Thomas Jefferson Papers
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To Thomas Jefferson from Albert Gallatin, [27 May 1801]

From Albert Gallatin

Wednesday morning [27 May 1801]

Dr Sir

In Callender’s case a copy of the pardon is necessary, and if it is in general terms, a letter from the President to me specifying that it was intended to include the remission of the fine must accompany it.

When furnished with these papers, I will communicate the same to the Auditor & Comptroller who will therefore write to the late Marshall of Virginia, that the credit by him given to the U. States in his account rendered for same fine was improper, will be struck-out of his debit & that he must of course repay the money to Callender. The fact is that in this case the Marshall, as I am informed, will be Debtor some thousand dollars to the U. States on final settlement. He has, in his acct. rendered & now under consideration, credited the U.S. for the fine; but he has not paid it in the Treasury either directly or indirectly, either informally or by Warrant. It is yet in his hands—He is said to be a grasping man, & his accounts are always difficult to settle & uniformly curtailed. His last settlt. was 31 Decer. last & he was then Debtor to U.S. 4,194 Dollars—

Yours

Albert Gallatin

RC (DLC); partially dated; endorsed by TJ as received from the Treasury Department on 27 May and “Callender’s case.”

Callender’s case: see Pardon for James Thomson Callender, 16 Mch. 1801. On 28 and 29 May Gallatin wrote Madison requesting an attested copy of the pardon (Madison, Papers, Sec. of State Ser. description begins J. C. A. Stagg, ed., The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, Charlottesville, 1986–, 8 vols. description ends , 1:236–7). Gallatin informed John Steele, Comptroller of the Treasury, on 29 May, that if Callender’s fine “had been paid by Warrant into the Treasury,” it was doubtful whether it could be “legally remitted and if legally remitted, whether it might be legally refunded without a special appropriation.” According to the 20 Apr. opinion of the attorney general, however, if the remission took place before the money had actually been paid into the Treasury, the fine had to be repaid by the marshal to the party. Gallatin requested that credit for the fine, as submitted by David Meade Randolph, former marshal of virginia, in his account to the Treasury of 4 Mch., “ought not to be admitted in the settlement of his account.” On 30 May the comptroller wrote Randolph informing him that after a review of his accounts for February and March 1801, he was found to be indebted to the Treasury for $2,428.03. This did not include the $200 fine he had received from Callender. Instead, the comptroller directed Randolph to return the money to Callender and transmit the receipt to the Treasury Department (Gallatin, Papers description begins Carl E. Prince and Helene E. Fineman, eds., The Papers of Albert Gallatin, microfilm edition in 46 reels, Philadelphia, 1969, and Supplement, Barbara B. Oberg, ed., reels 47–51, Wilmington, Del., 1985 description ends , 5:66–7). For Callender’s fine, see also TJ to Monroe, 26 May.

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