Delegates to Congress . Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789, Volume 22, November 1 1784-November 6 1785
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Richard Dobbs Spaight to To: Edward Hand


Dear Sir,
Philadelphia 28th December 1784

   Your favor of the 6th Instant I only recd. a day or two before Congress Adjourned from Trenton; the hurry of business and the immediate removal from thence to this City prevented me from answering your letter sooner.

   I have not yet got quite the better of my indisposition. I am still afflicted with a sore throat & sore mouth tho' otherwise in tollerable health.

   Your request of an Epistolary Correspondence I shall cherfully comply with & shall be very happy to hear from you by every opportunity -- and tho' we have moved to New York, hope to have the pleasure


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of seeing you before the Spring. Mr. Richd. Henry Lee of Virginia after a dozen different ballottings was elected our President.(1) I enclose you a list of the Delegates of the different States that have made the appearance in Congress. The Resolves respecting the adjournment to York being published in the papers I need not say any thing about them here. The Want of Maryland and Delaware kept us from coming to this City, which I assure I should have prefered to New York, but our situation was such that we must either have passed the Winter in Trenton or Consent to go to N.Y. -- the choice of course was not difficult -- Philada. had five ays.(2) This Congress appears to be much better disposed to do business than the last, & I think our residing Northerly will prove advantageous by Uniting all the States to the southward of Connecticut together. You will find by the list, that we have got rid of those two Dealers in troubled Waters, Gerry & Howell. I am affraid they will prove an eternal plague to us.

   It gives me pain My Dear Sir, to be obliged to request three or four weeks farther indulgence, for the payment of my Note. I had arranged matters before I left home in such a manner, as I thought would enable me to pay the money immediately on my arrival here, without any inconvenience to myself, which would have been the case had n[ot] this unexpected flight to New York taken place which has deranged my money matters very much, and being likewise disappointed in a remittance which I expected to have recd. before this time.

   I am in daily expectation of receiving money from North-Carolina, and the first that is remitted shall be appropriated to the payment of the Note. As all my remittances will be made thro' Messrs. Stuart & Barr of this City, I will leave orders with them to call on Mr. Crawford and take it up with the first monies they receive on my Account. Notwithstanding my situation if you should be in immediate want of the money I shall make use of every exertion in my power to raise the money by borrowing or otherwise, to try and pay it before I leave this to go to New York, which will be about the 7th or 8th of January as Congress meet at that City on the 11th. I am with great Regard, Dear Sir, Your most Obt. and most hum. Servant,

    Richd. Dobbs Spaight.

    P.S. I would wish to hear from you before I leave Town.


Note:

   RC (MBU: Stone Collection).



1 See Charles Thomson to the States, November 30, note.



2 For Samuel Hardy and Spaight's December 23 motion for Philadelphia, see JCC, 27:702.



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