To George Washington from Timothy Pickering, 7 April 1796
From Timothy Pickering
Department of State April 7. 1796.
The Secretary of State respectfully requests the President of the United States to grant him an order on the Secretary of the Treasury for Two thousand dollars, to enable him to continue the payment of the expences attending the procuring of copies of the proceedings of the British Courts of Vice Admiralty in the cases of captures by the armed vessels of that nation.1
Timothy Pickering.
ALS, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters; LB, DNA: RG 59, Domestic Letters; LB, DNA: RG 59, GW’s Correspondence with His Secretaries of State.
Below the signature on the ALS, Pickering wrote an order of this date to Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott, Jr.: “Pay to Timothy Pickering Secretary of State Two thousand dollars for the purpose above mentioned.” No signed order from GW has been found, but the report on contingent fund expenditures enclosed with GW’s message to Congress of 15 Feb. 1797 indicates that the requested warrant for $2,000 was issued to Pickering on 6 July (DNA: RG 46, entry 47).
1. In response to complaints from merchants about British ship seizures, the federal government appointed a special agent in late 1794 to represent their interests in the admiralty courts of Great Britain and agreed to absorb expenses connected to those cases (see Edmund Randolph to GW, 23 Oct. [second letter] and 1 Dec. [first letter] 1794, and notes).