American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-10-02

had on our table for some days past, pamphlet
entitled "The Life and Opinions Of Benjamin
Franklin Butler, United States District Ator-
ney for the Southern District of New York;
and Jesse lloyt, Counsellor at Law, formerly
Collector of Customs for the Port of n. York"
This publication has produced great excitement
in New York, and IN investigation is in pro.
gress to ascertain by what means v iliam l..
Mackenzie, the author, (or yr'' + CO npilor) OF
the pamphlet, obtained pos" a n the various
papers published. These rs consist of pr-
vaie and confidential letters from various midi
viduals to Jesse Hoyt, and disclose much ca
baIIing and intriguing for Office. We cannot
approve The use to which these letters have been
applied; for, however obtained they were the
private property of an individual, and should
have been considered sacred-but, as they have
been submitted to public inspection, they will
be extensively circulated and read.
Mr. Mackenzie has madea long statement in
the New York papers, in relation to the matters
contained in the pamphlet, and particularly in
reference to the manner in which Mr.. Hoyts
papers became exposed to the examination of
other persons than the owner. We take the
following extract from the New York Herald:
Son Thursday, May 10, last, Mr.. Goldson
told Inc he had orders from Mr., Bogardus, As
sstant Collector, to break open any and all of
the custOm-housc boxes that were locked with
out keys, and their contents unknown, to sort
their contents into three thousand new pigeon
holes then nearly finished if of use, and if not
to send boxes and contents to the attic, where
there are perhaps two hundred tons more of
miscellaneous records He then began to
force open one Of the custom house pine boxes
marked j. s J.. Hoyt's Law Papers -called
Edgar Stansbury, the carpenter, (who, with
his brother John Stansbury and James Arm
strong, were then working in the aparment,)
to aid him, and Stansbury broke large screw
driver twice, while opening it, The contents,
like the contents of nearly two hundred or
three hundred such pine boxes, was Il mixture
of every thing, law papers, custom house pa
pers, newspapers, circulars, private papers,
scraps, love letters, letters from Virginia about
Mrs Andrew Jackson, letters about law affairs,
petitions for Offices, and papers about the gold
mines of Potosi. Mr.. Coryell, the other clerk,
came in ust as Mr.. Stansbury had finished
opening it. The contents were turned out on
the foor--and the first things that drew atten-
ton were Attorney General Van Burens let
tiers about his gambling, stock jobbing, Sc
They were read by all with surprise.
If Mr.. Hoyt told Mr. Webb that all the let
tcrs copied into my book, or even one-tenth of
them were in that box, he was mistaken, and
will find it 50. We carried its contents to the
garnet in baskets-carried up the trunk empty
-tumbled the miscellaneous papers back-and
on the Saturday or the Monday after, the car
penter was ordered by MIR. Goldson to put on
a new lock, and did so. How many persons
turned over the contents Of that and other box
es do not know Many persons had access at
times to the office, sweepers, carpenters, clerks,
porters, SC, but what puzzles me is, why did
Mr.. lloyt bring to the Custom House, and scat
ter in parcels, in this and other old boxes be-
longing to the government, among other things,
love letters, business letters, Ben. Buffers es-
says OH faith and finance, your polite skcl ches
of private life, Benefits petitions, Stephen Al
lens Tammany Hall estimates, and 1had.
Phcps's Free Bank reports? What had the
papers Of his private law Office and lawsuits,
twenty or thirty years old, to do, in 1915, in
Government Office? Had he not a law Office
of his own? Had he not wife and family and
a home? Why not keep such things there, if
it was not his wish to keep them where they
were, III order to threaten his corrupt friends
with exposures? Why was every scrap, every
note sent him from 1919 to 1867, by Butler
and the Van Burens preserved, even where he
was entreatcd to destroy them2 And if kept,
aud in place where he had plundercd the
people of seven tons ofsolid silver dollars, why
did he leave there the evidence of the corrupt
services which had secured his selection as Col
lector without collecting these curious relics
into box or trunk of his own, marking ''prl-
vate" on it, and placing it in charge of an Off
cer' The clerks had been told, and all of us
believed that the box in question contained the
law papers of his perpetual lawsuits with the
merchants while in office. But it seems he
mixed public money with private, public pa
pers, private papers, law papers, Custom House
papers, everything in confusion.
Yours obedicntly, w. l.. MACKENZIE.
.Ns'o York, Sat, Sept. 81, lS45.
NATIVE AMERICAN MovEMENrs.-.Na
oTyc In Saturday nvnnipr ha nf