WASHINGTON, _March_ 11, 1812.
The undersigned, His Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States, has read in
the public papers of this city, with the deepest concern, the
Message sent by the President of the United States to Congress
on the 9th instant, and the documents which accompanied it.
In the utter ignorance of the undersigned as to all the
circumstances alluded to in those documents, he can only
disclaim most solemnly, on his own part, the having had any
knowledge whatever of the existence of such a mission, or of
such transactions as the communication of Mr. Henry refers to,
and express his conviction, that, from what he knows of those
branches of His Majesty's Government with which he is in the
habit of having intercourse, no countenance whatever was given
by them to any schemes hostile to the internal tranquillity of
the United States.
The undersigned, however, cannot but trust that the American
Government, and the Congress of the United States, will take
into consideration the character of the individual who has made
the communication in question, and will suspend any further
judgment on its merits until the circumstances shall have been
made known to His Majesty's Government.
The undersigned requests the Secretary of State to accept the
assurance of his highest consideration.