Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1868-05-09
Mail Robbery ai Hampstead.

hutt huuuNig ~ ithApfstahs
fHH iss ii.a'iss IsAfeT-fh
The mail robbery has hcen gazing
on in ihis state fhr several months,
aud that one IT the thieves could
not be locatcd very iar irom this
city, has been very apparent Ia
every business man la our midst,
but as tile stealing has been ddnC
very scientifically, all attempts Ia
iaslen tho guilt upon any particular
person, has proved utterly aborllss
until within tho last few weeks,
The suspicions of Special Mail
Agent, \. NJ. Hobbs, having for
sometime been directed towards
the llempstcal postollice, ho turned
his special attention ia that dircc-
lion, aud by ah adrollness worthy
the emulation Of u practiccd dotcc'
tive, hc has succeeded in unma-S'
I inc the villain, who, under the garb
of Mason, Odd Fellow, &c, has been
deprcdating upon the sa red rights
OF the people who have trusted to
his honesty.
The name of this public robbcr Is,
Il. q. Patrick. lie Is, We believe II
Canadian by birth, aud most any
thing by profession. lie has been
known principally MS photograph
artist, which business he carried on
in this city, until his appointment
of postmaster ut llcmpst"ai. lilo
has always borne II good reputation
among the many, but there are Ger.
tain dark transactions connected
with his acts while holding the po.
sition of express ngent at Hemp
stcnd, and which led to his dismis-
sal from the position. AS no posi-
tive proof of those acts could be ad-
duccd, the Express Company passed
the matter by in silence, satisfied OF
his guilt, but contcntcd with his
dismissal.
After thorough research and in.
vcstigation, Col. Hobbs ut last dis
covered what had escaped the at
tcntion OF the route agent, rs also
the postmaster ut this point, Mr..
Harper, who is himself n sharp bus
mess man, and wide awake on post
office afiuirs-viz: that nearly every
registered package that came down
the Washington county road had
been opened. After this discovery
by Col Hobbs, everybody could sec
it, and wondered why they had been
so blind, us not to have made the
discovery before. From every one
ofthesc registered packages so open
cd, money, in various amounts, had
been distracted. In one or two Of
them the TELEGRAPH was victim.
lied to the extent of SIS, in single
week, and the blame, in one instance
thrown upon innocent persons.
Other citizens of this place have
suffered, but the vast bulk Of pack
ages opened and robbed were des-
tined for places remote, or entirely
out of the State.
Having made this discovery, Col.
Hobbs set to work to nail the thief,
and trace the villiany to its source.
This was n tedious and lengthy task,
but was finally accomplished, in so
far that he ascertained to his entire
satisfaction that it was done at the
Hampstead Office, but how was he
to get the proof? There was the
rub. In the meantime the robbery
continued. At last it was deter
mined to beard the lion in his den,
and Col. Hobbs, accompanied by an
expert detective from Chicago, pro-
ceeded to Hampstead, and pouncing
abruptly upon Mr.. Patrick, accused
him of the crime and advised him
to make clean breast Of it.
The guilty postmaster, taken
completely by surprise, confessed
everything, and begged for mercy.
Hobbs made him no promises. but
advised him to disgorge his ill-got-
ten gains to the fullest extent with
in his power, which Patrick pro-
cecded to do, setting down from
memory tho sums he has abstacted
from time to time, amounting in
the aggregate to $500. He had in
hand the sum of $3.50, which for
fear his memory might be trcacher-
GUS as to the amount taken, he
handed over to Col. Hobbs. ..t
In al probability, this is not a
tithe of the amount stolen. Patrick
went to Hampstead poor. He has
been there but little over n year,
vet he has become possessed of a
fine dwelling house and grounds
besides buying the lot on which the
postoffice is situated, and owning
the building.
Special mail agent Hobbs took
possession of the money above men
toned, which with a full report Of
the case has been sent to the post
office department.
Since the above was in type VIC
understand that warrant has been
! issued by the U. s. Commissioner
Taylor, npon the affidavit of Mr.
/ Harper, for the arrest of Patrick
and placed in the hands of Mr.: }
G. Tracy, U. S. Deputy Marshal
who proceeded yesterday afternoon
to Hampstead to execute the same
PRoposED INDIAN NATIoN.-ThcrC
is bill pending in Congress to con
solidate the Chickasaw, Choctaw