To Thomas Jefferson from Robert Crew, 22 February 1793
From Robert Crew
London Feby 22d 1793
Sir
I take the liberty of enclosing for you the morning chronicle for this day; it contains a motion by Mr. Gray for an address to the King against the War with France, which paper may be acceptable to you, should the subject it contains not have reached you before.
In order the better to enable me to serve my friends, and that neither their interest nor my own may suffer should business at any time cause me to be absent from London, I have given Mr. Thos. Allport of this City a concern in my business, and formed a copartnership with him which commenced the 1st. of last month. I shall think myself very much favoured should you at any time give us your commands.
This government offer 7/ ⅌ bus. for American Wheat that may touch in England for orders, in order to prevent the French from being supplied. At the same time British Wheat is only 5/10 ⅌ bus. I am, with the greatest Respect Sir Your most Obedt Servt
Robt Crew
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 24 Apr. 1793 and so recorded in SJL.
In a motion defeated in the House of Commons on 21 Feb. 1793, Charles Grey, a Whig follower of Charles James Fox, proposed the adoption of an address to the king questioning the advisability of war with France and urging a prompt restoration of peace (Thomas C. Hansard, comp., The Parliamentary History of England …, 36 vols. [London, 1806–20], xxx, 454–60; ). At some point TJ also received a printed circular letter of 10 Dec. 1792 from Crew and Thomas Allport announcing the formation of their copartnership (RC in DLC; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State Philadelphia”; see also Vol. 18: 309n).