458 LETTERS OF A CITIZEN. 



and Glynn, requesting them to get under way with their respective 

 vessels within five days after receipt of such letters, proceed to 

 Rio, and there await his (Captain Kearney's) arrival in the flag- 

 ship ! Surely there was no want of promptness no shrinking 

 from duty manifested here. These arrangements were made late 

 in the afternoon. Early on the following morning, Captain Kear- 

 ney, accompanied by Lieutenant Gedney, repaired to the depart- 

 ment, for the purpose of despatching orders and of putting the squad- 

 ron immediately in motion. But a night had intervened ; and during 

 that night the spoiler came ! You, sir, Joel R. Poinsett, interfered, 

 and checked the enterprise when thus, I may say, on the very eve 

 of its advent. It was a dark deed, and darkness had well been 

 chosen for its accomplishment. The first salutation received by 

 Captain Kearney from Secretary Dickerson was an announcement 

 that the arrangements of yesterday were all broken up ; that he 

 (Dickerson) had nothing farther to do with the expedition, and 

 that Captain Kearney must now call upon you Joel R. Poinsett. 



Well, he did call upon you during the afternooon of the same 

 day. He was informed by you that the Macedonian must be with- 

 drawn ; and thus was accomplished what your joint management 

 connected with the famous Norfolk Commission had failed to ef- 

 fect. Thus was undone what Governor Dickerson had done, or 

 pretended to do, only the day before ; thus was nailed to the coun- 

 ter as base coin the imputation that no officer of rank would take 

 charge of the expedition. Whether your object was now to give 

 the Macedonian to a favourite as the flag-ship of a home instead of 

 the West India squadron, or you acted from other motives not now 

 to be dwelt upon, I leave you to explain. 



All this, however, failed to drive Captain Kearney from the 

 command ; and a proposition to substitute a large merchant vessel, 

 capable of accommodating the scientific corps, as the flag-ship, 

 was proposed, ?.nd acceded to by him. But this arrangement was 

 afterward abandoned on your part ; and, after having done as much 

 mischief as you could perpetrate within twenty-four hours, you pre- 

 tended to withdraw from all farther responsibility (pretended,! say, 

 for it was only pretence), and the whole matter seemed to slide 

 into a general 'responsible Committee of Conference, comprising 

 Governor Dickerson, the commissioners, and yourself, by whom it 

 was determined that the squadron should cortsist of only one sloop, 



