356 THE FALMOUTH MUTINY OF 1810. 



regular, and so secure, as was offered by the Lisbon packets. 

 From the official point of view, however, the advantages of the 

 system were not so great. It was urged with great force that 

 the valuable goods carried on these packets, rendered them much 

 more attractive to the enemy's privateers, than they would be if 

 they were obliged to conform with the law ; and at least one 

 case was recorded at the General Post Office, in which it could 

 scarcely be doubted that a packet had been lost from the effects 

 of the private trade operating in another way. It is perhaps 

 worth while to give the details of this case, which illustrates 

 the magnitude of the irregular trade, which was now at last 

 suspended. 



The "Duke of York" packet was captured by a French 

 privateer, on the 26th Sept., 1803, while on her homeward 

 voyage from Lisbon, under command of her master, Mr. Henry 

 Fenner. The packet was of 1 80 tons, the attacking vessel of 

 100 only. The privateer carried 65 men; the packet only 28 ; 

 yet, as it was admitted by the officers of the " Duke of York," 

 that they surrendered their ship without firing a shot, the 

 Post-master General considered it advisable to have stringent 

 enquiry made, and sent down the Inspector of Packets (Mr. 

 Bennett) to Falmouth, for that purpose. 



Mr. Bennett was unable to discover any very good reason 

 for the fact that no resistance had been attempted by the 

 packet men ; but he discovered a circumstance which, as the 

 privateermen might have said, "lui donna furieusement a penser." 

 This was, that the officers and crew of the "Duke of York" 

 made a joint profit of £1,994 out of being captured by the enemy, 

 and losing their ship, for which of course the country had to 

 pay. This profit accrued from the fact that the merchants, to 

 whom the goods belonged, ensured them fully against all risks 

 before entrusting them to the packet men, and thus sought 

 their indemnification from the underwriters. The packet men 

 of course lost all that portion of the goods which they had been 

 unable to sell at Lisbon, and which was still in the ship ; but 

 the price of the goods sold in Lisbon, was remitted by them in 

 bills, which did not fall into the hands of their captors. Whether 

 commercial morality would have required them to pay the 



