t them.

"_P.S._--This moment we have advice that there is a gang of 200
smugglers more at St. Peter's in the Isle of Thanet."

Seven months later in that year, at nine o'clock one November morning,
a gang of 150 smugglers managed to land some valuable cargo from a
couple of cutters on to the Sandwich flats. Several Revenue officers
were despatched into the country for the purpose of meeting with some
of the stragglers. The officers came into collision with a party of
these men and promptly seized two horse-loads of goods consisting of
five bags of tea and eight half-ankers of wine. But they were only
allowed to retain this seizure for half-an-hour, inasmuch as the
smugglers presently overpowered the Revenue men and wrested back their
booty. The preventive men were also considerably knocked about, and
one of them had his thumb badly dislocated. The officers declared that
they knew none of the people, the latter being well supplied not with
firearms but with great clubs. A fortnight later, just a few miles
farther along the coast, a gang of 150 smugglers succeeded in landing
their goods at Reculvers near Birchington; and ten days later still
another gang of the same size was able to land their goods near
Kingsgate, between the North Foreland and Margate. But it cannot be
supposed that the Revenue officers were not aware of the approach of
these incidents. The fact was that they were a little lacking in
courage to face these problems on every occasion. Indeed, they were
candid enough to admit that they dared not venture near these ruffians
"without the utmost hazard of their lives." But the riding-officers
were not solely to blame, for where were the Custom House sloops? How
was it they were always absent at these critical times? Indeed, the
Collector and Controller informed the Commissioners that not one of
these sloops had been seen cruising between Sandwich and Reculvers for
some months past.

This complaint about the cruisers was made in March 1747, and in that
same month another gang, two hundred strong, appeared on the coast,
but this time, after a smart encounter, the officers secured and
placed in the King's warehouse a ton of tea as well as other goods,
and three horses. A day or two later a gang of smugglers threatened to
rescue these goods back again. The property formed a miscellaneous
collection and consisted of fifty pieces of cambric, three bags of
coffee, some Flemish linen, tea, clothes, pistols, a blu