To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph T. Scott, 5 March 1804
From Joseph T. Scott
Philada. March 5th. 1804
Sir,
I find that it has been asserted in Washington City, by Messrs. Duane and Leib, in the presence of several members of Congress that the St. Patrick’s society or naturalized are going to join the third party. As I have the honor of preciding at that society, it is a duty which I owe not only to myself; but to the society to declare to you most solemnly that the assertion is absolutely false
I do this lest a wrong impression might be made on your mind
Sir, the St. Patrick’s society is composed of none but Citizens, some of whom have carried their guns, and their swords through the revolutionary war, which established the Independence of our country; and they can exhibit, at any moment, the honorable marks of their attatchment to the cause. Previous to the declaration of Independence we were all one people. No one can be better acquainted with this subject than you. The other members of the society consist of men generally banished from their homes, their families, and connextions, by a sanguinary government, for their attachment to republican principles. They live by their industry. They feel, they enjoy, and they rejoice at having found an asylum in this Country under your wise, pacific, and econimical administration.
To assert that men, who suffered so much, and holding such principles would instantly forsake them is a reproach to which hardly any man of Sensibility would patiently submit.
An Irishman never betrays his friend; there is no Callender among us.
I wish to god it were convenient for me to go to Washington City to give you a history of some men’s politics and their veiws; although you stand upon an eminence far above all, yet perhaps you do not see every point
With Sentiments of personal respect I am yours truly
Joseph Scott
RC (CSmH); endorsed by TJ as received 7 Mch. and so recorded in SJL.
While in Washington in early 1804, William duane had a quarrel with the Treasury secretary. Gallatin had urged him to discontinue his support for Congressman Michael leib. Duane was loyal to Leib and thought Gallatin’s suggestion indicated that a third party was being formed in Pennsylvania. Duane perhaps did not know that TJ had received word from several Pennsylvania congressmen in January that Leib intended to retire. They sought a patronage position for him in Philadelphia (Kim Tousley Phillips, “William Duane, Revolutionary Editor” [Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1968], 158-60; Joseph Clay, Jacob Richards, and Frederick Conrad to TJ, 23 Jan. 1804). Scott, Duane, and John L. Leib, the congressman’s brother, were all active in the Philadelphia ward committee meetings and were signers of the July 1803 address to TJ (Vol. 41:68-70, 75, 115, 179).
In May 1804, Duane was indicted and brought before the Mayor’s Court for assaulting Scott after a ward meeting. Duane testified that Scott, as a member of the st. patrick’s society, had written “a distinguished character” to “prejudice me.” Duane continued: “some think I am an enemy to the Irish—but I am attached to them, and proud of my attachment.” Alexander Moore, who took an active role in ward meetings in 1803, testified that Duane charged Scott with making “free” with his character and struck him. When the court asked whether Moore had heard of Scott’s having written letters “reflecting on Mr. Duane,” Moore responded, “I believe Mr. Scott did write to the President about him.” Duane received a $12 fine. Scott did not run for reelection as president of the St. Patrick’s Society. On 17 Mch. 1804, new officers were elected and toasts at the celebration included “Thos. Jefferson, the chief shepherd of the flock, learned, wise, patriotic and virtuous.—Long life to him.” In the fall of 1804, the society was incorporated as the St. Patrick Benevolent Society. A few years later, Duane became the group’s president (Aurora General Advertiser, 14, 22 Mch. 1804; Philadelphia United States Gazette, 20 June 1804; Philadelphia Democratic Press, 2 Apr. 1810; The Constitution of the St. Patrick Benevolent Society [Philadelphia, 1804], 1, 6-8; Vol. 40:93n).