within his personal knowledge Captain Hudry furnished clothing for most if not all his men, and sent to Barataria and procured eighty sabre blades, and had them mounted in this city for the use of his company; that he furnished caps and cartridge-boxes, and about sixty muskets, for his men. That, according to the prices at that time, the sabre blades were worth from six to eight dollars each, and that it was worth from four to six dollars to mount them; that the cartridgeboxes were worth four or five dollars each. He further says, that for a month before the actual invasion Captain Hudry's house was the headquarters of his company; that while at the lines Captain Hudry sent his cart almost daily, and brought to camp for his men supplies of vegetables and provisions at his own expense; that he must have expended between ten and thirteen thousand dollars upon his company during the invasion; that he was a most vigilant and valuable officer; that he was then rich, but is now poor, old, and infirm, about sixty years old J. TOURNÉ. Sworn to and subscribed this 18th of February, 1833, before me. CHAS. A. BULLARD, Chairman. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. MAY 20, 1858.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. POLK made the following REPORT. [To accompany Bill S. 388.] The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the claim of the legal representatives of John Forsyth, having maturely considered the same, beg leave to report: That the late John Forsyth was appointed minister of the United States to the court of Spain on the 16th of February, 1819, and served in that capacity from the 18th February, 1819, the day he entered upon the duties of the office, until the 3d March, 1823, the day it terminated, embracing a period of four years and sixteen days. He was allowed the usual outfit, equal to one year's salary, and his infit, equal to one quarter's salary; also the sum of $4,313 69 for his contingent expenses during the period of his mission. Thus stated: For amount of outfit... For salary, four years and sixteen days, at $9,000.......... accounts....... For infit, equal to one quarter's salary.. To which is to be added the following items, which entered into his accounts and which were allowed to him, viz: Amount paid F. C. Fentwick...... By warrant in favor of treasurer.. $9,000 00 36,350 00 4,313 69 2,250 00 51,913 69 To liquidate the above, the following payments were made to him, viz: To warrants, per Register's certificate......... $18,309 00 10th September, 1819, to 8th April, 1823, To amount allowed Thomas L. Brent, as actting chargé d'affaires, during the absence of Mr. Forsyth....... To warrant on the Treasurer.. Balance due Mr. Forsyth. 28,867 67 1,813 86 3,289 82 $52,280 35 1,407 31 This balance of $1,407 31 was charged to Mr. Forsyth, in the adjustment of his accounts, as gain and exchange on the drafts drawn by him on the London bankers, viz: On £2,025 18. 3d., per report No. 991, $882 18 1,407 29 The salary of Mr. Forsyth was due and payable to him at Madrid, his place of residence in Spain. The United States deposited money with Baring Brothers, of London, their bankers, which was to be drawn on by Mr. Forsyth, in payment of his salary. Accordingly the committee find that the amount, as above stated, was drawn for by Mr. Forsyth upon Baring Brothers, of London, and that instead of gaining by this sale Mr. Forsyth actually incurred losses. In selling his drafts, the pounds sterling English currency, in the hands of Baring Brothers, were first converted into pesos of Spanish currency, or into francs, of French currency, and then, in stating his accounts by the United States accounting officers, these pesos and francs are changed into the dollars and cents of the currency of the United States. The committee find that whilst Mr. Forsyth was minister at Madrid the Spanish peso was worth only 36 pence of English currency and only 663 cents of United States currency. But in making up the accounts of Mr. Forsyth at the United States Treasury Department, the Spanish peso is charged to Mr. Forsyth as being worth 401 pence of English currency, and 75 cents of the currency of the United States. It was, by thus erroneously estimating the peso at 75 cents of United States currency instead of 663 cents, its true value, that a seeming gain was shown to have been made by Mr. Forsyth in the sale of his drafts on London. Whereas, in point of fact, he incurred an actual loss, as is shown by estimating the peso at its true value in American currency, which is 663 cents. That the Spanish peso was estimated at 75 cents of the currency of the United States, in making up Mr. Forsyth's account at the Treasury Department, a simple arithmetical calculation will at once demonstrate. The process is simply to take the number of pesos realized by the sale of each one of his drafts and multiply the same by 75 cents. So also, in like manner, an arithmetical calculation demonstrates the value of the peso of Spanish currency to be 36 pence of English currency, as thus: According to Kelly's Cambist, published in London, in 1821, which is to be found in the State Department, and which is considered to be of unquestionable authority, the English sovereign, or pound sterling, contains 113.01 grains of pure gold; and the quadruple pistole of 1801, or doubloon, contains 360.05 grains.-(See Kelly's Cambist, vol. 2, p. 158.) Then we have this proportion: As 113, the number of grains in one pound sterling, are to 240, the number of pence in one pound, so are 360, the number of grains in one doubloon, to_765 pence. Thus showing the doubloon to be equal to 765 pence of English currency. But the doubloon is equal to 16 hard dollars of 20 reals vellon; or, in other words, to 320 reals.-(1 Kelly, 317, and 2 Kelly, 88.) And the real contains 34 maravedis.-(1 Kelly, 316.) And the dollar of exchange, in Spain, contains 15 reals and 2 maravedis vellon, or 512 maravedis. (See 1 Kelly, p. 317.) We then state this proportion: As 320 reals, or (320×34) 10,880 maravedis, the number in the doubloon, are to 785, the number of pence in a doubloon, so are 15 reals and 2 maravedis vellon, or 512 maravedis, the number in the dollar of exchange, to 36 pence. Thus the Spanish peso is demonstrated to be equal to 36 pence English currency. And that 36 pence, English currency, are equal to 663 cents of our currency is demonstrated by the following proportion: As 240, the number of pence in the pound sterling, are to 444 cents, the value of the pound sterling in our currency, so are 36 pence to 66.6 cents. A few of his drafts, the committee find, were sold by Mr. Forsyth for francs of French currency instead of pesos, and as in the case of the peso, so in case of the franc-the latter, in stating his account at the Department of the Treasury was estimated to him at too high a value, or, what is the same thing, the pound sterling was estimated to him as being worth only 25.05 francs, instead of 25.25 francs, its true value. An examination of the accounts and vouchers will show at what value in francs the pound sterling was estimated to Mr. Forsyth. And what the true value of the pound sterling is in francs is shown thus: The 40 francs coin of France contains 179 grains of pure gold. (See 2 Kelly's Cambist, p. 158.) Of course, one franc contains (179 divided by 40, or) 4.475 grains. We have already seen that the pound sterling contains 113 grains. And to ascertain how many francs there are in one pound sterling we have only to divide 113 by 4.475. The process gives us (113÷ 4.475) 25.25. Your committee have procured from the Treasury Department a statement showing all the drafts drawn by Mr. Forsyth upon London, |