TO GOVERNOR MONROE.

Washington, July 17, 1802.

Dear Sir,

After writing you on the 15th, I turned to my letter-file to see what letters I had written to Callender, and found them to have been of the dates of 1798, October the 11th, and 1799, September the 6th, and October the 6th; but on looking for the letters they were not in their places, nor to be found.  On recollection, I believe I sent them to you a year or two ago.  If you have them, I shall be glad to receive them at Monticello, where I shall be on this day se’nnight.  I enclose you a paper, which shows the tories mean to pervert these charities to Callender as much as they can.  They will probably first represent me as the patron and support of the ‘Prospect before Us,’ and other things of Callender’s, and then picking out all the scurrilities of the author against General Washington, Mr. Adams, and others, impute them to me.  I, as well as most other republicans who were in the way of doing it, contributed what I could afford to the support of the republican papers and printers, paid sums of money for the ‘Bee,’ the ‘Albany Register,’ &c. when they were staggering under the sedition-law, contributed to the fines of Callender himself, of Holt, Brown, and others, suffering under that law.  I discharged, when I came into office, such as were under the persecution of our enemies, without instituting any prosecutions in retaliation.  They may, therefore, with the same justice, impute to me, or to every republican contributor, every thing which was ever published in those papers or by those persons.  I must correct a fact in mine of the 15th.  I find I did not enclose the fifty dollars to Callender himself while at General Mason’s, but authorized the General to draw on my correspondent at Richmond, and to give the money to Callender.  So the other fifty dollars of which he speaks, were by order on my correspondent at Richmond.

Accept assurances of my affectionate esteem and respect.

Th:  Jefferson.

LETTER CCXCIX.—­TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON, October 10, 1802

TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

Washington, October 10, 1802.

Dear Sir,

The departure of Madame Brugnard for France furnishes me a safe conveyance of a letter, which I cannot avoid embracing, although I have nothing particular for the subject of it.  It is well, however, to be able to inform you, generally, through a safe channel, that we stand completely corrected of the error, that either the government or the nation of France has any remains of friendship for us.  The portion of that country which forms an exception, though respectable in weight, is weak in numbers.  On the contrary, it appears evident, that an unfriendly-spirit prevails in the most important individuals of the government, towards us.  In this state of things, we shall so take our distance between the two rival nations,