xcise cutter _Viper_, succeeded in handing over to his
Majesty's Navy thirteen smugglers whom he had seized. As this was the
highest number for that year he thus became entitled to the premium of
L500. Captains Curling and Dobbin, two Revenue officers, were together
concerned in transferring six men to the Navy, but inasmuch as Captain
Patmour had been able to transfer five men during this same year it
was he to whom the L300 were awarded. Captain Morgan of the Excise
cutter and Captain Haddock of the Custom House cutter _Stag_ each
transferred four men during that year.

"But my Lords," states a Treasury minute of December 13, 1811,
"understanding that the nature of the service at Deal frequently
requires the Revenue vessels to co-operate with each other, do not
think it equitable that such a circumstance should deprive Messrs.
Curling and Dobbin of a fair remuneration for their diligence, and are
therefore pleased to direct warrants likewise to be prepared granting
to each of those gentlemen the sum of L100." In spite of the above
numbers, however, the Treasury were not satisfied, and did not think
that the number of men by this means transferred to the Navy had been
at all proportionate to the encouragement which they had held out.
They therefore altered the previous arrangement so as to embrace those
cases only in which the exertions of the cruisers' commanders had been
of an exceptionally distinguished nature. Thus during 1812 and the
succeeding years, until some further provision might be made, it was
decided that "the sum of L500 will be paid to such person commanding a
Revenue cutter as shall in any one year transfer to the Navy the
greatest number of smugglers, not being less than twenty." The sum of
L300 was to be paid to the persons commanding a Revenue cutter who in
any year should transfer the next greatest number of smugglers, not
being less than fifteen. And L200 were to be paid to the commander who
in one year should have transferred the third largest, not being less
than ten. This decision was made in January of 1812, and in the
following year it was directed that in future the rewards granted to
the commanders of the Revenue cruisers for delivering the greatest
number of smugglers should be made not exclusively to the commanders
but distributed among the commander, officers, and crew according to
the scale which has already been given on an earlier page in this
volume. At the end of the year 1813 it wa