Thomas Jefferson actually said...

The quantity of freestone necessary, with the size and quality of many of the blocks, was represented as beyond what could be obtained from ...

Delays, indeed, have taken place, occasioned by the long illness and subsequent death of the British minister charged with that duty.

I have the satisfaction to inform you that the negotiation depending between the United States and the Government of Great Britain is procee...

It is, however, a work of time, as many arrangements are necessary to place our future harmony on stable grounds.