[dateline] Leyden 19th. March 1782
[salute] Honorable Sir
The Committee of the corporate Body of Merchants, Manufacturers and Traders of this
City have charged me, as their Counsel, to present Your Excellency with two printed
Copies of the Petition, they have put up Monday last to the Great-Council of Leyden,
in order to pray for the conclusion of commercial connexions with the United-States
of America.
1 They hope, Your Excellency will accept those Copies as a testimony of their regard
for You, Sir, as the Representative of a State, which they desire to call soon, with
full and avowed right, their Sister-Republic. My love for my Country, my inclination
for yours, my respect for your character, public and private, these are all motives,
Sir, which make this commission one of the most agreeable I could ever perform in
my life.
2
[salute] I am with the sincerest and most perfect regard, Sir, Your Excellency’s Most obedient
and very humble Servant
[signed] J. Luzac