The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-02 00:00:00

EXTENSIVE SMUGGLING IN LONDON.

The recent discovery of an extraordinary and extensive sys-
tem of smuggling, supposed to have been carried on for many
year's by certain well-known wine and spirit merchants in the
city, with the knowledge of and by the connivance of a number
of government officers, has been the principal subject of discos-
sion for the last few days on 'Change, at the several commer-
cial coffee-houses, and at the Custom House, and by which
illicit trade the revenue has been defrauded of custom duties to
an enormous amount. As it may be imagined, various rumours
are current respecting the affair; but from information col-
lected from the most authentic sources in the several depart-
ments of the establishments of the Custom House, at the docks,
and principal quays, it appears that for the last two or three
years certain large firms in the wine and spirit trade, carrying
on a most extensive business, have been in the constant prac-
tice of importing the finest brandies and other spirits from the
continent, which, by the dexterity and connivance of some cus-
tom officers stationed at the docks and quays where the spirits
had been landed from the vessels, have, after guaging, been de-
livered to the importers upon the payment of the wine duty of
ss. 6d. instead of the proper spirit duty of 225. 6d. per gallon.
An agent of the parties, it appears, recently received a consign-
ment of six hogsheads of French brandy, which, by the negli-
gence of some of the parties concerned, were landed in the
Queen's warehouse on the ground floor of the custom-house;
and through this mistake, the whole of the nefariousproceed-
ings have been happily brought to light. On being admitted
to entry as wine, one of the hogsheads was seized, having been
found to contain brandy • and on closer inspection, a pecu-
liarly constructed tube, of? about six inches in diameter, was
discovered fixed in the cask, reaching perpendicularly from the
bung, and extending the depth of the cask, which tube was
filled with wine, the remainder of the cask containing brandy;
but, the tube having leaked, the wine became mixed with the
brandy, which circumstance led to the discovery and seizure by
the gauging officer. Immediately on these facts being commu-
nicated to the honourable board of customs, the commissioners
instituted a strict inquiry into all the circumstances. One in-
dividUal, when examined before the board, most positively de-
clared he had witnessed as much as £lOO. given in one sum to
certain persons; whom he named, to induce them to allow the
spirits to be delivered as wine. The board of excise having
been put in possesSion of the above-mentioned facts, and the
excisemen having also had similar information, those officers
have since been indefatigable in their exertions in tracing the
spirits to the place or places in which they were concealed, and
had at length succeeded in discovering the five hogsheads,
which came over with the cask as above stated, and had been
and were now daily making seizures in almost every part of the
city. They had also succeeded in seizing 35 cases of brandy
which had been described as wine in the warrant for payment
of duty. Much still remains shrouded in mystery ; and several
officers have been suspended, being suspected as having been
concerned in this transaction as accessories; but it is expected
that the whole of the additional particulars will soon be laid be-
fore the public.