I lay before Congress a letter, from the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Great Britain, to the Secretary of State.
JAMES MADISON.
March 13, 1812.
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.
AUGUSTUS J. FOSTER.
The Message having been read, was, on motion of Mr. Newton, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, and ordered to be printed.