From George Washington to James Madison, 22 October 1785
To James Madison
Mount Vernon Oct 22nd 1785
Dear Sir
I thank you for the perusal of the enclosed reports—Mr Jay seems to have laboured the point respecting the Convention.1
If any thing should occur that is interesting, & your leizure will permit it, I should be glad to hear from you on the subject;
Printed in Henkels catalog no. 694, item 30, 6–7 Dec. 1892; copy, MH: Jared Sparks Collection.
1. The editors of the Madison Papers (8:380–81) speculate that Madison either left the “reports” at Mount Vernon on 14 Oct. or forwarded them in a lost letter of c.16 October. The enclosures, which have not been found, undoubtedly were two of John Jay’s reports to Congress, one of 4 July 1785 “respecting french and american Consuls” and the other of 19 Sept. 1785 “respecting the number of Consuls necessary to be appointed and for what foreign Ports” ( 29:500–515, 722–24). GW’s letter to Madison of 29 Oct. supports this supposition. Both of Jay’s reports had been printed in New York.