BRITISH MEN OF WAR AS SMUGGLERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 252, 17 October 1908, Page 4

BRITISH MEN OF WAR AS SMUGGLERS.

By Captain E. Stubbs, R.N. Of tales about smugglers there are no end, but I venture to think U1..1 few are aware that at one time llritisii men-of-war were engaged in siiiugg!i ,l g with the Oovernnienl's connivance.

The chief difference between the ordinary smuggler and the man-of-war was that one smuggled goods into a country while the other was engaged in smuggling them out. These latter articles were silver Mexican dollars and bars.

Up to within seventy or eighty years ago, Mexico was the greatest silver-pro-ducing country in the world. The wealth of its mines was reputed fabulous, but the ignorant Mexican Government of those day s laboured under the very erroneous, but very common, idea that the precious metal was itself wealth, the result being that exportation of silver was absolutely forbidden.

Silver was, therefore, so common in that country that .Mexicans in very shabby garments might be seen riding their horses with silver bits, silver spurs and silver stirrups, the spurs being lilted with enormous rowels as large as a cheese-plate. All silver was supposed to be coined into dollars at the Mint in the City of Mexico, and, as the metal was almost absolutely pure, the Mexican dollar become of great value in China and other Eastern countries.

The question then arose as to how these dollars were to be got out of the: country. Steamers iu those days were not so common as they are now. A merchant ship with only sail power would have been useless unless a guard had been placed oil board. lleilce, it came about that British men-of-war were employed in smuggling silver out of Mexico.

It had long been the custom to entrust for greater security the carriage of the precious metal across li.e seeas " Free/lit " to iiioii-uf-uar. Hidi.;!. a .Yeular Adininillv scale uf p.iviiivil we,' and si M is.' ill exist,-!-.;-. tbe admiral on the station gel, a fou'.'ih. the captain of the -liip a half. a"d Creenw'i-li 110-jiital the remaining quarter. Tai.yiUsioio simplified our upeiaiieenn side, or Vera C 11,.% , tic side of Mexico, and ii . an began. The following was my •• 1 '.■•pe.-'-once when lying at Mazate'i,. ■■■v. i'ePacific coast' of .Mexico: The captain called me into li ; - "e'eia one day, and said that a certa'ii M So-and-So had some freight to .-.'... ion to the ship, and would I bring :' on board after sunset.

To this 1 agreed, and. jiisf as the -am was going down. I marched up lo ihe house of the merchant, where a vey.v good dinner was provided. Having partaken oi this, I was •;:- quested to eome into an adjoining room and take oil' my coat. I then donned a long canvas waistcoat, which was laced up tightly. This waistcoat was fitted with poekets up and down the whole length before and behind. A large pocket contained in one thickness ten dollars without overlapping.

When all the poekets were filled, J found myself inclosed in a coat of mail weighing some fifty to sixty pounds. I next put on my uniform coal and buttoned it up. '.\lv host conducted me through the garden at the back of the house to a small door in the city wall, which was cautiouslv opened, and. aftei he had peeped out" to see that there was 11,1 one about, 1 was allowed to pass through. The door was closed behind me. and I started back to the. shore -ome four hundred yards oil'.

Tlie coxswain of the boat wa- on the alert, and I was soon seated in the stern sheets, and on mv wav back to the ship. where I disgorged mv SOU or 1,000 doi-

For many nights in succession, I continued to dine on shore, and always escaped scot free. Another ollieer. however, was not so fortunate, for he was captured one night whilst waiting frr the boat, and conveyed info Ihe guardhouse. He wa s a man of great assurance, and dared them to lay hands 0,1 him, or attempt to unbutton his cunt as thev wished to do.

The 'men sent for the captain of the guard, but the British boat coming up just iu time, the prisoner hailed hev. and he was released and escorted back in triumph bv our own men. Had he been detained, it would, however, have been a mere temporary inconvenience, as the whole of Ihe Moxican officials wore so corrupt that a little palm oil would soon have procured his

The amount a man could comfortably carry iu these excursions was 1.000 lo I,'2(111 dollars. An ollieer on one occasion es-aved 2.000. but he burl ~ bloo'lv, 5,,.| in' the ailempt. liming -eenred all |he disposable dollars at Maza.llan. we proceeded lo Sail Bias aud procured it furl hev -tippiy of silver, chielty in bar-, from the mines at Onadnlajam. sub-equeiith. we went aboin .seventy mile- dove U',' coast, and here - id 1.-,-,'.- ~.:■-, ':,;o;.:y- adventure.-occurred. Oovei'iitnont forbade er ... I-■ a" levied, it is dillienlt to sav. bin .-very ofl",cal in Mexico, from th" !'r< -i.bnl u,>v.n for this was long before ~he days .••■

the great President Porforio Di';-had his price. <Mi board -hip v-e had I , , .."■ week- eiuplove.l in uiakine box,-- ~-. dolla-s. These box,- were mad ~: ceilar. which ihe marine- had -awn .'io,:, great logs of wood obtained al Maz-ii-ian. and the carpenters had made them into boxes holding exactly 1,000 dollars. As the dollars were placed in these boxes thev were securely nailed down, sealed, alid placed in the hold, where there were now some seventy lo eigh'y tons of silver. With this inonev we sailed for Pain--111,1. The valuable freight was then transferred to a West India mail steamer, and the smuggling was now .11 an

Our captain, naturally, cleared a nice little sum bv the transaction, though he had to make good one hundred dollars which were mysteriously stolen.