A few days ago, the schooner Lavinia, which bad been
recently bought by a person engaged in the French 'trade, began taking in a general cargo of hops, pepper, tobttoeo, and .brandy, ostensibly for ex- portation, and was moored right off the Customhouse. The drawback on the whole of the articles had been allowed, and bills of clearance were about to issue, the destination of the Lavinia being Hamburgh ; when, owing to some private information received by a coast-waiter attached to the Customhouse, he was induced to overhaul the schooner, and ascertained that a great portion of the cargo had been removed. The vessel was immediately laid under detention, and marked with the broad arrow. Further inquiries were then instituted by the waiter (Thomas Smith) and other Customhouse officers ; who discovered that the smuggled property had been taken up the river in barges ; and on searching a warehouse at White Hart Dock, Lambeth, near the church, they found 7300 pound of hops, a bag of pepper, and 1800 pounds of leaf tobacco, which had formed part of the Lavinia's cargo. The revenue-officers also discovered an empty brandy cask, containing bladders in which the liquor had been removed in small quantities. The tobacco had been deposited in hop bags which had been previously emptied of their contents on board. On rummaging the schooner, another brandy- cask was found to be filled with water, and near it two empty skins were picked up. Thirty stone bottles, each filled with brandy, and adapted for concealment about the person, were found secreted in various parts of the vessel, and in a keg were ten gallons more. The shipment of goods previous to the disci:sat:1y consisted of forty-two pockets of hops, ten bags of pepper, two hogsheads of tobacco, and two puncheons of brandy. The whole of the brandy, excepting the small quantity re- maining on board, and the drawback on which amounted to 200I., bad been smuggled ashore, besides one hogshead of tobacco (exclusive of that found in the warehouse), a hag of pepper, which was recovered, and ten pockets of hops. Nine bags of pepper still remained in the ship after the seizure. The Captain, mate, and crew, absconded im- mediately after the discovery of the illegal transaction, and have not since been heard of. It was owing to a quarrel with some of the persons concerned in the transaction that the affair was brought to light. It is remarkable, that revenue.offieers were on board at the time the property was removed ; and great tact must have been displayed in unshipping the goods without their knowledge. On Saturday morning, after the ship had been seized, a lighted candle was discovered below, placed in such a position that in a few minutes more the schooner would have been on fire.
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