Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1829-02-24
dence even of the charity that believeth

uonce even OF the cnarlty that Delleveth
all things.
Let me add that the statement author
lzed by me, as published in, the National
lntelllgencer, was made, not only without
the intention, but without the most distant
imagination of offending you or ofinjuring
any one OF you. But, on the contrary, for
the purpose of expressly disavowing a
charge, which was before the publick.
sanctioned with the name of the late Mr..
Jefferson, imputing to certain citizens OF
Massachusetts reasonable negotiating
with the British Government during the
war, and expressly stating that he had re-
celved information of this FROM ME. On
the publication of this letter, deemed it
indispensjbly due to myself, and to all the
citizens Of Massachusetts, not only to de-
my ever giving such information, but all
knowledge of such fact. And the more
SO, because that letter had been published,
though without my knowledge, yet was
well assured, from motives of justice and
Kindness to me. 1t contained declaration
BY Mr.. Jefferson himself, frank, explicit.
and true, of the character of the motives
OF my conduct, in all the transactions of
my intercourse with him during the peri
cd of the embargo This was point up
on which his memory could not deceive
him, point upon which he was the best
of witnesses; and his testimony was the
more decisive because given at moment,
as it would seem, of great excitement
against me upon different views of pub
lick policy even then in conflict and pro-
ducing great exacerbation in his mind.
The letter contained also a narrative of a
personal interview between himself and
me, in March, 1903, and stated that had
then given him information of facts, which
induced him to consent to the substitution
of the nonintercourse for the embargo i;
and also that had apprised him of this
reasonable negotiation by the citizens of
! Massachusetts, TO secede from the Union
during the war, and perhaps rejoin after
the peace. Now the substitution of the
nonintercourse for the embargo took
place twelve months after this interview.
and at succeeding session of Congress,
when | was not even member Of that
body. The negotiation for seeding from
the Union with view to reioin it after
wards, if it ever existed, must have been
during the war. had no knowledge OF
such negotiation, or even of such de-
sign. could therefore have given no
such information.
But in giving an unqualified denial to
this statement Of Mr.. Jefferson, and in
showing that upon the face Of the letter
itselfit could not be correct, i, was due to
him to show, that the mistatement on his
part /@as not intentional; that it arose
fron an in6rmity of memory, which the
LITTER candidly acknowledged that it
blended together in one distinct mass, the
information which l had given him in
March, 1893, with the purport of conf
dental letters, which | had written to his
and my friends in Congress year after,
and with events, projects, and perhaps
mere suspicious, natural enough as conse-
quences Of the preceding times, but which
occurred, if at all, from three to six years
later, and Of which he could not have had
information from me. The simple fact OF
which apprized Mr.. Jefferson was, that,
in the summer of 1857, about the time
of what was sometimes called the affair
Of the Leopard and the Chesapeake, | had
seen letter from the Governour of Nova
Scotia to person in Massachusetts, af-
frming that the British government had
certain information of plan by that of
France, to conquer the British possessions
and effect revolution in the United
States, by means of war between them
and Great Britain. As the United States
and Great Britain were in 1907 at peace,
correspondence with the Governour of
Nova Scotia, held by any citizen of the
United States, imported no violation of
law; nor could the correspondent be re-
sponsibe for any thing which the Govern
our might write. But my differences from
this fact were, that there existed between
the British Government and the party in
Massachusetts opposed to Mr.. Jefferson, a
channel of communication through the
Governour of Nova Scotia, which he was
exercising to inAame their hatred against
France and their jealousies against their
own government. The letter was not to
any leader of the federal party; but had
no doubt it had been shown to some Of
them, as it had been to me, without in
junction of secrecy; and, as | supposed,
with view to convince ME that this con-
spiracy between Napoleon and Mr.. Jeffer-
son really existed. How that channel of
communication might be further used,
was matter Of conjecture; for the mission
of Mr.. john Henry was nine months after
nv interview with Mr.. Jefferson, and pre-
cisely at the time when was writing to
my friends in Congress the letters urging
the substitution of the nonintercounse for
the embargo. Of Mr.. Henry's mission |
knew nothing till it was disclosed by him
self in 1912.