Manuscript DS, signed "James K. Polk" as president and "James Buchanan" as secretary of state, one page both sides, 9.5 x 14.5, July 1, 1846. A rare executive pardon. In part: "Whereas, it is represented, that the British Barque Mary Harrington, Charles McFee [sic], master arrived at the port of New York, from Londonderry…with an excess of passengers…Said barque was measured at Charlestown S. C. in February 1845…by which measurement the Captain regulated the number of passengers which he took on board…difference of admeasurement in the two ports, is the cause of the excess of passengers…Now be it known that I, James K. Polk, President of the United States of America, in consideration of the premises…do hereby remit unto him the said Charles McFee, the penalty incurred." Boldly signed at the conclusion by President Polk and countersigned by Secretary of State James Buchanan. The crisply embossed white paper seal affixed to the upper left remains fully intact. In fine condition, with repairs to folds and a slightly rough left edge. Polk is uncommon in general and is exceptionally desirable in combination with Buchanan.
Captain McAffee would find trouble again in 1848, when he arrived in New York from Donegal with five passengers dead and 78 of 120 stricken with fever; his intentions may have been noble, however, as these were likely Irish immigrants seeking refuge from the famine. The next year, after his ship arrived from Glasgow, a Brooklyn newspaper published a notice that cautioned against trusting the crew of the Mary Harrington and warned that the captain did not pay his debts. Manuscript presidential pardons such as this are quite scarce, particularly with this unusual content.
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