To Thomas Jefferson from Tobias Lear, 13 March 1792
From Tobias Lear
United States, March 13th. 1792.
By the President’s command T. Lear has the honor to return to the Secretary of State the draft of a letter to the King of France, which meets the President’s approbation; and to enclose the Resolution of the House of Representatives with the signature of the Speaker.
As it is possible that the Senate may come forward with a Resolution on this occasion; the President asks, if it would not be best to delay preparing the letter to the King as long as can be done with security to the present opportunity, in order to comprehend the sentiments of the senate if they should be expressed?
The Resolution of the House is dated the 10th.—the letter will therefore be dated the same, or a subsequent day.
Tobias Lear
Secretary to the President
of the United States
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 13 Mch. 1792. PrC (DNA: RG 59, MLR). FC (Lb in same, SDC). Enclosures: George Washington to Louis XVI, 14 Mch. 1792, and Enclosure No. 1 listed there. On the previous day Lear had written a brief note to TJ transmitting a text of the 10 Mch. 1792 resolution of the House of Representatives mentioned above and stating that the President “intended that T. Lear should have left the enclosed Resolution with the Secretary of State,” so that its sentiments could be inserted in the reply to the French king (RC in DLC; partially dated; endorsed by TJ as received 12 Mch. 1792).