# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 1/Letters Addressed to the Publishers

LETTERS
ADDRESSED TO THE PUBLISHERS.
Letter from the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts.
"Boston, 25 November, 1845.
"Gentlemen:
"I take pleasure in putting on paper, agreeably to your request, the favorable opinions I have already expressed, in relation to your new edition of the Laws of the United States.
"The mere fact, that your edition has been freshly and carefully compared with the originals in the Department of State, would seem a sufficient commendation of it to all who appreciate the importance of an accurate text to the just understanding of the statutes. This comparison, I learn, has not been instituted in the preparation of previous editions of the laws, (except that of Bioren and Duane,) and has resulted, in the present instance, in the discovery and correction of numerous errors.
"But your edition promises to be as comprehensive and complete as it is accurate. It embraces all the laws which have been enacted since the foundation of our government, Private as well as Public, District as well as National, the obsolete and repealed as well as those now in force. It includes, also, all our Treaties with foreign governments and with the Indian tribes. And you have furnished it, still further, with copious references to the Decisions of the Federal Courts, and with an ample and elaborate Index. There would thus seem nothing left to be desired for the completeness of our National Code.
"I say nothing of the typographical execution of the volumes, or of the moderate price at which you propose to supply them. These matters will speak for themselves, and will combine with the other considerations which I have suggested in securing for your work the patronage it deserves. It will afford additional satisfaction to purchasers, to know that you intend to publish an annual supplement, containing the laws which may be passed by Congress from year to year, and conforming in all respects to the body of the work.
"Wishing you all success in your undertaking, "I am, "Very respectfully, "Your obedient servant, "ROBERT C. WINTHROP.
"Messrs. Little and Brown."
Letter from the Hon. Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts.
"Boston, 1 December, 1845.
"Gentlemen:
"I have examined, with some attention, the first three volumes of your new edition of the Laws and Treaties of the United States. Judging from so ample a specimen of the whole work, I can have no doubt that it will be at once, and universally, and permanently, approved by the profession of law, and the country, and answer all the expectations which induced Congress to encourage and adopt it in advance. Completed as it is begun, it will contain the entire series of General and Private Laws and Resolves, obsolete or in force, chronologically arranged; all Treaties with foreign nations or Indian tribes, in the same arrangement; the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution; references, in proper places, to the decisions of all the Federal Courts applicable to any law, resolve, or treaty; and references, also, in proper places, to other laws, resolves, or treaties, upon the same subjects with those in the text. The whole succession of laws is most conveniently distributed into statutes and chapters, with a running title at the head of each page, expressing the session of Congress, and the date and chapter of each law or resolve which is contained on the page, with a full alphabetical verbal general Index of matters, and a separate Index to each volume.
"It adds, I think, greatly to the value of this edition, that you have caused every law, resolve, and treaty, to be carefully collated with the originals in the Department of State. It is thus rendered, in the most absolute sense, a standard and authoritative work; and, published as it is under the sanction of Congress, and in obedience to a general professional and public demand, it cannot fail to supersede all other editions.
"I am, "Your obedient servant, "RUFUS CHOATE.
"Messrs. Little and Brown."