I received a few days past your letter inquiring whether the defence of the opinion had been correctly republished in the Alexandria paper. I went to the coffee house for the purpose of reading it best. the papers had been mislaid & I was disappointed. I cannot therefore say whether they have appeared in an inteligible shape or not & therefore am not desirous that any farther effort should be made to get them before the public.

I have a case before me which depends entirely on the question whether the master of a vessel belonging to one port can hypothecate her in the port of a different state.¹ Is the port of one state a foreign port with respect to the vessel of a citizen of another state? Will you give me your opinion viz. this point? Your