maintained, these miscreants must be expected (as on former occasions
on the termination of wars) to renew their iniquitous depredations in
great force, as numbers of depraved characters may then be expected to
be discharged from the Army and Navy.
2d. _Night Plunderers._--These were composed chiefly of the most
depraved class of watermen, who associated together in gangs of four
or five in number, for the purpose of committing depredations on the
cargoes of lighters and other craft employed in conveying goods to the
quays and wharfs. Their practice was to associate themselves with one
or more of the watchmen who were employed to guard these lighters
while cargoes were on board, and by the connivance of these faithless
guardians of the night, to convey away in lug boats every portable
article of merchandize, to which, through this medium, they often had
too easy access.
These corrupt watchmen did not always permit the lighters under their
own charge to be pillaged.--Their general practice was, to point out
to the leader of the gang those lighters that were without any guard,
and lay near their own, and which, on this account, might be easily
plundered. An hour was fixed on for effecting the object in view. The
Receiver (generally a man of some property) was applied to, to be in
readiness at a certain hour before day-light to warehouse the goods. A
lug boat was seized on for the purpose. The articles were removed into
it out of the lighter, and conveyed to a landing-place nearest the
warehouse of deposit. The watchmen in the streets leading to this
warehouse were bribed to connive at the villainy, often under pretence
that it was a smuggling transaction, and thus the object was effected.
In this precise manner was a quantity of ashes and hemp conveyed in
1798, to the house of an opulent Receiver. Several other cargoes of
hemp, obtained in the same manner, were conveyed up the river, and
afterwards carted in the day-time to the repositories of the
purchaser, till by the vigilance of the Police Boats, a detection took
place, and the whole scene of mischief was laid open.
This species of depredation went to a great extent, and when it was
considered that the very men who Were appointed to guard property in
this situation were themselves associates in the criminality, and
participated in the profit arising from the booty; and that matters
were so arranged as to secure the connivance of all those who were
appointed to situations with a view to detect and apprehend
delinquents; it ceases to be a matter of wonder, that the plunder in
this particular line was excessive.
In many instances where goods could not be plundered through the
connivance of watchmen, it was no uncommon thing to cut lighters
adrift, and to follow them to a situation calculated to elude
discovery where the pillage commenced. In this manner have whole
lighter loads even of coals been discharged at obscure landing places
upon the river, and carted away during the night.
Even the article of Tallow from Russia, which, from the unwieldiness
of the packages, appears little liable to be an object of plunder, has
not escaped the notice of these offenders: large quantities have been
stolen, and an instance has been stated to the Author, where a lighter
loaded with this article was cut from a ship in the Pool, and found
next morning with six large casks of tallow stolen, and two more
broken open, and the chief part plundered and carried away. In short,
while the river remained unprotected nothing escaped these marauders.
3d. _Light-Horsemen_, or Nightly Plunderers of West India ships.--This
class of depredators for a long period of time had carried on their
nefarious practices with impunity, and to an extent in point of value,
that almost exceeds credibility; by which the West India planters and
merchants sustained very serious and extensive losses.
The practice seems to have originated in a connection which was formed
between the Mates of West India ships[55] and the criminal Receivers,
residing near the river, who were accustomed to assail them under the
pretence of purchasing what is called _sweepings_, or in other words,
the spillings or drainings of sugars, which remained in the hold and
between the decks after the cargo was discharged. These sweepings were
claimed as a perquisite by a certain proportion of the Mates, contrary
to the repeated and express rules established by the Committee of
Merchants, who early saw the evils to which such indulgences would
lead, and in vain attempted to prevent it. The connivance, however, of
the Revenue officers became necessary to get these sweepings on
shore, and the quantity of spillings were gradually increased year
after year by fraudulent means, for the purpose of satisfying the
rapacity of all whose assistance and collusion was found necessary to
obtain the object in view.
[Footnote 55: It is not here meant to criminate all the Mates of ships
in this trade; for a large proportion are known to be men worthy of
the trust reposed in them.]
The connection thus formed, and the necessary facilities obtained,
from the sale of sweepings, recourse was at length had to the disposal
of as much of the cargo as could be obtained by a licence to nightly
plunderers, composed of Receivers, Coopers, Watermen, and Aquatic
Labourers, who having made a previous agreement with the Mate and
Revenue Officers, were permitted, on paying from thirty to fifty
guineas, to come on board in the night,--to open as many hogsheads of
sugar as were accessible,--and to plunder without controul. For this
purpose, a certain number of bags dyed black, and which went under the
appellation of _Black Strap_, were provided.--The Receivers, Coopers,
Watermen, and Lumpers, went on board at the appointed time, for all
these classes were necessary. The hogsheads of sugar and packages of
coffee, &c. were opened; the black bags were filled with the utmost
expedition and carried to the Receivers, and again returned to be
refilled until daylight, or the approach of it, stopped the pillage
for a few hours. On the succeeding night the depredations were again
renewed; and thus, on many occasions, from fifteen to twenty hogsheads
of sugar and a large quantity of coffee, and also in some instances
rum (which was removed by means of a small pump called a Jigger, and
filled into bladders with nozzels,) were plundered in a single ship,
in addition to the excessive depredations which were committed in the
same ships by the Lumpers or labourers who were employed during the
day in the discharge of the cargo.--Instances have been adduced, and
judicially proved, of various specific ships having been plundered in
an excessive degree in this manner; and it has been estimated upon
credible authority, that previous to the establishment of the Marine
Police, above one-fifth of the whole fleet suffered by nightly
plunder.--The ships subject to this species of depredation were
generally known from the characters of the Mates or Revenue Officers
who were on board, and were denominated _Game Ships_, where the
aquatic labourers, called Lumpers, would on every occasion agree to
work without wages, and even solicit their employers to be preferred
on these terms, trusting to a general licence to plunder for their
remuneration.
This nefarious traffic had long been reduced to a regular system. The
mode of negociation necessary to obtain all the requisite advantages
for carrying into execution these iniquitous designs, was not only
perfectly understood, but in most cases, where new Officers were to be
practised upon, a plan of seduction was resorted to which seldom
failed to succeed, when one or more of the old practitioners in this
species of criminality happened to be stationed in the ship.--In this
particular line of aquatic depredations, (which certainly was the most
mischievous,) scenes of iniquity have been developed, which, from
their extent and magnitude, could not have been credited had they
stood on any other foundation than that of regular judicial proofs.
4th.--_Heavy Horsemen_, otherwise denominated Lumpers of the most
criminal class, who generally selected ships where plunder was most
accessible, either from the criminal connivance of the Mates and
Revenue Officers, in permitting nightly plunder, or from the
carelessness or inattention of these Officers.
This class, many of whom occasionally assisted in the depredations
committed during the night, were exceedingly audacious and depraved.
They generally went on board of West India ships, furnished with
habiliments made on purpose to conceal sugar, coffee, cocoa, pimento,
ginger, and other articles, which they conveyed on shore in great
quantities, by means of an under waistcoat, containing pockets all
round, denominated a _Jemie_; and also by providing long bags,
pouches, and socks, which were tied to their legs and thighs under
their trowsers.
It is a well-established fact, which does not admit even of the shadow
of a doubt, that these miscreants, during the discharge of what they
called a _Game Ship_, have been accustomed to divide from three to
four guineas a-piece every night from the produce of their plunder,
independent of the hush-money paid to Officers and others, for
conniving at their nefarious practices.
Long habituated to this species of depredation, they became at length
so audacious, that it was found extremely difficult to controul them
where a disposition existed to protect the cargo from pillage, and
where no seduction had taken place.--And indeed, so adroit had this
class of Lumpers become, that no ship escaped plunder in a certain
degree, wherever they were employed, in spite of the greatest
vigilance and attention on the part of many of the shipmasters.
5th. _Game Watermen_, so denominated from the circumstance of their
having been known to hang upon West India ships under discharge for
the whole of the day, in readiness to receive and instantly convey on
shore _bags of sugar_, _coffee_ and _other articles_, pillaged by the
Lumpers and others in the progress of the delivery of the cargo, by
which they acquired a considerable booty; as they generally on such
occasions were employed to dispose of the stolen articles, under
pretence of their being a part of the private adventures of the crew,
for which service they usually pocketed one moiety of the price
obtained.--It was by such assistance that Mates, Boatswains,
Carpenters, Seamen, and Ship Boys, have been seduced, and even taught
to become plunderers and thieves, who would otherwise have remained
honest and faithful to the trust reposed in them. Many of the watermen
of this class were accustomed to live in a style of expence by no
means warranted, from the fair earnings of honest industry in the line
of their profession.--An instance has been known of an apprentice lad
in this line having kept both a mistress and a riding horse out of
the profits of his delinquency.
6th. _Game Lightermen._--This class, which is composed of the working,
or Journeymen Lightermen, who navigate the craft which convey West
India produce and other merchandize from the ships to the quays, are,
with some exceptions, extremely loose in their morals, and are ever
ready to forward depredations by the purchase or concealment of
articles of considerable value, until an opportunity offers of
conveying the property on shore. Many of these Lightermen, previous to
the establishment of the Marine Police, were in the constant habit of
concealing in the lockers of their lighters, _sugar_, _coffee_,
_pimento_, _ginger_, &c. which they received from Mates, and other
persons on board of West India ships.--These lockers are generally
secured by a padlock; they are calculated to hold and conceal
considerable quantities of goods, whether stolen or smuggled, which
were seldom taken out until after the discharge of the lighter, unless
in certain instances where skiffs attended them.--When completely
unladen, the practice has been to remove to the road where empty craft
usually lies a-breast of the Custom-house quay, and then carry away
the stolen or smuggled articles--and it has not seldom happened that
many of these Lightermen have, under pretence of watching their own
lighters while laden at the quays, or in connivance with the Watchmen
selected by themselves, actually plundered the goods under their
charge to a very considerable amount, without detection.
Nor does it appear that the nefarious practices of these Lightermen
have been confined to West Indian produce alone. Their criminal
designs were directed to almost every species of merchandize placed
under their charge; and the tricks and devices to which they were
accustomed to resort, clearly evinced that their plans for obtaining
pillage had long been systematized, and that they seldom permitted any
opportunity whereby they could profit by making free with property
under their charge to escape their attention. As a proof that this
assertion is well grounded, the following authenticated case, among
others which could be detailed, is stated as an instance of the
extreme rapacity of this class of men.--A Canada merchant, who had
been accustomed to ship quantities of oil annually to the London
market, finding (as indeed almost every merchant experiences) a
constant and uniform deficiency in the quantity landed, greatly
exceeding what could arise from common leakage, which his
correspondents were quite unable to explain; having occasion to visit
London, was resolved to see his cargo landed with his own eyes; so as,
if possible, to develope a mystery heretofore inexplicable, and by
which he had regularly lost a considerable sum for several years.
Determined therefore to look sharp after his property, he was in
attendance at the wharf in anxious expectation of a lighter which had
been laden with his oil on the preceding day; and which, for reasons
that he could not comprehend, did not get up for many hours after the
usual time.
On her arrival at the wharf, the proprietor was confounded to find the
whole of his casks stowed in the lighter with their bungs downwards.
Being convinced that this was the effect of design, he began now to
discover one of the causes at least, of the great losses he had
sustained; he therefore attended the discharge of the lighter until
the whole of the casks were removed, when he perceived a great
quantity of oil leaked out, and in the hold of the vessel, which the
Lightermen had the effrontery to insist was their perquisite. The
proprietor ordered casks to be brought, and filled no less than nine
of them with the oil that had thus leaked out. He then ordered the
ceiling of the lighter to be pulled up, and found between her timbers
as much as filled five casks more; thus recovering from a single
lighter-load of his property, no less than fourteen casks of oil,
that, but for his attendance, would have been appropriated to the use
of the Lightermen; who, after attempting to rob him of so valuable a
property, complained very bitterly of his ill usage in taking it from
them.
7th. _Mud-Larks_, so called from their being accustomed to prowl
about, at low water, under the quarters, of West India ships; (or at
least that class which were denominated _Game_, these being mostly the
objects of pillage;) under pretence of grubbing in the mud for _old
ropes_, _iron_, and _coals_, &c. but whose chief object, when in such
situations, was to receive and conceal small bags of sugar, coffee,
pimento, ginger, and other articles, and sometimes bladders containing
rum, which they conveyed to such houses as they were directed, and for
which services they generally received a share of the booty.--These
auxiliaries in this species of pillage were considered as the lowest
cast of thieves; but from a general knowledge of the Receivers in the
vicinity, they frequently afforded considerable assistance to the
Lumpers, Coopers and others, who collected plunder in the progress of
the ships' delivery.
8th. _Revenue Officers._--Notwithstanding the laudable severity of the
Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs and Excise, in making examples
of their inferior servants by immediate dismission, on proof made of
any offence, or even neglect of duty; a certain class of these
officers, who are denominated _Game_, have found means to promote
pillage to a very extensive degree, not only in West India ships, but
also in ships from the East Indies, and in every ship and vessel
arriving and departing from the River Thames, of which it is to be
lamented, that too many proofs have been adduced. This class of
officers generally make a point of at least having the appearance of
being punctual and regular in their attendance upon their duty, and by
never being found absent by their superior officers obtain
preferences, where such can be given, with respect to those
particular ships which afford the best harvest, either from being
under the charge of Mates or others, with whom they have had criminal
transactions in former voyages, or from the cargo being of a nature
calculated to afford a resource for plunder. They are also generally
acquainted with the _Copemen_ or Receivers, with whom and the other
officers, after seducing the Mate, (if not already seduced) they
negociate for the purchase of whatever can be plundered.
In those seasons of the year, when the crouded state of the port
renders it necessary to have recourse to _extra_ and _Glut Officers_,
the general distress of this class of men, and the expectations most
of them have formed of advantages by being placed on board ships of a
certain description, render it an easy matter to seduce them; and by
such means had every obstruction been removed to the perpetration of
these excessive robberies, in all their ramifications, which had so
long afflicted the port of London.[56]
[Footnote 56: In the throng season of the year at least 900 inferior
Customhouse officers, and about 300 Excisemen, are stationed on board
of ships in the Port of London, besides 82 Customhouse watermen and 36
superior Officers who do duty on the River Thames. The fair allowance
of the established Tide Officers may be from 50_l._ to 55_l._ a year.
The preferable Officers having 3_s._ 6_d._ a day only when employed,
are supposed to receive wages for 2-3ds. of the year; while the extra
Officers, who have only 3_s._ a day, are not supposed to be employed
above half the year: and the Glutmen not more than two months in the
throngest part of the season.
Men in such situations having a trust committed to them of great
magnitude and importance, in the protection of a Revenue amounting to
more than Seven Millions, and receiving wages inferior to common
labourers, with pecuniary pressures upon them, arising from the wants
in many instances of large families, assailed on all hands by
temptations to connive at evil practices, as they relate both to the
Revenue and the Individual--What can be expected from them?--Humanity,
policy, and even justice pleads for an increase of salary, as the best
means of preserving their morals and increasing the Revenue. Other
Regulations through the medium of the Police System might be
established, whereby their purity might be secured, and the Revenue
eased of a considerable expence, by reducing the number employed at
present, often in promoting mischievous instead of useful purposes.]
9th. _Scuffle-Hunters_--so denominated probably from their resorting
in numbers to the quays and wharfs where goods are discharging, under
pretence of finding employment as labourers upon the landing places
and in the warehouses, and from the circumstance, of _disputes_ and
_scuffles_ arising about who should secure most plunder from broken
packages. This class of men, who may fairly be considered as the very
scum of society, frequently prowl about with long aprons, not so much
with a view to obtain employment, as for the purpose of availing
themselves of the confusion which the crowded state of the quays often
exhibits, and the opportunity of obtaining plunder; in which object
they have too frequently been successful, particularly when admitted
into the warehouses as labourers, where they have found means to
pilfer and carry away considerable quantities of sugar and other
articles, in which they were not a little countenanced, by similar
offences committed by journeymen coopers and others, who, under the
colour of sanctioned perquisites, abstract considerable quantities of
sugar, thereby subjecting the proprietors to an accumulated loss: for,
in addition to the first cost or price of the article, the duties
which have been paid form no inconsiderable part of the ultimate
value. It is only necessary to resort to the Journals of the House of
Commons, and the Appendix to the Report of the Dock Committee in 1796,
in order to be satisfied, that the plunder in the warehouses has been
excessive. And if credit is to be given to the evidence then brought
forward, and also to the affidavits of persons, who have worked for
many years in the sugar warehouses, the loss sustained on an
importation of 140,000[57] casks of sugar has not fallen much short of
L.100,000 a year.[58]
[Footnote 57: Sugar and Rum imported into the Port of London, from the
25th of March 1798 to the 25th of March 1799:--
Casks, Casks,
Islands. Ships. Sugar. Rum.
Jamaica 151 64,108 17,279
Antigua 14 5,258 715
St. Kitt's 14 6,137 755
Barbadoes 17 7,961 65
Granadoes 18 6,806 443
Mountserat 6 2,742 568
Nevis 4 1,867 418
Dominica 14 4,152 400
St. Vincent 26 10,147 908
Tortola 3 789 109
Sundry Places, }
including captured }
Islands, &c. } 106 32,739 2,271
--- ------- ------
373 142,760 23,931
--- ------- ------]
[Footnote 58: Independent of the excessive pillage by the labourers in
the Warehouses, which has been rendered but too evident from the
detections of Offenders since the establishment of the Marine Police,
the samples alone, which on an average are said to amount to 12_lb._
per hhd. (instead of 1-1/2_lb._ per hhd. in conformity to the
Regulations of the West India Merchants, of the 12th of June 1789,)
make a net aggregate of 1,470,000 pounds of sugar, which at 10_d._ per
pound amounts to 61,250_l._ a year!]
10th. _Copemen or Receivers of Stolen Commercial Property._--This
mischievous class of men may be considered as the chief movers and
supporters of the extensive scene of iniquity which has been developed
and explained in the preceding pages of this Chapter. They were
heretofore extremely numerous, and divided into various classes.[59]
Those denominated _Copemen_ formed the junto of wholesale dealers, who
were accustomed to visit ships on their arrival, for the purpose of
entering into contract with such Revenue Officers or Mates as they had
formerly known or dealt with, and such others as they could by means
of friendly officers seduce to their views.
[Footnote 59: See the "Treatise on the Commerce and Police of the
River Thames," for a particular account of these classes.]
Their negociations were carried on in a language and in terms peculiar
to themselves; and commenced by settling the price of
_Sand_ by which, in their cant language, was meant _Sugar_.
_Beans_ or _Coffee_.
_Pease_ -- _Pimento_ or _Pepper_.
_Vinegar_ -- _Rum_ and _other Liquors_.
_Malt_ -- _Tea_.
It was their custom to afford assistance wherever such articles were
to be procured by providing _Black Straps_, (_i.e._, the long black
bags already mentioned) to contain sugar, and calculated to stow
easily in the bottom of boats, without being discovered on account of
the colour. They also procured bladders with wooden nozels for the
purpose of containing rum, brandy, geneva, and other liquors, and
furnished boats to convey the plunder from the ships during the night.