the defence of the men, having frequent interviews with them.
The men were tried for murder at the Court of King's Bench ; and such was the skill of the legal gentlemen ( Messrs. Lushington and Brougham) concerned for the defence, that they were all acquitted.
The vessel and cargo were restored to the owners , and, curious to relate, the Badger was ordered to escort her out of Dover harbour, and see her half way across the Channel. Thousands of people assembled on Dover heights to see the vessels depart.
One man of the crew of the Vier de Brudas was the son of an Englishman, and his mother was a Dutch woman, and he was born in Holland. The counsel for the Crown wanted to claim him as an English subject ; but his claim was over-ruled on the ground that as he had never claimed to be naturalized in England, he was not an English subject, nor, in this case, amenable to English law. He was decreed his liberty along with the others of the crew.
A CHASE.
It was often the lot of the smugglers when at sea to be chased by men- of-war. Of course the passage to France and back was not without risk, particularly when the boat was loaded with goods intended to be run. During the last century, cutters were mostly used in this business ; generally speaking, they were fast sailers, and could easily elude pursuit unless very hard -
