From James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 25 July 1806
To Thomas Jefferson
Washington July 25. 1806.
Dear Sir
The inclosed letter from the Mayor of N. York shews that coercion alone will rid us of the Tunisians in revolt agst. Melimelli. I have written to the Mayor that it is desireable that he should have them sent on to Boston, by any means which he may be able to apply.1 I believe it will be found necessary to take the course thought of before your departure for conveying the presents &c. to Tunis; that is by a chartered vessel. The articles for the Bey with the merchandize of the Ambassador are stated to be so bulky that it would be extremely inconvenient to encumber a public ship with them. In one of the inclosed Moniteurs you will find the paragraph referred to in Armstrong’s letter, on the subject of Miranda as it was drawn up under Talleyrand’s direction.2 I have not yet fixt the day for setting out; but have in view a short one. It would be agreeable to get Lear’s dispatches, before I leave the City, but I shall not make that a sine qua non. It is just reported that the Essex is in the river, and I hope truly. Yrs. with respectful attachment
James Madison
The letter from Fox to Merry on the subject of Pearce was dated June 6th. and marks the strongest desire to repress the hostile spirit here, which the British Govt apprehended might result from the murder. Fox speaks of the affair as having taken place in the Harbour of N. York.3
RC (DLC: Jefferson Papers). Enclosure not found.
2. No letter from John Armstrong referring to such a paragraph has been found.
3. The 25 Apr. 1806 death of John Pierce by a cannonball fired from the British frigate Leander occurred off Sandy Hook, New Jersey (DeWitt Clinton to JM, 26 Apr. 1806, 11:507 and n. 1). The remainder of Charles James Fox’s 6 June 1806 letter to Anthony Merry stated “that His Majesty’s Government, tho’ perfectly unacquainted with the Merits of the case, cannot but sincerely deplore the Result; and … they will not fail to cause all proper Investigation into all the circumstances which led to the Melancholy Transaction, to take place, with a view to remove any Sensation of Enmity or Distrust to which it may have given rise” (UkLPR: Foreign Office, ser. 115, 13:142v-143r).