To James Madison from George Joy, 18 July 1811
From George Joy
Helsinborg 18th July 1811
Dear sir,
Having a Copy of the Letter from the Danish Chancery to the Admiralty enclosed in my Letter to you of the 1st Inst:1 and hearing very suddenly of an Estafette bound to Gottenborg whence a schooner is about sailing to the U. S. I beg leave to hand you the said Copy annexed and am always very respectfully, Dear sir, Yr. friend & Servt.
Geo: Joy
RC and enclosure (DLC: Rives Collection, Madison Papers). Postmarked and forwarded at Baltimore on 10 Sept. For enclosure, see n. 1.
1. Joy’s letter to JM of 1 July has not been found, but evidently Joy had forwarded another copy of the document he now enclosed from the Danish Chancery, dated 28 June 1811 (2 pp.), and written in response to a memorial from “Consul Joy” requesting information on whether the Danish crown had instructed an admiralty court to condemn six American vessels. The Department of Foreign Affairs had replied that the crown had given no such instruction, nor did it believe that another royal instruction suspending such cases until the arrival of an American minister was applicable in the circumstances. The six vessels in question had been taken while making use of an English convoy and the Danish crown had already stated that petitions on behalf of such cases “must be pointedly rejected.”