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      To his Excellency the President and the Honorable
      the members of the Senate of the United States:

            The Petition of the subscriber humbly sheweth
That your Petitioner having devoted a number of years
to an investigation of the principles of the late revolution
and to the collection of information and materials for
writing the History of the same has at a great expence
of time and money published a Book entitled "The
History of the revolution of South Carolina from a
British province to an Independent State" and that
with great labour he has prepared a general History
of the late war with Great Britain which he proposes
to publish in a short time under the title of "The
History of the American revolution" and your Peti-
tioner humbly conceiving that in reason and justice
he ought to be entitled to any Emoluments arising
from the sale of the abovementioned works as a
compensation for his labour and expence and finding
the same principle expressly recognized in the new Constitu-
tion your Petitioner therefore prays that a Law may
pass securing to your Petitioner his Heirs and assigns
for a certain term of years the sole and exclusive right
of vending and disposing of the same within the United
States or that such other Regulation as to your
wisdom may seem proper for the above purposes
may be adopted. And your Petitioner as in
duty bound will ever pray -
                                                                        David Ramsay

      Charleston
            April 4th 1789