on the score of conducting the business here has been subsiding for some one or two months, indeed the People dates the change from the Promulgation of the existing treaty, and I assure you, I have never heard more honorable recantations made by any People, nor greater Professions of Political friendship than is making by all that I have heard speak of the subject. I have not heard any thing said about Humphries, except what I wrote you from Sparta, tho I use it as hearsay proof on all occations, and realy it offord me great reliei, tho I frequently think of the Fable of the Wolf & the Sheppard, who was so severely injured for giving false reports. There does not appear to be the least apprehension of opposition so far as I have travelled or heard from. I expect to leave here about 10th inst & not sooner, tho will advise you further; I have the pleasure to add that a surrender of the notes will please all those poor unfortunate men who have purchased as they say under me, evan if my master should refuse to support the Sales, tho I have asked him to permit them to remain untill their crops are housed &c &c that is to say if he conceives the leases cannot be supported, in favor of which I have used the strongest arguments my mind could suggest, unlest I had threatened his next election ha ha. Pray remember me to Mrs. McMinn and Represent me to every Laday & Gent who asks for me, and you may give each of them one Dollar out of any funds for which you have no better use Thank God I am in remarkable good health & fine spirits. tho quite sober, tho that will not appear to be the fact from such nonsense as this. Good night, Honl Secy. Jos. McMINN. [Box Mc 1, No. 69.] Knoxville 24 June 1819. Dear Secy On my arrival here last evening, I had the satisfaction to receive your two letters of 30 May & 13th inst. In the latter I found one from the President of the U. States which I had expected would have been more satisfactory, tho taking all things together the object is obtained, & I feel very well pleased with everything except that I was detained much longer in the nation than I had either wish or expectation to have done, which is the only reason I have not written you much earlier, as I knew you would be asked where I was &c. I am however extremely happy that I spent as much of my time at the agency as I did, circumstances had rendered it highly neccessary that I should do so, and I do assure you that with the support I received by the letter from the war department, and one I recd from Mr. Monroe by express that I have been able to set all things right in that quarter, indeed far beyond my most sanguine calculations, and here every countenance with regard to the Cherokee measures seems to express great satisfaction, in addition to the many who make Public declarations in its favor. For fear that my last should not reach you as it gives the only intimation of the receipt of your letter of the 5 inst, I will now say it was received, and if health & leasure will afford me an opertunity of answering them all in detail I will do so If not. accept of the tender of my thanks for the great variety of matter and elegance of Style in which they are written, and on the whole their fitness for the reading of a man in a strange land, whom you from self feeling & experience must have supposed to be occationally Blessed with the Hippo or hypo. I propose God willing to leave this place on the 26th inst for Maryville, & thence by the different courthouses to the residence of my Kins Folks in the land of my nativity as I may call it, and the Place where I have Buried, those, once the Dearest of all human creatures to me, the bare recollection of whom never fails to produce the most pleasing sensations James Glasgow has just advised me that Mrs. McMinn had arrived safe at her Fathers, tho still in bad health, and added that she spoke of being in this quarter in July. As you know it will be a matter of great satisfaction for me to hear from you on local and general subjects of Public & private nature you will please address your next to New Canton, Hawkins County, but that I should find it there it must be sent by the return mail. Will you have the goodness to Shake the hand of our mutual old friend for me & say to .. that I entertain the most gratefull recollection of all past favors, and hope the latter part of July will afford a personal interview, and to our other friends please tender my sincere esteem to as many as may be convenient, and for your self accept the best wishes of Your friend, Jos. McMINN. P. S. Thumans Pardon has given very General satisfaction to the inhabitants of this place, and else where so far as I have heard. J. M. M. Honl D. Graham. [Box Mc 1, No. 70.] Knoxville 26 June 1819. Secy Your having accepted the appointment of commissioner to examine the Books of entries and Surveys of the Principle Surveyors of the 4th 5th and 6th districts, and the Register's office of the Register of East Tennessee, and report to the General assembly next to be held at Murfreesboro on the third Monday of September next, according to the Provisions contained in an act of Genl Assembly passed at Knoxville 5th Nov 1817 Entitled an act to authorise the Governor to appoint Suitable persons to examine the Books of entries &c. As one of the great objects to be obtained in executing the views of the Legislature will be to exhibit the gross amount of Floating claims against the vacant land, within this State; it will be important to show the number of entries and quantity of acres in each, as well as carefully to note all irregularities if any should exist in the Books of entries & surveys with regard to the commissioners books, they being made a part of the Register's office; you will have a right to examine and report on them, first the quantity of acres that have issued since their organization, and secondly the order in which they have been kept, and as the division of warrants have been confided to the Register, and do not appear to compose any part of his duty as pointed out by the act organizing the office of Register, it will nevertheless be very important to examine the Books kept for that purpose, and to report the ballances due and to whom, without any regard to such of the entries as stand ballanced on the Books. The Register's Books you will in like manner examine as those preceeding, except that of noticing their number, but it will be very desirable that their appearance should be exhibited, as well touching their correctness, as the state & strength of the Books. Having believed untill the moment I was ready to set out, that I had a copy of my instructions to Major Brown wraped up with your commission, on opening which I found my self mistaken, and had to draft these in great haste and without having the Law refered to as my guide-I will therefore ask you to be good enough in the execution of the trust confided to you to pass over such parts as you may find incompatible with the law & views of the Legislature, and substitute your sound discretion in their stead. I expect to be here on my return to the west in about 15 or 20 days at furthest, and should be pleased to find a line from touching the subjects to which this refers. Very respectfully, [Box Mc 1, No. 71.] Sir Rogersville 20 July 1819. Yours of the 3rd July came to hand by last mail. I had the pleasure of meeting the President this evaning on his way from this place to the city with whom I spent say one half an hour, he is in fine health, and gives out very good talk on every part of the Cherokee business. Long looked for has come come at last, the Genl is going on as Jonney Rhea used to say-The subject is entirely new and precludes me from giving a decissive opinion on the case, tho I assure you its seldom spoken of here otherwise, than as the effect of a deluded mind--and so far as I have travelled since I heard it spoken of, no one has ventured to speak of his election a possible one there. Honl D. Graham. Jos. McMINN. Dr. Secy [Box Mc 1, No. 72.] Knoxville 26 July 1819. I arrived here last evaning thus far on my way to the Land of Canan in perfect health, & had the pleasure to find Major McCulloh & lady here who had just arrived both in fine health &c. You will ere this reaches you, have heard that Genl Parsons is a candidate for the office chief majistrate-He will be very harmless indeed in E. Ten. compared with his calculations, which I learn to be that he will obtain a majority of 5,000 votes-I feel fully authorised to state, that from Sullivan C. H. to this place that he will receive very few votes, indeed here all parties agree, that I will obtain a large majority in this county-Blount Green & Washington are the only counties in which I believe he will obtain a majority. The Great calculation is on W. Ten. from whence his friends say he was most severely Pressed to become a candidate against this Major McCulloh states Positively that the calculation is intirely founded in error, that he never heard of his name as a candidate until he arrived at McMinnville, when it was spoken of entirely without interest-The People here complain that he has come out too late & cannot expect to be supported-upon the whole I believe he will not obtain more than the honors of an honorable Defeat. However I deem it best to keep a stiff Rien, and am busily engaged both with company & writing-Major McCullock advises to remain on this side the mountain untill the election is over which perhaps I may tho I very much desire to be at Murfreesboro on the days of election. I enclose you a paper signed by the Sheff of Campbell County upon which I have deemed it consistant with justice to offer a reward of one hundred Dollars which with what the Sheff has personally offered will be a handsome reward-please insert it in. the N. Paper. I also send you one of our old kind of Papers upon which please issue &c. In very great haste your friend, Jos. McMINN. Honl D. Graham. [Box Mc 1, No. 73.] Knoxville 26 July 1819 Dear Secy The enclosed was this moment put in my hand by Mr Whiteall circumstances considered I have thought we would propose a reward of $50, Though I expect he will never be heard of in |