To James Madison from George Hite, 22 June 1810
From George Hite
Chas. Town June 22nd 1810
Sir
As I enclosed you the extract of Mr. Pickering’s letter to his friend, I thought it best to enclose you the justification.1 I have been prevented from preparing it sooner in consequence of my absence from home, & an unavoidable attention to my own business. That health & happiness may await you is the wish of your Friend
Geo Hite
RC (DLC). Enclosure not found.
1. No letter from Hite to JM enclosing such an extract has been found. He apparently sent JM a newspaper clipping related to the 1810 controversy involving charges that Timothy Pickering had used public funds “for the laudable purpose of accommodating his federal friends, and furthering the federal elections to the eastward—which money is not accounted for.” These charges were made in a handbill that had circulated throughout New York during the April elections. Federalist congressman James Emott of Poughkeepsie asked Pickering to respond, and the Poughkeepsie Journal subsequently published copies of the handbill as well as copies of the correspondence between Pickering and Emott and between Pickering and treasury secretary Gallatin and treasury comptroller Duvall to show that Pickering’s accounts with the State Department were in order (Gerard H. Clarfield, Timothy Pickering and the American Republic [Pittsburgh, 1980], p. 244; Octavius Pickering and Charles W. Upham, eds., The Life of Timothy Pickering [4 vols.; Boston, 1867–73], 4:162–68).