156 CORRESPONDENCE. 





PHILADELPHIA, September 5, 1836 



DEAR SIR I have read with great pleasure the letters address- 

 ed to you by a number of our most distinguished scientific and 

 literary characters, on the subject of the intended expedition to the 

 South Seas, which you have had the goodness to communicate to 

 me, and which you intend for publication. It is very patriotic in 

 you, while our government is desirous of obtaining all the informa- 

 tion, and collecting all the lights that they can upon this interest- 

 ing subject, thus to aid in promoting their views, and, what is not 

 less important, to make the people at large fully sensible of the 

 high importance of this measure to the honour, as well as to the 

 advantage, of the United States. Those letters are well calculated 

 to produce that effect, and therefore I cannot but highly approve 

 of their publication. 



The Secretary of the Navy has applied to the American Philo- 

 sophical Society for information and advice on various points con- 

 nected with the intended expedition. The same thing has been 

 done by former administrations on similar occasions, and it is the 

 constant practice of the governments of Europe to avail themselves 

 of the concentrated knowledge of their learned societies. I shall 

 not fail to lay your correspondence before the committee, which 

 our society will appoint to take this matter into consideration, aiid 

 I have no doubt that they will derive much benefit from it, and 

 will be the better able to perform the honourable duty imposed 

 upon them. 



