Smuggling et al

[Timerover51]

There is an interesting magazine on Project Gutenberg talking about ways people smuggled tobacco into England during the Victorian Era, along with creative ways to avoid custom duties. As Tobacco is apparently a big No-No in the Imperium, the ways to smuggle it into Great Britain should be enlightening. The following quote is one on how to avoid custom duties.

At a time when goods were subjected to ad valorem duties, there were no end of tricks practised by which an importer, whose goods were seized, obtained his own importations for the veriest trifle, and thus made a handsome profit by his cleverness. Mr Chester relates an instance of an importer, more shrewd than honest, who imported into Folkestone a case of gloves on which he declined to pay duty. The goods, of course, were seized. Into London, the same gentleman imported a similar case with a like result. When the goods were offered for sale at the two places, it was found that the Folkestone case contained all right-hand gloves, while those in London were all left-hand gloves. Being considered valueless, they were knocked down to the buyer for a mere trifle. It is needless to add that the buyer in each case was the importer, who paired the gloves and pocketed a respectable profit by the transaction.

The piece containing this is as follows: Chambers's journal of popular literature, science, and art, fifth series, no. 122, vol. III, May 1, 1886

Chambers's journal of popular literature, science, and art, fifth series, no. 122, vol. III, May 1, 1886

www.gutenberg.org

The magazine also has in article on the Ivory trade into the U.S., which was quite substantial. All in all, an interesting magazine. I have found a lot of interesting information in Chamber's Journal.