To James Madison from Pierre S. Compere, 10 September 1816
From Pierre S. Compere
Natchitoches Sepr. 10th. 1816
Sir,
I am instructed by the Church Wardens of the Roman Catholic Congregation of St François of Natchitoches as President of that Corporation, to trouble your Excellency again on the subject of the ground occupied by the Indian Factory in this place, belonging to the Church.
On the thirteenth of December 1813 I was authorised by an order of the Church Wardens, a copy of which is enclosed to offer to the government of the United States to accept an abandonment of the buildings erected on the ground, as a compensation for rent and timber cut upon the premises. In pursuance of that authority I had the honor to address to your Excellency a petition to that effect.1 No definitive step has yet been taken by Mr Linnard the United States Factor, and since orderes have been receieved to remove that establishment together with the Agency and Garrison from this place, Mr Linnard has addresed a letter to the Church Wardens, of which the enclosed is a copy, offering to sell the buildings in question and to pay a reasonable compensation for rent &c2 In answer it was proposed to submit the amount of rent to Arbitrators to be mutually appointed; but on examining more particularly our charter it was thought that we had not the power to proceed by compromise or arbitration.3
In consequence of that the Church Wardens authorised Mr Bullard their Attorney to propose to Mr Linnard the same terms, which were first offered to the Government in 1813, as will appear by an order dated the 9th: Instant, of which a copy is herewith enclosed.4 Mr Linnard declines to accept this arrangement.5
The public use to which the buildings and land in question are destined, that of a Court house for the County induce the Church Wardens to be more urgent on this subject than they otherwise would be. The edifices are of little value and the timber of which they were constructed Cut upon the land itself. The Proposition made to Mr Linnard appears to the Corporation to be just and fair, that when the establishment shall be finally abandoned the buildings should be permitted to remain as a compensation for the rent and the timber cut upon the ground.
If your Excellency should view the subject in the same light, we trust that instructions will be given to the Factor to enter definitively into the arrangement proposed. I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most obedient Servant.
Pre. S. Compere
Presidant
RC and enclosures (DNA: RG 107, LRRS, M-436:9). The enclosures (see nn. 2–5) were among a file of documents sent by Thomas L. McKenney to George Graham on 20 Dec. 1816.
2. Two copies of Thomas M. Linnard’s letter to this effect were enclosed, one undated (2 pp.; signed in French by Compere as a copy), and the other (1 p.; signed as a copy by Linnard) dated 26 Aug. 1816. Linnard stated that he was authorized to offer for sale to the church wardens the buildings occupied by the Indian factory, compensation for the use of the land on which the buildings stood and any timber that might have been used in their construction, and “the whole of the Buildings & enclosure as they now stand” and he was ready to pay “a proper compensation for the use or rent of the ground & for the timber” as it had been used in the construction of the buildings. Linnard also requested that he be informed as to what sum the church corporation would be willing to give “for the Buildings &c after deducting for the rent &c—also to state what are your claims for rent & timber used.” Filed with these copies is an extract from a letter sent by Superintendent of the Indian Trade Thomas L. McKenney to Linnard on 14 July 1816 (3 pp.), in which McKenney agreed that the congregation had some grounds for compensation but he saw “no reason for giving away the whole building, because a part of it is composed of materials that belong to those who ask for it.” McKenney further explained that while neither he nor Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson had received instructions on the matter, he directed Linnard, first, to try and relocate the building on another site and, failing that, to sell the building to the congregation or to any other party, after making an “equitable” arrangement for the use of the timber and the land.
3. On 3 Sept. 1816 Compere informed Linnard that he had summoned the congregation after receiving the above letter, under the date of 25 Aug. 1816, and he stated that the congregation had decided to adhere to the decision it had made on 13 Dec. 1813, to which he attached a copy of the proceedings of the congregation on that date (2 pp.; in French).
4. Enclosed is an extract from the proceedings of the congregation, dated 1 Sept. 1816, which directed the congregation’s attorney, Henry Adams Bullard, to inform Linnard that it could not agree to submit the dispute with the United States to arbitration, to which was attached another copy of its proceedings of 13 Dec. 1813.
5. Filed with these documents is Linnard’s 14 Sept. 1816 letter to McKenney, describing his failure to persuade the congregation to purchase the factory and land as well as its refusal to agree to arbitration, to which Linnard attached copies of his correspondence with the congregation as well as an estimate (not found) of the value of the buildings obtained from a “gentleman fully acquainted with the value of the property” (2 pp.).