Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.—Gustav Mahler

Monday, May 29, 2017

President James Madison's and President James Monroe's Gifts from Foreign States: Forbidden Gifts or Emoluments?

Jonathan Fildes, Science probe for ‘space pistols, BBC News 

(May 26, 2008, 4;17 GMT), 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7414544.stm 

(emphasis added)

Science probe for 'space pistols'

By Jonathan Fildes 
Science and technology reporter, BBC News


Given pride of place in an unassuming museum on the East Coast of America is a pair of 200-year-old duelling pistols shrouded in mystery.

The intricately decorated guns were said to have been forged from the iron of a meteorite.
They were a unique gift from the commander of a South American region, which would later become Argentina, to the fourth US president, James Madison.
"Permit me therefore to present to your Excellency... a specimen of the first essays of the manufacture of arms established in the provinces of Buenos Ayres and Tucuman," wrote General Ignacio Alvarez in an accompanying 14-page letter.
Over time, they passed into the hands of Madison's successor - James Monroe - and are now on display at a museum dedicated to him. ...

Citation: Seth Barrett Tillman, President James Madison’s and President James Monroe’s Gifts from Foreign States: Forbidden Gifts or Emoluments?, New Reform Club (May 29, 2017, 5:38 AM), http://tinyurl.com/ybowqs5y  

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