TH. JEFFERSON.
APRIL 8, 1808.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
Agreeably to the request of the Senate in their resolution of yesterday,
I have examined my papers and find no letter from Matthew Nimmo of
the date of November 28, 1806, nor any other from him of any date but
that of January 23, 1807, now transmitted, with all the papers in my
possession which accompanied it. Nor do I find any letter from John
Smith, of Ohio, bearing date at any time in the month of January, 1807.
Having delivered to the Attorney-General all the papers respecting the
conspiracy of Aaron Burr which came to my hands during or before his
prosecution, I might suppose the letters above requested had been
delivered to him; but I must add my belief that I never received such
letters, and the ground of it. I am in the habit of noting daily in the
list kept for that purpose the letters I receive daily by the names of
the writers, and dates of time, and place, and this has been done with
such exactness that I do not recollect ever to have detected a single
omission. I have carefully examined that list from the 1st of November,
1806, to the last of June, 1807, and I find no note within that
period of the receipt of any letter from Matthew Nimmo but that now
transmitted, nor of any one of the date of January, 1807, from John
Smith, of Ohio. The letters noted as received from him within that
period are dated at Washington, February 2, 2, 7, and 21, which I have
examined, and find relating to subjects entirely foreign to the objects
of the resolution of the 7th instant; and others, dated at Cincinnati,
March 27, April 6, 13, and 17, which, not being now in my possession,
I presume have related to Burr's conspiracy, and have been delivered to
the Attorney-General.
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