James Madison Papers
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To James Madison from William Kirkpatrick, 1 July 1806 (Abstract)

From William Kirkpatrick, 1 July 1806 (Abstract)

§ From William Kirkpatrick. 1 July 1806, Málaga. “I have not written to you since the 15. January last,1 nothing of any consequence having occurred to render my communications interesting. Towards the end of January our Military Commander, of the Marine Department came forward with the preposterous demand on the French, Dutch, & Danish Consuls and me that we should recur to his Tribunal for all Kinds of Averages, Protests, and other Documents, which the Captains of our respective Nations might require during their stay here, and that they should present themselves to him on their arrival, to which innovations we all objected, and I represented strongly to our chargé d’Affaires George Wm. Erving Esqr. on the subject, as contrary to the 7. article of the Treaty with Spain,2 and the functions committed to Consuls by the Laws of the United States; Mr. Erving however did not think it proper to come forward. The Danish Minister made a spirited representation against the measure, and the Commander of the Marine Department was reprimanded, as far as I have been able to learn; the certainty is I have not been further incommoded, the only priviledge granted to him is, that the foreign Captains on being admitted to Prattic, should present themselves to him, to which there can be no objections stated, but since the order was confirmed he has not required of a single American Captain to pay him the compliment, nor will he in all probability demand it henceforward.

“As you will no doubt, on arrival of the Brig of War Syren, John Smith Esqr. Commander, be informed of the inconsistent orders past in March last, by this Governor, to detain her in any Port she might touch at, I have considered it a duty incumbent on me to transmit Copies of the sundry Letters I addressed Moses Young Esqr. Consul in Madrid and acting chargé d’ Affairs in the absence of Mr. Erving on the subject, and of the Order passed by the Governor to his Colleagues on the Coast, East and West.3 My feelings were mu[c]h hurt on the occasion, and I aspired after a satisfaction from Madrid, which was obtained without calling for it, as Mr. Young considered it improper to make any representation at all to the Secretary of State; Orders were sent down for displacing the Governor, the motives have never been made public, His improper conduct on this occasion may have however contributed greatly thereto, as I have been assured the Court of Spain disapproved of it compleatly.

“I enclose the simi [sic] Annual return of arrivals in this Port since the begining of the Year [not found], You will observe our Trade has considerably diminished towards this quarter, owing in a great measure to the reduced consumption of American and Colonial Productions, on accot. of the high duties exacted, and impoverished State of the Country, and the quarantine Laws which have continued in force since the date of my last.

“No Symptoms have appeared of the Yellow Fever this Season, the Public Health was seldom Known to be better, and we flatter Ourselves there will be no return of that cruel disorder.

“The United States Brig Hornet called in here on the 5. inst, and proceeded on the 24th: for Algiers and Malta; after, the arrival of the Constitution Frigate, Captain Campbell now ready to get under weigh, having taken in a supply of Provisions she stood in need of. I beg leave to trouble you with a Statement of my disbursements on account of Government, since the Month of March 1805.4

“I was informed by Mr. Young in March last that he had no funds to pay it off, and consequently did not then transmit it, I shall wait the arrival of Mr. Bowdoin for its recovery. The Postage account comes high, one Pacquet alone from you cost me $18.95 with the Laws last sent me.”

RC (DNA: RG 59, CD, Malaga, vol. 1). 4 pp.; docketed by Wagner as received 5 Sept. For surviving enclosures, see nn. 3–4.

1PJM-SS description begins Robert J. Brugger et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Secretary of State Series (12 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1986–). description ends 11:188–89.

2For the seventh article of the 1795 Treaty of San Lorenzo, which prohibited the “embargo or detention” of Spanish and American ships in each other’s ports, see Miller, Treaties description begins Hunter Miller, ed., Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America (8 vols.; Washington, D.C., 1930–48). description ends , 2:323–24.

3Kirkpatrick enclosed a copy (1 p.; in Spanish) and translation (1 p.) of a 12 Mar. 1806 order signed by Jayme Moreno requiring the Spanish cavalry to immediately alert the commanders of seacoast towns that the Syren was reported to be British, not American, and should therefore be captured if it entered a Spanish port. The enclosed copies of Kirkpatrick’s letters to Young dated 12, 15, 19, 22, and 29 Mar., and 2 and 9 Apr. 1806 (7 pp.) explained that the false report had been spread by a French sailor who joined the Syren’s crew at Málaga and deserted just before Smith sailed. Moreno issued his order without consulting Kirkpatrick, who had presented Smith to him as an American captain. Kirkpatrick asked Young to demand an apology from the Spanish government for this insult, which Young declined to do. By early April, however, the governor had been ordered to Granada with a “pittance” of a salary, which outcome Kirkpatrick chose to interpret in part as the punishment he believed due for Moreno’s action.

4The enclosed account (1 p.), dated 31 Mar. 1806, showed that from 1 Apr. 1805 to the date of the account, Kirkpatrick had paid $18 for stationery and $32.50 for postage, bringing his total charges for the year to $50.50.

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