<​No. 1​>

:— your reply to my letter of last November, concerning your rule of action towards the , if elected president, is at hand; and, that you and your friends of the same opinion, relative to the matter in question, may not be disappointed as to me, or my mind, upon so grave a subject, permit me, as a law abiding man; as a well wisher to the perpetuity of constitutional rights and liberty, and as a friend to <​the​> free worship of Almighty God, by all, according to the dictates of every person’s conscience, to say I am surprized, that a man, or men, in the highest station of public life, should have made up such a fragile <​“view”​> of a case, than which there is not one on the face of the globe fraught with with so much consequence to the happiness of men in this world or the world to come. To be sure this <​the​> first sentence <​paragraph​> of your letter appears very complacent, and fair on a white sheet of paper, and who, that is ambitious for greatness and power, would not have said the same thing? Your oath would bind you <​to​> support the constitution and laws, and as all creeds and religions are alike tolerated, they must, of course, all be Justified or condemned, according to merit and demerit— but why, tell me why, are all the principle men, held up for public stations, so cautiously careful <​not​> to <​not​> publish to the world, that [p. [1]]