150 



<crousne!5S, which attempts to palliate the variations in Mr. Rus- 

 sell's two papers, by representing incidents like these, as crafty 

 wiles of mine to ensnare his innocence ? 



Mr. Russell complains that, after the original of his letter had 

 been lound, the duplicate should have been communicated to the 

 House at all. He complains that I should have presumed to make 

 lemarks upon both of them. He complains that I went to the 

 House of Representatives on the 6th of May, and there in person 

 sought for a member who would consent to make the call which 

 was necessary for the official publication of my personal remarks. 

 As usual, part of these statements is true, and part is not — my call 

 at the House of Representatives on the 6th of May, was accidental ; 

 being on my return from witnessing the experiment of Commodore 

 Rodgers's noble invention at the Navy- Yard, I did not there seek 

 foi' a member who would consent to make the call. I never asked 

 any member to make the call ; though I told several members who 

 spoke to me on the subject there, and elsewhere, that it was my 

 xsaish the documents should be communicated to the House. The 

 President's message to the Tlouse of the 4th of May, which Mr. 

 Russell had seen before he left the city, had informed the House 

 of my desire that the letter should be communicated, together with 

 a communication from me respecting it. 



The truth is, that my desii-e for the commurAcation of Mr. Rus- 

 sell's letter to the House had commenced on the same day that his 

 own had ceased. Mr. Russell, from the 26th of January to the 

 22d of April, had been indefatigable in his exertions to bring this 

 letter before Congress and the public. He had procured the ori- 

 ginal draught of it from Mendon ; he had procured the call for it 

 from the House ^ he had endured the toil of re-writing, with his 

 own hand, at least once, a letter of seven folio sheets of paper ; 

 he had brought, and delivered it w^ith his own hand, at the Depart- 

 ment. At the moment of fruition his appetite fails him. Doubts 

 of consequences to himself, as well as to others, seem to tlash across 

 his m/md. He leaves the paper — :For what? For communication 

 lo the House, in answer to their call ? No ! " To put it in the 

 poiver of the person who might consider himself the most liable to be 

 affected by its publication''^ — for the " previous examination and 

 consent of the adverse party." He seems to invite objection to 

 its being communicated. He is quite indilferent whether it be 

 communicated or not, and, it not communicated, he desires that it 

 may be returned to him. But to make its terrors irresistible, he 

 has double and treble charged it with crimination of violated in- 

 structions ; and to vouch his charges, has twice armed himself 

 with official copies from the Department, of the cancelled part of 

 the instructions of 15th April, 1813. 



I had never wished for the communication to the House or to the 

 public of the letter, until I had seen it. The effect of its perusal 

 upon my mind was certainly different from what Mr. Russell ap- 

 pears to have iy:iticipated. I saw at once what it was and what it 



