Smuggling
the offense of importing or exporting goods without paying the duty imposed by law. A person caught smuggling is liable to imprisonment. The higher the tariff, the greater the temptation to smuggle. The officers of the United States custom house are required to be on the alert constantly to prevent the importation of articles that should pay duty. Diamonds are subject to a high duty. So much value can be concealed in small bulk that the temptation to smuggle them is great. Importers not infrequently descend to the petty deceit of concealing valuable goods, as silks and laces, within cheaper goods. Smuggling is left usually to unprincipled parties without sense of responsibility or character. Occasionally importing houses of supposed standing are detected in extensive frauds. The laws of most countries require that smuggled goods be confiscated and imprisonment or fines to several times the amount of the value of the goods be imposed upon the offender.
Smuggling has always had its attractions for daring spirits. The coasts of Great Britain were from the earliest times the haunts of smugglers who imported Holland liquors and wines from the continent. They were not without defenders who maintained that the practice of smuggling bred skillful commanders for the British navy. Scott introduces smugglers into several of his novels, as Redgauntlet, and Guy Mannering. While directly contrary to law, smuggling has been looked upon at no time with as harsh an eye as stealing. Peter Faneuil, the Boston merchant for whom Faneuil Hall was named, laid the foundation for his fortune by smuggling rum from the West Indies. The fact that he evaded the navigation and revenue laws of Great Britain did not degrade him in the eyes of his fellow townsmen.
