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[Communicated to the House, February 4, 1804.]
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In my Message of January 20th, I stated that some papers
forwarded by Mr. Daniel Clark of New Orleans to the Secretary
of State, in 1803, had not then been found in the office of
State, and that a letter had been addressed to the former
chief Clerk, in the hope that he might advise where they
should be sought for. By indications received from him they
are now found. Among them, are two letters from the Baron de
Carondelet, to an officer serving under him at a separate
post, in which his views of a dismemberment of our Union are
expressed. Extracts of so much of these letters as are within
the scope of the resolution of the House are now communicated.
With these were found the letters written by Mr. Clark to
the Secretary of State, in 1803. A part of one only of these
relates to this subject, and is extracted and enclosed for the
information of the House. In no part of the papers communicated
by Mr. Clark, which are voluminous, and in different languages,
nor in his letters, have we found any intimation of the
corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States
from any foreign agent. As to the combinations with foreign
agents for dismembering the Union, these papers and letters
offer nothing which was not probably known to my predecessors,
or which could call anew for inquiries, which they had not
thought necessary to institute, when the facts were recent, and
could be better proved. They probably believed it best to let
pass into oblivion transactions which, however culpable, had
commenced before this Government existed, and had been finally
extinguished by the Treaty of 1795.