James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 6 March 1812
From James Madison
Washington Mar. 6. 1812.
Dear Sir
I return the letter from Foronda inclosed in yours of the 19th Feby. I find I shall not be able to read his lucubrations1 in print. The letter2 from Dr Guantt is in the hands of the Secry of war, and will not be unheeded; but the course the nominations have taken makes it doubtful whether the wishes in behalf of his Son, can be fulfilled.
You will see that Congs or rather the H. of Rs have got down the dose of taxes. It is the strongest proof they could give that they do not mean to flinch from the contest to which the mad conduct of G.B. drives them. Her perseverence in this seems to be sufficiently attested by the language of Ld Liverpool & Mr Perceval, in their parliamentary comments on the Regent’s message. The information from F. is pretty justly described in the paragraph inserted in the natl Intelliger after the arrival of the Constitution. The prints herewith inclosed are forwarded to you at the request of Thoms Gimbrede (of N. York) the author.
[James Madison]
RC (DLC: Madison Papers); closing and signature clipped, but replaced in pencil in an unidentified hand; at foot of text: “Mr Jefferson”; endorsed by TJ as received 9 Mar. 1812 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: Valentín de Foronda to TJ, 30 Nov. 1811. Other enclosure printed below.
Madison had forwarded a letter from Edward Gantt (guantt) (described at TJ to Gantt, 19 Feb. 1812) to William Eustis, the secry of war. On 4 Mar. 1812 the United States House of Representatives approved resolutions supporting additional taxes in the event of war (, 12th Cong., 1st sess., 1147–56). On 7 Mar. 1812 the Washington National Intelligencer began publishing extracts from the parliamentary comments that followed a speech by the British prince regent, the future George IV. Dispatches from France that arrived with the United States frigate constitution on 22 Feb. 1812 included news that Napoleon had received American envoy Joel Barlow favorably (National Intelligencer, 25 Feb. 1812).
1. Manuscript: “lucrubations.”
2. Reworked from “Your letter of subsequent date.”
Index Entries
- Barlow, Joel; U.S. minister to France search
- Constitution, USS (frigate) search
- Eustis, William; as secretary of war search
- Foronda, Valentín de; letters of forwarded search
- Gantt, Edward; seeks appointment for son search
- George, Prince Regent (later George IV, king of Great Britain); as Prince of Wales search
- Gimbrede, Thomas; engraving of first four U.S. presidents search
- Great Britain; and U.S. search
- House of Representatives, U.S.; and taxes search
- Liverpool, Robert Jenkinson, 2d Earl of; parliamentary comments of search
- Madison, James; depicted in T. Gimbrede engraving search
- Madison, James; letters from search
- Napoleon I, emperor of France; receives J. Barlow search
- Perceval, Spencer; parliamentary comments of search
- taxes; increased to fund war search