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Subject Area: Economics
Subject Area: Political Theory

GALLATIN TO WILLIAM C. BRADLEY. - Albert Gallatin, The Writings of Albert Gallatin, vol. 2 [1879]

Edition used:

The Writings of Albert Gallatin, ed. Henry Adams (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1879). 3 vols.

Part of: The Writings of Albert Gallatin, 3 vols.

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GALLATIN TO WILLIAM C. BRADLEY.

New York, 22d March, 1829.

Sir,—

Your letter of the 31st of October reached me at Washington at the moment when we were most busily engaged in collating maps and surveys, and in selecting and preparing the evidence intended to be laid before the arbitrator, and which we were bound to communicate to the British minister at Washington on or before the 1st of January. An accident also deprived me at that time of the use of my right hand, which I have not yet altogether recovered. I owe you, nevertheless, an apology for not having caused your letter to be sooner acknowledged, and particularly for not having informed you that I found in one of the atlases of the surveys executed under the commission a copy of that of the 45th parallel of north latitude, duly certified by the secretary, and stated, as you had informed me, to have been filed with your argument. Though omitted in the other copies and in that of the British government, we have a right to give it in evidence.

The assistance of Mr. Hales would certainly have been useful; but we are not authorized to employ a secretary.

I embrace with pleasure this opportunity of acknowledging the great benefit I have derived from your able arguments, in which you maintained an evident and constant superiority over the British agent, and amongst which there is but one—that relating to geocentric latitude—which I cannot use. We will have the advantage of condensation, of some additional authorities calculated to repel in a more direct way the captious objections of the British, of the admission of Mitchell’s map as evidence of the intentions of the negotiators of the treaty of 1783. But as to the leading and conclusive arguments on the main questions, I do not believe there is any of importance which had not been stated at large or suggested by yourself.

As you very correctly made the question respecting the highlands to rest on their situation, and not on their elevation, I wish that, unless a complete survey of both the conflicting lines had been ordered by the commissioners, no partial one had been attempted or admitted on our part. As the case will now be presented to the arbitrator, I fear that he may not be satisfied, and that, attaching more importance to that point than it deserves, he may order new and more complete surveys, and thereby occasion much more delay than is desirable.

I have the honor, &c.