1. Graham may have enclosed a copy, probably made by Richard Forrest, of William Shaler to Robert Smith, 12 Aug. 1810 (DNA: RG 59, Communications from Special Agents). Shaler had arrived in Havana on 1 Aug., but he failed to persuade the captain general, Don Salvador de Muro y Salazar, marqués de Someruelos, to grant him a passport for his journey to Veracruz. Much of the 12 Aug. letter was devoted to reporting conversations Shaler had held with an influential Cuban official and planter to the effect that Cubans believed it was unlikely that the rebels in Buenos Aires and Caracas could sustain an independence movement against Spain. It was the opinion of Shaler’s informant that Cuba required a monarchy for stable government, and he included this among the reasons why American agents could not be received in Havana. Shaler added that his sources of information were in constant communication with the mainland (Mexico) and that he remained well placed to obtain news as well as to give effect to the wishes of the president.