The enquirer. [volume], July 09, 1811, Image 1

About The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
r \ •
•' . • . *'■»; /
’*• \ \
*
' • ••• m V* *
I_ :=■■!. =S= = —'
By Thomas hitchie ) RICHMOND, TUESDAY, JULY 9 1811. (Vol. 8.Ao 18
- - ' --:r-rr.=--^^-r -- - - -- — — -* ------
K7 CONDITIONS.—Five dollars a rear, to
it paid annually in tulvance. Those vsho rs-sh to
te considered a* annual subscribers, must hereafter
designate it at the time of subscribing, otherwise
their papers mil be discontinued at the expiration
«f the first rear.
rff ADVERTISING—Non-residents of this
City and Manchester, must par for their advertise
ments before they appear in this paper.--The
price per squire is, 7 S C.'nts for the first insertion,
and SO for every subsequent one.
RICHMOND PRICES CURRENT.
D. C.
TOBACCO, 8 9
VLoun—superfine* 8 5!)
WO. FINE, 8
• OltN, PER RAllRBL, 4
WHEAT, * 50
IACON, per LB. 00 12 j
WHISKEY, PER OALLOif* 0 67
BAR IRON, PER TON, 100 .00
HEMP, PER TON, 150 180
mu~ jteTvad ver tise meats.
1RGIN1A to veit .—At a chancery District
Y Court held in the City of Williamsburg*
the 8th day of July 1809
• Betty Boyd widow of James Boyd,
Plaintiff\
Against
Wm. Chamberiayne, ex’or. of Lyne Shackle
ford who was ex’or. of Thomas Brown, Wm.
Boyd, Anthony Gardner, Robert Boyd, Edward
Ware, adm’r. with the will annexed of Robert
Ware, and Boyd son and heir of Spen
cer Boyd, an infant by James Thompson his
guardian, Defts.
The defendant Boyd, son and heir of
Spencer Boyd, not having entered hi? appear
ance, and given security according^ to the act of
Assembly, and the rules of this Court, and it
appearing to the satisfaction ot the Court that lie
is not an inhabitant of this Country, on the mo
tion of ihe Pl’l by her counsel, It is ordered, that
the s iid defendant do appear here on (lie first
day of the next term and answer the billot the
jPl’t. and that a copy of this order be forthwith
inserted in same newspaper ot the City of Rich
mond for two months successively, and posted
at the front door ot the former Capitol in this
Citv ; Cr it is further ordered, that the defendants
Wm. Chamberiayne* Wm. Boyd, Anthony Gard
ner, Robert Boyd, and Edward Ware do not
pay '•ay or otherwise dispose ot any debt or
debts owing to, or effects in their hands belong
ing to tbe estate of the said Spencer Boyd, un
til the further order of this Court, and that the
defendant Wm. Chamberiayne do not dispose of
nny effects which he may have in his hands ot
the said Thomas Brown, dec’d. and which are
subject to the payment of any claim due from
tli. said Br iwa's estate to the estate ot the said
Spencer Boyd until the further order of tbi9
“Court.
A Copy.
ANTV. ROBINSON, c. c.
July 9 w8w
TEjY DOLLARS REWARD '
Kb r. a vy AY irom the Subscriber, living in
F.uvaniiH County, on Saturday, tbe 2Sd of
juu , a Yellow Man, named EDMUND,
nineteen years old, five teet4 or 5 inches high—
very polite and easy in his tnantera—shews bis
teetli very plain, when in conversation——has a j
small pock mark on the right side of his nose—
and is an excellent house servant and hostler.— j
it is supposed he is cither in Orange or liucking. |
ham, in both of which Counties lie lias rclali
• oils ; or probably he may be in Richmond.———
Any pi i son taking up and securing said fellow,
so that 1 gel him igain. shall icceive the above
Eewaid, and all expences attending the same
mid
RICHARD WILLIAMSON.
July 9.lilt
ROBERT SMITH’S ADDRESS
TO THK
PEOPLE OF THE U. STATES
(CONCLdDKD.)
7ih. Previously to the meeting of Con
gress last Autumn, I expressed to Mr. Ma
dison inv apprehension ihut the Emperor
of France would not bona fide fulfil the
just expect.’.'ions of the U. S.—that our
commerce would be exposed in his ports to
vex ill us embarrassments and that tobacco
LX cotton would probably not be freely ad
mitted into Fiance. He entertained a dif
ieroni opinion, and indeed, was confident
that the Berlin and Milan decrees .vould
bona fide ce-tse on the first day of Novem
ber 1N10 and that from that day our com
mercial relations with France would be
encumbered with no restrictions oi embar j
rassntcnts whatever. I, nevertheless, told!
him that my impressions were such, that I j
would have a conversation with Gen. l ur- *
reati upon the subject in my interview with
him in relation to certificates ol origin —i
in 'he course of the correspondence, wnich '
thence ensued, I was greatly chicked by '
the evident indications ot utter tnuinerence I
on the part of Mr Madison. Instead ot'
. encouraging, he absolutely discourage the
making of any animadversions upon Gen.
Turreau’s letter of December 12, 1810.—
But irresistibly impelled, as 1 was,by prin
ciple and by feelings altogether American,
1 prepared in reply my letter of December'
'18 1810, and laid it before Mr. Madison.
Perceiving upon reading it that he could
not but acquiesce in the sending of it, he
merely suggested the expediency of adding
to it what might have the effect of proven.;
ting the British Government Icon* presu j
ining too much upon the ground takeii in
the letter.
This letter of the 18th of December be .
ing prominent in.the catalogue of the of_
Knees that had brought upon me the dis.
pleasure ot Mr. Madison, oar fellow-citi.
7.eu will dispassionately consider whether
it ought to be looked at as “ a sin beyond
forgiveness."
The following is the letter, and is repub
Ji-htd for the convenience of a more easy
Svtrietice ;
Tub. i>ECnltTARY OF STATE TO GENERAL
T can eau.
JJcparttntnt oj Vfuie, Dec. 18, 1810.
SIB,
I t ve had the honor of receiving your letter
of t! c 12’tiinst in i'-ply to itiy inquiries in rela
te,. i o c it iioates of origin, s» will ss to the cl
n-,. . .i .i o yiHi.ce of the products of the agn
From your letter it appears, that the importa
tion into Ft aoce of cotton and tobacco, -lie pro
duce of the U. S- is, at this time, special!, and
absolutely prohibited.
From the decree ol the 15th of July, it more
over appears, that there can be no importatioi
into France, but upon terms and cerdi'.ions ut
terly inadmissible, and that, therefore, there c;*n
be mo importation at all of the following articles,
the produce of the U.S. namely : full oil, dye
wood, salt lish, cod fish, hides and peltry.
As these enumerated articles constitute the
great muss of the < Xpert- from the U. S. to
France,the mind is naturally awakened to a sur
vey of the actual condition of the commercial re
lations between the two countries ; and to'.in*
consideration tl at no practical good, worthy ol
notice, has resulted to the U. S. from the revo
cation of the H -lin - d Mlii. decrees, com bin
ed, as it unexpectedly has >n w>■» :-ang*
in the commercial system of France, so momen
tous to \ he US.
j The act oi congress of May last had for its ob
j ject, not merely tha recognition of a speculative
legitimate principle, but the enjoyment ol a sub.
staiuiid benefit. The overture t’oerem p esenti d,
obviously embraced the ideu o: » ommercial ad
vantage. It included the reas liable belli 1, ti> *t
an abrogation ol the Berlin and Milan decrees
would leave the ports of France u free for the
introduction of the produce ./ the U. .7. as they
were previously to the promulgation ol those
decrees
The restrictions ol the Berlin and Milan de
crees had the effect of restraining the Araeficun
merchants from sending their vessels to France
The interdictions in the s> stem that has been
substituted, against the admission of American
products, will have the effect of imposing up. n
them an equal restraint. If, then, for the revok
ed decrees, municipal laws, producing the same
c mmerciu! effect, have been substituted, the
mode only, and not the measure, has under
gone an alteration. And however true it may
be, that the ciiange is lawful in form, it is, nt
verthcless, as true,that it is essentially unfriend
ly. and that it does not al all comport with the i.
deas inspired by your letter oi the 27th ulr in
which you were pleased to declare the “ distinct
ly pronounced intention of his imperial maji sly
of favoring the commercial relations between
France and the U. S. in all the objects of traffic,
which shall evidently proceed frnm their agri
; culture or manufactures.”
If France, by her own acts, ba3 blocked up
her ports against the introduction Of the pro
ducts ol the U S wha> motive fias this govern
ment, in a discussion with a third power, to in
sist on the privilege ol going to France ?
Whence the inducement to urge the annulment
of a blockade of France, when, if annulled, no
American cargoes could obtain a market in any
of her ports ? In such a state of things, a bloc
kade of the coast of France would be to the U.
S as unimportant, as would be c blockade of
the coast of the Caspian sea.
The British edicts may be viewed as having a
double relation; first, to the wrong done to the
U. S. ; second, to the wrong done to France.
And it is in the latter relation only, that France
has a Tight to speak. But what wrong, it may
be asked, can France suffer from British orders
which co-operate with her own regulations ?
However sentible the U. S. may be to the vi
olation of their neutral rights under those edicts,
yet, if France herself has by her own acts ren
dered it a theoretical instead of a practical vio
lation, it is for the government to decide on the
degree in which sacrifice: of any sort may be re
quired by considerations which peculiarly and
exclusively relate to ihe U S. Certain it is, that
the inducements to such sacrifices are weaken*
ed, as far as France can weaken them, by hav
ing converted the right to he maintained, into a
naked one, whilst the sacrifices to be made
would be fubstanlial and extensive
j A hope, however, is indulged, that your in
structions from ycur Govr-ri.ment will soon ena
ble you to give some satisfactory explanations of
thi measures to which reference has been made,
and that their operation in virtue of modifica
tion*, which have not yet transpired, v/ill not he
j as hai been herein represented.
The President has received with great satis
faction the information, that the consuls of
j France have been heretofore in the officia1 and
authorized practice of furnishing certificates of
origin to American vessel-, as well to those des
tine d to neutral ports, as to those whose sove
reigns are in alliance, with! France : and that
tins practice, sanctioned by the French Govern
ment, did not cease in any part of the U 8. be
fore the 13th of last month, and th-i'n only in con
sequence of a despatch from the dukt of Cadore,
bearing data the 30th of August preceding_
This satisfaction arises from the hope, that simi
lar information may have been given to the D..
nish government, and from a sense of the happy
ii flueoce whi. h such a communication will have
had on the American property, that had beer
seized and detained by the privateers of Den
mat k,upon the supposition that these certifi. alt s
of origin were spurious and not authorized by
the Frt nch Government It is, nevertheless, to
b- rt grett< d, that the functionaries of France in
Dei mark had not made known to the Danish au
tin rdies, dur ng the occurrence of surli outra
ges m the American trade, the error of de
nouncing, ns illegitimate, authentic documents,
which had been lawfully isiued by the accredi
ted agents of his imperial in<je.styw
i ha- the honor to be, Uc.
(Signed)
R. SMITH.
General Turrcau, C'c. Crc.
8th. It is within the recollection of the
American people, that the members of Con
gress, tiering the last session, were much
embarrassed, as to the course most proper
to be taken with respect to our foreign re
lations, anti that their embarrassments pro
ceeded principally Irnm the defect in the
communications to the..i as to the views of
the Emperor of the French. I'o supply
this defect was the great desideratum.—
At a c itical period of their perplexities
the arrival at Norfolk of an Envoy Extra
ordinary fr> in France was announced. Im
mediately thereon all their proceedings
touching our foreign relations were sus
pended. Their measure:, as avowed by
themselves and as expected by the Nation,
were then to be shaped according to the in
formation, that might be received from Mr.
Serrurier, especially, as he must necessarily
have left France long after the all important
1st day ol Nov. Upon his arrival at Wash
ington, and immediately alter he had been
accredited, knowing, as I did, the impati
ence of Congress and of my Countrymen, I
lost no time inhuvingwith him a conference.
This conference 1 concluded by stating that
I would take the liberty of addressing to
him a note propounding the several ques
tions, that I had just had the honor of put
ing to him in conversation, and tuat -hus
by his answer I should be enabled to lay
■ i before the President with the utmost preci.
sion his communications to me. I accor
dingly immediately prepared the following
draught of a letter and considering the Pre
sident’* sanction a matter of course. I had it
in due official form copied by the appropri
ate clerk.
But waiting on the President with it,
and after having reported to him verbally
the result of the conference. I was, to my
astonishment, told by him that it would not
be expedient to send to Mr. Serrurier any
such tide. His deportment throughout this
interview evinced a high degree of disquie
tude, which occasionally betray ed him into
fretful expressions. Having in view no
thing but he dignity of 'he Government,
and the prosperity of fly c-untrv. t.iul, over
looking his peevishncs<6, f cntreited him,
bin in a manner ihe |nost delicate; pot to
withhold from Congress any information
that might be useful fa them at so momen
tnus a juncture. \ .•
The following Is a topy of the letter I
had prepared, as proper in opinion, to
be sent to Mr. Serrurier. It needs no com
ment. . ,
Department of State, February 20, 1811.
SIR,
tlesirous of laying before the President
with the utmost precision the substance of our
conference of this day, and knowing that verbal
communications are not unfr qnently misunder
stood, I consider it proper to propose to you in
a written form the questions, which I have had
the honor of submitting to you in conversation,
namely:
1st. VVere the Berlin and Milan decrees revo
k'd in tvhcle or in part on the first day of last
November ? Or, have they at any time posteri
or to that day been so revoked ? Or, have you
initructiont from your Government to give to this
Government any assurance or explanation in re
lation to the revocation or modification ol the ,p
decrees ?
2d. Do the existing decrees of France admit
into brencli ports with or without licences A me
rjean vessels laden with the produce of the U.
5., *md tinder what regulations and conditions ?
3d. Do they admit into French ports with or
without licences American vessels laden with
the produce of the U. S. and under what regula
tions & conditions ?
4th Do they permit American vessels with or
without licences to return from France to *he
U. S. and upon what terms and conditions ?
5th. Is the importation into France ol'«ny ar
ticles the produce of the U S. absolutely prohi
bited ? And if to, what are the articles so pro
hibited, and especially are tobacco and cotton ?
6th Have you infractions from your Govern
ment ♦ give to this Goverement any assurance i
er explanation in relation to the American ver !
i sets and cargoea seized under the Kambouillet !
decree ?
I have the honor to be &c. t.c.
It. SMITH.
Mr. Serrurier, &c. Crc
9th. In my letter to Mr. Erskine, of
April 17th. 1809. Mr Maiison proposed,
and contraty to my ideas of propriety, in
sisted on inserting the following par Agra tfh,
viz.
“ Rut I have it in express charge, from
the President, to state, that white he for
bears to insist on afaiti.er punishment of
the offending officer, ht is not less sensible
of the justice and utilh of such an exam
pie, nor the less persuaded that it would
best comport with wh i b due from his Bri
tannic Majesty to his own honor.”
To this fiaragrafih 1 had two objections '
1st. It is not reconcileahle to that dignified
decorum which the comity oi Governments
in their intercourse with each other ought to
observe.
2nd. As in tne case of individuals, so in
a case of N«.ions, wherein a reparation
may be tendered for an aggravated insult—
the party instved cani.O' consistently ae.
cept a reparation in sa*i-tact ion, and inihe
same letter insist that such reparation is not
as satisfactory as in hono it ought to be._
Such an acceptance would necessarily ini.
ply, that the pusilanimity of ins par’y in
suited, had, from .■ dread of a conflict dis
p< sed him to yield townai his logic at the
same time, told him was not an adequate n
tofiement
10th. By my letter to Governor Clai
borne of October 27th. 1810, irdering him
to >ake possession of the part ut West Flo.
rida claimed bii the U. States, he was au
thorised toe.rl to his aid the regular army
and the wuolc Mi itia fi>rce of the neighbor-'
tng Perritmes. 1 o this order Mr. Madi
son annexed, with his own fien the lollow
ing restrictive qualification, viz. “should,
however, any particular place, however
small, remain in possession of a Spanish
force, you wiij not proceed to employ force
against it ; but you will make immediate
report thereof to this department.”
1 iie idea of the whole military force of
the U. S. being »>j full march and suddenly
baiting at the first appearance of a Spanish
bayonet, or of their being restrained from
taking possession to the lull extent of what.
Mr Madison himself considered our legitim
mate t(Qtiu% W2i*f9 to m y niirtd, wo humiliating,
that I really could not disguise my opinion
ol the restriction under the mask of official
i evei enco.
Util. Fn the month of December, next
after my accession to the Department of
State, I discovered that several American
citizens, claimants under the 7th article of
the Brit sh Treaty, had in vain presented
for payment then* respective claims. i'o
my hui prise, I found that there was not with
in my control any money tor the discharge
ot these just claims: and, with equal sur
prise, 1 ascertained at the Treasury, that
Mr. Erving, our agent in London, had re
tained in his liancis, as a Commission of
2J ficr ti nt, the sum of 22.S9.J dollars, and
that this sum, thus retained, was the veiy
money that had been paid by the British
Government, in trust, lor the identical A„
mericau citizens, whose claims l»a«l thus in
vain been presented lor payment. Neither
in the Department ot S'ate, nor in any n
ther Department of the Government, w»$
there to he found any record, or indeed, any
trace whatever of a I.etter of any kind au
thorizing Mr. Erving to rerain that sum of
money. No circumstance m relation to it
was within the recollection of any of the
Clerk*. To my predecessor in office I
then resorted. From him, however, I could
obtain no explanation. I, neverthvh.ss, sta
ted to him, that the claim of Mr. Ervifig as
it appeared on the books of the Treasury,
was utterly inadmissible. 1st. Because be
ing an officer with a JixeJ annual compcn
satinn, In coubl nut with propriety receive
an extra emolument : and especially, for
the same services fur which the established
compensation was allowed; 2d. Berause
the money, retained by him. was not the
property of the U. S hut was merely in the
hands ot this Government, in trust, for cer
tain citizens of the U S. whose claims under
the British i n aty had been duly sanction
ed. Mr. Madison barely remarking that he
had no knowledge or recollection of any of
the circumstances of this affair took occa
sion abruptly to call tnv attention to some
<5ther subject. Perceiving, as I did, that he
was not disposed to give me any instructions
in relation to this affair, I informed him that
I would lose no time in applying to Mr. Er '
ving for the requisite explanation. Ami the
following letter was accordingly written 6c
transmitted to him:
** Departmcn cf Stute, Dec 10, 1009
SIR, I
Finding that the sums of money, heretofore !
drawn out of your hands, by authority of this
Departmem, to this country, wi'h a view to the
payment of such claims, under awards of the
board of Commissioners acting under the 7th ar
ticle ofthe-British Treaty, as youhadnot previ
ously paid in London, are insufficient for that,
purpose, anl that upon inquiry at the Treasury,
there is still in your hands the sum of Jo38
pounds 7 shillings sterling, X have to request
that you will remit the same in some sale and
convenient mode to this Department; and, an
several claims, which have been presented here,
must ait the arrival of this money for payment)
1 have further to request you to hasten this re
mittance as much as possible.
“ Having learned at the Treasury also that
you have retained this sum us a commission ot'
2J per cent, upon the monies, which have passed
through your hands', I think i propel to apprise
you, that no compensation of that kind can be al
lowed
I have the honor to be, &c. &c.
R. SMITH.”
George It'. Erving, Esq Crc
Upon the receipt of this letter Mr. Er
ving, then in Cadiz, in his reply, informed
me, that, upon his return to the U S. he
would give me the necessary information.—
Upon his arrival at Washington, he accor
dingly shewed ine a letter from Mr. Madi
son himself, fully and explicitly authori
sing him to retain the sum ot money in
question.-Whence then.it will be asked,
did it happen, thatufthis letter there was
no record—mo trace whatever in the De
partmenl of State t It is because it was
not an official but a private letter, and of
which the original and duplicate wire
both in "Mr. Madison’s own hand wri
ting. The following is the copy of this
letter .
(DUPLICATE.)
Private. • IV AsniNC ton, Nov. 3, 180*.
** DrA.ii Jnt,
“ Your several communications re
lating to the awards, seamen, i*c. have been
just received and with tflcinyorv private Irtttr
| of Sept firet. As the subject of inis last may
i render an et.ily answer interesting to you, 1
h sten togive it.—Your observations on the rca
-sonablent ss of some remuneration of your ser
vices have, «•- you wished, been submitted to the
President. Tlte result of his reflection-, for the
p~ sent is, that I should suggest that you re
tain out of tne next instalroect in 'la passage
tt.rough your hands t.. !.e Barings* percentage
01 2A on the awards actually fece ved and to be
received by'you and that you state it as an i. m
... you. account with the public. This will
bring the equity ot yom claim regularly before '
the government and wiil leave the way open for
the choice of mocks and funds us may finally ap
pear must proper.
V/dlt great esteem and regard,
1 am.
Dear Sir,
Your obedient ser’vt.
JAMES MADISON.
M George Irving. Es<j. London ”
Expressing to Mr. Madison my surprise
and regret that a money-transaction to so
large an amount had been made the subject
of a private letter, I remarked to him that
he would now have to decide whether Mr.
Erving would be allowed to retain this
sum of money, and that should he be
allowed then an application must ne
cessarily be made to Congress tor an
appropriation of a like sum to ena„
ble the State Department to discharge the
just demands ol the claimants under the
Treaty. I, ..oreover, a* the same time,sta
ted to Mr. Madison th it the agency of Mr.
Fitvii.g had been 'ram September, 1801, to
•September, 1805, and tha the private let.i
ter of November. 1804, giving to hint 22,392 j
dollars in addition to Ids annual salary of
2 000 dollars, was, in fact, allowing him a
compensation of 7,982 dollars per annum.
As, however, it appeared to he President
that consistently with this private letter,
Mr Efving could not in candor or in equi'y
i be called upon to return to the Governing lit
j this money, I was of course instructed by
him io give his claim to it the sanction of!
[the Sta'e Department, and moreover tr ;
j consider and put un jilr as a public letter j
j the private letter nt November 3, 180* —
, A net an application was afterwards actor j
, dingly made to congress for the requisite I
appropriation.
\ i nr. senate navmg passed a resolution
calling upon the President lor certain in for..
! mation in relation to this subject, I frankly
declared to him, that in case of his applicati
| on to the State Department for a repor .every
consideration <>f duty would constrain me
| to set lorth ail the circumstances ot this
:transaction He manifested great pertur
bation and fretfully said, that the ca'I of the
i Senate was evulemly made with a view to
injure him. In connexion with this unpre
cedented observation, I perceived uue.qui
vocal indications of dissatisfaction with re.
sped tomyselt. And well assured ns I am,
and believing, ns I sincerely do, that this
affair had contributed in a great degree to
the rupture that has taken place between
Mr. Madison and myself, I cannot but
consider it a pioper item in the catalogue
|to be exhibited i*n ibis occasion to the
view of our fellow citizens.—It will
suggest to every mind the following ques.
tions:
1st. As President Jefferson, in the year
1801, with a view tosavethe public money,
did, with the approbation ot Mr. Ilrvirtg,
appoint, him a|i-ot of ft;?*. U. in k'w-j
don, with a fixed salary of 2,000 dollars
prr year, to perform ait ihr duties, wtiich
had been previously performed by Mr. VVil
liamjr* Mr. Cabbot and Mr. Le nox, why
did Mr. Madison,in ixi;4, in a fnivntcwaif,
counteract this r connmicul policy. by allow,
ingto Mr. Erving a sum of money about the
same in amount as the rvmoved officers
would have been entitled to claim, had they
all remained in office i
2nd. Why did Mr. Madison allow to an
officer, having a slated salary, an txtra
compensation greatly exceeding in amount
his fixed salary ; rod, especially, as that
extra-compensation was not fur extra-ser
vices, but merely I rtlie same services fur
which the stated salary was originally al
lowed *
-d Why wa3 the letter making «o un
precedented an allowance, not an official
one ? And why was there not left in the
office some 'race of it ?
4th Why did ha depart CO much from
established usage, as to take the liberty of
using the name of the President in a letter
graining money, when it was intended at
the time, not only that the letter was to be
a private one, but that no trace of it should
thereafter be f«>und in the office i*
5th. If, in November. 1804, it had been
considered, that Mr. Erving was entitled
to the additional compensation of so large a
sum as 22,392 dollars for services fitist, as
well as,future, why had not the case, at or
about that time, been presented to Con
gress for the requisite appropriation ?
Why had it been suffered to remain, so ma
ny years, enveloped in secrecy and dark
ness f
6th.' Why did Mr. Madison authorise Mr!
Erving to retain this par. icular sum of mone/
as it was not the property of the U. S. ; as
it was, in tact, in the hands of this govern
■n.-m meiely, in trast, for certain citizens
of tlie U. States ; and especially, as he
could not but have known, that the honest
claims of those suffering citizens would,
in time, be presented for payment; and that,
i?i th»t case, to satisfy those claims, the
came amount of money must necessarily be
drawn irnm the Treasury, as was actually
done at the last session.
. Having given to my fellow-citizens a view
otthe circumstances under which ! hive
resigned the commission of Seer; t rv of
State, it may not he amiss, as therewith
somewhat c nnected, to give them a short
sketch of he circumstances under which,
that commission had been received:
During the eigbi years ot M. . Jefferson's
administration QJr. Madison and I were
colleagues in cflice There was between
us, wi l out intermission, an intimate person
al intercourse. For the last four or five
yeais he visited me in my office, almost e
veiyilay, tor the purpose ot interchanging
ideas upon some affi.u i of his department.
Seldom did he write a paper of any impor
tance, which he did not submit to my con
sideration, before he gave to it its last shape.
With a knowledge of me thus acquit vd,
upon bis becoming the President i f the U;
States, he off. i ed to me, in the firs* instance’
tne olfice of Secretary of the Treasury.—J
Some short time after, and w hile I was em
ployed in the necessary preparatory inves
tigations in relation to the de.nils 01 the
Treasury Department, Mi Madison again
called upon me and requested nte to take
the station of the Deparimen' of State——
And, at the same time, h>* communicated to
me die circumstances, that had rendered
ttiis cuattge in h s administration necessar"
which as they arc not at all connected with
the design of this address, it would be im
proper here to recite.
However unnecessary it may appear to
those who know me, I deem it proper on
this occasion to declare, that at no time did
I, nor, as I am well assured, did any rela
tion or oth rfriend of mine, give or convey
diiectly to Mr. Madison or indirectly to
him through any other pri son, in any man,,
ner or form, the slightest intimation, that
I wished to be either Secretary of the Trea
sury orSecritary of State
Many despicable tales, as J have since
understood, were last winter covertly con
veyed to Mr Madison by certain abject,
designing sycophants, with a view rot only
to prejucire, but to alarm hi* mind ; and
am ng others, one that the Vice President!
General Armstrong and myself had been
employed m concming a plan to oppose
him at the next Presidential election. This
paltry story 1 had cons dered as utterly uu
•vor.hy of no ice. And, perhaps, I, at thia
tme. atiacli to it tro much importance in
avowing, as ! noj- cid(-that, w hile I was Se
cretary of State,! never had, in conversa
tion <r in writing any communication what
ever, directly or indirectly, upon any such,
subject wi-h either the Vice-President or
l.enenl Armstrong, or with cither ot them
through any person whatever. Cut being at
this time, a private citizen, I may, I trust
be allowed o declare to my countrymen as
1 most sincerely do. that to ensure the du
ration of the. republican party, as well as
topiv serve the honor and the best interest;
ot the u. Status, it hasbecom* indisjx nsa
bly necessary, that our President be a man
of energetic mi id, of enlarged and liberal
views, ot temperate and dignified deport
ment, of honorable and maniy feelings, and
at, efficient in maintaining, as sagacious in
discerning the ughtsol our much injured an*
insuite'i country,
n „ r R SMITH.
Baltimore, June 7. IS 11.
P S. It is, r trust, not expected by an**
person, that 1 should enumerate the na,'
ticular nominations to the Senate which I
disapproved. Such an undertaking would
at this time, be sis unjustifiable as it would
be. invidious.
APPENDIX.
1 Iin f -llotTii'pf J.riUrs arid rrtrartf *r« here
p.iMian-d, m-r-l. o shew how nfov .,'ed»-»
the tnl*f , witf, rc-t - ct i„ v|r j rrE(| *
to which ce*-rnin-:n«terr-v;s d Mr ,*!«<!,v.n”
!° ,J(* P,,rP-'^ 01 “ nu.nmr him. h*vc found
it rnkyCii KM in rc<M’vt
j*lontice/to, June 10th, 19C0
“ Dran Sin,
I ene.nsc you * letter.from
cl >}J*> membv;? of P'?u*v»ylv**jr.! ** hi~t» * .-i x