shots perforated the clothes of Mr. Richards and others of the party, but fortunately, no personal injury was received. So rife were the animosities, robberies, and incendiary fires (Woodhams's to wit), that in the absence of an organised county police, an application was made and complied with for several of the Metropolitan Police to be sent down. Another case of disreputable conduct occured (sic) on the 24th of February.
Smuggling Fatalities - Sermon by Dr. Fearon at Ore Church
A preventiveman (sic) of the name of Goodfellow, whose behaviour belied his name, seized his officer (Lieut Ewell) in his arms at Bopeep station, and dashed him violently to the ground. The fellow was taken at the Fountain Inn and conveyed to a place of confinement in the Tower. Two days later, the deposition of the Lieutenant was taken by the magistrate, as he was not expected to live. How the affair ended I have neither record nor recollection, but it may be well imagined that this bad fellow "Goodfellow" would be dealt with according to his merits. On the day following the above-named assault, a man named Tapsell, whose previous pugilistic encounter with a David Coussens resulted in the latter's death, was committed to six week's incarceration in the Hastings gaol, he having been adjudged guilty of a desperate assault. But there were more characters a la Tapsell in those days, and I am reminded of the prize-fight which took place on the 19th of March at Barkway in Herefordshire. In that disgraceful affair the man known as "Brighton Bill" was killed by Owen Smith, who had similarly despatched (sic) his antagonist on two preceding occasions. For the last fatality, however, Smith was put upon trial under the indictment of manslaughter.
The next fatality was of a somewhat different character, and although, like the one last named, not a strictly local event, it had local associations, and was one of those sanguinary affairs which, happily, are unknown to the present generation. On Sunday morning the first of April, 300 tubs of contraband spirits were landed near Camber Watchhouse, in which a considerable number of persons belonging to Hastings, St. Leonards, Winchelsea, and other places had shares, or were employed to run the cargo. The smugglers had a strong force at the scene of action, and although they succeeded in carrying off their goods, the fight over them was of a stubborn and murderous nature. Cuts and bruises were dealt out on both sides, and whilst one of the preventivemen (sic) was dangerously wounded, one of the smugglers was killed on the spot. The name of the latter was Thomas Monck, a member of a Winchelsea family, and a man who eked out a precarious living as an inferior fiddler. This sanguinary affair has been regarded as almost the last of a long series of conflicts on the southern coasts between the coastguard and the "freetraders." But if not that it was undoubtedly the last in which human life was sacrificed. Mr. Banks, in his Smugglers and Smuggling, Mr. Durrant Cooper in his Smuggling in Sussex, and a writer in the united Service Journal, all testify to the desperate character of these enterprises; and to the accounts given by the above-named writers I have already added many details from my own reminiscences. It may be permitted me to say that as my personal recollection of these matters extends from the year 1820 to the year now under consideration - thus embracing most eventful period of illicit traffic - it will be posible (sic) at fitting opportunities to give some further particulars of scenes and conflicts which have now happily disappeared, and which can hardly find a place even in the national imagination of the present except by the aid of those whose experiences extend to the past. That it was high time to put an end to the traffic, so that men's efforts might be directed to more legitimate pursuits, hardly admits of a doubt, although there are grounds to believe that for a time the lawessness (sic) in which a great many young men were steeped by smuggling associations only found vent in deeds that were even more reprehensible. From sheer inability to apply themselves to honest industry when their former occupation was gone, many, it is to be feared, turned their sole attention to poaching, pilfering, gambling and other vices. Hence the upper and middle classes, the tradesmen and the farmers - many of whom had hitherto connived at smuggling transactions - began to see the necessity of assisting in the suppression of lawliness, (sic) and hence also the crowding of prisons during the year 1838, already alluded to. But the Union workhouses were filled in similar proportion, and this I have endeavoured to account for by the severity of the weather during the winter and spring of that year, and by diminished employment. It is not unlikely, however, that the almost abrupt cessation of smuggling at that time was a factor in the prevalent distress. In the year following the one under notice, a writer in the United Service Journal refers to the final and successful efforts to put down smuggling on the coasts of Kent and Sussex as having the effect of augmenting the parochial burthens by throwing thousands out of employment and causing their families to become chargeable upon the poor-rates. "So severe," says that authority, "was the local distress occasioned by the sudden suppression of smuggling, that in the town of Deal alone, no less than 600 houses were shut up in one year." I should have thought that 60 would have been nearer the truth; but, admitting the latter number to be a more accurate estimate, there is still sufficient evidence in the fact to strengthen the supposition that a considerable amount of distress did arise from the effective and almost sudden suppression of the contraband traffic. No less probable is it that much of the criminalty (sic) and misdemeanour of the period might be traced to the same cause. I remember the Rev. Dr. Fearon, (at that time Rector of Ore), denouncing from the pulpit the lawlessness which so extensively prevailed, and I have now before me the short-hand notes of a discourse delivered by that venerable gentleman in the - now dismantled - church at Ore, on Sunday, March 11th, 1838. The said short-hand notes were taken by the present proprietor of the GAZETTE, and by means of a system invented by himself during the preceding year. If there be any interest attached to this statement it may be found in the threefold fact that it is original and concise; that it has never been published; and that the inventor once declined to his subsequent regret, the offer of a sum of money for the copyright. The day on which he commenced it was May 23rd 1837, as since intimated in the following anniversary doggerel:-
In Eighteen thirty-sev'n, one T. B. Brett,
With plastic mind upon invention set,
Ingeniously, a writing system framed,
Which judges competent thereafter named
As "Brett's Short Hand - the latest and the best;"
For Pitman's then had not been brought to test.
But that it makes a slight break in the commonplace prose of his history, the quoted doggerel might have been omitted; and indeed, all reference to the shorthand and its author might have shared the same fate but for the associations which have been called up thereby. It is of no significance that a small memorandum-book, yellowed by age, may be seen at the Gazette office, in which a youthful stenographic student recorded some of the pulpit utterances of the Rev. Dr. Fearon, the Rev. P. Saffery, and the Rev. J. Jenkinson by means of characters newly invented; but it may be of interest to those who knew the ministers here named to have placed before them a reproduction of their words which for nearly fifty years have been locked up in the shorthand characters in question, and which almost by accident are now unlocked by the one only hand which holds the key. In the pulpit utterances thus deciphered allusions are made to the prominent vices of the period, and in the sermon by Dr. Fearon special reference is made to the base attempt to shoot the Rev. Mr. Richards, at Icklesham.
In the sermon now transcribed and presented to my readers, not only does the Doctor bewail the house-breaking, the sacrilege and the attempt to shoot a clergyman in a neighbouring parish, which at the time caused much consternation and alarm, but he also deplores the prevalent vice and degeneracy of his own parochial community. He tells his hearers that such depravity did not exist at Ore "twenty years ago," but the "twenty years ago" would mean a period when the population of that parish was probably not one-fourth of what it was in 1838, and when the very small church of St. Helen's (now supplanted by a new one) had not been enlarged by the additional aisle. The reverend gentleman could not, however, have been unmindful of the fact that even at the earlier period his parishioners were largely tainted with the law-breaking propensity of smuggling, and that his little churchyard contained the remains of many who had lost their lives in some of the fatal conflicts which were the outcome of the practice. It was the resting-place of all that was mortal of him who was killed near the west end of St. Leonards (as described in an earlier part of this history), and it was also the depository of the four bodies deprived of life in the year 1826 while engaged in a smuggling affair at Pett. The four young men thus killed were inhabitants of Ore, and their names were Gladwish, Cruttenden and the brothers Page. They were fiercely attacked by the preventivemen (sic) while crossing the Military Canal at Pett - horserace, and death was the result. But now for the sermon. The Doctor selected his text from 1st Thessalonians iv., 1. - "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more." He then proceeded to say -
My dear brethren, - I hope and trust that the words God hath given me to speak to you this morning may not be spoken in vain, but that they may command the reception of all who hear them. I shall endeavour in the first place to show you the duty you owe to yourselves and in the second place your duty to your fellow creatures. I would say, then, firstly, that it is your duty to live honestly, soberly, prudently, and righteously; to follow God's ordinances, to walk in his ways, to cherish the religion of your country and of your souls, and to appreciate the noble morals of Christianity. But what shall we say when robbers, thieves and murderers carry on their depredations with impunity and defiance, setting at nought the commands of God their maker, and thus trifling with their own souls? It was but a few days since that a minister of the gospel was shot at in coming out of his own house. God have mercy on us! This is indeed serious! It is a bodily concern - an act which effects (sic) the lives of our fellow-creatures. It is therefore my duty, and indeed it is the duty of all ministers, to exhort you against such terrible crimes; to tell you the awful consequences of such diabolical conduct, and to warn you of your danger. In the words of our text, "We beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more." Consider the duty and responsibility of ministers. It is their duty to preach to you the truths of the gospel, and to train up a people in love and fear of God. But alas! how sad it is to see the Christian religion so abused and despised, and God so mocked. Look at the 17th verse of the 13th chapter of Hebrews. - "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you." Is it not our duty, then to watch over your souls? If so, it is your duty to listen to us. Now read that passage over again. You ought on the one hand to be urging and stimulating us on, and we on the other have to urge you on in every way possible to the good work of Christianity, and to declare to you your duty to your neighbours and yourselves. But you don't regard anything we say to you; or if you do, you don't act upon it. Although many of you come to church Sunday after Sunday, you go away as unedified as you were before you came. What a sad thing it is that men will go on robbing, housebreaking, and shooting their fellow-men; and then for a man to boast after he has done it. I never heard of such things twenty years ago. It is shocking to think of the revellings that take place in our own parish night after night. The beershops are crammed with men revelling in their drunkenness thus disturbing the peace of their families at home, abusing their own bodies, and destroying their own souls. I have nothing to do with politics, but I have to declare to you the sins of all times. I have to tell you the risks you are daily running; I have to tell you of your soul's welfare; and I have to warn you to flee from the wrath to come. Consider my brethren, consider that we have immortal souls that must live for ever and ever, either in a state of happiness or state of misery. This, then, my brethren, is the duty you owe to yourselves. As regards your duty to your neighbour, you are to love and respect him as your selves; you are to do him justice; you are not to steal, nor kill, nor to bear false witness against our neighbour. But if a man will go on in such sinful practices it is my duty to warn him of the evil consequences. But perhaps you will say, surely we may do as we like in these matters! I answer yes, you may! you may kill, you may steal, you may lie, you may defraud your fellow-man; but remember you will not go unpunished for your wickedness. Your name is recorded in God's book, never to be obliterated. You may pass unnoticed by your neighbours, but God's allseeing eye discerns the intentions of your evil heart; he sees all your vile deeds, and marks you out as a subject for his great displeasure. Oh! my brethren, consider the awful situation you are placed in. You who do these things, fully consider the misery and eternal damnation that awaits you after this life. Consider the loss of heavenly joys; is it not a loss far greater than anything you can sustain on earth? And to obtain these joys is of more importance than to possess the greatest earthly treasure. How do even the best of us bow and cringe to a man who has got a little money, but how reluctant are we to bow ourselves in humble submission to God. (sic) God is not in all our thoughts. Oh! that you would consider your ways; that you were wise; that you would consider your latter end! Remember that you are never out of the reach of God, and that therefore you ought to be the more studious to act agreeably to His commands, and say to yourselves, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" You know that you have been visited at your own houses by ministers, and let me ask you what effect (sic) it has had - what has been the result? I will answer the question myself. The moment they have disappeared, all their warnings, all their exhortations, their entreaties, and their preachings have been turned by you into ridicule and contempt. But, my friends, hear what God has said on this subject - "He that despiseth, despiseth not man, But God." You have had instruction enough; let me ask you then, have you received these truths - received them not in understanding merely, but with a practical knowledge, a firm belief, a full reliance on their efficacy, and with a full determination who walk agreeably thereto? In the words of Scripture "Is the Gospel come to you, not in words only, but in power, and with the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance?" You are not then to despise ministers because they tell you the truth, and because they tell you of your sins, for God hath commanded them to preach the gospel to every creature. Oh! what astounding commands! - commands that must be obeyed both by ministers and hearers! Surely we have cause to say, "Who hath believed our report?" It is a question of great importance if God hath said "He that believeth shall inherit eternal life, but he that believeth not shall be dammed."(sic) And not all the infidels, nor the devils themselvs (sic) shall be able to counteract it. But, as I have said, it must be a practical belief, a belief filled up by acts of accordance. I would also exhort to brotherly love, "For this cause also," saith Christ, "we pray without ceasing." Oh! think of the wonderful love of Christ; think of the matchless condescension of Christ; think of His humility; think of his holy life, walk (sic) and conversation; think of his sufferings and cruel death - a death which we mostly rightly deserved. But a worse death than this we must all come to - a death that will plunge us into regions of darkness and endless misery, unless we truly repent and believe the blessed gospel given us through our Lord Jesus Christ. When a man comes to church he comes in a drowsy, sleepy state, but when he goes to market he goes with his eyes open, You will see him there conscious of what he is doing and of what he is going for. I wish from my heart this condition were altered. I wish I could see you paying as much attention to your soul as you do to your body. Why so much concern for this world's goods? "Therefore," says your Lord, "take no thought" - that is take no unnecessary thought - "what we shall eat, nor what ye shall drink, nor of your body, what ye shall put on; is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment?" Now my bretheren, (sic) view Christ in his endeavours to win your souls. Hear him say to you, My Father sends me to die for you; to die that you may live. See Him offering himself, spotless, blameless and sinless, to die on your behalf. Oh! my brethren, could you once see the misery of hell, how horror-stricken you would be. Oh! methinks your hearts would strive as a fainting soul after the water brooks. And Then again if you could but see the joys of heaven - see how glorious is the place - how beautiful the milk white throne, surrounded by stately angels, with all the host of souls, singing and praising their Redeemer, how great would be the contrast in these two views. Oh! let me intreat (sic) you then to strive to obtain the latter inheritance among the blessed of God, there to celebrate his never-ending praise and love, and joy unspeakable, and full of glory. Let me entreat you to forsake your wicked ways to give yourself up to Christ. Let me beg of you to act with brotherly love towards your fellow creatures; to keep your own, and only your own; to do all the good you can to your neighbours; to love, fear and serve God; and to look to the welfare of your everlasting souls. I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, to look until Him as your proffered Saviour; or if my own beseeching will not prevail, then look on me as an ambassador of Christ. Consider as though God did beseech you by me. I pray you in Christ's stead, as though I had a message for the good of your souls, to look unto Christ, Set your hearts to the words which I testify to you this morning; for, believe me, it is not a vain thing. Alas! that I should have need to thus persuade you. What? is Christ not worthy of a place in your hearts? How readily can we think of those we call our friends, whilst He who wishes to be our best friend we treat with the greatest contempt. .... I exhort you, then, "by His agony and bloody sweat, by His cross and passion, by His precious death and burial, and by His glorious resurrection and ascension," to turn from your wicked ways, and live. Finally, in the words of my text, "I beseech you, brethren, I entreat you, by the Lord Jesus Christ, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
If among the elderly denizens of Hastings and St. Leonards there are any besides the writer who once helped to fill that now non-existent little church of unpretentious architecture, they will recognise in the foregoing discourse the candid but earnest style of its popular Rector - a style which, with an eloquence of its own, possessed the power of attracting numbers of church-going people from the town.
