James Madison Papers

To James Madison from John Graham, 8 August 1810

From John Graham

Dept of State 8th Augt 1810.

Dear Sir

Yesterdays Mail brought on the Dispatches from Mr Pinkney which had been entrusted to Mr Erwing. They were forwar[d]ed by the latter from Phia. The inclosed1 is a Copy of the last and only important Letter from Mr Pinkney.

From his other communications2 it appeared, so well as I can recollect (from the very hasty perusal I gave them, before they were put up for the Bath Mail which closed yesterday), that orders would be sent to Admiral Saumarez3 not to molest American vessels coming from Ports from which British vessels were not excluded and to suffer them to leave the Swedish Ports with the Cargoes they carried into them—that there was a partial relaxation of the Blockade of the Coast of Spain from Gigon &c. by which neutral vessels were enabled to bring off the productions of Spain liable, however, to the regulations of the Order in Council of April 1809—that that order was understood by the Board of Trade as replealing [sic] so much of the Novr order as rendered liable to condemnation such vessels as had certificates of Origin on board for their Cargoes. And finally that the usual Notice had been given to Mr Pinkney of the Blockade of Elsineur. This is the substance of five or six short Letters. With Sentiments of the most Sincere & Respectful attachment I have the Honor to be Sir, Your Most Obt Sert

John Graham

RC (DLC); enclosure (DLC: Rives Collection, Madison Papers). Both docketed by JM. Enclosure (4 pp.) in a clerk’s hand; marked “(Copy.)” (see n. 1).

1At a later time JM placed an asterisk here and wrote in the left margin, “*See Wm. Pinkney’[s] file.” The enclosure is a copy of Pinkney to Robert Smith, 13 June 1810, where Pinkney reported that Lord Wellesley had not answered a letter concerning the British blockade of France prior to the Berlin decree. Pinkney was also waiting to hear from Wellesley regarding a settlement of the Chesapeake affair but warned that it was “impossible to prevail” on Smith’s demand that Vice Admiral George Cranfield Berkeley should be “tried and punished.”

2This material was included in Pinkney’s dispatch of 12 June 1810, which Graham forwarded to JM on 29 Aug. 1810.

3Vice Admiral James Saumarez was commander of the Royal Navy squadron in the Baltic, 1808–13.

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