Your letter of the 31st. Decr. mentioning that one of the manuscript Copies has been delivered to you to [act partially] upon gives me great uneasiness. I am at a loss to account for Mr Marshall's having done so inconsiderate a thing after the letter which I wrote him upon that subject. – I was so particular in my directions to him, as to forbid the delivery of the manuscripts to you even sealed up, unless Mr Morgan consented thereto, & in case of his refusal, I requested him to deposit them so sealed with Mrs. Powel. –

Your two letters under the dates of Dec 22 & Dec. 27, came to hand in course of the mail. I have recently receivd two letters from the Chief Justice, in which he permits me to conclude the first vol, at the end of the 13th Chapter, terminating with the War of 1763, & to carry the Surplus to the 2d vol. He also desires me to strike out two or three long notes, which he designates & requests me to suggest to him such others as I think might be dispensed with. I write to him, next Mail, fully on the subject.

Duly estimating the importance of Mr Weems going off immediately to the Southward, that the opportunity might not be lost of meeting the legislatures of those states in Session, I sent for him to meet me here yesterday. To my request that he would commence his Journey immediately, he replied that he was ready at any moment and only awaited your answer to two propositions – the one, the renewal of his diurnal allowance, & the other, an agreement not to hold him responsible for broken setts.

Your favor of the 16 came to hand this evening as did also one from the Chief Justice covering the title page & preface to the history. I communicate to him by this post your sentiments respecting the proper period at which to close the 1st. vol. and also as to the name of the Author being inserted, upon both which points I entirely concur in opinion with you. I have therefore urged the necessity of adopting them. – But as he has commenced his Journey to Raleigh, my letter must follow him there, & of course I cannot expect his answer in less than 8 or 10 days.

I recd your letter, and have been disappointed in not seeing you here agreeable to your promise. I am glad that you have determined to give your undivided attention to Mr Wayne's business, & he will no doubt make the allowance of a dollar per day as before agreed upon, in case he feels satisfied of your prompt attention to the obtaining subscriptions – Certainly no time is now to be lost as the first vol. will soon be in the press. – I hope you will set out immediately to the Southward where you will have fine winter quarters & cannot fail of success in your undertaking.

Your letter of the inst came to hand in course of the mail, but as I had to write to Mr Marshall & to await his answer, I have not been able sooner to acknowledge it. – The complaints which you mention on account of the delay in the publication, give me great pain, particularly as it is unavoidable, and were the subscribers still more clamorous than they are, the work could not go on faster. If they had any conception of the labour & time required to examine many trunks of papers, they might perhaps be more considerate, tho' of this I should doubt.

Enclosed you will find the original letter written by the General. Mr. Hamilton, editor of the Lancaster Journal, informs me in his letter to me says, – "It was found among the papers of the late Dr. Smith of your City, and was handed to me by his son Charles Smith Esq" Mr. H. has not informed me to whom it was written, nor can it be discovered by the letter itself, but it may be fairly presumed it was addressed, under cover, to the late Rev. Dr. — I hope it may be useful. — 

I have the satisfaction to acknowledge the Rect. of your esteemed favour of the 24th. I regret to learn I sincerely & learn with regret the loss you & Mrs. Washington have Sustained by the demise of the worthy Col. Blackburn. – The moment I recd. your letter I addressed a letter to the Editor of the Lancasr. Journal. – I assure you that all the Seaport towns from Norfolk in Va to Portland in Maine have been visited by active agents beside most of the large inland towns; Mr.

Mr. Marshall requests that you will endeavour to procure for him from the editor of the Lancaster Journal or of the federal paper in that place the original letter from Genl Washington, which he has published.

Your letter of the 3d. inst. I have received, and hope that my acknowledgment of one or both of your former letters has reached you before this. If I have not been as punctual in answering letters for a month past as usual, the painful sickness & death of Major Blackburn to whom my whole time was devoted must be my apology.

The first vol. will be copied this month & if it were not necessary to take another copy for Mr Morgan it would be immediately sent on. I expect however that the delay from this circumstance will not be considerable. I shall write Mr Marshall upon the subject & will let you know when you may expect it. The 2d vol. Mr M. will bring with him to Washington in February.