# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 1/Extracts from Letters Addressed to the Editor

EXTRACTS
from
LETTERS ADDRESSED TO THE EDITOR.
Letter from Mr. Justice Story, of the Supreme Court of the United States.
"Washington, January 29, 1844.
"Dear Sir: I wrote you a considerable time ago my views as to the plan upon which an edition of the Laws of the United States, to be worthy of the nation, should be executed. I have since read your printed programme; and I perceive that you have adopted in it all the suggestions which I ventured to make. If an edition such as you propose should be published, it would, in my judgment, supersede all others, and be of great permanent benefit, not only to the profession, but to Congress and to the whole country. Indeed, I cannot but consider it as of such vital importance as to be, in a just sense, of urgent necessity. The editions now in use and circulation are, either from defect of plan or execution, or the constant accumulation of new laws, inadequate to the public wants.
"I earnestly hope that Congress may by its patronage enable the enterprising booksellers, with the aid of your known abilities, to accomplish this most desirable undertaking, and thus present our statutes at large in a form which shall be worthy of our national character."
Extracts from letters from Mr. Chief Justice Taney, dated January 21 and 24, 1844.
"The publication of the Laws of the United States upon the plan proposed is certainly very desirable, and will be of great public value. Can you afford to undertake it without the patronage of the General Government? Upon that subject you can judge better than I can. The publication you propose seems to me to be peculiarly entitled to the support of Congress. At all events, however, I hope you will find encouragement enough to induce you to go on with your plan."
"As you will have seen from my former letter, I had hardly any thing to offer, more than to express my conviction of the value and importance of the work, and my confidence in any plan proposed by Judge Story, whose long experience in matters of that kind has given him the best opportunities of forming a correct judgment."
Letter from the Hon. Judge McKinley, Supreme Court.
"Washington, January 17, 1844.
"Dear Sir: The edition of the Statute Laws of the United States which you propose to publish will, in my opinion, be very useful to the profession and to the country generally; and the plan you have adopted will enable the reader to ascertain, with very little labour, what the statute law is, although there may be several statutes on the same subject passed at different and distant periods of time. Such a work is greatly needed at present, and I hope, sir, your success will be such as the enterprise deserves."
Letter from Chancellor Kent.
New York, November 30, 1843.
Letter from the Hon. John Nelson, Attorney General of the United States.
Washington, November 22, 1843.
My Dear Sir: My absence will plead my apology for this delay in expressing to you my cordial approbation of your plan for the publication of the Laws of the United States. I have no suggestions to add to those furnished by Mr. Justice Story.
"Of the importance of the proposed work, all who have occasion to consult the public laws must be aware; of its necessity, those who are charged with the performance of public duties are daily made conscious; and I regard it as matter of just congratulation, that it is to be undertaken by one upon whose professional intelligence and enlarged experience the public may so confidently rely."
Letter from the Hon. Martin Van Buren.
Lindenwald, December 16, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I have, at your request, examined the plan of your proposed edition of the Laws of the United States, and think it a very excellent one.
"Sincerely wishing you success in your undertaking, I am," &c.
Letter from the Hon. A. Ware, District Judge of Maine.
"Portland, December 12, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I am glad to learn from you that you propose to publish a new edition of the Statutes of the United States at large. It has now become difficult to obtain a complete copy of all the laws passed from the commencement of the Government; and although Story’s edition of the laws, now in common use, is the most convenient for ordinary purposes, yet it is sometimes necessary to recur to obsolete laws, not included in that edition. It is very important that the whole series of laws, from the commencement of the government, shall be preserved in a permanent form. You propose to give a complete edition, with references to the jurisprudence of the courts, which will add much to its value. It is an enterprise well worthy of the patronage of the public, and especially of the government."
Letter from the Hon. Judge McLean, Supreme Court United States.
Washington, January 20, 1844
"Dear Sir: I have read your proposals to publish 'the Statutes of the United States at large' with much interest. The arrangement, I think, is excellent, and the annexation of notes at the foot of each page, showing the construction of the statutes by the federal courts, will add much to the value of the work. This enterprise will be attended with great expense; but the great ability of the work, and an increasing demand for it, will, I trust, in a short time reimburse your expenditures. The work, as you well remark, will be national, and I hope it will receive, as it well deserves, the patronage of the legal profession and of the constituted authorities of the country."
Letter from the Hon. William Crawford, District Judge of the United States for the District of Alabama.
Mobile, January 4, 1844.
"Dear Sir: I have examined your plan for the publication of 'the Statutes of the United States at large' and am satisfied that the plan is judicious, and that the work is much needed. The chronological order in which the laws will be arranged, and your foot and marginal notes, will enable any person desirous to know what the law is at the present day readily to obtain that information.
"The work, in my opinion, merits the patronage of the public; and, as it will be a highly useful work, I cannot doubt that it will be liberally afforded."
Letter from the Hon. Judge Sprague, District Judge of Massachusetts.
Boston, December 4, 1843.
"My Dear Sir: I have examined your plan for an edition of the Statutes of the United States at large, and it meets my cordial approbation.
Letter from the Hon. Henry Clay.
"Ashland, December 4, 1843.
"My Dear Sir: I have received your favour, transmitting to me a programme of a complete edition of the laws of the United States, which you propose to collect and publish, and to stereotype. I believe the wants of the community, of the courts, and of the bar, require such a work; and the plan of executing it which you propose can have no higher recommendation than that which Judge Story has given it. I would add my individual wish that your index may be as full and perfect as that which is contained in the judge’s edition of the Statutes."
Letter from the Hon. John Kennedy, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
"Philadelphia, December 14, 1843.
"Dear Sir: Having looked over your prospectus of a publication of the Statutes of the United States at large, I feel myself bound to say that the plan, as it strikes me, is admirably well adapted to meet every reasonable wish that either individuals or the public could have on the subject. I cannot but express my full and entire approbation of it; and permit me also to add, that I have the most full and entire confidence that the execution of the work in your hands will be at least equal to all that is promised. It is certainly a work of considerable magnitude, and will be attended with a vast expense as well as labour on your part; and as the advantage to be derived from it will be immensely important and valuable, I therefore hope that you will not only be indemnified, but liberally rewarded by the patronage of a generous public."
Letter from the Hon. Thomas Sergeant, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
"Philadelphia, December 7, 1843.
"Dear Sir: The plan of publishing the Statutes of the United States, contained in the proposals enclosed in your letter, I should think the best that can be suggested for such a work, considering it in reference either to present use or permanent preservation; and I do not doubt but that your well known professional talents and long experience in judicial publications will ensure to it that accuracy in editing and excellence in printing which a work of this character requires."
Letter from the Hon. Molton C. Rogers, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
"Dear Sir: I am pleased to learn that you propose to publish an edition of the Laws of the United States, on a plan which cannot fail to be useful. I have read your prospectus with attention, and if carried out as you design, and of that I can entertain no doubt, it will meet the patronage of the profession and of Congress, who will lend their efficient aid and countenance to a work which will most materially contribute to a knowledge of the laws of the Union, so indispensable to the citizens of the United States."
Letter from the Hon. Samuel R. Betts, District Judge of the Eastern District of New York.
"New York, December 5, 1843.
"I think a reprint of the statutes in full decidedly to be preferred to any other mode of publication. Abridgments, or mere indexes, are convenient for hasty consultation, but the entire act must be examined before its spirit or parts can be justly appreciated.
"The arrangement of the acts, with a view to present in connection those relating to the same subjects, has advantages; yet, in investigating a point, the apprehension that something has been omitted will necessarily lead to searches through the entire series of legislation, notwithstanding such juxtaposition of particular statutes, by a compiler or editor of the highest learning and reputation.
"I am persuaded it is the safest and more satisfactory course to publish the laws in the order of their passage. That is not unfrequently an essential element to their proper interpretation. Until they are codified or remodelled by the legislature, I believe they can be furnished in no form so useful as in the order of their enactment."
Letter from the Hon. Matthew Harvey, District Judge of the United States for New Hampshire.
"Hopkinton, December 16, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I have examined a prospectus of an edition of the Laws of the United States, which you propose to publish, and I think it must meet the entire approbation of every one who feels the least interest in a work of this kind. The labour which would be saved by it to all executive and judicial officers, as well as to gentlemen of the legal profession, and members of Congress, is beyond calculation.
"There are few persons, I imagine, whose duty has required them to make frequent references to the Laws of the United States, who have not been embarrassed and confused, if not sometimes perplexed, from causes which would be entirely removed by this work.
"No one, who will compare for a moment the vast superiority of this over any arrangement or edition of the laws we have ever had, can doubt its necessity, its value, and great public importance.
"In my estimation, the work has a claim upon all patronage, both public and private. It should become a national work."
Letter from the Hon. Samson Mason, of Ohio.
"Springfield, December 12, 1843.
"My Dear Sir: I have examined the plan on which you propose to publish the Statutes of the United States at large; and if executed, as I doubt not it will be, in conformity with the principles you have laid down, the work could not fail to be eminently useful, and greatly superior, in my judgment, to any of the kind heretofore attempted. It would well deserve, as I hope it would receive, the patronage of both government and people. The want of such a work is, I am sure, extensively felt."
Letter from David B. Ogden, Esq., New York.
"New York, December 1, 1843.
"My Dear Sir: I have received your letter of the 27th of November, enclosing your prospectus for the publication of an edition of the Statutes of the United States. I have no hesitation in saying, that in my opinion the publication of the statutes upon the plan proposed by you will be one of great use to gentlemen of the bar, upon investigations into the laws of the United States, which must be much facilitated by it."
Letter from the Hon. A. Conkling, District Judge of the United States for the Western District of New York.
"Melrose, near Auburn, December 6, 1843.
"Sir: Your letter, enclosing your prospectus of an edition of the Laws of the United States, was received two days ago. The plan of the proposed work, as stated in the prospectus, appears to me excellent; and I have no doubt that the work, if well executed and correctly printed, will be highly useful."
Letter from the Hon. John M. Clayton, of Delaware.
"Newcastle, December 5, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I have read with great pleasure your proposal to publish an edition of the Statutes at large of the United States. This is, indeed, a desideratum. Every public man now feels the want of such a work. The plan is excellent, and the undertaking richly merits national patronage."
Letter from the Hon. J. L. Pettigru, of South Carolina.
"MILLEDGEVILLE, December 9, 1843.
"Dear Sir: Your favour of 27th of November has been forwarded to me at this place.
"It gives me pleasure to see that you propose to publish a new edition of the Statutes of the United States. Such a work is called for by the accumulation of new enactments since the last edition was put out, under the auspices of Judge Story; and the improvements which you propose upon the plan of former editions will give to a new edition great additional value.
Letter from Henry D. Gilpin, Esq., of Pennsylvania, late Attorney General.
"Philadelphia, December 6, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I have read your plan for publishing the Statutes of the United States at large. I am extremely glad that you have undertaken this most useful and necessary work. No person who has had frequent occasion to examine and compare the various enactments of Congress will hesitate to say that such a publication has become indispensable. The plan you have selected seems to me to be such as will give the work very great value, both for authority and reference."
Letter from B. F. Butler, Esq., late Attorney General.
"New York, January 5, 1844.
"Dear Sir: I thank you for your prospectus of your proposed edition of the Statutes of the United States at large. Such a work is much needed by all judicial and other officers connected with the Federal Government, by many of the functionaries under the State Governments, and by the legal profession generally. Your plan appears to me to contain all the requisites of such a publication, and, if executed in the manner and published in the form proposed, will deserve, and I trust receive, the patronage of the government as well as of the public."
Letter from Judges Pettit and Jones, Judges of the District Court of Philadelphia County.
"Philadelphia, December 8, 1843.
"Dear Sir: We have read the prospectus of your permanent and complete edition of the Laws of the United States. The plan seems to be well conceived and judiciously marked out, and, if successfully executed, cannot fail to produce a most valuable edition of our national statutes at large, arranged chronologically.
"The foot notes and marginal references, with a view to accurate historical search concerning the legislation of Congress, constitute an important feature of the design, and will require industry, and tact, and experience, which we know you to possess."
Letter from William M. Meredith, Esq., of Philadelphia.
"Philadelphia, December 18, 1843.
"My Dear Sir: I have read the prospectus of the Statutes of the United States at large, which you were good enough to send me, and am glad to find you have undertaken a work, which, edited with your acknowledged ability, must be highly useful. The best existing editions of the acts of Congress are on plans the defects of which are very obvious, and will be fully supplied in your publication."
Letter from William B. Reed, Esq., of Philadelphia.
"Philadelphia, December 11, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I thank you for the prospectus of the Statutes at large. It seems to me that such an undertaking will command not only the professional approbation which you desire, but, what is at least of equal value, that of the student of the political and social history of the country. The legislation of Congress, whether it be obsolete or temporary in its character, or even expressly abrogated, is an important part of the history of the country."
Letter from Daniel Lord, Jr., Esq., New York.
'New York, November 30, 1843.
"Dear Sir: I have your prospectus of an edition of the Laws. I know of no work more called for. Judge Story’s edition of the Laws is now the only one accessible to the profession, and may perhaps suffice for the text of public acts. But, in the matter of the private acts, no access can be had except to the originally published acts, which are not to be found except as rarities. The courts, too, in their reference to the citation of the United States laws, sometimes refer to the act by its date and title, and sometimes to the session pamphlet, sometimes to volumes accidentally bound up, and sometimes to Judge Story’s. The citations by counsel are equally various, and great difficulty and confusion result.
"The annotations, giving a history of the laws, and a series of the adjudications upon them, seem to me a matter of so great convenience as almost to amount to a necessity.
Letter from Henry M. Watts, Esq., District Attorney of the United States.
"Philadelphia, December 8, 1843.
My Dear Sir: I have examined carefully the prospectus of the work you propose to publish, and am happy to find there is some one of sufficient capacity to undertake so useful and herculean a task.
"A complete edition of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of the United States, and the Statutes of the United States, since the organization of the government, in the style, mode, and with the notes and appendix you contemplate, will undoubtedly be a most valuable acquisition, not only to Congress, the public officers, the judiciary, and the bar, but to the whole community."
Letter from Thomas Ewing, Esq., of Ohio.
"Washington, January 27, 1844.
Dear Sir: I have examined your prospectus for the publication of the Laws of the United States, with notes and references, and approve of your plan entirely.
"Such a publication is much needed by the legal profession, and I am satisfied that you will execute it with care and fidelity."
Letter from the Hon. Joseph L. Tillinghast, of Rhode Island.
My Dear Sir: I had the pleasure, this morning, to receive your letter, with a prospectus of your intended publication of an edition of the Laws of the United States.
"Such a work must prove highly acceptable, not only to the National and State Legislatures, the tribunals of justice, and the profession, but to the great numbers of the community who have occasion at times to look at the laws of the Union, and who are now obliged to expend much time and toil in looking for them.
"There are by no means a sufficient number of copies in the Library of Congress for the accommodation of the members.
"The subject of a new edition was before the Joint Library Committee of Congress at several times and on several suggestions, while I had the honour of being a member of the committee. All concurred in the necessity of the work; but differences of opinion existed as to the plan, and as to the auspices or direction under which it should be accomplished.
"I have looked carefully at the plan detailed in your prospectus; and as to all that relates to the matter to be comprised, and the arrangement and designation of that matter, I do not believe a better could be adopted."
Letter from the Hon. Isaac H. Bronson, Judge of the Supreme Court of Florida.
"Newnansville, East Florida, December 20, 1843.
My Dear Sir: I have examined your notice or plan of this new work with much satisfaction. Such a work is much needed, and I think cannot fail to meet with the ready approbation of the bench and the bar throughout the country, as well as all public men or officers in any way connected with the execution or administration of the laws of the United States.
"The plan of the work seems to be calculated to render it very perfect."
Letter from the Hon. Andrew T. Judson, District Judge of Connecticut.
Canterbury, Connecticut, March 4, 1844.
"I have received and examined with care your prospectus of a work entitled 'the Statutes of the United States at large,' and permit me to say, that a work of that description is very much needed. If executed in the manner you propose, a great favour will be conferred on the public, and I have no doubt it will be universally acknowledged. Its convenience and benefit will be incalculable to the profession.
"I hope you will not only be encouraged to progress with the work, but find from all quarters an ample reward."
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