however desirous I may be of the office which the President has thought proper to offer me, I must not hesitate to say that if a new appointment presses, so as to preclude the postponement of it to the period mentioned in my letter, I consider it my duty to sacrifice my own good to what I conceive for the good of my country, and to decline the appointment. In either case, sir, be pleased to tender my best acknowledgments to the President for this mark of his confidence, which, under his administration, is rendered peculiarly valuable; and accept for yourself the best wishes of one who, with real esteem, has the honor of being your obliged friend and very humble servant. SIR: HAMILTON TO WASHINGTON. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 21, 1795. Pursuant to the 13th section of the act, entitled "An act making further provision for securing and collecting the duties on foreign and domestic distilled spirits, stills, wines, and teas," passed the 5th of June, 1794, the commissioner of the revenue, in consultation with me, has prepared a plan for additional compensations to the supervisors and other officers of inspection, and for compensations to such new officers of these descriptions as result from the laws, and as the experience which has been had of their operation is believed to recommend; which plan, thrown into the usual form of an act of the President, is now submitted to his consideration, with estimates of the resulting expense, which, it is not doubted, will be found within the limits of the laws. This plan has been delayed longer than was desirable, by the necessity of previous information from the supervisors, and by an excess of occupation on the officers in this department, which unavoidably postpones the less to the more urgent objects of public business. It may happen that the President, after considering the plan, may desire some further explanation. For this purpose, I will wait upon him on Monday next, 12 o'clock. With perfect respect, &c. GENTLEMEN: HAMILTON TO WILLINK, ETC. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 25th, 1795. I acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the first and twenty-sixth of September of the last year. Remittances from this country to Amsterdam, at the present juncture, and with the anticipations here of your possible situation, are attended with unusual difficulty and embarrassment. After maturely considering all the modes which occurred to reflection, for effecting the payments of principal and interest on the first of June next, I have concluded on the following: To purchase 500,000 dollars of 6 per cent. stock, to transfer them into your names, and to send them to our Minister Plenipotentiary in London, to wait your orders, to the end that you may cause them to be disposed of as, according to circumstances, shall appear to you advisable. Measures have been taken for this purpose. The numbers and particular amounts of the certificates of stock, are noted at foot. They will be forwarded in duplicates. You will concert, with our Minister resident in Holland, the best mode of disposing of this stock; and if the market of London be preferable, you will forward there the necessary powers and directions for sale of so much as it shall be concluded to sell, according to eventual circumstances. If the stock can be sold, so as to net par for principal and interest to the time of sale, this will be the most agreeable mode of proceeding. By par, I mean 40 current guilders at Amsterdam, or 4 shillings and 6 pence sterling, at London, per dollar; pre ferring, of course, the sale at one place or the other, as the state of exchange may render most for the interest of the United States, if events of war do not overrule this consideration. If this cannot be done, it will be preferred, if practicable, that the instalment of one million of principal should be postponed by a new loan, as on a former occasion; in which case, the interest only will be to be provided for by sale of so much stock as may be necessary. On this, as on all other occasions, I confide in your judgment and tried zeal for the interest of the United States. I am sure I rest on a good foundation to the utmost extent of possibility. With great consideration and esteem, I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your obd't serv't. P. S. It is possible our Minister, Mr. Pinckney, may have left London, temporarily, for Madrid. In that case, his secretary will become possessed of my letter and directions to him, and will receive your communication. viz.: Description of the stock mentioned in the foregoing letter, One hundred certificates of 6 per cent. stock, No. 2911 to 3010, both numbers inclusive, dated the 31st January, 1795, and of five thousand dollars each, issued in the names of Wilhelm and Jan Willink, and Nicholas and Jacob Van Staphorst and Hubbard, agents for the United States at Amsterdam. HAMILTON TO WASHINGTON. PHILADELPHIA, January 26th, 1795. SIR: Mr. Wolcott has just informed me that the Secretary of State had called upon him as by your direction, to confer on the subject of a person to be appointed comptroller, in the event of his appointment as Secretary of the Treasury; and intimated that you had concluded to take some gentleman from the south; that Mr. Habersham (brother of the collector of Savanah) was more particularly in your eye, and that if he or I had any different view of the subject, it was your wish that it might be speedily communicated, as you were desirous of coming to a conclusion. This I accordingly feel it my duty to do. It is of the greatest importance to the proper conducting the business of the Treasury Department that the comptroller should be a man of the following discription: of strong sense, of clear discernment, sound judgment, indefatigable industry, firmness and prompt decision of temper; possessing a comprehensive knowledge of accounts, and of course good principles. As well from the nature of the office as from the particular situation of the department, as it will stand at the moment of my resignation, it is of peculiar consequence that there should be no mistake in the selection of the proper character for comptroller. It will be easy for the department to run into disorder if such a mistake should happen. From all the light I have been able to obtain on the subject, though it results in a favorable impression of Mr. Habersham generally, yet it leaves a considerable doubt on my mind that he would be an eligible appointment as comptroller of the Treasury. I cannot, therefore, add my opinion to the rest of the opinions which may favor it. There is one gentleman south, whom I have before mentioned, of whose fitness in every respect, from trial of him in different public situations, it appears to me impossible to entertain a doubt I mean Colonel Edward Carrington. I will pledge my reputation to the President for his proving, if appointed, an excellent comptroller, and a valuable acquisition to the department. I have fully reflected on the objection which, from the distributive geographical rule, is supposed to be against him— and I beg leave to submit, as my opinion, that it ought not to be conclusive. This rule is doubtless a good one; but if carried so far as to hazard the appointment of unqualified persons to offices. of material importance to the general administration of the gov ernment, it will become a bad one, sacrificing primary to secondary considerations. I have offered my opinion with the less reserve, because I ought to be explicit, in a case not only of much moment to the public service, but where the arrangements which may be made may, naturally from situation, be presumed to have had the concurrence of my opinion, and where, therefore, my reputation is more particularly concerned. With perfect respect, &c. HAMILTON TO WASHINGTON. January 31, 1795. SIR: I have the honor to send you the copy of a letter of the 27th instant, from the collector of Philadelphia; of another letter of the 30th ultimo, from that officer, to the attorney of the district of Pennsylvania, and of a deposition of Charles Homes, taken before Judge Peters. These documents establish an improper attempt of Mr. Petri, the French Consul, to evade a law of the United States, and allow a suspicion of the privity of a higher official character. It is impossible to avoid the reflection that there is too much connection between the affair of the powder and the unlawful equipment of the privateer Les Jumeaux. I fear that agents of France have not ceased to countenance proceedings which not only contravene our neutrality, but may prove a source of very serious expense to the United States. With perfect respect, I have the honor to be, &c. |