James Madison Papers

To James Madison from John Mitchell Mason, 20 December 1810

From John Mitchell Mason

New York 20th. Decr. 1810

Sir,

I have the honour of acknowledging the receipt of the two notes which you were so condescending as to write me relative to a constitution for the United States drawn up by the late Gen. Hamilton.1 I much regret that your kindness should have occasioned you so much trouble. Had I suspected it, I should have forborn a request the granting of which was to confer a favour upon me at the expence of inconvenience to yourself. Among the papers of Gen. Hamilton which have come to my hand I have not been able to discover the original draught2 which you suppose he must have retained. Should my search among some other papers, which I expect to get in a few days, prove equally unfortunate, I shall very gratefully avail myself of your obliging offer of a copy from the one which you possess.

Permit me to tender my best respects to Mrs Madison; and to assure you of the high considera⟨tion⟩ with which I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedt. & obliged hble servt

J. M. Mason

RC (DLC). Damaged at lower corners. Docketed by JM.

1See JM to Mason, 5 Feb. 1810 (PJM-PS description begins Robert A. Rutland et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Presidential Series (3 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1984—). description ends , 2:219–20 and n. 1). JM probably wrote to Mason again sometime after he had received John Wayles Eppes’s letter of 1 Nov. 1810 (PJM-PS description begins Robert A. Rutland et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Presidential Series (3 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1984—). description ends , 2:609–10). If so, his letter has not been found.

2At a later time JM placed an asterisk here and noted in the lower left margin: “*afterwards discovered—see ⟨lett⟩er from Doc⟨to⟩r Eustis.” Following this a pencil note “of April” has been added.

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