REPORT of the REGENTS of the UNIVERSITY, made to the Legislature, the 9th of March, ult. and entered on the Journals of both Houses. To the HONORABLE the LEGISLATURE, The Regents of the University Respectfully report, That during the year past, Columbia and Union Colleges, and Erasmus-Hall, Johnstown, Cooperstown, Canandarqua, Oxford, Hamilton-Oneida, Cherry Valley, Union in Stone Arabia,...
2From John Jay to Sarah Livingston Jay, 10 March 1797 (Jay Papers)
I was this afternoon fav d . with yours of the 5 th . Instant, enclosing the mes Letter from mentioned but omitted in your last. my last to you was written on the 5 th of this month. in it I informed You that I had rec d . yours of the 25 th . Ult: For two Days past we have had severe cold weather— no Water to be seen in Streets— all hard frozen— so that unless much Rain should speedily fall,...
3From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 19 April 1797 (Jay Papers)
I enclose one of Greenleafs Papers, printed the 15 of last month. You will find in it some Statements and Remarks on the Expences of the british Treaty— Some Gentlemen on whose Judgments I rely, and among them Col. Hamilton, think it adviseable that some notice be taken of this publication — a certain Description of People make a Handle of it— I enclose a Paper on the Subject, which I think...
4From John Jay to Peter Thacher, 25 April 1797 (Jay Papers)
I was this morning fav d . with yours of the 19 th . Inst: stating the Reasons which render it doubtful whether the Society in Scotland ought in future ^ would ^^will^^ think it adviseable^ to be at the Expence of continuing ^a^ mission at at Oneida if among the Oneida Indians; and suggesting the Propriety of maintaining one ^ at the Expense of this state ^ in that Tribe at the Expense of this...
5From John Jay to the Public, 25 April 1797 (Jay Papers)
In Greenleaf’s paper printed at New-York in March last there was a publication of which the following is an extract, viz. “It is curious to estimate the expences which the British Treaty has cost the United States. The account may be stated as follows. Dolls. Ct. “1794 7 th May—The United States advanced for Mr. Jay’s outfit.[”] 18,000 “Of this Mr. Jay must have saved the whole, as his...
6Proclamation regarding Quarantine, 27 April 1797 (Jay Papers)
Whereas by an Act of the Legislature of this State Entitled “An Act to prevent the bringing in and spreading of infectious Diseases in this State” passed the first Day of April 1796, it is among other things enacted, “That all Vessels arriving in the Port of New York from Ports beyond the Sea, having on board forty Passengers— All Vessels arriving in the said Port, having on board a Person...
7From John Jay to Grenville, 4 June 1797 (Jay Papers)
A long Interval has passed between the Date of my last Letter, and that of this— they would have been more frequent, had they been exposed to less Risque of Interception. My Respect and Esteem for your Lordship remain unabated; and I yet flatter myself with the pleasure of becoming a better Correspondent. It will give you satisfaction to know that Letters I have rec d . from M r . King and M r...
8From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 8 June 1797 (Jay Papers)
Read the enclosed Letter first To understand this Letter it will be necessary to r first to read the enclosed, this being a sequel to that— which I for ward now because ^which was intended for this mornings post but^ the mail was closed when my Sec y brought the enclosed ^it^ to the Post office— The Cap t . Clarke in Question is well known in this City— During the late War he served in the...
9From John Jay to John Sinclair, 12 July 1797 (Jay Papers)
I was Yesterday fav d . with yours of 29 March last enclosing three Copies of your account of the origin &c a . of the Board of agriculture—for w h accept my Thanks This Publication is in many Respects interesting— It shews how much may be accomplished by the Talents Zeal & Perseverance of patriotic Individuals; and how much ^greatly^ the Success of the best Institutions depends of on the...
10From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 15 July 1797 (Jay Papers)
I herewith return the Book which you was so obliging as to send me. Whether the Convention of armed Neutrality was limited in its Duration to that of the war then subsisting, or remained in force after the Return of Peace? is a question to which the inaccurate manner in which the 11 th . article is expressed, appears to have given occasion.— The original (which is not translated with perfect...
11From John Jay to James Sullivan, 28 July 1797 (Jay Papers)
I have been favored with your’s of the 30 th . of last month, informing me of the necessity of my being at Boston on the 14 th . of august next, to give Testimony to the Commissioners appointed to determine what River was intended, by the River S t . Croix in the Treaty of Peace. If on further Consideration my personal attendance should be judged indispensable, I shall certainly think it my...
12From John Jay to John Vaughan, 31 July 1797 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with yours of the 11 th . Instant, in which you mention having rec d . from your Brother for me a Portrait of the late President, engraved from a painting of Stewart; and that You had sent it to the Care of M r . Constable— I have since rec d . it and am much obliged by this mark of your Brothers attention, as well as by your Care respecting it. When next you write to your...
13From John Jay to Jeremy Belknap, 17 August 1797 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with yours of the 24 June. It gives me pleasure to find that your biographical work advances. If it does not proceed too fast, it will be very interesting— especially as it will have the ^an^ advantage which all works of that kind cannot boast, viz t . of judicious selection and candor. I wish I could comply with your Request in a full & satisfactory manner— but the History...
14From John Jay to Benjamin Vaughan, 31 August 1797 (Jay Papers)
I had this afternoon the pleasure of recieving your favor of the 18 Inst.— M rs . Jay joins with me in sincerely congratulating you & your amiable Family on your arrival in this Country— May your Expectations of Happiness in it be perfectly realized. The Reasons which have determined you to settle on the Kennebeck, I can easily concieve are cogent; but I flatter myself you will sometimes find...
15From John Jay to John Drayton, 6 September 1797 (Jay Papers)
on reading The Letter which you was so obliging as to write to me on the 21 July 1795, it appeared however prudent to delay excited no other Surprize than that certain Gentlemen had forgotten the Respect which they owed both to themselves and ^as well as^ to me It was foreseen that any Treaty with Great Britain would be violently opposed by the Debtors to that Country, by the Enemies of the...
16From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 11 September 1797 (Jay Papers)
I was this morning fav d . with yours of the 9 Inst. and have just finished reading your answer to the Chevaliers indiscreet & improper Letter— If no Faction hostile to the true Interests of this Country existed in it, I presume that the proper way to treat that Gentleman would be to insist on his Recall and to refuse to do Business with him— under present Circumstances, Prudence requires that...
17From John Jay to Richard Varick, 5 October 1797 (Jay Papers)
I have received a Petition from Peter Heaton, stating that he had been convicted of Larceny, at a Court of Quarter Sessions held in the City of New York on the 10 th . July last and sentenced to Six Months Imprisonment at hard Labor in Bridewell— The prayers for a Pardon and his Petition is supported by a number of very respectable Subscribers— Be so good as to converse with the Recorder on...
18From John Jay to Oliver Wolcott, 20 October 1797 (Jay Papers)
It was not untill Yesterday that I recieved (under cover from Col. Talmadge) the Letter which your Excellency did me the Honor to write on the 19 th . of last Month, with the one addressed to you by several Gentlemen of Litchfield requesting your Interposition with ^me^ for the Pardon of Israel Stone, who is now under Sentence of confinement for Life on Conviction of Forgery—. To your...
19From John Jay to John Trumbull, 27 October 1797 (Jay Papers)
I rec d . three Days ago by the post, your Letter of the 7 August, in which was a Copy of the one you had written on the 20 July, and the original of which I had recieved and read with Pleasure. The Difficulty and Delicacy of your Task my good Friend! are obvious, and ^but^ I flatter myself the Reputation to be derived from it, will soften the Trouble & anxiety it gives You. It was not to be...
20From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 2 November 1797 (Jay Papers)
Your Letter of the 28 ult: was delivered to me this morning— mary had strong Claims to the Care and Kindness of our Family. I wish you had been sooner informed of her Illness, that every assistance in our Power to afford, might if requisite, have been rendered. It is a consolation however to reflect, that you found her comfortably circumstanced as to accommodations; and that she had not been...
21From John Jay to Rufus King, 14 November 1797 (Jay Papers)
Since my last of the 7 th . Inst: I have been fav d . with your’s of the 9 th . Sept r . with the two Pamphlets which you was so obliging as to send with it, and for which accept my thank’s. The one by M r . Burke I have read, and find Remarks in it which will deserve attention—The other I had seen— A late arrival has brought Intelligence of the Explosion at Paris— it opens a wide Field for...
Whereas by an Act of the Legislature of this State Entitled “an Act making Alterations in the Criminal Law of this State and for erecting State Prisons” Boards of Commissioners were instituted and appointed for erecting and building the State Prisons, which in and by the said Act were directed to be built in the City of New York, and in the County of Albany— And Whereas in and by the said Act,...
23From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 25 November 1797 (Jay Papers)
Your Letter of the 17 th . Inst. came to hand Yesterday. On my Return from Schenectady the Day before, I rec d . yours by Cap t . Bogart— the Ice still detains his Sloop below— M r . Church may change the Glass at my Expence, but I should prefer having it done in the Spring ^rather^ than during the Winter, for I think it would then be better done. Let the carriage way by the Gate be paved with...
24To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 5 December 1797 (Hamilton Papers)
Yours of the 4th Ult: relative to Mr. Richardson, was delivered to me Yesterday. On Mr. Dunscombs Resignation, Col. Troup recommended Mr. Keese to succeed him, and in Terms very explicit. If I recollect right, he had conversed with Mr. Keese on the Subject. Considering the Population of New York, and the Delays which might be caused by the Death Sickness Resignation or absence of the Examiner,...
25From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 23 December 1797 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with yours of the 13 Inst:— Having no Reason to expect that I should have occasion for any papers respecting causes tried before me in the Sup[reme] Court of the U. S. I left them at New York. The written argument You allude to, did not comprehend the Question of Interest — it not being in Controversy among those on the Demurrer. On that Subject I made notes, but no formal...
26Address to the New York State Legislature, 2 January 1798 (Jay Papers)
IT must afford sincere and cordial satisfaction to our Fellow Citizens, to see the Representatives whom they have freely chosen, thus peaceably and calmly assemble, to deliberate on their common concerns, and to concert the measures most conducive to their common prosperity. Nor will they derive less satisfaction from the reflection, that at this moment the Representatives of the Nation, of...
27From John Jay to Richard Lawrence, 6 January 1798 (Jay Papers)
Be so good as to inform me of the present Condition and number of the S t . Domingo Refugees that if they require further Assistance, to the Necessity and Extent of it may appear with a proper Degree of Certainty— It will also be proper that your Account of the Expenditures made for them during the last year be exhibited and settled before I make any Communications to the Legislature on the...
28Proclamation on the Livingston Land Riots, 1 March 1798 (Jay Papers)
A Proclamation Whereas it is the Duty and the Interest of the Citizens of this State, to respect obey and support the Constitution Laws and Government, which they have established for their own Security and Welfare— And it is also the Duty of those to whom the Execution of the Laws is confided, to exercise the Authorities vested in them with Fidelity and Decision— And Whereas both Houses of...
29From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 10 April 1798 (Jay Papers)
Altho’ your Letter of the 15 ult. has lain thus long unanswered, it has not been forgotten. The one which came enclosed in it, in Behalf of the Tuscaroras, was on the 26 ult: laid before our Legislature with a Message, of which the enclosed is a Copy— Nothing material however has been done in pursuance of it—an opinion having prevailed, that our intended purchase of the Oneidas should first be...
30From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 16 April 1798 (Jay Papers)
I have rec d . your’s of the 10 th .— M r . Tiebout the Engraver, is desirous of publishing a Print from my last Portrait by Stuart, and I have given hi m ^s^ ^Brother^ a Letter to you mentioning my having consented to his having the Loan of that Picture for that purpose. I now repeat it that you may not at present have the Trouble of putting it up in a Case. The moment the Election is over...
31To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 19 April 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
I have this Instant recd. a Letter dated the 14th. Instant from Judge Hobart, resigning his Seat in the Senate of the united States, and as our Legislature is not now in Session, it hath become my Duty to appoint a Senator to succeed him and take his place, untill the next Meeting of the Legislature. The present delicate State of our public affairs, and the evident Expediency of filling this...
32To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 19 April 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
I wrote you a few Lines this Morning informing you that Judge Hobart had resigned his Seat in the Senate, and that by the next post I should send you a Commission to fill his place. On further Reflection I doubt the propriety of appointing you without your previous permission, and therefore shall postpone it untill I receive your answer. If after well considering the Subject you should decline...
33From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 19 April 1798 (Jay Papers)
I am very much gratified by your friendly attention in sending me the Copies of the Dispatches from, and of the Instructions to, our Envoys at Paris, which came enclosed in your Letters of the 9 and 11 Instant. The Demands and Language of the French Government will form an extraordinary Page in modern History; and however palliated or expounded, cannot fail to excite the Indignation of honest...
34From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 10 May 1798 (Jay Papers)
I have rec d . Yours of the 26 ult. The one by Cap t Dusenbury, and this morning that of the 6 th . inst:— a variety of affairs induced or rather constrained me to postpone writing to you until now; & I have been hitherto so constantly interrupted that it is uncertain whether I shall be able to finish this in Time for the post. Tell M r . Munro that I am very much obliged to him for assisting...
35From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 13 May 1798 (Jay Papers)
It is said that the Naturalization Act is to be revised and amended. Permit me to suggest an idea which I have for many years deemed important. We doubtless may grant to a Foreigner just such a portion of our Rights & Priviledges, as we may think proper. In my opinion it would be wiser to declare explicitly, that the Right & Priviledge of being elected or appointed to, or of holding and...
36From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 17 May 1798 (Jay Papers)
Your Letter of the 13 came to hand this morning— The Intermissions between the Interruptions I have since had, have be ^en^ so short, that I could not bestow much consideration on some of the Matters stated in it, and which demand mature and deliberate Reflection. After having examined certain papers relative to the Land which Marvin desires to purchase, I will write to you on the subject— I...
37Testimony regarding the St. Croix River, 21 May 1798 (Jay Papers)
The answer of John Jay, who, was one of the Commissioners by whom the Treaty of Peace between Great Britain & the United States was negotiated, to the Interrogatories put to him at the Instance of the Agent on the part of the United States, by the board of Commissioners for ascertaining the River S t . Croix, intended in and by the said Treaty. The said John Jay having been duly sworn answers...
38From John Jay to Ebenezer Stevens, 26 May 1798 (Jay Papers)
M r . Smith delivered to me this morning your Letter of the 21 st . Inst, and I assure you he shall recieve from me whatever facilities circumstances may indicate in the Course of the Business you allude to— When the Adj[utan] t . Gen[enera] . first arrived I understood from him, that you would accept the Command of the artillery Reg t . at New York. I have since rec d . a few Lines from him...
39From John Jay to Matthew Clarkson, 14 June 1798 (Jay Papers)
I was this morning fav d . with yours of no date in which as Chairman of the Committees lately appointed by the Citizens of New York you communicate to me their request that the Legislature of the State be speedily convened. There certainly is much weight in the reasons you assign for this request, and I am persuaded that it originates in the best motives— The policy of keeping our City & Port...
40From John Jay to William North, 25 June 1798 (Jay Papers)
On my arrival here the Day before Yesterday I had the pleasure of receiving your Letter of the 22 Instant, enclosing the Presidents last communication for which accept my thanks— the others which I rec d . just before I left Albany being in my Trunk which I expect this morning, I cannot now answer particularly— In my opinion it would be both just and proper to declare the Treaty with France to...
41Proclamation Summoning an Early Session of the New York State Legislature, 2 July 1798 (Jay Papers)
Whereas the Government of the United States, to whom the people thereof have co^m^mitted the exclusive direction of their National affairs, has been pleased to publish, for the Information of the Citizens, divers important and alarming events and transactions; from which it appears, That there exist well founded apprehensions that the Directors of the French Republic have long formed and are...
42From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 18 July 1798 (Jay Papers)
I this morning rec d . the two Copies you was so obliging as to send me of the State papers published in pursuance of the Resolution of Congress of the 22 d . June. they shall be laid before our Legislature at the approaching Session— Every true American here rejoices that General Washington has accepted the Command of the army— it is an auspicious Event— Being of the Number of those who...
43From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 26 July 1798 (Jay Papers)
I returned to this place Yesterday, and this morning had the pleasure of recieving your’s of the 20 th . Instant; for which and the papers enclosed in it, accept my thanks— they give me great Satisfaction— The one you desire to be returned, shall be enclosed with this Letter. Hamilton’s Rank is I fear still liable to question— your Remarks on that Head certainly have weight— Such Doubts should...
44To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 28 July 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
Since I left N York I have had the Satisfaction of seeing your late appointment announced in the Papers; but I have seen nothing that decides your Rank in Relation to other Majr. Generals. Doubts on such a point ought not to remain. Many will doubtless apply for Commands in the army, & it is to be wished that a judicious Selection may be made. There is a Gentleman (who for your Information I...
45To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 31 July 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. David Jones, the Son of the Comptroller, wishes for the Honor of being one of your aids; and (with his fathers approbation) purposes on his arrival at N. York, to wait upon you on the Subject. This young Gentleman has been my private Secretary, and I do him no more than Justice in assuring you, that while with me I was not only satisfied but pleased with his Temper Disposition & Behaviour,...
46To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, [3 August 1798] (Hamilton Papers)
[ Albany, August 3, 1798. Letter not found. ] “List of Letters from Mr. Jay …” to H, Columbia University Libraries.
47Address to the New York State Legislature, [9 August 1798] (Jay Papers)
Percieving the various Objections which opposed the holding a special Session of the Legislature, and particularly at this Season of the Year, it was not until after very mature Reflection, that I became convinced that it was my Duty to convene you. The Reasons on which the opinion was founded, have been made known; and subsequent Events have not diminished their Force. Our national Affairs in...
To the Inhabitants of Washington County who convened at Hartford by public notice on the 9 Aug t 1798 The address with which you have honored me by your chairman and secretary contains Congratulations & Assurances which I recieve with Gratitude. I view the Conduct of France the French D France ^The french Directory^ towards this Country in the same Light that You do; and observe with pleasure...
49To John Adams from John Jay, 21 August 1798 (Adams Papers)
I have the Honor of transmitting to You, herewith enclosed, an address from the Senate and assembly of this State, which passed and was agreed to by both Houses unanimously — It gives me pleasure to reflect that from this and the numerous other Expressions of the public Sentiment, relative to the reprehensible Conduct of France towards this country, you may rely on the decided Co-operation of...
50From John Jay to John Adams, 21 August 1798, enclosing Address of the New York State Legislature to John Adams, 17–20 … (Jay Papers)
I have the Honor of transmitting to You, herewith enclosed, an address from the Senate and assembly of this State which passed and was agreed to by both Houses unanimously— It gives me pleasure to reflect that from this and the numerous other Expressions of the public Sentiment, relative to the reprehensible conduct of France towards this Country, you may rely on the decided co-operation of...