(seq. 23)

Honble Paul Hamilton Esq. June 13th 1809.
Sec'y of Navy ( sent corrected and altered June 14th)
Ever since Pres.t Jefferson gave me the surgency
of the Navy yard at Charlestown, in addition to my appointment
as physician to the Marine Hospital, there has been a series of
intrigues by professional competitors to detach the former
from the latter, in hopes that I should relinquish the whole. These
efforts have been made by young men who conceived they might
possibly obtain such a station as surgeon of the navy yard when
they despaired of attaining the more important station of the
hospital. I should continue to dispise(sic) these secret intrigues
were I not convinced that an officer respectable for his years
+ rank had by a recent transaction attempted to throw his weight
into the scale of those who have been long striving to obtain my place.
I shall briefly explain myself. as physician of the navy yard,
I conceive that Capt Nicholson, who is superintendant of it
has a right to claim my medical services, whenever he
himself should call on me. Accordingly he never has called
that I have not visited him. About a year ago the Navy agent
[mphamnot], + Capt Caldwell of the marine corps asked my
advice respecting the most healthy position of a small
wooden barrack about to be erected in the navy yard, my
opinion coincided with theirs which was to place it in a dry
gravelly spot and not as Captain N. wished in a low wet
one; the first being more in front of his house, the latter on
one side. This gave such offence to Captain N. that he never
sent for me afterwards, but employed Dr. Bartlet* of Charlestown.
Soon after Genl Dearborn came to Boston as Collector,
Capt. N procures Dr. B's bill for his attendance in the
course of the year, and carries it himself to Genl D. with
a request that he would transmit it on to the Sec'y of the
Treasury for payment. His argument was that as the go-
-vernment supplied him + his family with a physician, and
that physician _neglected_ his _duty_, and he was obliged to
employ

*possibly Dr. Josiah Bartlett of Charlestown