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Vol VII.
1 ©arien <oascrte
| EDITED AjYD tubushed
Bt BY
■H-VS. F. GRANDISON.
§ {ON THE BAY)
ft g 5 annum, payable in advance.
s^Bl* l ** * ssMmimSK ‘ V l " m ” ‘**’
fth.OUN rs OF THE LA I E PRESIDENT
| I J{oue of Representatives, 1 7th Jan. 1825.
ftSiRJ I have lhe honor to transmit,
|H c iosed, a copy of an order of the
jft )U se of Representatives, on the Ist
Hunt, and I am directed by the Com
ftt te appointed in pursuance of it, to
fftorm the President that they are rea
§■ t 0 receive such communications and
ftid-ince as lie shall think proper to
Htnnit to them, in any manner that may
H most agreeable to him.
Hi am, with very great respect,
■ yours, See.
I S. D. INGHAM.
rHThe President of the U. States.
I Washington, Fctf. 1, 1825.
■ Sir: It being intimated to me that
■would be agreeable to the Commit
■e to receive a statement, in detail, of
But I conceive to be the amount of
Bv just claims I have prepared, and
| 'Hiewilh transmit it to you.
B\Vith great respect, I am,
I your very obedient servant,
fl JAMES MONROE.
■lt is known that I have been em
jßnred in two missions to Europe, the
to France, w hich commenced in
me second to France, Spain, and
fliui Britain, which commenced in
and that about eight years were
itßvoled to those Missions. It is known,
that I was called into the Depart-
of State in April, .and have re
Billed in the Administration since, in
Bi Department, in the Depai mcin
■War, and in-this high trust. I men-
Bitliese instances of the public confi
flice, because they ate seveialiy
jßught in view, and are connected
flh the claims under consideration.
B\s I think mat justice has been vvith-
Bd from me, in several instances, in
ffti Missions, I will commence with
Hirst, that to France, in 1794, in
fi there were two examples of a
■iked character The first consists
■1 premature suspension of mv com-
in that Mission. It will b
Bn, bv the public documents, that I
B'c< ailed from it, without any pievi
■ a >tic.e, aind that my pay was sus
■d ion the 6tJi December, 1796, the
B on which I received my letter of
Bill, uul when it was impossible for
Bin leave the country, without expos
■my family to the dangers of vvin
voyage. The fact is, that I did
Hand could not leave France, before
■ 20th of April following, during
Belt tirt.e no allowance wnatever was
■tie to me. Had I resigned, or ask
ißnv recall, the period at which it
(Bild have taken effect, would have
n arranged in a manner to guard
inst suen inconvenience and loss.—
o.ilcl, doubtless, have been postpon
ed the Spring, the lime when I did
. It is unjust that my recall should
rale in such manner, as to take from
the compensation allowed tp the
ision, for the term during which I
Id not sail. No other example of
kind exists, so that the case depends j
its own circumstances, without the j
of precedents.* I believe the sact’
>e, that, had I been willing to have i
ountered a winter’s passage, with
family, I could not have procured
essel to bring us home. Our com
rce with France was then much in
rupted by British blockades, as well
French restrictions. Documents,
wing the difficulty of obtaining a
isage from France at that season, are
tched to these remarks. They are
m characters of great respectability,
o tvere present at the time, engag-‘
in commerce, and well acquainted
ill the state of affairs.
The allowance made to me for con
gent disbursements in that Mission,
ntolher instance of the kind in ques
i. It bears, manifestly, no proper
lt is believed that, in some instances, un
particular circumstances. Ministers
c been permitted to receive their corn
nation, like other officers of the Govern
it, on return visits, during their absences,
while at home. Any decisions, which
ay have made since I came into the Ad.
“stration, under’ the admonition of my
’ experience, will not be considered as
dicable to my claims. Reference will, of
‘se, be had qply to the decisions which
’* made by my predecessors,
DARIEN mSfel GAZETTE.
- .. .....
DARIEN, (GEORGIA,) tgquai anil <£ract justice.- TUESDAY, MARCH 29 1825.
tion to the amount expended, nor does
it include all the inevitable and autho
rized objects of expenditure. It is con
fined to three items only. Ist. News
papers sent to the Department of State
for two years of the time, amounting to
70 livers; 2d. Fora flag presented to
the National Convention, amounting to
200 iiveis; and 3d. For p stage of let
ters for the same term, amounting to
340 livers; making in the whole 110
dollars. No allowance was made to
me for stationary ot newspapers for the
Legation, for usual presents, and other
contingencies; and, what equally de
serves attention is, that the allownnce
made for the articles specified, was con
fined to a portion of my service only,
none having been made for five mouths
of the term during Which I Remained
in office, not to mention the subsequent
space which intervened befqpe I sailed,
and during which I was necessarily
exposed to similar expenditures, to a
certain extent, incident to the Mission
which had ceased.
If If this allowance tome for contin
gent expenses be compased with that
to other Ministers in Foreign Missions,
its inadequacy will be apparent. An
official statement from the Accounting
Department of the Government, here
with presented, shows the allowances
which have been made in all other in
stances, from the commencement of
the Government to the piesent time.
By comparing those allowances with
that made to me, you will be enabled
to decide on the justice of the latter.—
It will be recollected that, eluting the
Mission, I was always at my post, the
epoch being peculiarly interesting,and
its ordinary duties very heavy; that my
correspondence, owing 10 the frequent
seizure of vessels, was extensive,
and that the aid I was occasionally call
ed on to afford to our citizens, at a time
of such general distress, was considers
ble. I will enumerate one instance of
such aid, it being to a c itizen who bad
rendered important service in our Re
volution. It was to Thomas Paine
On my arrival in Paris, in 1794, I found
him in prison, from which he was dis
charged on my application. He was
without resource. I took him to my
bouse, and supplied him for a year and
a half, with every necessary. I fur
nished him, also, with money, of which
about 250 Louis remained unpaid, when
I left France, and have never since
been paid. That I also exerted my
mmost abilities to obtain the liberation
of Madam Lafayette, who was then
confined in prison, and advanced her
money, aflei her release, foi her im
mediate accommodation, and to carry
her to the relief of her husband, the il
lustrious friend of human rights, who
was then immured in the prison of Ol
mutz, will likewise be shown by my
coirespondence with the Department
of State, of that epoch. For these ad
vances to her I was afterwards repaid
by the Government. For those to
Thomas Paine, no claim was ever pre
sented on my part, nor is any indemni
ty now desired.
My account for this Mission
tied in my absence by my friend Mr.
Dawson, and a general idea of my in
structions to him, as the conditions of
the settlement, is all that I can rejol-,
lect respecting it, which were, in con
sideration of my then relation to the
Administration, and the difficulties I
| had to encounter, to mike none as to
; money. Other cares and duties then
pressed on me, compared with which,
money weighed as nothing, in the op
posite scale. ~
In my second Mission, the instances
in which I thought that justice had
been withheld from me, were more nu
merous. The first to which I will in
vite your attention, relates to an outfit
in the special Mission to France. None
was allowed me at the time of my ap
- pointmer.t, as had beers to all other Mi
, nisters, nor until after my return, when,
;on the settlement of my account in
j 1810, tlie’heavy losses which I had sus
tained, were made apparent. The
difference between the allowance at
ithe one, and at the other period, can
i not be fairly estimated, by the mere
interest of the money for the term dur-
which it was withheld. In few in
stances, and even under the most favo
rable circumstances, can a settlement
on this principle, indemnify the party
from whom such sum is withheld, —*!
In none ran the withholding it operate
more injuriously than to one of our
Foieign Ministers, who leaves his coun-
I try in haste, and his piivate concerns,
unsettled, and is thrown into heavy ex
penses abroad, in the discharge of his
public duties. In my instance, the
effect was the mdft sensibly felt, in
consequence of the losses which I had
sustained in my lormer Mission, from
which, being taken from home, short
ly after my return, by the consoling
confidence reposed in me by my native
state, I had not recovered. That the
motive for not allowing the outfit, at
the time of my appointment, was pat
riotic and just, isjfrell known. It was
founded in a beliefjthat our intercourse
with Foreign Powers might be main
tained on a proper basis, without mak
ing such allowance to such Missions.
Had not that belief existed, well satis
fied I.am, that the experiment would
not have been made. The high confi
dence reposed in me by the President,
by the very important Missions to
which I was called, as well as by the
manner of the call, without consul
ting me, is a full proof that it was
made in my instance, with regret. Bui
I wanted no such proof, having receiv
ed many others from him in early life,
which have been continued since,’
through a long ootirse of public ser
vice together, and of private inter
course, which 1 seize this occasion to
acknowledge.
The second instance, though ot infe
rior moment, nevertheless deserves at
tention, because every sum, however
trifling, was felt at that timers Being in
formed, when iny appointment was
communicated to me, that I must has
ten my departure, a passage was taken
fair myself and family, by my friend
Mr. Knox, at New-York, in a vessel
just ready to sail. My instructions for
the Mission, however, were not prepar
ed in time* and, in consequence, she
sailed without me. For this disap
pointment, the owner of the vessel
claimed an adequate compensation,
which was paid, and for which no al
lowance w<ts made me. This item was
casually omiltedfwhen the account was
settled.
1 he allowance made to me for con
tingent expenses in the Mission to
Great Britain, is the next item of which
I have complained. In presenting the
account for that Mission, I regulated
it as to this item, by the amount which
had been allowed'to Mr. King fora
like term,* to the same Government,
and under a firm behet that it was just
ly due to me. A less sum, however,
by 82,000 wasallowed only. It is pro
per to remark, that the claim was not
rejected, but, observing some hesita
tion in the then Secretary of State, re
specting the vouchers, and being re
solved to settle the account, I struck
from it that sum of my own accord,
and not at his instance. On the con
trary, I thought by the sensibility which
he manifested, that he was hurt by the
occurrence. For contingent expenses,
especially in the heaviest item, that of
postage, vouchers are seldom taken,
more particularly by a public Minister,
who has.go many duties to attend to.—
The disbursement is generally made
by servants. Tite amount must, there
fore, be judged of by circumstances,
and hence, it was presumed, that a bet
ter criterion, could not be adopted than
that on which I relied, the allowance
which had been already made, for like
expences, for the same term, to a Mi
nister to the same Government.
The Bth item of my account in this
my second Mission to Europe, is the
last which I shall submit to your consi
deration. This claim is for an adequate
allowance for expenses incurred in
England in 1805, 6, and 7, after my re
turn from Spain, when I was permit
ted to return home, and should have
sailed immediately, had I not been pre
vented by a series of important events,
whicn succeeded each other, at short
intervals, and detained me there two
years and four months. The causes
both of detention and increased expense,
were explained in documents which
were presented to the proper depart
ments with the account. It may not,
however, be impropet to advert to them
concisely in this paper.
The first cause of detention was the
seizure and condemnation of our vessels
on the principle of the order of 6th No
* The statement of the allowance made to
Mr. King for contingencies, made when my
account was presented for settlement in 1810
on the representation of the Accounting De
partment at that time. It has suggested,
lately, that some items included in that state
ment, ought not to be comprised under that
head. If so, that will of course be consider
ed
vember, 1793, which took place at the
moment of my return to England from
Spain, in July, 1805. I considered it
my duty to remonst-ate against that
measure in the strongest terms that I
could use, and in the hope of produ
cing a change of policy in the British
government, in time to enable me to
sail for the United Stales during the
favorable season. In this I as disap
pointed. No decisive answer was given,
although it had been repeatedly pro
mised and in consequence, it was in
cumbent on me to remain at my post,
to watch the movement, and continue
the pressure. t This detained me
through the winter. The special mis
sion in which I was associated with
Mr. .-Pinkney, formed the second.—
This took effect in, 1806, and oc
cupied 113, by its various duties, until
peake formed the third. As the sta
tionary Minister, it was enjoined on me
to demand reparation- for the outrage
1 which I did, and by means whereof,
! and the conespondence which ensued,
| I was detained there several months
j longer. Thus, instead of sailing lVom
F.ngland for the United States in a;
few weeks, after my returning, from 1
Spain, in July, 1805, it was rendered
impossible for me, by these ocrunen- J
ves, to.leave ihe country until No> em- ;
ber, 1807, a term of two years and four
months.
An increased expense was the neces
sary consequence of a detention under
such circumstances. Earnestly wish
ing to return home, and expecting to
do it soon through the whole of this in
terval, all my arrangements were made
with a view to that object. I took a
furnished house, in the first instance,
by thd week, and afteiwards by the
months and at double prices; hired ser
vant sjhorses, See. for like terns;
See. from the merchants
paying the duties which might and
would have been expected, nad I anti
cipated so long a detention. To these
expenses the special mission added con
siderably, as may readily be concejved.
I was, infact, exposed to all the expen
ses of a special mission, and, having
my family with me, which is not usual
in such missions, on the most expen
sive scale. I was, also, subjected to
the further disadvantage of having my
expenses as the Stationary Minister,
much augmented by the special mis
sion, the duties of hospitality, (tom
which the latter is always exempted,
devolving on me, or rather the obliga
tion to return the attentions w hich we
received, from those with whom we
had political relations and intercourse,
and which the national honor required
that I should return,
It will be seen by the documents re
ferred to, that this item of that account
the equity of which wa.s admitted, as I
understood,-was reserved lor further
consideration, by the special order of
the President. The Secretary of Stale
proposed to me, then, in conference,
that I should write to him a letter on
that item, on my return home, which I
did, bearing dale on the 6th Decem
ber, 1810. To that letter, with my ob
servations on the whole account, which
I presented with it, and the order of the
President for the suspension of this
item I beg particularly to refer. To
have a full view of the whole subject,
it may be useful for you to recur to a
decision which I made in , on a
reference to me by the Accounting
Officers of the Treasury, of the claims
of Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, in which
I examined all the pretedents, as to
salaries and outfits, which had been al
lowed to our ministers in Europe,
from the commencement of our gov
ernment until that day.
Through the whole of this my se
cond mission, in which I was employ
ed nearly five years, and to three pow
ers, France, Spain, and Great Britain,
I was exposed, by the nature of my du
ties, and the force of circumstances, to
the greatest expense to which any mis
sion can be subjected. My first ap
pointment was as Envoy Extraordinary
to Franee and Spain, in which I was as
sociated with the Minister Plenipoten
tiary of the United States, to each pow
er, with Mr. Levingston at Paris, and
Mr. Pinkney at Madrid. Wfth the
notice of my appointment, it was inti
mated that my absence might be long,
and, in consequence, I took my family
with me. I repaired first to France,
and the object with that government
having been accomplished, and Mr.
King, Minister ai London, having re-
signed, I was appointed to Gieat Bri
tain, with an order, to be prepared to
proceed to Spain, whenever the state
of affairs might justify it. I went to
England in July, 1803, and remained
theie till October, 1804, when I tecei
ved the ordei to pioceed to Spain, and
to take paris in my route, to obtain ot ihe
ot the French Government, in the ne
gotiation with Spain. The mission to
Spain occupied ten months, at the ex
piration of which, I returned to Lon
don in ihe expectation of sailing 1 hence
in a lew weeks tor the United Slates,
but where 1 was detained two years
and tour monins, by the causes above
recited. ‘1 nus I was exposed to all
the expenses of a special mission, from
the commencement of my setvite to
its let ruination, and having my family
with me on the most expensive scalej
j for even while I was in England, before
1 went to Sain, expecting the order to
proct ed thither,anct intending to -ail for
| ihe United Slates, soon after that mis
: sion should cease, I could make no ar
! rangement, such as Siationiaty Minis
-1 leis make, with a view to a residence
for bevcial years. The same siau of
; things occurred, afer my return font
| Spain, and which lasted more tnana
yeai before the special mission, in
| which I was associated with Mr \Vm.
Pinkney, took effect -a longer teim
than is usually employed in such mis
sions. The special mission afterwards
occurred, and next the attack on the
Chesapeake, by w hich I was detained
more than a year longer. I memion
these circumstances, because it will be
impossible to form a just estimate of
the claim piesented in the Bth item of
1 this my second mission to Europe, or
indeed ot the other items of that mis ion,
submitted to your consideration, with
out a correct knowledge of them
It may not be isnpteper, indeed it
| belongsio the subject, to observe, that
the epoch referred to was, in the high
est degree, important and diffic un, that
vvewtie menaced with was. a whu h
the powers ol Euiope thought out gov
ernment unequal, as did many of our
own citizens, and am >ng them those
who were most friendly to ii. The
situation, theiefore, of a person, w hose
official duties connected him, at the
same time, with tne three great pow
ers, from whom that menanre come,
and whose movements he was bound
to watch, an to report to his govern
ment, could not be favorable to a strict
supervision of expendituies, ot to econ
omy.
With respect to these claims, the
first question to be decided is, Are they
just? The second, if just, Has any
tiling occnned to bai them? On the
firs', point I have nothing more to add.
On the second, I have to observe, that,
if just, the delay in allowing them was
undoubtedly an injury to me, and the
longer the delay the greater the injury.
That I have not pressed them neieto
fore, on any branch of the government
is true When the cause of this for.
bearance is duly considered, the c om
mittee will judge, how far it ought to
operate to my prejudice. On this
point some further explanation will,
it is presumed, not be deemed impro
per.
If, in the account presented by Mr.
Dawson, for the settlement of salary,
4| ™
contingences, &<:. in my first mission
to France in 1794, the first item was
omitted, and if the second included
only the sum which was allowed, the
cause, suggested in my letter to the se
cretary of State, of the 17th December
1810, to which I beg leave to refer,
was the true one. There could be
none other. I always thought that I was
justly entitled to the usual compensa
tion, which accrued after my recall,
during my detention through the win
ter, and until I sailed for the United
States in the Spring following. Nor
could I ever doubt that an inadequate
allowance was made to me for contin
gent expenses, in that mission. In the
settlement of shat account, my object
was, as already observed, to bring for
ward no claim which could be dispu
ted, and, if brought in debt by the set
tlement, to meet the demand at any
sacrifice, and with the greatest promp
titude; and I acted on that principle.
I had, also, an insuperable repugnance
to claim of a succeeding administra
tion any thing which had not been al
lowed me by a preceding one. It ac
corded better with my feelings to sub
mit to the entire loss, than to make
such an appeal to any snbsequent ad-
C Continued on fourth puge.J
A'o. 13.