Page:Federalist, Dawson edition, 1863.djvu/37

Rh [From the National Intelligencer, Vol. XVIII. No. 2593, Washington, Saturday, May 3 , 1817 .]

"FOR THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER. "April 18, 1817. "To :&mdash;

"When I penned my note of the 10th of March, which was published in your paper of the 19th, wherein I stated by whom the respective numbers of The Federalist were written, I did not anticipate any controversy concerning its contents; if I had, I certainly never would have given the facts to the world without permission. Unfortunately, from the turn the subject has taken, it is too late now to ask it, and I cannot suffer the ' Answer ' in The New York Evening Post, which a friend has recently sent to me, to pass in silence.

"The author of the Answer is correct in supposing that my note was written without the knowledge of Mr. ; indeed, I have no doubt that he never desired or expected to have the subject mentioned, and was surprised when he saw the publication.

"After writing so many masterly pieces since the organization of the existing government, it is not possible to add to the full measure of his fame for exalted talents and patriotism, by proving, incontrovertibly, that he wrote all those parts of the work in question, which I have ascribed to him. No adequate motive could, therefore, exist for encountering the risque of any contradiction in relation to it.

"The writer of the ' Answer ' is mistaken in supposing that I am hurt by the opinion advanced in the Repository, that the numbers written by Mr. are superior to the others; and I do not perceive the justice of the criticism he has indulged in. I have not called that opinion a misstatement of facts. My