The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-04-17

- HE FEDERAL GOVERNMkNT AND CONTEMPLATED
THIEvEs.-Misfortune makes acquainted with
strange bed-fellows. The government at Washing
ton lately visited with the sore calamity ofbeng rob-
bed of its jewels, now finds itself in the same
serb" with gang of " stool-pigeons," pck-pock-
cts, and thieves. Throughout the whole country,
the extraordinary spectacle presented during the
last few days. in the Criminal Court of the District
| Of Columbia, as reported exclusively in this I'M
happy Journal during the last days, has excited
the veliest emotions of Indignation, pity, humilia-
| ton, and rdicule. This excitement is natural
The legal advisers of the federal government have
| exhibited them elves in the dignlfed attitude of
| negotiating ith burglars and vagabonds, for the
| purpose, absolutely, of compounding felony No
| wonder, then, that much feeling has been ex-
cited in all quarters, account of these unprecc-
dented proceedings. Yet there are some ridicu-
lous and amusing features in the scene, which
tend to enlven it, just as Mrs. Fanny Kemble Butler
relieves the deep, sombre shade of the Shaksperean
tragedies, or the low loafer-like vulgariy of his
comedies, by rendering exquisitely the little
comic touches which the great dramatist has
thrown into his most serious portratures of human
emotion or, if you are better pleased with the
simile, like the sreaks of yellow ochre which diver
sify the coat of chalk in the face of Master John
Gossln, the Incompatible clown.
Nearly twenty years ago, the famous Bill Wiley,
since dead-Heaven take of his soul met
us at the door of the :" Pewter Mug" an ale-house
in Frankfort street, when that place the chosen
resort of the qud-nuncs of the city, and in the
course of conversation revealed some of the mys-
teries of New York. One of these amusing
ations related to what is called the &c stool-pgeon
system" 1t appeared from the statement of this
eminent authority, that numbers of such of the
burglars and thieves as had been gifted with pc
culiar intellectual acuteness and manual dexterty
had formed confederacy with certain portions of
the police of the principal cities This alliance,
offensive and defensive, like that of other
great powers, was based on the sacred and inest-
mable principle of mutual advantage and reciprocal
benefit. Thus banks were acknowledgements exc
cuted-warehouses pundered, and all sorts of de-
predations committed, in manner entirely salts
| factory to the police and their sworn allies, the
| felons. The only sufferers the public, and
| those hafwitted thieves who silly enough to
fall into the meshes of the skfu and accomplished
"stool pigeons, who shared with the police autho-
mites of that day the rewards and the plumber.
This glorious system was in full blast for years,
with varying fortunes, and more or less productive
ness; never, however until now, reaching that point
of surprising grandeur which has attained under
the magnificent genius of the lllusrlous Messrs.
Webb Burke and Key, and other advisers of the
| federal government. Heretofore the 'stoOl pigeon"
system has been confined to the small, peddling,
| two-penny transactions OF policemen and pick
pockets; but now this trial of Hand, in the city
of Washington, we behold the general government
itself entering into the busness-opening and
conducting solemn negotiation with the chief
of gang Of burglars-and actually authorizing
a proposition which makes it particeps cr,m,n,s
with notorious felons.
A more disgraceful procedure as disclosed on
the trial of Shuster than that which has been pur
sued in this case by the legal officers of the general
government, has certainly never been before wit
messed in this country. No intelligent person can
examine the whole proceedings, from first to last,
| without being at once amazed and Inundated. A
| more transparent imposture than that concocted by
this fellow Webb, who is the prime mover in the
affair, was never perpetrated The wretched crea-
ture, Hand, or Shuster, is the mere cats paw OF
more accomplished rascals; and it is highly proba-
BILE that the jury, before whom he has been tried,
saw through the imposture, and have declined YER
dict till the chief rascal comes before them. They
were evidently persuaded that the real extra
ultra culprit was not on trial. They must have per-
ceived, as we do and as all intelligent persons
must perceive, without the aid of spectacles, that
Webb is the true hero of this strange, mean-
choly, farccal, wretched exhibition of human
weakness, crime and iniquty. Webb is undoubt-
edly the genius who concocted the whole affair
planned it, studied it, arranged it, and got up the
entire machnery-anonymous letters, mysterious
limitations and all. 1t is by no means difficult to
| hon he xuhnle tran tho ha nd
of an sold master" Look at the evidence
study the testimony of Jones, and the anonymous
letters, and the hagrancy of the attempted mpos-
ture is at once apparent. The jury seem to be
satisfied of it. They engross, it would appear, all
the common sense and decent feeling of proprlety
which have been manifested in the case.
| How are we to account for the extraordinary
conduct of the officers of the government in this
affair They at once fell into the trap which the
crafty old OPERATOR Webb, set for them. Know
| ing gentlemen would not have been so readily
| guled by the bait of the anonymous letters. That
was piece of toasted cheese which the slest
district attorney might have been able 10 avoid
| Is there not strong reason to believe that these
mysterious communications were fabricated by
| Webb himself, for the very purpose To, JsyhIch
| they are now approprated-to r;ySfsy and
throw humbug and doubt over the entire affair, so
that he himself, and his secret associates, might
| pocket the reward No man who understands
| human nature and possesses any practical expe-
rience of affairs, can suffer himself to be dupcd
| by anonymous letters. But the legal advisers OF
the government snapped at them at once and
then, if completely subdued by the mesmerlc
Influences of the arch conjurer, Webb, they
yielded themselves up to his whole scheme Of
blunderng, Offering to compromise the matter
with Hand, the poor scapegoat, and, in fact, rem
derng themselves liable to punishment for COM
pounding felony.
The oppressed soul turns withsome degree of
pleasure from these sad exhibitions to the charm
ing reunions of the Judges, lawyers burglars and
officers, at the tables of the fashionable hotels of
| NJ, Vo,L and Uaehino,on =.