To James Madison from John Holmes, 24 February 1814 (Abstract)
From John Holmes, 24 February 1814 (Abstract)
§ From John Holmes.1 24 February 1814, Boston. “I have understood that the appointment of Albert Smith Esqr as collector of Plymouth County in this state has not been confirmed by the Senate.2 If so, permit me to recommend to your consideration Aaron Hobart Esqr of Hanover in that County as, in my opinion a very suitable person to fill the office. Mr. Hobart may be relied on as a gentleman whose talents & integrity qualify him for such an office.”
RC (DLC). 1 p. Docketed by JM.
1. John Holmes (1773–1843), a Maine attorney, was a Republican member of the Massachusetts Senate during the War of 1812. In 1815 JM appointed him a commissioner under the fourth article of the Treaty of Ghent, to divide the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay between the United States and Great Britain. Elected to Congress as a representative from Massachusetts in 1816 and 1818, he played a prominent role in the establishment of Maine as a separate state, and subsequently served as one of its first senators, 1820–27 (William Willis, A History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, from Its First Colonization to the Early Part of the Present Century [Portland, Me., 1863], 275–76, 284–87).
2. In a message dated 17 Jan. 1814, JM nominated Albert Smith as collector for the thirteenth collection district of Massachusetts. The Senate rejected the appointment on 27 Jan., agreed to reconsider it, and rejected it again on 9 Feb. 1814. JM then proposed Nathan Willis for the position, but the Senate also declined to confirm that nomination. Finally, in a message dated 1 Apr. 1814, JM nominated Howard Carey, and the Senate approved the appointment on 5 Apr. ( 2:455, 463–64, 470–71, 498, 514, 521–23).