From James Madison to James Monroe, [ca. 29 June 1815]
To James Monroe
[ca. 29 June 1815]
Dear Sir
Onís is to have a final conversation with Mr. Dallas today. From his answer in writing to the letter from Mr. D. it may be inferred that he will not concur in our proposition, whilst we cannot accede to his.1 It will consequently be necessary for a letter to go directly from the Dept. of State here to that in Spain, which may be sent by a special conveyance. In this mode a communication may be held that will get rid of past difficulties, & smooth the way for all purposes. In the mean time there may be danger that Onís’s perverted Statements to his Govt. may be injurious. It is impossible however that it can persist in the extravagance of saying, I will receive no minister from you, unless you receive a particular minister from me, and him too a man confessedly guilty of an effort to create Civil war & dismemberment in your Country. Affe. respects
J. Madison
RC (DLC: Monroe Papers). Undated; filed following 29 Mar. 1815. Conjectural date supplied here based on comparison with JM to Monroe, 26 June 1815, and evidence in n. 1.
1. Luis de Onís wrote Alexander J. Dallas on 28 June 1815, acknowledging receipt of Dallas’s 26 June letter and observing that Ferdinand VII had received none of the several communications by which JM’s administration stated that Onís would be recognized only at Ferdinand’s request as a matter of accommodation to him, and not as a matter of right. Onís also noted that Ferdinand had assumed the accommodation when he sent new credentials to his designated minister (DNA: RG 59, NFL, Spain).