To James Madison from James Monroe, 14 March 1807
From James Monroe
London March 14. 1807.
Sir
I hasten to transmit you a copy of the note which I lately wrote to Lord Howick, to request a postponement of the trial of Capn Whitby, and of his reply to it; by which you will find, that the trial is postponed to the first of May.1 At present, I am too much indisposed to make any remarks on the subject; though indeed, I do not know that it would be in my power, to add any thing material to what these papers furnish. I have the honor to be, with great consideration Your most Obt Servant
Jas. Monroe
RC and enclosures (DNA: RG 59, DD, Great Britain, vol. 12); draft (DLC: Rives Collection, Madison Papers). RC in a clerk’s hand, signed by Monroe. Enclosures docketed by Christopher Thom: “James Monroe 5 March 1807.” For enclosures, see n. 1.
1. Monroe enclosed a copy of his 6 March 1807 letter to Lord Howick (4 pp.), in which Monroe reported that he had forwarded to the U.S. government Howick’s 22 and 25 October 1806 letters to Monroe (PJM-SS, 12:401 n. 1, 407 n. 2). He related that JM had not received the 22 October letter until 12 January and as of 13 January still had not received the 25 October letter, attributing the delays to “unfavorable” winter winds that prevented vessels from sailing from London to the United States. Monroe reminded Howick of Thomas Jefferson’s desire for impartial justice in Whitby’s case and passed along JM’s request for a postponement of the trial to allow time for witnesses to travel from the United States to England. Monroe also enclosed a copy of Howick to Monroe, 11 Mar. 1807 (2 pp.), reporting that the trial had been postponed until 1 May despite “considerable inconvenience to the Service, as well as to Captain Whitby himself.”