Document signed : Boston, to William Moultrie, 1793 Oct. 9.

Sending him "the Speech of the late Governor [John Hancock had died the day before], & the proceedings of the Legislature of this Commonwealth, upon a principle of National Government" [i.e. the question of whether states can be sued in the Supreme Court]; mentioning a suit brought against Massachusetts by William Vassall [Vassall v. Massachusetts]; noting that "the claim of a Judiciary Authority over a State possessed of Sovereignty, was of too much moment to be Submitted to, without the most serious deliberation" and that Hancock convened a special meeting of the Massachusetts legislature to debate the issue; writing that the legislature decided that allowing individuals to sue states is "unnecessary & inexpedient, & in its exercise dangerous to the peace, safety & independence of the Several States, & repugnant to the first principles of a Federal Government"; hoping that the governors of other states will encourage their legislatures to take up this question.