246 



APPENDIX. 



partment, in relation to his nephew. Lieutenant M^Enight 

 and his connpanion, Midshipman Lyman, the necessary in- 

 structions were immediately given upon the subject ; and 

 I have the honour to send you, for the information of Colo- 

 nel Decatur, the enclosed extract from a communication of 

 Mr. Rush to this Department, in pursuance of the instruc- 

 tions referred ?to ; by which it appears that these unfortu- 

 nate young men were transferred from the Swedish vessel, 

 in which they had embarked at Rio de Janeiro, to the Uni- 

 ted States sloop of war Wasp, (which is supposed to have 

 perished at sea) on their voyage to England. 

 I am, with great respect, Sir, 



Your obedient and very humble servant, 



John Quincy Adams.. 



mr. rush to the secretary of state. 



[COPY.] 



Londonj»^prit7, 1820. 



Sir, 



On the receipt of your despatch. No. twenty-two^, 

 respecting Lieutenant M'Knight and Midshipman Lyman, 

 which has heretofore been acknowledged, I thought it 

 it would be best, before addressing myself to the Swedish 

 Vice Consul at Dartmouth, to request of the Swedish mi- 

 nister at this Court, Baron Steirneld, that he would have 

 the goodness to write a line to him, to say who I was, think- 

 ing thereby to ensure the more effectually a due attention 

 to my communication. 



Accordingly on the twenty-second of last month, the 

 day after I was honoured with your despatch, 1 addressed 

 to the minister a note, of which a copy is herewith sent, 

 and on the twenty-fourth received an answer, accompanied 

 by a letter directed to the Vice Consul, as I had requested. 

 On the same day I proceeded to write myself to the Vice 

 Consul such a letter as appeared best calculated to obtain 

 all the information it might be in his power to afford, touch- 

 ing these two American officers, and transmitted with it 

 the letter from the minister. A copy of my letter is en- 

 closed. It seems that the Vice Consul had left Dartmouth 

 for London before my letter reached him ; but that he re- 

 plied to it from London on the third day of this month. J. 



