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15 letters, 27 pp., dated 6 February 1864 to 15 March 1895; of the 15 letters, 12 are dated 1879 to 1883; also includes a three-page manuscript note; and 2 used bank checks. Thirteen of the fifteen letters were written to William Allen Butler; they were written by: U.S. Senator George F. Edmonds, of Vermont (5); U.S. Congressman Simeon B. Chittenden, of New York (5); E.C. Benedict of Albany, NY (1); attorney George W. Parsons, of New York, NY (1); and his son Benjamin F. Butler, of Boston, MA (2); the remaining two letters written by William Allen Butler himself, listed as of New York, NY (1) to Lieut. Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason; and a letter of Butler?s son Benjamin F. Butler, written to James McKean, Esq., of New York City, New York. Senator George F. Edmonds and Congressman Simeon B. Chittenden, both write to William Allen Butler on their respective U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives letterhead. George W. Parsons writes to Butler on the letterhead of his law firm ?Barney, Butler, & Parson? (Butler is a partner in the firm). Butler?s son Benjamin F. Butler writes to him on his residential letterhead of 12 Pemberton Square, Boston, Massachusetts. William Allen Butler writes to Lieut. Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason on the letterhead of his law firm in 1895, ?Butler, Stillman & Hubbard? of New York City. Theodore B. M. Mason was the founder and first head of the United States Office of Naval Intelligence, with the post of Chief Intelligence Officer (prior to it being re-designated as Director of Naval Intelligence in 1911). Butler writes to him soon after Mason retired and deals with some legal work for Mason. The three-page manuscript note is a ?Memo of Wm. Allen Butler to Miss Thorne 1850 given to W.A. B. Jr. by Mr. Samuel Thorne after Miss T?s death?? The letters written by Senator Edmonds and Congressman Chittenden to William Allen Butler, mainly concern an Act of 31 May 1878 titled: ?An Act to forbid the further retirement of United States legal-tender notes.? The act reads: ?Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury or other officer under him to cancel or retire any more of the United States legal-tender notes. And when any of said notes may be redeemed or be received into the Treasury under any law from any source whatever and shall belong to the United States, they shall not be retired, cancelled or destroyed but they shall be re-issued and paid out again and kept in circulation: Provided, That nothing herein shall prohibit the cancellation and destruction of mutilated notes and the issue of other notes of like denomination in their stead, as now provided by law. All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. Approved, May 31, 1878.? Butler was working with Edmonds and Chittenden to bring a case about this legal-tender notes in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, and were working to get the House and Senate involved ( see examples of letters below). The following are biographies of Butler, Chittenden, and Edmunds: William Allen Butler, Esq. (1825-1902) William Allen Butler was an American lawyer and writer of poetical satires. He was born on 20 February 1825 in Albany, New York, the son of the poet and lawyer Benjamin Franklin Butler (1795-1858) and nephew of naval hero William Howard Allen. William?s father Benjamin was a prominent lawyer from the state of New York. A professional and political ally of Martin Van Buren, among the many elective and appointive positions he held were Attorney General of the United States (1833-1838) and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1838-1841). He was also a founder of New York University and one of the founders of the Children's Village school in New York City. Benjamin studied at Hudson Academy in Hudso. Seller Inventory # 030679
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