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

winch had supposed were locked up in the COM
nodore'S scrutoirc, lie may periiaps. by III,
same means, haveprocureda copy of some oths
correspondence IN which am concerned.
so, SO far rs my feelings only can be affected h,
IT, and SO rs he can rentlerit subseryicnt n, h;
purposes, IN commencing his attack ON me. what
ever they rlay he, now give him nv free nor
mission to make it public. Ii is contained in let
tiers dated l ith April, 9th May, III, MAY, & 1911
August. For myself, do not fear its cxposu,e
Through any medium whatever. In regard I,
con,'nisseration which he SO chariably cxDrcsse
Tor me, assure him, his remarks have ca,,sed
no other pam or unpleasant telling than thost
winch they have occa5ioned, by IMPOSING amor
me the necessity of troubling the public viii
this reply 10 them.
But the third charge is the one, TO make on;
which, the writer in the Georgian appcars n
have cxertcd himself most strenuoulv. Ifc,o,u.
inodore Porter were not implicated with me in
the first part of this charge, dare saw, tina,
| might, TO save myself the trouble of writing 6
the public the trouble of reading, admit it nj
once. am no pretcndcr TO infaib,lity, and do
not lear that my countrymen will ever seriously
denounce me for a mere error of iuJ,r,no,i
But, singular as il may seem, this writer. while
ne processes to be actuatcd mainly by a disposi-
ton to satisfy the public as TO the correctness of
commodore Porter's judgment, has vet, by pub
lishlug his letter TO General Wives, involved
HIM IN the very same errors which are imputed
to me. That letter is as follows
TO his Erce'iency Don Firuc;sco Dyonis;uy II
ces, Captntn General IF Tie Island of Cubu
ant its Dependencies.
YOUR ENcELLENCY A few DAYS since the
United States' schooner Ncazcl. one of my
squadron, was fired at on the coast of Cuba
near Bahia Honda, by a schooner wearing the
Spanish flag, and after four shots were cx-
changed, she was taken possession of and
brought to this place.
She appears to be the Gallcga commanded
by Jose Maria RIaurin, who informs me thai
she is from Iampco, bound TO Havana & that
she belongs to Don Pcdra Matinee and Don
Jose lgnasio de III. TorreZ, both in Havana.
Her cargo is flour and saraparilIa, in small
quantities, and between eighty and ninety thou
sand dollars in specie. The Grey, authorized
by her papers, including officers, amount To Gf.
teen, and the number of persons found on board
is tirty-onc, twelve of whom call themselves
passengers, but whose names are not found on
the roll, required by the ordinance on the sub
Ject, and none of them furnished with passports
to proceed TO Havana in the aforesaid schoo-
ner, except two, as you will perceive by the en-
closed list
Her armament consists of one long - poun-
der, twenty-five stand OF musicts having bayo-
nets, eight cuuaSses, eleven boarding pixies,
with suitable equipment. and ammunition, &c
&c. no mention Of which is made in The patent,
which differs materially frointhe descriptiongiy
en- by the General Of Marine, N his comnuni-
cation 10 me of the 2sth April last.
The suspicious circumstances nn1er which
this vessel has been brought in, has caused me
to detain her until can despatch :, vessel tc as
certain from your Exceilcncy, whether sine is
OF fair and honest character or not If, of the
former description, your Excellcncy's assuran-
ces will be sufficient to Justify my i5erating her,
as soon as can obtain your answer; but, with
out it, L shall be under the necessity of sending
her to the United States for adjudication.
The bearer of this letter will cx plain TO YOU
more fully the circumstances under which she
has been detained. and will await your Excel
lency's reply.
have the honor TO be,
With great respect,
Your Exceilency's very ob't
and humble servant,
ID. PORTER,
Commanding u. States Naval forces in
the w. Indies and Gulf of Mexico.