California Anarchoblogs

To the Editor of The Cambrian.

Sir, — You may not have heard that the neighbourhood of Neath has lately been the arena in which “Rebecca and her Children” have committed their midnight depredations. The destruction of property has been really considerable, scarcely a field or garden-gate has been left untouched, and many have been carried away to a great distance from their own proper homes, and placed against the doors and windows of the sleeping part of the community. Nor have these mischievous young women confined themselves to gates alone: balustrades, water-barrels, and every species of out-of-door movables appeared to be considered general property, and appropriated accordingly. It is extraordinary that, although these devastations have been perpetrated for several successive nights, the offenders have hitherin entirely baffled the vigilance of the police; in fact, these “guardians of property” are now the laugh of all the neighbourhood, and looked upon as so many supernumeraries.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Thomas L. Smith.
Britonferry, Feb. 20, 1843.

This certainly paints a different picture of what was going on, if it can be relied on. This letter-writer makes out the Rebeccaites to have been indiscriminate vandals. One of the weaknesses of the Rebeccaite movement was that its anonymity and lack of authoritative spokespersons or leaders made it easy for other people to impersonate “Rebecca” and easy also for people to misattribute to “Rebecca” things that had other causes. This might just be an example of that.

Here’s another article from The Cambrian:

Rebecca and Her Daughters.

Apprehension of Two of the Rioters.

On Monday last, in consequence of information conveyed to the London policemen on duty in the neighbourhood of St. Clears, three of their force went in search of and apprehended two parties, on the ground of their being concerned in the late daring outrages. The prisoners were taken before the Magistrates, and on Tuesday last were fully committed to Haverfordwest gaol, for trial at the ensuing Assizes. They are said to be persons both of the name of Howell, one of them a respectable farmer residing at Llwyndrissy, near Whitland, the other, the son of a miller in the same neighbourhood. The particulars of the evidence against them, taken before the justices, are not known; but it is reported that one of the witnesses (a man named Lewis Griffiths, of Penty-park Mill, in the county of Pembroke), swore that he saw the prisoners in the act of demolishing the toll-house and gate at Trevaughan.

Thomas Howells and David Howells were later acquitted.

From the 18 February 1843 Cambrian:

Rebecca’s Correspondence.

The following is a letter from the notorious “Rebecca,” who, in conjunction with “her children,” continues to excite so much alarm in the neighbourhood of St. Clears and other different places in Carmarthenshire, by their determined anti-toll-gate agitation. Suspicions have been entertained, and indeed expressed, in the public prints, that “Rebecca” is a Magistrate, or some influential personage in the county; but, from the language and orthography of the letter, which was sent to a brother of Mr. Bullin, of this town, who is the contractor for certain gates in Carmarthenshire, we cannot come to that conclusion, unless the whole be feigned. We copy the orthography of the letter verbatim et literatim:–

“Take Notice, — I wish to give you notice, espesial to those which has sworm to be constabls in order to grasp Becka adn her childrens, but i can sure you that it will be hard mater for Bowlins and company to finish the job that they began and that is to kep up the gate at Llanfibangel, and weinfach gate. Now take this few lines information for you to mind yourselves, you that had any conection with Bowling Mrs. M,c,bes Mr. Thomas Blue boar all thire property in one night shall be conflaration if they will not obey to this notice and that to send them vagabons away which you are favourable to i alaways like to be plain in all my engagment, is it a reasonable thing that they impose so must on the county only pickin poor labrers and farmers pocets, and you depend that all the gates that are on these small roads shall be destroyed, I am willing for the gates on the Queen Roads to stand it is shamful thing for us welshmen to have the sons of Hengust have a Dominion over us, do you not remember the long knives which Hengust hath invented to kill our forefathers and you may depend that you shall receive the same if you will not give up when I shall give you a vicit, and that shall be in a short time and now I would give you an advice to leave the place before i will come for i do determine that i will have my way all throught. As for the constables and the poleesmen Becka and her childrens heeds no more of them than the grasshoppers flyin in the sumer. There are others which are marked with Becca, but they shall not be named now, but in cace they will not obey to this notice she shall call about them in a short time — faithful to Death, with the county — Rebecka and childrens.”

There was also sent to Mr. Bullin, two woodcuts, one of a man without a head, with a written heading, “Receipt for the interest I took in the matter,” and the other, of several persons marching with clubs, pickaxes, &c., with the heading “Going to visit St. Clears gate, when we thnk proper — Doroma Buchan.” — The inscriptions over the woodcuts are in a better hand-writing than the letter, which is written on ruled paper torn out of a memorandum book. It has been examined by some of the Carmarthenshire Magistrates, and the signature and writing corresponds with threatening letters sent to other persons. As intimated in the letter, “Rebecca” does not object to the gates on the Queen’s high road, but destroys those on roads repaired by the various parishes, upon which the Turnpike Trustees have erected gates and demand tolls. This renders “Rebecca” not unpopular amongst some farmers and others, many of whom have paid the fine, rather than be sworn in as special constables.

Here’s how the press back home covered the Bambatha Rebellion. From the 17 February 1906 Spectator:

The Native Peril in South Africa

We do not think that too much importance should be attached to the present native trouble in Natal. So far as the facts appear, the disturbances would seem to be isolated and inconsiderable. A Poll-tax has been recently introduced into that Colony to supplement the Hut-tax, and is levied upon the young bloods of a tribe who have no kraals of their own. About fourteen miles from Pietermaritzburg there is a small settlement of Christianised Kaffirs belonging to the Mvelis tribe, who announced their intention of resisting the new levy. Accordingly, when on Friday week a detachment of the Natal Police was sent to collect it, some forty natives ambushed the party, and in the fight which followed an inspector and a trooper were killed and another inspector wounded. The rest made their escape, martial law was proclaimed, and the following day a strong force of Natal Carabineers went out to find the murderers, who had fled to the difficult bush country around the source of the Umkomaas River. Imperial troops were offered from the Transvaal to supplement the resources of the local authorities. The other native tribes have remained quiet, and the Mvelis chief has volunteered to assist in the capture of the offenders, who are said not to exceed fifty in number. So far the trouble seems nothing more than a violent breach of the peace by a few unruly natives. The only sinister facts in the case are that the Mvelis are Christianised, and apparently under the influence of the Ethiopian movement. Hitherto it has been believed that Natal was almost exempt from that ill-omened propaganda, but if rumour speaks true, it shows that it has wider ramifications than was supposed, and is capable of stirring its votaries to active rebellion.

The article goes on to do some crystal ball reading and speculation and unashamed open plotting for how best to keep black Africans under the thumb of their foreign white “Paramount.” There are no further details about the tax rebellion, however. The second paragraph closes with this remarkable sentence: “If there should arise a leader among this vast people, or if some common grievance against their white masters should coerce them into unity, it is hard to see what could save South African civilisation except a long and terrible war and the extermination of the malcontents.” Civilization has never sounded so worth saving!

On 8 March 1843, the Pembrokeshire Lent Assizes heard a criminal case of Rebeccaite tollgate destruction:

Destruction of the Trevaughan Toll-House.

Thomas Howell and David Howell, were charged (together with other persons to the jurors unknown), with having, on the 13^th of February last, at the parish of Lampeter Velfrey, in the county of Penbroke, unlawfully, riotously, and tumultuously assembled together, did then and there unlawfully, and with force, demolish and pull down the dwelling-house of one William Rees, there situate. They were further charged with demolishing and pulling down the office of the said William Rees, and in other counts, with beginning to demolish, &c.

Mr. Chilton [Counsel for the Crown] addressed the Jury as follows:— The prisoners at the bar were charged with riotously and tumultuously assembling, with other persons, and unlawfully demolishing the dwelling-house of William Rees. The question you will have to try is, whether the two prisoners, or either of them, were acting in the outrage which took place at Trevaughan, on the 13^th of February last. It will surprise you, that persons in their station in life should be so engaged. It is my duty to advert to that of which you are not ignorant, namely, that there has prevailed in this and the adjoining county, what I may term a war of extermination against the toll-gates on the roads. I regret the circumstance most unfeignedly, and I am sure my learned friend will join with me in the wish, that the result of this trial may have the effect of explaining to the misguided people, that they are in the wrong. Roads in this country are almost necessaries of life, and they cannot be kept in repair, unless funds are raised for the purpose. Lawless men may just as well invade your farms, because you cannot give away the produce of them, as that people should destroy toll-gates because the keepers of them exact the tolls which are lawfully demanded for passing over the roads. The evidence by which I shall call upon you to come to the conclusion that the prisonders did take a part in the outrage is the following:— Wm. Rees will tell you, that he is the keeper of the Trevaughan gates; he has been tenant of the tolls for one or two years; he will tell you that within a short time the gates have been three times taken away by mobs. This so much alarmed him, that he became afraid to sleep in the toll-house. He used to go about ten o’clock in the evening to sleep in the house of Rees Isaacs, a little distance off, and subsequently he slept in the house of David Thomas. He will tell you that, on the night of the 13^th of February last, he had not been long at Thomas’s house, before Rees Isaacs came to inform him that “Rebecca was at the gates.” He immediately ran towards the gates, and went into a garden belonging to the cottage of Keturah Howell, about 100 yards from them. This place commanded a full view of the toll-house and gates, but it was not near enough to enable him to distinguish the features of any of the parties engaged in the work of destruction. He reckoned from 16 to 20 persons there, and heard the discharge of fire arms. He saw them employed in carrying pieces of wood, the fragments of the toll house and gates, across a field near the toll-house, towards the river Taff, for the purpose of throwing them into the river. After the house had been pulled down, the mob ran across this field as if alarmed, and dispersed. Rees then went towards the toll-house, and in ten minutes after he saw the prisoner, Thomas Howell, coming on, in company with two other persons whom he did not know, across the field I have spoken of, in a direction from the river. Thomas Howells then addressed him as follows:— “It is hard on you to lose your house, you had better come with me to get a damper.” After that Thomas Howells went on in the direction of the bridge, which would lead him to Whitland. The next witness I will call before you is Lewis Griffiths; he will tell you that between eight and nine, on the night of the 13^th of February, he went to bed at the Goldon Lion, in Whitland. There were two persons sleeping with him. Some time afterwards he was awakened by a voice calling out, “Rebecca is come.” Thomas Howell, one of the prisoners, was at the bedside, and gave him some beer. Howell then left the room, and Griffiths hastily dressed himself, and went out after him; he overtook Howell and David Thomas, the son of the landlord of the Golden Lion, who were going towards the toll-house. When they got to Trevaughan bridge, he saw remnants of the gates being carried to the river, and he saw the mob busily engaged in pulling down the house. At this time, a man approached them with a gun, and snapped the cap on it. Thomas Howell then cried out “Hurrah, Rebecca.” The man took off his hat, asked for money, and Thomas Howell took some out of his pocket, and put it into the hat. The man then went off, and Howell, Griffiths, and Thomas followed him towards the gates; when they got there, the mob were at work pulling the house down. Griffiths will tell you that David Howell, the other prisoner, was on the pine end of the house, at work with a hatchet, which he once dropped, and Lewis Griffiths picked it up, and gave it back to him. The man who had the gun then came up, and said to Thomas Howells, “you must take this while I work;” and Howell with the gun kept back the people, who were pushing towards the house. Shortly after, Howell returned the gun to the man, and took up a shovel, with which he began to pull down the house. After a short time, a cry was heard, “they are coming,” when the mob all ran towards the river. They then returned, and called at Benjamin Watt’s house, where they had some beer; after which, Lewis Griffiths returned to the Golden Lion, and went to bed. These gentlemen are the facts against the prisoners, in addition to which I shall call before you the Rev. John Evans, who committed the prisoners on this charge, who will tell you that, when he asked the prisoner, Thomas Howell, if he had anything to say, he answered, that he was not at the Golden Lion at all on the night in question, and he called a man named Walter John to prove this; but when John was examined, he was obliged to admit that both he and Thomas Howell had been at the Golden Lion that night, and that he left Howell there. Gentlemen, I humbly submit, that if I am able to bring these proofs before you, it will be your painful duty to find the prisoners guilty; if you have any doubt on the subject, of course you will, under the direction of his Lordship, give the prisoners or either of them the benefit of that doubt.

William Rees examined by Mr. N. Carne:— I live at Trevaughan, in the parish of Lampeter-Velfrey, in this county. I am the tenant of the Trevaughan toll gates. I occupied the toll-house up to the time of its destruction. The house is situated between the two gates. I rent the tolls under the Trustees of the Whitland Trust. There was an attack on the house and gates on the night of the 16^th January The gates have been destroyed three times. I slept in the house till the 16^th January, and not after. Between that time and the 13^th February, the house was repaired. I was there in the evening of the 13^th, and left about ten o’clock. The reason why I did not sleep there after the 16^th January was, because the windows were not glazed. I went to David Thomas’s house to sleep on the 13^th February; his house is about 300 yards from the gates. I went to bed about twelve o’clock, and had not been there long before Rees Isaacs came, and told me they were breaking the gates. I then got up, and went through the fields to Keturah Howells’s garden. This was about 80 yards from the toll-house. I could see the toll-house clearly from where I stood. I heard a great noise, and saw them tearing down the gates. I saw about twenty persons there. I did not go near, because I was afraid. They were thowing stones at the people who peeped out. I saw the mob carrying the toll bar and the timber from the house towards the river, which ran along-side of a field at the back of Martha Phillips’s house. Whilst I was looking at the mob, they all ran away at once; some ran through the road, and others across the field towards the river. After they left, I went towards the toll-house. I found the roof destroyed, also the front wall; the joists of the floor were down at one end. I know the prisoner, Thos. Howell. I have known him for three or four years. I saw him that night about ten minutes after the toll-house had been pulled down; he came over the hedge from the meadow behind Martha Phillips’s houe. There were two or three persons with him. I don’t know whether Lewis Griffiths was there. Thomas Howell said to me, “Rebecca has done bad work to pull down the house.” I said, “Yes, and I am very cold.” Thomas Howell said, “You had better have a damper of ale.” This was in Welsh. Thomas Howell then went towards Trevaughan bridge, and one of the men went with him.

Cross-examined by Mr. Evans [one of the lawyers for the accused “by special permission”]:— I knew Thomas Howell very well, and he knew me, as the toll-keeper. I was standing near the toll-house when he spoke to me. This gate had been erected between forty and fifty years.

Lewis Griffiths examined by Mr. Chilton:— I live at Pant-y-park Mill, and am a miller. I was at the Golden Lion, Whitland, on the 13^th February. I went to bed there between nine and ten o’clock. I slept on the ground floor. There were two other men who slept with me; they went to bed before me. I think one of them was Griffith Griffiths, of Llanddarog. I went to Whitland to sell pigs. I went asleep, and was awakened by Thos. Howell; he attempted to drench me with beer. About this time, a man came in, and said, “Rebecca is come.” I did not know Thomas Howell before. He and John Thomas then went out, and the pig drovers and I got up and followed. I overtook Thomas Howell and John Thomas. The latter is the son of the landlord of the Golden Lion. Thomas Howell said, “We had better go down near the toll-house.” I said, “better not.” We went across a field over a brook towards Trevaughan bridge. While standing on the bridge, a man came up with a gun in his hand. I saw the flash of a percussion cap. Thomas Howell then cried out, “Hurrah, Becca.” The man then begged some money of Thos. Howell, and he gave him some; the man seemed to grumble at it, when Howell gave him some more. The man then asked me for money. I said, I had none for him. The man then went back, and Howell asked if he should come on, when the man gave a turn with the gun for him to come. We then went on to the toll-house. When I got there, I saw the prisoner, David Howell, on the pine end of the toll-house; he had a hatchet in his hand, which he dropped. I picked it up, and gave it to him. There were from sixteen to twenty engaged. When we got there, Thos. Howell took the gun from the man who carried it, and the man took up a shovel and began tearing the house. A little while after, the man said, “I must have the gun, and you must work.” Thomas Howell then returned the gun and took the shovel, and began to tear down the house. An alarm was then given that somebody was coming. The people then ran across a field towards the river. Thomas Howell, David Thomas, and I, went with them. After a time we came back again across the field; the other people went off in a different direction. When we returned, Thomas Howell spoke to a person who I think was the gate-keeper; they spoke in Welsh. We then crossed the bridge to Watts’s house, and had some beer. I left Howell and Thomas there, and returned to the Golden Lion. There were two of the men who had petticoats on, and something about their heads.

Cross-examined by Mr. Evans:— This was in the middle of the night. All the people ran out of the Golden Lion when the cry came that “Becca was come.” I am not a daughter of Becca. I went there to see what was going on. The gate is about a quarter of a mile from the Golden Lion. I was close to Thomas Howell all the time, except when he had the gun. English was spoken when they were tearing down the house. The man with the gun spoke to Howell in English; he said, “I want some money, Howell.” That was the first time I knew Howell’s name. I went to Whitland fair on Monday, the pig fair was on Tuesday. I stopped there four days. I heard of the reward of 100l. on Friday. I did not hear about it on Tuesday morning. I mentioned about Howell on Friday before I heard of the reward. I staid at Whitland four days to find out more about Rebecca. I had never seen Thos. Howell before that night. I had seen David Howell on the Monday. I had beer in me when I went to bed. I was not drunk. I saw Thos. Howell at Whitland the night after the toll-house was destroyed, and had some quarrel with him. I wanted to find out Rebecca because I thought it was an unlawful thing.

Rev. John Evans:– I am a Magistrate for this county. The prisoners were committed by me on this charge. I asked Thos. Howell if he had anything to say, after cautioning him not to say anything that might injure himself. He said he had not been at the Golden Lion that night, that Walter John had gone in to light his pipe, and came out, and accompanied Howell to Llwyndrissy gate. Walter John was examined on behalf of the prisoner. Howell said to him, you know you came with me to Llwyndrissy gate. Walter hesitated for a short time, and said he would speak the truth.

Examined by Mr. Evans:– This was not taken down in writing.

Walter John examined by Mr. N. Carne:– This witness proved that the prisoner, Thomas Howell, had, on the night of the 13^th, accompanied him from St. Clears to the Golden Lion, where John left him and went home.

John Thomas, landlord of the Golden Lion, was also called to prove that Thomas Howell was in his house, when the cry came that Becca had arrived.

Mr. Evans then addressed the jury for the prisoners in a most able speech, in the course of which he strongly animadverted on the testimony of Lewis Griffiths. He pointed out the improbabilities of his story, and submitted that Griffiths had selected the prisoner, Thos. Howell, as his victim, in order to gain the reward of 100l., and to get his revenge on him, for the quarrel that took place between them on the night after the destruction of the gates. He did not deny that the prisoner, Thos. Howell, was present, but he contended that he was there only in the character of a spectator; the riot had commenced before he arrived, and it was shewn, by the evidence of Walter John, that Thos. Howell had been at St. Clears all day, and therefore could not have been aware of the attack. As far as concerned the prisoner, David Howell, the only evidence that touched him was that given by Lewis Griffith, and he (Mr. Evans) confidently submitted that the jury could not, on the unsupported testimony of a drunken man, convict either of the prisoners of the charge.

His Lordship shortly summed up, leaving it to the jury to say, whether, on the evidence adduced, they could find the prisoners, or either of them guilty. If they had any doubt, of course the prisoners were entitled to the benefit of it.

The jury the retired, and in about ten minutes returned with a verdict of “Not Guilty” for both prisoners.

As soon as the audience heard the verdict, they signified their approbation of it by a loud and long cheer, which with great difficulty was silenced.

It sounds like Lewis Griffith wasn’t a particularly convincing witness, but I note also that the prosecutor felt the need to condescend to the jury by telling them how important it was that society not just permit people to go around destroying toll gates they don’t like. Evidently, he didn’t think this point was sufficiently well-established. This may mean that jury nullification was another explanation for the verdict — that the jury thought the accused had indeed done the deed, but that such a deed didn’t make them “guilty” in the jury’s eyes.

Henry Tobit Evans, in his book on the Rebecca Riots, says that “On their [the defendants’] committal, his [Griffith’s] departure was hissed and hooted by a crowd of women and girls who had assembled to witness it.” But I don’t know what became of him after the trial.

While most of what I hear about the IRS these days makes them out to be struggling to keep on top of an increasing workload with fewer employees and a shrinking budget, there’s one curious outlying data point: criminal prosecutions of tax cases referred by the IRS to the Justice Department are up 23.4% during the Obama administration.

This may not be as anomalous as it seems. Perhaps by chucking these cases over the fence into the criminal court system, this takes some of the workload off of the IRS. In other words, maybe these cases are ones the agency would prefer to handle with civil charges and it’s pursuing criminal charges only because otherwise it couldn’t handle the case load at all. Just speculation; I’m not sure if the budget even works that way.

Another possibility is that the surge in identity theft cases in recent years has led to more criminal activity that falls under the tax umbrella. (The report shows that charges of theft of public money and of identity fraud were the third and ninth most common criminal tax charges in 2013 — up from 15^th and 19^th respectively the year before.)

In other news, the number of U.S. citizens who renounced their citizenship rose to an all-time high last year — 2,999 people.

It is widely assumed that the cause of this is not shame at being an American citizen, but annoyance at the increasingly invasive tax laws that require even American citizens who live overseas and have not been to the United States in years to reveal all about their financial lives every year to the IRS.

From the 11 February 1843 Monmouthshire Merlin:

The destruction by Rebecca and her daughters first levelled against the toll-gates in South Wales, has now begun to be directed against the workhouses which are threatened with notices to that effect. Neither the military nor yeomanry have yet been able to apprehend a single offender. The individual who personates Rebecca appears to possess much influence, and is frequently replaced by another; these insurrectionary parties appear at different places at the same time.

Mennonites Steve Ratzlaff and Weldon Nisly recently hosted an Ask-Me-Anything query on Reddit’s Christianity subreddit titled: Should Christians, who believe war is wrong, refuse to pay for it by withholding a portion of their taxes?

Their use of commas in the title ought to give you some idea as to their answer. But you might also be interested in the 75 comments and questions in the ensuing back-and-forth.

From the Lockport, New York Union-Sun and Journal, 10 February 1969:

Mohawks Block Traffic

Massena, N.Y. (UPI) — About 300 Mohawks blocked traffic at Cornwall Island, midpoint of the Massena-Cornwall international bridge, Sunday in their continuing protest against imposition of Canadian customs duties on Indians.

The blockade at the island, owned by the Mohawks, lasted 10 minutes. There were no arrests.

Mohawks claim terms of the 1794 Jay Treaty exempt them from duty. Also, a right of way for the bridge across the island was granted Canada by some Mohawk leaders in 1956 in a contract that stipulated Indians would have the right to travel over the bridge “without any charge, tax or tolls whatsoever” on either themselves or their goods.

Despite this contract, customs officers Sunday stopped a panel truck, which the Indians loaded with groceries and clothing, and demanded a $5 duty. When the Mohawks refuse to pay, trucks and goods were impounded.

Shortly after the truck was impounded, the Indians massed at the Canadian end of the bridge and would not let automobile traffic pass. They carried signs saying “Enforce the Jay Treaty” and “This is Indian territory.” Some beat on drums while others danced and chanted in the Mohaw[k l]anguage.

After one car bearing Canadian plates rammed through the crowd, Mohawk leaders broke up the demonstration and held a mass meeting at the long-house on St. Regis Reservation. Another meeting was planned on Cornwall Island with officials of the Canadian Office of Indian Affairs. Several persons were knocked aside but not injured when the car drove into the crowd.

Canadian officials began collecting customs duties from the Indians in November of last year, honoring the contract until that time. Mohawk officials, backed by leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy of Indian Nations in New York State and Canada, were unable to arrange meetings to discuss the situation with Canadian leaders, despite several trips to Ottawa.

Forty-eight Indians had been arrested, and twenty-five cars towed, after a blockade of the bridge the previous December.

Some international tax resistance news:

• Yesterday, a group of business owners in Lviv announced that they would stop paying value-added and income taxes to the Ukraine central government of Viktor Yanukovych — those taxes that go to maintain the military and internal security forces. The businesses plan to continue paying social security and local taxes. They also called on other businesses across Ukraine to join them.
• The “pos me salto” movement of Mexico seems to be spreading to other countries where governments have hiked transit fares as a “stealth tax.” I’ve seen examples popping up in recent weeks from Rio de Janiero to Barcelona.

  

• River Att, of Hulme, England, has legally changed his name to River Axe The Tax. Mr. Axe The Tax is fighting increased fees the government is charging to people who live in subsidised housing if the government deems them to have more rooms than strictly necessary: something foes of the policy call the “bedroom tax.”
• Activists in Spain have been promoting something they call “economic disobedience” — a program of disengagement from the official economy and construction of a grassroots economy that includes tax resistance and redirection. A new report from Spain’s Ministry of Finance reveals that the underground economy in Spain has been surging, and now represents about a quarter of Spain’s gross domestic product.
• France’s tax agency misses out on about €10 billion each year thanks to “zappers” — computer programs that businesses can use to override the software on their cash registers to as to hide transactions and avoid reporting receipts.