[(8)] Philadelphia 12 Sep^tr 1795 Sir, I have the Honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this Date, inclosing Extracts of a letter from his Excellency Governor Fenner of the 5 Inst. I do not feel that I am called upon to make even an indirect Reply, to any observations, applied to me, in the Explanation that Gentleman has been pleased to Offer — relative to his public Conduct; I think myself fortunate, Sir, that the Course of my Official Correspondence is to flow in another Channel; my Communications upon every Subject, which relates to my Nation, are to be directed to the Appointments established under the General Government, from whom, having, on my part, always manifestly the most unfeigned Respect, I have in return, experienced great personal Civility. The Tenor of my Official Correspondence with the late Secretary of State, and with you since his resignation, relative to very sudden and unexpected Events, has clearly Designated my solicitude to avoid every Interruption of Harmony and goodwill; — Upon the Subject of Complaint I was very imperfectly informed — upon the other, I was in possession of a direct Canvass walk of the charge, which I communicated to you, unofficially, I am ready to admit, as that it came to me, unofficially. — Whatever else I have collected, concerning the existing Charges, has been from very loose and uncertain Rep[orts] and so I have freely Declared; "Why I have been dep[rived] of the means of making a full explanation, even at t[his] moment, is, yet, to be accounted for. Two Things I may venture to Assert withou[t] The one, that the Governor of Rhode Island has with[held] a Statement of Facts, explanatory of one part of Capt R[ow's] Conduct, which was couched in Terms Temperate a[nd] concilliatory — The other, that his Majesty's Vice Con[sul] at Rhode Island, has incurr'd in very pointed Cens[ure] from this Government, before he was even called u[pon] to refute or explain, the specific matter which attracted [its] Censure. Another thing I have from a sense of its [ill] Tendency, very seriously Lamented; the publication [of] Official Correspondence, while matters are in a Trai[n of] Negotiation — A practice which you must allow to b[e] productive of great Inconvenience; tho' you seem t[o] think it was unavoidable, in the recent instance [of] which I have complained. — With Sentiments of Consideration and Re[spect] I have the Honor to b[e] Sir