Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-04-17

editor in emitting the particular passage remarked
Lord Mahon!
To decide what papers should be selected in preferenc
to others where nearly all of them in certain de
gree important and valuable felt to be responsible
delicate and difficult task, requiring diseriminatin
Judgment and perfect impartality in estimating thei
contents Moreover, it precisely of those case
in which any two minds, acting under different impress
sons though aiming at the same end would BE- likely
often to differ Under these circumstances the cours.
taken which believed to be the best suited
guard against erroneous decisions and estimates The
whole collection of papers including as well the letters
written by Washington as those received by him, frs
perused deliberately and with careful attention This
was the labor of nearly year. The letters chosen dur
ing this persal transcribed and they formed
much too large for the intended work This was
several times revised and reduced to smaller COM
pass with reference the for the
purpose of comparison and Of substituting other letters
which, upon further examination, might to have
higher claims either as preserving more connected
ries Of historical events showing in stronger light
the opinions intellectual traits and personal character
stcs of the author In this way the selection for the
whole work made and whatever faults OF judgment
may appear to the choice leternstead Of another
truly affirm that the task was not performed with
negligence haste without due consideration OF every
it The selection reduced by M. Guizot
to six volumes in the French edition. Won Raumer
prised the German edition in two volumes and London
editor thought the number sufficient for the British
public
The proprety Of emitting parts Of letters and retain
ing other parts may perhaps at first view be thought
ters, treating upon totally distinct and unconneced
pics In reality the same many distinct letters
it is obvious that to omit such parts differs in respect
from emitting separate letters Moreover if entre1st
tiers had IN every instance been printed, it would have
been necessary to leave out of the work much that was
valuable and important which is included, and FREE
quenty to repeat the same matter and sometimes in the
same language.
In the correspondence during the Revolution 1t often
happened that several letters written nearly at the
time to different persons the President Of Congress-
the Governors of States officers of the army other
official characters which only the facts
communicated and the topics discussed but whole
paragraphs almost literally transcribed from one let
ter into others These reptons grew out OF the nature
of the business in hand and could not have been avoided
without unnecessary crcumocuons and strained attempts
to seek variety of language for expressing the same ideas
As to letters of this description it the practice print
some of them entire, and to select from the others
such parts free from repettions But in al omis
sons whether for these Others whether short
long, special taken not to break off in the
midst of topic train Of thought and not by my alb
rupt transition to weaken obscure the sense OF the
author.
BY these principles and rules guided in seecting
the papers for the press That the work is faultess in
this part of its execution in any other, cannd sup
pose, being fully of the innumerable chaces OF
error in every undertaking extensive and conpex
Letters may possibly have been omitted through over
sight mistake of judgment, by accident which
might be advantageousy substituted for of Dse
tanned 1t would be strange if it were not so. But it
was never imagined that letter would be lost to the
world because it not comprised in this selection
was presumed that such of the large of papers still
as have any interest for the public wuld be
brought out at future time. BY the contract be-
tween Judge Washington and Chief Justice Marshall on
the part and myself the other, the copyright of
the work belonged, in equal shares them andto
and the rights thus secured to them hedby their
heirs. The Washington manuscripts purchased by
Congress- several years after this contract mde and
with full understanding of its terms and conditions.
All the papers covered by this copyright free to
Government
The condition in which many of washingtons letters
we're left in regard to the tr will be considered in an
other letter. JARED SPARKS.
LETTER H.
In this letter it is proposed to speak further OF the tr
Of "Washngtons Writings found in his letter books
and in the originals his correspondents The fol-
lowing extract from the PREFACE to the work bears d.
rectly on this points
In regard eex ALSO it proper here repeat what
has been said in another place that frequent
have occurred II Waingtons custom in all his letters
of Importance rstto write draughs which he transcribed
In making the transcripts he sometimes deviaed from the
draughts omn inserting and altering parts of sentences
did he always the draughs make them
cord with the letters his correspondents These i'm
perfect draug were laid aside and from time to time copied
by amanuens into the eer-books. Hence the raughts
recorded do not in all agree precisely with the
originals that sent away My researches have brought
under my inspection many Of these original Regarding
them containing the genuine text have preferred to
that in the and has accordingly been adopted
Wherever II could be done.
But the discrepancies of little moment relating to the
style and to the substance For the part have been
obliged rely the and for the here
mentioned il Is probable that the printed may not in
particular be the in the is the
eced copies which sent his correspondents These
marks apply chiefly letters written when Washington
Mount Vernon and those written during the French
In the periods of the Revolution and the Presidency
much exactness observed and far obser
walton has extended there generally literal accordance
between the original letters and the transcripts in the letter.
books"
These remarks intended distinctly explain the
actual state of the and the endorsements attend
ing it, with the view both Of conveying proper informa
ton to the public and Of removing every ground Of sus
picion and Misrepresentation in regard to the manner in
which these embarrassments met by the editor.
AS an illustration Of the above statement and as an
evidence OF the facility with which hasty criticism may
deceive itself and to false conclusions may
TO prominent passage selected by the writer in the Even
ing Post in support of his charge Of alteration and per-
version Of the text He quotes the following extract
from of Washingtons letters as printed in the Life
Of Joseph Reed dated December 18th, 1878:
"What did could prompt the knight Sr Henry Cnton)
this expedition beyond the reach Of my conception
sdeng the unseasonabeness Of It. Three things only APP
peared to me probable Of the Convention troops
stroke at the rear OF surprise Of the posts In the
Highlands The two first had perfectly out Of his reach
miss much in point of intelligence mistime
egregousy m either Of the other his object fol-
lowed Of consequence that the last be his and
though had left him, thought in state security and
in the hands Of good officer McDougal could help be-
ing uneasy lest disaster might bdH them posted back
from Ezabethtown the morning Of the 5h and within
twelve fifteen miles Of Kings Ferry, when by
express informing that the had landed at that place.
fire 70 small lloyd houe destroyed nine barrels Of spoiled
herrings, and had set soil for New York"
Al =