New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-09-29
PUBLIC REGULATORS.

In the year 1888, the American public was sstOunled
by disclosures Of the defalcatiOns OF Samuel
swa1twout, Collector Of this Port, and William NJ
Price L. s. District Attorney for this Dstriet-deta
cations by which the Government lost much over One
Million dollars of its Revenue whereof no considerable
portion hes ever been recovered We sometimes meet
in backwoods journals direct and unqualified aver
en;s that Swsrtwouts haul reported by the Treasury
DEPARTMENT at S1225,000) has been refunded but
tte-e Is no truth in these assertions We all do know
that Sartwous Furetes were petitioners to Congress
vear after vear for the remission compromise Of
their Indebtedness on his bonds; which would have
been very absurd proceeding if be had not been de-
auter or had been likely to pay up The naked fact that
swartwout disappeared from our City and from the
Fede<al Metropolis very soon after the explosion AMI
has ever since kept shady, (if he has deceased we
cannot recoIlect when or where would suffice to diss
pate all these absurdities We believe they based
on the Circumstance that one suit against him and his
sureties for some part of the missing money mscarred
through the failure of evidence said be caused BY
confusion of accounts This may have been the result
of connvance or of negligence the part of the pros
ecutipg officer. whoever that may have been We
don't know in what sort of box the matter now stands
but we are very sure that the Million and Quarter
taken by Swartwout has never come back, but that
another Quarter of Million collected by Jesse Hoyt
started after it in ls04l and may have overtaken it
by this time.
Some time in 1888, Congress called upon Levi Wood
bury, Mr. Van Burens Secretary Of the Treasury, for
a list of public peculstors and deiaulters up TO that
tire with whatever other information might tend to
throw light on the subject In response to this Re-
port was made aud very rich budget it proved. 1t
appeared that for some three years previous the De-
partment had been especially exercised by the pecu
latng propensities Of its Receivers at the Public Land
Office. Who instead of depOsiting their collections IN
the nearest Branch Bank as they strngently re-
oured to do, were perpetually specializing IN lands
with them or gambling, riotlng in extravaganza
and when they were pressed TO step up to the cap
tans Office they were continually pleading sickness,
or rres of business or the necessity of their stopping
st home 10 make superhuman e1erons for the support
Of the Democratic cause, &c, &c. Even throwing
them out seemed to do little good for their Pecuaon
was so general and so public that removal was hardly
A disgrace. and he who had helped himself to some
fifty 10 hundred thousand dollars and invested most
of il. in ten-shillng Public Lands rapidly rising in
value cared little for a salary of II 500 to S25OO
year Indeed, the general practice became so bad
that V NJ Garesche, who was sent down by Secretary
Woodbury. to look after the Mississippi plunderers,
wrote back June IA, 1881 with regard to one Cor
don d. Boyd, who had absorbed Soo,965 and invested
il mostly in wild lands, so that he could pay over
nothing, that
The man seems roDy pennf; and am inclined 70 think IN
common with his friends he honest aud has been lea away
from MS duty example Of bis predecessors aud ce1 %
lshich here does not ~ liG eve
a. Ice. h ~ Another Receiver oud pr0tyy -
M ofs Of the tro-hsi Is Boyd and his prdec.cessor whey
HAIRS resigned deisuter owing srS 49, Nnen
Pov ointed months before Garesc ~oo
~ i.,er contiuuesl-You BE- surprised there
fore n ITormend (oy bring retriasd n pyTaoe 70 an't
keh UA not disposed 70
sLrfe his bond signed by the de ''e-
hesr &c, kc
yv;,b raoard IN Harris the elder and greater pecu-