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To the Honorable the Mayor & Corporation 
of the City of New York.

We the undersigned, American Artists beg leave respectfully to represent,
That we have noticed with much gratification the late vote of your Honorable body requesting the present distinguished Governor of the State, and the former Governor to allow their full length Portraits to be painted for the city._ We have also noticed with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret, that part of your vote which confines by an act of Council the Competition to American Artists. We noticed this with pleasure, because we saw it in another instance of the disposition of your Honorable body to encourage native talent, a disposition already abundantly evidenced in numerous acts of liberality;- We noticed it with regret as it places the subject of encouragement of the Fine Arts on the ground of National feeling, rather than of talent. On this subject we would briefly quote the usages of other countries. 
We need not more than allude to the custom of Greece