To James Madison from Anthony Morales, 27 December 1806 (Abstract)
From Anthony Morales, 27 December 1806 (Abstract)
§ From Anthony Morales. 27 December 1806, Georgetown “(Ptm [Potomac]).” “I inclose the Original of my private Instructions,1 as also the original letter of the Government of St. Martin,2 and expect you will lay them before the President, requesting His Excellency’s particular consideration, on the matter. I inclose also, a letter from my former functions at St. Domingo,3 by which you will see, that, notwithstanding my Tittle of Consul General, (as it appears by my commission) I was by my private Instructions charge d’affaires &a., the same as my present private Instructions, express it; more satisfactions can be produced to the President, (if require:)4 and nothing shall be omitted, on my part, to prove that my greatest wishes and aspiration, are tending to the preservation, of a good understanding, friendship, and harmony, betweext Holland, and the U.S. of America.”
RC and enclosures (DNA: RG 59, NFC, vol. 1). RC docketed by Wagner, with his note: “Letters & Papers from Morales who pretended to be the Consul of Holland.” For enclosures, see nn. 1–3.
1. Morales enclosed printed instructions dated 6 June 1804 and signed by Secretary of State J. deJonghe (1 p.; in Dutch) that contained six articles giving Morales full authority as consul general of the Batavian Republic in the United States.
2. Morales enclosed a 4 July 1806 letter to Morales on “official” Saint Martin letterhead and signed by Jan Verveer on behalf of Saint Martin governor Willem Hendrik Rink (1 p.; in Dutch). It advised that neutral vessels would be subject to searches to combat the problem of pirates or privateers sailing under the cover of neutral flags.
3. Morales enclosed a 9 April 1803 letter to Morales on Hector Daure’s printed stationery (1 p.; in French). Daure, the French quartermaster general in Saint-Domingue, addressed Morales as chargé d’affaires for the Batavian Republic and requested a visit with him.
4. Morales appears to have enclosed all these documents in an attempt to convince Thomas Jefferson of the legitimacy of Morales’s claim to be consul general of the Batavian Republic. His attempt failed; see JM to Sylvanus Bourne, 7 Nov. 1806, and nn.