Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1888-06-02 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

GIGANTIC SMUGGLING ORGANISATION.  The Paris correspondent of the Time,s states that there has been established at • town near Paris a central office for the transmission of contraband goods upon which a prohibitive duty has been imposed. Since the commencement of the war of tariffs between France and Italy the despatch of goods to and from ths latter country was stopped and the commercial and industrial relatiens between the two countries were seriously threttened with permanent injury. Some articles of:considerable importance were made subject under the new tariff to • prohibitive duty, and their exportation from one country to the other was rendered absolutely impossible. If that state of things had been continued a number of important industries, both on the French and on the Italian side of the frontier, would have been compelled, if not to stop their production, at least to diminish its quantity. The method adopted is described as follow.: A central office is opened in Paris, to which place orders come in from all parts of France. This office has under it provincial or district offices which are placed underlocal management. The Paris central office gives the provineial offices the order to make delivery of the packages to be forwarded either at private add or at railway stations. The only kind of merchandise forwarded is small in size, and valuable. Ordinary goods of small value are refused. Every merchant or manufacturer who wants to forward goods by contraband receives instruction. specially explaining to him the form in which the packages t.re to be addressed to the principal director, and this form varies, not only as regards the goods, but as regards the province fitom which or to which the goods are to be sent. Thus there are districts in which smuggling is more easy, where the men who Conduct it are more active and vigorous, where the roads are less carefully watched, and whore, in consequence, the transmission of the goods from one territory to another offer less danger or difficulty. The goods are never forwarded directly to the point whence they are to be transmitted beyond the frontier, but from one district point to another, sometimes even going backward and 0 reaching ' their destination after a considerable circuit. On both sides of the frontier there has been organised at numerous places quite an army of .carriers, who convey the packets according to their size on the backs of mules, or on their Om shoulders, to spots over the frontier whence they can be transmitted to their destinations. The tariff for transmission varies from 12 to 15 per cent, on the value of the merchandise forwarded. Olathe frontier the bands of contraband carriers are organised with much care. They never go out singly, but in small squads, and if one of them is chased by a customs officer, he throws down his burden and makes off, leaving it to those who follow to secure it. The Times correspondent adds that he knows one house of business which since this service was organised has transmitted by it 1,200,000 f. worth of goods. Not one of the packages transmitted has been seized, although six of the contraband carriers have been caught while engaged in the work of conveying them. The smugglers make 51, or 61., and i even as much as 101. on each packet carried over the frontier, and one courageous man, knowing the country perfectly, can make in a few hours 1001. or 1201. by his services as a carrier. When a smuggler is taken into custody, and put in prison, the general undertaking allows him 51. a day during the whole term of his imprisonment. As soon as the merchandise has arrived at its destination the sender is informed of the fact, and up to the present time the transmission has never been delayed more than two days from the time fixed beforehand for the completion of the work. On the occasion of his visit to the office, the correspondent saw packed and arranged articles of merchandise which filled 11 casks, and amounted in value to more than 500,000 f. They were sent off in seven different directions, and the j price of transmission had been fixed at 85,000 f.  Wyeiag mama la Paris filled her small bedroom with lowers, and this committed suicide. At the last moment a general and copious rainfal over the whole five southern provinces of Russia has saved the cereal orope. An abundant harvest is now ensured.