed, must have
been attended with serious consequences, most
of the delinquents having fire-arms in their houses,
and having become desperate through their repeated
crimes committed not only in the character of
smugglers, but against the persons and properties
of their neighbours.
" Of these offenders (seventeen) so arrested, all
except John Home and Edward Pantry (who
were received as witnesses for the Crown) were
committed to take their trials on some or other
of the seven charges, to sustain which evidence had
been collected by my agent on the coast, and of
these charges all except that founded on the
attack of the nth of March were, on the evidence
being submitted to the Solicitor-General and the
Counsel for the Admiralty, considered as proper for
prosecution."
CHAPTER XI
TRIAL OF THE ALDINGTON GANG {concluded)
January, 1827, found the town of Maidstone in
a quite unwonted state of excitement, owing to
the trial of the notorious Aldington gang of smugglers,
concerning whose exploits the most sensational
stories had been circulating.
Just five years had elapsed since the Assize Court
had been the scene of similar proceedings, when
another gang of desperadoes had been brought up to
receive judgment; four of whom met their doom
on Penenden Heath, in the presence of thousands
of spectators gathered from all parts of the county.
Under the heading, " Trial of the Aldington
Smugglers," the Kentish Chronicle supplied the
following particulars :
" The only prisoners left this morning for trial
were the sixteen persons indicted on charges con-
nected with the murder of Richard Morgan, at Dover,
on the 30th of July last.
" Some time before the opening of the Court
at nine o'clock, the doors were besieged by an
immense number of people, who were anxious to
hear the trial of these prisoners.
" Mr. Justice Park took his seat on the Bench at
nine o'clock, and the Court was instantly filled in
every part.
" The following prisoners were first put to the
bar : Robert Bailey, aged 30, Samuel Bailey, 42,
148
TRIAL AT MAIDSTONE 149
Thomas Denard, 20, Thomas Gillian, 24, James
Hogben, 43, George Ransley, 44, James Smeed, 23,
Thomas Wheeler, 32, Richard Wire, 19, William
Wire, 18.
" The indictment, in the usual form, charged the
prisoners with assembling with other persons
unknown, to the number thirty, armed with fire-
arms, at the parish of St. James the Apostle, of
the Port of Dover, in the county of Kent, on the
30th of July; and that Richard Wire did then
and there unlawfully, maliciously and feloniously
shoot Richard Morgan three mortal wounds under
the left pap of his breast, of which wounds he lan-
guished, and languishingly did live for the space
of one hour, and then did die.
" The other prisoners were charged with being
present, aiding, assisting and comporting the said
Richard Wire in the commission of the said murder.
" Prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
" The Solicitor-General, Mr. Horace Twiss, and
Mr. Knox, were Counsel for the Crown; Mr. Piatt
and Mr. Clarkson for the prisoners.
" A consultation of some length was held between
the Counsel on both sides, which terminated in a
communication to Mr. Justice Park.
" His Lordship then ordered all the other untried
prisoners to be brought from the gaol, and the
following were put to the bar : John Bailey, 34,
Samuel Bailey, T. Denard, T. Gillian, R. Higgins,
31, Paul Pierce, 34, G. Ransley, J. Smeed,
J. Wilson.
" They were indicted for assembling, with numer-
ous other persons unknown, on the i6th of March,
at New Romney, armed with fire-arms, to aid and
assist in the landing and running uncustomed goods.
150 THE SMUGGLERS
" A second count charged them with aiding and
assisting.
" A third count charged them with feloniously,
wilfully and maliciously shooting at Patrick Doyle,
and Cluryn McCarthy, persons employed by His
Majesty's Customs for the prevention of smuggling.
" There were other counts, in substance the same
as the last, but varying in form.
** John Bailey being first arraigned pleaded
Guilty.
" The learned Judge said he was aware that
the prisoners were in the hands of able and learned
gentlemen of the Bar, or he should explain to him
the consequence of pleading Guilty; but as they
were so assisted, he had no doubt they acted under
the advice of their Counsel, and he should interpose
no opinion of his own.
" All the other prisoners then pleaded Guilty.
" The following arraignments on four several
indictments then took place :
" S. Bailey, T. Denard, C. Giles, T. Gillian,
R. Higgins, P. Pierce, G. Ransley, J. Smeed, J.
Wilson, R. Wire, for assembling armed, etc., as
set forth in the last indictment, and assisting in
running uncustomed goods on the loth of May, at
Dymchurch, and shooting at William Wynn.
" S. Bailey, T. Denard, T. Gillian, R. Higgins,
J. Hogben, P. Pierce, G. Ransley, J. Wilson, R.
Wire, for assembling armed, on the loth of June,
at Walmer, and shooting at W. H. Brady.
" S. Bailey, T. Denard, T. Gillian, R. Wire,
for assembling armed, on the gth of July, at Deal,
and shooting at John Willings.
"J. Bailey, S. Bailey, T. Denard, T. Gillian,
J. Hogben, J. Quested, G. Ransley, R. Wire, W.
'GUILTY,' BY ARRANGEMENT 151
Wire, for assembling armed on the ist of August,
at Hythe, and shooting at Spillane.
" The prisoners all pleaded Guilty to their several
indictments.
" The ten prisoners charged with the murder
were then left at the bar and the Jury were im-
panelled.
" The Solicitor-General then stated that the
prisoners having pleaded guilty to other charges,
by which they had forfeited their lives to the laws
of their country, it was not his intention to offer
any evidence against them on the charge of murder.
He could not say that their lives would be saved;
but as far as his recommendation would go, they
should have the benefit of it, but at all events they
would most probably be sent out of the country
for the remainder of their lives.
" By this merciful arrangement, two of the
prisoners (Robert Bailey and Thomas Wheeler)
are wholly acquitted, they having only been indicted
for the murder.
" The fourteen prisoners who had pleaded guilty,
were then put to the bar, viz. : J. Bailey, S. Bailey,
T. Denard, C. Giles, T. Gillian, R. Higgins, J. Hogben,
P. Pierce, J. Quested, G. Ransley, J. Smeed, J.
Wilson, R. Wire, and W. Wire.
" Mr. Justice Park addressed the prisoners to
the following effect : His Lordship said, they had
pleaded Guilty to an offence of a most heinous
nature, the commission of which struck terror
into every well-disposed mind. They had assem-
bled in numerous bodies to aid in the running of
uncustomed goods, and in so aiding had fired upon
persons who were only doing their duty. Perhaps
from the darkness of the night it might have been
152 THE SMUGGLERS
difficult to fix on all the crime of murder, but
they had confessed being guilty of a very serious
offence. Perhaps no human eye saw the hand that
actually committed the murder, and his Lordship
doubted not that, in the decision of the Solicitor-
General, he had exercised a sound discretion; but
it was very manifest that he had dealt with the
prisoners most humanely; for if any of them had
been convicted of the murder they would certainly
have been executed on Monday next. His Lord-
ship disclaimed being in any way a party in the
course that had been adopted, for he should not
feel himself warranted in recommending them to
the mercy of the Sovereign, though the Solicitor-
General had promised to do so, and doubtless
would keep his word. Prisoners had admitted that
they assembled in gangs of as many as eighty — a
gang numerous enough to overcome the peaceable
part of the community. These things could not
be suffered to go on with impunity. He trusted
that the present proceedings would have a proper
effect, and convince the offenders that the arm of
the law was long enough, and sufficiently powerful
to reach and punish even the most distant and the
most desperate. It must be made known throughout
the country, that if an offence of this nature were
again committed, no mercy would be shown to the
offenders. His Lordship would now repeat what
he had said to the Grand Jury, that if persons in
the highest stations in life were not to purchase
smuggled goods, there would soon be an end to
smuggling, but many persons laboured under the
delusion that defrauding the revenue was no crime.
It was a serious offence against the laws of man,
and a breach of the laws of man is also an offence
FINAL SENTENCE OF DEATH 153
against the laws of God; and smuggling led to the
commission of the greatest crimes, even (as these
proceedings prove) the crime of murder. If the
mercy of our gracious Sovereign were extended
to the prisoners, he trusted they would receive it
with due gratitude, and be still more grateful to
their God, whom they had so grievously offended.
His Lordship then passed sentence of Death on
the prisoners in the usual form.
" The Calendar states that the smugglers are to
be executed on the 5th of February, but it is not
expected that any of them will suffer."
With the removal of the prisoners, the curtain
falls on the most sensational trial of the century,
so far as Kent was concerned. It was the last
occasion on which an organised band of smugglers
were brought to the bar of judgment for taking
up arms against the Government and for killing
and wounding the King's officers. The Court
clears, the crowds disperse, and a rumour having
gained currency that, after all, there was to be no
hanging, public interest in the after fate of the
Aldington smugglers quickly subsided.
But though the trial has ended, and the curtain
been rung down on the Aldington smuggling drama,
there still remains much in need of explanation.
What, for example, was the purport of the myster-
ious consultation in Court which led to such an
unexpected turn of events ? No explanation of this
has ever been vouchsafed to the world; and but
for the chance discovery of a document of unique
interest the mystery would have remained unsolved
to the end of time. This document is nothing less
than a report from Mr. Charles Bicknell, the
Admiralty Law Agent, to whom the entire conduct
154 THE SMUGGLERS
of the case had been entrusted, giving a most graphic
account of the proceedings.
Describing the measures he had deemed necessary
for securing the conviction of the smugglers, the
writer proceeds :
" Under the advice of these officers (the SoUcitor-
General and the Counsel for the Admiralty), Indict-
ments were accordingly preferred at the late special
Commission for Gaol Deliveries for the county of
Kent, and each having been returned a ' true bill '
by the Grand Jury, ten of the prisoners were on
Friday, the 12th inst., arraigned upon the Indictment
for the murder of Richard Morgan, and pleaded
Not Guilty thereto. An intimation was then made
by the Prisoners' Counsel to the Solicitor-General
(whom by the direction of the Secretary of the
Treasury I had retained to conduct the prosecutions)
that all the prisoners indicted were ready to plead
Guilty to the five other indictments provided an
assurance could be obtained that their lives would
be spared; and this, after some consideration on
the part of the Solicitor-General and Mr. Twiss,
who was also present, and having been assented
to (the former undertaking to make the recommen-
dation to the Secretary of State), they severally
pleaded Guilty, accordingly, and no evidence being
consequently offered on the Indictment for murder,
they were, of course, acquitted of that charge, with
an understanding that they were to be transported
beyond seas for the remainder of their lives, and
Judgment of Death was thereupon pronounced
upon them all in a most impressive manner by
Mr. Justice Park.
** By this arrangement," continues the gentle-
man from whom this is quoted, " two of the sixteen
FOR OUR PARSON
II/.34
TRANSPORTATION 155
offenders indicted, namely, Robert Bailey and
Thomas Wheeler (who could not be included in
the indictments on which the pleas of Guilty were
accorded), have escaped. But as these men had
been merely instruments of Ransley and not prin-
cipal offenders, I humbly trust that the result of
the measures which have been taken, and which
have secured the convictions and transportation
for life of George Ransley, the leader of the gang,
and thirteen of his associates, many of whom I
have reason to know were concerned in the murders
of Richard Woolbridge and Patrick Sullivan, will
meet with the approbation of their Lordships."
The prisoners left the Court, as will be remembered,
under sentence of death; coupled, however, with
a recommendation to mercy. The sequel is thus
described by the Kentish Chronicle (February 9th,
1827) under the heading of " The Aldington
Smugglers " :
" On Thursday morning last, Mr. Agar, Governor
of the County Gaol, Maidstone, received a letter
from the Secretary of State, signifying that the
execution of the sentence of death passed upon the
smugglers at the East Kent Assizes, should be
respited until the further signification of His
Majesty's pleasure. Agreeable to further orders,
all the fourteen prisoners were, on Monday morning,
removed from the gaol, to be put on board ship
for the purpose of transportation for life : George
Ransley, James Wilson, Charles Giles, R. Wire,
James Hogben, James Quested, W. Wire, to be
put on board the Leviathan, at Portsmouth;
J. Bailey, Sam. Bailey, T. Denard, T. Gillian,
R. Higgins, P. Pierce, J. Smeed, to be put on board
the York, at Gosport."
156 THE SMUGGLERS
With this valedictory notice, Ransley and his
thirteen associates vanish from the pubhc ken.
There still remain, however, one or two matters
requiring a little further explanation. To this end
shall be quoted some further extracts from the
interesting correspondence of the Admiralty Law
Agent.
Under ordinary circumstances the role of approver
is not usually regarded as an exalted one. There
are cases, however, in which the ends justify the
means. And public opinion has long decided that,
as regards the Aldington smugglers, the mysterious
persons who helped to discover and bring to justice
the perpetrators of so many outrages rendered an
important service to the State, and may be con-
sidered in the light of public benefactors, and to
that extent as deserving of reward. That these
services did not pass unrecognised may be gathered
from the following letter.
Under date, April 27th, 1827, Mr. Bicknell writes :
*' With reference to Mr. Barrow's letter of February
last, communicating to me the commands of my
Lords Coms. of the Admiralty to distribute a reward
of £500 amongst the persons through whose inform-
ation and means George Ransley and thirteen other
smugglers were discovered and brought to justice,
I take the liberty to transmit herewith a scheme
of distribution which is most humbly submitted to
the consideration of their Lordships.
■* Upon this scheme I beg leave to observe that
the distribution proposed to be made in the shares
of the several informers is founded upon this cir-
cumstance that Ed. Home and James Bushell
were implicated in the offences touching which they
made disclosures, and did not make any discoveries
REWARDS TO INFOR^MERS 157
until after they were arrested, and that, on the con-
trary, WilHam Marsh and James Spratford were
not implicated in these crimes, and voluntarily
came forward with their discoveries in expectation
of reward, and at great personal risk to themselves.
Still, however, as the disclosures and evidence of
Home and Bushell were the most important and
were indispensably necessary to the commitment
and subsequent conviction of the offenders, it is
but equitable (as I most respectfully submit) that
they should receive a considerable portion of the
reward, and I trust their Lordships will not deem
it unreasonable that Lieut. Chas. Johnstone and
J as. Ash, through whose active exertions and
vigilance Home and Bushell were secured and their
evidence obtained, should be indemnified out of this
liberal grant for the loss they sustained by the
admission of these two smugglers as witnesses."
It must be explained that, had the two smugglers
above-mentioned not been accepted as witnesses
for the Crown, their captors would have been entitled
to a reward of ;f20 for each man as " head money."
The " Scheme of Distribution " mentioned by
the writer took the form of an enclosure, thus :
" Scheme for the Distribution of £500.
" To William Marsh for his discoveries and
services from the month of May, 1826, until the
arrest of the offenders, watching their motions
and giving notice thereof, from time to time to
Lieut. Hellard, and for assisting at the arrest, and
afterwards in seeking out evidence until the trial,
and for attending at Maidstone to be examined
at the trial — £130.
158 THE SMUGGLERS
" To James Spratford for similar services, and
for conducting Lieut. Hellard and the officers and
seamen under his command through a wild country
in the middle of a tempestuous night, to the habi-
tations of Ransley and seven of his accomplices,
whom he pointed out and whose arrests were thereby
safely effected — £130.
" To James Bushell, a smuggler arrested by Lieut.
C. A. Johnstone and through whose discoveries
evidence was obtained to support the indictment
for the murder of Richard Morgan, and for the
outrage committed near Fort Moncrief on the 6th
of May, 1826 — £100.
" To Edward Home, another smuggler who was
arrested by James Ash, and through whose inform-
ation warrants were procured for the apprehension
of many of the offenders, and evidence was obtained
to support all the charges against them — £100.
" To Lieut. C. A. Johnstone, who would other-
wise have been entitled to £20 on conviction of James
Bushell — ^£20.
" To James Ash, do., do. — £20."
Transportation for life ! Such was the revised
sentence passed on George Ransley and his fellow-
smugglers. It was a sentence that not only closed
their careers as citizens of the United Kingdom,
but in those times of slow travel and infrequent
intercourse with Australasia, effectually consigned
them to oblivion in the land of their birth.
Few, even among those free agents who left
their native land of their own volition, ever came
back; those who were transported were forbidden
to do so, even though they might in the course
of years become free men there and respected
AFTER CAREER OF RANSLEY 159
colonists. It is true that, exceptionally, there were
those " free pardons " that gave a right of return;
but they were rare.
George Ransley, transported to what is now
Tasmania, then styled " Van Diemen's Land,"
became a farmer in a good way of business, and,
as a trustworthy employer, was himself the master
of convict servants. He died in i860, loved and
respected.
There remains but one other document to bring
under notice, and the official history of the Aldington
smugglers may be regarded as closed. The document
in question, like a former one, quoted in connection
with the murder of young McKenzie at Brookland,
five years earlier, forms a pathetic sequel to the
stor}^ taking the form of a request from the widow
of the unfortunate man Morgan, whose murder
at Dover led to the arrest of the gang, for a pension,
in consideration of the loss of her husband while
in the performance of his duty.
The said document is entitled, " A Petition
FROM Mary Morgan," and it is therein stated that
" Richard Morgan was several times engaged with
smugglers on different parts of the coast since he
joined the Coast Blockade Service in January 1821 ;
and that, owing to his death, the widow is left
without the means of subsistence, and is in great
distress."
Lieutenant Hellard, the officer of the district,
in forwarding the petition, states that " Morgan
was respected by every officer for his courage,
activity, and attention, and was beloved by the
parties over whom he was placed, for his steady,
correct conduct."
It was the accidental discovery of poor Morgan's
160
headstone
THE SMUGGLERS
in the disused burial-ground of old
St. Martin's Church at Dover that led to the present
researches, which have borne such strange and
abundant fruit.
Some few authentic relics yet may be found of
those wild old days (and nights !) along these coasts
of Kent and Sussex. In particular, a grocer at the
little village of Wittersham, near Rye, some years
ago acquired, from the last representative of a
A SMUGGLER S " SPOUT LANTERN
smuggling family, one of those old " spout lanterns "
used by the smuggler on land — by marsh, beach or
cliff-top — for the purpose of signalling to their
friends hovering out to sea and awaiting the signal
to land, or to sheer off, as the case might be. It is
a roughly-tinned affair, but very well made, on the
" dark-lantern " principle, and with a long tapering
spout, about eighteen inches in length, for the pur-
pose of projecting a forward flash, while either side
was obscured. This is, perhaps, the only surviving
example of such a " spout lantern."
CHAPTER XII
THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE ALDINGTON
TUB-CARRIERS
{A N onageyiarian s Story)
The following story, contributed by the last of
the Crown witnesses who were summoned to appear
against their whilom associates, at the memorable
trial at Maidstone in 1827, supplies a more graphic
picture of the old smuggling days than anything
that has been presented heretofore. And a pathetic
interest attaches to it from the fact of the author
having passed away within a few weeks of impart-
ing it.
The old fellow was born in 1804, at Aldington,
where he remained the best part of his life. In his
younger days, after the manner of the rural folk, he
did a little smuggling, and went out once or twice
with the Ransley gang, in the capacity of " tub-
carrier," though he never actually joined the gang.
Brought up amongst the " old school " of smugglers,
who had their own ideas of chivalry and a decided
repugnance to armed resistance, he had the pre-
science to withdraw from the business when the
Aldington men took to carrying fire-arms ; and from
that time forward turned his energies into the more
prosaic though safer path of agriculture. Yet, from
living in the midst of it all, he was, of course, well
acquainted with the local celebrities, and being a
VOL. n. 161 M
162 THE SMUGGLERS
man of keen observation, was perfectly cognisant of
their exploits, and being blessed, in addition, with a
retentive memory, proved a very mine of information.
Not uninteresting, either, is the fact of the old
fellow having known certain members of the older,
and still more famous, Hawkhurst gang, that was
" smashed up " in 1749 ; thus enabling us to join
hands, so to speak, across a century and a half. A
circumstance quite possible, seeing that many of the
gang were quite young men who may very easily
have lived on into the nineteenth century.
The old man's subsequent career was uneventful
enough. After toiling on through the active years
of his life, he found himself stranded, like many
others, at an age when self-help was no longer
possible, and after drifting about from one relative
to another, found a haven of rest at last in the
workhouse, wherein, after a long search, at length
he was found. Then was taken down, from his own
lips, in a succession of interviews, the story of his
life.
The kindly old fellow was then in his ninetieth
year, and though feeble and suffering in body, was
clear in mind — particularly with respect to the events
of his early life, and his memory was taxed to the
utmost in the endeavour to elucidate the past.
" Smuggling was mostly done for drink : the chaps
would go out just to get money for drink. There
was B , now, at the Bank House farm, where I
worked, the time Ransley's lot were out : he was a
drunken fellow and nearly ruined his farm by it."
" I understand you used to do a little in that line
once
p "
Oh, yes : I went out once or twice for people
living at Burmarsh — labouring men, they were. The
AN OLD MAN'S STORY 163
first time I went out was when I was living at the
Court Lodge farm : it was on a Saturday night : a
' passul ' of 'em was going out from about Aldington,
and they asked me to go along with 'em. There
was Finn and several others I knew. Oh, there was
a pretty * passul ' of 'em altogether. It was spring-
time, and we started for the coast about eight or
nine o'clock, and walked all the way to West Hythe.
We lay out in a field, and were joined by another
company that had assembled there before us. There
was no waiting to speak of : we managed it all
pretty quick, though it was a roughish job to get
the pair of tubs : indeed, if you weren't smart, you
got your fingers cut with all the knives working
away. You see, the tubs were all tied to a rope : a
boat had sunk them, and they were all pulled ashore.
I got my pair all right, and threw them over my
shoulder pretty smart, as they expected some of the
Preventive men after 'em. I carried them five or
six miles. I know. We went pretty much round
about, going back : we didn't go the way we ought
to have gone. It was roughish work, I can tell
you : however, we got the goods all saved, but I
never went out with that lot again."
" Were you ever out with Ransley's lot ? "
" I only went out once with his party : that was
down by Lydd. We walked first to Romney
Warren : that was the first spot for the boat to
come in. There was a little shooting going on there,
and I suppose that put the boat off : it was the
coastguard making signals, I reckon. Then we went
on to Littlestone : that was the second spot, but
we didn't have to wait long there, for we heard
firing at sea, and the head man heard enough to
know that the boat wouldn't come in that night,
164 THE SMUGGLERS
and he told us all to go home. Oh, they lost a
* passul ' of stuff that way, with the boats being
took at sea. There was a pretty big party of us —
two or three hundred, maybe : there were about
twenty from our place ; but I didn't know many of
the men out that night. None of them had fire-
arms. Well, as I was saying, we didn't lay a terrible
time, as we soon had orders to go home. It was
winter-time : I know that, for I was working just
then for a farmer at Lympne, sowing a field of
turnips. My mate that night was Tom Butcher : I
'most always had a mate along with me. I said to
him, ' I'll have no more of this work.' He agreed
with me, and we never went out no more. We
often talked of the affair afterwards. You see, if
we had not given it up when they took to carrying
fire-arms, we should have been drawn into it !
" Yes, you're right ; it was a goodish long walk,
and we didn't get back till daylight next morning;
and when we got home, I had to go as far again to
get to my work. No, I wasn't up to much after
being out all night. What did we get for it ? Only
3s. for a ' miss ' night : ys. and a pot of beer, with a
biscuit and cheese, if we worked the goods. They
used to make great biscuits in those days, and charge
a penny each for them — it would be a pretty big
biscuit if they put a penn'orth a bread onto one !
We would have this at a public-house on the way
home. Ransley would pay for this; and he would
pay us too, for the night's work, at the public-
house. Oh, he was very well about paying people :
I never heard no complaints about that ! His son,
a lad of fourteen or fifteen, came and asked us to go
out that night. That time was enough for me.
** The first time Ransley 's lot went out with
■V *"
JAMES QUESTED'S COTTAGE AT HAWKINGE
Co^fAG
WHERE CHARLES GILES WAS ARRESTED : A COTTAGE NEAR
BILSINGTON BRIDGE
11/164
OLD TIMES AT ALDINGTON 165
fire-arms his son came again, to try and get me and
another man to go with them. He told us we need
not be afraid, as they were going to take fire-arms.
I said, ' If that's it, I shan't go.' Oh, I knew well
enough that was wrong. It was taking up arms
against your king and country ! That wouldn't do :
I knew that ! The other man said he'd do the same
as I did, and so neither of us went. The youngster
tried hard to persuade us ; but we wouldn't go, and
it was very lucky we didn't ! "
" Were you ever interfered with by Ransley and
his lot for refusing to go out with them ? "
" No, never, and I never heard of anyone else
being interfered with ! "
" What did the Aldington people think about this
going out with fire-arms? "
" Oh, they all thought it a bad thing : except
those who went out along with Ransley, and they
thought it a fine thing ! I've seen five or six of
them coming home next morning with their guns,
after they had been out with fire-arms.
" I think I know how the carrying fire-arms began
about our way. Wasn't there several of 'em hung at
Heme Bay ? Seven or eight of 'em, eh ? Aye, and
a pretty * passul ' of 'em transported too, I reckon,
to Botany Bay? Well, some of 'em who ran away
came to Aldington : the two Smeeds came. Yes,
I believe, as you say, one of 'em was a deserter.
Well, one of those Smeeds was a ringleader at the
fire-arm work ! He worked at Bank farm, along o'
me, and although it wasn't known that he had run
away from Heme Bay, he told me after what had
been going on there, and how he had been forced to
get out of the way. Now, I believe that is how the
Aldington chaps came to carry fire-arms.
166 THE SMUGGLERS
*' There was another of the Heme Bay chaps,
called Wood, who was sent out to Botany Bay, but
managed to escape. It was in this way. The first
night after being landed they were all put into a
sort of barn-place, and given some good food. Wood
was a seafaring man, and looking out, he saw there
was water, and asked leave to go outside for a
moment. As soon as ever he got outside he set oS
to cross this bit of water — a river, or something —
but he found it deeper than he expected and had to
swim part of it. Anyway he got clear away, and
after knocking about the Colony for four years,
getting berths aboard vessels, he managed to get
home again. After he came home, he married my
wife's sister : that is how I came to know him. He
had luck : for, you see, in those days the ' trans-
ports ' had a sort of iron put on them, and if he'd
passed that first night in the barn, next morning
they'd have clapped a sort of dog-collar ring on
him ! After he got home, he joined a diving com-
pany, and had boats, and did well at the business.
I told you he was a seafaring man, but he had
nothing to do with the firing on shore at Heme
Bay; but was taken in the French boat, off the
coast. The firing on shore frightened the boat away,
and there was so much look-out kept off the coast
that they couldn't get clear : that is how he was
taken."
" On the whole, it was hardish work going out
with the smugglers? "
" Yes, you're right : it was pretty rough work
coming over the marshes at night ; but of course we
always had someone along with us who knew the
way, to guide us; else we should never have got
back. Why, I've known some of the chaps, after
TALK ABOUT RANSLEY 167
they had got a bit inland, wouldn't know where
they were, one bit. The way we got over the dykes
was by putting a plank across, and taking it up
afterwards. Sometimes they'd moor a barge in the
canal, with a plank to the bank on each side, so as
the chaps shouldn't have to cross by the bridge.
But I don't think Ransley troubled much about
that : he generally went pretty straight."
" I suppose you often saw Ransley's party coming
back from the coast ? "
" Not so much of Ransley's lot, where I lived, as
of the other parties I was telling you about. But
then they did nothing wrong : they never carried
arms : they just bought the tubs, and sold them, all
fair-and-above-board. But things went wrong with
them sometimes : they took to robbing each other.
I remember, one time, my elder brother, who lived
up at Church-town, had some tubs in the wash-
house one night, and when he went in to look for
them next morning, they were all gone — stolen ! "
" I have heard that Ransley lived down in the
marsh before he came to Aldington : is that true? "
" Yes ; that is so : I knew him myself before he
came to Aldington, when he was a farm servant. I
can't rightly remember the name of the farm where
he worked; but it was not a terrible way from
Brookland. He was a werry able, strong man as a
servant. The way I came to know him was because
he used to come up to Aldington with his team of
horses for corn. He was a waggoner ; and a good
servant he was too. He had a very fine team of
horses, belonging to the farmer, and he kept them
in nice order. I remember he had a way of stealing
corn for his horses, and the farmer caught him once,
by keeping watch. It was in this way. George got
168 THE SMUGGLERS
the key of the barn one night, and as he was coming
out, the farmer, who had been watching, caught
him with a sack of beans as big as himself on his
back. The farmer told him he wouldn't ' gaol '
him : ' I'll let you have 'em, George,' says he, * I
won't stop you.' You see, he knew he wanted them
for the horses, and that he was a good man at his
work, and for seeing after the team. George Ransley
had a brother a waggoner too, who had a very good
character for doing his work and keeping his horses
nicely. I knew the man well.
" George lived at Ruckinge for a time, before he
come to Aldington. What brought him there was
his marrying a woman from Aldington way. After
he was married and came to live there he robbed
the windmill of some corn — leastways it was always
said to be him. There'd been corn stolen, so one
night three men lay to watch : they had three sacks
of corn ready to drop down behind the door if
anyone came in. Well, somewhere about midnight,
a man came and turned the key and opened the
door. As soon as he was inside they dropped the
sacks of corn and the man ran upstairs into the loft,
and out on to a platform and slipped away. They
never caught him, although there were three of
them ! It was so dark they couldn't see who it
was, but it was always thought to have been George
Ransley. I believe it was, myself, for he was rather
an artful sort of man.
" In those days there were soft roads about here,
and Ransley used to dig stones out of the Bank
House farm to put on the roads, and that brought
him in with B . Then he built the Bourne Tap.
People said he found money somewhere : anyhow,
he knocked off work quite sudden-like and took to
TALK ABOUT RANSLEY 169
smuggling, and never did anything else after that.
He had a nice horse and cart, almost directly : it
was thought that he had stolen the horse and cart,
though of course it was not known. Anyway, he
had a deuced nice mare. As soon as he got his
horse, and took to smuggling regular, they called
him ' Captain Batts ' : before that, he was only a
waggoner. He was a stout, jolly fellow — used to
wear a gaberdine mostly. He sold rum and gin at
the Bourne Tap, although he had no licence : he
used to get the rum down from London. I was in
his house now and then : you see, B would be
wanting to know something from Ransley, and I
would be sent down to the * Tap,' and Ransley
would give me a glass of rum, maybe ! "
" Did Ransley drink much, himself? "
" No, I never saw Ransley drunk. He seemed a
bustling chap about his business. I've known as
many as a hundred men come to the farm where I
was, and put their tubs away. There were holes
out in the wood, and in all sorts of places, to put
tubs in : there were woods all about the ' Tap ' in
those days, some belonged to one person and some
to another. Oh, Ransley was always on the move
somewhere, after he got his horse and cart. But I
never saw him the worse for liquor, though there
was a lot of drinking went on at the ' Tap.' You
see, Ransley would always let them have money
beforehand, if they wanted any : so there was no
want of it for drinking. I always understood he
gave 13s. for a tub of spirits in France, and it was
worth about £^ 12s. when it was landed."
" How many of the gang carried fire-arms, do you
suppose? "
"That I can't say; but it was only the strong
170 THE SMUGGLERS
chaps carried fire-arms, and pretty big, strong chaps
they were, I can tell you ! No respectable people
would have anything to do with Ransley's lot when
they took to carrying arms : no, nor before that,
either, when they took to carrying bats. At last
they took to robbing : anything rather than work.
You see, they could always get money with this
smuggling, and so they wouldn't work. Oh, it
regular ruined them, and a lot more too.
" If it was a * miss night,' you may be sure they
wouldn't come back empty-handed. They would
have something before they got back, even if they
took it. Now, that was about ' the cut of them.'
And when they got home they would get drinking
at the * Tap ' : there was always a lot of them
hanging about there, and if a stranger passed, he
would have a rough time of it. And then, maybe,
they'd fall out with each other, or if a stranger
came along, they'd fall out with him. There was
no magistrate nigher Aldington, in those days, than
Mersham Hatch.
" B , at the Bank farm, where I lived, was the
grandest gentleman about Aldington — before he got
in with the smuggling : he had a fine farm and was
doing well. Then Ransley and he got very thick —
regular mates. It came about in this way. Ransley,
as I told you, used to be rock-digging on his farm,
and B would get him in to have a drink, and
got on, like that, to be very thick with him; and
one thing linked in to another. That is how most
of them got into it. B had to give up the farm
at last, and went to another house at Bonnington,
where he died : he used to drink terribly — spirits,
too. B 's father had Bilsington Priory one time,
and used to keep hounds. The family were very
WHEN THEY WERE TAKEN 171
well off then — pretty much like gentlefolk. But
they came down."
" I suppose you remember the gang being taken ? "
" Yes, well enough. They were taken in two
batches. One lot were taken on a frosty night;
and as it was moonlight, and unfavourable for
smuggling, nine or ten of them were taken in their
own homes. The next lot were taken in their beds,
on a rough, dark night : indeed, it was about the
roughest night I ever remember. That was when
they took Smeed and Wilson. I remember it well,
for we had two loads of corn, all ready to go to
Dover : we were to start that night, but it rained so
heavily we had to stay. You see the sails we had
for covering the corn were not so terrible good, and
we didn't want to get the corn wet. We stayed up
till midnight, waiting for the rain to stop, and then
the master told us we had better get to bed. Well,
we started as soon as ever the rain stopped : that
was at daylight, and we got away before anyone
was astir : that was how I never heard of the men
being taken till I got nearly to Dover. Yes, it was
about the worst rain I ever remember, that night :
indeed, I never see'd anything like it. It regular
drove the earth down where they had been plough-
ing. I remember some of the fields we passed, next
morning, going in to Folkestone, were all levelled-
like with the rain. Oh, I tell you, it was a terrible
night.
" The first thing we heard of it all was when we
got to the Waliant Sailor Inn, at top of Folkestone
Hill, about six miles from Dover. The landlord
said, ' So they've been taking some more of the
smugglers, last night ! ' The news had reached him,
I suppose. We were taking the corn into Pilcher's
172 THE SMUGGLERS
steam mill at Dover. Yes, it was a pretty long
carriage, certainly ; but I often took stuff into Dover
when I was waggoner at Bonnington.
" You were asking if I knew the * Palm Trees ' : ^
it is a public-house away out on the hills, at the
back of Dover, towards Ramsgate : some way from
Dover. I've been there.
*' The time they took the first batch, we had news
pretty soon next morning. That was the time they
took an old man by mistake : he kept a butcher's
shop, and used to be up and about pretty early of a
morning, so they came across him and took him,
but soon let him go. Then they got hold of a man
called W ; but he said he had nothing to do
with it, and they let him go as soon as they found
out they had made a mistake.
" Of course the blockade-men wouldn't have known
anyone unless they'd had somebody along with them
to point out the men they wanted. Spratford was
along with them both times, dressed in man-of-war's
clothes so that he should not be recognised. He
had been aboard a man-of-war in the Indian wars —
that was afore the battle of Waterloo. Before that
he had been farm-servant at Court Lodge farm : he
was just a labouring man. I believe he had been
along with the smugglers some time back; but I
don't think he was ever much with Ransley's lot :
it was the Burmarsh lot — the same that I worked
with."
" How was it you came to be mixed up in the
trial?"
" The way I came to be ' speened ' was like this.
The Sunday morning after the affair out at Walmer
1 The inn referred to is probably the " Palm Tree " at
Eythorne, about seven miles north of Dover.
(^LLiN^ Lived
ALDINGTON rRITll : COTTAGE WIIEKK TWO INFORMERS LIVED
-^:j^
»- -• .-^^1 r
FARM AT ALDINGTON, WHERE WILSON, ONE OF THE GANG, WAS
ARRESTED
1 1 172
A TALE OF TUBS 173
Castle, about ten or eleven, I saw six light carts,
laden with tubs, coming along, top speed, tearing
past father's house in the ' Fright,' just below the
Bank House farm. Another cart was standing in
the road, and one of the carts with tubs pulled up
on one side, and the wheel came off, and the cart
upset, and all the tubs rolled out on to the road. A
Dover man was in the cart : he had the job of
carrying the tubs. Father's house is a wheelwright's
shop now. Well, of course I ran out to lend a
hand : they wanted to put the tubs in somewhere,
out of sight, so I helped to pass them over the
hedge into a field of master's. After a bit, Ransley
came along and took them away — that was after he
had unloaded his lot.
" Well, Captain Hellard ^ heard of this, and came
up to Aldington to collect evidence, and he sent for
me and wanted to make out the tubs had been put
into a field on the other side of the road. But that
was wrong, and I told him so, and said it was the
other side of the road. Oh, I remember it all well
enough : he had heard of me helping with the tubs
the time the cart was upset : I suppose Spratford
told him about it : anyhow, he came over to make
inquiries, and to tell the people who were wanted as
witnesses. * I can tell you more about it than you
know yourself,' he said to me. Oh, he had it all
down in his book. Then he said * Now, wasn't
some of the tubs brown ones — just bare wood, and
some painted? ' I told him I couldn't just recollect
that, but I knew some were white, and some brown,
plain ones. He said, ' Well now, I can tell you
something more : the first pair you took out and
handed over the hedge was brown, and the next
^ Properly " Lieutenant " Hellard.
174 THE SMUGGLERS
ones white ; and you handed them into Epp's field ! '
Well, it wasn't Epp's field; and I told him he'd
made a mistake. I suppose he had put it down
wrong in his book : I don't suppose Spratford had
told him wrong. I believe he was right about the
tubs, though I told him I couldn't call to mind
rightly which pair I took up first ; but I remembered
there were mixed ones — some white and some brown.
" Captain Hellard was not a big man, as I
recollect. He came over alone, to examine those
who were wanted as witnesses for the trial at Maid-
stone ; and gave each one a * speeny,' and three
sovereigns to start with. We were to have more
if required, according to the time we were up there.
Hellard told us they didn't want the tub-carriers
punished, only those who carried arms, else they
would have had me."
*' Now tell all you can remember of the men who
were arrested," reading over the names of the men;
and his observations concerning each are appended.
Samuel Bailey — " lived at Bilsington."
Robert Bailey — " lived at Mersham."
Thomas Gillian — " lived in Aldington Fright."
Charles Giles — " lived at Bilsington. I remember
the time he got shot ; they^carried him up to West
Wall, beyond Ashford, where he had an aunt living.
They took him there so as to be out of the way,
so that people should not know anything about it.
Dr. Beet of Ashford attended him. He came back
when it was all healed."
Thomas Denard — " lived in Aldington Fright,
where he had a little bit of land and kept two or
three horses."
William Wire — " lived in Aldington : a young lad
of eighteen or nineteen."
THOSE WHO WERE TAKEN 175
Richard Wire — " lived in Aldington. He was
counted to be the man that shot Morgan, — so it
was held at the trial. He said as much himself :
leastways, he used to speak out and tell people
how he had stopped Morgan from following him
up. You see the coastguard followed them up from
the beach, and Richard Wire used to say as how
it was he that stopped them. He was only twenty-
two, and a brave young fellow; but, like the rest,
he got in along with Ransley's party and I believe
got drunk, and then they egged him on to go along
with them."
Thomas Wheeler — " lived at Folkestone : was a
blacksmith."
Edward Home — " lived at Ruckinge. He turned
King's Evidence; but was taken up for horse-
stealing before ever the others were sent abroad."
John Home — " lived at Ruckinge. He turned
King's Evidence : he had a niceish horse and cart :
got it somehow : stole it, I expect, as he had no
money to buy it with."
James Smeed — " lived at Aldington : was taken
with James Wilson at Bank House farm, with the
second batch. He came from Heme Bay the time
the men were hung and transported."
Richard Higgins — " lived at Bilsington : he
married one of the Baileys — Rhoda Bailey, sister
to Mrs. Ransley. He was gamekeeper to a gentle-
man : his father had land at Bonnington."
John Bailey — " lived at Bonnington, close to
Paul Pierce : both were taken the same night."
Paul Pierce — " lived in an old-fashioned house at
Bonnington : he got away, the first time they came
to take him, by climbing up the chimney, one of
the old-fashioned wide ones : from there he got
176 THE SMUGGLERS
on to the roof of the house, where he lay quiet.
They took him the next time they came, along with
John Bailey."
James Wilson — " lived at Aldington : was taken
with Smeed at the Bank farm. They were both
lying in the bin where the food was cut up for the
horses : they daren't sleep at home for fear of being
took. They had been hiding about and sleeping at
nights out in the woods : they had slept in the bin
two nights before, and were going to sleep in the
same place again. My brother was a boy there at
that time, and had been frightened out of his life
by the blockade-men swarming over the place; so
he crept out, and squeezed himself in between a
straw stack and the stable wall, and stayed there all
night, shaking with fright : at last he fell asleep
there. Of course Spratford had been watching and
told them where to find the men. Yes, there the
lad lay all night : the horses were never littered,
nor the stable locked up : the candle burnt itself
out."
Edward Pantry — " lived at Aldington : was a
nice, steady, hardworking man, who always did a
thing well if he minded to do it, till he got in along
with those smugglers : his father, too, was just
the same sort of man. He turned King's Evidence ;
but he was taken up for sheep-stealing within a
year of the trial. He stole two sheep from the
farm I was serving at, down at Bonnington : a
man came along and caught him flaying the last
one : the man was a smuggler, and told him he
would report it. The sheep had been stolen on a
Saturday night, and on the Sunday morning the
man came along and told the farmer. On Monday
morning we were prepared for having him : there
TALK OF THE TRIAL 177
were about twenty people out after him, all round
about, so as to make sure of catching him. Pantry
was out harvesting that day, and Stokes, the con-
stable from the Marsh, went up to him quietly, as
if he wanted to speak to him, and asked him if he
would come and cut a ' can ' of wheat for him down
in the marsh. Well, the man suspected nothing,
and then Stokes told him he must come along with
him : then he ' handled ' him and took him off.
You see, they had searched Pantry's house first,
and found the skin of a sheep. He was tried at
Dymchurch — they used to do a * passul ' of business
at Dymchurch in those days — and was transported."
" Now, all you can recollect of the trial."
" Well, it was a Saturday night when we got word
to start for Maidstone on the Monday morning;
and as Scott, the man that kept the shop, was
going into Ashford on Sunday afternoon, we sent
word in by him to book the places on the coach
for Maidstone. The places were taken all right,
and on Monday morning we walked into Ashford,
got there about ten o'clock, but found both coaches
packed as tight as they could hold, and six horses
instead of four to each. There were two coaches
ran through Ashford to London in those days,
within a few minutes of each other, four horses to
each : they changed horses every ten miles. Well,
that day they had to put on two extra horses to
each, the loads were so heavy, else they would
never have got up the hill to Ashford town.
" We had orders to be at Maidstone by two o'clock,
at the Star Inn, where Stringer, a lawyer from
Romney, was waiting to take count of all the
witnesses, and see there were none missing. Well,
as soon as we saw there was no chance of getting
VOL. n. N
178 THE SMUGGLERS
on by coach, we looked about to get some refresh-
ment : went to the New Inn, and got an allow-
ance, amongst us — ^gin and other things. After that
we didn't know what to do : some set out to walk,
and walked all the way to Maidstone — twenty
miles. The rest of us went to the ' Saracen's Head,'
and there a man came in and said he had a big
waggon, and if he could get some horses he would
take us on, only he must be sure of having fourteen
people, else it would not pay him. He offered to
take us for ^s. 6d. each, so we sent him away to find
some horses. It was very cheap : we didn't expect
to get taken to Maidstone under 5s. as it was twenty
miles. We soon made up the number : indeed
there were seventeen of us in the van altogether;
and as there were several females along with us,
going up as witnesses, and as I knew a ' passul ' of
'em, we young men — I was twenty-two at the time —
agreed to get out and walk when we came to the
hills. Well, we got to Maidstone all right to time;
but some men belonging to Bonnington, who set
out to walk, didn't get in till nightfall. However,
Stringer found them.
" Directly we got in we had to look about for
lodgings; though we all lived together in the day,
some seventeen of us, and had our breakfast and
suppers together. Being a stranger there, of course
I didn't know where to go, so the landlord of the
* Royal Oak ' — Simmonds, by name, who put us
all up — got me a bed. It was to be los. 6d. for the
night, and we might lay all the week if we liked :
it would be no more than just the los. 6d. If the
money we had been paid didn't last out we were
to have more. Of course, if it wasn't all spent we
had to return it. They reckoned 3s. 6d. a day,
I
THE TRIAL 179
and 3s. 6d. a night, and we were paid 5s. for the
journey from Ashford and $s. back. Some got
more; — like Scott, who kept the shop; they were
paid a good deal more than I was, on account of
their having to leave their business.
" Dr. Beet of Ashford was * speened ' for the
trial : I knew him well, for, you see, he tended
the daughter of the farmer I worked for : indeed
he had tended me too when I was ill. When I saw
him on the morning of the day of the trial he asked
me how I liked it : I said I did not like it at all ;
I'd much sooner not be there. He replied ' It's
the worst morning I ever saw ! ' The fact is, we
had all been playmates together when we were
children — played marbles, and other things; so of
course I didn't like going against the chaps at the
trial, after being playmates with them in my young
days. But there, I couldn't help it, for I was
' speened.'
" Well, the trial didn't come on till the Friday.
Sometimes we were called in to be asked questions :
other times we went into the court to hear the
other trials and pass the time away. There were
some very heavy cases — wonderful assizes it was
that time; and a terrible deal of talking going on
about them. Several of the Grand Jury asked me
questions. One gentleman, in particular, who had
come up from Deal-way, to try and get Richard
Higgins off, asked me a deal of questions : you
see, Higgins had been keeper with him once. Of
course they all knew I had come from the middle
of it all; but 't wasn't much good asking me any-
thing about the business.
" There were seventy-three witnesses altogether —
people from all along the road from Sandown Castle,
180 THE SMUGGLERS
— landlords and ostlers from the different public-
houses on the road, who had seen the men coming
home — indeed pretty near all our party came from
that way. Three of the Scotts were * speened,'
from the shop at Aldington, because they had seen
the carts coming home from Walmer Castle on Sunday
morning.
" The night before the trial came on — that was
Thursday — there was a deal of talk when we heard
the smugglers were coming up to-morrow. We all
said what we thought was going to be done with
them : some said Ransley and Dick Wire would be
hung, to a certainty. Spratford, who had come up
along with us, as a witness, and was staying at the
* Royal Oak ' — same house as I was in — said to me.
* Well, if they are hung, I shall stay and see them
swing : shan't you ? ' * No,' says I, ' I shan't stay
longer than I can help: I don't want to be here at
all. I certainly shan't stop to see them hung ! '
And what is more, I didn't ; for the afternoon of the
trial, I took coach back to Ashford, and got home
the same day !
" That same evening — Thursday — the ostler at
the ' Royal Oak ' said to me, * Do you have any
suspicions of that man Spratford? I think he is a
very ordinary man ! ' ' No,' says I. * Well,' he
said ' I have, all along ! I am sure he is against
the smugglers ! ' You see, Spratford had come up
along with us, and was supposed to be called up
as a witness just the same as we were : he'd been
one of our party in the ' wan.' But I had my
suspicions about him while we were at Maidstone :
he was so terrible thick with the coastguard.
" Well, the morning of the trial, all the witnesses
were brought round to the Court, and just as we
^ N Cho\b
THE WALNUT-TKEE INN : A FAVOURITE MEETING-PLACE OF THE
ALDINGTON GANG
^^J^ ...
i^if^m^^i'*'
COTTAGE AT ALDINGTON, OCCUPIED RY ONE OF THE GANG
11/180
J
THE TRIAL 181
got to the entrance the prisoners were brought down
in a big open * wan/ That was the first time I
had seen them since they had been taken : they
had been kept in Maidstone jail waiting their trial.
A * passul ' of us were waiting at the entrance, and
we had to stand back to let them pass. They had
a bit of a chain on their legs — a kind of a link to lock
their legs : some of them were double-ironed with
bigger links : the ' wan ' had two horses : it was
downhill from the jail to the court-house.
"How did the smugglers look? Oh, they all
looked ' middlin'-like ' — about the same as they did
at home : you see, they had not been long in jail.
They were all dressed in the same clothes as they
wore at home. Ransley looked hearty and well :
he had on just the same clothes as he generally
wore at home. They didn't seem down in the
mouth, at all. We weren't allowed to go very
near them, and they couldn't laugh or talk with
the people, as there were so many prison-guards
round them. There was a ' passul ' of people about,
I can tell you ! all watching for them to be brought
in. That was the first and the last time I ever saw
them, for we were kept shut up in a room, and not
allowed in the court.
" There was a tidy lot of blockade-men up; but
they had no arms with them : I believe they were
all in the court. Did any of them speak to me ?
Oh, yes, a ' passul ' of 'em spoke to me. I rather
think one of them did say he had seen me down
on the coast. That Spratford got talking with them,
and told them who I was, d'ye see. Oh, yes, they
got talking with us, and said as how they didn't
want to shoot anyone, or be shot themselves, but
they had to do their duty : several of them told me
182 THE SMUGGLERS
they had been shot : yes, and a * passul ' of 'em had
wounds.
" Several of the men's wives came up to the trial :
Ransley's wife was there : I saw her the night before
the trial. So was Giles' wife, and Dick Higgins' :
they wanted to find out what was going on. The
lot of them were staying at a public-house at Maid-
stone.
" Then, B from the Bank farm was up too,
to speak for the men and give them a character."
" Did you hear if the smugglers took much notice
of their sentence? "
" No, I believe they didn't take terrible much
notice of the sentence ; but then, you see, we didn't
hear the sentence read out. I never saw them
again, after they went into court. I always under-
stood that Ransley employed counsel to defend
them all.
** I started away home next day. Spratford
didn't come home along with me : he stayed till
next day. Wheeler the blacksmith from Folke-
stone and Robert Bailey came home on the coach
along with me, as far as Ashford : Wheeler went
on to Folkestone. I got down at Smeeth, where
they changed horses. The horses were kept at the
Woolpack Inn, about half a mile off, and were always
sent down to Smeeth church, where they waited for
the coach to come along : it was nearly always to
time, so they didn't have to wait long. Yes,
Wheeler and Bailey talked a good deal about the
trial, coming along. They said it was a foolish thing
sending William Wire out, as he never carried fire-
arms : he used to go out along with them, but he
never carried arms : he was only about eighteen
years of age ; and a small chap too — not a big man
CHANGED ALDINGTON 183
like his brother. They said it was a foolish business
altogether; and others might have got off if they
hadn't pleaded guilty. But there, you see, counsel
persuaded them to do this, so as not to get Ransley
and the others hung. Oh, there is no doubt if they
hadn't done so, Dick Wire and Ransley would have
swung for it. I heard quite enough, while I was up
there, waiting the trial, to know that.
" It was just as well the Wires did get sent out,
for they never did no good after the old man was
killed : that was their father, who was struck by
lightening, harvest time, when he had a fork in his
hand. Several of them sent home word afterwards,
how they were doing in Wan Diemen's Land. There
was James Smeed, now, he sent home word that he
had a brewer's dray to go with. Then, John Bailey
got a farm out there — a fine place, it was, I've been
told. Collins, who was transported afterwards, went
to see him, and said he had four teams of horses to
look after : they called four horses a team at
Aldington, but I don't know how many went to a
team out there."
" I suppose the place has altered a good bit since
those times ? "
" Aye, that it has. Why, it was all open common,
down by Captain Batts' place, in those days. Old
Mr. Deedes, the Lord of the Manor, of Sandling Park,
by Hythe, took it in and enclosed it — that is, the
' Fright ' — though certainly he gave everyone a bit
of land when he enclosed it. Oh, it was a fine place
for turning animals out on to when it was a common :
we all turned out our geese and horses and sheep,
and all sorts of things : there'd be as many as ten
donkeys on it. There were several waste places in
Aldington parish which were taken in by the Lord
184 THE SMUGGLERS
of the Manor; but certainly everyone had some
land given to them who had any rights to it.
" We are a long-lived family. My father lived to
ninety-five : did a little smuggling when he was
young, for his wife's father, old Mr. Butcher; he
used to ride down to the coast for him when he got
too old himself. But he soon knocked that off after
he got married. There were ten of us altogether. I
have a sister four years older than myself, and a
brother two years older : another is eighty-three.
My sister's husband lived to ninety-three.
" Well," said the old man, when the time came to
part, " I believe I am the last one living who was
at the trial : they're all gone but me, and I shan't
last much longer; " adding, after a pause, " I hope
you'll put that in your book — or whatever it is, that
I am the last of 'em left who was at the trial."
The kindly old man vegetated for a few weeks
longer ; and when, on January 3rd, 1895, a note was
sent to inquire after him, the reply came : " The old
man died yesterday, the 3rd inst." And thus was
the last link with the Aldington smugglers snapped
asunder.
He was laid to rest in Aldington churchyard,
surrounded by his former associates, and was
honoured with biographical notices in several papers ;
thus receiving more notice in death than in life.
CHAPTER XIII
THE WHISKY SMUGGLERS
A MODERN form of smuggling little suspected by
the average Englishman is found in the illicit whisky-
distilling yet carried on in the Highlands of Scot-
land and the wilds of Ireland, as the records of
Inland Revenue prosecutions still annually prove.
The sportsman, or the more adventurous among
those tourists who roam far from the beaten track,
are still likely to discover in rugged and remote
situations the ruins of rough stone and turf huts
of no antiquity, situated in lonely rifts in the
mountain-sides, always with a stream running by.
If the stranger is at all inquisitive on the subject
of these solitary ruins, he will easily discover that
not only are they not old, but that they have, in
many cases, only recently been vacated. They are,
in fact, the temporary bothies built from the abundant
materials of those wild spots by the ingenious
crofters and other peasantry, for the purpose of
distilling whisky that shall not, between its manu-
facture and its almost immediate consumption, pay
duty to the revenue authorities.
This illegal production of what is now thought
to be the " national drink " of Scotland and Ireland
is not of any considerable antiquity, for whisky itself
did not grow popular until comparatively recent
times. Robert Burns, who may not unfairly be
considered the poet-laureate of whisky, and styles it
185
186 THE SMUGGLERS
" whisky, drink divine," would have had neither the
possibiHty of that inspiration, nor have filled the
official post of exciseman, had he flourished but a
few generations earlier; but he was born in that
era when whisky-smuggling and dram-drinking were
at their height, and he took an active part in both
the drinking of whisky and the hunting down of
smugglers of it.
One of the most stirring incidents of his career
was that which occurred in 1792, when, foremost
of a little band of revenue officers, aided by dragoons,
he waded into the waters of Solway, reckless of the
quicksands of that treacherous estuary, and, sword
in hand, was the first to board a smuggling brig,
placing the crew under arrest and conveying the
vessel to Dumfries, where it was sold. It was this
incident that inspired him with the poem, if indeed,
we may at all fitly claim inspiration for such an
inferior Burns product :
THE DE'IL'S AWA' WF THE EXCISEMAN
The De'il cam' fiddling thro' the town,
And danc'd awa' wi' the exciseman ;
And ilka wife cry'd, " Auld Mahoun,
I wish you luck o' your prize, man."
We'll mak' our maut and brew our drink,
We'll dance, and sing, and rejoice, man ;
And monie thanks to the muckle black De'il,
That danced awa' wi' the exciseman.
There's threesome reels, and foursome reels,
There's hornpipes and strathspeys, man ;
But the ae best dance e'er cam' to our Ian',
Was — the De'il's awa' wi' the exciseman.
Whisky, i. e. usquebaugh, signifying in Gaelic
" water of life," originated, we are told, in the
INTRODUCTION OF WHISKY 187
monasteries, where so many other comforting cordials
were discovered, somewhere about the eleventh or
twelfth century. It was for a very long period
regarded only as a medicine, and its composition
remained unknown to the generality of people;
and thus we find among the earliest accounts of
whisky, outside monastic walls, an item in the
household expenses of James the Fourth of Scot-
land, at the close of the fifteenth century. There it
is styled " aqua vitae."
A sample of this then new drink was apparently
introduced to the notice of the King or his Court,
and seems to have been so greatly appreciated that
eight bolls of malt figure among the household items
as delivered to " Friar James Cor," for the purpose
of manufacturing more, as per sample.
But for generations to come the nobles and gentry
of Scotland continued to drink wine, and the
peasantry to drink ale, and it was only with the
closing years of another century that whisky became
at all commonly manufactured. We read that in
1579 distillers were for the first time taxed in Scot-
land, and private stills forbidden; and the rural
population did not altogether forsake their beer for
the spirit until about the beginning of the eighteenth
century. Parliament, however, soon discovered a
tempting source of revenue in it, and imposed con-
stantly increasing taxation. In 1736 the distillers'
tax was raised to 20s. a gallon, and there were, in
addition, imposts upon the retailers.
It might have been foreseen that the very natural
result of these extortionate taxes would be to
elevate illegal distiUing, formerly practised here and
there, into an enormously increased industry, flourish-
ing in every glen. Only a very small proportion of
188 THE SMUGGLERS
the output paid the duties imposed. Every clachan
had its still, or stills.
This state of things was met by another Act
which prohibited the making of whisky from stills
of a smaller capacity than five hundred gallons;
but this enactment merely brought about the
removal of the more or less openly defiant stills
from the villages to the solitary places in the hills
and mountains, and necessitated a large increase in
the number of excisemen.
Seven years of these extravagant super-taxes
sufficed to convince the Government of the folly
of so overweighting an article with taxation that
successful smuggling of it would easily bring fortunes
to bold and energetic men. To do so was thus
abundantly proved to be a direct provocation to
men of enterprise; and the net result the Govern-
ment found to be a vastly increased and highly
expensive excise establishment, whose cost was by
no means met by the revenue derived from the
heavy duties. Failure thus becoming evident, the
taxes were heavily reduced, until they totalled but
ten shillings and sixpence a gallon.
But the spice of adventure introduced by illegal
distilling under the old heavy taxation had aroused
a reckless frame of mind among the Highlanders,
who, once become used to defy the authorities,
were not readily persuaded to give up their illegal
practices. The glens continued to be filled with
private stills. Glenlivet was, in especial, famed for
its whisky-smugglers; and the peat-reek arose in
every surrounding fold in the hills from hundreds
of " sma' stills." Many of these private under-
takings did business in a large way, and openly
sold their products to customers in the south.
YAWKINS 189
sending their tubs of spirits under strong escort,
for great distances. They had customers in England
also, and exciting incidents arose at the Border,
for not only the question of excise then arose, but
that of customs duty as well ; for the customs rates
on spirits were then higher in England than in Scot-
land. The border counties of Northumberland and
Cumberland, Berwick, Roxburgh, and Dumfries-
shire were infested with smugglers of this double-
dyed type, to whom must be added the foreign
contrabandists, such as the Dutchman, Yawkins,
who haunted the coasts of Dumfriesshire and Gallo-
way with his smuggling lugger, the Black Prince,
and is supposed to be the original of Dirk Hatteraick,
in Scott's romance, Guy Mannering.
The very name of this bold fellow was a terror
to those whose duty it was to uphold law and order
in those parts ; and it was, naturally, to his interest
to maintain that feeling of dread, by every means
in his power. Scott tells us how, on one particular
night, happening to be ashore with a considerable
quantity of goods in his sole custody, a strong party
of excisemen came down upon him. Far from
shunning the attack, Yawkins sprang forward, shout-
ing, " Come on, my lads, Yawkins is before you."
The revenue officers were intimidated, and relin-
quished their prize, though defended only by the
courage and address of one man. On his proper
element, Yawkins was equally successful. On one
occasion he was landing his cargo at the Manxman's
Lake, near Kirkcudbright, when two revenue cutters,
the Pigmy and the Dwarf, hove in sight at once, on
different tacks, the one coming round by the Isles
of Fleet, the other between the point of Rueberry
and the Muckle Ron. The dauntless free-trader
190 THE SMUGGLERS
instantly weighed anchor and bore down right
between the luggers, so close that he tossed his hat
on the deck of the one and his wig on that of the
other, hoisted a cask to his maintop, to show his
occupation, and bore away under an extraordinary
pressure of canvas, without receiving injury.
So, at any rate, the fantastic legends tell us,
although it is but fair to remark, in this place,
that no practical yachtsman, or indeed any other
navigator, would for a moment believe in the
possibility of such a feat.
To account for these and other hairbreadth
escapes, popular superstition freely alleged that
Yawkins insured his celebrated lugger by com-
pounding with the devil for one-tenth of his crew
every voyage. How they arranged the separation
of the stock and tithes is left to our conjecture.
The lugger was perhaps called the Black Prince in
honour of the formidable insurer. Her owner's
favourite landing-places were at the entrance to
the Dee and the Cree, near the old castle of Rue-
berry, about six miles below Kirkcudbright. There
is a cave of large dimensions in the vicinity of
Rueberry, which, from its being frequently used by
Yawkins and his supposed connection with the
smugglers on the shore, is now called " Dirk Hat-
teraick's Cave." Strangers who visit this place, the
scenery of which is highly romantic, are also shown,
under the name of the " Ganger's Leap," a tremendous
precipice.
" In those halcyon days of the free trade," says
Scott, " the fixed price for carrying a box of tea or
bale of tobacco from the coast of Galloway to
Edinburgh was fifteen shillings, and a man with
two horses carried four such packages."
THE HIGHLAND DISTILLER 191
This condition of affairs prevailed until peace had
come, after the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.
The Government then, as always, sadly in need of
new sources of revenue, was impressed with the
idea that a fine sum might annually be obtained by
placing these shy Highland distillers under con-
tribution. But there were great difficulties in the
way. The existing laws were a mere dead letter
in those regions, and it was scarce likely that any
new measures, unless backed up by a display of
military force, would secure obedience. The Duke
of Gordon, at that period a personage of exception-
ally commanding influence with the clansmen, was
appealed to by the Government to use his authority
for the purpose of discouraging these practices ; but
he declared, from his place in the House of Lords,
that the Highlanders were hereditary distillers of
whisky : it had from time immemorial been their
drink, and they would, in spite of every discourage-
ment, continue to make it and to consume it. They
would sell it, too, he said, when given the oppor-
tunity of doing so by the extravagantly high duty
on spirits. The only way out of the difficulty with
which the Government was confronted was, he
pointed out, the passing of an Act permitting the
distilling of whisky on reasonable terms.
The result of this straightforward speech was the
passing of an Act in 1823 which placed the moderate
excise duty of 2s. '^d. a gallon on the production of
spirits, with a £10 annual licence for every still of
a capacity of forty gallons, smaller stills being
altogether illegal.
These provisions were reasonable enough, but
failed to satisfy the peasantry, and the people were
altogether so opposed to the regulation of distilling
192 THE SMUGGLERS
that they destroyed the licensed distilleries. It was
scarce worth the while of retailers, under those cir-
cumstances, to take out licences, and so it presently
came to pass that for every one duly licensed dealer
there would be, according to the district, from fifty
to one hundred unlicensed.
And so things remained until by degrees the
gradually perfected system of excise patrols wore
down this resistance.
In the meanwhile the licensed distillers had a
sorry time of it.
Archibald Forbes, many years ago, in the course
of some observations upon whisky-smugglers, gave
reminiscences of George Smith, who, from having in
his early days been himself a smuggler, became
manager of the Glenlivet Distillery. This famous
manufactory of whisky, in these days producing
about two thousand gallons a week, had an output
in 1824 of but one hundred gallons in the same time ;
and its very existence was for years threatened by
the revengeful peasantry and proprietors of the
" sma' stills." Smith was a man of fine physical
proportions and great courage and tenacity of
purpose, or he could never have withstood the
persecutions and dangers he had long to face.
" The outlook," he said, " was an ugly one. I
was warned, before I began, by my neighbours that
they meant to burn the new distillery to the ground,
and me in the heart of it. The Laird of Aberlour
presented me with a pair of hair-trigger pistols, and
they were never out of my belt for years. I got
together three or four stout fellows for servants,
armed them with pistols, and let it be known every-
where that I would fight for my place till the last
shot. I had a pretty good character as a man of
SMUGGLKRS HIDING GOODS IN A TOMB
II/193
ON THE SHEA WATER 193
my word, and through watching, by turns, every
night for years, we contrived to save the distillery
from the fate so freely predicted for it. But I
often, both at kirk and market, had rough times of it
among the glen people, and if it had not been for the
Laird of Aberlour's pistols I don't think I should
have been telling you this story now."
In '25 and '26 three more small distilleries were
started in the glen ; but the smugglers succeeded
very soon in frightening away their occupants, none
of whom ventured to hang on a second year in the
face of the threats uttered against them. Threats
were not the only weapons used. In 1825 a dis-
tillery which had just been started at the head of
Aberdeenshire, near the banks o' Dee, was burnt to
the ground with all its outbuildings and appliances,
and the distiller had a very narrow escape of being
roasted in his own kiln. The country was in a des-
perately lawless state at this time. The riding-
officers of the Revenue were the mere sport of the
smugglers, and nothing was more common than for
them to be shown a still at work, and then coolly
defied to make a seizure.
Prominent among these active and resourceful
men was one Shaw, proprietor of a shebeen on the
Shea Water, in the wilds of Mar. Smugglers were
free of his shy tavern, which, as a general rule, the
gangers little cared to visit singly. Shaw was alike
a man of gigantic size, great strength, and of
unscrupulous character, and stuck at little in the
furtherance of his illegal projects. But if Shaw was
a terror to the average exciseman, George Smith,
for his part, was above the average, and feared no
man; and so, when overtaken by a storm on one
occasion, had little hesitation in seeking the shelter
VOL. II. o
194 THE SMUGGLERS
of this ill-omened house. Shaw happened to be
away from home at the time, and Smith was received
by the hostess, who, some years earlier, before she
had married her husband, had been a sweetheart of
the man who now sought shelter. The accom-
modation afforded by the house was scanty, but a
bedroom was found for the unexpected guest, and
he in due course retired to it. Mrs. Shaw had
promised that his natural enemies, the smugglers,
should not disturb him, if they returned in the
night; but when they did return, later on, Shaw
determined that he would at least give the distillery
man a fright. Most of them were drunk, and
ready for any mischief, and would probably have
been prepared even to murder him. Shaw was,
however, with all his faults, no little of a humorist,
and only wanted his joke at the enemy's expense.
The band marched upstairs solemnly, in spite of
some little hiccoughing, and swung into the bed-
room, a torch carried by the foremost man throwing
a fitful glare around. The door was locked when
they had entered, and all gathered in silence round
the bed. Shaw then, drawing a great butcher's
knife from the recesses of his clothes, brandished it
over the affrighted occupant of the bed. " This
gully, mon, iss for your powels," said he.
But Smith had not entered this House of Dread
without being properly armed, and he had, more-
over, taken his pistols to bed with him, and was at
that moment holding one in either hand, under the
clothes. As Shaw flourished his knife and uttered
his alarming threats, he whipped out the one and
presented it at Shaw's head, promising him he
would shoot him if the whole party did not immedi-
ately quit the room; while with the other (the bed
THE SPITTAL OF GLENSHEE 195
lying beside the fireplace) he fired slyly up the
chimney, creating a thunderous report and a
choking downfall of soot, in midst of which all the
smugglers fled except Shaw, who remained, laughing.
Shaw had many smart encounters with the
excise, in which he generally managed to get the
best of it. The most dramatic of these was probably
the exploit that befell when he was captaining a
party of smugglers conveying two hundred kegs of
whisky from the mountains down to Perth. The
time was winter, and snow lay thick on field and
fell; but the journey was made in daytime, for
they were a numerous band and well armed, and
feared no one. But the local Supervisor of Excise
had by some means obtained early news of this
expedition, and had secured the aid of a detach-
ment of six troopers of the Scots Greys at Coupar-
Angus, part of a squadron stationed at Perth. At
the head of this little force rode the supervisor.
They came in touch with the smugglers at Cairn well,
in the Spittal of Glenshee.
" Gang aff awa' wi' ye, quietly back up the
Spittal," exclaimed the supervisor, " and leave the
seizure to us."
" Na, faith," replied Shaw; " ye'll get jist what
we care to gie ! "
"Say ye so? " returned the excise officer hotly.
"I'll hae the whole or nane ! "
The blood rose in Shaw's head, and swelled out
the veins of his temples. " By God," he swore,
"I'll shoot every ganger here before ye '11 get a
drap ! "
The supervisor was a small man with a bold spirit.
He turned to his cavalry escort with the order
" Fire ! " and at the same time reached for Shaw's
196 THE SMUGGLERS
collar, with the exclamation. " Ye've given me the
slip often enough, Shaw ! Yield now, I've a pistol
in each pocket of my breeches."
" Have ye so ? " coolly returned the immense and
statuesque Shaw, " it's no' lang they'll be there,
then ! " and with that he laid violent hands upon
each pocket and so picked the exciseman bodily
out of his saddle, tore out both pistols and pockets,
and then pitched him, as easily as an ordinary man
could have done a baby, head over heels into a
snow-drift.
Meanwhile, the soldiers had not fired; rightly
considering that, as they were so greatly out-
numbered, to do so would be only the signal for
an affray in which they would surely be worsted.
A wordy wrangle then followed, in which the excise-
man and the soldiers pointed out that they could
not possibly go back empty-handed; and in the
end Shaw and his brother smugglers went their
way, leaving four kegs behind, " just out o'
ceeveelity," and as some sort of salve for the
wounded honour of the law and its armed coadjutors.
Not many gangers were so lion-hearted as this;
but one, at least, was even more so. This rash hero
one day met two smugglers in a solitary situation.
They had a cart loaded up with whisky-kegs, and
when the official, unaided, and with no human help
near, proposed single-handed to seize their consign-
ment and to arrest them, they must have been as
genuinely astonished as ever men have been. The
daring man stood there, purposeful of doing his duty,
and really in grave danger of his life ; but these two
smugglers, relishing the humour of the thing, merely
descended from their cart, and, seizing him and
binding him hand and foot, sat him down in the
SMITH OF GLENLIVET 197
middle of the road with wrists tied over his knees
and stick through the crook of his legs, in the
" trussed fowl " fashion. There, in the middle of
the highway, they proposed to leave him ; but when
he pitifully entreated not to be left there, as he
might be run over and killed in the dark, they
considerately carried him to the roadside; with
saturnine humour remarking that he would probably
be starved there instead, before he would be noticed.
The flood-tide of Government prosecutions of
the " sma' stills " was reached in 1823-5, when an
average of one thousand four hundred cases annually
was reached. These were variously for actual dis-
tilling, or for the illegal possession of malt, for which
offence very heavy penalties were exacted.
Preventive men were stationed thickly over the
face of the Highlands, the system then employed
being the establishment of " Preventive Stations "
in important districts, and " Preventive Rides " in
less important neighbourhoods. The stations con-
sisted of an officer and one or two men, who were
expected by the regulations not to sleep at the
station more than six nights in the fortnight. During
the other eight days and nights they were to be on
outside duty. A ride was a solitary affair, of one
exciseman. Placed in authority over the stations
were " supervisors," who had each five stations
under his charge, which he was bound to visit once
a week.
George Smith, of Glenlivet, already quoted, early
found his position desperate. He was a legalised
distiller, and paid his covenanted duty to Govern-
ment, and he rightly considered himself entitled,
in return for the tribute he rendered, to some measure
of protection. He therefore petitioned the Lords of
198 THE SMUGGLERS
the Treasury to that effect; and my lords duly
replied, after the manner of such, that the Govern-
ment would prosecute any who dared molest him.
This, however, was not altogether satisfactory from
Smith's point of view. He desired rather to be
protected from molestation than to be left open to
attack, and the aggressors to be punished. A dead
man derives no satisfaction from the execution of his
assassin. Moreover, even the prosecution was un-
certain. In Smith's own words, '' I cannot say the
assurance gave me much ease, for I could see no one
in Glenlivet who dared institute such proceedings."
It was necessary for a revenue officer to be almost
killed in the execution of his duty before the Govern-
ment resorted to the force requisite for the support
of the civil power. A revenue cutter was stationed
in the Moray Firth, with a crew of fifty men, designed
to be under the orders of the excise officers in cases
of emergency.
But the smugglers were not greatly impressed
with this display, and when the excisemen, accom-
panied with perhaps five-and-twenty sailors, made
raids up-country, frequently met them in great
gangs of perhaps a hundred and fifty, and recaptured
any seizures they had made and adopted so threaten-
ing an attitude that the sailors were not infrequently
compelled to beat a hasty and undignified retreat.
One of these expeditions was into Glenlivet itself,
where the smugglers were all Roman Catholics.
The excisemen, with this in mind, considered that
the best time for a raid would be Monday morning,
after the debauch of the Sunday afternoon and night
in which the Roman Catholics were wont to indulge ;
and accordingly, marching out of Elgin town on the
Sunday, arrived at Glenlivet at daybreak. At the
SUPPRESSION OF THE " SMA' STILLS " 199
time of their arrival the glen was, to all appearance,
deserted, and their coming unnoticed, and the sight
of the peat-reek rising in the still air from some
forty or fifty " sma' stills " rejoiced their hearts.
But they presently discovered that their arrival
had not only been observed but foreseen, for the
whole country-side was up, and several hundred
men, women, and children were assembled on the
hill-sides to bid active defiance to them. The
excisemen keenly desired to bring the affair to a
decisive issue, but the thirty seamen who accom-
panied them had a due amount of discretion, and
refused to match their pistols and cutlasses against
the muskets that the smugglers ostentatiously
displayed. The party accordingly marched in-
gloriously back, except indeed those sailors who,
having responded too freely to the smugglers'
invitation to partake of a " wee drappie," returned
gloriously drunk. The excisemen, so unexpectedly
baulked of what they had thought their certain
prey, ungraciously refused a taste.
This formed the limit of the sorely tried Govern-
ment's patience, and in 1829 a detachment of
regulars was ordered up to Braemar, with the result
that smuggling was gradually reduced to less
formidable proportions.
The Celtic nature perceives no reason why Govern-
ments should confer upon themselves the rights of
taxing and inspecting the manufacture of spirits,
any more than any other commodity. The matter
appears to resolve itself merely into expediency :
and the doctrine of expediency we all know to be
immoral. The situation was — and is, whether you
apply it to spirits or to other articles in general
demand — the Government wants revenue, and,
200 THE SMUGGLERS
seeking it, naturally taxes the most popular articles
of public consumption. The producers and the
consumers of the articles selected for these imposts
just as naturally seek to evade the taxes. This, to
the Celtic mind, impatient of control, is the simplest
of equations.
About 1886 was the dullest time in the illicit
whisky-distilling industry of Scotland, and prosecu-
tions fell to an average of about twenty a year.
Since then there has been, as official reports tell us,
in the language of officialdom, a " marked recru-
descence " of the practice. As Mr. Micawber
might explain, in plainer English, " there is — ah —
in fact, more whisky made now." Several con-
tributory causes are responsible for. this state of
things. First, an economical Government reduced
the excise establishment; then the price of barley,
the raw material, fell; and the veiled rebellion of
the crofters in the north induced a more daring and
lawless spirit than had been known for generations
past. Also, restrictions upon the making of malt —
another of the essential constituents from which the
spirit is distilled — were at this time removed, and
any one who cared might make it freely and without
licence.
Your true Highlander will not relinquish his
" mountain-dew " without a struggle. His fore-
fathers made as much of it as they liked, out of
inexpensive materials, and drank it fresh and raw.
No one bought whisky; and a whole clachan would
be roaring drunk for a week without a coin having
changed hands. Naturally, the descendants of these
men — " it wass the fine time they had, whateffer " —
dislike the notion of buying their whisky from the
grocer and drinking stuff made in up-to-date dis-
HOW TO MAKE WHISKY 201
tilleries. They prefer the heady stuff of the old
brae-side pot-still, with a rasp on it like sulphuric
acid and a consequent feeling as though one had
swallowed lighted petroleum : stuff with a headache
for the Southerner in every drop, not like the tamed
and subdued creature that whisky-merchants assure
their customers has not got a headache in a hogshead.
The time-honoured brae-side manner of brewing
whisky is not very abstruse. First find your lonely
situation, the lonelier and the more difficult of access,
obviously the better. If it is at once lonely and
difficult of approach, and at the same time com-
mands good views of such approaches as there are,
by so much it is the better. But one very cardinal
fact must not.be forgotten : the site of the proposed
still and its sheltering shieling, or bothy, must have
a water-supply, either from a mountain-stream
naturally passing, or by an artfully constructed rude
system of pipes.
A copper still, just large enough to be carried on
a man's back, and a small assortment of mash-tubs,
and some pitchers and pannikins, fully furnish such
a rustic undertaking.
The first step is to convert your barley into malt ;
but this is to-day a needless delay and trouble, now
that malt can be made entirely without let or
hindrance. This was done by steeping the sacks of
barley in running water for some forty-eight hours,
and then storing the grain underground for a period,
until it germinated. The malt thus made was then
dried over a rude kiln fired with peats, whose smoke
gave the characteristic smoky taste possessed by all
this bothy-made stuff.
It was not necessary for the malt to be made on
the site of the still, and it was, and is, generally
202 THE SMUGGLERS
carried to the spot ready-made for the mash-tubs.
The removal of the duty upon malt by Mr. Gladstone,
in 1880, was one of that grossly overrated and really
amateur statesman's many errors. His career was
full of false steps and incompetent bunglings, and
the removal of the Malt Tax was but a small example
among many Imperial tragedies on a grand scale of
disaster. It put new and vigorous life into whisky-
smuggling, as any expert could have foretold; for
it was precisely the long operation of converting the
barley into malt that formed the illegal distiller's
chief difficulty. The time taken, and the process of
crushing or bruising the grains, offered some obstacles
not easily overcome. The crushing, in particular,
was a dangerous process when the possession of
unlicensed malt was an offence; for that operation
resulted in a very strong and unmistakable odour
being given forth, so that no one who happened to be
in the neighbourhood when the process was going on
could be ignorant of it while he retained his sense of
smell.
Brought ready-made from the clachan to the
bothy, the malt was emptied into the mash-tubs to
ferment; the tubs placed in charge of a boy or
girl, who stirs up the mess with a willow-wand or
birch-twig; while the men themselves are out and
about at work on their usual avocations.
Having sufficiently fermented, the next process
is to place the malt in the still, over a brisk heat.
From the still a crooked spout descends into a tub.
This spout has to be constantly cooled by running
water, to produce condensation of the vaporised
alcohol. Thus we have a second, and even more
important, necessity for a neighbouring stream,
which often, in conjunction with the indispensable
FOR HOME CONSUMPTION 203
fire, serves the excisemen to locate these stills. If
a bothy is so artifully concealed by rocks and turves
that it escapes notice, even by the most vigilant eye,
amid the rugged hill-sides, the smoke arising from
the peat-fire will almost certainly betray it.
The crude spirit thus distilled into the tub is
then emptied again into the still, which has been
in the meanwhile cleared of the exhausted malt and
cleansed, and subjected to a second distilling, over
a milder fire, and with a small piece of soap dropped
into the liquor to clarify it.
The question of maturing the whisky never enters
into the minds of these rustic distillers, who drink it,
generally, as soon as made. Very little is now made
for sale; but when sold the profit is very large, a
capital of twenty-three shillings bringing a return of
nine or ten pounds.
But the typical secret whisky-distiller has no
commercial instincts. It cannot fairly be said that
he has a soul above them, for he is just a shiftless
fellow, whose soul is not very apparent in manner or
conversation, and whose only ambition is to procure
a sufficiency of " whusky " for self and friends; and
a " sufficiency " in his case means a great deal. He
has not enough money to buy taxed whisky ; and if
he had, he would prefer to make his own, for he loves
the peat-reek in it, and he thinks " jist naething at
a' " of the " puir stuff " that comes from the great
distilleries.
He is generally ostensibly by trade a hanger-on
to the agricultural or sheep-farming industries,
but between his spells of five days at the bothy
(for it takes five days to the making of whisky)
he is usually to be seen loafing about, aimlessly.
Experienced folk can generally tell where such an
204 THE SMUGGLERS
one has been, and what he has been doing, after his
periodical absences, for his eyehds are red with the
peat-smoke and his clothes reek with it.
Perhaps the busiest centre of Highland illicit
whisky-distilling is now to be located in the Gairloch,
but anything in the shape of exact information on
so shy a subject is necessarily not obtainable.
Between this district and the Outer Hebrides, islands
where no stills are to be found, a large secret trade is
still believed to exist. Seizures are occasionally
made; but the policy of the Inland Revenue
authorities is now a broad one, in which the existence
of small stills in inconsiderable numbers, although
actually known, is officially ignored : the argument
being that undue official activity, with the resultant
publicity, would defeat itself by advertising the fact
of it being so easy to manufacture whisky, leading
eventually to the establishment of more stills.
The illegal production of spirits does, in fact,
proceed all over Great Britain and Ireland to a far
greater extent than generally suspected; and such
remote places as the Highlands are nowadays by
no means the most favourable situations for the
manufacture. Indeed, crowded towns form in these
times the most ideal situations. No one in the great
cities is in the least interested in what his neighbour
is doing, unless what he does constitutes a nuisance ;
and it is the secret distiller's last thought to obtrude
his personality or his doings upon the notice of the
neighbours. Secrecy, personal comfort, and con-
veniences of every kind are better obtained in towns
than on inclement brae-sides ; and the manufacture
and repair of the utensils necessary to the business
are effected more quickly, less expensively, and
without the prying curiosity of a Highland clachan.
THE EXCISEMEN'S ADVENTURE 205
It follows from this long-continued course of
illegal distilling that the Highlands are full of tales
of how the gaugers were outwitted, and of hair-
breadth escapes and curious incidents. Among these
is the story of the revengeful postmaster of Kingussie,
who, on his return from a journey to Aberlour on a
dark and stormy night, called at Dalnashaugh inn,
where he proposed to stay an hour or two. The
pretty maid of the inn attended diligently to him for
awhile, until a posse of some half-dozen gaugers
entered, to rest there on their way to Badenoch,
where they were due, to make a raid on a number of
illicit stills. The sun of the postmaster suddenly
set with the arrival of these strangers. They were
given the parlour, and treated with the best
hospitality the house could afford, while he was
banished to the kitchen. He was wrathful, for was
he not a Government official, equally with these
upstarts? But he dissembled his anger, and, as
the evening wore on and the maid grew tired, he
suggested she had better go to bed, and he would be
off by time the moon rose. No sooner had she retired
than he took the excisemen's boots, lying in the
ingle nook to dry, and pitched them into a great pot
of water, boiling over the blaze.
When the moon had risen, he duly mounted his
pony and set out for Badenoch, where he gave out
the news that the gaugers were coming.
The excisemen could not stir from the inn for
a considerable time, for their boiled boots refused
to be drawn on; and by the time they had been
enabled to stretch them and to set out once more
on their way, the Badenoch smugglers had made
off with all their gear, leaving nothing but empty
bothies for inspection. The local historian is silent
206 THE SMUGGLERS
as to what happened afterwards to the postmaster,
the only possible author of this outrage.
A smuggler of Strathdearn was unfortunate in
having the excise pouncing suddenly upon him in
his bothy, and taking away his only cask of whisky.
The hated myrmidons of a Sassenach Government
went off with the cask, and were so jealous of their
prize that they took it with them to the inn where
they were to pass the night. All that evening they
sang songs and were merry with a numerous company
in an upper room ; but even at their merriest they
did not forget their captive, and one of their number
sat upon it all the time.
It chanced, however, that among these merry
fellows were some of the smuggler's friends, who
were careful to note exactly the position of the
cask. They procured an auger and bored a hole
from the room below, through the flooring and into
the cask, draining all the whisky away. When the
excisemen had come to the end of their jolhfication,
they had only the empty cask for their trouble.
One of the brae-side distillers of Fortingal brought
a cart laden with kegs of whisky into Perth, by
arrangement' with an innkeeper of that town; but
the innkeeper refused to pay a fair price.
"Wha will her sell it till, then?" asked the
would-be vendor.
The innkeeper, a person of a saturnine humour,
mentioned a name and a house, and the man went
thither with his cart.
" What is it, my man ? " asked the occupier,
coming to the door.
" Well, yer honour, 'tis some o' the finest whusky
that iver was made up yon, and niver paid the
bawbee's worth o' duty."
AT ROCKCLIFFE CROSS 207
"D'ye know who I am? " returned the house-
holder. "I'm an officer of excise, and I demand to
know who sent you to me."
The smuggler told him.
" Now," said the exciseman, " go back to him and
sell him your whisky at his own price, and then
begone."
The man did as he was bidden ; sold his con-
signment, and left the town. It was but a few hours
afterwards that the innkeeper's premises were raided
by the excise, who seized the whisky and procured a
conviction at the next Assizes, where he was heavily
fined.
One of the last incidents along the Border, in
connection with whisky-smuggling between Scot-
land and England, occurred after the duty had been
considerably lowered. This was a desperate affray
which took place on the night of Sunday, January
i6th, 1825, at Rockcliffe Cross, five miles from Carlisle
on the Wigton road. One Edward Forster, officer
of excise, was on duty when he observed a man,
whose name, it afterwards appeared, was Charles
Gillespie, a labourer, carrying a suspicious object,
and challenged him. This resulted in an encounter
in which the excise officer's head was badly cut open.
Calling aid of another labourer, who afterwards gave
evidence, he remarked that he thought the smuggler
had almost done for him, but pursued the man and
fired upon him in the dark, with so good an aim
that he was mortally wounded, and presently died.
It was a dangerous thing in those times for an excise
officer to do his duty, and at the inquest held the
coroner's jury returned a verdict of "Murder";
the men who formed the jury being doubtless drawn
from a class entirely in sympathy with smuggling,
208 THE SMUGGLERS
and possibly engaged in it themselves. Forster,
evidently expectant of that verdict, did not present
himself, and was probably transferred by his superiors
to some post far distant. There the affair ends.
About the same time, on the Carlisle and Wigton
road, two Preventive men at three o'clock in the
morning met a man carrying a load, which, when
examined, proved to be a keg of spirits. Two other
men then came up and bludgeoned the officers, one
of whom dropped his cutlass ; whereupon a smuggler
picked it up, and, attacking him vigorously, cut him
over the head. The smugglers then all escaped,
leaving behind them two bladders containing eight
gallons of whisky.
CHAPTER XIV
SOME smugglers' TRICKS AND EVASIONS — MODERN
TOBACCO-SMUGGLING — SILKS AND LACE — A DOG
DETECTIVE — LEGHORN HATS — FOREIGN WATCHES
— PROHIBITION AND SMUGGLING IN THE UNITED
STATES — NEW WAYS WITH THE OLD COASTGUARD
The tricks practised by smugglers other than
those daring and resourceful fellows who risked
life, limb, and liberty in conflict with the elements
and the Preventive service, may form, in the nar-
ration, an amusing chapter. Smugglers of this kind
may be divided, roughly, into three classes. First,
we have the ingeniously evasive trade importer in
bulk, who resorts to false declarations and deceptive
packing and labelling, for the purpose of entering
his merchandise duty-free. Secondly, we have the
sailors, the firemen of ocean-going steamers, and
other persons of like classes, who smuggle tobacco
and spirits, not necessarily to a commercial end, in
considerable quantities ; and thirdly, there are those
enterprising holiday-makers and travellers for
pleasure who cannot resist the sport.
We read in The Times of 1816 that, among the
many expedients at that time practised for smuggling
goods into France, the following scheme of intro-
ducing merchandise into Dieppe had some dexterity.
Large stone bottles were procured, and, the bottoms
being knocked off, they were then filled with cotton
stockings and thread lace. A false bottom was fixed,
VOL. n. 209 p
210 THE SMUGGLERS
and, to avoid suspicion, the mouth of each bottle was
left open. Any inquiries were met with the state-
ment that the bottles were going to the spirit
merchant, to be refilled.
This evasion was successfully carried on until
a young man from Brighton ventured on too heavy
a speculation. He filled his bottle with ten dozen
stockings, which so weighted it that the bottom came
off, disclosing the contents.
Ingenuity worthy of a better cause is the character-
istic of modern types of smugglers. A constant battle
of wits between them and the custom-house officers
is in progress at all ports of entry ; and the fortunes
of either side may be followed with much interest.
One of the most ingenious of such tricks was that
of the trader who was importing French kid gloves.
He caused them to be despatched in two cases ; one,
containing only right-hand gloves, to Folkestone,
the other, left-hand only, to London, Being at the
time dutiable articles, and the consignee refusing to
pay the duty, the two cases were confiscated and
their contents in due course sold at auction. No
one has a use for odd gloves, and these oddments
accordingly in each case realised the merest trifle;
but the purchaser — who was of course the consignee
himself — netted a very considerable profit over the
transaction. The abolition of duty on such articles
has, however, rendered a modern repetition of the
trick unnecessary. Nor is it any longer likely that
foreign watches find their way to these shores in the
old time-honoured style — i, e. hung in leather bags
round the persons of unassuming travellers.
Such an one, smuggling an unusual number
across from Holland, calculated upon the average
passage of twenty-four hours, and reckoned he
TOBACCO SMUGGLING 211
could, for once in a way, endure that spell of waiting
and walking about deck without lying down. He
could not, as a matter of fact, on account of the
watches, afford to lie down. To his dismay, the
vessel, midway of the passage, encountered a dense
fog, and had occasionally to stop or slow down ;
and, in the end, it was a forty-eight hours' passage.
The unfortunate smuggler could not endure so
much, and was obliged to disclose his treasure. So
the Revenue scored heavily on that occasion.
Quaint and curious cases of smuggling every now
and again are reported in the newspapers; as, for
example, that of a man and woman who in August,
1923, were found to have on them, on their return
from a holiday on the Continent, a large number of
binocular glasses, dutiable goods, hung about their
persons. Some absurd excuse was offered for this
concealment. Triple duty on the glasses was the
result.
Tobacco is still largely smuggled, and is, in fact,
the foremost article so treated to-day; the very
heavy duty, not less than five times its value, forming
a great, and readily understood, temptation. Per-
haps the most notable attempt in modern times to
smuggle tobacco in bulk was that discovered in
1881.
The custom-house staff in London had for some
time before that date become familiar with warning
letters sent anonymously, hinting that great quanti-
ties of tobacco were continually being conveyed into
England from Rotterdam without paying duty, but
for a while little notice was taken of these communi-
cations; until at length they grew so definite that
the officials had no choice but to inquire. Detective
officers were accordingly despatched to Rotterdam,
212 THE SMUGGLERS
to watch the proceedings there, and duly observed
the packing of two large marine boilers with tobacco,
by hydraulic pressure. They were then shipped
aboard a steamer and taken to London, whence they
were placed upon the railway at King's Cross for
delivery in the north. A great deal of secret
manoeuvring by the custom-house officials and the
police resulted in both boilers being seized in London
and those responsible for them being secured. It
was then discovered that they were only dummy
boilers, made expressly for smuggling traffic; and
it was further thought that this was by no means the
first journey they had made. The parties to this
transaction were fined close upon five thousand
pounds, and the consignment was confiscated.
To conceal tobacco in hollow loaves of bread,
especially made and baked for this purpose, was
a common practice, and one not altogether unknown
nowadays; while the coal-bunkers, the engine-
rooms, and the hundred and one odd corners among
the iron plates and girders of modern steamships
afford hiding-places not seldom resorted to. The
customs officers, who board every vessel entering
port, of course discover many of these caches, but it
is not to be supposed that more than a percentage
of them are found.
Smuggled cigars are to-day a mere common-
place of the ordinary custom-house officer's experi-
ence with private travellers, and no doubt a great
quantity find a secret passage through, in the
trading way. For some years there was a consider-
able import of broomsticks into England from the
Continent, and little or no comment was made upon
the curious fact of it being worth while to import so
inexpensive an article, which could equally well be
BANDANA HANDKERCHIEFS 213
made here. But the mystery was suddenly dispelled
one day when two clerks in a customs warehouse,
wearied of a dull afternoon, set to the amusement of
playing singlestick with two of these imported broom-
sticks. No sooner did one broomstick smite upon
another in this friendly encounter than they both
broke in half, liberating a plentiful shower of very
excellent cigars, which had been secreted in the
hollowed staves.
Silks formed an important item in the smugglers'
trade, and even the gentlemen of that day uncon-
sciously contributed to it, by the use of bandana
handkerchiefs, greatly affected by that snuff-taking
generation. Huskisson, a thorough-going advocate
of Free Trade, was addressing the House of Commons
on one occasion and declaring that the only possible
way to stop smuggling was to abolish, or at any
rate to greatly reduce, the duties; when he
dramatically instanced the evasions and floutings of
the laws. " Honourable members of this House are
well aware that bandana handkerchiefs are pro-
hibited by law, and yet," he continued, drawing one
from his pocket, while the House laughed loud with
delight, " I have no doubt there is hardly a gentleman
here who has not got a bandana handkerchief."
Lace-smuggling, of course, exercised great fascina-
tion for the ladies, who — women being generally
lacking in the moral sense, or possessing it only
in the partial and perverted manner in which it is
owned by infants — very rarely could resist the
temptation to secrete some on their way home from
foreign parts. The story is told how a lady who had
a smuggled lace veil of great value in her possession
grew very nervous of being able to carry it through,
and imparted her anxiety to a gentleman at the
214 THE SMUGGLERS
hotel dinner. He offered to take charge of it, as,
being a bachelor, no one was in the least likely to
suspect him of secreting such an article. But, in
the very act of accepting his offer, she chanced to
observe a saturnine smile spreading over the counten-
ance of the waiter at her elbow. She instantly
suspected a spy, and secretly altered her plans,
causing the veil to be sewn up in the back of her
husband's waistcoat.
The precaution proved to be a necessary one, for
the luggage of the unfortunate bachelor was merci-
lessly overhauled at every customs station on the
remainder of the journey.
Among the many ruses practised upon the Pre-
ventive men, who, as the butts of innumerable
evasive false pretences, must have been experts
in the ways of practical jokes, was that of the
pretended drunken smuggler. To divert attention
from any pursuit of the main body of the tub-carrying
gang, one of their number would be detailed to
stagger along, as though under the influence of drink,
in a different direction, with a couple of tubs slung
over his shoulders. It was a very excellently effec-
tive trick, but had the obvious disadvantage of
working only once at any one given station. It was
the fashion to describe the] Preventive men as fools,
but they were not such crass fools as all that, to be
taken in twice by the same simple dodge.
The solitary and apparently intoxicated tub-
carrier would lead the pursuers a little way and
would then allow himself easily to be caught, but
would then make a desperate and prolonged resistance
in defence of his tubs. At last, overpowered and the
tubs taken from him, and himself escorted to the
nearest blockade-station, the tubs themselves would
A TRAINED PUPPY 215
be examined — and would generally be found to
contain only sea-water !
The customs men, however, were not without
their own bright ideas. The service would scarcely
have been barren of imagination unless it were
recruited from a specially selected levy of dunder-
heads. But it was an exceptionally brilliant officer
who hit upon the notion of training a puppy for
discovering those places where the smugglers had,
as a temporary expedient, hidden their spirit-tubs.
It would often happen that a successful run ended at
the beach, and that opportunities for conveying the
cargo inland had to be waited upon. It would
therefore be buried in the shingle, or in holes dug
in the sands at low water, until a safe opportunity
occurred. The customs staff knew this perfectly
well, but they necessarily lacked the knowledge
of the exact spots where these stores had been made.
The exceptionally imaginative customs officer
in question trained a terrier pup to the business of
scenting them by the cunning method of bringing
the creature up with an acquired taste for alcohol.
This he did by mixing the pup's food with spirits,
and allowing it to take no food that was not so
flavoured. Two things resulted from this novel
treatment : the dog's growth was stunted, and it
grew up with such a liking for spirits that it would
take nothing not freely laced with whisky, rum, gin,
or brandy.
The plan of operations with a dog educated into
these vicious tastes was simple. When his master
found a favourable opportunity for strolling along
the shore, in search of buried kegs, the dog, having
been deprived of his food the day before, was taken.
When poor hungry Tray came to one of these spots,
216 THE SMUGGLERS
the animal's keen and trained scent instantly detected
it, and he would at once begin scratching and barking
like mad.
The smugglers were not long in solving the
mystery of their secret hoards being all at once so
successfully located; and, all too soon for the
revenue, a well-aimed shot from the cliffs presently
cut the dog's career short.
" Perhaps the oddest form of the smuggling
carried on in later times," says a writer in an old
magazine, " was a curious practice in vogue between
Calais and Dover about 1819-20. This, however,
was rather an open and well-known technical evasion
of the customs dues than actual smuggling. The
fashion at that time came in of ladies wearing Leghorn
hats and bonnets of enormous dimensions. They
were huge, strong plaits, nearly circular, and com-
monly about a yard in diameter; and they sold in
England at from two to three guineas, and sometimes
even more, apiece. A heavy duty was laid upon
them, amounting to nearly half their value.
It is a well-known concession, made by the custom-
houses of various countries, that wearing apparel
in use is not liable to duty, and herein lay the
opportunity of those who were financially interested
in the import of Leghorn plaits. A dealer in them
hired, at a low figure, a numerous company of women
and girls of the poorest class to voyage daily from
Dover to Calais and back, and entered into a favour-
able contract with the owners of one of the steamers
for season-tickets for the whole band of them at
low rates. The sight of these women leaving the
town in the morning with the most deplorable
headgear and returning in the evening gloriously
arrayed, so far as their heads were concerned, was for
SMUGGLING OF WATCHES 217
some few years a familiar and amusing one to the
people of Dover.
Another ingenious evasion was that long practised
by the Swiss importers of watches at the time when
watches also were subject to duty. An ad valorem
duty was placed upon them, which was arrived at by
the importers making a declaration of their value.
In order to prevent the value being fixed too low,
and the Revenue being consequently defrauded, the
Government had the right of buying any goods they
chose, at the prices declared. This was by no means
a disregarded right, for the authorities did frequently,
in suspicious cases, exercise it, and bought consider-
able consignments of goods, which were afterwards
disposed of by auction at well-known custom-house
sales.
The Swiss makers and importers of watches
managed to do a pretty good deal of business with
the customs as an unwilling partner, and they did
it in a perfectly legitimate way; although a way
not altogether without suspicion of sharp practice.
They would follow consignments of goods declared
at ordinary prices with others of exactly similar
quality, entered at the very lowest possible price
consistent with the making of a trading profit ; and
the customs officials, noting the glaring discrepancy,
would exercise their rights and buy the cheaper lots,
thinking to cause the importers a severe loss and thus
give them a greatly needed lesson. The watch-
manufacturers really desired nothing better, and
were cheerfully prepared to learn many such lessons ;
for they thus secured an immediate purchaser for
cash, and so greatly increased their turnover. Other
folks incidentally benefited, for goods sold at customs
auctions rarely ever fetched their real value; there
218 THE SMUGGLERS
were too many keenly interested middlemen about
for that to be permitted. Thus, an excellent watch
only, as a rule, to be bought for from £14 to £15,
could on these occasions often be purchased for £10.
Naturally enough, the proprietors of watch and
jewellery businesses were the chief bidders at these
auctions; and, equally naturally, they usually
found means to keep down the prices to themselves,
while carefully ensuring that private bidders should
be artfully run up.
CHAPTER XV
COAST BLOCKADE — THE PREVENTIVE WATER-GUARD
AND THE COASTGUARD — OFFICIAL RETURN OF
SEIZURES — ESTIMATED LOSS TO THE REVENUE
IN 183I — THE SHAM SMUGGLER OF THE SEA-
SIDE— THE MODERN COASTGUARD
The early coastguardsmen had a great deal of
popular feeling to contend with. When the coast-
blockade was broken up in 1831, and the " Preventive
Water-Guard," as this new body was styled, was
formed, officers and men alike found the greatest
difficulty in obtaining lodgings. No one would let
houses or rooms to the men whose business it was
to prevent smuggling, and thus incidentally to take
away the excellent livelihood the fisherfolk and long-
shoremen were earning. Thus, the earliest stations
of the coastguard were formed chiefly out of old hulks
and other vessels condemned for sea-going purposes,
but quite sound, and indeed, often peculiarly com-
fortable as residences, moored permanently in
sheltered creeks, or hauled up, high and dry, on
beaches that afforded the best of outlooks upon the
sea.
Very few of these primitive coastguard stations
are now left. Their place has been pretty generally
taken by the neat, if severely unornamental, stations,
generally whitewashed, and enclosed within a com-
pound-wall, with which summer visitors to our
coasts are familiar. And the old-time prejudice
219
220 THE SMUGGLERS
against the men has had plenty of time to die away
during the eighty years or so in which the coastguard
service had existed. There are still, however, some
eleven or twelve old hulks in use as coastguard
stations ; principally in the estuaries of the Thames
and Medway.
The Preventive Water-Guard, from which the
former coastguard service was developed, was not
only the old coast-blockade reorganised, but was
an extension of it from the shores of Hampshire,
Sussex, Kent, and Essex, to the entire coast-line
of the United Kingdom. It was manned by sailors
from the Royal Navy, and the stations were com-
manded by naval lieutenants. Many of the martello
towers that had been built at regular intervals
along the shores of Kent and Sussex, and some few
in Suffolk, in or about 1805, when the terror of
foreign invasion was acute, were used for these
early coastguard purposes.
That the Preventive service did not prevent,
and did not at first even seriously interfere with,
smuggling, was the contention of many well-informed
people, with whom the Press generally sided. The
coast-blockade, too, was — perhaps unjustly — said
to be altogether inefficient; and was further said,
truly enough, to be ruinously costly. Controversy
was bitter on these matters. In January, 1825,
The Times recorded the entry of the revenue cutter,
Hawke, into Portsmouth, after a cruise in which
she had chased and failed to capture, owing to heavy
weather, a smuggling lugger which successfully
ran seven hundred kegs of spirits. To this item
of news Lieutenant J. F. Tompson, of H.M.S.
Ramillies, commanding the coast-blockade at Lancing,
took exception, and wrote to The Times a violent
CRITICISM OF HIGH DUTIES 221
letter, complaining of the statements, and saying
that they were absolutely untrue. To this The
Times replied, with considerable acerbity, on
February 3rd, that the statement was true and the
lieutenant's assertions unwarranted. The newspaper
then proceeded to " rub it in " vigorously : " There
is nothing more ridiculous, in the eyes of those who
live upon our sea-coasts, than to witness the tender
sensibilities of officers employed upon the coast-
blockade whenever a statement is made that a
smuggler has succeeded in landing his cargo; as
though they formed a part of the most perfect
system that can be established for the suppression
of smuggling. Now be it known to all England
that this is a gross attempt at humbug. Notwith-
standing all the unceasing vigilance of the officers
and men employed, smuggling is carried on all along
the coast, from Deal to Cornwall, to as great a degree
as the public require. Any attempt to smuggle
this Fact may answer the purpose of a party, or a
particular system, but it will never obtain belief.
" It was only a few days since that a party of
coast-blockade men (we believe belonging to the
Tower, No. 61) made common cause with the
smugglers, and they walked off all together ! "
Exactly ! The sheer madness of the Government
in maintaining the extraordinary high duties, and
of adding always another force to existing services,
designed to suppress the smugglers' trade, was
sufficiently evident to all who would not refuse to
see. When commodities in great demand with all
classes were weighted with duties so heavy that few
persons could afford to purchase those that had
passed through His Majesty's custom-houses, two
things might have been foreseen : that the regular-
222 THE SMUGGLERS
ised imports would, under the most favourable
circumstances, inevitably decrease; and that the
smuggling which had already been notoriously
increasing by leaps and bounds for a century past
would be still further encouraged to supply those
articles at a cheap rate, which the Government's
policy had rendered unattainable by the majority
of people.
An account printed by order of the House of
Commons in the beginning of 1825 gave details of
all customable commodities seized during the last
three years by the various establishments formed
for the prevention of smuggling : the Coastguard,
or Preventive Water-Guard; the riding-officers;
and the revenue cruisers and ships of war.
In that period the following articles were seized
and dealt with :
Tobacco
Snuff
Brandy
Rum...
Gin...
Whisky
Tea...
Silk...
India handkerchiefs
Leghorn
Cards
hats
Timber
• • ■ ■ • •
Stills
...
with them, was put as follows
Law expenses
Storage, rent of warehouses, etc.
Salaries, cooperage, casks, re-
pairs, etc.
Rewards to officers, etc
902, 684^ lb.
3,000
>>
135,000
gallons.
253
>>
227,000
>>
10,500
>>
19,000
42,000
lb.
yards.
2,100
pieces.
23
3,600
packs.
10,000
pieces.
75
;izures.
and d
£
s. d.
29,816
18,875
19 4f
14 10^
1,533,708
488,127
4 10
2 iij
2,070,528
2 o|
SMUGGLING OF TEA 223
The produce of all these articles sold was
£282,541 8s. 5f(^. ; showing a loss to the nation, in
attempting during that period to suppress smuggling,
of considerably over one million and three-quarters
sterling.
This return of seizures provides an imposing
array of figures, but, amazing as those figures are
by themselves, they would be still more so if it
were possible to place beside them an exact return
of the goods successfully run, in spite of blockades
and Preventive services. Then we should see these
figures fade into insignificance beside the enormous
bulk of goods that came into the country and paid
no dues.
Some very startling figures are available by which
the enormous amount of smuggling effected for
generations may be guessed. It would be possible
to prepare a tabulated form from the various reports
of the Board of Customs, setting forth the relation
between dut3'-paid goods and the estimated value
of smuggled commodities during a term of years,
but as this work is scarce designed to fill the place
of a statistical abstract, we will forbear. A few
illuminating items, it may be, will suffice.
Thus in 1743 it was calculated that the annual
average import of tea through the legitimate channels
was 650,000 lb. ; but that the total consumption
was three times this amount. One Dutch house
alone was known to illegally import an annual
weight of 500,000 lb.
An even greater amount of spirit-smugghng may
legitimately be deduced from the perusal of the
foregoing pages, and, although in course of time
considerably abated, as the coastguard and other
organisations settled down to their work of preven-
224 THE SMUGGLERS
tion and detection, it remained to a late date of very
large proportions. Thus the official customs report
for 1831 placed the loss to the revenue on smuggled
goods at £800,000 annually. To this amount the
item of French brandy contributed £500,000. The
annual cost of protecting the revenue (excise,
customs, and Preventive service) was at the same
time between £700,000 and £800,000.
An interesting detailed statement of the con-
traband trade in spirits from Roscoff, one of the
Brittany ports, shows that, two years later than
the above, from March 15th to 17th, 1833, there
were shipped to England, per smuggling craft, 850
tubs of brandy; and between April 13th and 20th
in the same year 750 tubs; that is to say, 6,400
gallons in httle more than one month. And although
Roscoff was a prominent port in this trade, it was
but one of several.
So late as 1840, forty-eight per cent, of the French
silks brought into this country were said to have
paid no duty ; and for years afterwards silk-smugglers
swathed apoplectically in contraband of this descrip-
tion formed the early steamship companies' most
regular patrons.
The seaside holiday-maker of that age was an
easy prey of pretended smugglers, cunning rascals
who traded upon that most widespread of human
failings, the love of a bargain, no matter how ille-
gitimately it may be procured. The lounger on
the seaside parades of that time was certain, sooner
or later, to be approached by a mysterious figure
with an indefinable air of mystery and a semi-
nautical rig, who, with many careful glances to right
and left, and in a hoarse whisper behind a secretive
hand, told a tale of smuggled brandy or cigars,
MODERN SMUGGLING 225
watches or silks. " Not 'arf the price you'd pay
for 'em in the shops, guv'nor," the shameless impostor
would say, producing a bundle of cigars, " but the
real thing ; better than them wot most of the shops
keep. I see 3^ou're a gent as knows a good smoke.
You shall 'ave 'em " — at some preposterously low
price. And generally the greenhorn did have them ;
finding, when he came to smoke the genuine Flor de
Cabbage he had bought, that they would have been
dear at any price. To that complexion of mean
fraud did the old smuggling traditions of courage,
adventure, and derring-do come at last !
There was a decided increase of smuggling in
1868, compared with the year before, the number
of seizures being 979, an increase of 52. Two
hundred and twenty-two convictions were obtained
for the heavier offences, and 807 summary con-
victions, where the quantity seized was small.
Attempts were made by a large number of smugglers
to land 72 small casks containing 205 gallons of
brandy, at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. The casks
were secured ; but, it being a very dark December
night, the offenders escaped.
It was noted then, as it has often been since, and
will be again, that the disposition to smuggle is not
confined to the merchant service ; and that it is
often enough found on Service ships. A seizure of
97 lb. of tobacco was made in January, 1868, aboard
H.M.S. Speedy, at Jersey, stationed there for the
protection of the oyster-fishery.
There was a considerable increase in the 3'ear
1872 in the number of seizures of tobacco, cigars
and spirits in the port of London, the number of
cases of smuggling detected rising from 188 in 1871
to 293 in 1872. The total quantity of tobacco and
VOL. II. Q
226 THE SMUGGLERS
cigars seized in London was 2,369 lb., an increase
of 947 lb., but the quantity of spirits seized was
only 93 gallons, a decrease of 66 gallons. At the
outports the seizures of tobacco and cigars exceed-
ing 10 lb. and of spirits exceeding two gallons
showed a slight decrease from 134 to 130, and the
tobacco and cigars a large decrease in quantity
from 31,430 lb. in 1871 to 3,649 lb. in 1872; but
the quantity of spirits seized showed an increase
from 390 gallons to 1,332 gallons. The smaller
seizures showed an increase from 817 to 888; and
petty smuggling seemed to have increased. Some
of the great offenders escaped with the loss of their
prey. The coastguard seized, near Cowes, 69 casks,
containing 286 gallons of brandy concealed in a
cliff, but the guilty parties escaped. In another
seizure near Cowes of 77 tubs of spirits a notorious
smuggler was also captured.
In the year 1874 there were 1,157 seizures made
of smuggled goods in the United Kingdom; 53 less
than in the preceding year. One thousand and
ninety-four persons were convicted of smuggling, being
80 less than in the preceding year. The quantity
of tobacco and cigars seized in 1874 was 10,738 lb.
and of spirits 266 gallons, both being materially
less than in the preceding year. The Commis-
sioners of Customs stated that from the reports
made to them and from their own inquiries and
observations, they had no reason to doubt that
smuggling was gradually diminishing. Most of the
cases were for tobacco. A few instances still
occurred of smuggling such as was common in the
earlier part of the century by running cargoes of
spirits in small kegs or tubs which had been pre-
viously sunk at a convenient distance from the
SMUGGLING UP-TO-DATE 227
shore. In one case near Freshwater, Isle of Wight,
some of a gang of men were seized in the night,
carrying nine kegs of smuggled brandy which had
been brought over in a small vessel from France,
and twelve more kegs were found in ditches in the
neighbourhood. Three men were convicted in £ioo
penalty, or six months' imprisonment. One of these,
a small farmer, paid the penalty and was released.
The kegs had been brought ashore by fishermen.
We read in reports of 1879 that " of late, smuggling
has not been uncommon at the Orkney Islands.
H.M. Cutter Eagle has been stationed at Kirkwall
for the purpose of cruising about the islands, and
the gunboat Firm has arrived from Queensferry,
and landed a number of coastguardsmen, who are
to be distributed over the islands. Depots are to
be fixed at Westray, Sanday, and Kirkwall, and a
small steamboat is to be employed for the purpose
of boarding the vessels — principally French — which
visit these islands in great numbers at the herring-
fishing season, and also the fishing-smacks coming
home from the Faroe and Iceland fisheries."
To-day the petty smugglers still carry on; and
it is no unusual thing to read in the daily papers
some little unobtrusive paragraph relating to such
things. The evening newspapers of October 31st,
1922, contained such an item in which three German
seamen figured. They were members of the crew
of the steamship Ilmar, and were fined £54 15s. od.
at the Tower Bridge police court, for harbouring
brandy. A week later, at West Hartlepool, an
American sailor, one of the crew of the steamship
City of Alton, was fined £38 for attempting to
smuggle thirty-five bottles of whisky, which had
been discovered by the rummaging officers of the
228 THE SMUGGLERS
Customs under a floor, covered with oil. The man
said he did not declare the whisky, as the captain
would then have known of it and destroyed it.
He and his mates wished to drink it on the way
back to the States, where they would not be able
to obtain any more, under the Prohibition con-
ditions now in force in that country. This was, as
most people would think, reasonable enough ; but,
as stated, a heavy fine was imposed; even though
the captain's evidence did not tell against the
defendant. He said the bottles smelt strongly of
crude oil and paraffin; and though they might be
sold in America, could not be disposed of in England.
This is an eloquent testimony as to the conditions
whisky drinkers are now reduced to in what is stated
in the Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem
of the United States, to be " The Home of the Brave
and the Land of the Free." It is time, perhaps, that
line was amended.
The Preventive officer, called after the captain's
evidence had been heard, said the whisky had been
tested and was found to be the finest Scotch. Our
sympathies and regrets are therefore all the more
profound that the deprived occupants of the fore-
castle should have been, after all, obliged to cross
the Atlantic without it.
Smuggling of cocaine and other drugs nowadays
takes up so much of the Customs officer's attention
that there is some suspicion it is diverted from the
question of brandy smuggling in particular and of
other dutiable goods in general. Of course the
fantastically high duties on foreign spirits have now
again made any successful evasion of the Customs
highly remunerative. The public and the Revenue
authorities deceive themselves if they think there is
(C
BOOTLEGGING " 229
not now a considerable contraband trade, lately
sprung up. If that were not so, how could it be
possible to obtain in places not far remote from the
South Coast excellent French brandy at eightpence
the half-quartern and Havana cigars at sixpence
each, while remarkably good French wines may be
had, by those who know how to go about it, at prices
which would be impossibly low in London ?
Of course, in the prevalent conditions in the
United States, smuggling to-day has become a great
interest. The Prohibition law has created it, and
more and greater fortunes are being made there
under " dry " conditions than ever were amassed
under " wet." The risks are great and the smug-
gling organisation is elaborate and complete. The
consumer still obtains his stuff, but he has to pay
far more heavily for it : that is all — with, equally,
of course, the certainty that what he now pays for
at more than double rates is probably not nearly so
good as it was before the notorious law came into
operation.
In short, import smuggling into the United
States and " bootlegging " proceed constantly, and
have assumed such dimensions that the law is
regularly brought into contempt; while the ad-
ministration of it has created a horde of official and
other spies. The actual costs of administration do
not appear to be available, but they are very high,
and hkely to go higher, if the projected " Pro-
hibition Navy " is to take the seas. Great indigna-
tion, real or feigned, has been expressed by the
American authorities that spirits are shipped from
this country (as alleged) and smuggled into theirs;
and it has been suggested by the U.S. Government
that vessels of each country should be searched out-
230 THE SMUGGLERS
side the usual territorial waters, up to an extended
limit of twelve miles from either shore.
The real business of the shippers is to lie off at
sea and there to await the actual smugglers, who
come out in fast motor-boats and tranship cargo.
So much stuff is thus got ashore on the lonely
stretches of coast in the Southern States, and then
distributed along the roads, that it has now become
difficult to command the price of five dollars for a
bottle of whisky, the figure which ruled some time
ago.
These times will become for the United States as
historic in the smuggling way as our old eighteenth
century days. A literature will inevitably spring
up about them ; with tales of derring-do ; of strata-
gems and alarms; together with all the appurte-
nances of smugglers' hiding-holes and caves, such
as we have, authentic or merely imaginative. As
regards our own old landmarks of smugglers, they
are always being found ; sometimes by unsuspecting
folk falling into them ; as, for example, happened in
April, 1914, at Ferryside, Carmarthen :
" While attending to a flower-bed in his garden,
Mr. Woodliffe, of the Cliff, Ferrj^side, disappeared
owing to a sudden subsidence of the ground. Fortu-
nately friends were at hand, and he was quickly
extricated. Digging disclosed a cave some lifteen
yards long and about sixteen feet deep, terminating
in a recess nine feet square cut in the solid earth, with-
out any support whatever. An old house called the
* Smugglers' Cottage ' was demolished here in 1898."
To-day we are faced with that singular development,
the abolition of a body of public servants who have
for close upon a hundred years been familiar all along
our shores. It does not seem to be actually the
THE COASTGUARD 231
most propitious time to have done that, now high
duties act most provocatively to renew the free-
traders' old calling: but there it is! Proposals have
for some time been afoot to abolish, or at any rate
radically to change, the Coastguard.
The Revenue Coastguard, dating from 183 1, was
transferred from the control of the Board of Customs
to the Admiralty in 1856; and as a naval force it
continued until recent times, and was, in fact, known
officially as the " First Naval Reserve." Its per-
sonnel was not to exceed 10,000 ; and it has, in fact,
rarely numbered more than 4,200 men. Although
living in those shore barracks with which every
frequenter of our coasts is familiar, they are accounted
as part of the crew of definite ships of the Navy, and
are officered by Captains, Commanders, and Lieu-
tenants. The cost of the establishment was until
recent years round about £460,000 annually, but
this included cost of ships and other craft. A Coast-
guardsman is thus really in every sense a naval
man ashore ; and, as such, is liable at any moment
to be called upon to rejoin afloat, and to proceed on
active service.
The duties of the Coastguard were many. Although
not under control of Customs or Excise, they were
there partly to discourage F,muggling ; while for
the Board of Trade the Coastguard assisted, and
gave notice of, ships in distress ; acted for the Ro3-al
National Lifeboat Institution ; kept a look-out
upon the landings of boats and on the movements of
boats. The lives of many rash and inexperienced
hohday-folk have been saved in this way. The
Department of Fisheries, the Post Office, the Trinity
House, and Lloyd's Marine Insurance all used th3
Coastguard.
232 THE SMUGGLERS
The Admiralty for a long time past had objected
to the annual cost of the Coastguard service being
accounted for in the estimates as a purely Naval
charge, and it proposed several units : among them
a " Naval Signalling Section " ; while others would
become a " Coast Watching Force for the Board
of Trade," and a " Coast Preventive Force " for the
Board of Customs. On the outbreak of war, all
these would coalesce under control of the Admiralty.
Thus has disappeared, split up into almost un-
recognisable details, a body of public servants
whose history, if and when told, will afford stirring
incidents little suspected.
The justice of the remarks made in these con-
cluding pages on the recent very great increase in
smuggling into this country is proved by the items
of information that increasingly occupy the pages
of the newspapers, together with the alarms and
rumours that inevitably accompany them. It must
ever be a matter of extraordinary difficulty to trace
the illicit introduction of cocaine, and of saccharine,
which are potent even in the smallest quantities ;
and the profits of any successful smuggling of them
are tremendous incentives. While saccharine is
subject to a duty of six and tenpence an ounce
there obviously will be numbers of people who will
risk the penalties for smuggling it. As to spirits, so
long as the inordinate duty of sixty-seven shillings
and sixpence a gallon is laid upon them, there will
be that running of goods across Channel by fast
motor-boats into the remote shores and creeks of
the South and East Coasts which is now very freely
commented upon.
INDEX
{Individual smugglers indexed only when mentioned at length)
Aberlour, ii. 192, 205
Acts of Parliament, i. 15, 23, 28, 39,
45
of Indemnity, 1736, i. 45
Aldemey, i. 223, 225, 228
Aldington gang, the, ii. 46-48, 6g-
184
Kent, ii. 85, 86, 87, 91, 93. MO.
148, 153, 155, 159, 164-184
Alkham, ii. 117
Arundel, conflict at, i. 41
Ashford, Kent, ii. 88, 129, 174, 177,
179
Austin, smuggler, murder by, at
Maidstone, i. 68
George and Thomas, i. 94
Samuel, i. 70, 71
Badenoch, ii. 205
Baker, Henrj-, Supervisor of Cus-
toms for Kent and Sussex, i.
24-26
Bandana handkerchiefs, smuggling
of, ii. 213, 222
Barfleur, ii. 41, 42
Barham, Rev. Richard Harris, i.
140
Barhatch, i. 148
" Bats " (t. e. cudgels or staves),
ii- 34
" Batsmen,"' the, i. 17; ii. 28, 34
Battle, Sussex, i. 56, 78, 86
Beachy Head, ii. 16, 41
Beccles, outrage at, i. 154
Beckenham, Kent, i. 77
Beer, South Devon, i. 165, 218-232
Benenden, Kent, i. 60
Bexhill, Sussex, i. 126, 134; ii. 36
epitaphs at, ii. 13
fatal conflict near, ii. 12
Bilsington, Kent, ii. 89, 170, 174-179
Binocular glasses, smuggling of, ii.
211
Birchington, Kent, i. 55; ii. 51
Birling Gap, Sussex, ii. 24, 29
Bimie, Richard (afterwards Sir
Richard), ii. 52, 53, 54, 125. 129,
131, 132, 134, 136. 137
Bishop's Cannings, Wiltshire, i. 162
Bishopstone, Sussex, ii. 50
Black Prince, French privateer, i.
212
Blackwater River, Essex, i. 155
Blakeney, Norfolk, i. 157
Blockade, coast, established 18 16,
i. 123
Blockade-men, the. See Coast
Blockade.
" Bluer," the. See " Aldington."
Bobbing-net machinery, illegal ex-
port of, ii. 28
Bolt Head, South Devon, i. 179
Bonnington, Kent, ii. 170, 175
" Bootlegging," ii. 229
Bo-Peep (near Hastings), fatal
conflict at, i. 143, 144
conflict at, ii. 10
Borstal Hill (near Canterbury),
fatal conflict at, i. 118
Boteler, Capt., R.N., i. 32
Boulogne, i. 58, 70, 89, 91, 197;
ii. 38, 41, 44, 45
" Bourne Tap," the, Aldingtoa
Frith, ii. 169
Boys, Mr., of Margate, ii. 66
Bradwell Quay, Essex, i. 156
Braemar, ii. 199
Brandy smuggling, i. 10, 17, 40, 42,
200, 207, 217, 218-232; ii. 222,
224, 225
Branscombe, South Devon, epi-
taph at, i. 165
Brenton, Capt., R.N., i. 30
on seafaring courage and
skill of smugglers, i. 191
Brightlingsea, Essex, i. 9
Brighton, i. 146, 197; ii. i, 11, 16,
23, 25, 26, 38, 210
Bristol, i. 8
Broadstairs, Kent, ii. 16
Brookland, Kent, battle of, ii. 79-
97. loi, 139. 159
Budleigh Salterton, South Devon,
conflict at, i. 229, 231
Bulverhythe, fatal conflict at, i. 4^
Burmarsh, Kent, ii. 89, 172
233
234.
INDEX
Bums, Robert, ii. 185
Bushell, James, informer, ii. 121,
138
Butlerage, i, 2
Caister, Norfolk, conflict at, i. 156
Calais, i. 91 ; ii. 35, 36, 216
Camber, i. 140; ii. 23, 44, 79
Castle, Sussex, fatal conflict
at, i. 145
Canterbury, ii. 50, 54. 58, 59, 65,
Canvey Island, i. 155
Carswell, Mr., murder of, i. 64, 73,
87
Carter family, of Prussia Cove,
smugglers, i. 203-217
Carter, Henry (" Captain Harry "),
i. 206, 209-217, 218
John, i. 206, 209
Charles, i. 206, 214, 216
William, Customs officer, i. 22
smuggler, i. 95, 105
Castle, Mr., Excise officer, mur-
dered, i. 109
Cawsand, Cornwall, fatal conflicts
at, i. 178-183, 212
Charlton Forest, i. 93
Chater, Daniel, murder of, i. 74,
81, 83, 93-105. 107
Cherbourg, i. 17, 207, 229
" Chop-Backs," the, of Hastings,
i. 116-118
Christchurch, Hampshire, i. 221;
ii. 42
Cinque Ports, Charter freeing them
from prisage, i. 3, 8; ii. 137
Coast Blockade (established 1816),
j. 123, 233-240; ii. 4, 50, 53, 55,
57, 172. 181, 214, 219, 223
Coastguard, the, i. 238-240; ii.
i-io, 219, 227, 230-232
Cobby, — , Hastings smuggler, ii.
18
Cocaine, smuggling of, ii. 229
Colchester, i. 156
outrages at, i. 77, 154
Collier, Mr., Surveyor-General of
Customs for Kent and Sussex
(official correspondence), i. 55,
57-65. 70-79. 82, 85-91, 124
Cotton stockings, smuggling of, ii.
209
Cranbrook, Kent, Association or
Militia, i. 64
Crowlink, Sussex, ii. 24
Croydon, i. 63
" Cruel Coppinger," i. 169-176
Couch, Jonathan, i. 177
Cowes, Isle of Wight, ii. 226
Cuckmere, conflict at, i. 41 ; ii. 9
Curtis, Jeremiah, smuggler, i. 79,
105-108
Customs dues, early, i. 1-7, 10
• farming of, i. 7
revenue, 1921-1922, i. 16
" Custom-House Oath," a term of
contempt, i. 54
Customs, surveyor of, appointed,
1698, i. 24
Dalnashaugh, ii. 205
Deal, Kent, i. 10, 29; ii. 6, 9, 11,
15, 16, 18, 37, 38, 40, 42, 78,
123, 143, 144, 221
Diamond, John, smuggler, i. 93, 97,
98
Dieppe, i. 17; ii. 209
" Dirk Hatteraick," ii. 189
Distracted Preacher, The, story by
Thomas Hardy, i. 162
" Dog and Partridge " inn, Slindon
Common, i. 79-81, 105-108
Dover, ii. 3, 4, 41, 46, 49, 51, 57,
78, 109, 113-116. 118, 122, 125,
143, 144, 149. 171. 216, 217
gaol broken open, i. 137
Dunge Marsh, i. 140
Dungeness, ii. 18, 26, 81, 102, 103
Dunkirk (Dunkerque), i. 59, 91,
212; ii. 42
Dyer, Lieut. George, R.N., killed,
ii. 112
Dymchurch, ii. 77, 133, 134, 141,
177
conflict at, i. 141
Eastbourne, i. 72, 89, 121, 142, 144,
145; ii. 27, 35, 36
•■ fatal conflict near, i. 145; ii.
20-22
epitaph at, ii. 22
East Grinstead, Susse.x, i. 107
Eastware Bay (near Folkestone),
ii. 102
England, George, trial of, for killing
Joseph Swain, i. 128-130
Evil Prisage, i. 2
Ewhurst, Surrey, smugglers' hiding-
places, i. 146-148
Excise duty introduced, i. 6
revenue, 1921-1922, i. 16
Execution Dock, Wapping, i. 118,
183
Export smuggling, 1. 11, 19-33. ^97
Fagg, Daniel, smuggler, ii. 59
Fairall, smuggler, executed, i. iio-
112
Fairlight Glen fatal conflict at,
Ferring, Sussex, conflict at, 1. 28
INDEX
235
Ferryside, Carmarthen, ii. 230
Folkestone, Kent, i. 29, 32, 36, 64,
133; ii- 9. 17. 36, 37. 41. 44. 47.
72, 102, 117, 143, 171, 172, 175
Fordingbridge, Hampshire, i. 93
Fortingal, ii. 207
Four Brothers, smuggling lugger,
fatal conflict with, i. 133-138
Fowey, conflict at, i. 177
" Free Trade," i. 15
" Free-traders," a term for smug-
glers, i. 9
Freshwater, Isle of Wight, ii. 227
Fuller's-earth, export smuggling of,
i. 29
Gairloch, the, ii. 204
Galleys, smugglers' boats, ii. 3,
38, 45. 56. 77. m. 1-6
Galley, William, murder of, i. 74,
81, 83, 94-105, 107
Gibson, William, converted smug-
gler, i. 201
Giles, Charles, smuggler, ii. 89, 124,
128, 132, 134, 141, 146, 150, 151.
174
Gin, smuggling of, ii. 222
Glenlivet, ii. 188, 192-195, 198
Gloves, evasions by glove-smug-
glers, ii. 210
Gordon, Duke of, on high duties,
ii. 191
" Goring," an informer, i. 42-45
Goudhurst, Kent, i. 60, 64-08, 110,
112
attack by smugglers on, i.
65-C8
militia, i. 66, 87
Gravelines, ii. 15, 38
Gray, Arthur, smuggler, i. 31, 70-76,
78
William, smuggler, i. 61, 64,
65. 75. 78
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, i. 9
Greenhay, conflict at, i. 41
" Green Man " inn, Bradwell Quay,
Essex, i. 156
Grinstead Green, outrage at, i. 52
Grove Ferrj', Kent, i. 55
Guernsey, i. 92, 179, 182
Guild of the Slavonians, i. 4
Guilford Level, Kent, i. 140
fatal conflict at, ii. 11
Guineas, export smuggling of, i.
30-33. 197
Hardy, Rev. Robert, pamphlet
denouncing smuggling, i. 194
Thomas, smuggling story, i. 162
Harley, John, epitaph on, I3rans-
combe, i. 165
Harrison, — , informer, i. 87
Harting Corabe, Sussex, i. 99
Hastings, i. 58, 62, 64, 87, 121,
124-132, 239; ii. 2, 3, 6, 10, II,
12, r8, 23, 26, 37, 44, 45, 106
epitaph at, i. 132
fatal affair at, i. 124-132
outrage off, i. 116-11S
Havant, Hampshire, i. 94, 151
Hawke, Admiral Lord, i. 200
Hawker, Rev. R. S., i. 170, 175
Hawkhurst, i. 56, 61, 64, 73
gang, the, i. 50-52, 64-112;
ii. 162
Hawkinge, Kent, ii. 118, 144
Hawkins, Richard, murder of, i.
79-81, 105-110
Hawley, Gen., i. 55
Heathfield, outrage at, i. 75
Hellard, Lieut. Samuel, R.N., ii.
118, 139-146, 159, 173
Heme and Heme Bay, Kent, ii.
50-56, 165, 166. 175
Highdown Hill (near Worthing), i.
148-150
Hope Gap, Sussex, ii. 36
Home, Edward, informer, ii. 128,
129, 131. 133, 135, 13S, 175
Horsham, Sussex, i. 83, 104, 105,
108, 128, 144
Hove, Sussex, conflict at, i. 120
church as a smugglers" store,
i. 119
Hunstanton, Norfolk, epitaph at, i.
158
Hurst Green, Sussex, i. 67
Hurstmonceux Castle, Sussex,
ghostly drummer of, i. 121
Hythe, Kent, i. 59; ii. 70, 102,
108, 135, 145, 163
Ickham, Kent, ii. 50
Icklesham, Kent, ii. 44
" Indian Queens " inn (near Bod-
min), i. 223
Informers, i. 42-45. 59, 62, 73, 76,
87, 103, 104, 124. 181 ; ii. 49,
53, 62, 65. 119, 122. 128, 172,
180-182
Jackson, William, smuggler, i. 83,
95. 104
James, G. P. R., the novelist, on
smuggling, i. 68, 112
Thomas, epitaph on, at Mvlor,
i. 188
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, on Commis-
sioners of Excise, i. 47
on smugglers. See Title-
page, vol. i.
on women preachers, i. 201
236
INDEX
Johnson, Thomas, smuggler, i. 195-
200
Kemp, James, i. 83
Lawrence, i. 75, 108
Thomas, smuggler, i. 61, 70-
80, 108
" King of Prussia " inn, Porth
Leah or Prussia Cove, i. 203-217
Kingsdown, Kent, ii. 18
Kingsmill, George, smuggler, shot
at Goudhurst, i. 67
Thomas, smuggler, executed,
i. no
Kingston-by-Sea, Sussex, ii. 12
conflict at, i. 41
Kingussie, ii. 205
Kinson, Dorset, epitaph at, i. 160
Kipling, Rudyard, " The Smugglers'
Song," i. 68
Kirkwall, ii. 227
Knill, John, of St. Ives, Cornwall,
i. 189
Lace, smuggling of, ii. 213
Lady Holt Park, Sussex, i. 98, loi
Lampen, Edward, Admiralty Mid-
shipman, epitaph on, at Folke-
stone, i. 36
Lancing, Sussex, ii. 12
Langston Harbour, Hampshire, i.
150
Leghorn hats, smuggling of, ii. 216,
222
Leith Hill, Surrey, i. 146
Lewis, William, epitaph on, Wyke
Regis, i. 164
Littlehampton, Sussex, ii. 12, 41
Littlestone, Kent, ii. 163
" Lobster Smack " inn, Canvey
Island, Essex, i. 155
Lucca Guild, the, i. 7
Lulworth, Dorset, conflict near.i. 162
Lydd, Kent, i. 23, 59, 70. 74.' "•
69, 71, 82, 163
Lydden, Kent, ii. 130
Lympne, Kent, ii. 107, 164
McCulIoch, Capt., R.N., i. 124, 131,
236; ii. 72, 78, 86, 98, 99, 100,
102-104, 109, 115, 144
McKenzie, James, Admiralty Mid-
shipman, killed, ii. 159
Maidstone, i. 60, 64, 69, 87, 118;
ii. 60, 63, 80-96, 102, 143, 148,
155. 157. 177
Maker (near Plymouth), i. 176
Margate. Kent, ii. 51, 56, 57, 58,
60, 66, 68
Mark, Robert, smuggler, epitaph
on, Talland, Cornwall, i. 187
Meekes, William, Chief Boatman of
Coastguard Station, ii. 13
Merchants' Charter, the, i. 3, 7
Mersea Island, Essex, i. 151
Military aid in suppression of
smuggling, i. 24, 42, 56, 62, 88,
117, 118, 126, 208; ii. 15, 22,
107. 186. 191, 196
Military Canal, smugglers drowned
in, i. 139
Miller's Tomb, the, Highdown Hill
(near Worthing), i. 148-150
Mills, John, smuggler, i. 76, 80, 84,
105-108
Richard, the elder, smuggler,
i. 84, 99, 105, 107
the younger, smuggler, i.
84, 105, 107
Moncrief, Fort (near Hythe), ii. 116,
138, 140, 145
Moon, John, epitaph on, i. 122
" Moonrakers," the, i. 161
"Moonshine," a term for smuggled
spirits, i. 178
Morgan, Richard, Quartermaster,
R.N., killed, ii. 109, 113, 118-130,
139, 149, 155. 159, 175
" Mount Pleasant," inn, near Daw-
lish. South Devon, i. 166
Mydley, Kent, ii. 94
Mylor, Cornwall, epitaph at, i. 188
Napoleon, i. 37, 197-200
Newcastle, Duke of, i. 58, 82
Newgate Gaol, i. 61, 62, 71, 72, 75,
76, 81, 83, 104, 109; ii. 87, 136
Newhaven, Sussex, i. 41, 42
New Romney, Kent, ii. 98, 143
Nieuport, ii. 38
North Kent Gang, the, ii. 50, 69, 97
North Stoneham. Hampshire, i. 4
OUiver, John, miller, Highdown
Hill (near Worthing), i. 148-150
Orkney Islands, ii. 227
" Owlers," the, export wool smug-
glers, of Romney Marsh, i. 11,
19-30, 140
Pagham Harbour, Sussex, ii. 42
Parham Park, Sussex, i. 107
Patcham (near Brighton), epitaph
at, i. 122
Patten, Rev. Mr., of Whitstable,
i- 55
Paulet, Harry, smuggler, i. 200
Paulson, Henry, Midshipman, epi-
taph on, i. 165
Payne, Elizabeth, i. 83, 95
Peat, Lieut. David, R.N., ii. 69,
71, 72-74, 101-105
INDEX
237
Peddar's (or Padder's) Way, East
Anglia, i. 159
Penenden Heath, Kent, i. 62, 118
Penzance, i. 203, 204, 208, 209
Petition to House of Commons, for
prevention of smuggling, 1746,
i- 52
Pett, George, Chief Boatman of
Coastguard, shot, ii. 20-22, 35
Pett Level, Sussex, i. 140
Pevensey, Sussex, fatal conflict at,
ii. 29-33
Pewit Island, Essex, i. 156
Playing-cards, smuggling of, ii. 222
Plucks Gutter, Kent, ii. 60
Polhill, Mr., Riding Officer at Lydd,
i- 59, 74. 75, 88
Polperro, Cornwall, i. 177, 181
Poole, Dorset, outrage at, i. 72, 77,
87. 93-95, 107. "o, 155
Postling, Kent, ii. 107
Potter, Thomas, smuggler, i. 109
Tom, smuggler, of Polperro,
i. 181, 183
Thomas, of Benenden, smug-
gler, i. 60
Preventive service, i. 36, 124, 144,
145, 162; ii. 197, 208, 228
Water Guard, the, i. 52,
238-240; ii. 75, 80, 81, 83, 116
Pring, William, smuggler and in-
former, i. 76
Prisage, i. 2, 8, 10
Privateers for prevention of smug-
gling, i. 48, 189
Profits of smuggling, i. 211
Prohibition, ii. 228-230
" Proposal for Prevention " of
smuggling, 1746, i. 54
Prussia Cove, Cornwall, i. 188,
206-209, 218
Purveyance and Purveyors, i. 2
^ueensferrj', ii. 227
Quested, Cephar, smuggler, ii. 81,
84-94, lOI
James, ii. 118, 144, 151
Rake, Hampshire, i. 98-101, 103,
105
Ransley Gang, the. See " Alding-
ton Gang."
George {" Captain Batts '),
ii. no, 122. 124, 129. 130, 131,
133-135. 136. 139, 140, 142. 143.
144. 149, 150, 155. 156, 159, X64,
165, 167-170, 182, 183
Rattenbury, Jack, smuggler, i. 164,
218-232
Reculver, Kent, i. 55, 62; ii. 50
" Red Lion " inn. Rake, ii. 98-101
" Red Lion " Rye, i. 68
Revenue cruisers, i. 55
Rightful prisage, i. 2
Rockcliffe Cross, Dumfriesshire, fatal
conflict at, ii. 207
Romney, Old Kent, i. 22; ii. 26,
80, 94
Marsh, i. 22-28, 114, 140
Roscoff, Brittany, i. 17, 175, 178,
207, 217
Rotterdam, ii. 211
Rowde, Wiltshire, i. 161
Rowlands Castle, Hampshire, i.
94-98
Ruckinge, Kent, ii. 175
Rum, smuggling of, ii. 222
Ruxley Gang, the, i. 116-118
Rye, Sussex, conflict at, i. 62 ; ii.
23. 29, 49, 79, 85, 103, 143
Harbour, affray in, i. 139
outrage at, i. 68
Saccharine smuggling, ii. 232
St. Aldhelm's Head, Dorset, fatal
conflict at, i. 163
St. Ives, Cornwall, i. 189, 205
St. Malo, i. 210
St. Peter-upon-the-Wall,Essex,i. 156
St. Vincent, Admiral Lord, i. 198
Salt, smuggling of, ii. 69
Sandgate, Kent, i. 2>i: ii- 71, 72.
74, 78, 106
Sandwich, Kent, i. 56
Scales, Daniel, smuggler, epitaph
on, at Patcham, i. 122
Sciavoni, Schola dei, i. 5
" Sea Cocks," the, i. 51
Seacox Heath, i. 51
Seaford, Sussex, ii. 16, 36
murders by smugglers
at, i. 68
Sea-houses near Eastbourne, i. 89
Seaton, South Devon, epitaph at,
i. 165
Selhurst Common, i. 109
Sclsea Bill, i. 105
Shaw, — , whisky smuggler, ii.
193-196
Sheerness, Sheppey, robbery of
wool, i. 52
" Ship " inn, Woolbridge, Dorset, i.
163
Ships engaged in the suppression of
smuggling :—
Antelope, tender to RamilUes,
ii. 140
Badger, revenue cutter, i. 133-
13S
Catherine, frigate, i. 228
Duke of York, revenue cutter,
i. 222
238
INDEX
Ships engaged in the suppression of
smuggling {continued) — •
Dwarf, revenue cutter, ii. 189
Eagle, revenue cutter, ii. 227
Fairy, revenue sloop, i. 208
Grecian, revenue cutter, i. 124
Hawke, revenue cruiser, ii. 14
Hinde, revenue cutter, i. 179
Hound, revenue cutter, i. 120
Hyperion, revenue cutter, i.
236; ii. 143
Lottery, ex smuggling cutter,
i. 178-183
Nancy, revenue cutter, i. 221
Orontes, frigate, i. 32
Pigmy, revenue cutter, ii. 189
Pigmy, revenue schooner, i. 164
Queen Charlotte, i. 124, 165
Raniillies, frigate, i. 236; ii.
119, 123, 124. 140, 141, 143,
145
Ranger, revenue cruiser, ii. 10
Roebuck, revenue tender, i. 222
Severn, frigate, ii. 53, 143
Speedy, frigate, ii. 225
Stork, revenue cutter, i. 224 ;
ii- 25, 37
Swallow, revenue cutter, i. 224
Tartar, revenue cutter, i. 230
Shoreham, Sussex, i. 51, 70
Shomcliffe, Kent, ii. 107
battery, ii. 70
Sidley Green, i. 143
Silks, smuggling of, ii. 213, 222, 224
Slindon Common, Sussex, i. 79-81,
105-108
Slavonians, Guild of the, i. 4
Smith, Adam, on smuggling, i. 192
George, of Glenlivet, ii. 192-
195. 197
Henry, alias " Big Harry."
smuggler, ii. 41
Sydney, on taxation, i. 13
Smugglers, distinction between sea-
going and shore-going, i. 112, 154,
191
labourers, i. 17; ii. 162-184
Song, The, i. 68
tracks, i. 146, 159
Smuggling, growth of, in eighteenth
century, increase and decline of,
in nineteenth century, ii. 222
pamphlet denouncing, i. 194
Smuggling craft : —
Aristide, ii. 42
Assistance, i. 181
Bee, ii. 16
Betsey, ii. 38
Black Prince, ii. 189
Dove, i. 178
Eagle, i. 178
Smuggling craft {continued) —
Eliza, ii. 38
Elizabeth and Kitty, i. 229
Four Brothers, i.
Friends, i. 220
Fortune, ii. 36, 38
Fame, ii. i6
Fly, ii. 36
Grey Cock, ii. 37
Gloucester, ii. 18
Hope, ii. 10, 29
Lively, i. 223
Lottery, i. 178-183, 187
Mary, ii. 14
Neptune, i. 224
Po, ii. 40
Pursuit, ii. 16
Rambler, ii. 41
Robert, ii. 41
Rose, i. 178
Tally-ho, ii. 40
Trafalgar, i. 223
Unity, i. 178
Victory, ii. 16
Snargate church, Kent, as smug-
glers' store, i. 140
Snow, Sydney Sydenham, Admir-
alty Midshipman, killed, ii. 51-55,
66, 67
Snuff, smuggling of, ii. 222
Southampton Water, i. 151
Spirits, smuggling of, i. 118, 142,
144, 149. 152, 157, 161, 163, 164,
168, 177, 178, 207, 218-232; ii.
12-17, 51, 69, 75, 98, 107, 134-
136, 144, 163, 173, 185-208, 214,
215, 220, 225
Spittal of Glenshee, ii. 195
" Spout Lantern," smugglers', i.
123; ii. 160
Spratford, — , informer, ii. 172,
180-182
Stangate Creek, Kent, ii. 47, 50
Steel, William, smuggler, i. 96, 104
" Stinkibus," a term for spoiled
spirits, i. 168
Stoneham North, Hampshire, i. 4
Strathdearn, ii. 206
Sturt, organiser of the Goudhurst
Militia, i. 66
Surveyor of Customs appointed,
1698, i. 24
Swain, Joseph, epitaph on, at
Hastings, i. 132
Talland, Cornwall, epitaph at, i. 187
smuggling pranks at, i.
183-187
Tanclridge, Surrey, epitaph at, i.
122
Tapner, — , smuggler, i, loi
INDEX
239
Tea smugghng, i. 16, 37, 54, 57, 59,
87. 90, 92-95. 106. 155. lOo. 181;
ii. 15, 222, 223
Timber, smuggling of, ii. 222
Tobacco smuggling, i. 17, 37, 133,
152, iSi ; ii. 69, 211, 222, 225
Todman, Thomas, smuggler, epi-
taph on, at Tandridge, i. 122
Toms, Roger, smuggler and in-
former, i. I Si
Transportation, sentences of, ii. 63,
158. 165, 183
Tripp, or Trip, alias Stanford,
smuggler, i. 64, 72, 89
Trotman, Robert, smuggler, epi-
taph on, at Kinson, Dorset, i. 160
Trotton, Sussex, i. 80
Tannage and poundage, i. 5, 9
United States, smuggling in the, ii.
228-230
Vernon, Admiral, i. 58
" Waldershire " (i. e. Waldershare),
Kent, i. 57
VValpole, Horace, on the Duke of
Newcastle, i. 82
Walmer, Kent, ii. 36, 37, 49, 120,
128, 144
Warehorne, Kent, i. 140
Warren, the, near Dawlish. South
Devon, i. 166
Watches, smuggling of, ii. 217
Watts, David, Boatman of Coast-
guard, shot, ii. 13
Webb, William, epitaph on, Hun-
stanton, i. 158
Welcombe llouth. North Devon,
i. 170
Wcndron, Cornwall, i. 188
Werry, Mary Ann, woman preacher,
i. 201
Wesley, Rev. John, denounces
smuggling, i. 193, 206
Westfield, Sussex, epitaph at, i.
122
West Hartlepool, ii. 227 '
WTiisky, origin of, ii. 186
smuggling, i. 6 ; ii. 1S5-20S, 222
" VMiite Hart " inn, Rowlands
Castle, Hants, i. 94, 98
Whitpain, Charles, smuggler, ii. 39
Whitstable, Kent, i. 55, 118
Wiltshire " Moonrakers," i. iGr
" Windmill " inn, Ewhurst, Surrey,
i. 147
Wingham, Kent, i. 56, 57; ii. 50
Wittersham, Kent, ii. iCo
Sussex, i. 123
Woodbridge Haven, Suffolk, i. 155
Wool, exportation of, forbidden,
i. II, 19-30
smuggling of, i. 11, 19-30, 88
Woolbridge, Dorset, i. 163
Richard, Quarter-master, R.N.,
killed, ii. 103, 105, 155
Worthing, Sussex, i. 148; ii. 12
fatal conflict at, ii. 13-15
Wraight, Richard, smuggler, ii.
81, 83-86
Wye, Kent, ii. 50
Wyke Regis (near Weymouth),
epitaph at, i. 164
Wyman, William, informer, i. 59-
61
Yarmouth, Great, Norfolk, i. 9
Isle of Wight, ii. 225
Yawkins. smuggler, ii. 189, 190
Made and Printed in Great Britain.
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Printers, Bungay, Suffolk.
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