404 LETTERS OF A CITIZEN. 



ports of the United States into the subject of the discoveries of 

 American whalers. 



" The information received by him from the whalers, and which 

 he communicates in his memorial, is not, however, of a nature to 

 inspire great confidence. Islands may there be seen under the 

 same name, and differing several degrees in longitude ; there are 

 several others designated under the same latitude and longitude, 

 which certainly must be one and the same island." 



Thus it will be seen that the authority of Admiral Kruzenstein, 

 so far as it is of any importance, is decidedly against you, and fully 

 sustains all which has been claimed for the document, based on 

 the materials furnished by our whalers, viz., that it goes to show 

 that the knowledge we possess of the Pacific Ocean and South 

 Seas is so imperfect as to demonstrate the utility of sending out 

 an expedition to ascertain and settle what is at present vague and 

 uncertain, and thus give additional security to our commercial in- 

 terests in those quarters. With these remarks I shall leave you 

 to reflect on the illiberality and injustice of the attack you have 

 made on the enterprise of our whalers, for your remarks will bear 

 no other construction. 



And now for the fourth and last article you have given to the 

 public. I shall content myself with a few brief remarks upon this 

 " delectable' production. It bears indubitable evidence that you 

 have become alarmed at the untenable nature of your position, es- 

 pecially in maintaining that the great object of the expedition was 

 to explore regions as near the South Pole as can be approached 

 without danger. 



In that number you have, for the first time, been compelled to 

 confess " that from the enterprise much benefit will result to the 

 commerce and navigation of our country, and great additions be 

 made in many important branches of science." For the sake of 

 this confession I am willing to pass over without comment many 

 amusing quibbles and tergiversations incident to your defence, 

 seven eighths of which are utterly irrelevant to the subject-matter 

 at issue between us. 



You are now, as I am pleased to learn, doing your duty with a 

 much better grace than could have been expected, considering 

 your late disappointments. To bring you to this point was my 

 sole motive in addressing you. For the mere sake of controversy 



