signal and no shot fired in this first instance.

And then, again, among these instructions cropped up the reminder that
in times past commanders of cruisers had not been wont to keep the
sea in bad weather--a period when the conditions were most favourable
for smugglers--but now the Admiralty remarked that if the commander
should be deficient in "this most essential part of your duty" he
would be superseded. On the west coasts of England and Scotland
especially some of the commanders had been accustomed in former years
to pass the night in some harbour, bar, or creek instead of cruising
on their station and counteracting the designs of the smugglers, "who
will always prefer the night time for carrying on his operations."
Consequently the Admiralty now strictly charged the commanders to
cruise during the night, and no matter of private concern must serve
as a pretext for any intermission.

They were also to maintain a regular communication with the commander
of any other vessel with which they had been instructed to cruise in
concert. And cruisers were to be furnished with the laws relative to
smuggling and not to exceed the powers vested in the commanders by
law. As to any un-Customed or prohibited goods these were to be
secured in the King's Warehouse at the next port, and care was to be
taken that these goods remained undamaged or pilfered by the crew. And
after the goods had been thus put ashore both the commander and mate
were carefully to search the smuggling vessel, the boxes, and bedding
of her crew to see if anything had been kept back.

Whenever a vessel was seized at sea precautions must be taken to
ascertain the distance from the shore "by causing two points of land
to be set, and the bearings thereof to be noted by two or more of your
officers and mariners who are acquainted with those points of land, so
that each of them may be in condition to swear to the bearings from
the note taken by him at the time, to be produced by him upon the
trial of the vessels."

Any papers found on board the smuggling craft were immediately to be
initialled by the persons present, and no cruiser or any of her boats
should be employed in carrying passengers or pleasure parties. The
commander and mate were to keep separate journals of all the
proceedings of the cruiser relating to wind and weather, bearings, and
distances from the land, soundings, &c., every twenty-four hours so
that the admiral could tell whether the cruis