To James Madison from Thomas Munroe, 22 July 1816
From Thomas Munroe
Washington 22d. July 1816
Sir,
I have the honor to enclose a Letter recd. to day.1 I mentioned to the Committee that I thought it might be more proper, and also more satisfactory to the Executive that the Supreme Court, or at least the Circuit Court Judges & Officers should designate the scite, or make some communication of their wishes on the subject. They replied that neither of these Courts being in session, it would take some time to consult the Judges, & obtain a representation from them. That the Presidents informal permission was all that would be necessary at present, and that an Act of Appropriation for a suitable portion of the public reservation could be hereafter obtained.
To insure, however, a judicious location of the building and prevent any avoidable injury being done to the Square which contains ⟨19a° 1e′ ⅌ 27⟩ it might perhaps be well for the President to require that the Approbation of some of the principal Officers of the Government or of those of the District on the spot, should be obtained before the building is begun. I have the Honor to be most respectfully Sir, Yr Ob Hum Servt
Thomas Munroe.
RC and enclosure (DLC). For enclosure, see n. 1.
1. Munroe enclosed a one-page letter, dated 22 July 1816, he had received from Washington Boyd, Charles Glover, and Benjamin Lincoln Lear as the “Superintending Committee,” pointing out that both the circuit court of the district and the United States Supreme Court “suffered very great inconvenience for the want of a proper place in which to hold their sessions” and were now “deprived entirely of the rooms which they had heretofore occupied for that purpose.” A “respectable number of the Citizens” had therefore “associated for the purpose of erecting on Shares a Court house on the Judiciary Square, provided a portion of that square shall be allotted to them, to be rented to the proper officer of the US. for the benefit of the Stockholders, until it shall be purchased by Congress, if they shall think proper to do so.” The subscription “being nearly filled,” it only remained for Munroe to “request the permission of the President of the United States to erect the building upon the Judiciary Square, fronting 4 ½ Street West, or if this particular situation cannot be granted, then on the Southwest corner of the Square.”