p.

Philad., 27 Sept. 1846.

Dear Miss Dwight,

The hopelessly lost letters have been recovered - every one of
which I have any knowledge. They came to hand on the 25th inst.; and I now acknow-
ledge the receipt of your favour of [inserted]the[/inserted] 10th as also of Mr Dwight's of the 3d ultimo. I am
afraid that anything which I can now say will be too late; and yet I wish to
make a few remarks on the remarkably lucid exposition of the views advocated
by yourself and others which you have placed before me in connexion with Mr
Dwight's plan. If there were no difficulties in the way, I should prefer your
idea, as I am sure Mr Dwight would; and if those difficulties can be removed,
I would still prefer either of your plans to his. But I assume that they cannot
be, when I say that the project of independent groups and individuals is much
preferable to the total adandonment of any and every mode of associated life
on however restricted a basis. From the first hour in which I have been honoured
by a share in your councils, I have invariably and urgently and with sad prophecy
pressed the indispensable necessity of requiring each group, and each individual, to
show that they were not pecuniary burthens to the institution. This result was to be
attained by no offensive personalities but [inserted]by[/inserted] the organization of such a system of
accounts and pecuniary compensations, as should show a weekly pecuniary result
to the labour of each group and each individual. Mr Dwight's plan of compensating
all the household groups by a stipulated payment is an illustration of what my plan
was. At the time when this mode of operations was first talked of, it could readily
have been carried into effect. You will perceive what a sense of responsibility
would thus have been infused into the life of every individual - how it would have
gently and certainly removed every incompetent person from among you, how it would