Catalogue description Board of Customs: Legal: Copies of Counsel's Opinions

When the Board of Customs was established in 1671, a Solicitor of Customs was appointed to deal with its legal business. His department advised the board on all legal questions arising from the various branches of its work, and was charged with the conduct of any prosecutions arising from violations of the customs laws, the drafting of amendments to those laws, and preparation and completion of all bonds of a special character. In the eighteenth century, when it was known as the Law Department, several solicitors were employed, each one advising on a certain class of bonds or upon matters connected with a certain number of ports. In the nineteenth century there was a solicitor of customs and two assistant solicitors.