“ exact form will be seen in the English grammar prefixed to Johnson’s dictionary, and if you have not Saxon types, a figure of 2 turned upside down, is exactly the character. ”

On March 26 Jefferson wrote to the President and to Patrick Magruder, clerk to the House of Representatives, and to Samuel A. Otis, Secretary of the Senate, informing them that he should send them copies.

To the President, James Madison, he wrote: “ . . . the case of the Batture not having been explained by a trial at bar as had been expected, I have thought it necessary to do it by publishing what I had prepared for the use of my counsel. this has been done at New York, and the printer informs me by a letter of the 21 ^st. that he had forwarded by mail some copies to myself, and would send by the stage, under the care of a passenger, those I had ordered for the members of both houses. but those sent to me are not yet arrived. from this parcel I shall send some to yourself and the members of the Cabinet, which I have thought it necessary to mention, by anticipation, that you will understand how it happens, if it does happen, that others get copies before yourself . . . ””

To Magruder and Otis he wrote: “ The proceedings of this Executive of the US. in the case of the Batture of New Orleans, which have been the subject of complaint on the part of Edward Livingston, not having been explained through the medium of a judiciary trial, as was expected, I have thought it due to the nation at large, to the National legislature, and to the Executive to make that explanation public through the ordinary channel of the press. and I have therefore taken the liberty of desiring m ( ^~ r) Sargeant of New York, the printer, to send under cover to yourself 35| 144. copies, of which I will ask the favor of you to lay one copy on the desk of each member of the Senate| House of Representatives for their acceptance . . .”

On March 21, 1812, Sargeant sent to Jefferson seventy-one copies of the printed pamphlet: “Your Excellency will receive by this days mail Seventy one copies of “Proceedings &c” put up in 3 parcels and directed to you at Monticello. Those directed to be put up for P Magruder Esq. and M ^r Otis I expect to forward agreable to your excellency’s direction on tuesday next, a Gentleman of my acquaintance purposing going to the Southward on that day. Should I however be disappointed of that opportunity your excellency may rely on my embracing the first chance afterwards.”

Jefferson replied on March 29: “ Your letter of the 21 ^st. came to hand on the 25 ^th. but the 71. copies mentioned as forwarded by the same mail did not come with it, nor by a mail since arrived. I presume they are suffering some temporary delay at some post office and that I shall soon recieve them. in the mean time I hope you have forwarded those for m ( ^~ r) Otis & m( ^~ r) Magruder to Washington by the stage under the care of some passenger, this being the only conveyance that combines speed with safety. I have, by the mail of this day, desired mess ^rs Gibson and Jefferson, my correspondents at Richmond, to remit to you one hundred and thirty Dollars, which you may expect to recieve as soon as they can procure a draught or bank bills negociable at New York . . . ”

On April 2 Jefferson wrote to Hugh Nelson: “ Your letter of Mar. 27. has been duly recieved. by this time a printed copy of my MS. respecting the Batture has I hope been laid on your desk by which you will percieve that the MS. itself has been recieved long enough to have been sent to N. York, printed, and returned to Washington . . . ”

On the same day he wrote to Gideon Granger: “ I rec ^d yesterday, yours of Mar. 28. and I thank you for the information respecting the packages. they contain pamphlets stating the conduct of the Executive in the case of the Batture which I have had printed at my own expence for the information of Congress and the officers of the government. I directed the printer to send by the stage 144. copies to m ( ^~ r) Magruder for the Representatives and 35. to m( ^~ r) Otis for the Senate. he was also to send me 71. to be distributed to officers of the government &c. he informed me he had sent me the last in three packages. I state this because you ”