To Thomas Jefferson from Gabriel Duvall, 20 November 1804
From Gabriel Duvall
Tuesday, Nov. 20. 1804.
Mr. Duvall’s Respects to Mr. Jefferson.—Being about to decide on a claim of the U. States against Edmund Randolph, Esquire, on which a suit has been brought & which is referred to the Comptroller; & Mr. Randolph claiming a credit on account of Mr. Short, formerly a Minister of the U.S. at a foreign court, & finding, on a perusal of the records in the department of State, that Mr. Jefferson, in the transaction referred to, acted as the Agent of Mr. Short, Mr. D. presumes that Mr. Jefferson can give the necessary information relative to it, & requests to be informed when he will be at leisure to have a few minutes conversation with Mr. D. on the subject.—
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 20 Nov. and so recorded in SJL.
Duvall, as comptroller, was the arbitrator in the government’s suit against Edmund Randolph, which concerned funds that passed through Randolph’s control during his tenure as secretary of state. One subject of dispute had been whether a payment to William Short was an obligation of the United States or of Randolph acting as an agent for Short. On 24 Nov., Duvall ruled that Randolph remained responsible to the government for over $53,000 (John J. Reardon, Edmund Randolph: A Biography [New York, 1975], 355-7; Vol. 36:343-4, 455-7; Vol. 37:288-9).