From Alexander Hamilton to William Gardner, [22 January 1794]
To William Gardner1
[Philadelphia, January 22, 1794]
Sir,
I duly received your letter of the 9th inst.2 on the subject of your salary as Commissioner of Loans. I am fully sensible of the inadequateness of your compensation, and I assure you that it will not be for want of my exertion if something is not added in the course of the present session of Congress.3
With great consideration, I am, Sir Your obedient servant,
A. Hamilton
[New York] Argus. Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser, July 31, 1798.
1. Gardner was appointed commissioner of loans in New Hampshire on December 24, 1790, and served in that capacity until he was dismissed in June, 1798. In an attempt to vindicate his conduct of the loan office, Gardner published his correspondence with H in a letter dated July 12, 1798, addressed “To the impartial Public” and originally published in The [Portsmouth, New Hampshire] Oracle of the Day. Gardner hoped that the correspondence would prove that he had continued in office at the special request of the Federal Government and for its convenience alone. See H to Gardner, June 14, July 13, 1792.
2. Letter not found.
3. In his “Report on the Petitions of Jabez Bowen and William Gardner,” February 29, 1792, H proposed an increase in the salaries of each of the commissioners of loans. The proposed increase for Gardner was greater than any other change in the salary schedule. H’s proposals were not acted on, and Gardner’s salary had not been increased by the time H had resigned as Secretary of the Treasury.