From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 9 February 1813
To Peter Augustus Jay
Bedford 9 Feb. 1813
Dear Peter
I have recd. your Letter of the 5th. Inst—1 and considered the Question stated in it.—2
To me it appears probable that the Leading Men among your Electors, and others in different parts of the State, desire and Expect a Petition to Congress. —If so— Can a satisfactory Reason from for declining it be given? or would it be discreet to be, and appear to be, passive and indifferent. If such Desire and Expectation really exist, I think you should proceed— and with Firmness, and Energy regulated by Prudence. Unless Provision be made for the Expense (which may, or may not be) bear your Proportion of it chearfully— In a word— do whatever it fit and right & becoming without Regard to Consequences—
There is Delicacy in the Doubt whether you should ^ought^ accept a Place
in Congress in the Way which wd. be opened to it by the Success of the Petition, & without a majority of the votes actually given whether regular or otherwise— But how is it to be avoided. If this Doubt is well founded, it follows that the long established Course of Proceeding in similar Cases, cannot be right— but ^on the contrary^ that whenever a Section of a District is detected in culpable practices, & thereby to ^which^ invalidate its votes, the Election as to the whole should be declared to be null, and the Trouble & Expense of a new one incurred
Where Usage has bn ^been^ settled and uniform, would the Delicacy in question, be considered as a good Reason for refusing to conform to it?— if not— other motives not ^for the Refusal^ would be sought, and perhaps some less favorable adopted— Altho the transient opinions, which rise like Bubbles from popular Breath, seldom weigh more than Bubbles, yet Respect is due to the concurring opinions & Sentiments of sensible considerate well meaning Men.
It does not appear to be necessary that you should accompany Mr. Blydenburgh to Washington— he will readily find Friends there very able to and willing to advise and assist him— He will of Course take with him ^ample^ Evidence to substantiate all ^Every^ [torn] allegations in the Petition— ^this shd. be attended to^ We are all as well as at the Date of my last— Our Love to Mary— I am &c.
Peter Augustus Jay Esqr.
Dft, NNC (EJ: 06177).
2. In December 1812, Federalists adopting the name Peace and Commerce Party nominated PAJ and Benjamin B. Blydenburgh (1766–1816), to represent New York’s First District, consisting of Suffolk, Queens, Kings, and Richmond Counties, and the first and second wards of the City and County of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. PAJ and Blydenburgh received 3,446 and 3,437 votes, respectively, losing to the Republican John Lefferts (1785–1829), who received 3,515 votes, and the Republican incumbent Ebenezer Sage (1755–1834), who received 3,508 votes. Although early reports indicated that PAJ and Blydenburgh emerged victorious, the election results were contested. Irregularities with the polling process in Brookhaven had apparently caused officials to void the ballots cast in that town. However, the Brookhaven votes were ultimately reinstated and counted, thereby awarding the congressional seats to the Republican candidates. Commercial Advertiser (New York), 10 Dec. 1812; Evening Post (New York), 16 Dec.; Trenton Federalist, 21 Dec.; Geneva Gazette, 23 Dec.; Columbian (New York), 26 Dec.; Statesman (New York), 28 Jan. 1813.
PAJ informed his father of the situation with the ballots from Brookhaven and asked for JJ’s thoughts on the matter, stating, “I would be much obliged to you for an opinion wherein we ought to petition Congress for our Seats I certainly would rather let it alone, unless Duty requires it to be done—”. A petition was duly filed by PAJ and Blydenburgh protesting the election results and presented to Congress on July 7, 1813. On 13 July, the Committee of Elections postponed this case to the next session, but no further action was taken. Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), 14 July 1813; M. Saint Clair Clarke and David Hall, Cases of contested elections in Congress, from the year 1789 to 1834, inclusive (Washington, D.C., 1834), 265.