_Washington, February 13, 1838_.
HENRY S. FOX, Esq., etc.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the
6th instant, communicating a copy of a letter from Sir Francis Head,
lieutenant-governor of the Province of Upper Canada, respecting the
capture and destruction of the steamboat _Caroline_ by a Canadian force
on the American side of the Niagara River within the jurisdiction of the
State of New York, together with the reports and depositions thereto
annexed.
The statement of the facts which these papers present is at variance
with the information communicated to this Government respecting that
transaction; but it is not intended to enter at present upon an
examination of the details of the case, as steps have been taken to
obtain the fullest evidence that can be had of the particulars of the
outrage, upon the receipt of which it will be made the subject of a
formal complaint to the British Government for redress. Even admitting
that the documents transmitted with your note contain a correct
statement of the occurrence, they furnish no justification of the
aggression committed upon the territory of the United States--an
aggression which was the more unexpected as Sir Francis Head, in his
speech at the opening of the parliament of Upper Canada, had expressed
his confidence in the disposition of this Government to restrain its
citizens from taking part in the conflict which was waging in that
Province, and added that, having communicated with the governor of
the State of New York and yourself, he was then waiting for replies.
It is not necessary to remind you that his expectations have been met by
the adoption of measures on the part of the United States as prompt and
vigorous as they have been successful in repressing every attempt of
the inhabitants of the frontier States to interfere unlawfully in that
contest. The most serious obstacle thrown in the way of those measures
was the burning of the _Caroline_, which, while it was of no service
to Her Britannic Majesty's cause in Canada, had the natural effect of
increasing the excitement on the border, which this Government was
endeavoring to allay.
I avail myself of this occasion to renew to you the assurance of my
distinguished consideration.