255 



sell s letter : Mr. Russell himself had furnished it, to be reported 

 in answer to the call. Curiosity had been potioned into eager 

 ness for a sight of it, and of that eagerness Mr. Floyd had ex 

 hibited no unintelligible share. If his only object was to obtain 

 information useful to him, with reference to the Columbia River Bill,, 

 the indexes to his mind, in the debate of the 17th of January, 

 1822, had mistaken their direction. If he had another object, it 

 would have been candid to avow it then, and not to disavow it now. 



Mr. Floyd says he will take no part in the controversy between 

 Mr. Russell and me. I should have had more reason to thank Mr. 

 Floyd for this profession of impartiality, if it comported better 

 either with the general tenor, or the particular import, of the pub 

 lication in which it is contained. Mr. Floyd must not be allowed 

 at once to claim the rights of neutrality and to practise acts of en 

 mity. The whole of his publication is full of hostility to me, as 

 inveterate as it was unprovoked : a neutral flag imd a raking broad 

 side are but indifferent vouchers for each other. Mr. Floyd now 

 comes forward in this controversy substantially as an auxiliary to 

 Mr. Russell, and as a pretext for it , he charges me with an asser 

 tion which I never made, that he may take it as personally offen 

 sive to himself, and attack me under a colour of self-defence. I 

 never gave cause of offence to Mr. Floyd, and if in the Ghent 

 papers for his profound researches touching the value of the Mis 

 sissippi river, or the discussion of the Mississippi at Ghent, he 

 could not find any thing he wanted, the fault was not mine. It is 

 usual to look for information to places where it is likely to he found. 

 If an astronomer should point his telescope to the moon in search 

 of spots on the face of the sun, it would not be surprising if he 

 could not find any thing that he wanted. 



Mr. Floyd declares that he will not either in public or in private 

 refrain from commenting upon the public conduct and opinions of 

 any public man, who may be thought or may think himself entitled 

 to office. He adds that his opposition has always been political 

 and directed by the ideas he entertains of the power which gentle 

 men may think themselves entitled to exercise, under the constitution 

 of the United States. If, by these general expressions, Mr. Floyd 

 means any special reference to me, 1 have not the slightest objec 

 tion to his commenting upon my public conduct and opinions, whe 

 ther in public or private, while he will confine himself to that ex 

 act verity, of which he has so sound a theoretic conception. 1 am 

 perfectly willing even that he should take his Columbia River Bill 

 as the text for a comment upon the discussion of the Mississippi at 

 Ghent. But if he comments upon the power which / may think 

 myself entitled to exercise under the constitution of the United 

 States 4 from the ideas which he entertains of it, I shall only ask 

 the hearers to examine well the coincidence between my thoughts 

 and his ideas on the same subject. He says he looks upon the 

 constitution of the United States as containing expressed grants of 

 power, ai^d cannot approve any opposite opinion. I hold no oppo- 



