they had brought, and again set sail for home.  The vessel was again met at a convenient distance from the English shore by smaller boats if a favourable signal had been flashed from the land; and, using the darkness of the night, once more both the cargo and the supernumerary men were put into the boats, after which the latter ran the stuff ashore in casks already slung and in bales, while the smack headed for her harbour whence she had set out.  As she had just the same small crew as before no suspicions were aroused, and it was presumed she had been out fishing.

But additional to these comparatively large vessels there were smaller craft—­open boats, yawls, and little sloops—­which in fine weather were wont to run across from the south coast of England to Boulogne, Guernsey, and from the west of England to the Isle of Man.  They also loaded up with as much cargo as they could carry, and, since they were able to be beached, the process of discharging their contents as soon as they returned was much simpler.  These smaller craft also were in the habit of running out well clear of the land and meeting Dutch vessels, from which they would purchase similar kinds of goods and run them in by the usual methods.  In these lesser craft were frequently carried a great many stones, anchors, and heavy weights by means of which the half-ankers of brandy could be sunk near the shore and afterwards taken up as required.  The exact way in which this was done we shall discuss fully in a later chapter.

Some of the cobbles, “hovelings,” and small fishing craft that were accustomed to run out to big sailing merchantmen under pretence of shipping pilots to take them into the next port, were actually engaged in smuggling all sorts of goods out of these ships.  Perhaps it was a lurking sympathy with the men engaged in a trade with which his earlier years had been so intimately associated that made Captain Cockburn suggest that it was because the Dutchmen brought such large quantities of fish into Billingsgate that the English fishermen found their work unprofitable, and were accordingly driven to devote themselves to smuggling.  But from evidence in other documents it would certainly seem that Cockburn was speaking the truth and that the fishing industry was not a very good livelihood at that time.

Then, secondly, there was the smuggling that was carried on by the trading sailing ships from abroad.  Great quantities of goods were being run into the country by colliers—­they were usually brig-rigged—­by corn-ships, packet-boats from the Continent and other vessels trading with Holland.  At least, one thousand five hundred vessels were engaged in this trade, “and,” added Cockburn, “he scarcely ever knew one of them return without some prohibited or high duty goods.”  The smuggling from these vessels was done in various ways.  There were the pilot-boats and fishing craft which frequently met them near the coast, as already explained.  Another way was for the merchantmen