Manuel Torres, Signed (1 results)

Condition: Very good. Washington, 28th March, 1818., 1818. Very good. - One-and-a-quarter pages, consisting of over 155 words penned on two sides of a 9-3/4 inch high by 8 inch wide sheet with an integral address leaf. In his letter, Henry Clay the Speaker of the House, introduces the Colombian diplomat Manuel Torres to Secretary of the Treasury William Harris Crawford. "Allow me to present to you M. Torres Eq. the bearer hereof, whose acquaintance I have had the pleasure to have for a year or two past." Torres, who was also an economist, proposed a new way by which to make revenue collection and spending more efficient. "Mr. Torres supposes that he has made a discovery of an error in the fiscal operations of our Country by which it is annually subjected to great loss. He has thought of presenting to Congress a petition to invite the appointment of a committee to receive & judge of this discovery." He closes "I have ventured to assure him that you will give him a reception in accord with your known candor & liberality." "Signed "H. Clay". Additionally addressed by Clay in his hand on the integral leaf. Folded vertically and horizontally with a portion of a red wax seal along the edge of the blank verso of the address leaf. There are a couple of tiny holes at the junction of the folds with a small tear at the bottom of the seal. Very good. The American lawyer and statesman Henry Clay (1777-1852) represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He served as Speaker of the House, the youngest one until then and the second longest to hold that position. He subsequently served as Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams. Clay helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party, unsuccessfully running for President on 3 occasions. He was often known as the "Great Compromiser" for his role in defusing crises and, alongside Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun was considered one of the "Great Triumvirate" of Congressmen. The American politician William Harris Crawford (1772-1834) served as U.S. Secretary of War and subsequently as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. The Colombian diplomat, publicist and economist Manuel de Trujillo y Torres (1762-1822) became Colombia's first Ambassador to the U.S., being received by President James Monroe in 1822. This was the first recognition by the U.S. of the independence of a former Spanish colony. He foresaw the economic depression of 1818-1819 which was largely caused by the dwindling reserve of gold and silver, and championed the importation of specie from South America to bolster both the U.S. and Colombian economies. In 1818, through his rapport with Henry Clay, he suggested to Congress that he'd discovered a new way of making revenue collection and spending more efficient. He would reveal his approach if he was promised a share of the savings. The proposal was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, but they found it too complex. "Foreseeing the calamitous results of a specie shortage, Torres early championed the importation of specie from South America. His plan was supported by Langdon Gheves, president of the second bank of the United States and by others who realized that the economic depression of 1818-1819 was largely caused by the dwindling reserve of gold and silver. William Duane, editor of the Philadelphia Aurora and a personal friend of Torres, roundly abused the government for neglecting the opportunity to procure many million dollars worth of specie from Mexico and South America, specie 'which would have averted the present distresses of the nation.'" "The crusading editor was determined that Torres' ideas for fiscal reform should not go unnoticed. In a letter to Secretary of State James Monroe, Duane expressed hope that Torres would be permitted to reveal to the Department of State 'some financial views which I consider of the greatest value and worth the attention of the Government.'" . "On April 1, 1818, Henry Clay brought before the House of Representatives a memorial stating that Torres '. [had] discovered that the United States sustains great loss in the receipt and expenditure of the public revenue; and that he . [had] also discovered the means by which this loss may be avoided.' Torres offered to submit his findings 'upon the assurance of receiving a portion of the moneys which may be saved to the public by means of . said discovery.'" [Quoted from Charles H. Bowman Jr.'s article "Financial Plans and Operations of Manuel Torres in Philadelphia", published in "Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 82, No. 2 (June 1971), pp. 106-116].