To James Madison from William Pinkney, 3 March 1813
From William Pinkney
Wednesday Morning. 3. March. [1813]
Dear Sir
I have only this Moment seen your obliging Invitation to Dinner for Monday last. It was left in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court and was delivered to me upon my coming into Court today.
I gave a Sketch of the Clauses, which I undertook to draw, to the Chairman of the Committee of foreign Relations of the Senate, yesterday. The principal Clause will I suppose be offered as an Amendment to the License Bill—the others will probably not be acted upon at present.1 I have the Honour to be D Sir. with sincere Respect and attachment your faithful & Ob. Serv.
Wm. Pinkney
RC (DLC). Year assigned on the basis of evidence presented in n. 1.
1. “An act to prohibit the use of licenses or passes issued under the authority of any foreign Government” was passed by the House of Representatives on 1 Mar. 1813 and sent to the Senate, where it was read on the same day. After being referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and reported with amendments on 2 Mar., the bill was postponed on the evening of 3 Mar., the last day of the session. The following July, Congress passed an act prohibiting the use of British licenses (, 12th Cong., 2d sess., 112–13, 115, 117, 121, 1150–51; ibid., 13th Cong., 1st sess., 55, 484–85).