In May, 1817, Captain Smith rescued a Hamburg ship and a Pappenburg galliot, with the whole of their crews, from two Tunisian cruisers, one a corvette of 20 guns and 130 men, the other a schooner of considerable force, then cruisng in the Narrow Seas. In this novel affair, he acted entirely on his own responsibility, having neither instructions how to proceed in such a case, nor copies of the existing treaties with the Barbary states; but which were afterwards furnished to every captain and commanding officer afloat. His conduct, however, was approved by the Admiralty; and their Lordships were pleased to allow a sum of money, handsomely presented by the owners, and amounting to about one-tenth part of the value of the vessels and their cargoes, to be distributed as prize-money among those concerned in their recapture. Captain Smith had previously refused to accept an individual gratuity of 200l., which he was offered on his return from escorting the corsairs clear of the English Channel.
While commanding the Alert, which sloop he frequently brought from the Downs to the Nore, through the Queen’s Channel, without any pilot. Captain Smith repeatedly witnessed the inefficiency of the common anchor ring, when a chain cable had been attached to it, in consequence of the great stress thrown on a single inch of one so large. He therefore requested that an oval ring of smaller size, or a shackle similar to those on the bilbo-bolt, might be fitted to one of his anchors, when the following answer was returned to his application:
“Sir,– We have received your letter of the 15th instant, with one addressed to you by Captain Smith, of the Alert, suggesting that a shackle, or small oval ring, may be fitted to the anchor instead of the ring in use at present, and requesting that that sloop may be furnished with another chain-cable; and we acquaint you, that an additional iron cable cannot be supplied without the authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, their Lordships’ directions to us allowing one cable only to each of H.M. sloops.
“With respect to the oval link or ring for which Captain Smith has applied, we think it necessary to observe, that by adopting that shape, it appears his object would be defeated, as instead of its possessing the uniform strength of a ring, which wears equally all round, the strain would be borne upon two points only, and in the event of the oval link altering its position,