SMUGGLING cutters have regular charter parties, pretending to be bound to foreign ports, laden with customable and prohibited goods; if they are not within the limits of a port, or within two leagues of the shore they cannot be seized; ships often bring spirits into port, and if they have no opportunity to smuggle, report their cargoes for exportation: vessels with spirits have often been stranded and have had liberty from the commissioners of the customs to fell certain quanti­ties free of duties, which gives encouragement to this trade, as very few British or Irish vessels are imployed to carry spirits or tea for foreigners, unless to smuggle on our coast, the nation would lose nothing on account of freights, to make all vessels of Great Britain or Ireland, bound from any ports in Europe, liable to seizure and penalties wherever found with tea or spirits, would tend more than any other method to prevent smuggling.

2. Vessels of 100 tons and upwards which can import brandies, &c. often land part of their cargoes before and after their reports at the custom-house; all merchants who import foreign brandies should be obliged to take out a licence, as is done in the spice trade; and let vessels of any tonnage import brandies, &c. under like restrictions.

3. No masters of vessels arriving from foreign ports should have liberty to report bails of merchandize, contents unknown, but should [Page 2] be obliged to declare the contents on their report at the custom-house, of all bails of goods on board their vessel, because great quantities of prohibited goods are by this method brought into the kingdom.

4. There are continually cutters from Flushing and Dunkirk and other French ports, who supply our outward bound ships and coasting vessels with spirits, teas, and all sorts of merchandize, to the very great loss of the nation and to the enriching our enemies.

5. And the coasting vessels are not only supplyed for their own use but land great quantities in the ports where they are bound.

6. The Deal boats attend on all homeward bound ships, from whom they buy all sorts of goods and run them on shore.

7. If the masters and crews of any vessels on our coast, who receive spirits or tea from on board any vessel, were liable to serve for a cer­tain number of years on board the navy it would prevent this trade; and if the masters and men of the Deal or any other boats, likewise on conviction were made to serve on board the navy, and the captain and crews of the vessels who should put goods on board them, it would stop this trade to the very great benefit of the revenue.

8. The boatmen or the ships crew who should inform against the others should be free: as his Majesty is in want of soldiers great numbers may be raised, if they were to allow 5£. for each smuggler, and his horse for the use of the poor of the parish where he was taken, and to make the parish liable to a penalty for smuggled goods found and seized in the parish, which penalty to go to the use of the next parish, unless a parishoner give information, in which case it shall go to the poor of the parish where found; the consta­ble, churchwardens, and overseers to have power to make seizures; as the parishoners often encourage poor people to sell tea and spirits by retail, the parish should forfeit 10£. to the use of the adjoining parish, for each person convicted of retailing tea or spirits in the parish, which will prevent in a great measure the number of these houses, and of course idle people from frequenting them, and be some means of lessening the parish rates.

9. Foreign vessels often come with cargoes to smuggle on our coast, every foreign vessel should be obliged on her arrival in port to give an account of all teas and spirits on board, and if any more should be found the vessel should be forfeited, and on the vessel's departure an officer should go on board to examine if there were any deficient more than what was necessary for the ship's use; hand bills in Low Dutch and French to be delivered to the masters of foreign ships, that they may not plead ignorance.

10. As his Majesty's navy is in want of sailors, if a few stout cutters were to be stationed from the Northforeland to West Cappell in the Isle of Welchern to cruise against smugglers, they might soon pick up some thousands of sailors, and at the same time prevent the privateers from Dunkirk, &c. from annoying our trade in the north sea.

11. If government was to allow a bounty of 5£. for each sailor took out of a smuggler, and 10£. a ton for each vessel brought into port by any of the King's ships it would very much tend to stop that trade.

12. Goods sold at the custom-house sales for exportation are mostly clandestinely re-landed and sold for home consumption, as are large quantities of prize goods, as the attestations of their being landed in a foreign port, signed by two British merchants, can always be had to discharge the bond entered into here by the exporters, notwithstanding the goods were never landed there; this may be prevented by subjecting the master and sailors to some punishment, and forfeiture of the vessel out of which they were re-landed.

13. Any person having a licence to retail spirituous liquors being convicted of buying or keeping smuggled spirits, to forfeit their licence for three years.