SERVICE, UNITED STATES MARINE HOSPITAL. 



787 



tween the Collector of Customs at New York 

 :nnl the Governors of the New York Hospital, 

 relative to the class of sailors for whose treat- 

 ment payment should be made; and the latter, 

 taking exreptimi to the ruling of the Collector, 

 nifiimriali/.eil Congress. In the memorial it is 

 Mated dint tin- Collector limited the number 

 of sailors to be paid for at any one time to 

 seventy-five, on account of the inadequacy of 

 the fund to meet the demands upon it ; and 

 the memorialists pertinently inquire u whether 

 it is consistent with justice or humanity that, 

 such numbers of distressed seamen, who have 

 all contributed equally to the fund, should be 

 abandoned to want and misery." They sug- 

 gest an addition of ten cents a month to the 

 hospital tax as both reasonable and necessary. 

 The claim of the memorialists was rejected by 

 the House, upon an adverse report of Secre- 

 tary Crawford. The records show that the 

 claim had been pending more than four years. 

 Much difficulty was experienced by the Col- 

 lectors in convincing the different hospitals that 

 seamen discharged from the navy were not en- 

 titled to relief from the marine hospital fund ; 

 but the matter was authoritatively settled in a 

 letter of Secretary Crawford dated August 20, 

 1821. On January 14, 1822, a memorial was 

 presented to the House of Representatives from 

 the Chamber of Commerce of New York, pro- 

 testing against the ruling of the Department 

 that "only sixty men should be paid for at 

 any one time in the New York Hospital " ; that 

 " no relief should be extended to insane sea- 

 men, or those suffering from chronic affec- 

 tions"; and that "no patient should be paid 

 for, for a longer period than four months." 

 The memorialists state that much suffering re- 

 sults from carrying out the rules; that the 

 sick sailors, " having no domicile in the city, 

 are not entitled to admission into the alms- 

 house, and must therefore perish unless re- 

 lieved by the hand of charity." They recom- 

 mend an increase of the tax to thirty cents 

 per month. On January 28th a memorial was 

 received from the seamen of the port of New 

 York, protesting against the rules vigorous- 

 ly, and also recommending an increase of the 

 dues tax to thirty cents per month. Secre- 

 tary Crawford reported to Congress that "for 

 three years past I have urged the propri- 

 ety of doubling the fund. My importunity 

 has been without effect. The state of the 

 Treasury forbids the expectation that inatten- 

 tion to the excessive expenditure of money for 

 the relief of sick and disabled seamen will bo 

 considered excusable by those who hold the 

 purse-strings of the nation." The Secretary 

 acknowledges that "maniacs and incurably 

 diseased persons" were discharged, as they 

 were fit subjects for the operation of the poor- 

 laws of the States of which they were citi- 

 zens or inhabitants. " Had they been retained, 

 the whole fund would in a short time have been 

 expended on maniacs and incurables, instead 

 of being applied to those whose usefulness 



might be restored by such application." Not- 

 withstanding these memorials, and the decla- 

 ration of the Secretary, Congress took no fur- 

 ther action in the matter. 



Mr. Holmes of Mississippi presented in the 

 Senate, April 26, 1822, a letter from Dr. A. 

 Perleo in relation to the hospital at Natchez, 

 by which it appears that the Legislature of 

 Mississippi had laid a tonnage tax on boats for 

 the support of that hospital, which had been 

 unoccupied from 1819 until August, 1821, 

 when it was again opened. The funds, how- 

 ever, were inadequate for its support, and it 

 was again closed in February, 1822. 



It having been decided by the Treasury De- 

 partment to erect a new hospital at Boston, 

 the Collector was, on December 29, 1824, in- 

 structed to turn over the marine hospital, 

 which was in the navy-yard, to the comman- 

 dant, and a building was rented in Charlestown 

 for the reception of the sailors of the mer- 

 chant marine. Dr. David Townsend, in reply 

 to a letter of the Collector, recommended 

 Charlestown as a site for a new hospital ; the 

 steward, Colonel Charles Turner, recommended 

 Chelsea ; and the venerable Dr. Thomas Welsh 

 recommended Dorchester Heights. Some dif- 

 ficulty was experienced in procuring the usual 

 authority from the Massachusetts Legislature, 

 relinquishing jurisdiction over the reservation, 

 as the following letters show : 



20<A June, 1825. 



DEAR SIR : You will be surprised to find that the 

 bill for liberty to the U. S. to purchase a site for a ma- 

 rine hospital did not pass the Legislature. 



The fact is, it passed the Senate the first of any bills 

 which were there considered, and was sent to the 

 House, and on the last day but one of the session 

 came back with an amendment providing for a condi- 

 tional cession only ; that is, that certain novel regula- 

 tions concerning voters living on the premises .and 

 paupers which might be carried there should be added. 

 These the Senate disagreed to ; the House insisted ; a 

 conference was ordered, but failed by limitation of 

 time. The project of the House was instituted by 

 Judge Dana, who alone can explain why he chose to 

 interfere in the strange manner which has caused the 

 loss of the bill. 



Yurs truly, J. T. AUSTIN. 



General DEARBORN, Collector. 



9tt February, 1826. 



DR. SIR : I have heretofore informed you that Mr. 

 Dana caused **he H. of R. to put a rider on the Hos- 

 pital bill, and that Mr. King and myself are unable to 

 get it changed. Now, if you or Col. Turner after in- 

 specting tliis bill are willing to accept it, I will have it 

 piissud immediately. If you think as I do, that the 

 U. 8. ought to have a better bill, the only tiling to bo 

 done is to wait until the next session. As soon as 

 you give me the result of your judgement on such 

 examination, I will see it carried into effect. 



Very truly, J. T. AUSTIN. 



On March 6, 1826, the citizens of Charleston, 

 S. ('., presented a memorial setting forth that 

 44 some time in the year 1804 they entered into 

 a contract with the then Secretary of the Trea- 

 sury, Mr. Gallatin, to relieve the United States 

 from the charge of the marine hospital at 

 Charleston, stipulating that $15,000 should be 

 appropriated by the United States for building 



