Enclosure II: Albert Gallatin to James Madison, 30 January 1802
Enclosure II
Albert Gallatin to James Madison
Treasury Department Jany. 30th. 1802.
Sir,
In compliance with your request, I have the Honor to enclose an account of the monies drawn out of the Treasury under the several Appropriations made for defraying the expences incident to the Intercourse with the Mediterranean Powers; transcripts of the accounts of persons to whom the said monies were respectively advanc’d so far as the same have been settled at the Treasury, and statements of the Credits not yet ultimately admitted, but claim’d on account of such expences, so far as the same can be ascertain’d from the accounts render’d though not yet definitively settled by the accounting Officers of this Department.
The greater part of the Accounts being yet unsettled, and several of the most important not having yet been render’d, it is not practicable to state with precision, in what manner the whole of the sums drawn out of the Treasury has been ultimately applied.
It is however believ’d that the annexed Sketch (AA) will prove sufficiently correct to show, without material error, the gross amount actually expended.
The sums drawn out of the Treasury amount, including Dollars 5,083.30, reimburs’d to C. Colville & others for their Ransom
| to | 2,011,998.65. | |
| Mr. I. Whelen Purveyor of Supplies has expended beyond the sum for which he is already debited in the Treausury Books, being principally for Timber and supplies receiv’d from the Navy Department | 47,330.46. | |
| making an aggregate amount of | 2,059,329.111 |
On the other hand it appears that two Items, making part of the sums drawn out of the Treasury, ought to be deducted from that gross Amount, the same not having been applied to the Object, for which they had thus been drawn.
1st. The amount advanc’d to Mr Francis late purveyor of Supplies on account of Mediterranean Powers, is
| Dollars | 288,782.12 |
| The amount of credits claimd by him, on that account, is only | 274,262.83 |
| leaving a Surplus, not applied to that Object, of | 14,519.29 |
2dly. The account render’d by Mr Pickering, late Secretary of State, is general and denotes only the persons to whom the public monies, drawn by him were advanc’d, without particularizing the Objects for which said Monies were advanc’d; which renders it impossible until those persons shall have settled their Accounts, to ascertain with precision, the credits to which He may be entitled under each distinct Object of Expenditure, respectively.
Mr. Kimbal, late Clerk in your Department has however at the request of the Comptroller drawn the Sketch of a particular Account showing the purpose for which the monies were respectively advanc’d.
The amount which he states to have been advanc’d by Mr Pickering to sundry persons in relation to Algiers and other mediterranean Powers is
310,466.17
To which shou’d be added, not being included in that Statemt.—
exclusively of sundry Expences incurr’d but not yet paid during the course of last year.
It must be repeated, that altho this is probably an accurate Account of the gross sums disbursed by the United States, the Documents in the Treasury Department by no means, show the ultimate Application of the money but only the names of the Individuals, who remain accountable
The account render’d by Mr Donaldson of which an Abstract (Z) is enclosd is as far as has been ascertain’d the only one in the Department not alluded to in the Sketch (AA) which can throw any additional Light on the Subject.
The Accounts when ultimately render’d and settled shou’d exhibit the amount paid, in order to obtain Treaties, to each of the Barbary Powers; the Amount lost by the various Remittances in Stock or bills of Exchange; the Amount paid for the Annuity due to Algiers; and the Amount paid to those several States as Presents or extorted at different times under various Pretences.—It is presumable that there may be in the Department of State, Information which, combind with the Accounts now enclos’d, wou’d assist, even at present, in drawing a sketch of that kind.—
I have the Honor, to be very respectfully Sir, your Obt Servant,
Albert Gallatin
RC (DNA: RG 233, PM); in a clerk’s hand, signed by Gallatin; at foot of text: “The Secretary of State”; list of enclosed accounts written on separate sheet; endorsed by a House clerk. Enclosures: (1) “Statement of all the sums Appropriated by law for carrying into effect Negotiations between the Mediterranean Powers and the United States, from the commencement of the present Government,” with appropriations totaling $2,205,917.03, and expenditures to 30 Sep. 1801, totaling $2,006,315.35, followed by Statements A to P, particular accounts of monies advanced to individuals, beginning with an expenditure of $13,000 by TJ, as secretary of state in May 1791, “for effecting a recognition of the treaty with the Emperor of Morocco” (A) and followed by the accounts of Edmund Randolph (B), Timothy Pickering (D), John Marshall (N), and James Madison (O) as secretaries of state; Tench Francis (C) and Israel Whelen (M) as purveyor of public supplies; Samuel Meredith (G), Willing & Francis (I), and George Simpson (P), agents for the purchase of bills of exchange; James Hackett (E), Elisha and James Hill (F), Samuel Meeker for Matthew Irwin (H), and Jacob Sheaffe (K), contractors for building frigates; and William Eaton (L), consul at Tunis; and concluding with a summary table of Statements A to P, “showing that application of said moneys” totaled $13,000 for the emperor of Morocco, $258,846.58 for the dey of Algiers, and $1,734,468.77 for Mediterranean powers, for an overall amount of $2,006,315.35 (MS in same; in various clerks’ hands; with several notations, perhaps in pencil, in an unidentified hand at unsettled accounts, including the phrase “before the auditor”; endorsed by Gallatin: “Register’s accounts A to P”; endorsed by a House clerk). (2) Register’s “Schedule of Appropriations by Law, and of Expenditures by Warrants in relation to the Mediterranean Powers,” 22 Nov. 1801, summarizing the appropriations and expenditures stated in the previous enclosure, noting a balance of appropriations available as of 30 Sep. 1801 of $199,601.68, including $37,400.05 for the treaty with Algiers and $162,201.63 for Mediterranean powers (MS in same; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Joseph Nourse; endorsed by Gallatin: “Register’s Summary observations”). (3) “Statement of Reimbursements of certain sums advanced by the following Individuals for their Ransom from Captivity in Algiers,” including $2,269.53 for Charles Colvill; $2,270.64 for John Robertson; $2,269.53 for John Burnham (Bwinham); and $873.60 for George Smith, for a total of $7,683.30 (MS in same; dated 26 Jan. 1802; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Nourse; endorsed as “R”; endorsed by a House clerk). (4) Abstract of Timothy Pickering’s account “in relation to Treaties with Mediterranean Powers,” with the balance stated by the register to be $352,736.74 and the balance stated by the auditor to be $347,394.59, with an explanation for the discrepancy of $5,342.15 (MS in same; dated 26 Jan. 1802; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Nourse; endorsed as “T”; endorsed by a House clerk). (5) In two parts, No. 1 consisting of two sketches of accounts with John and Francis Baring, the first from 13 Nov. 1795 to 1 Aug. 1797, the second from 12 Dec. 1797 to 22 Feb. 1799; No. 2 consisting of an “Abstract of certain Bills purchased by the Treasurer for remittances to Europe, on account of negotiations with the Mediterranean Powers, and charged to General account of remittances,” totaling $99,911.80, and a second table citing Timothy Pickering’s claim for bills remitted by him to John & Francis Baring, totaling $118,459.96 (MS in same; in several hands; endorsed “S” and “No 1 & 2”; with separate endorsements on No. 1 and No. 2, the first: “Jno. & Fras. Baring—Acct. Currt.,” the second: “Bills remitted by the Treasurer and by T. Pickering” and, in another hand, “This statement is connected with the Acct. Curt. of J. & F. Baring”; endorsed by a House clerk). (6) “Abstract of Credits claimed by Tench Francis late Purveyor of Public Supplies under the Head of Treaties with the Mediterranean Powers Extracted from a General Account Current rendered to the Treasury by his Representatives,” 2 Sep. 1797 to 26 Nov. 1800, for credits totaling $274,262.83 (MS in same; in a clerk’s hand; endorsed by a clerk, in part, “V” and “No. 3”; endorsed by a House clerk). (7) “Abstract of Credits claimed by Israel Whelen Purveyor of Public Supplies under the Head of the Barbary Powers extracted from Accounts rendered to the Treasury,” in 1800, with 10 entries, for a total of $199,796.69 (MS in same; in a clerk’s hand; endorsed “W” and “No 4”; endorsed by a House clerk). (8) “Credits claimed by Mr. Pickering, as pr. account of Kimball, exclusively of Sums paid to the Barings,” for a total of $192,006.21, the largest sum being to Richard O’Brien for $180,000 (MS in same; with a note on verso in Gallatin’s hand: “Amount pr preceding statement Drs. 192 006.21 Dr. advanced to & acknowledged by J. & F. Baring—118,459.96 Total amount of credits claimed, under this head, by acct. rendered by Kimbal} 310,466.17”; endorsed as “U”; also endorsed by Gallatin: “Abstract of credits claimed by Timothy Pickering late Secretary of State under the Head of ‘Mediterranean powers’ as pr account stated by Kimball late clerk in the Departmt. of State”; endorsed by a House clerk). (9) “Sketch of the Expenditures incident to the intercourse with Mediterranean Powers,” being a summary of the enclosures above, with the total withdrawn “per Register’s account” of $2,006,315.35, to which was added the ransoms and recent expenses of Israel Whelen for a total of $2,059,329.11; in the credit column Gallatin notes that the total sum includes $49,447.71 in monies “Drawn out of the Treasury, but applied to other purposes, vizt.,” $34,928.42 by Pickering and $14,519.29 by Francis, and when those sums were subtracted the total actually expended amounted to $2,009,881.40 (MS in same; in a clerk’s hand; endorsed: “General sketch [AA]”; endorsed by a House clerk). (10) “Abstract of Expenditures for and on account of the George Washington, for the Voyage to algiers, in 1800,” Navy Department, Accountant’s Office, 14 Dec. 1801, noting expenditures totaling $36,255.82 (MS in same; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Thomas Turner, accountant; endorsed as “Y”; endorsed by a House clerk). (11) “Joseph Donaldson Jr. Sketch of his accot. Current” from 14 June 1795 to 6 Apr. 1796 and from 6 Apr. to 31 Dec. 1796, noting connections to the accounts of John and Francis Baring, Timothy Pickering, and Thomas Pinckney, for a total expenditure of $415,975.44, including $7,717.41, the balance due Donaldson (MS in same, in a clerk’s hand; endorsed as “Z”; also endorsed, in Gallatin’s hand: “Donaldson’s account”; endorsed by a House clerk). All printed in , Foreign Relations, 2:368–81.
Annexed sketch (AA): see Enclosure No. 9, listed above.
C. Colville & others: see Enclosure No. 3, listed above. Charles Logie, the British consul at Algiers, secured the freedom of Charles Colvill and John Robertson in 1790 and 1791, respectively, with private funds. In 1794, private donations were used to free George Smith, captured in 1785. The relatives of Captain John Burnham (Bwinham), captured in 1793, raised funds for his ransom the following year (Gary E. Wilson, “American Hostages in Moslem Nations, 1784–1796: The Public Response,” Journal of the Early Republic, 2 [1982], 128, 133; Vol. 18:399–400).
On 14 Nov. 1801, Hazen Kimball (Kimbal), the clerk who kept the accounts at the State Department, resigned (Vol. 33:512–3).
1. MS: “2,059,320.11.”