Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-01-24
THE NATIONAL. EDITION OF THE WI" li''"' VIZ
IEEEEKSlDN.

'''' '' JEEEI;RSON
JrIlersnn WAS unGucsOnaby OF mo greatest "e" VI
hIs an AGO Of Intellectual giants Whatever may DC
thought Of many Of his religious philosophical anu pohch
IDEAS he always in Tho front rank ~ opinion as wc a.
In acIin md he INSERTED and vincHted wht lie 'hohg
with prhnacity and felicity Of style and ioce CT reason
which made him the earies friends and most ihVelerate
enemies Seyem Of his diplomatic letters, anu large par
of his REPORTS messages md o,et State papers, are honrs
of nrn,nd sense and OF coqlcncc combined WIN Henie
osrcss far posahlu removed from The rr'aird Srac
rrialics Of Of his most famous contemporaries mes,
official writings have for The part, been pnOishcd ahu
are easily ACCESSIBLE The may be said Of conrldera
bio number of hs philosophical essays OF his more cnre-
less and nutra but occasionally ar more bnlan piiVht
letters have fonr ample volumes rten una"r 'eAGE
nu ri Mr. Thomas Jefferson Randolph N ISL Dhl fca''
edited by The venerable statesman himself IN me "sl y"a,s
of his long md ilusona lilG lRoy cVhce su' o yum
cs m temnrr such universal hqmisiIiveness quick saghc
" and rGnty resources o knowledge nnh ur ana icy ~
nsrate with and exclusive m authority inc ne ana
no.l,ion of the high sorcy in which he was cci al nome
and one Of the chiefs abroad society which was hssocn
ted by sympathy of feeling and purpose and when 1911 Tue
world an nleitanca of doctrines that has grown WIN cmu
o,iye force 10 meet all eXigencies- that when Con
press ordered now edition Of his works. from inc manu-
scro, purchased of his family there was general sasac-
ton and delightful anticipation among AL SORTS "l posohp'
whoieyer their present affiliations traditional prendces
Hu we regret these feengs arc likely to he ISnP
ponted We have examined the three completed volumes
Of the well printed collection of NJ JfersOns workH pub.
shed under the national patronage OF Mr. John g. tiker o.
this City, mud perceive in them very lille That was MOI
cIudcd in Mr. Jefferson itandophs first three Volumes WINE
it il we'll known that many letters nr the period nero EN-
nced have nready been printed, in one form or another
and from Indications in the published revolutionary CORES
uoncncc that in The period Mr. Jefferson mnat nave
written still larger hummer WHICH hu'c hcFeI "eoi p"o
| al nll
The fnnr volumes given the public by Mr. Randolph EN-
brace but about eight hundred letters though thero were
sod 10 tho Government by Mr. Jeilersons cNGcnnrs tho
enormous number of forty tro thousand letters anu o'cI
documents Or papers, OF which nearly sixteen Thousand
were written and sgnod BY Mr.. Jefferson himself h'e
nrouorn Of these ao doubtless most important tor Inc II
Iusirann of contemporary French aud American biography
and Tho whole Of nm may be presumed Ia deserve eSai
| nit ,u unur
snirit of The are In which they produced lu The pun
icalions which have been inldo OF the correspondence :"
scyora eminent contemporary characters the letters iey re
ceiprG given al full lcngi as well as those ey "o'o
when IN any account such letters appeared 10 be 0l gene
raj interest Nud Importance The letters from other nnus
might he distinguished by helng printed with smanL lype
hui they are frequently Indispensable to just appreciation
of tho Significance of The writings which id tho more I'M
mediate object to display How ceiEnho !! that we should
he placed in possession OF bot' edes OF i 'r'lsiso
csponJencs will be understood by all who consider his Pc
cuar relations tho great intellectual "a we'll rs political
movement, of s tfes; his residence during most momcn
ous poriods different cities which seemed in turn 10 con
ain tho heart of tho world and regulate It's pnlsaIions
AMI that among his intimate friends wero sn oil the
chief historical characters and tho gteal wits then IN INC
world.
Mr. Webster who, while Secretary of State, made par
al examination of these papers OF Mr. Jeorson. was OIL
opinion less than twenty 10 thirty volumes OF them
should be printed besides. understood, such as had
already bDen given 10 tho public. But Judging from Inc
three volumes already executed by tho editor Of this Govern
cnt edition. the nino vnlumcs of which To be composed
sess without Congressional assistance, In MIR. Randoph
edition Of tho correspondence Sparks Diplomatic papcrs
kapo4 and Speeches in Congress, Messages, other oica
iocuuuls Notes on Virginia. and Philosophical Essays
AT the time, the Immense mass OF the Jefferson
manuscripts has been removed from The State Department
and confci without bon schedule 10 the Wiz
pinia Editor of whom know but e except that lc
ycn, paflizan In politics. associnling his prendccs
To ny with all thr affairs und characters OF the age in whic
Jefferson VIVA an actor.
Tho arraneen"n,s entered into by the Congressional
C'mcn I" hnv" bucn i'll considered and inalciou'
II IL perhaps late remedy al their defects
but late tn Insist that Tho work unirriaksn .'h
behnr0ushly accomplished far at least completeness
cnnceci, md thai such measures hG adopted i'll insu
the restoration Of every syllable Of tho manuscripts taEe
from the munnIcnl of The Department. that who
eyor WILL may have il In his power examine into The off
Cnl EDITORS fidelity.
Now that tho has been commenced, the nditiona
expenses ui half dozen volumes SHOULD not be thought oil
comparison with the advantages 10 be derived from
pcle publication of Mr. Jcersons works and of the more i'm
puran, ccrs addressed to him, which, having been omc
from The appropriate places in the volumes already printed
should he issued in many supplementary volumes
bo found necessary contain thcm( Nttc York Times