To George Washington from James Iredell, 17 June 1790
From James Iredell
North Carolina, Wilmington, June 17th 1790.
Sir,
I had sometime ago the honour of receiving from Mr Jay a copy of the Letter you were pleased to write on the 3d April to him and the other Judges of the Supreme Court I shall not fail, Sir, to do every thing in my power to contribute to the important purpose of it, and shall hope to consult with the other Judges when I have the pleasure of meeting them at New York in order that we may jointly communicate to you the observations which occur to us.1
I hope you will excuse, Sir, my taking the liberty, in a letter which perhaps ought to be strictly official, to express the great joy I feel in hearing of your entire recovery from an illness which caused so universal an alarm.2 May God grant the most melancholy event which America can possibly sustain may long be removed from it, and that you may still enjoy many years of private as well as public happiness! I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, Sir, Your most faithful and most obedient Servant
Ja. Iredell
ALS, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters.
1. On 3 April 1790 GW had written to the justices of the Supreme Court soliciting their thoughts on the organization of the federal judiciary. Iredell was not then present in New York, having been appointed to the court in February (see GW to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3 April 1790, source note). In September 1790 Iredell and the other justices responded to GW’s query (see the Supreme Court Justices to GW, c.13 Sept. 1790).
2. On GW’s illness, see William Jackson to Clement Biddle, 12 May 1790, editorial note.