1To Alexander Hamilton from Benjamin Lincoln, 7 April 1791 (Hamilton Papers)
I have the pleasure of enclosing a return of all the vessels built within this District from March 4th 1789 to March 4th 1791 collected & made agreeably to your wishes communicated by Mr Coxe your assistant the 10th ult. You will find the number exceedingly small and is not I think, more than one third of what was built in the years 1784 and 1785. I will attempt to assign some reasons why the...