[036-190v]

1821 June 18

Codification Offer

'.9. Draughtsman gratuitous

In the above disquisition, what is assumed is as follows 1. that, on the ground of the reasons above brought to view the Draught of the original Code being all-comprehensive and rationalized is to be in so far as life permitts, the whole of it the work of one and same hand: 2. and that it is not to be the work of any person or persons invested with any share in the sovereign operative power: it being reserved for them to go to work upon it and put the last hand to it, and finally put /attach/ their sanction to a Code of the draughtsman in question containing so much, if any thing, of the original Code as they shall have approved of: and that in case of competition, if two Codes already drawn, on all other grounds possessing an equal claim to acceptance, one having for its draughtsman a native, the other a foreigner, the one drawn by the foreign hand affords as far as it goes (for there seems little probability of its being by any such hand rendered in all its details compleat) possesses the fairest title to acceptance: at the same time, it being considered that of the obtaining from foreign hands a number of works of this description, or even so much as a single work there can not be any thing like a full assurance, the case of its being the work of a native can not be left out of the account.