tion and its administration," and went on to say: "His literary achievements are very handsome, and from long acquaintance I am confident his honor and integrity are unquestionable."[1] It is also stated that he had had newspaper experience in Boston, but does not state with whom.
A letter from Fenno to Hamilton in November, 1793, shows that, despite the patronage of the Federalists and the national administration, Fenno was not successful, for he appealed to Hamilton for a loan of two thousand dollars. The reference to previous conferences over his financial condition shows how closely Hamilton followed the project and with what interest he watched its development and troubles. Fenno also delicately hints of one or two positions—"berths," as he calls them—in the Bank of the United States, either of which, apparently, would be acceptable and would help him out of his financial embarrassments.[2]
Hamilton sent this letter to Rufus King with a note suggesting that, if the latter would raise one thousand dollars in New York, he, Hamilton, would raise a thousand in Philadelphia. Apparently this was done, for Fenno continued to defend the Federal party up to the time of his death. That Hamilton's father-in-law. General Schuyler, who had already had experience in newspaper financing in the pre-Revolutionary days, might have been induced to assist in these practical financial details, it is easy enough to conceive. There is no doubt that Hamilton was responsible for the paper. His method of working with editors, as we shall see later in his direction of the New York Evening Post, was such that he could easily have controlled the paper without revealing his direct interest.
