I have duly recieved the 1st vol. of your collection of our statutes at large, & return you my thanks for it. the opinion I entertain of the importance of the work may be justly inferred from the trouble & expence I incurred during the earlier part of my life, to save such remains of our antient laws as were then still in existence. the compilation appears to be correctly & judiciously made, and gives us exactly what I had so long considered as a desideratum for our country. it sheds a new light on our early history, and furnishes additional security to the tenure of our rights & property. Sincerely wishing you may reap the reward you have merited, I tender you the assurances of my great esteem & respect.

Th: Jefferson