JB/012/035/001

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Queen Square Place Westminster.
Augt 5.th 1821

To the Editor of the National Calendar of the United States.

Sir,
At the commencement of In the advertisement to your Calendar of 1820 the liberality
of your sentiments calls for suggestions of supposed improvement,
at the hands of all persons indiscriminately, foreigners as
well as citizens. In obedience to this call, permit me to offer to your
consideration the addition following. It consists of nothing more
than an Index in alphabetical order, such as that which I observe
prefixed to the official publication intituled "a Register of Officers
& Agents, civil, military & naval, in the service of the United States
on the 30th day of Septr 1817. >&c For the year 1818." The sort of index
which you already insert, is unquestionably a very instructive
one. Still however, speaking from my own experience, I do not
find in it, that which supercsedes the demand for an index, in the
alphabetical order which the names, of the particular objects of which an account is
given, are placed in the order of the alphabet. It is purely of the logical kind: the particular objects being
classed according to the Official departments to which they are respectively
understood to belong. bBut the capacity of making use of this an
instrument of instruction thus constructed, supposes on the part
of every reader the possession of a mass of information; which certainly
is not in the possession of all, nor, (so at least I should expect to
find) of so much as a majority of those who from time to time, might
be seeking information from this source. Of this number of relative
Ignoramus's I must confess myself to be one.

With sincere gratitude for the vast & most interesting
mass of information, to which I find this work of your's gives me
access, & to which I see nothing wanting, but an approach a little
more commodious as above, I subscribe myself, Sir,
Your's
Jeremy Bentham

P.S. I am at the same time duly sensible, that to construct the
sort of instrument, I am praying for, is not quite so easy as to
call for it: & therefore it is, that I have intrenched myself, and so strongly
as you see I have, on the ground of Official precedent.

Identifier: | JB/012/035/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 12.
Date_1	1821-08-05	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	012	Main Headings	constitutional code
Folio number	035	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles
Category	correspondence	Number of Pages	2
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering
Penner	richard doane	Watermarks
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections	jeremy bentham	Paper Produced in Year
Notes public	see note to letter 2788, vol. 10	ID Number	4096
Box Contents