George Washington Papers

From George Washington to Beverley Randolph, 26 February 1790

To Beverley Randolph

United States [New York] Feby 26th 1790.

Sir,

I have received your Excellency’s letter of the 13th inst.1 enclosing the duplicate of an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, authorizing the Governor to convey certain lands to the United States for the purpose of building a Light-House.

Upon receiving your letter of the 18th of December, covering the first copy of the above act, I immediately transmitted it to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States for his information.2 This is the cause of its not having been regularly acknowledged. with very great esteem I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most Obedt Servt.

Df, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters; LB, DLC:GW.

1Randolph wrote from Richmond, Va., on 13 Feb. 1790: “I have had the honor to receive Your favour of the 29th of January.

“As you have mentioned in none of your Communications the receipt of my letter of the 18th of December, covering an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, authorizing the Governor to convey certain lands to the United States for the purpose of building a Light-House, I take the liberty now to inclose you a duplicate of the act. Whenever the particular spot shall be marked on which the Light-House is to be erected I shall agreeable to the abovementioned Act, be ready to execute the Deed of Cession” (DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters). The act of the Virginia assembly enclosed by Randolph was “An Act authorizing the Governor of this Commonwealth, to convey certain land to the United States, for the purpose of building a Light-House” (13 Hening description begins William Waller Hening, ed. The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. 13 vols. 1819–23. Reprint. Charlottesville, Va., 1969. description ends 3–4; Journals of the Council of State of Virginia, description begins H. R. McIlwaine et al., eds. Journals of the Council of the State of Virginia. 5 vols. Richmond, 1931–82. description ends 5:144–45).

2The act was forwarded to Hamilton in a letter from Tobias Lear, 5 Jan. 1790 (DNA: RG 26, “Segregated” Lighthouse Records).

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