From James Madison to John Cotton Smith, 6 February 1806 (Abstract)
To John Cotton Smith, 6 February 1806 (Abstract)
§ To John Cotton Smith. 6 February 1806, Department of State. “In answer to your letter of the 11 ult. [not found] enclosing to me the Memorial of the Governor, Judges and Secretary of the Indiana Territory,1 claiming compensation for certain services rendered by them in relation to the territory of Louisiana, under the Act of Congress, which constituted it, I can only state, that the code of laws to which the memorialists refer has been received at this Department, and that although the other general facts are believed to be true, I have not any formal evidence of them.”
RC (DNA: RG 233, Reports and Communications from the Secretary of State, 6A–E1); letterbook copy (DNA: RG 59, DL, vol. 15). RC 1 p.; in Wagner’s hand, signed by JM.
1. The 10 Nov. 1805 petition (DNA: RG 233, Petitions and Memorials, 9A–F1.1; 2 pp.; signed by William Henry Harrison, Thomas T. Davis, Henry VanderBurgh, John Griffin, and John Gibson; printed in Esarey, Messages and Letters of William Henry Harrison, Indiana Historical Collections, 1:170–71) stated that the act erecting Louisiana into two territories and providing for their temporary government made it the duty of the officials of Indiana Territory to organize a government for Louisiana Territory, to establish courts, to create and publish a code of laws, and to hold two courts annually in the territory, which they had been doing since September 1804. They said that in order to accomplish this they had had to travel over two hundred miles, that courts had been held regularly, and that the legislative session in May 1805 had lasted two weeks. They added that they were not compensated for this and asked that they be granted appropriate compensation for their efforts. On 3 Mar. 1807 a law was passed granting the governor, judges, and secretary of the Indiana Territory three hundred dollars each as compensation for their extra services (, 2:444).