Lee Letter: n514




<br /> Lee Letter: n514

Washington and Lee University

Sender: James Lovell
Recipient: Richard Henry Lee

Augst 28th [1779]

Dear Sir

Very ill, probably with a settled fever, I must be short. Mr. Bennit, on
the 27th, delivered to me all the Papers you
specified.1 I send you what letters I have
by me that I think you want. If you find them unnecessary you may spare
the duplicates.

You have a Copy [of] Arthur’s Letter of Feb. 10th to the President with all
the Vouchers. So that much trouble will be saved.

By your sending me Feb. 25th to the Chairmn of the Contee & without
calling off the last leaf I imagine you meant to have it presented in
that form. I had thought otherwise, on seeing that you was to do as you
pleased; and I had struck out the word motley as it admitted of two
references, when your Brother intended one
only.2

There are remarks upon the Correspondence between the Doctr. & He
relative to Papers.3 I do not know but they
are also to yr. Discretion but as they have appeared in the Congress
Room I shall let them be read, so that I may probably add the last
Sheet above hinted at, when there shall be Time, but a special order
this day prevented.4

A Letter of Apr 27 to the Chairman in answer to the 2d. Paper of Deanes
sent by the Marqs. is recd. and has been
offered.5 There is but little news. I send
you an extract prepared on purpose for you. I wish I may come at the
double of it, as it would do better to lend to such men as J B Smith
than the more lengthy performance.

Read dated6
Mar 4 Decr 3 J Adams
5 8 do
July 23. BF & JA
May 10 Sepr 22. BF. AL & JA.
July 14 Mar. 4 —79 R. Izard.
15 Oct 5/8
Nov. 18
Decr. 5
Jan 5 —79 A Lee
15
20
Mar 47
Apr 6
27 Jan 28 R Izard
Aug 17 May 26 BF.
19 Sepr. 12 —78 Wm. Lee (12, 20 & Octr. 15 were

read Feb. 22)8
20 Feb 13 —79
Aug 3 J Adams
4
Aug 23 May 21 A Lee
On hand Feb 25 W Lee
Mar 25 W Lee
Apr. 26 A Lee
Feb. 25 A Lee to Chairman
Apr. 27. A Lee to do
Remarks on the following Z
Letters between A.L. & B.F. Z
Vouchers No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Apr. 23d AL’s memorial respecting the Accounts of Mr. Williams

and the history of Doctr F’s Conduct connected

with his Patronage of W – – in
particular9
My Pen, I can hold no longer, affectionately

JL

Augst. 28th. I have pd. the Bearer in full 879-1/3 dollrs. It was yr.
Brothers intent that a Post conveyance shd. be used. We shd. have had
them sooner, without Expence. The post I esteem safe now.

Notes:

Receiver’s copy, Lee Family Papers, University of Virginia Archives.

1 Lee had forwarded by William Bennet several documents brought to the United
States by Arthur Lee’s secretary, Hezekiah Ford. Lee, Letters
(Ballagh), 2:116 – 17.

2 In his February 25, 1779, letter to the Committee for Foreign Affairs,
Arthur Lee had written: “There were no books of accounts – nothing but
a confused mass of motley refuse papers, without order, reference, or
effect.” Wharton, Diplomatic Correspondence, 3:64

3 This was the unsigned letter read in Congress on September 2 that Lovell
described in his September 17 letter to Arthur Lee. JCC, 15:1016.
Benjamin Franklin’s and

Arthur Lee’s letters “relative to Papers” of the commissioners are in
Wharton, Diplomatic Correspondence, 3:51 – 52, 54, 76 – 78, 89 – 90, 102.

4 This day, “According to order, Congress took into consideration the report
of the committee relative to finance.” JCC, 14:1005.

5 Arthur Lee’s April 27,1779, letter concerning the contract with the French
Farmers General is in PCC, item 83, 2:537 – 44.

6 The letters listed here by Lovell, except as noted, are in PCC.

7 This may be the letter “without date” from Arthur Lee recorded in the
journals on July 15, but no March 4, 1779, letter of Arthur is in the
PCC. JCC, 14:836.

8 Charles Thomson’s rough-draft journal records that letters from William Lee
of September 12 and 21 and October 15, 1778, were read on February
22, 1779. PCC, item 1,20:264. No William Lee letter of September 20
or 21,1778, has been found in PCC.

9 Arthur Lee’s April 23, 1779, “memorial” is not in PCC, but it was printed
as Observations on Certain Commercial Transactions in France Laid
before Congress (Philadelphia: Printed by F. Bailey in Market-Street,
1780). Evans, Am. Bibliography, no. 16,819.