dred and three hundred men assembled at Worthing, William Cowardson, a Coast-guardsman, was shot, and several more carried away wounded .
" On the 23rd of January, 1833 , the Eastbourne smugglers having killed the chief-boatman, George Pett, formed two lines on each side, till the cargo was run-several of their party were wounded, but none of them discovered.
"Thomas Monk, a poor fiddler of Winchelsea, was shot on the 1st April, 1838, by the Coast-guard, in an affray at Camber Castle. This was the last occasion on which a life was sacrificed."
The foregoing extracts, some of which I have supplemented by information obtained from eye-witnesses, show in a striking manner the immense extent of smuggling transactions, particularly when it is recollected that many affrays were never publicly known. It seems incredible, now, how such a state of things could have grown up ; high protective duties were the chief cause, for no longer, after it was not found to pay, did smuggling flourish. The lowering of import duties has done more to prevent smuggling than the Custom-house officers, Coast-blockade, and Coast guard put together. This is undoubtedly a matter for congratulation, for after all, notwithstanding the gene ral sympathy felt for the smugglers, smuggling was breaking the law.
Another matter may seem to deserve explanation, and that is, how was it that during the latter years of smuggling so many serious affrays took place between the Coast-guard and the smugglers, and such an utter disregard for human life manifested as there was ? I venture the following opinion :-During the wars with France, the Custom-house officers ashore, and the Preventive Service afloat, were employed in stopping -
