“ time since that the federalists knew he was possessed of some letters from you, and were endeavouring to bring them before the publick. In several of his preceding papers he glanced at the subject, but at length enters more directly on it. Perhaps it will be best that nothing sho ^d. be said in reply by any one, of this you will be the best judge. It may be of use to state to me the periods when the sums he mentions were advanced, & the circumstances which led to it. Any light you think proper to communicate relative to the aff ^r., will be and without compromitting any one, in the mode you know most elegible. If any reply is proper he may be drawn to state facts correctly, by a person knowing them, without it appearing that you gave a hint . . .”

Jefferson replied to this on July 15 in a letter which has already been partly quoted in reference to Callender’s Political Progress , q.v. Jefferson’s letter opens: “ Your favor of the 7 ^th: has been duly recieved. I am really mortified at the base ingratitude of Callender. it presents human nature in a hideous form. it gives me concern because I percieve that relief, which was afforded him on mere motives of charity, may be viewed under the aspect of employing him as a writer . . . ”

This paragraph is followed by those relative to the Political Progress already quoted. The letter then continues: “ the succeeding year he again wanted money to buy paper for another volume. I made his letter, as before, the occasion of giving him another 50.D. he considers these as proofs of my approbation of his writings, when they were mere charities, yielded under a strong conviction that he was injuring us by his writings. it is known to many that the sums given to him were such and even smaller than I was in the habit of giving to others in distress, of the federal as well as republican party, without attention to political principles. soon after I was elected to the government, Callender came on here, wishing to be made postmaster at Richmond. I knew him to be totally unfit for it: and however ready I was to aid him with my own charities (and I then gave him 50.D.) I did not think the public offices confided to me to give away as charities. he took it in mortal offence, & from that moment has been hauling off to his former enemies the federalists. besides the letter I wrote him in answer to the one from Genl. Mason’s, I wrote him another containing answers to two questions he addressed to me. 1. whether m ( ^~ r) Jay recieved salary as Chief Justice & envoy at the same time; & 2. something relative to the expences of an embassy to Constantinople. I think these were the only letters I ever wrote him in answer to volumes he was perpetually writing to me.--this is the true state of what has passed between him and me. I do not know that it can be used without committing me in controversy as it were with one too little respected by the public to merit that notice. I leave to your judgment what use can be made of these facts. perhaps it will be better judged of when we see what use the tories will endeavor to make of their new friend . . . ””

On July 17 Jefferson again wrote to Monroe: “ After writing you on the 15 ^th. I turned to my letter file to see what letters I had written to Callender & found them to have been of the dates of 1798 Oct. 11. & 1799. Sep. 6. & Oct. 6. but on looking for the letters they were not in their places nor to be found. on recollection I believe I sent them to you a year or two ago. if you have them, I shall be glad to recieve them at Monticello where I shall be on this day sennight. I inclose you a paper which shows the Tories mean to pervert these charities to Callender as much as they can. they will probably first represent me as the patron & support of the Prospect before us, & other things of Callenders, & then picking out all the scurrilities of the Author against Gen ^l. Washington, mr Adams & others impute them to me. I, as well as most other republicans who were in the way of doing it, contributed what I could afford to the support of the republican papers & printers, paid sums of money for the Bee, the Albany register etc. when they were staggering under the Sedition law, contributed to the fines of Callender himself, of Holt, Brown & others suffering under that law. I discharged, when I came into office, such as were under the persecution of our enemies, without instituting any prosecution in retaliation. they may therefore, with the same justice, impute to me, or to every republican con- ”