From George Washington to the Commissioners for the District of Columbia, 30 May 1796
To the Commissioners for the District of Columbia
Philadelphia 30th May 1796.
Gentlemen,
As no Mail southward of Baltimore was received at the Post Office in this City on Saturday;1 and as you may not have understood by my letter of the 22d instt, that the duplicate of the Power of Attorney to Messrs Wilhem and Jan Willink was required to be forwarded through me, I address this to you, in order to remove the doubt if any there be; as copies of the other papers are ready, and only waiting your duplicates to be dispatched.
In consequence of your recommendation of Mr Freeman, he was nominated, and by the advice & consent of the Senate has been appointed, Surveyor for running the Territorial line between the United States and Spain,2 at the rate of (*)3 dollars pr annum.
This service cannot commence before the Ratification of the Treaty by Spain is received; and the Commissioner and Surveyor on the part of that Power are known, & ready to proceed.4 It will not therefore interfere with any Services you may require, and Mr Freeman can render, until he is called upon to execute this business; which, probably, will not be before Autumn. At which time the Commissions will issue.
His request was to be employed in settling the Northern boundary between the United States and Great Britain, but the appointment of the Surveyors for that purpose is left to the Commissioners, who are to decide ultimately; I did not incline therefore to bring forward the name of any one for this service, even to our own Commissioner.5 With esteem & regard I am—Gentlemen Your obedient Servant
Go: Washington
ALS, DLC: U.S. Commissioners of the City of Washington records; ALS (letterpress copy), DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW.
The commissioners (Gustavus Scott and William Thornton) replied to GW from the “City of Washington” on 3 June: “We have the honor of your favor of the 30th Ulto & have communicated to Mr Freeman, that part of it which respects him—We now enclose a Duplicate copy of our power of attorney to Messrs Willinks—Should it be necessary, we can easily forward a Triplicate, executed by a full board” (LB, DNA: RG 42, Records of the Commissioners for the District of Columbia, Letters Sent). The duplicate power of attorney, signed by Scott and Thornton, was notarized on this date (DNA: RG 42, Records of the Commissioners for the District of Columbia, Letters Received).
1. The previous Saturday was 28 May.
2. Thomas Freeman wrote GW on 3 June: “Being this day informed by the Commissioners of the City that I have been appointed Surveyor for running the Territorial Line between the United States and Spain; I take the liberty to return my most grateful acknowledgements for your attention to me in that appointment, for which I shall hold my self in readiness, and hope that by a faithful discharge of the duties of that office to merit the confidence reposed in me” (ALS, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters; see also Commissioners for the District of Columbia to GW, 13 April, and GW to the U.S. Senate, 21 May).
3. The asterisk references a note at the bottom of the page: “I believe of 1500$.”
4. Article III of the 1795 treaty with Spain called for each country to appoint one commissioner and one surveyor to meet within six months of ratification ( 320–21).