The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-09-10
. pPpp REHIND THE CURTAIN.

l
| A PEEP BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
We have before us the New Hampshire Patriot,
in whieh MIR. Cyrus Barton, the Editor, gives
brief history of his private dealings with MI
Van Buren's sub-treasurer for Bestonj which, NJ
its progress, discloses these important facts
That Mr. Hill who is now The Receiver Gene
raj at Boston, under the sub-treasury law, was
at the limo of his appointment, to use his own
words, ''as bad off as a man could 6e,-thdt ne
could not pay has debts-that Dhe had already
failed he should feel better than he .teH"
This is bad enough for enc who has beaa se-
lected for SO responsible trust by President
who makes war upon credit. But this is not the
worst Mr. Barton proves that MIR. Hill claims
that he was a partner, and interested in the con-
tracts of the Patriot office during the time that
4 he was Senator in Congress-in express viola
ton of the law and of his oath of office. The
words of the law are as follows:
| eNo member of Congress shall, directly or in
'cdiyectly, himself Or By any other person, what
Sesosyer in trust for him or for his uss or bene-
Ss6t. or on his account, undertake, execute, hold
,sor enjoy, in whole or in part, any contract OF
.Sa ereement hereafter to be pade OF eHtered INTO
with any officer Of the United States IN their
''behalt, or with any person authorized to make
''such contracts on the part 81 the United States
This statute imposes a heavy fine On offending
members Of Congress
And vet, Notwithstanding the law is so posi-
tive, Mr.. Hill, as Senator, used his influence
to obtain contracts and Jobs, and did get them
from the Post Office Department
Mr. Barton's letter, explaining this whole mat
| tef, GGcppies SEINE fifteen pages OF pamphlet
We shall give it entire. To-day we make the
following extract
eve now come to an important crisis in this
transaction. Mr.. Hill declares that 1T is l.nawa
to s0me OF his neighbars, and was we'll known
to the nominal conductor oil the state paper,
that by no i,aprorilent specu1ations Of his, was
a portion of his property disSipated' Whether
his speculations were 'improvident' or otherwise
the 1aonli,a0I conductor of the State paper does
not pretend TO say, but he knew that MIR. Hill
had purchased western lands on speculation, had
purchased a landing on the river on speculation,
as we'll as various other parcels of real estate
The nominal conductor of the State paper
k,,e,r that he had expended nearly ten thousand
dollars in building new fine mansion house,
and half as much more in erecting and fitting up
ether tenements. The taonlina conductor OF the
State paper knew, that Mr., Hill had used up
| dozea thousand dollars which he had paid him,
as well as six thousand more paid him by John
F. Brswn for the book store, in addition to the
salaries Of Senator and Governor, and part of the
| time the double salary of Governor and Pension
Agent together, in all not less than twenty thou
sand dollars in five years, without sensibly il at
all. lessenine his debts. In short, the nominal
condun!a: Of the State paper knew that Mr..
| HIPS pecunary affairs were in great disorder,
and that he was in failing circumstances, for he
had it from Mr.. HIPS oton lips, as we'll as from
others to whom Mr. Hill had proclaimed his 0acn
bankruptcy publicly an the streets. During the
latter part of November1ast, John Greenough,
ESQ, highly respectable Federalist Of Bosca-
wen called on Mr. Hill at my counting-room,
to ask him for the payment of small sum Of
money due from the late firm of Ii. Hill s. Co.,
of which Mr.. Hill was a partner; and in the
course of the conversation he stated to Mr.. Gree
nough in my presence, that he foGs as bad of'as
a man could be-ttat he could not pan his
debts-titat If he had already failed, he should
feel better than he then felt, and a good deal
more in substance to the same effect. | knew
that what Mr.. Hill told Mr.. Greenough was in
accordance with the opinion of those who knew
most about his affairs, and in accordance with
common conversation in the street. It was gene
rally expected he would fail. And took the
first opportunity, that presented, and in the kind.
| est possible manner asked him, that if he eensi-
dered his affairs as desperate condition as
he represented them, and as they were represent
cd BY Others, if it was net his duty to secure the
paper had endorsed for him, SO that the Patriot
establishment night not sufer--remarking to
him that my name was standing on his paper to
the amount Of FIVE six thousand dollars, an
amount that could not stand against one mo-
Ii IL. al.
/ could apply for peGuniary aid, and that if call
ed on for such an amount my failure, also, must
be inevitable. To all this Mr.. Hill replied like
rational but most unreasonable man. He
objected to securing that paper saying that if he
commenced he must 60 on securing all his pa
pers thereby placing me, endorser, on the
same footing with all his creditors and leaving
the Patriot establishment to its fate He says
in his paper, that asked him to mortgage his
personal effects, this table, and the k,lires and
t0sS aohich fed his Children meaning the same
CHI rem whose names appear as publishers Of his
paper. But in this mawkish attempt to excite
| Tor himself and his children, sympathy, he has
overstepped the bounds of truth altogether No
description of security was named, and meme
whatever was asked for myself; for it would
have ruined me Just as efectually to have as
sumed those debts and taken such security as he
could give me,-to stand between six Thousand
dollars in cash and his real estate-as to have
had those debts come upon me without any secu.
rity at all ! wished him to secure the holders
of his notes, and not me. He refused altogether
to give any security, although in the mean time
he pledged portions of his real estate to secure
some Of his other debts, and never until the
week he issued his first paper, did he relieve me
from any portion Of my liability on his account
nor would he have released me then, but that the
Bank Directors, seeing the gross outrage they
would otherwise be committing against me, to
stand quietly by and Mr.. Hill exhaust his
property in warfare TO destroy mine, whilst
they were holding me responsible for his debts,
at my earnest reHonstrance, compelled him TO
do itp