Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-06-22

I.c
oil this commander.
Enough, however, as to the motives of tn
"i'ef' Let US see what are his charges an,
o" iat decent respect for public opinion, re
lures that l should deny, explain, and reftit,
ihese Charges are strung together in the Ii
"s' IN Tue Georgian, under the influence of s;lcI
u'iou, temper and excitement of some sort O
o'her, u more III sorrow than in AMER g. vs III,
benevolent writer J that it is dfcnlt TO arrang,
cne.h Win precision, or to reduce them to any de
unite point. shall endeavor to s;ibJiyide them
however, with minute accuracy, and to plact
'nc'h IN t'ia strongest possible light The anon
ymuns writer shall have the full benefit of them
ana promise not to cvade or shrink from y so,.
itary one.
1. ihcy seem then, TO stand in the following
| nave given the sanction of my name
oa statement IN the public print, relative to the
capture and detention of the Spanish armed scbr
oigin "a Gailicgo TO which is appended a par.
asraph devoid OF truth, and insnuations calcula.
Tea 20 produce on the minds of others, inpres.
SONS highly preudcal TO the conduct and cha.
racfcr of General Wives, and TO the independent,
judgment and decision of the Commander O,
inc american naval forces i'll the West Indies g.
| the Gulf of Mexico.n
<. have now for the third time, attempted
| TO do injustice TO the motives of my command
Jog o,iccr, and to Willy publicly the characters
ii Others"
B. :. acted uniustiiiably in capturing the Sa-
gnnda Gaicgo and in sending her to Thoinpson's
Island; and l disgraccd the jag of Spain, by
causing It TO be struck, and prejudgcd, ana pun
ishei the men by putting them in irons".
y have been guilty Of disohcdience of or
derS, IN not making explanations TO the Captain
General oil Cuba, and in supervising Il letter,
Which ought ~ have deii' cred to the Sagunda
Galliego."
5. 1t was my dnty as an honest man, TO have
contradictci immediately the paragraph append
cd to the statement, which had the sanction of
my name"
In relation TO the first and last of these char
ges, refer tlin reader TO the article which an
peared in the Norfolk Herald of the Goth ofOct.
IN which the editor of that paper, with PROMPT
mass and candor highly commcndabie in him, fur
n;shes the public unasked by me, with testimony
which proves how utterly idle ana unprovoled
those charges are. These arc the words of the
Editor: Con the arrival Of 1t. X. we waited on
HIM, for the purpose of obtaining whatever in
formation he had TO communicate. He politely
furnished Us with minute Oft, IN sohich Louerei.
nomcat'on ,c1smaGde Of his rcncontre Nth the So
$,s,da Galfiego. Wercquestcdthat he would fur
nish us with the particulars of that affair; OBJ
serving that they would probably be interesting
to the public. he excused himself at first, on
thegroundthat, rs he had made an official report
to Commodore Porter, which had no doul,t been
forwarded to the Navy Department, whence. If
necessary, it would be given to the public. if
might be considered improper in him 70 antici-
pate the Official course of publications. Again
he says The paragraph alluded to was not
seen by Leut. kennon until he read it in the
paper the next day. How far then. in co,n,non
fairness, he ought to be held accountable for il.
we leave to every ingenious mind to determine.
TI,r,1 4
inc error In II arose from a misunderstanding On
our part; and the moment it was known to IT.
hennon, he informed us of it, and requested
that it might be corrected in our next but
dec;nins it OF no sort of consequence, we were
at no pains to remember to make the correcti-
On, The Savannah writer therefore will FER
ceve, that Lieut.. kcnnon did that Uey.v Hiuo,
which he so harshly condemns him for not do,
ing" L will not do so much injustice to the
candor and intelligence ofmy fellow citizens. as
10 suppose, lhct there Is man in the u. States,
VINO can hesitate ior a moment, after having read
this' to absove me from all possible reproacl, or
censure, as IL these charges in the libel
ain accused OF having CIVILIZED the charac
tiers OF others" " The tongue is an unruIx
MEMBER" and viii not pretend that have not,
like the rest oil my fellow mortals, sometimes
spoken har5hy of others. But let If be rc,ucrl
bercd, and the anonymous writer himself oc
kno"ledges it, that | have done so publicly.
have never sought Clandcstney 10 ininre the
feelings or TO wound the fame of any human be-
ing, and can safely say, land those WHO have
| known me longest and best will confirm the as
surance,) that have been as little prone TO
speak Ill Of others, either publicly or privately,
! as any other individual whatever This is the
| tirstoccasou III which have ever o5tr,ldcd nv
self on the public, either with or without =
nam. Whether my assailant has equal claims
to their gratitude FOR his forbcarancc he himself
best knows. should think not, however; for
| he must, indeed, have abored long and inyete-
ratey under the 'cT1fing mania, who could ven
ture to trust himself into the columns of q news
paper, without any better apology than that
| which is offered in his communication. Tic A.
| nOnynous writer has cnveloped this charge in
an AR oimy stery, which he thinks NAV probably
| lend ii some Importance. | can, therefore, on
| " guess at the circumstances TO which he has
| a.lusior, and until lie thinks proper TO exhibit
them in a more palpablc form, shall not fag
| tigue the public with comments or explanation
which may prove useless and inappl!cablc. ]
deny, most explicitly, that have ever attempt.
cd TO do injustice to the motives of my com
manIing officer, orvili:y the character oi other,
and put the anonymous writer to the proof
| That have not exactly and entirely concurred
with Com. Porter in all matters of opinion, /
! admit. But that officer knew it ALWAYS at
The time, and had the maguaninity not to
| think IT dcrogatory, either from my character
or duty, that did so and know no CoIn,nan-
der IN the service, and T>trust ] never shall
know one who acts towards his subalterns upon
the principle that they are to Be restrained from
a frank, honest, and respectful expression OF
thcirscntinents on any subject whatever
My assaiIant says that | have "twiccn cs.
capped before, and gently aud kindly regrets.
"that have no one bit nysclfto blame, for A.
ny pain or unpleasant feelings his remarks NAV
/ have o1,or ,;.,o O., WI ~. IL.