James Madison Papers

To James Madison from William Jones, 27 February 1817

From William Jones

Philada. 27 feb. 1817

Dear Sir

I understand a law has passed creating the Office of Solicitor to the Treasury1 and the intimate knowledge I have of the worth and talents of Mr E W Duval induces a wish that he should obtain that appointment.

His services and experience in the Comptrollers Office while his worthy uncle filled that place2 afford him peculiar advantages, and his Sterling integrity professional talents and zeal for the public Service qualify him in an eminent degree for the discharge of the duties of Solicitor

His pretensions I understand are supported by several highly respectable public characters and if your views of the public interest shall accord with his wishes I shall be highly gratified and obliged. I am most respectfully and faithfully your Obdt Servant

W Jones

RC (DLC). Docketed by JM.

1. Jones may have been referring to “An act to provide for the prompt settlement of public accounts,” which created four additional auditors and another comptroller in the Treasury department and was approved on 3 Mar. 1817 (U.S. Statutes at Large description begins The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America […] (17 vols.; Boston, 1848–73). description ends , 3:366–68).

2. Edward W. DuVal (ca. 1790–1830), a clerk in the Navy Department, 1813–16, was the nephew of Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Duvall, who served as Comptroller of the Treasury between 1802 and 1811 until JM appointed him to the Supreme Court (PJM-RS description begins David B. Mattern et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Retirement Series (3 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 2009–). description ends 2:573 n. 1).

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    Madison Papers
    Title
    To James Madison from William Jones, 27 February 1817
    Author
    Jones, William
    Recipient
    Madison, James
    Date
    27 February 1817

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To James Madison from William Jones, 27 February 1817,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-11-02-0756. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 11, 1 May 1816–3 March 1817, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, Katharine E. Harbury, and Anne Mandeville Colony. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020, p. 693.]

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