he
Collector and Controller of Yarmouth or to the Board the misconduct of
his Mate, in unlawfully taking from the said ship the four cases of
Geneva in question, but did take out of them for his own use, and by
so doing did connive at and sanction the aforesaid unproper conduct of
his Mate." It was also brought against Riches that he had not entered
any account of this incident into his ship's journal, or made any
record of the mate boarding the Dane.

In the end Riches was adjudged by the Board guilty of not giving
information regarding his mate's conduct and of receiving one case of
Geneva for his own use, but he was acquitted of connivance for want of
evidence. He was found guilty also of not having entered the incident
in his journal. Oliver was acquitted of having boarded the Danish ship
for want of proof, but found guilty of having failed to keep a
complete journal of his proceedings. But a further charge was made
that Riches caused a case of foreign spirits, which had been taken out
of the Danish ship, to be brought ashore from the cutter and taken to
his home at Yarmouth without paying the duty thereon. Oliver was also
accused of a similar crime with regard to two cases. Riches was
acquitted for want of proof of having caused the gin to be taken to
his house, but found guilty of having received it, knowing the duty
had not been paid. Oliver was also found guilty, and both were
accordingly dismissed.

And there was the case of a man named Thomas Rouse, who was accused of
having been privy to the landing of a number of large casks of spirits
and other goods from a brig then lying off the Watch-house at
Folkestone. This was on the night of May 20 and the early hours of May
21, 1806. He was further accused of being either in collusion with the
smugglers in that transaction or criminally negligent in not
preventing the same. It was still further brought against him that he
had not stopped and detained the master of the brig after going on
board, although the master was actually pointed out to him by a boat's
crew belonging to the _Nimble_ Revenue cutter. Rouse was found guilty
of the criminal negligence and ordered to be dismissed. And, in
addition, the chief boatmen, five boatmen, and two riding-officers of
the Preventive Service at that port were also dismissed for failing to
do their utmost to prevent this smuggling, which had, in fact, been
done collusively. Those were certainly anxious times for the Customs
C