New-York tribune., 1872-10-12
A CURIOUS HISTORY.

we nave Hdu klnuly IcellDS IOT UeH' Iihoio
C.. Barlow He has done the country good SER
vice in war, and has served the State by MS
crusade against the immoralities OF the Dench
and bar, as well as in the prosecution OF the
great conspirators whose overthrow was among
the most dramatic events of the past year.
We have criticised his action at times, but we
have never been quick to believe evil OF nm,
and we shall cling to the hope that he has a
complete answer to the charge suggested by
the letters and documents which we print this
morning.
When Gen Sicllcs began his operations to
oust Gould g. Co. from the management OF
the Erie Railroad Company, he undertook 10
maneuver a bill through the Legislature, and
at the same time to attack the directors IN the
courts. He employed as his agent in both
these undertakings Attorney-General Barlow,
partly no doubt for the reason that he wished
the suit to be brought in the name of the
People rather than of private plaintiffs. AS
the charges against the Erie Ring were Oh
criminal character, this was quite proper.
1t is not clear, however, that it was
proper for a private corporation to pay
an Attorney General for doing his duty. and
Gen. Barlow seems to have been sensible OF
the improperly of his accepting retainer
as paid counsel Of q railway company IN q
suit which he professed ~ bU prosecuting in
the name Of the State. He hesitated at first
about taking a fee; but his reluctance was
soon overcome, for in April we find this entry
on the books of the company under the head
of Disbursements "Francs c. Barlow, Atty.
"Gnl., services, $4,000" Gen. Barlow at
the same time was the intermediary for the
engagement and payment Of other counsel; and
he acknowledges that he was retained by
the Heath g. Raphael party as well as that
which Gen. Sickles represented, employing
counsel for them and presumably taking fee
himself.
This was bad enough, but it was not the
worst feature of the case. The services by
which this money was earned seem to have
been performed rather in the Albany lobby
than in the courts. "YOu agree" writes Gen.
Barlow to Gen. Sickes. to bear the proper
"expenses of legal proceedings, including the
"procurement of necessary legislation" And
further on he adds: "The ten thousand dol
" lars is to be applied, as ! understand it, not
only to counsel fees, but TO other nGcGS-
"Sary expenses, such as getting evidence, &c"
Gen. Barlow evidently knew his business
He was retained by Gen. Sickles on Dec 30.
On the 1st of January the caucus at Albany
selected Henry Smith (the Custom house
candidate) as Speaker of the Assembly
and the next day Gen. Barlow writes
to Sickles: al have taken steps to prepare
"proper BILL OF course / shall control and
direct the conduct of the proceedings.
81 have already retained in the name of your
"principals HOn1 Lyman Tremain, Honl
" Matthew Hale, and HonI Henry Smith,
all of Albany, and have paid to each re-
"tainer of fifteen hundred dollars" If there
is any justification for this proceeding we are
at a loss to imagine what it can be. A rich
corporation comes before the Legislature to
ask for the passing of a certain bill in its In
terest, and the first step is to offer $1,000 to
the Speaker of the Assembly, which that gen.
tleman puts in his pocket. To call 1t
"retainer" deceives nobody. What business
have legislators to take retainers to promote
legislation9
But if anybody imagines this fee to have
been paid for legitimate professional services,
the letter and receipt of Mr.. Matthew Hale
will probably remove that supposition. Mr.
Hale was prominent in Erie matters at
the State Capitol last Spring, and his corre-
spondence with Gen. Sickles shows clearly what
the nature of the business for which he and
his associates were retained must have
been. Mr.. Tremain was sick and had little to
do with the case. Mr. Smith is not mentioned
at all, though he had received his money, and
we presume that the equivalent he was to
give for it was well understood all around.
AT any rate he became the principal advocate
of the Erie bill in the Assembly. Mr.. Hale
acknowledges the expenditure of $1,000 for
account of the Erie Railway Company in
matters relating to said Company be-
Z" fore the New- York Legislature" There
is no hint of services elsewhere, and the whole
tenor of the letter is inconsistent with the
supposition that Gen. Barlow retained Messrs.
Hale, Smith, and Tremain for any other work
than that of the lobby. But in point of fact
there was no talk at that time of any attempt
to oust the Gould party except by legislation.
No legal proceedings were pending in which
Acknowledgement Barlow was concerned; and
Gen. Barlow, if we are not mistaken, COM
menced none till after Gould was arrested.
Then he only caused q summons to be served.
He never filed a complaint, and soon aban-
doned the whole thing. On the other hand,
he was constant in his attendance in the
lobby; and it was there that he CONTROLLED
"and directed the conduct of the proceed
"ings.o
What Gen. Barlow did with the rest of the
fund intrusted to him by Gen. Sickles for
counsel fees and necessary expenses" we are
not informed. He gave $4,000 to Mr.. Hale in
addition to the retainer, and there must have
been $500 remaining. Whether that was dis
bursed at the Capitol as some of Mr.. Hale's
money seems to have been, Gen. Barlow can
perhaps inform u.s. That Gen. Barlow was