particular passage were left out, which were
intended by me to have been added. I refer
you to the public proclamations, to prove to
you that the error in my letter proceeded
from the hurry of writing: therefore I must
beg leave to correct it.—You state in your
letter of the 19th instant, that I have not
only in your opinion transgressed the laws of
Great Britain, but of all nations, by assuming
an authority which no one has a right to
assume, namely, that of declaring the island
“ free, neutral, and independenthere should
have been added, “ of Denmark;” for so the
proclamation is translated to me.—The only »
hostility I have committed is against the
Danes.—You will find, Sir, by every true
information you can obtain on shore, that I
have never in any respect interfered in the
government or change of government here,
farther than by giving my advice and consent
to Mr. Jorgensen in matters in which my trade
was concerned, or in measures that I was
bound to pursue, according to the instructions
in the letters of marque, or to instruct Captain
Liston so to d o ; namely, not to compromise
in any manner with our enemies. As far
as I have gone, I shall not have the business
to retract, whatever may be the consequence
to me, and sure am I no one proof or document
can appear to shew that I have in any
way interfered in the government; but I
beg leave briefly to state to you how far I
have been concerned, and to add at the same
time that, not understanding the Danish
language, it is possible that I may in some
instances have been deceived.—In January
last, myself and my partners sent a cargo
of provisions and other necessaries under a
British licence, to relieye the inhabitants of
Iceland. The cargo was landed, but, through
the artifice and intrigue of the Danes,
instead of returning a cargo of Iceland
produce, as the licence specified, the vessel
was returned in ballast with stones which
our agent was obliged to pay for, although
the then constituted Danish authorities had
granted us a free trade, and the warehouses o 4
were full of Iceland goods. Severe proclamations
were also afterwards published to
obstruct our trade, all of which I shall take
home.—On finding that the same conduct
prevailed on my arrival here with another
cargo on the 21st of June last, and that I