To Thomas Jefferson from James Madison, 17 March 1805
From James Madison
Washington Mar. 17. 1805
Dear Sir
I inclose two letters from Monroe recd. since your departure. The intermediate ones referred to, of the 16 & 18. of Decr. are not yet recd. I inclose also a Letter of Decr. 24. from Armstrong; who I am pleased to find understands the language in which the honorable & honest policy of this Country ought to be expressed. you will find that I obey the wish of Govr. Claiborne in taxing you with a lengthy communication from him rendered necessary by the persevering & elaborate attacks of his political adversaries. Fowler of Kentucky shewed me yesterday two letters one from James Brown, the other from Bradford the Editor of the newspapers. Brown without indicating any personal ill will agst. the Govr1 appears to concur fully in denonouncing his want of talents and weight of Character. He confirms the views given by others of the quiescent disposition of the Louisianians.
Bradford is bitter, wishes it to be inferred from circumstances which necessarily mean nothing unusual, that the Govr. endeavored to give him a sop, in the job of public printing, and declares that if no removal takes place, the federal party will gain the upper hand of those attached to the administration, among whom he classes himself as one of the most zealous. His letter intimates that he had in a previous one mentioned two persons whom he does not name2 as fit successors to Claiborne; but that he would name as preferable to all others, Chancellor Livingston in whose character he finds all the desirable qualifications.
Cathalan having been attacked, very unjustly I dare say, because the Accuser is notoriously of a worthless character, and sent a voluminous justification of himself. I do not trouble you with more of it, than the inclosed letter from Barnes, which is worth your perusal as it throws light on his own character. Lee has also written a long letter for a like purpose, which I inclose on account of some intelligence contained in it.
With respectful attachment, I remain Yrs.
James Madison
RC (DLC); at foot of first page: “The President”; endorsed by TJ as received from the State Department on 21 Mch. and “Barnes’ ltr to Cathalan Monroe’s Nov. 8. Dec. 20. Armstrong Dec. 24. W. Lee Dec. 20. Claiborne. Jan. 19.” and so recorded in SJL. Enclosures: (1) James Monroe to Madison, Paris, 27 Nov. 1804, reporting that French support of U.S. rights to Florida has been threatened by Napoleon’s favorable reaction to a formal protest by Spain; Monroe encloses a copy of his response to Talleyrand of 8 Nov., which reiterates the terms of the Louisiana treaty, reminds France of its promise to support U.S. claims, and endeavors to show the common interest of all three nations in “promoting an amicable adjustment of our differences”; Monroe hopes that his candor and expressions of friendship will encourage a similar response by the French (, 8:329-33). (2) Monroe to Madison, Bayonne, 20 Dec., announcing “that Spain has declared war agnst England at the instance of France” and sharing rumors of the Spanish king’s willingness to abdicate in favor of one of his sons with Manuel de Godoy as regent (same, 410). (3) John Armstrong to Madison, Paris, 24 Dec., stating that he has presented his credentials to the French government and remarking on Talleyrand’s bad treatment of Monroe; French officials have intimated that negotiations would go more smoothly “if certain persons could be sufficiently gratified,” to which Armstrong has responded with disbelief that the French would dishonor either themselves or the United States by such a practice; Napoleon has yet to respond to the communications sent by Armstrong and Monroe; Armstrong speculates that the delay is a result of Napoleon’s irritation with the United States, which Armstrong attributes to Jerome Bonaparte’s marriage, American trade with Santo Domingo, “the freedom with which he is treated in our journals,” and above all, the negative effect of U.S. prosperity on the emperor’s attempt to extinguish democratic principles in France (same, 417-19). (4) William C. C. Claiborne to Madison, New Orleans, 19 Jan., defending himself against charges of incompetence and of subservience toward Spanish officials; Claiborne accuses Daniel Clark of perpetuating the attack out of resentment for not having obtained an appointment, and Edward Livingston and John B. Prevost of having joined in the opposition to him; he encloses newspaper clippings of the accusations and documents related to a breach of authority by the Marqués de Casa Calvo (same, 487-92; , 9:371-7). (5) Joseph Barnes to Stephen Cathalan, Jr., Marseilles, 15 Apr. 1803, explaining his reasons for traveling to France with his vice consul, E. J. Newton, which included making connections in anticipation of opening a banking and commercial enterprise in Sicily (RC in DNA: RG 59, CD, Marseilles); for accusations against Cathalan by William Baker of Boston, which included charges related to Cathalan’s issuing of a passport to Newton, an English subject, see Madison, Papers, Sec. of State Ser., 8:79-80. (6) William Lee to Madison, Bordeaux, 20 Dec., defending himself against accusations made by Pierre Guestier, a Bordeaux wine merchant, that Lee was involved in the seizure of the Joseph & Phoebe by offering protection to the ship’s consignee in return for a share of his profits and by denouncing the ship as British in order to share profits from the seizure with the customs official; Lee encloses statements from Robert R. Livingston, Fulwar Skipwith, and the director of customs; he informs Madison of Monroe’s probable arrival in Bayonne and of news from Spain (same, 411-13).
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