J JOURNAL FEDERAL OF THE CONVENTION REPRINTED KEPT BY JAMES MADISON UNIV. OF MICH HERICAN HISTORY. ccession. 269 FROM THE EDITION OF 1840, WHICH WAS PUBLISHED UNDER DIRECTION OF THE EDITED BY E. H. SCOTT SPECIAL EDITION CHICAGO: SCOTT, FORESMAN AND CO. 1898. PREFACE. On the 15th November, 1836, Mrs. MADISON addressed the following letter to the President of the United States: "MONTPELIER, November 15, 1836. "Sir: The will of my late husband, JAMES MADISON, contains the following provision: "Considering the peculiarity and magnitude of the occasion which produced the Convention at Philadelphia, in 1787, the characters who composed it, the Constitution which resulted from their deliberations, its effects during a trial of so many years on the prosperity of the people living under it, and the interest it has inspired among the friends of free government, it is not an unreasonable inference that a careful and extended report of the proceedings and discussions of that body, which were with closed doors, by a member who was constant in his attendance, will be particularly gratifying to the people of the United States, and to all who take an interest in the progress of political science and the cause of true liberty. "This provision bears evidence of the value he set on his Report of the Debates in the Convention, and he has charged legacies on them alone to the amount of twelve hundred dollars for the benefit of literary institutions and for benevolent purposes, leaving the residuary net proceeds for the use of his widow." The President's message in relation to the purchase of the MADISON PAPERS contains the following: "Con |