In November 1842 the New Ross barque Ann, arrived at Passage East.  An obligatory inspection by customs officials passed without difficulty and the ship anchored at Cheekpoint to await pilotage to her home port.  However, once in New Ross another customs inspection voiced concern, the ship would be impounded, crew prosecuted and the name of the ships owner, Dr Howlett and his good lady wife impugned.  The case would become a cause celebre in the town, creating fractious debate and several days in court.  It would take more than a year before the matter was finally concluded in the eyes of the law, perhaps a lot longer in the minds of the townspeople of the inland port.    

On the 11^th of November 1842, the large 3-masted barque Ann (sometimes spelt Anne in newspapers) on her homeward voyage from Quebec, laden with timber arrived at Passage East.  Registered with Lloyds, the ship had been built in Quebec in 1829, 313 tons and classed as AE1 – a fine ship, well found.

The crew of the Ann had been away from their native shore over 3 months, having sailed in late summer for Quebec where they arrived on September 15^th with 26 emigrants.  This was their second journey of the year, she had arrived in May, with 178 emigrants – described as farmers, labourers & mechanics heading to West Canada. Two other vessels had arrived to Quebec from New Ross that month. A sister ship John Bell with 308 emigrants, and a rival, the Tottenham with 121.

At Passage East, she was boarded by George Parker, a customs official.  As was his duty, Parker requested a bill of return listing the goods the captain had on board, including the ship’s stores. The return contained the following articles:—15 gallons of rum, 4 gallons of brandy, 3 dozen of wine, 8 lbs of tea, 80 pounds of sugar, 42 pounds of tobacco, 2 boxes of cigars, and 1 box of raisins.

Satisfied, the customs man withdrew, leaving two colleagues Daniel Clarke and Alexander Moore to stay aboard the ship.  These men were known as Tide Waiters – and they stayed with the ship until the ship arrived in port maintaining a watch on the cargo and crew. The next morning the ship went ahead to Cheekpoint, dropping anchor across at Great Island at the mouth of the Ross River – River Barrow.  There pilot Doyle joined the vessel to guide her up the river.  

Later that night there was a bit of action aboard.  Two boats belonging to the Ann were over the side.  The master, Captain John Black was rowed away in one, apparently to speak to the owners of the vessel and to arrange a tow by steamboat into the port. 

Daniel Clarke later deposed in court that he was one of two tide waiters aboard when the vessel anchored at Cheekpoint.  Either he or his colleague Moore was on deck all through the night.  He was aware of the captain going ashore, and he also heard that the second boat had slipped away as the mate and the captain had words about it being missing on his return.  Clarke had not seen or heard anything untoward himself.  It was generally presumed that the men had gone to Cheekpoint to wash the salt out of their throats after more than a month at sea.

When the Ann eventually settled against the quay at New Ross, Mr. Abbott the customs collector and a colleague went on board to make a ‘rummage search’, and the result was that they found 7 packages of tea over and above the 18lb allowed in the ship’s stores.  They stated that the tea was discovered concealed under some clothing. On questioning the captain, he explained that these were intended as part of the ship’s stores, an extra consignment, that would have been used had they run into bad weather. 

The customs men were not satisfied however and a follow-up search yielded another 4 packages of tea, a package of snuff, and about 1½ lb of tobacco in a drawer of the cabin table. Some of the packages of tea were addressed to Mrs Howlett, wife of the principal owner of the ship.

Because it was then after 9 pm the customs house was closed, so the goods were locked into the captain’s cabin, Mr Abbott, keeping the key.  Customs officers maintained a watch on the vessel, but two days later it was found that two of the tea packages were missing. 

The following day a further search of the hold yielded a gap in the timber cargo in which they discovered some tobacco leaves and a strong smell of the product.  The customs officers at this point decided to put the vessel under seizure.

It was a major embarrassment for the Howlett firm.  Earlier that year, it seems the company had been involved in another incident which led to the ship’s master William Joyce, being temporarily relieved of duty.  Captain John Black was probably expected to run a tighter ship.  The fact that Mrs Howlett’s name was on some of the tea packages also made the newspapers – this even though Black had explained that the tea was just a gift for the lady.  Howletts could not afford the loss of the vessel and offered to provide financial security against their impounded ship – allowing them to trade.  This was refused. 

But it was also a major embarrassment for the customs officials.  If their suspicions were true, as much as ten bales of tobacco, having about 25 lbs in each, had been removed from the vessel while their officers were supposed to be on watch.  They could not accept that the incident happened in port, so the best theory was that the crew had managed to breach the ship’s hold and remove the materials at Cheekpoint.

It would be April before the matter came to court in New Ross. In that time the crown had built a case against two crewmen, accusing them of smuggling the tobacco ashore at either Cheekpoint or Great Island in November 1842.  The main witness was a fellow crewman who claimed that while two men took the ship’s jolly boat, another managed to breach the hold, open the bow port and hand down the packages.  The case was held in New Ross before local magistrates Charles Tottenham and John Ussher.

It was found that John Brawders (sometimes reported as Brothers) – landed 275lb of tobacco at Kilmokea, Great Island and was aided by a cabin boy named Crow.  Brawders was found guilty and sentenced to 6 months jail.  Crow was acquitted as he was a minor.

Locally however, there was strong opinion in favour of Howlett’s and there was a feeling that the smuggling case was an act against nationalists and an attempt to do down the port of New Ross by the crown.  Howlett was stated as supporting the nationalist cause and paid above £10,000 in revenue per annum to the crown from his business, 1/3 of the then value of trade in the port. [As long term blog subscribers will know, this era saw heightened tensions with the Reapeal movement with New Ross and Duncannon being scenes of intense flashpoints, in particular around the very lucrative and popular river bourn paddle steamer trade which saw nationalist rivals brought onto both routes.]

Howlett had offered to provide financial security against his impounded ship in November which was refused until April when the very same surety was accepted. This had created a significant financial loss for the firm. 

In June a case was taken by the Howletts seeking the release of John Brawders, then serving his sentence in Wexford gaol. The case was taken arguing that the offence he was convicted of was legally questionable.  He was discharged, pending a further hearing into the matter.

It would be December 1843 before the matter came to a head, argued before the Court of Exchequer.  From the outset it was stated that there were some questionable legal interpretations taken by the crown in the prosecution of the case, and that these would be challanged.  There were also some curious issues with the evidence and some of the key witnesses on behalf of the crown. 

Effectively, the only hard evidence of the case was the quantities of tea and tobacco found on board the ship in New Ross.  It was argued that these quantities were legally allowable because of the circumstances involved and should never have been at issue. It was only the Customs officials interpretation of the law that created a problem.

Furthermore, it was shown that the main witness to the alleged event at Cheekpoint, Michael Dowling, was since the matter, in the indirect employ of the Customs – receiving a stipend of 25s per week. There was, in fact, no tangible evidence of tobacco smuggling, save a gap in the cargo and a claim of tobacco leaves being found therein.

Heard over two days,  the Wexford Independent published a transcript of the hearing spread over five columns in two pages and editorialised on the result. 

In summing up the case, the judge raised several points of maritime law.  He expressed concern about the crown’s interpretation of the same.   A major point of contention was the decision to seize the Ann, and the harm this caused to the business interests of the Howlett family and the port of New Ross. He went on to state in closing that:

“It appears to me that the crown has been misled by various stories, and the evidence which the Solicitor General gave you to understand that witnesses would be produced on this point, which they have not only not supported but contradicted.  If you disbelieve Dowlings evidence, of course there remains nothing but a blind suspicion relative to the affair at Passage [I think he meant Cheekpoint here].  I cannot avoid saying, as far as the evidence goes, that the keeping away of witnesses, appears to be on the part of the crown, and not at all on the part of the defendants…”

Wexford Independent – Saturday 16 December 1843; page 2

With such a damning summing up, perhaps it is no surprise that the jury deliberated only 15 minutes before delivering their verdict for the defendants, Howlett and partners. The Wexford Independent did not mince words in their editorial.  –

“This day we publish a report taken specially for this paper, of trial in which the Queen was the ostensible Plaintiff—but virtually the Tories of Ross—and the eminent Firm of Messrs, Howlett & Co. Defendants …It will be seen that the latter were triumphantly victorious; but how will compensation be made them for the annoyance and petty persecutions to which they have been subjected the miserable faction behind the scene who were the real instigators of the prosecution? We are in possession of facts connected with this case, that will bring the blush of shame on certain parties whose position in society should teach them act a different part; and which shall be laid before the public in due season. In the meantime, every good and unbiased mind in the United Kingdom will rejoice with us on the issue which is this day recorded. The inhabitants of Ross, the intelligence reaching that town, illuminated their houses; and every vessel in port, (with exception of the Tottenham) hoisted their colors”.

Wexford Independent – Saturday 16 December 1843; page 2

The Ann was registered with Lloyds up to 1844 but it 1845 she seems to have been replaced on the Quebec run by the Abeona, built in Nova Scotia in 1842. A newer vessel for a very busy and regular route. Her master was listed as Black. But I can’t say this was John. I can’t find any ship named in 1843 that replaced the Ann during the period. However, perhaps one was leased by the firm. The number of ships and emigrants landed at Quebec in 1843/44 are not listed on the Ship Lists site already linked above. So I can’t say that the Tottenham profited by the loss of the Ann for those few months. However, as authors Brian Cleare and Jack O’Leary mention in their book on Sailing Ships of Wexford the Tottenham had her own issues too!

Just for the record, the ships listed as operating from New Ross in Lloyds Register in 1843 apart from the Ann were – Enterprise, schooner, Captain Williams, owner A Lynn, route – coasting trade; Margaret, ship, Captain Joyce, owner Howlett, route – London East India trade, John Bell, Schooner, Captain W Black, owner Howlett, route Waterford Quebec, Emma, schooner, Captain Thomas, owner Hartrick, route Liverpool to Constantinople, Rose Macroom, brig, Captain E Evans, owner Artrick (Hartrick?) , route Waterford to Newfoundland, Tottenham, barque, Captain J Brown, route – Waterford Quebec

For many more details on the ships mentioned – see Sailing Ships of Wexford by Brian and Jack. See for example Ann p303, John Bell p325, Tottenham p281. The lads are speaking at Whites Hotel in Wexford on Wednesday 1st May 2024 at 8pm for the Wexford Historical Society. Topic is the Wexford Grain Race – Sailing to Galatz and back. Anyone who has read this wonderful book will know the extremes faced by the crews in getting to that inland port on the Danube.

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This months blog is a composite of numerous news articles from the 1842-43 era and the only one that I can in anyway reference is done so above. It is also informed by previous blogs, particularly on the rival services on the paddle steamer routes that I have researched and written some articles on previously. There’s a book in these incidents alone. Kathleen Moore Walsh has covered some of this activism in her own work on the Glenmore history blog.