To William Wirt, circa 1 May 1828
In court, & on the verge of a trial, I can only state my dear sir that you have been correctly informed as to my prohibition of steam boat parties to M. V.— it has been made public for more than 3 years & was repeated more than 12 months ago. Of the necessity of the measure I could satisfy you in a few minutes, as well as of the propriety of adhering to it without making exceptions in any case. The fact is that a single dispensation would be equivalent to a total revocation.