The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-10-10


Divine Ruler of the univerfe to aift and direa ME in
the execution thereof for the benefit of my fellow CT
items
King-William county, October 4th, 1904
WASHINGTON CITY, October S.
! The Marquis Yrujo arrived in this city on
Monday laft from Monticello.
The following letter, communicated TO the Seere-
| tnry Of State, is pubibed at tie requeR of THE
| Marquis de GAIA 1ryo. Nat. Int.
SIR,
| Having been abfent from Philadelphia for
theie 1 days paf, and travelled far into a part
OF Virginia where / had no opportunity TO fee
the late newspapers from the northward, it is
but to-day on my return to Wilmington, have
been apprifed of publication highly injurious
to my chara6ter, which, under the garb of fworn
evidence, has been made by certain w. Jack
fon. of Philadelphia, in the paper of which he is
the Editor called the Political Regifer.
Had the fad evidence appeared ifolated, with
no other weight but the name of the Editor and
the circumstances of his dcpoitiou, would
have treated his malicious attack with the f.
lence of contempt, as all the facts therein related
eOen avben true, would not prove had violated
the laws ofthis country, nor the duties of nv
ftation but letter from the PRECEDENT of the
United States to Jackfon, having been circulated
along with his evidence, this circumftance 2ionc,
although the PRECEDENT does not exprefs his OPT
MON upon the fubiea, fampS this affair with
degree OF Importance, it would have been other
| wife dvefted Of
For this reafon, and for the refpecf I owe to
the Preident of the United States, to this 60
vernment, and to myfelf, have thought proper,
IN thus addrefiing you, to enter into the expla-
nation Of this tranfaction, innocent in itfef, con-
fonant with the laws of the country, proper in
my tation, and which cannot be disfgured even
| by the artifice of inGdious magnty.
! In country where the liberty of the prefs
prevails, its uie mutt be ihield of defence, as it
| is An inftrumeEt of attack. This is confonant
with ljuftice and congeniai with the principle of
equal rights, it is then legal to efablif1 de-
fence by the prefs againf the attacks made thro'
the medium of the prefs. This facred princi-
pie of fef-defence is inherent to political tates
as 1t is to individuals /; and when an offence is
thus made againft fovercgn which cannot be
brought into court ofjuftice, it is not only tie
right, but ALTO, it is the duty of the reprefenta-
tive of that fovereign or nation, to repel the at
tack with the fame weapons which are made
uie Of for his injury.
| Were the foreign Mnhers to be deprived of
this right, enjoyed by every individual who
breathcs the air of the United States thew
would be reduced to the fad condition of dRin-
gnjSe2 Ea7,eS III the very centre of the land of
liberty. For fome time pat fome of the Phila-
delphia newspapers had publiihed paragraphs
and circulated comments about the exiting diff
ferences between the king of Spain and the u
nited States, mutilating facts, altering circum-
ftances and drawing falfe concutions highly
contrary to the character ofjufice & generoity
70 often and 70 magnanimoufly proved by the
king my matter; I myfelf was pointed out as
the author of fome letters from Cadiz and Ma
| drid, although never knew of them but by the
newspapers, and with the fame nultice, an abu-
five par agraph againft the PRECEDENT was ince
attributed to me thus the public mind was
pofoned with incorrect accounts and obnoxious
concluhons-under flcb circumstances believ-
ed then, and beiie1e nozV, it was not only nv
right but alto my duty TO check the torrent of
imprefiions contrary to truth as to the intereh
| of my country. Being very well acquainted
with the great influence of public opinion in 4
popular government as is that of the United
States, with juft intention of bringing the fub-
jects of d;tcuflon Under forcible point of view
which had been carefully concealed, and pre-
fenting them to the public eye under new al
poets, and experimenting that the editors who
had previouny efpoufed party on the quefi-
on would refufe to infert in their papers my in
tended publication, thought that MIR. Jackfon
among Others would not perhaps have the re-
lluctancc which anticipated in the former.
requefted him to call upon me and having ac-
coded to my requef, after defiltory CONVEX
| iation about the news of the day, of Mr.. Pinck-
ney having called for his pahports (my appre-
henlions Of the rafh ftep} and that the detriment
which would arife from war between two ma.
nations invited by their reciprocal iatcreits to
the prefervation of peace, told him he could
do more good to his country by advocating
peace, than by the warke principles, ne was
proclaiming in his paper-I dwelt while up
on this topic and fnilhed by bringing forward
the only obiea of our meeting and telling him
that if 70 difpofed, could give to him for pub
lication explanations and calculations which
could not fail to be favorable to the eau/S Of
peaee, and that for his trouble he would have the
acknowledgment fbat qOonid be byober thofe
were my only words upon this head in all the
courfe of our converfation, in this offer had in